KAPWA Lives on Beyond 20

I cannot really recall now how many times I have attempted, even in thought, to use Viole(n)t Mugs as my stage for easing myself of the frustrations that have come with my stay in our organization. But for equal number of times, I have held myself back. It seems apparent to me now that even somewhere in the realms of my unconsciousness, I was retaliating with the sad unfolding of events in our org in the past few years and to write openly about, for me, meant the formative stages of surrender. It was not be the case.

November the 7th marked the 20th anniversary of KAPWA sa UPLB and despite the misgivings within the resident group, we nevertheless braved the meeting with our equally brave hearts (indeed, as we saw later on) and come face to face with the pillars of the organization.

There was a mass in celebration of our anniversary, two outreach activities in San Pablo, and a series of big eats I have not encountered in my six years in the organization.

I personally thought that my brief talk with Kuya Atoy constituted the ‘meeting’ and ‘update’ that I was expecting to do and have. But it turned out that our big meeting was yet to come. A staunch pessimist, I sat in front of the other alumni with my heart pounding, totally devoid of an idea of what lies ahead for the residents. But most of the time, things do not turn out the way we expect it. They have been very accommodating and openly offered all the forms of assistance they could say at the time. It is beyond the role of this blog to contain every details of the meeting. It would be enough to say that alas, to the resident’s pride, we could walk in the university with heads help up high that we can possibly continue the legacy that these people have started and have actually experienced.

And to a large extent, I am not sorry that I have extended my stay in the university for a few semesters. The rising of the organization from its short stint of dormancy is well within our reach. And I am overjoyed that I am here, right in the middle of the action, to witness this historical part of the organization’s existence.

My fellow residents before may have some things to say about our moves as residents now but they cannot possible tone down the sweeping movements that has been fueled by the anniversary celebration (and the reflections and the renewal of commitments that went with it). Some can babble all they can, projecting an image of concern and scorn with the way we are handling the group, but these cannot possibly tear apart the larger goals by the organization. An alumnus has said years back that petty scuffles (among members) may arise but it should not defeat the collective affection and commitment that we all have for KAPWA.

To all the alumni who generously provided us with literal food and food for thought, we extend our thanks in behalf of the residents. Your vital assistance in this critical part of the organization’s life in the university will never be laid to waste. Your stories have surely given us solid inspiration to fuel us to move forward.

To the residents, old and new, who still have the affection and came to us for the celebrations, we all know that we are now officially part of that pivotal place in our history. Time and opportunity is wide; let us move things now!

Lastly, I have searched within me and was placed at ease that at I can say honestly that it was not at all vindication of some personal desires for the org. No one, not even the most successful of all the members, can possibly tower over the organization. KAPWA is formed to unite, not to divide. And at least on this note, I am putting my dreams and aspirations for the further development of the org in the collective ones that have been shared by the past batches and members.

Long Live KAPWA sa UPLB!

The Santi Onslaught Experience

Finding yourself in a rural area inevitable gives you the experience of getting almost limitless peace of mind you could amass, given the relatively small number of people and vehicles that could break through your repose. Little noise. Lots of fresh air. With a good supply of food and other necessities, it is for me, one ‘panalo’ experience.

But then, the seeming geographical detachment from vital needs such as newspapers (for in our case, we don’t have a television in our house-hideout, he-he) and internet (we are working on the laptop purchase issue, my personal computer being glued to my ‘ancestral’ house) places us at the mercy of totally unknown events that could possibly come to us. And that is exactly what happened when Santi came.

We did not even know there was a storm coming. Not even the fact that we were placed at Public Storm Signal Number 2. Not even the storms’ name. Thanks to some of my partner’s colleagues, we were informed at least a few hours before the predicted landfall of the storm in our province, and into our new little rural abode.

Lights went out at 10. Fluctuated for a few minutes then electricity died out totally. We were now in the midst of a raging storm with a single cellphone light to accompany us (my cellphone have died out days before; I did not bring any charger, nyay) and a single candle stick in reserve.

What word could fit in the attacks of that storm?

I could not help but go outside, to the immense worry of my intimate, and witness and feel the effects. There were those seeming strong trees just outside our gate and fence – mangga, santol, narra – and other ‘lesser’ trees such bananas, papayas, and other bushes all bowing down to the winds brought by Santi. Swayed they go, left to right, the wind whistling in seeming glee. I was dead worried that our roof might tear at any moment, leaving the brittle (ply)wood ceiling prey to the deadly winds. At the same time, I was wishing that my sister has promptly protected my books that are shelved near a weak window.

Saturday came and finally all was clear. And I mean literally. The mighty santol tree on the ground at the side of our house that has been a subject of our horror stories was finally chopped off. It was already being cut into smaller pieces by the time I personally saw it. Partner saw it first. The papaya trees that cover the perimeter of our ground were either fell down or in slanting positions. Good thing no house was substantially destroyed during that rage; the village gossipmongers are now deprived of at least one topic to feast upon.

Finally, mud, trapped flood waters, fallen leaves and branches greeted us as we ply through the streets. Santi may have wreaked havoc, gave us a nightlong experience of hell, but at least all was over by the next day. One thing I only noticed as we talked to neighbors later, that events such as storms give God a free entry to the minds and hearts of the believing (and in some good cases, of the non-believing) people. Either they finally reject the concept of his existence, or withdraw their beliefs, or throw themselves again at the feet of an Almighty Something. Whatever. Human will always be a curious creature.

CHANCE READER! I invite you to place in here a short note if ever you had any experience during Santi’s visit that is worth mentioning (whether it is good or bad).

2009 World Bank Essay Competition Certificate

It was enough that I was able to join again this year. But then, it could have been better to have gone at least into the semi-finals. Nevertheless, it was good news already to have a finalist representative from the Philippines. The e-mail I received said that the news of the 2010 essay competition will be announced on their site essaycompetition.org by January 2010. For anyone who have chanced to read this, you could join if you are interested! There has been a number of quite interesting topics for the past years.

The Viole(n)t Mugs Approach

The unplanned break from my very personal activities (Viole(n)t Mugs included and all the other blogs I am maintaining) proved to be immensely helpful and healthy at the same time. There was a point where I have almost felt extreme repulsion to typing my thoughts on the keyboard, as it seemed that the activity have become minuscule in comparison with the domestic problems I was facing. This vacuum period helped me get through with these ‘down times’ for I was able to rethink and rethink all those activities I have embraced for a quite some time now, without the aid of the ‘democratic’ world wide web and computers themselves.

And Viole(n)t Mugs placed itself well within those things that need reconsideration first. And why not? VM is the embodiment of that seed idea about posting my write ups on the internet. It was conceived with a prospect readership in mind. It was thought not only to be a mere site with my written (or typed, to be more precise) stuff posted there, but also a place where possible readers could react about them and interact with me, as well as with other possible readers. I saw all these ideas resembling a virtual café where people are welcome to conduct open discussions and forums.

But of course, it was not designed in such a way as to give it an appearance of a forum. There are sites designed solely for such activities. As I read back into my past entries, I see that their core goals have not change considerably. Instead, my entries reinforced those goals as time passed. My view that politics should be a concern of the people is still intact, as well as my position not to exclude beliefs in my possible topics for discussion. Its nearly three years of existence is littered with announcements and (almost) silly entries but they add to the texture of the blog as a whole.

I do not see this reflection about the nature of my blog as a personal weakness; a flaw in my resolve to stick with I want to do. Instead I view this as an essential self-check if I what I am doing in this blog still pursues (at least) a coherent and logical pattern and not just a scribble wall (a virtual wall, that is). I laud those bloggers who I was able to make acquaintance of, for showing the strength to keep their blogs along the track of the topics they wanted. I have in fact felt great inspiration from those who have won awards for their blogs. They are just doing what they like and love to do and they are getting those things as bonuses.

Thus, I would remain true on the nature of this blog which characterized it since July 2007 – a personal blog. But then, the experience transcripts that shall appear here will, as the past entries have shown, relate to the fields (politics, science, philosophy, etc.) and events (i.e. current events, etc.) that I get to encounter in the course of my living. It is my belief that it is inevitable that we get to experience different things. I mean, I cannot possibly assume a ‘political attitude’ for that long without undergoing some changes in other aspects of my life. And I have seen that VM is a convenient place to describe those experiences and changes.

Readers/followers and comments would come now only as bonuses. What is essential is that we, all novice and established bloggers alike, are able to exercise that worn out phrase of ‘freedom of expression’.

Violent Mugs shall live on!