the real "dagat ng basura"

ever since Miss You Like Crazy came out, my friends and i have been planning to take the Pasig River Ferry. it didn't even matter to us where the destination was -- we just wanted to experience it (after all, john lloyd did extol its virtues in a conversation with his movie gf).

one weekend, we decided to make a go for it. we had planned on doing a binondo food trip and figured, this would be a good time as any to try getting from one end of the metro to the other through the famed pasig river.

we parked at the tiny parking area (3 cars maximum on one side, not sure if there was parking on the other side) and made it just in time for the 11:07 a.m. trip. it was important that we made it on time -- the next trip was two hours later.

we thought guadalupe would be our best bet - it was accessible to all of us and, having passed by EDSA-guadalupe countless of times, we knew exactly where it was.

i think we had braced ourselves against the smell -- after all, we knew that this was Pasig River and the experience was not going to be anywhere near the Loboc River Cruise. What we hadn't prepared ourselves for was the amount of garbage that we'd see in the hour-long trip.

in fact, even the "famous" lambingan station (we made sure to take pictures of the station although we didn't exactly know where we'd end up had we gotten off this station) was not spared from the trash.

it was, however, good to note that there were areas that were pretty clean. the part of pasig along rockwell, as well as the area near malacanang were almost garbage-free.

i guess the government's efforts to clean up the river are *somewhat* working.

still, with areas *this* thick with garbage, you can't help but regret all those times you took out jolly spaghetti and didn't think twice about where the styro packaging was going to end up in. apparently, some of them end up in pasig river. (note to self: avoid take-out as much as possible beginning today)

still, it was an experience that i did not regret having. after all, how many times have i seen the post office from the other side?

this side, IMHO, is a much, much better view.

the trip was about an hour long -- longer than if we drove from guadalupe to binondo on a weekend (yep. our friends who missed the ferry got to binondo way ahead of us). still, i think having taken the ferry -- which deposited us right at binondo -- made the experience even more memorable had we taken more convenient routes (i.e. car, mrt/lrt, fx).

now, i would have loved to write about the food trip, except that we ended up REALLY hungry already and by the time we thought of whipping out our cameras, everything on our plates were gone.

now reading: shadow of doubt by marites vitug

after having bought the book on a whim (not exactly cheap at P475 for the paperback and with newsprint paper at that) yesterday afternoon, i started reading the book almost immediately, even if i did get home at almost midnight. an 8am meeting notwithstanding, i knew i couldn't really if i put off starting the book i had heard so much about. the lawyer i had a meeting with yesterday afternoon mentioned how it was a pretty good read, informative, and -- said to say this was really that piqued my curiosity -- no longer available at national bookstore because of the stuff contained therein. clearly, this was more exciting than any of the books i had stashed at home (all costing anywhere from 15 to 30 pesos each, and therefore, containing stories that were, well, that poorly-written too.) and so when i *luckily* found myself having coffee with a client across from popular bookstore in morato, the only place that allegedly still had copies to sell, i bought almost without thinking.

i'm on page 75 now (i had to sleep and i had the aforementioned 8 am meeting) and so far, nothing major yet. i guess it's a big deal that i did work for the court of appeals for almost 3 years after graduation from law school. the things i've read i more or less knew, and those parts which may have intended to shock ("really, that's how they do it there?") seemed to me things which i took for granted as part of the job. then again, maybe that is what Vitug wanted to point out -- some of us have been so desensitized that the things which weren't really normal had become just that to those who called the judiciary their home.

am i upset over the fact that the justices spent millions of pesos on draperies? yes, but that feeling is tempered with the knowledge that our government offices are so dilapidated that one would more often than not choose to take the stairs than be stuck in a rickety old elevator.

am i upset over the salaries that justices decided is due them? yes, but i also know partners in law firms earn so much more.

bits and pieces (like how Davide was caught up in the tide that he decided to proclaim GMA as president instead of acting president), admittedly, make me pause and think. and that's good. one has to think. i like how certain insights, inside stories, and profiles (there was one regarding Gibo's participation in the impeachment of Davide over the JDF controversy) help me understand certain news stories that happened in the (recent and not so recent) past. it's a good read -- partly for entertainment (and possibly to satiate a curiosity) and partly for personal growth as a member of the legal system.

i've got a whole lot more of pages to go and i've no doubt that by tomorrow or by the weekend (when i finally finish the book) my opinions and insights will still be subject to change. a couple of thoughts though from someone who's just on page 75:

1. the mystery, i believe, isn't just cause it's the supreme court. it's simply because it involves lawyers and lawyers love mystery. i mean, unlike other professions, save for barkers, our job is largely dependent on laway (or on paper, pen, and ink). we ARE made of talk (of course largely supplemented by brain power which is, ideally, supposed to put muscle behind all that talk). unless we are more reserved with our words (hello, client confidentiality), we expose ourselves to a whole lot of problems (hello, ruben t. reyes)

2. there isn't anything really wrong with confidentiality. while it IS another thing to hide things under the carpet, would you really want to know how deliberations are? would you even be interested? you've seen congress at work, right? and, save for the few exciting episodes, it was mainly boring. lastly, i'm willing to bet that if those from the legislative and the executive branches of government weren't dependent on votes and popular opinion to get them into position, i doubt they'd be as forthcoming either.

this weekend i plan to finish the book. and hopefully, read it a second time -- more leisurely, more analytically, with less personal bias and with greater detachment. truly, the words that i've typed out in the space of half an hour don't really (intelligently) encapsulate what i'd probably feel about the book after all is said and done. but for now, this is as candid as i can be and all i can say is -- from page 75 -- i don't get what the big deal is all about.

*edit: read a couple of pages during lunch. part 2 is much better, highlighting how the SC is an exclusive club. that's more like it.

*image from http://samcasuncad.i.ph/photo/15/85

the heat, the heat

after i finished my lecture saturday afternoon at around 5pm, i realized it was still too hot out to drive so i stuck around my office playing a game. when it got too hot in the office - no aircon on weekends - i said, okay it's time to head home. but since i was intent on spending sunday at home and all i had in my ref was iced tea, i decided a trip to phase 1 was in order.

first stop was robinsons in bf. i love the fact that it has lighted parking, not too many parking boys "fake guiding" you into a slot, and that its food court has free wifi that actually works (for some reason, i've never been able to access wifi in any robinson's mall. boo.) i avoided the appliance center like the plague (no more impulse purchases beyond 500pesos!) and checked out whether there's new stuff over that the toy and bag sale (i'm doing my christmas shopping early!). and it since it was still a bit early, i hied of to the main reason why i was in the area: dvd shopping in ruins.

oh, it was love. my old suki apparently went back to mindanao (according the guy who used to pinch hit for her) and the store is no longer there (the stall is now selling fake handbags) so i scoured the place for a nice looking tindera who wasn't shouting at me (and the entire universe) to buy dvds from her. when i found one, i started my search for stuff that would keep me company the rest of the weekend. a couple of hundred bucks later (and half an hour recalling what stuff i had and stuff i didn't have yet) i went home with iron chef america (i didn't know they had this on dvd), project runway, big bang theory season 3, grey's anatomy, avatar, sherlock holmes, and it's complicated.

having gotten my stash, i went back to robinson's to grab a quick dinner, a whole lot of snacks for my dvd marathon, and rushed home. my weekend in bed was about to begin.

except that i ended up falling asleep. i guess i was THAT tired.

and while i woke up early the following morning, i kept falling back to sleep.

and when i finally woke up, boo, it was too hot to spend the entire day at home. i had just gotten the meralco bill the night before and no way was i going to spend any more money than i have to on electric bills.

so i had to come up with a list of things to do to "make palamig"

1. i went to the parlor to get my roots done.

2. i went to another place to get a facial.

3. i went to another parlor to get my nails done.

4. when a friend texted about a play at Insular Life being done by the people from theater down south, i immediately said yes without even asking about the ticket price. culture + aircon = winner.

5. we ate at charbroiled burgers.

6. we went to mass and made sure we sat where the electric fan was on full blast and where there was not a whole lot of people. strategy, people, strategy.

7. we went to get a couple of drinks where we made sure to sit where the fans where and, surprise, surprise, where there was not a whole lot of people.

it was 10pm when i got home, and the house, after an entire day of pretending to be an oven, had sufficiently cooled down.

so, so much for my dvd marathon. so much for my weekend in bed. right now, it feels like i haven't gotten as much rest as i would've wanted from my weekend, but phooey, i know for a fact that if i did stay at home, i would've melted beyond recognition.

are they the future of the world?

i graduated from college in 1998, a long, long time ago. i remember that during my freshman year, i submitted papers using my portable typewriter since i didn't get a computer until my sophomore year. and even then, when i needed to research something, i remember having to go to the library, and actually use the card catalogue. needless to say, while we had the internet then, it was slow and it didn't have as much stuff as it did now.

enrollment meant waking up at five p.m. and waiting outside the classroom door that will enlist you for that much-coveted subject (hello GE subjects and PE!). and since we didn't have cellphones and text messaging yet, if you end up getting the wrong schedule, or not getting the schedule at all, on the scheduled days of enrollment, well, then good luck in getting in through pre-rog.

despite all these "challenges", i graduated from college. true, it was painless, but at the same time, it didn't kill me. it didn't even send me running to the college secretary's office in despair. on the contrary, i remember that in my last semester of college, i had to go head-to-head with one of my favorite teachers since she wouldn't allow me to take an additional subject (so that i could finish the coursework in time for graduation) because she felt that with practicum, i would not be able to hack it. i teamed up with the college secretary (oh, robinson soria, you were, and still is, the best college secretary, IMHO) and fought favorite teacher's committee, citing this university policy and what not, just so i can enroll.

after graduation, i was invited to teach in this university and while the school's name has been much maligned in UP (i remember friends pointing out it sounded like a beauty contest title), i didn't hesitate to join the university's faculty. and in the six years i taught there, i met some of the greatest students in the world. there was this student who was on full scholarship and submitted handwritten papers since she didn't have a computer. she'd apologize to me for not complying with the requirements but i didn't mind. she was bright, and she put in a looooot of effort. she was good. one of her classmates apparently hated me with a passion cause i was so hard on them, but the following semester, the same student approached me to apologize (albeit indirectly) and told me how she was glad i forced them to do the stuff i made them do cause she knew stuff her other classmates didn't.

a lot of times, i pushed the students to their limits, and the best students pushed back. some students were really brilliant, and it made the drudgery of checking papers worth it. i was proud when i heard about one student making it to UP Law, and a couple of them putting up their own schools. so many have gone on, in such a short time, to be much greater than i am today, and i can't help but be proud of the small part i played in their growth as individuals.

i therefore cannot help but be disappointed when it seemed that year after year, the students i'd get in my classroom "deteriorated" in quality. the first couple of batches rose to the occasion, the subsequent batches went up to the dean to complain. when we challenged them to do something, they challenged us with administrative complaints.

this summer, i'm teaching another course in the university. and guess what, one day after i handed out the reading assignments, the college secretary called me saying the students were complaining since i gave them 9 cases to read.

did i not know that the students had other courses for that summer?

are these cases necessary?

i wanted to tell her, hey, i have a full time job and i have to read those cases too. hey, i don't only have to read those cases, i have to prepare questions so that i can draw out the learning i want from the students. hey, unless the read, i'll end up making them memorize concepts only and where's the learning there. hey, SINCE WHEN DID ACADEMIC FREEDOM MEAN YOU INTERFERING WITH MY SYLLABUS SINCE STUDENTS FOUND IT TOO DIFFICULT?

i restrained myself, and explained that (1) yes they're all necessary (2) i even taught them how to read cases and made a sample digest for them (3) they were given 48 hours to read these cases and (4) its the same as last year's caseload.

i don't know what's going to happen. allegedly 5 or so kids are dropping out cause it's too difficult (good luck, i'll be the teacher again next year and who knows if i'll be even tougher then). i don't know if the dean will have to talk to me about it (uhm, maybe i should fire off an email just to be sure to explain my side).

but there's one thing i do know: i hope that between the time the students complained and the time they make it out to the real world, some big change happens. otherwise, we'd be sending out half-baked children into the real world where there won't be any "dean" to make life easier for them.

*image from www.artsjournal.com

if i haven't been around much ...

... blame top chef season 6. because save for the stuff that i really had to do (lecture, mass, laundry, and eat), the only other thing i did over the weekend was to watch season 6 non-stop.

friday night i went home early from a fellowship activity -- of course it was primarily because i had an 8am lecture the following day, but since the minute i got home i basically just started watching top chef and only stopped at 1am when i couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, the reason why i skipped out early became a shameless lie. that night, an eight-hour lecture aside, i stayed up until i finished all the episodes of season 6, and when i finished with that, i started watching season 5.

boo to me. i've turned into a couch potato.