sociopolitics – BRYOLOGUE

Why I abandoned social media

October 1, 2014bryologue 1 Comment

As usual, I am typing things through a stream of consciousness. I would have wanted to be more structured with how my points are presented on this ‘radical’ move, but most of my entries trying to make a strong point are done as an internal monologue anyway, thus the name ‘bryologue‘. What prompted me to totally quit Facebook? A more direct answer might have been exasperation with the general public, but I have this perfect opportunity to elaborate on the motivation.

First of all, I did not have an Instagram account, not until four weeks ago. I am still using a BlackBerry phone, and as we know, it does not have a native Instagram application. I got really curious with all the brouhaha on the likes and hashtags, and it seems that it is a prerequisite for people around my age to have one. I might be missing out on something. I have a no-name Android tablet my father gave me a year ago when he went home, which I primarily use for reading Ebooks. The 4 gigabyte memory card capacity was rife with PDFs and Epubs. I am ashamed to say this, but I finally gave in and created an Instagram account just to get over the curiosity of why people are crazy about it.

Albert Camus’s “L’Etranger” realized on Lego pieces

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Turn the lights on!

November 6, 2013bryologue 1 Comment

So, today marks 5Y2M and we had a perfect excuse to finally watch Thor: The Dark World ! We booked our seats online but I just realized upon claiming the tickets that there was no need to reserve them. It was senior citizen day and we were queueing next to excited elderlies who were either watching Thor with us, or a Filipino horror movie. I just felt bad for the unnecessary Php 40 admin fees we paid.

Before the movie played, I was not too crazy over the new Captain America trailer. It was too ‘boys night out’ and not enough fantasy for my liking. As for the movie itself, I was so happy that Kat Dennings got too have more screentime than the first installment. I have always loved her in Two Broke Girls and I also recently watched the ‘Hot Child in the City‘ episode of SATC, where she was this filthy-mouthed adoloscent schooling Samantha. I have always loved Natalie Portman but Kat Dennings stole the show with her comedic timing and sarcasm. There was also the usual gratuitous scene of Thor for the girls and the girls-at-heart, and lots of smashing of extraterrestials. Anyway, it was an awesome movie, thanks in large part to the right humorous parts inserted here and there. I knew I would be laughing while watching this movie because the first movie pretty much made me expect it. I can’t comment on the length because it was almost the same as the other MARVEL movies, but several of the people who watched with us clearly dozed off. Bless them.

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Mindanao Mission – Day 6: Around Lake Lanao

July 6, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

Who would have thought that we are already on our sixth day here in Mindanao? =) I was really nervous and excited to be visiting Marawi City, given the context of the place explained to us. However, I was looking forward to see our colleagues in our field office that even the power interruption during the discussion and presentation did not prevent us from having a lively atmosphere to exchange ideas.

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Mindanao Mission – Day 5: Travelling Northward

July 5, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

For today, we just had to do interviews and shoot clips of our colleagues in Cotabato City — it was the same thing we had done in our Davao City office. It was an overcast day and I had a great time taking B rolls of the environment, especially the mosque next to our office. =) I did not realize there was one, not until I went to the rooftop and saw the familiar structure. Thanks to the timer function, I was able to get several shots of myself with the mosque, while Rob was conducting the interview.

Again, like what I’ve been telling the group I was with, it was really nice to see our colleagues in person, and put faces on names we just see on emails. They were the most welcoming bunch, and I had the highest respect to all of them working in the field.

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Mindanao Mission – Day 3: Not so slow day

July 3, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

Housemates Dormitel was just a hop, skip and a pirouette away from our Sub-Office in Davao, so it was a surprise that we had to drive that short distance. =P We conducted two interviews with our colleagues, but the most tiring one was the short clips of everyone working in Davao. Rob and I had an idea of splicing several shots of our colleagues, but I can only imagine how bloody the editing job could be. Anyway, I will definitely be up for it, and I am still thankful that I get to do these things and have a creative outlet on a paying job. =D

I brought two pair of Red Wing boots with me, but I did not have a chance to use the brown 8875s. It was a pity but I guess it would have been severely abused from all the terrain mishaps that has been happening to us. I was trying to get B rolls from every place as I can, with my humble camera and I was hoping that my shaky hand would not make these clips unusable. I know that I should have bought a portable, mini-tripod to make my life easier, but alas, I was too stingy at that inconvenient time.

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Mindanao Mission – Day 2: Off to the east!

July 2, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

Coming from our stressful day yesterday, it was a relief to finally lie down and sleep in a comfortable bed. We had to wake up everyday around 6:00 AM because we should follow our itinerary as much as we can. We went straight to our field office in Trento, Agusan del Sur to conduct to interviews with our colleague, to get a sense of what they exactly do in the field. We then drove for approximately three hours to visit a barangay in Cateel, Davao Oriental. The coastal areas of Davao Oriental, particularly Boston, Baganga and Cateel were severely devastated by Typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha) in December 2012. These towns were affected most especially by storm surges brought about by strong winds, enough to destroy some infrastructure and houses in their respective communities. As you can see from the photos below, the people of Barangay Maglahus in Cateel, Davao Oriental had to cross the river using a boat. There used to be a hanging bridge connecting the two areas, but it was sadly destroyed during the typhoon. We were lucky to be there when there was no rain, because apparently, it has been raining for about a week before we got there. Can you just imagine how strong the water current could get and how perilous it would be for the people and children to cross the river?

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Mindanao Mission – Day 1: Hello Mindanao!

July 1, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

My colleagues and I were supposed to meet at exactly 1:00 AM in NAIA Terminal 3. I had to drop by the apartment in Makati to pack my things, but as I had to do chores before doing so, Mon and I found ourselves in Pasay, then to Glorietta, and back to Pasay just to pick up my office laptop. I did my best to pack only the essentials, but as we will be moving from one place to another within a day, I had to bring as many shirts as possible. I also decided to finally buy a new luggage from SM for about Php 1,700 and hopefully it will hold up well.

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Preparing for a week in Mindanao!

June 28, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

Say hello to a new day! I have brought along almost all shortsleeves polo with me but I don’t remember wearing one since bringing them. As it is almost raining the whole week, the prospect of sweating profusely has significantly reduced. Another colorblind moment, though, as I thought this was a white polo with gray stripes, but apparently, it was pink in some other color. Oh well. I would never know about it not until I commented that Mon and I were both wearing white polos and looked like high school students. I was evidently wrong.

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Today is World Refugee Day!

June 20, 2013bryologue 1 Comment

My colleagues, especially Robyn, have been working very hard for the past few weeks for the event organized with UNHCR and the Department of Justice. June 20 marks “World Refugee Day” and our NGO has put up an exhibit of artworks done by refugees near the fountain in Shangri-la Mall . It was my first event and I even had to borrow Mon’s blazer because I realized I had none. LOL I have a barong from my graduation rites two months ago, but that would have been too formal for something that requires smart casual.

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A morning with Cheche

June 11, 2013bryologue Leave a Comment

Waking up at 6:00 AM was very worth it! On my second day of work, we were informed that we will be having a meeting/consultation with Ms. Cheche Lazaro on Tuesday the following week.

Honestly, it was a task to conceal my excitement upon hearing the news because I am a BIG fan of Ms. Lazaro. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of our NGO, and she is also the Public Relations Officer and Chairman of the Communications Committee — which was not a surprise at all.

Growing up in the Philippines, television plays a big part of our lives; but it was also quite difficult to find programs that bring quality content. And this is where Ms. Cheche came in, along with other esteemed journalists — to pioneer investigative journalism in the country through Probe and expose several issues in the society, which are often misrepresented or even overlooked by mainstream media.

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