These are thoughts that come to me when I first heard, with disbelief and sadness, of the suicide of a teaching assistant of the Ateneo de Manila's Department of Philosophy.
Lorenz Tan, who would have been a Philosophy teacher, could not have chosen a more philosophical way to die. Socrates drank hemlock. He locked himself in one of the rooms of the Philosophy Department, burnt paper and charcoal and allowed the fumes to gas him to death.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Demo Teaching [Theo Dept]
| Start: | May 26, '08 09:00a |
| End: | May 26, '08 10:00a |
| Location: | Theo Dept, AdMU |
Annual Retreat
| Start: | May 17, '08 |
| End: | May 25, '08 |
| Location: | Mirador Villa, Baguio City |
I'll be offline for the next 8 days. I'll be back in Manila on the 26th.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Another Photo gets published!
screen grab
Although I didn't win this time, one of my photos got published again (as one of the favorites) in Bangkok Post (May 15, 2008 issue).
The screen grab was taken from an online edition of the paper.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Photo Contest: Bangkok Post
I got a pleasant surprise today as i opened my email.
i haven't been checking the newspapers lately so i didn't know that my photo entry won last week's Thailand's Top Destinations photo contest.
The photo below was published in the Bangkok Post, Thailand's english Newspaper. i googled for an online edition of the newspaper and found a (really really small!) thumbnail of that april 24 issue. it's printed on the upper right side of the paper.
*update: the prize is a voucher for an overnight stay in Horseshoe Point Resort and Country Club, plus a round of golf or a lunch at Siam Country Club Pattaya Plantation.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Nightview from across the lake
parang theme park sa gabi yung wat jong kum-wat jong klam
better if you zoom in.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
bridge over the river pai
last weekend, lin yaw, khui shing and i went to the long bridge that spans the Pai river. Beneath the bridge were huts that you can rent for 50 baht. Since the weather was peaking in the 40s last week, we decided to cool off in the river. We ordered bbq and Chang beer, and swam in the clean shallow waters. The riverbed was soft and sandy.
We enjoyed it very much that we went back the following day. We had prepared a dinner of chili soybeans and egg and curried meat, so that we only spent for Leo beer =)
Friday, April 25, 2008
Jub Jub: Action Song for Next Monday's Class
Yes, it's Thai bubblegum pop, and it's heavily playing on my "Daily Commute" playlist. I first heard this song during the Songkran festival in Chiang Mai. Of course, no one plays this music without doing the jub-jub dance. hehe. After teaching my english class how to sing and dance the hokey-pokey, I'll be teaching them this song/dance next week. i can't wait! hehehe.
um. detour. My Name is Longneck Ghost
clowning around with some of the longneck karen (Padaung) villagers in nai soi. they were very friendly.
we visited them after work hours. i tried on the neck rings and the ivory tusks, and one of them called me "LongNeck Ghost" in burmese.
thanks to khui shing for taking my pictures. hehe. i just couldn't resist being in front of the camera this time.
usual sight in the camp part2
some of the teachers and subject coordinators of the Karenni Education Department (KnED) inside Camp 1
Baan Mai Nai Soi, Mae Hong Son
Wat Jong Kum-Wat Jong Klang
Buddhist temple/monastery near the Lake Jong Kum in Mae Hong Son (taken late in the afternoon)
The area around the lake is a conducive place for strolling and eating out. There are several food stalls that you can choose from. Once you've ordered, you can choose to sit on the straw mats and eat on low tables set-up beside the lake. The area is usually breezy, and while eating, you can hear the banyan leaf bells from the top of the chedis, and the chirping birds (they can be quite noisy) perched on the mini-pagoda in the middle of the lake.
zoom in.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Scenes from the nai soi refugee camp
Some shots taken during my first day at the refugee camp in Nai Soi, which is about an hour's drive from the jesuit refugee service office in mae hong son.
The children are Karenni. They are war refugees from Karenni State in Myanmar.
Wat Phra That Doi Kong Moo
The buddhist temple overlooking Mae Hong Son. Because of its proximity to Myanmar, its architecture exhibits Burmese influences. I don't know how that translates architecturally though, since I've never been to Burma. hehe.
Doi Kong Moo is just a 5-minute motorbike ride from Khunlum Praphat Road, the main road in MHS city.
Zoom in.
LongNeck Ghost
yun yung tawag nung mga longneck karen sa akin. dumaan kami sa village nila kanina after work. nagkwento-kwento tapos nagpapicture ako with the brass ring. hahaha.
Food Hunting Around the Lake
sweating because of the heat!!! photo taken by khui shing
after browsing through a beginner's book on Thai, i tested my knowledge of numbers and haggling on the streetfood vendors around the lake.
me: sawatdee khrap!
vendor: sawatdee kha.. and the manang goes on babbling in thai which i do not understand...
me: nii a-rai? (pointing to a food that looks like pansit bihon)
vendor: the manang bursts out some word i can't figure out again..
me: ah.. (feigning understanding) ra ka thaoraai?
vendor: sip baht. (which i understand as 10 baht)
me: khrap. sawng.
vendor: ok, yee-sip baht (that's 20 baht, and she goes on to speak in thai again and hands over the pansit bihon)
me: khawpkhun khrap.
vendor: khawpkhun kha.
SUCCESS!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
On the Road to Mae Hong Son
women from the Lisu tribe, I think
Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son via highway 1095.
We left CM at 645am, and arrived in MHS at 1215nn. Highway 1095 is a very scenic road. The long and winding route takes you up and down and around the mountain ranges of northern thailand. If you've ever taken Halsema Highway (Baguio-Sagada), then you'd more or less get an idea of what the scenery would feel like.
The whole highway is part of what is known as the Mae Hong Son Loop. There are two main highways, 1095 and 108, and they cover most of the scenic towns of Mae Hong Son province.
goodbye chiang mai
On the last night of songkran, Fr. Vinai took us out for dinner. Most of the scholastics were at the back of the pickup truck, and during songkran, that meant that you were ready to join the water splashing. we went around the main streets of chiang mai, and we were shouting "satnan!"--and as if on cue, the people on the streets or on other pickup trucks would throw water on us. we arrived at the restaurant all drenched and famished.
The Chedi of Doi Suthep
more details from wat phra that doi suthep, chiang mai.
zoom in for a better view.
Inner Sanctum
details from the inner courtyard of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai
zoom in for a better view
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Dragon Stairs of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Two dragons (each with three more dragonheads coming out of their mouth) guard the 309 steps going up to the temple on Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Lakbayan: from Fr. Danny Huang's site
I saw this first posted on Fr. Danny's site. I decided to take the test too =)
My Lakbayan grade is B!
How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.Songkran 2008, Day 2: Chiang Mai [Random Pics]
**here you go, no more time to sort out the pictures, guys. I'll be posting the portraits separately. Just grab them!
According to the Thais, Chiang Mai is the place to go for the Songkran Festival. They are definitely right! =)
Expect to get really drenched! We walked all the way from 7 fountains because traffic was quite heavy going to the epicenter of the festival.
The Thais really know how to celebrate! Talk about ice-cold water, water guns, foam party, bands, dancing, and friendly party people!
Seven Fountains, Chiang Mai
The Jesuit-run Retreat Facility in Chiang Mai, located along Huay Kaew Road. It was named as such because there used to be seven springs in the present site. Strolling around the place, I couldn't find a single spring however.
**note on the begging bowls:
Scattered evenly as decorative pieces around the chapel, these bowls are the same ones being used by the Buddhist monks for begging.
zoom in for a better view.
Bus Trip to Chiang Mai
The land trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai took us 9 hours and 30 minutes. We left at 830pm and arrived at 6am the next day. We rode in those double decker buses that ply the Bangkok to the neighboring cities/provinces routes. The road to Chiang Mai is really well-paved, and considering the distance it covers (about 700 kilometers from Bangkok!), I can only sigh when I think about how a 10-hour ride can only take me as far as Banaue (which is about 333 kilometers).
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Anu Saowari Chai Somaraphum
also known as Victory Monument.
The Jesuit House in Thailand is located near this landmark.
Xavier Hall Jesuits
Jesuits of Xavier Hall in Thailand.
A group of parishioners celebrated Songkran with the community of Xavier Hall.
Architectural Details. Xavier Hall Church
Xavier Hall 43 Soi Rajavithi 12, Victory Monument, Phaya Tai, Bangkok, Thailand
Objet d'art
Some of the interesting pieces i found in artist Joey Velasco's home.
zoom in for a better view.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Foreign Mission Exposure
| Start: | Apr 11, '08 |
| End: | May 10, '08 |
| Location: | Thailand. |
Jesuit Province Villa
| Start: | Mar 30, '08 11:00p |
| End: | Apr 6, '08 |
| Location: | Baguio City |
R&R @ Mirador House, Baguio City
Things to do during villa:
A) Finish "God of War 2"!!
B) Sleep.
C) Bond with friends.
D) Watch more art films.
E) Red Dog.
F) Stroll.
G) Get a massage.
H) Win in one of the Bingo games.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Life Academy Travel Retreat 2008, Banaue StopOver
20 March 2008, Banaue
* zoom in. full view recommernded (resized for 1024 x 768 resolution )
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
hell and the seven virtues
to jessica hagy: i'd love to have you as my religion teacher!!!
two segments off the top of my head..
AB: offering to apply sunblock
AF: kegel exercises
The Geometrics of Ethics
I wish I could have explained the seven deadly sins this way! 
Oh, and I had fun forming more line segments.
(thanks to Jessica Hagy's blog, Indexed.)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Grind
Does" busy"-ness speak of a life well lived?The millstone is a fascinating tool. I was eight when I first saw and tinkered with a real millstone. It was during a visit to my grandparents house in Ilo-ilo.
I remember being amazed at its smooth, solid feel. I kept exclaiming to myself at how it was stone-age cool! It was made of two huge circular stones, one on top of the other. It looked like a hamburger, with the upper stone containing a hole in the middle and a wooden handle near the rim.
My curiosity must have been so obvious that Lolo offered to show me how to use the gilingan. He scooped a salop of corn kernels from a nearby sack, and casually poured the corn right through the hole of the gilingan. With one hand, he cranked the wooden handle counterclockwise, intermittently pouring over the remaining corn with his other hand. I still remember that distinct grating sound.
If you've ever seen those Indiana Jones movies, you would have recognized the sound as that of a huge stone door being opened. Think of that and add the sharp cackle of crushed corn and you get an idea of what it sounded like.
The ground corn was then coming out from the gap between the upper and the base stone. In my amazement, I asked Lolo to lift the upper stone so I could examine how it worked. He laughed and then with a grunt, heaved the stone and laid it upside down. The interior part had crude grooves and as I ran my fingers through it, I winced at the thought of having my digits ground by it.
Whoever coined the term, daily grind, must have seen how millstones work. Aside from that, he must have been quite in touch with reality, acutely aware of how daily life feels. He might have felt reality's weight and pressure grinding him down. Like how it is for the rest of us, schedules and responsibilities can often become millstones, with you being caught right in between.
Somehow, that thought can also make me wince.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
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