Teacher's pride

One of my high school teachers left a comment on a blog post recently. I didn't understand why. Until I read the Pathways blog today.

In college, I was part of a summer instructional program called Alay ni Ignacio for three years: two as an English Literature teacher and one as a student activities volunteer. ANI was run by Atenean volunteers. We taught exceptional students from public high schools to prepare them for college and to give them confidence to enter the best schools. Find out more in this video.

During the schoolyear, the students would be under Pathways to Higher Education, also initiated by Harvey Keh. Of course the students were already doing well academically to begin with, but both programs aim to familiarize them with the university setting and to ensure that they become well-rounded and spiritually grounded individuals.

Through the Pathways blog, I found out that two of my "kids", Lorimae and Michelle, graduated last year. There was a bumper crop of graduates this year, including nine with honors--four of whom were in my classes. To Cris, Suzette, Rowena and Jo-Anne: I'm proud of you and I know you will go a long way.*beaming*

Warm up

Preparing to paint. Last week's output:

Three red buildings

Or at least they used to be red. And only three. When I bought these 4" by 5" canvases, I thought they would make nice presents. But they work better as a set. My initial plan was to make them look pop art-y. I probably chose the wrong medium.

Palette leftovers (unfinished)

Literally the paint left on the palette. I suspect this will look very different once it's finished.

Sketches

Based on my photos, using a Mongol #1. I don't know why I put up with it.

Tagging along with Mrs. Contractor

In a parallel universe, my mom is a no-nonsense building contractor. True Value, Handyman, Ace Hardware and Home Depot are her favorite haunts.

Universal McCann International Social Media Research Wave 3

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Media@LSE blog raises some issues about the findings, but I must say the results are still interesting. According to Wave 3 of UM's Social Media Research, 90.3% of active Internet users in the Philippines have read a blog, second only to South Korea among 31 countries. The March 2008 figure is a big leap from 33% in September 2006 and 64% in June 2007. However, few read blogs compared to the total population aged 16 to 54. Even if 65.8% have tried starting a blog, that's still a small number because the size of our online population. We're unsurprisingly tops when it comes to belonging to a social network (83.1%), sharing photos (86.4%) and watching video clips (98.6%). We're second to Brazil in terms of uploading videos as percentage of the online population. But again, putting things in perspective, we lag when the big picture is in focus.

Office phase

The secret lives of office stuff.

Unproblematic tensions

exhibit a at the gallery of the College of St. Benilde School of Design and Arts "roots out notions of the contemporary in recent works" by 11 artists.

This laudable initial effort offers proof that the local can be global. Personal
favorites are the sayas over a colored background, Tony Perez's paintings of the Cubao MRT station (one of my hubs as a commuter), the clipboards on the wall, and the poetic lines on the floor. It's like being in Hoxton again.

However, other ways of displaying works could still be explored and pieces should be placed much higher than eye level only when there is enough space for the viewer to move back.

That the aircon was not working because we were the only visitors that Saturday afternoon diminished the impact of the experience and I felt like nitpicking about the tarpaulin. You'd expect contemporary design to neatly tack hangings such that the corners are flat on wall.


The building is another story in itself. CSB-SDA is a forward-looking structure in an area of Manila stuck in a time rut. But that's its new world charm. White walls and high ceilings give artists that openness and light that the shadow of the LRT robs from the main campus. The lack of sidewalks on Vito Cruz still bothers me. Then again, designers and artists could also be inspired by the flaws and quirks of their environment.

Barrio siesta

I got pulled into a three-and-a-half hour meeting I had nothing to do with. In a restaurant. And I was tired and sleepy. Pinned in a tight corner and with little to shoot, here's what I came up with.

Thai today

Thai eatery Jatujak, much like the Bangkok market it is named after, is all about good finds at a good price. With contemporary interiors matched with Thai accents, the top 40 hits in the background are not out of place. The Pad Thai and Sate are reliable favorites. A vegetarian selection is available, as are spices on your table. Every dish is sure to be flavorful.