I Am A Professional

I remember that debate that every department in the university is so crazy about, that “Who is the best and hardest department” debate.

Medical students would argue they are the ones who deserve the title because they save lives, Engineering students would argue that they are the ones because without them there would be no houses, buildings and gadget, Finance students would argue that they do because dealing with numbers is no joke, Communication students argue that without them there would be a chaotic world full misinformation, Law students would argue that it’s not a joke to defend and win a case and there are lots of other departments to mention but you know what is the common ground of every department?

WE WILL ALL END UP AS PROFESSIONALS

It’s not an argument as to who is the better department, but rather it’s an allegiance of consubstantial fields of life that aims for a better world. It’s working hand-in-hand and not overpowering or belittling each other.

We are not 8 year olds that fight over who has the better 92 Crayola crayon collection, we are young adults that are learning the essentials of life, we are on the road to becoming a professional. Why bother fighting within the vicinity that is molding us to be the best in our own fields? Why bother fighting for a non-existent title when bragging rights isn’t really that important?

Our fields of expertise deserve way beyond bragging rights; it needs professionals… smart professionals.

We chose the field; we learn the field and hope to excel in it. The debate that divides us and the lines that provokes it should be eradicated because those are petty little arguments does not help us improve.

Only the arrogant and small minded believes in arguments that only reward them with bragging rights.

We have great minds and we should partner it with good attitude.

I am a professional, you are a professional now let’s act like it.

The Conviction of Private First Class Joseph Pemberton

DISCLAIMER: This blog entry is a school requirement and is my take on the case of Joseph Pemberton vs. The Laude Family, know that I am not a law student but I have read news articles and watched news reports on this subject and have done my research on legal terms that was used in the reports and articles. This entry does not intend to offend or promulgate a negative of the Filipino people or the Armed Forces of the United States, again this is intended for academic purposes only. 

 

Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude is a transgender woman who was found dead on October 11, 2014 after meeting and checking in a motel with U.S. Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton. Pemberton left the motel room door ajar 30 minutes after checking in that led to the discovery Laude lifelessly hovering the toilet bowl by the motel staff. The cause of death was reported as “asphyxiation by drowning”

Last December 1, 2015, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton was pled guilty of homicide instead of murder by Olongapo Regional Trial Court and was sentenced to imprisonment of six to 12 years and ordered him to pay the Laude family P4.5 million for civil and moral damages and for funeral and wake expenses.

Now, Pemberton was convicted of homicide because the trial court said the prosecution failed to establish that the killing of Laude was premeditated and that there was no evidence to support abuse of superior strength on the part of Pemberton.

The court also found mitigating circumstances that led it to rule that the killing was a homicide due to Laude trying to keep his true gender from Pemberton. It added that Pemberton was also drunk and not in the right frame of mind when he committed the crime. (The Philippine Star)

I have read on the same article of The Philippine Star about defense lawyer Rowena Flores’ dissatisfaction of the result of the trial, she said “if only the court based its decision solely on evidence, then it should have been an acquittal. But we feared that because of the massive pressure on this case, the judge would give in,” which I totally support because Pemberton confessed to choking Laude and said that Laude was still breathing when he left her in the motel bathroom, knowing that he is still in service, in the military being a former cadet of the reserved forces of the Philippines, you can never lie especially when you are asked by a superior about something, honesty is the best policy.

It was also found that the DNA in the 2 used condoms and Laude’s neck did not match Pemberton’s. Now why be convicted by homicide if the evidence did not point to Pemberton? Actually the verdict was downgraded from murder to homicide, now what is the difference of both? Homicide is the killing of one person by another, Murder is a form of criminal homicide, the killing of another human being without justification or valid excuse, and it is especially the unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.

I think that the trial was a bit rushed considering that it did take a year to be solved; I saw this opinion in a blog post from getrealphilippines.com:

“How can there be justice when the majority see Ms. Laude as the victim and Mr. Pemberton is the victimizer even when it’s been said that Ms. Laude has a criminal record of her own that needs to be considered before jumping to conclusions?” – Grimwald

I agree with this and with the stresses of Atty. Rowena Flores, I have followed the case on television and I think that it was too sensationalized at some point because there were more important national issues to be reported than the “Hermanong Kasintahan ni Jennifer Laude hinimatay sa airport.” It actually went on for months and received too much airtime.

I hope that EDCA and/or the Visiting Forces Agreement will be discussed with the public to enlighten them upon their respective purposes and to better grasp the idea of why there is a need for the presence of foreign forces.

I support the presence because it is an asset to us that our forces are trained by first world countries that has experiences in fighting international war, I’m not belittling our force’s capabilities of defending ourselves because I am was part of it, I’m only stating that it is okay to receive help when it is offered, this is not a stain in our ego, if it is to you, I think you better think things over and read as much as you can and think OBJECTIVELY, set your emotions aside and let your mind paramount.

 

Definition of terms

EDCA or Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) is a 2014 agreement between the United States and the Philippines that seeks to bolster the U.S.–Philippine alliance.

Asphyxia

Due to aspiration of fluid into air-passages, caused by submersion in water or other fluid

 

 

The First And Last Time

I thought of the day that I will finally see and touch your face

The day to be around your arms to taste your warm embrace

The day that I will finally hear the words “I love you” come from your mouth

The day that I will finally get to look into your eyes to unlock your soul

But no

That is not the day how we first met

I met you when you were at a wedding reception near my school

It was your cousin that I saw first that made me come over to say hi

Then you suddenly emerged looking so hot on your tux that made me marble at you for a little bit

Until I saw her

She was wearing this magnificent gown that made her look like a queen

And that suited her because she was in the arms of a king

The arms of MY king

Then everything was so fast that I didn’t have time to dodge the bullet

And suddenly I was standing in front of you, looking at your face, your arms not around me, your mouth not verbalizing “I love you” but just the bullshit “Hey”

And when I looked into your eyes, in that moment I knew that I have lost you

Then the queen turned into a bitch that mouthed “Who’s this?”

Because that connection was so vivid and contained the words that we would never say but both understood

Then the duck turned into a bigger bitch that said “Hi! I’m now his ex-girlfriend and are you the next victim?” smiled then turned and walked away

The pain came rushing and stabbing through my heart and the tears were dangerously threatening to fall

And the question “how was I so stupid to trust and wait for him” was ringing through my ears

That after the first time that he broke me I was stupid enough to let him back in

But no more

Because I am not your option, I am not your side chick and I am not your fucking bitch

Nor am I gonna be your ex-girlfriend who hits you up drunk at 3 AM just to tell you what I should’ve said

I will never be the ex-girlfriend that cries all night long praying for you to get back to your senses and pick me instead of her

I will never be the ex-girlfriend that regrets letting you go

I will never send you a sexy picture to show you what you gave up because that is reserved for the one who truly matters, so thank you for showing me that it wasn’t you

I will never fall in love with you again because this is over, we are over

And  I’m not gonna pretend that it didn’t hurt because it did

But you know what, the first time was the worst and here I am standing like a masterpiece

Yes set your eyes on me because this is the last time that we will ever meet

And  let me say this for the first and last time

FUCK YOU for screwing me over….

And goodluck to the both of you

 

 

 

 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

How To Use Your iPhone 6 And Things You Didn’t Know You’re Earbuds Could Do

Buttons

• Sleep/Wake button

When you’re not using iPhone, press the Sleep/Wake button to lock iPhone. Locking iPhone puts

the display to sleep, saves the battery, and prevents anything from happening if you touch the

screen. You can still get phone calls, FaceTime calls, text messages, alarms, and notifications. You

can also listen to music and adjust the volume.

On iPhone 6, the Sleep/Wake button is on the right side

• Turn iPhone on. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.
• Unlock iPhone. Press either the Sleep/Wake or Home button, then drag the slider.
• Turn iPhone off. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the slider appears, then drag the slider.

 

• Home button

The Home button takes you to the Home screen and provides other convenient shortcuts. On the Home screen, tap any app to open it.

• See apps you’ve opened. Double-click the Home button when iPhone is unlocked.
• Use Siri or Voice Control. Press and hold the Home button.
• On the latest iPhone models there’s the Touch ID, you can use the sensor in the Home button to read your fingerprint, instead of using your passcode or Apple ID password to unlock iPhone or make purchases in the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store.
• You can also use the Home button to turn accessibility features on or off

 

• Volume controls

When you’re on the phone or listening to songs, movies, or other media, the buttons on the side of iPhone adjust the audio volume.

• The volume buttons also controls the volume for the ringer, alerts, and other sound effects.
• You can also use either volume button to take a picture or record a video.

 

• Ring/Silent switch

Flip the Ring/Silent switch to put iPhone in ring mode or silent mode

• Ring Silent In ring mode, iPhone plays all sounds.
• In silent mode, iPhone doesn’t ring or play alerts and other sound effects (but iPhone may still vibrate). Clock alarms, audio apps such as Music, and many games play sounds through the built-in speaker, even when iPhone is in silent mode.
• In some areas, the sound effects for Camera and Voice Memos are played, even if the Ring/Silent switch is set to silent.
• Use Do Not Disturb. You can also silence calls, alerts, and notifications using Do Not Disturb. Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to open Control Center, then tap

 

Tricks you iPhone earphone buttons can do:

1. If you press the center button once, you will play a song from your Music App
2. Press the middle button once more to pause the song
3. Press the center button twice in a row quickly to skip to the next song.
4. Press the center button three times in a row quickly to start the song over or go to the previous track.
5. Double click and hold the center button to fast forward through a song.
6. Triple click and hold on the last click on the center to rewind.
7. If you receive another call while currently in a call, press the center button once to switch to the next call while putting the previous caller on hold.
8. Otherwise hold the center button to skip the incoming call.
9. If you want to ignore a call and send it to voicemail, press and hold the center button.
10. To activate Siri, press and hold the center button
11. Press on either of the volume buttons to take a photo in the photo app.

 

 

*disclaimer this is a school requirement

images from Google Images

That “I’m about to graduate” Dilemma

It’s now 2 months and 10 days away from graduation and as each day passes by, the more and more I want to stay in school and HELL NO it’ not for the classes; but rather the freedom to control your time, the anticipation of seeing your friends and classmates every day, the baon we get from our parents because we have no other source of income, the comfort of knowing what to expect each day, the happiness when the deadline of the project has been moved because you guys made konchaba for the prof to move it kasi wala pa kayong nagagawa,  the countless junk food filled sleepovers because you guys have to finish lots of school work and T-H-E-S-I-S simultaneously, the confidence that your mistake will be acceptable because you’re still in the process of learning,the most awaited college fair because there are so many flavorful fooooooooooood selection that gets to touch your tastes buds other than the blunt cafeteria food and practically a huge load of others things.

But what is making me so nervous now is that with graduation day fast approaching I seem to sway away from my clear pathway to success, I’m prominently lost in the woods of uncertainty, longing and gray mountains I am stuck between being a dependent student to becoming a certified adult. How can I possibly go from the Junior student that is so sure of where she is going to this Senior who doesn’t want to leave school? Why is it that I was more confident and reluctant of the change when I was looking for a company to do my internship with. I think that maybe it was because I knew that the end of the 200-hours office confines Summer I would go back to school and finish one more year and here I am just a few more weeks away from the freedom from school that I was longing for since my Freshmen year and I find myself looking for job vacancies at potential employers and finding one that I like but not yet pressing that “Apply” button, why? Because I’m not yet ready for this change.

This change will be permanent.

Once you throw that hat up in the air, hugged and cried with your friends and bid them goodbye, see you soon and good luck that is the time where you need to take the next step whether you like it or not. A step to the foreign world that you had a glimpse of in the Summer that past year, the world you have absolutely no idea how to move to, the world that is so fast paced that if you don’t give yourself time to breathe you’d see your life just pass by, the world where you will be in the next 50 years or maybe even more, the world where there is no room for mistakes even when you just entered it, the world where everyone is trying to climb up that corporate ladder, has multiple masks and knives ready, the world that will soon be your reality.

 

 

 

image courtesy of Google Image