My OJT Experience - in a nutshell

Summer. Beaches. Vacation.

However, a vacation full of novels, mangas and animes is not possible this year. According to our BS Development Communication curriculum in UP Los Baños, we have to take our on-the-job training this summer. Back in March, I thought, “Goodbye fun summer; hello work”. Little did I know I was about to experience one of the best, if not the best, summer vacations I’ve had in my 18 years of existence.

Being a part of the Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA) Team of ANSA-EAP for more than one month has allowed me to experience things I never thought I would enjoy. On the first day of our internship, we were brought to a meeting for one of the pilot projects of CPA, the performance audit of the CAMANAVA Flood Control Project. There, we met COA directors, auditors, engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other CSO stakeholders from across the country, like the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG). Frankly, I was starstruck to see some of our government’s high ranking government officials. And as our internship progressed—after a series of meetings, seminars and workshops—the experience of working with the composite audit team is really unforgettable.

Being an enumerator for a day.
Photo taken May 29 during the Solid Waste Management Survey at Brgy. Commonwealth, Quezon City.

I also experienced fieldwork by accompanying survey enumerators as they interviewed the residents of Barangays Commonwealth, Kaligayahan and Tandang Sora in Quezon City to check the local government’s compliance in the Solid Waste Management Act. We get to meet the residents and talk to them. But the experience did not stop with that; we also got to experience processing survey data. It was my first time doing such a task, and I must say that I had a love-hate relationship with MS Excel during those weeks. I learned how to use pivot tables and conditional cell formatting, which was also an unforgettable experience, not to mention a newfound skill.

Moreover, I’ve had many realizations during my stay. In a nutshell, I can now confidently say that Development Communication is using communication to promote social change and to empower the people to drive their development. And its usual audience are found at the grassroots – the farmers, the fisherfolk, and the masses, as we call them. During my stay in ANSA–EAP, I’ve realized that DevCom is also applicable to the urban sector, not only in the rural areas. This became very apparent to me in CPA’s second pilot audit, where we conducted community scorecards and focus group discussions with conditional cash transfer beneficiaries and the local health service providers in Marikina. I’ve realized how important a dialogue is in finding solutions to problems that are there but are not always given due attention. I’ve also realized the importance of framing and reframing ideas in facilitating meetings; this skill really helps people understand each other better in constructive engagement exercises. Lastly, I realized, yet again, the importance of people participating in every process – from planning, to implementation, down to monitoring and evaluation of the activity. Indeed, participation makes people informed and proactive in bringing about positive change to their communities, which is a step towards developing the country.

I expected this summer to be full of work—and indeed, it was. However, it was work that I found I loved and enjoyed doing. I discovered my passion in working for an organization that is people-oriented. And even though it lasted only for a short while, working in ANSA-EAP gave me many valuable experiences and lessons that I will take with me as I return to the university as a student and later on, as a Development Communication practitioner.

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Just some Tumblr frustrations

Well, I have been literally spending hours in making these gifs. Making gifs is not hard actually, a little bit of Photoshop and you're done. The hardest part is uploading it to the social network and trying to maintain the quality.

Unfortunately, Tumblr has this rule that all gifs uploaded must be less than 1MB. Sigh. And the gif I made was over 2MB. Now, what? I've been trying for another couple of hours trying to make do with the gif, editing the hue and saturation, image size, adding a solid layer and other what-nots, all to lessen the image size. After all that's been said and done, I still get an error prompt. Seriously? I've edited the photo and made it around 300MB and it's still not working. Big sigh.

And Barney's really cute here that's why I really wanna share it to the whole wide networld.

Barney Stinson FTW. Really, How I Met Your Mother is love. (HIMYM S08 E06, Splitsville)

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Reflections: Interpersonal Communication

This article was originally a reflection paper submitted to Sir Wini Dagli, my instructor on DEVC70 (Interpersonal Communication) CDC, UPLB. 

DEVC70 taught me things I’ll never know otherwise. It taught me to appreciate things I have always taken for granted. It made me know more about myself.

I believe that knowing oneself first is very essential to the work as a development communicator. This is because, we need to be better persons – one that can communicate the message efficiently and effectively. With IC, my belief that I was a sanguine, a personality type that would be best described as the "talker" vanished. Now knowing that I’m choleric phlegmatic, or the "doer watcher", I can now do tasks with more ease because I know how to deal with them.

IC also taught me that in order to build good relationship with others, I must be at peace with myself first. After all, how would other person be able to understand me if even I don’t understand myself?

Moreover, my relationships with other people have also gotten better. After the Repertory Grid Analysis, I’ve dealt better with those persons carrying all the constructs I hate. Not that I don’t approach them at all, but I approach them with care, trying to keep an open mind about them, and listening intently to whatever they have to say.

Lastly, I believe IC helped me in my communication in small groups. Nonverbal cues are something all of us know without actually knowing that we ‘know’ it. But with DEVC70 emphasizing those attitudes that most of us do unconsciously, I can understand people better now. After all, message sent is composed of the verbal message accompanied by the non-verbal cues that may further support or contradict it. And adding the previous knowledge I’ve also learned about myself, I can be a better facilitator in these kinds of small group discussions.

Interpersonal Communication is the heart of Development Communication... after DEVC70, I think so too. IC is very much needed, because as Freire said, dialogue is the way for people to reach conscientization and the unfolding of their potentials.

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I believe

This is an activity for DEVC70. Getting a pen and a paper, and with an open-ended statement, "I believe..." write the first 20 things that would come into mind that would finish the sentence. You would be surprised to know the things you believed in, and the priority in which order you remembered them. Here's mine!

I believe...

...in the Lord God our savior.

...that people can do whatever they want as long as they don’t harm themselves or others.

...that women are equal to men. 

...that people can free themselves from sin, if they just sincerely repent.

...that people are hypocrites when they say “sorry” but plans to do the mistake again.

...that animals should be treated properly.

...that sooner or later, our water will run dry if we don’t do something about it.

...that women are more expressive in their emotions than men.

...that flowers and plants grow better if people talk and sing while watering them .

...that a girl will seek a boyfriend at a young age if she will not get that love from her father.

...that jokes are always half-meant.

...in the power of the subconscious mind.

...that people don’t need to study basic higher Mathematics (Trigonometry, Algebra, Calculus etc.), higher Science (Zoology, Botany, Taxonomy etc.) if they won’t enter in those disciplines in the future.

...that the environment plays a big role in the moral, social, cultural and formative development of a child.

...that flirting is a two-way process.

...that not all handsome men are really men.

...that one need not buy signature clothes if they are smart and creative enough to make a treasure out of Ukay-ukay stuffs.

...that education is investment.

...that people are naturally good.

...that trust, once broken, can never be returned to its original state.

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A fail attempt at Visual Design

As part of my major (Educational Communication), we are required to take DEVC141 (Visual Design and Techniques). And apparently, I'm not that gifted with the arts. My drawing skills are on par with an elementary student, and my photoshop design skills are somehow near average.

For a bonus exercise, we are tasked to do a logo challenge. I am to create a logo for Tito Ding (a staff in Devcom), and his business of selling kropek. 

And voila! 

Behold my output as a result of a futile attempt at designing, huhu. Now that I think about it, I made Tito Ding's face (yes, I stalked him on Facebook and downloaded his photo haha) look like KFC! LOL. And look at that prawn dangling on the letter P! Credits to the owner of that google image. Haha.

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Confession of a Shopaholic 1

This is not a book review.

This is a confession. A confession of a shopaholic.

Well, I really don't know if i should be called a "shopaholic". But then, I digress, if I cannot be called as a shopaholic, then what am I? Nevertheless, let me tell you my tale.

Ever since my boyfriend and I broke up, I have some extra money left. Though it's not that much. (Back then, that money was used for our every weekend dates. lol) So now, every time I go to a mall, I always, always bring out my ATM card (I always deposit my savings :D) and pay via BPI. Haaiist. CAll it impulse buying if you may, but I just really can't stop myself from buying... especially when I read these 4 dreadful letters: S-A-L-E.

So a while ago, my mom and I went to the mall to bring her laptop to claim its warranty services. Since it'll take time, my mom decided to go home and asked me to stay behind and wait. While waiting, I roam around and found myself at the department store. Without any further ado, I just noticed myself buying a pair of sandals and a tee. -_- Not only that. I also went to the grocery store and buy all those luxury toiletries I just bought. Not to mention I also bought an earring, necklace, anklet and a ring today.

It's not too much. Isn't it? Usually, "shopaholics" spend around more than a few thousands in just a single purchase. But I just spent around P1,300. Still, that's not the point. The point here is instead of saving, I always end up saving.

And frankly speaking, I'm scared. If this is how it's going to be... then I might not achieve what I want to achieve in the future. I will just be stuck in the middle of waiting and wanting, but in reality, there's no progress and the cycle repeats until I'm old and grey: saving a little, spending too much.

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In an Attempt to Make Him Happy

Poem written on Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 8:41pm

If I remember it correctly, my ex-boyfriend needs to pass 5 poems about certain topics. And on our conversation, he happened to have asked for my help. Being the willing victim girlfriend that wants to make her boyfriend happy, I obliged and wrote a poem about the topic "nature".

But to make the long story short, in the end, he did not use this. And thus, the irony is not lost on me: what a befitting title.

Forgotten and Forsaken

I have been walking endlessly

In this land full of misery

I hadn’t known the Earth would be

This lonely without any glee

I forced my eyes to see

What beauty has forsaken me

Rivers that are brown

Made my head go with a frown

Trees are cut mercilessly

By the machines effortlessly

I hear them crying saying no more

But the people just continued just like before

The love of Mother Earth has turned blue

Her sadness is felt without any clue

 Is this her revenge for everything we’ve done?

I wish time would return to do things undone

The hotness is felt by everyone in this place

The ice is melting leaving no trace

This indeed is global warming

That happened without any warning

Of course we deserved this

Since we’re occupied with our own bliss

Being very happy, you and me

Forsaking nature by means of technology

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