How am I as a listener...

How am I as a listener…? Some may say that it is just a simple question… But I cannot answer that easily. I’ve learned that there are certain kinds of listener. These are static, monotonous feedback giver, overly expressive, reader/writer, eye avoider, pre-occupied, waiting, and thought completing. Static seems like a no-reaction listener. I am not that kind. A monotonous feedback giver has same reactions to whatever he/she heard. I am also not that kind. An overly expressive is really expressive with his/her emotions that can sometimes be identified as exaggeration. I am sometimes like that especially when I am mad. I am really mad if I am mad. :) A reader/writer is a listener who writes everything. I don’t think that’s possible to write everything in full words not unless that person knew how to do short-hand writing. I don’t like to write so I am not that kind. An eye avoider is a person who avoids eye contact. I do practice eye contact with people but I am not good at it. Pre-occupied… Hmmmm… I don’t think I am a pre-occupied listener because if someone wanted to talk to me, I have to stop whatever I was doing to listen. If one sees me talking to somebody and I am doing another thing, I am not really listening. It just looks like it. One may think that I am actually listening but I am not. If I am doing both things at the same time, my focus is on what I am doing and not listening. :) Hehehehe…Waiting listeners are people who just wait for the cue that it’s their turn to speak. I am not like that because I don’t even like speaking especially in front of an audience.

Honestly, I am an attentive listener but I have low listening comprehension. Therefore I should think of ways on how to improve my listening comprehension.

September 22, 2007 Mts. Palay-Palay

We went to Mts. Palay-Palay last September 22, 2007. I think it is the last tree planting for this year. There were so many people and I saw many familiar faces. We also went last year for the launching but there are more people this year compared to last year. And also, this tree planting was the muddiest of all. But it was really fun and I am looking forward for more.

This is my group...

Sandy, Beryl, Marice

Going up...

resting... :)

approaching tree planting site...

cool hands!

DLSC volunteers... :)

hahaha.. :))

Guess...

This is a grassy place where there are lots of different weeds. It has many kinds of plants, trees, and flowers. Plants here are grouped according to their names. There are big holes nearby that are visited regularly at around 3 in the afternoon. There is also a big tree that gives shade to those who are tired. This is a good place where one can relax and have a moment with their selves. But not everybody knows this place. Some might not even know it exists. The way to this place can be muddy in an ordinary day. It will become watery muddy during a rainy day. This is a place where some have seen but don’t know what it is called.

Apple Eating

This is my Gourmet Apple when I haven't eaten it yet...


The wrapper was removed...


My apple with Gen's apple.


Genica is having a difficulty eating her apple.

I think I am enjoying eating my apple... :)

This is how our apples look after 1 hour.

We are planning to do this again... We just don't know when... Hehehe :)

Calamba escapade...

I went to Calamba this afternoon with Wawen, Yvan, Gen, Yvonne, and Marice. We left the school at around 1:45 pm. Our first destination was Bahay ni Maria. I was thinking that we will have a nice talk with the nuns because we plan on doing our outreach program there. Unfortunately, they did not welcome us there. They didn’t even open the screen door. They just talked to us from the inside and they don’t seem to be hospitable. We asked if we can schedule our outreach on October 28 and they even commented that it was not even soon. But when they checked their schedule, the whole October was already fully booked. We even asked if could have an advance schedule on November. They said that they can’t book us yet and told us to come back on November instead. They didn’t even give us some background about the street children aged people living there. And they said that they have no means of communications when we asked for their number so that we can just call instead of going there. They didn’t even asked if are we all students or what are our plans when we do the outreach. It really shows that they were not interested. We even said that we were referred by the Rotary Club of Laguna Technopark because they already did some outreach there. One thing that really pissed me off that time was when the nun told their caretaker to close the gate right after we said good bye. We have some back-talks because we went all the way there for nothing. They are the ones who will benefit and we are the ones who will shoulder the expenses for our outreach. Then, we decided to look for other possible places to have our outreach.

We planned to just go back to school because there is nothing to do there anymore. Fortunately, there were some of us who haven’t gone to the house of Rizal. So, we decided to drop by since it is open anyway. We only stayed there for less than an hour because a school was having a field trip. Too bad we were not allowed to take pictures.

Then we decided to go back to school. When we were at the ABI exit, the e-pass was working. We were surprised because we all thought that the e-pass was empty. And the traffic was heavy at the cash/coupon lane going to Calamba. If only we knew that we can still use the e-pass, we could’ve been in Calamba earlier. But there was nothing we can do anymore.

Before we headed our own separate destinations, we ate at Guilly’s Grill because it was Yvan’s birthday yesterday. The crew sang “Happy Birthday” and gave her a complimentary slice of cheese cake.

Our Calamba trip started unpleasantly but it ended really well.

A Poem...

BEFORE AND AFTER

Yesterday is past and Today is now.

What would happen when Tomorrow comes?

I really don't know but I ought to find out.

When Tomorrow comes it would be Today.

And Today would just be Yesterday.

This will repeat again and again.

I wonder why these things do happen.

Maybe I think of Yesterday.

Maybe I might reflect on Today.

Don't you think I should just learn from the Past.

And let my Future last.

Comparative Analysis

My three chosen videos were all by Rainie Yang. The videos are Guo Min, Ai Mei, and Breathless. I like the artist but I really don't understand the meaning of the songs. I just heard these on some drama series that I've watched. Based on their videos, I can see that they are all sad love songs. All the videos revolve around a girl who experienced love but later on she was left all alone.

In the Guo Min video, the girl seems to have nothing to do with her life. She lives alone in her house. She just used up all her energy being depressed and miserable. She recalls her life with her loved one. She always cries and goes to their dating place. She seems to have difficulty moving on and looks like she cannot live without the guy.

The story of the video is nice but I can't get a good look of the guy. Maybe because I just watched it from the internet. But only during the reminiscing part that it seemed bright. I find the video intriguing because it was not clear if the guy jumped off the window and then die. But I think he really did jumped because the girl repeated that same scenario, wearing the same jacket and at the same spot. And she was looking down. I think the girl jumped also. But I can never be sure because it was not shown in the video.

In the Ai Mei video, the girl was in a beach and remembering things with her guy. This is same with Guo Min because the girl lives alone. She was staying in a place where all their memories together were kept. They have pictures and even videos. The place was not well maintained that cold air and snow could enter. The girl looks pathetic that she just let the snow cover her as she recalls her past and watch their sweet videos.

The story of the video itself was not clear on how the girl ended up all alone. But for those who have watched Devil Beside You, they will have an idea of what the video symbolizes. I like the effect on how the snow slowly covers the place. And also the effects of the ice to the girl's body, how it formed on her face and hair. It was also not clear if the girl was frozen to death because of too much cold. But I like it that way because we can think of our own ending. The girl might or might not have survived that extreme condition.

The third video is Breathless in English. This is similar to the previous two that the girl is living along. The differences are the girl is locked up inside a glass thing and she hasn't found her love yet. She is still looking and dreaming for it. She was able to find her love and had wonderful memories. Unfortunately, that happiness did not last long. The girl was left alone again.

I like how all her furniture fit into her tiny place. The effect when they dramatically parted was good although it does not use high level graphic arts. I don't like her hair in this video but she still managed to look cute. Her red dress is well suited in the video.

Maybe I will be able to appreciate the videos more if only I can understand mandarin…

The URL’s for the videos are:

http://www.crunchyroll.com/showmedia?id=20896

http://www.crunchyroll.com/showmedia?id=19099

http://www.crunchyroll.com/showmedia?id=141291