Please read.

I got this from Heidi. Please pass to your UP friends.

Paying It Back for Mang Meliton a.k.a "Mang Milton"
Posted by Mike on Dec 26, '08 10:06 PM

Meet Meliton Zamora, a retired University of the Philippines

janitor and my hero.

For forty-five years, he swept floors, cleaned up trash, watered plants and did odd jobs at the University.

I met him when I was active with the UP Repertory Company, a theater group based (then) at the third floor lobby of the Arts & Sciences (AS) building. He would sweep and mop the hallway floors in silence, venturing only a nod and a smile whenever I passed him.

Back then, for me he was just one of those characters whom you got acquainted with and left behind as soon as you earned your degree and left the university for some big job in the real world. Someone whose name would probably ring a bell but whose face you'd have a hard time picturing. But for many UP students like me who were hard up and had a difficult time paying their tuition fees, Mang Mel was a hero who gave them the opportunity to finish university and get a big job in the real world.

The year was 1993 and I was on my last semester as a Clothing Technology student. My parents had been down on their luck and were struggling to pay for my tuition fee. I had been categorized as Bracket 9 in the recently implemented Socialized Tuiton and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP). My father had lost his job and to supplement my allowance, I worked part time as a Guest Relations Officer at Sam's Diner (back when the term GRO didn't have shady undertones) and took some odd jobs as a Production Assistant, movie extra and wardrobe mistress.

To be eligible for graduation, I had to enroll in my last three courses and pay my tuition fee. Since my parents didn't have enough money for my matriculation, I applied for a student loan hoping that my one of my Home Economics (HE) professors would take pity on me and sign on as a guarantor for the student loan. But those whom I approached either refused or were not eligible as guarantors. After two unsuccessful weeks of looking for a guarantor, my prospects looked dim, my future dark. And so, there I was, a downtrodden twenty year old with a foggy future, crying in the AS lobby. I only had twenty four hours left to look for a guarantor.

Mang Mel, with a mop in hand, approached me and asked me why I was crying. I told him I had no guarantor for my student loan and will probably not be able to enroll this semester. I had no hopes that he would be able to help me. After all, he was just a janitor. He borrowed my loan application papers and said softly, "Puwede ako pumirma. Empleyado ako ng UP." He borrowed my pen and signed his name. With his simple act of faith, Mang Mel not only saved my day, he also saved my future.

I paid my student loan the summer after that fateful day with Mang Milton and it has been 15 years since then. I am not filthy rich but I do have a good job in the real world that allows me to support my family and eat three meals a day. A few weeks ago, a friend and UP Professor, Daki, told me that Mang Mel recently recorded an album which he sells to supplement his meager retirement pay, I asked another friend, Blaise, who's taking his Master's degree at UP to find out how we could contact Mang Mel. My gesture of gratitude for Mang Mel's altruism has been long overdue. As fate would have it, my friend saw Mang Mel coming out of the shrubbery from behind the UP library, carrying firewood. He got Mang Mel's address and promised him that we would come over to buy his album.

Together with Blaise and my husband Augie, I went to pay Mang Mel a visit last Sunday. Unfortunately, he was out doing a little sideline gardening for a UP professor in Tandang Sora. We were welcomed into their home by his daughter Kit. As she pointed out to a laminated photo of Mang Mel on the wall, she proudly told us that her father did retire with recognition from the University. However, she sadly related to us that many of the students whose loans Mang Mel guaranteed neglected to settle their student loans. After forty-five years of service to the University, Mang Mel was only attributed 171 days of work for his retirement pay because all the unpaid student loans were deducted from his full retirement pay of about 675 days. This seems to me a cruel repayment for his kindness.

This is a cybercall to anyone who did not get to pay their student loans that were guaranteed by Mang Mel. Anytime would be a good time to show Mang Mel your gratitude.

Mang Mel is not asking for a dole out, though I know he will be thankful for any assistance you can give. So I ask those of you who also benefited from Mang Meliton's goodness or for those who simply wish to share your blessings, please do visit Mang Mel and buy his CD (P350 only) at No. 16-A, Block 1, Pook Ricarte, U.P. Campus, Diliman, Quezon City (behind UP International House) or contact his daughter Kit V. Zamora at 0916-4058104.

Baka kilala niyo.

Long weekends for 2009

Time to plan ahead, book in advance, plot your leave, etcetera,

April 9 - 13, Thursday to Monday - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Araw ng Kagitingan (Bataan and Corregidor day) (5 days)

May 1 - 3, Friday to Sunday - Labor Day (3 days)

June 12 - 14, Friday to Sunday - Independence Day (3 days)

August 22 - 24, Saturday to Monday - Ninoy Aquino day (3 days)

August 29 - 31, Saturday to Monday - National Heroes' day (3 days)

November 28 - 30, Saturday to Monday - Andres Bonifacio day (3 days)

December 25- 27 Friday to Sunday - Christmas Day (3 days)

December 30 -31 Wednesday to Thursday - (Rizal Day) to January 1-3, 2010 (New Year) Friday to Sunday (5 days)

Yikes.

Is this for real???!!!

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/05/09/leading-law-firm-victim-scam

Why spend?

It’s 6:30pm, and I’m procrastinating. I’m craving for seafood, I’m sleepy, AND I’m already in vacation mode. Plus the fact that I hate hate hate the client for whom I’m supposed to be toiling away right now.

So anyway, one wise Starbucks barista once taught me to order a grande Americano in a tall cup instead of a triple tall Americano. Saved me Php20-30 per order during bar review. (It took AT LEAST two grande Americanos in a tall cup everyday to keep me awake everyday. Add up my coffee bill during bar review, and... On second thought, never mind. Bygones.) Thanks Mr. Barista! Hehe!

Anyhoo, let me make it clear that I am not rich, by any known or unknown standards. I am also not the most monetarily efficient person alive. I take a cab to and from work everyday. (I live in Quezon City; my office is in Makati. Go figure.) I go to Baguio every weekend, and when I’m there, I treat Tita Susan and Jem to lunch or dinner, buy Cassie her cute little baby things... I buy little trinkets for myself and for my family. I recently completed my Christmas shopping, and ended up spending a looooooooot. I was able to get nice gifts for my family and close friends this year though. I had to cut my office presents budget though. But it’s all good.

In light of this, here are my TOP 5 REASONS TO SPEND THIS HOLIDAY SEASON:

(5) It’s the season to be jolly. (My Christmas list is looooooooooooooong. But I finished my Christmas shopping in record time, and quite a bit ahead of schedule.)

(4) Money was made to be spent. Otherwise, go barter stuff.

(3) Because you can.It’s YOUR money, anyway. Who’s to say what you should and should not spend it on?

(2) In order to be inspired to work, you have to feel the fruits of your labor.

(1) To prevent an economic slowdown / recession, money has to circulate. So the next time you consider whether or not to buy that LV you’ve been stalking, those shoes that your feet are begging to seen in, or that phone that would go perfectly with everything, don’t think, just buy. Whip out the cash or the plastic, and go spend! Just think, you’re doing it for the economy. And no, not just the local economy, but the global economy. You’re a hero.

An Atenean blogs about immersion

Here you go.

New Britney Video

Here you go. Enjoy! =)

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/oDSf8DcOUto/

On Immersion

I was directed to this post by Nico, who got it from Jules (Cabigon)'s post:

http://juliusivan.multiply.com/photos/album/132/MGA_ATENISTA_READ_THIS?replies_read=19

I think Jules' post is restricted to his contacts, so I just attached the screen grabs

My thoughts on the matter:

I did not think the facilities at our immersion site (Napindan, Taguig) rivalled the comforts of a fancy shmancy hotel, or home, and I did cringe at a lot of things. I was relieved when I got back to the dorm after my immersion weekend and take a long hot shower. There's no denying any of that. However, I think what some students fail to realize is that the point of the immersion experience is not to provide students with a grand vacation or a literal walk in the park. In this country, and in countless others around the world, social inequity has become a way of life. Most have become so desensitized to the tragedy that has befallen this race because we live with it every single day. We pass shanties on our way to work. We look absently out the window at beggars and toddlers rummaging through trash to find a decent meal. Our trash is, quite literally, their treasure. Though the immersion experience can not and will not make staunch advocates of us all, at the very least, it will send the tiniest waves of realization lapping at our feet. I just find it sad, really, that for some, the experience failed to achieve this for this girl. It would have made a better person out of her.

Washington voters approve assisted suicide initiative

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008352565_apwaassistedsuicide2ndldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Wash. voters approve assisted suicide initiative

Voters approved Initiative 1000 on Tuesday, making Washington the second state to give terminally ill people the option of medically assisted suicide.

By Curt Woodward

Associated Press Writer

OLYMPIA, Wash. —

Voters approved Initiative 1000 on Tuesday, making Washington the second state to give terminally ill people the option of medically assisted suicide.

The ballot measure, patterned after Oregon's "Death with Dignity" law, allows a terminally ill person to be prescribed lethal medication, which would be self-administered.

With about 43 percent of the expected vote counted Tuesday in unofficial returns, I-1000 was being approved by a margin of about 58 percent to about 42 percent.

Supporters, led publicly by Democratic former Gov. Booth Gardner, said the initiative would provide a compassionate way for terminally ill people to die.

Gardner has Parkinson's disease, an incurable disorder that causes tremors and stiff or frozen limbs. Gardner, who would not be eligible under I-1000 because Parkinson's is not considered fatal, said he pushed the measure in his "last campaign" because he understood why other ill people would want the option.

Opponents, including the Catholic church, said assisted suicide is a dangerous step that devalues human life. Critics also said the assisted suicide measure could exploit depressed or vulnerable people who worry they've become a burden on their families.

The measure involved a multimillion-dollar campaign, including TV advertisements featuring actor Martin Sheen, who urged a "no" vote. But polling before Election Day showed I-1000 with significant support.

Outside of Oregon, advocates of similar laws haven't fared well. California, Michigan and Maine voters rejected the idea, and bills have failed in statehouses around the country. In Washington, voters rejected physician-assisted suicide in 1991.

This year's proposal differs from the earlier Washington measure - it doesn't allow doctors to administer lethal drugs on behalf of patients who can't do so themselves.

Any patient requesting the fatal medication must be at least 18, declared competent and a resident of Washington state.

The patient would have to make two oral requests, 15 days apart, and submit a written request witnessed by two people, including one person who is not a relative, heir, attending doctor, or connected with a health facility where the requester lives.

Two doctors also would have to certify that the patient has a terminal condition and six months or less to live.

Forty-nine people died in Oregon last year under that state's assisted suicide law, according to a report by the Oregon Department of Human Services. Since it went into effect, more than 340 Oregon patients have used the law to end their lives.

Most suffered from cancer, and the most common reasons reported for choosing assisted suicide were loss of autonomy, loss of dignity and a decreasing ability to participate in activities they enjoyed.

The decision on I-1000 was a personal one for 82-year-old Jean Hoggarth of Yakima. She battled breast cancer and the disease now has spread to her bones, but voted against the initiative.

"I've had experience with people dying, but I believe it can be done peacefully," Hoggarth said. "And we have doctors today who give the best care. They should be allowed to do that all the way to the end."

Mike Dingus, a 39-year-old long-term care worker in Yakima, voted "yes."

"You don't get much choice coming in, so you should get some choice going out," Dingus said.

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AP Writer Shannon Dininny contributed to this report from Yakima.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company