Photos from down under

Perhaps I have chased so much of my shadows…

Defacement

Yes, am missing home. I miss a lot of things that I don’t get to do out here. But I connect much to what is going on at home. I read the news and catch up with every crumb that goes along the way.

I wonder how much of the truth got filtered along the way in my readings. I wonder how much ‘defacement’ of facts took place in the transfer of information and in my reception of it. Let me just make some bullets on the news I got from home and somehow place it back into my blog---

The NPC mural.

The National Press Club cried for being ripped in the open, alleging that the artists asked for a very high fee. On the other hand, the artists cried foul over the alleged censorship. Some faces were altered to allegedly cater to the whims of some sectors in society.
I cannot put a price on art and talent. The NPC should be the first one to know that. They survive on the freedom of expression and art is the driver of what we must express. What has gone wrong?

Am saddened and alarmed at how a very prestigious institution succumbed to censorship or pressures. The NPC got the much-earned respect because it stood by principles and the truth.

Comprador barangay elections.

Generally, the people still sold their votes to the highest bidder in the latest barangay elections. This is an ongoing defacement of the order of things that we still cling unto (at a superficial level?). What are the other alternatives? Lest, we continually regress to a pointless corner altogether.

The issues highlighted above might not be THE issue back home. Yet somehow, these issues brought me home. How can changes be alternatively effected? Can there be any? The cynics say NOPE.

A day in the life of a volunteer

(caveat! this is quite detailed, made on siesta hour!)

I still wake up ahead of my alarm clock but the cold mornings down under keeps me longer in bed (ahem) than when I was in my happy old city. I do my morning ritual creatively and grope for my mug of tea (simply because the coffee at home is nescafe!) after I turn my laptop on...

Work follows... I am online most of the day with a huge bar called BUSY most of the time. My work is just at my fingertips, connecting people and looking at how they do the things. In some mornings, I discuss things with Stefan, critically look at things and agree on how we proceed.

At times we take lunch at the parish office and continue to work from there or, we go on to virtually hole up in front of the computer. Routines would change when meetings are scheduled. I get to see a lot of the city when we attend forums and discussion groups.

The local melbourne news will be on in the evening and dinner follows. I get to chat with my friends before dinner. The wonders of internet keeps you in touch with dear friends far and near.

The computer is on until midnight. Sometimes, I do it for personal reasons: updating blogs, reading news, chatting online with friends. I do work too! I update some presentations and lucidly think about the implementation part of the project.

No pubs and bars for me to go but I don't miss it much. Those are more interesting when friends are there. I can't take them with me. The itinerant longs for those spirited laughs but is content with what she does... The direction and meaning is there. It is important.