Revolutions, the Biggest Overstatement of Philippine Politics

“A viable civil society can mitigate conflicts and impose quality of citizenship without relying exclusively on the privatism of the marketplace.”
~ Philippe Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, What is democracy is and… is not

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So I was watching History Channel’s documentary on the French Revolution last night on Youtube, and this professor suddenly said, “Marie Antoinette was like the Imelda Marcos of her time.” I chuckled right off the bat. It was a comment only the nerdiest of people would laugh at, which needless to say includes me. 

That comment suddenly placed me in a nostlagic state: I remembered the good ‘ol days as a kid, hearing about so much hype about the “People Power” revolution in the Philippines during the late 80s. Of course, when you’re a kid you don’t necessarily have an in-depth understanding of such political matter. I placed People Power in quotation because the word People doesn’t really represent the plurality of the Philippine Masses. For one thing, the country itself (more…)

Coming of Age: the Making of the Self in University

Opposition people kept coming to me “You have to watch counting on polling station this station! There things are really bad.”  Another said “No, you need to go to this other station! Things are worse there.” Another woman, a Yushchenko supporter, called me on my cell phone, “Come right away to my station!” She was crying. I nearly broke down myself.  This was probably the most difficult time in my observation. I could not decide where I should go.  The opposition often exaggerates.  So it is hard to judge.  Finally, I decided to go to the station where the woman was crying.
~Professor Lucan Way, “Observations in Ukraine: November 2004- Confronting Electoral Fraud”

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Last September, I decided to finally pick another major. Among the choices I had (History, Global East Asia Studies, International Development Studies and Political Science), I picked Political Science as the Major to go with my English Literature Specialist Degree (Minor -> Major -> Specialist; just meant you’ve taken twice as much difficult courses as you move along the hierarchy). Of couse, I was hesitant at first. I mean, for four consecutive semesters, I’ve indulged myself with nothing but Pre-1900 and Modern Literature courses. It was a four well-fed semester and it turned me into a fat kid. (more…)

When Life Gives You Lemons, Tell Life to F*cK Off

 I think, I’m way over my head. This semester, I signed up for a full course load and it feels like quicksand. I had a feeling it was going to be a bad idea, and yet, here I am looking at my timetable in misery. Repeatedly, I find myself asking “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, MIKHAELA??? ARE YOU INSANE???”. I’m so overwhelmed right now. It feels like drowning from the inside. I know I lack proper time management skills and constantly succumbing to lazy moments infront of the television, searching for something to take my mind of this unwanted feeling of drowning from the inside.

I hate having to work part-time.
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Movie Review: Watchmen

“This fellow’s wise enough to play the fool”
~William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

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I finally got to watch Watchmen last night after such a long time. I know, I’m so two-thousand-late. But I’ve been a fan of streaming movies online lately. Watch-movies-links.net and Tv-links.cc are two of my favourite links. I practically live in their dominion. When your a university student drowning in a sea of debt, having the liberty to watch movies online is a blessing.

Anyway, as I was saying, I found Watchmen to be really good. In fact, I can’t wait to read the novel. I would do it soon but I’m taking three English courses and two Political Science courses this sem.’Tis going to be a very brutal four months. I just saw two of my course syllabus today and boy, I wanted to cry.
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Summer, where art thou?

Ano ang booty shorts? (What are Booty shorts?)
~The BF

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It’s been ages since I’ve updated this blog. Holy Cr*p! For a moment there, I didn’t realize it’s actually August already. This summer is the worst out of the seven years that I have been living here in Toronto. Everyday, I find myself waking up and hoping to find a nice sunny weather outside my window. Im 80% disappointed most of the time. It’s always cloudy and rainy, and whenever I speak to people about it, we all have the same kind of complains… August is already moving to its second week and yet, we all feel like we haven’t really accomplished anything.
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