Asbestos Legislation

Asbestos was considered an ideal material for industry use in the 1800s up to the early 1900s.  It was known to be an excellent fire retardant, to have high electrical resistivity, and was inexpensive and easy to use.

The problem with asbestos arises with its small size which makes it dangerous if inhaled. Because of the size of the fibers, they penetrate the tissues. 

 Asbestos legislation aims to protect workers, working in an environment exposed to asbestos, be protected from diseases and illnesses caused by asbestos.

Hurrah for ballpens and grain particles!

I now have the answer when someone asks me what I’ll do for a living after I graduate from Engineering.

Count grains of steel and different alloys and metals. EXCITING, RIGHT? =)) Aside from that, we are the ones who extract gold (YES! GOLD!) and other metals from ores. So in short, my workplace would be a dirty, grimy, and messy.

Anyhoo, I finally found a purpose for my colored pens. It’s not a waste to buy pens after all and, I now have an excuse to buy NEON colored gel pens (I cannot help it but buy a pen when I go to National).

Okay. Back to my technical paper

Selfish MR. Sandman

Tonight’s gonna be a loooong night — again. Three nights without sleep made me a walking zombie during the day. THREE LONG NIGHTS. I even stopped drinking coffee just to feel any sign of drowsiness. And even if I did manage to fall asleep, I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning not knowing why, or sometimes sweating and crying from a bad dream.  I would try to go back to sleep, but it would take me hours to drift off to dreamland — and the cycle goes on.

I’ve been trying to sleep for the past two hours, but Mr. Sandman’s too selfish to grant me sleep. PLEASE. LET ME SLEEP. 

An icon as simple as :D

Its amazing how that one person whom you thought has forgotten your existence still manages to make you smile during one of your worst days. An icon as simple as “:D” really made my day. Thanks! I really, really needed that.

See, my day didn’t really go well. Aside from trying to survive the day by acting like zombie and doing things just because it’s a part of your daily routine, I met misfortunes (and a lot of them) along the way.

1. I really don’t go along well with the Senior Instructors in Kampo Uno. Mga walang breeding na kung makahirit ay wala sa lugar.

 SAMPLE CONVERSATION:

BERN: Justin! Takte sa MRT kanina. Gago yung guard. Dahil ba naka loose pants and CWTS shirt ako at short hair eh napagkamalan akong lalake? Kinapkapan ako.

SIR ERWIN: Baka akala GRO ka.

See?! GRO? Now where did that come from? And I wasn’t even talking to him.

BERN: Sir, nagtatanong mga students ko kung may pasok bad aw sa Monday (August 31). National Heroes day daw po eh.

SIR ERWIN: Sino may sabi? San mo nakita?

BERN: uhm. Sa calendar? Nakalagay Holiday siya?

SIR ERWIN: (sarcastic tone) Calendaryo pala nakita. Ayan ah (talking to his students) wala DAW pasok sa Monday kasi DAW holiday. Nakalagay DAW sa kalendaryo.

BERN: Problema mo? Nagtatanogn ng maayos sasagutin mo ako ng ganiyan. (sabay walk out)

Ilagay lang sana sa lugar. Nakakabadtrip kasi masyado.

And so, I am thinking of resigning my CWTS sideline since I can’t stand the people that I work with. The heck with 300php. I can earn 10x the amount of that.

2. While I was on my way to UP, I stopped by Philcoa to buy Santol (because I was craving for it. Blame it on PMS!). I asked the manang if I could only buy one piece just to satisfy my craving. She agreed and charged me 8php. I gave her 20php and she asked her daughter to exchange it for coins from the other tinderas there. While giving me my change:

MANANG: Sa susunod kasi kung bibili ka yung maramihan, wag yung isa-isa lang. Ang hirap maghanap ng panukli eh.

BERN: (muntikan ng ihagis ang santol at nandilat ang mga mata) Anong problema mo manang? Ha? (nasa isip: Papayag-payag ka jan na pagbilhan ako tas bubungangaan mo ako ngayon) *sabay walk-out*

That bitch.

3. Sa jeepney. I almost lost my cellphone today. I didn’t notice that it fell off my pocket on my way to Engg. Buti na lang I checked my pockets and hindi pa nakakaalis si manong. Nakuha ko pa naman. Thank God!

After my 3^rd unlucky strike for the day, someone made me smile — which really makes up for everything that has happened to me. Thank you talaga. =) You made my day, again.

Selfish MR. Sandman

Tonight’s gonna be a loooong night — again. Three nights without sleep made me a walking zombie during the day. THREE LONG NIGHTS. I even stopped drinking coffee just to feel any sign of drowsiness. And even if I did manage to fall asleep, I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning not knowing why, or sometimes sweating and crying from a bad dream.  I would try to go back to sleep, but it would take me hours to drift off to dreamland — and the cycle goes on.

I’ve been trying to sleep for the past two hours, but Mr. Sandman’s too selfish to grant me sleep. PLEASE. LET ME SLEEP. 

Cobra, coffee and nuts don’t mix together

Cobra, coffee and nuts don’t mix together very well — something I realized just now. I’ve been trying to catch sleep these past 3 hours already, but here I am! Wide awake and my knee joints hurting.

I didn’t expect caffeine to take effect like this. I’ve tried drinking coffee after Cobra many times already but this is the first time I wasn’t really able to sleep a wink. I ate one Tupperware of fried peanuts last night and now, my knees’ giving this tingling, uncomfortable feeling. I can’t distinguish if its ngalay or if its my rayuma acting up again.

I crashed to my bed at 3am, after giving up understanding combined loadings and thin-walled pressure for my TRESE exam this afternoon. But after 3 hours of tossing and turning, I gave up on the idea of sleeping. Jeez! I’m dizzy from sleepiness, but my mind is alert and just won’t give in to SLEEP.

C’mon. SLEEP! I will be needing that for my exam later.

Video surveillance equipment

Video surveillance equipments in buildings and banks make it easy for law enforcers to identify and catch suspects of robbery. With the continuing improvements in technology and upgrading of equipments, I won’t be surprised if one day each and every home is equipped with high end surveillance equipment. My message for robbers? Beware. It would take a lot of talent and equipments to rob a fully equipped home.

Receipt printers

With the increasing demand in goods and supplies and the economic depression, an increase in the demand of receipts is observed to be increasing too. Receipts play a major role in accounting and inventories of groceries and business. In order to supply not only your customers but yourselves as well, of easy to read receipts whose print won’t fade easily, you should purchase the best receipt printer available in the market.

stuck on you

I’m already sleepy but I can’t stop studying NOW because I still don’t get the topics for the exam. I keep on solving and solving problems, but also keep on getting wring answers — and its frustrating FYI.

I’ve read the lecture notes for the nth time, but I still don’t get it. I still don’t get the correct way of solving for flextural stress and transverse shear. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THAT IN THE REAL WORLD? Am I going to solve for those values everyday? I’d rather kill myself than encounter that in my daily life.

I’m going back to studying. Sheesh. It’s a holiday, you know? And I am stuck with all these readings and problems. Jeez.

on being a sports buff

Another writer’s block… One minute I’m full of ideas, the next… I sit in front of my laptop waiting for thoughts to flow freely. But still, I can’t seem to find the right words to express my feelings/thoughts afraid that I might offend someone or maybe whoever’s going to read my entry would think that I’m being pathetic — again.

So yeah. I’m this uninspired person, who’s trying so hard to write a sensible blog post.

So anyway… On volleyball…

I’m thinking of training with the guys to get stronger and to sweat more. LOL. It’ll be a great way to lose all the excess fats I’ve been gaining from pigging out. And I have to lose my anxiety attack on the court so that I could play well. I met new friends and i enjoy hanging out with them. I am the second oldest one (in terms of age) on the team, and they mock me by calling me ‘ate’. I don’t want to be called ‘ate’, it makes me feel old.

I’m thinking of trying ultimate Frisbee after the university intramurals. I won’t have schedules for volleyball trainings and games, so I think I’ll have ample time to actually learn the sport. I’m saving up to buy shoes and preparing myself for the tan (if not dark) skin I’ll get from playing the sport. It’s a sport that I’ve been wanting to try for a long time already, but I can’t find people to play it with. After finding out that Karen went to Singapore for a tournament, I was more eager to learn Frisbee since it’ll be a great way for me to travel to places. She encouraged me to try the sport, and I told her that I would try it during the second semester.

I’m not trying to be a sports buff person. I just want to find and try activities just so I would lose weight and enjoy myself at the same time. I’ve gained weight again (I’m 133 lbs. Oops! I shouldn’t have told you that. Secret lang natin to ah?), and I am pressured to lose it ASAP.

So for those who want to try out/play sports with me, contact me na lang *wink*. =)

….

Teach me how to be happy again, please. =(

Ninoy’s Letter to Ballsy

Subject: NINOY’S LETTER TO DAUGHTER BALLSY (1973)

On these days of mourning and grief, I cant help but share with you this touching letter from a father to a daughter. Let this note of love and sacrifice for family and country touch our hearts and inspire us to be better parents and citizens of our beloved Philippines.

Sincerely,

Celia Cuasay

Ninoy’s letter to his daughter Ballsy

August 18, 1973 FortBonifacio Makati, Rizal

Ms. Maria Elena C. Aquino 25 Times St. Quezon City

My dearest Ballsy, I write you this letter with tears in my eyes and as if steel fingers are crushing my heart because I wanted so much to be with you as you celebrate your legal emancipation. Now that you have come of age, my love, a voice tells me that I am no longer young and suddenly, I feel old. An old poet gave this advice very long ago “when you are sad, remember the roses will bloom in December.” I want to send you bouquet of roses, big red roses from my dreamland garden. Unfortunately for the present, my roses are not in bloom, in fact they have dropped all their petals and only the thorns are left to keep me company. I do think it is fitting to send you a thicket of thorns on this memorable day! I am very proud of you because you have inherited all the best traits of your mother. You are sensible, responsible, even-tempered and sincere with the least pretenses and affection which vehemently detest in a woman. I am sure like your mother, you will possess that rare brand of silent courage and that combination of fidelity and fortitude that will be the life vest of your man in the tragic moments of his life. During my lonely hours of solitary confinement in FortMagsaysay, Laur, Nueva Ecija last March and April with nothing else to do but pray and daydream, with only my fond memories to keep me company, I planned a weekend barrio fiesta for you in Tarlac for your 18th birthday. I fooled myself into believing that my ordeal would end with the fiscal year. I planned to invite all your classmates and friends and their families for the weekends. The schedule called for an early departure by bus from Manila and the first stop will be Concepcion , where lunch will be served by the pool. And after lunch, you were to visit the SantaRitaElementary School to distribute cookies and ice cream to the children of that public school where you were first enrolled. I guess sheer nostalgia prompted me to include Santa Rita. We were only three then: Mommie, you and I. Those were the days of happy memories little responsibilities, tremendous freedom, a great future ahead and capped by a fulfillment of love. You are the first fruit of our union, the first proof of our love and the first seal of our affections. From Concepcion we were to proceed to Luisita for the barrio fiesta. I intended to invite a friend who could roast an entire cow succulently. Swimming, pelota, dancing and eating would have been the order of the day. Sunday morning was reserved for a trip around the Hacienda and the mill and maybe golf for some of the parents and later a picnic-lunch on Uncle Tony’s Island . Return to Manila after lunch. I am afraid this will have to remain as one of the many dreams I had in Laur. Our future has suddenly become uncertain and our fate unknown. I am even now beginning to doubt whether I’ll ever be able to return to you and the family. Hence, I would like to ask you these special favors. Love your mother, whose love for you, you will never be able to match. She is not the greatest mother in the world, she is your sincerest friend. Take care of your younger sisters and brother and lavish them with the love and care I would like to continue giving them but am unable to do so. Help Noy-noy along and pray hard that he will grow to be a real, responsible man who in later years will protect you all. You are the model for your three younger sisters. Your responsibility is therefore great. Please endeavor to live up to our highest expectations. Be more tolerant to Pinky, more accessible to Viel, our little genius-princess, and more charitable to Krissy, our baby doll, and make up for my neglect. Finally, forgive me, my love, for not having been an ideal, good and thoughtful father to you all as I pursued public office. I had hopes and high resolve of making up, but I am afraid my destiny will not oblige. I seal this letter with a drop of tear and a prayer in my heart, that somehow, somewhere we shall meet again and I will finally be able to make up for all my lapses, in the kingdom where justice reigns supreme and love is eternal.

I love you, Dad

Online accounts

Tumblr is <3.

This is what I say every time I ask myself why I’m keeping my account. My tumblr account is only one of the few on line accounts I’ve been trying to manage and maintain. I  promised myself I’d stop reblogging stuff I find interesting and instead, try to find original pictures or articles that OTHER people would find fascinating. And I have a goal for my tumblr account: Have it included in the top 50 tumblrs in the Philippines. Sounds impossible? IKR. =))

Blog. I’m running out of things to write on it. With my busy schedule recently (trainings, seminars, marketing congress and acads), I just can’t find the time to sit down and write things that happened to me during the day. There are times that I’d suddenly get inspired and think of ideas to put in my blog, but when I finally take my time to actually write it down, I just get writer’s block.  So my used-to-be frequent posts are getting lesser and lesser and the contents are becoming duller and boring. And to think I’m planning of making another blog — I can’t even keep my personal blog updated!

Facebook. Another social network that gets people connected. I created my account early last year, but only started using it recently.  Most of my contacts are either hs friends or UP Diliman friends. I’ve deleted those who added me for MafiaWars since I rarely use that application nowadays. I used to be addicted to FB, but now I just use it for stalking people. Hahaha. Just kidding. =)

Friendster. I’m thinking of deleting my FS account. Should I? There’s nothing exciting about it anymore. None of my friends use their account, and there’s just nothing new about it. Sooooo… Sige. I’ll delete it when I have the time.

Multiply. I rarely get my multiply account updated, but I just don’t have the strength to delete my account. It was my first blog, lots of pictures are there, and I have many friends who are still using their account. But what don’t like about it now, is that it’s trying hard to have its interface just like that of facebook’s. It’s just stupid. I like the old interface better.

Plurk. I had my account even before it became popular. But like my other online accounts, I got tired of it and just let my karma plummet down. I stopped using it for months. My karma fell from 70+ to 19. And now, I’m trying really hard (well, not really) to increase my karma again. I’m considering of deleting my account soon.

Twitter. I don’t find it interesting. I have an account, yes. But I rarely use it. I just don’t get the point of updating people around the world of what you’re doing at the moment. It’s just… Just… I just don’t get it. Really.

Fat Burners

I’ve been active in sports since last month. I’ve joined the volleyball varsity team in engineering, jog at least once a week, and drank countless bottles of fit n’ right in the hopes of losing weight.

Many manufacturers introduced drinks in the market, claiming that their ingredients contain L-carnitine and other nature’s fat burners. But until now, I haven’t been able to prove that what they claim is true. I haven’t lost weight nor an inch in my waist until now. Should I blame this on my genes or on the food I eat?

Another goal. Another first.

I have set another goal for me this year — to be one of the finalists in the Engineering Marketing Congress.

Patag, Jod, Ahjh, Hannah and I have formed a team for the EMC. I am the only one who’s not an IE student… Well, I used to belong to that department. I don’t feel out of place or anything, since I have already experienced doing case studies during the first few majors I have encountered.

I attended the seminar this afternoon. It was actually another first for me. I am always being invited in seminars and business talks, but this is the first time I have attended one. It was fun since I learned a lot from the speakers. But knowing that majority of the participants for the marketing congress are IE students (and most of them the best), I was intimidated and lost my self confidence knowing that, there was no way we were going to beat those guys. This competition is going to be INTENSE. WE are going to be COMPETITIVE.

Anyway, I wasn’t informed that we weren’t required to wear corporate attire on the first seminar. I should have worn nice, comfy clothes, but no! I am now suffering blisters and calluses because of the deadly shoes I was wearing the whole day.

We need to win that competition. 30,000 php is at stake, and I am really in need of the money. I lost a thousand freakin’ bucks today. I already have a suspect on who might have taken it, but I still don’t want to point my finger at her since she’s a colleague of mine.

I would just like to leave a warning to whoever took my money from my wallet:

BE PREPARED FOR THE REPERCUSSIONS OF WHAT YOU’VE DONE. YOU’VE TAKEN A WEEK’S WORTH OF MY ALLOWANCE, AND I AM NOT IN ANY WAY, WILL EVER, EVER, EVER LET YOU GET AWAY WITH IT. ONCE I HAVE PROVEN THAT YOU WERE THE ONE WHO HAVE STOLEN MY MONEY, HAH! YOUR ALREADY RUINED REPUTATION WOULD BE DESTROYED. AND THERE IS NO WAY YOU WOULD EVER RECOVER FROM IT. I AM A NICE PERSON. A VERY NICE PERSON. BUT ONCE YOU HAVE GOTTEN ON MY BAD SIDE, YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF DOING.

So there. Sana napasaya kita sa handog kong isang libo para sayo. Nawa’y mabusog ka sa mga pagkaing mabibili mo, at sana’y makuntento ka na, na ako lang ang kinuhanan mo. SALAMAT NG MARAMI. =)

Love is like matter

Matter exists in different forms. Maybe just like love.

Love is like a liquid that flows and brings life to a desert.

Love can be a gas. Light as the air and assumes the shape of its container.

And like matter, love cannot be created nor destroyed…

It’s always there, even if you can’t see it.

Debate Speech

Climate change is occurring and it is inevitable.

From the ancient time, our ancestors have suspected that climate changes because of   human activity. People, back in the 16^th century believed that cutting trees caused rainfalls. During the medieval times, women who were believed to be witches were burned and killed. These public delusions caused many towns and lives to be destroyed.

Over the past years, we are constantly bombarded by the media, political figures and advocates that global warming is caused by the use of carbon fuels and thus, we have come to accept that climate change is man-made. Is this true, or is it one of those popular delusion?

The discovery of the ice age in the past proves that climate can change all by itself, radically — even without the influence of man. What caused these changes? Could it be caused by the variations of the heat of the sun? The continuous continental drift that affects the ocean’s current? Or could it be the composition of the air itself?

Radical temperature rising and falling is evident in the earth’s timeline. Heat waves occurred even without the carbon emissions. Historical evidences show that during the 14^th century, the temperature was even higher and hotter than it is today. Scientists called this the medieval warm period. And even before this period, more warm spells were known to have happened. 7,000 years ago during the bronze age, temperatures were significantly higher than it is today and geologists call this the Holocene maximum. If it wasn’t caused by carbon fuel burning or the greenhouse effect, then what did?? During the 1700s, a period called the little ice age occurred. Most bodies of water were frozen.

What caused this?

It is plain and obvious that climate change is naturally occurring. But we blame the industrial societies, which thank God, provide us with the luxuries that we have today. The theory that global warming is man-made states that, the rising temperature was carbon emissions from the cars we use and fossil fuel burning. But scientists have proved that temperature have started to rise during the 1940s, before planes and cars were even improved and mass produced and CO2 production was relatively low. During the post war economic boom, refrigerators and other manufactured goods were introduced. During this period, temperature started to fall and continued for 4 decades. During the world recession in 1975, the temperature started rising again. Now isn’t this the opposite of the theory that climate change is man made?

Advocates and even some governments claim that THEY can STOP climate change. But this is scientifically impossible and obscure. Climate change is no longer a scientific issue, but rather a political and economic issue that aims to scare possible investors. When it is recognized that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, carbon trading will collapse causing big loss of money. We should not worry about climate change. It is naturally occurring and we would all die soon anyway even if we cared. Now tell me, how would YOU stop climate change? Are you ready and willing to give up all the luxuries you live with day by day?

Another goal

One of my goals this year is to memorize all the countries in the world and their capital cities.

I’ve used to know all of these stuff when I was a kid. I even knew each country’s currency and population. My secret? I had a set of flash cards that I used to read on my free time. Yes… I was a geek back then. I was this diligent and studious little kid, doing her homeworks and projects and passing them on time, reading her books in advance, and got numerous awards during recognition day. I joined spelling bees, quiz bees and essay writing contests. Some I won, some I lost.

Those were the days.

            Anyway… nth Goal for the year: MEMORIZE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD AND THEIR CAPITAL CITIES.

Call for papers :)

The UP Delta Lambda Sigma Sorority, in celebration of its Social Consciousness Month, will be having a Call for Papers project, with the theme “Portraits of the Filipina: Of Womanhood and Nationalism” from July 27 to September 25, 2009.

All UP Diliman students are encouraged to submit poems, essays and short stories, either in English or Filipino, for a chance to win a cash prize and be included in a publication by the UP Center for Women’s Studies and in the UP DLS’ newsletter and Annual Deltan Scroll.

Entries are to be submitted to dls_scm@yahoo,com together with your name, student number, year and course, and contact details (email, contact number).

For more information, visit www.simagandamalakasdin.mu

Uninspired … Again

I’m thinking of making a new blog… But I cannot think of any content for it. Any suggestions there? Please?

I’ve been uninspired these past few weeks. Because of exams, training, papers, and other extracurricular activities, I haven’t been able to diligently write new posts for this site. I’ve been trying to make time for writing, but every time I turn on my laptop, I’d stare at it for 10 minutes while the cursor is waiting for whatever I’m going to type. After a few more minutes, I’d give up and play Plants vs Zombies (that game’s addicting BTW).

So there. Wala na akong maisip mailagay ulet. Argh!