the Earth-bound adventures of the Lost and Found

Start:      Mar 1, '06 2:00p End:      Mar 1, '06 4:00p Location:      IBP Social Hall, Cebu Provincial Capitol Complex “Proclamation No. 1017: Its Constitutionality and Implications” February 27, 2006 Greetings! “Presidential Proclamation No. 1017:Its Constitutionality and Implications” is the theme of the forum facilitated by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL) – Cebu Chapter, Cebu Lady Lawyers Association, Inc. (CELLA) and Laban ng Masa and other organizations. This will be held at the IBP Social Hall, Capitol Complex, Cebu City on March 1, 2006 from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. The Legal and Political Implications of Proclamation No. 1017 will be discussed by IBP NEAT Deputy chair for the Visayas Gloria Estenzo Ramos and IBP Cebu City Chapter Past President Democrito Barcenas. There will be reactors from the police, military, media, local government units, church...

this is just the journal entry to complement the photo album of what i did last week, which isn't done yet. have to post photos of pamilacan, which are still in my cam =) and yes, these are the perks of my work. almost makes me not want to leave....   =======================   FEB 20 8pm: FORD annual report finally finished and emailed 1130pm: finish mexican dinner; VST & Co and Jose Mari Chan songs playing alternately in the background   FEB 21 530am: wake up to pack for trip; contemplate bringing mask & snorkel, tripod for bohol; dress rehearsal and borrow heels for Supreme Court hearing 9am: wake up for 11am flight 1015am: arrive at airport, check in, change MLA-CBU ticket to MLA-TAG 1215pm: arrive at Manila Domestic, walk to road to get taxi because of long queue 1pm: arrive at Supreme Court for the hearing on EO 464 (where GMA prohibits anyone in the Executive branch to testify in Congress for whatever reason--including budget hearings--unless she gives...

February 21 to 24, 2006. Had to attend a couple of meetings, and these are the outputs ;-) If you think these look too much fun for a meeting, read the details here .

Description: 13th Iligan National Writers Workshop (INWW) Now Accepting Applicants The National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) and the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Reseach and Extension (OVCRE) are accepting applications from writers to the 13th Iligan National Writers Workshop (INWW) to be held on May 22-24, 2006 in Iligan City. Panelists this year are Rosario Cruz Lucero, Erlinda Kintanar Alburo, Jaime An Lim, Leoncio P. Deriada, Merlie M. Alunan, German V. Gervacio, Steven Patrick C. Fernandez and this year’s keynote speaker, the poet Michael U. Obenieta, 3rd INWW Fellow (1996) Fifteen (15) slots, five each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are available for writing fellowships to the INWW. Ingredients: Applicants are required to submit five poems, or, one short story, or, a one-act play in Filipino, English or in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, Waray (with translations) along with the applicant’s biodata, two 2X...

lost and found by Jeneen R. Garcia published on February 25, 2006 *my new column photo     In exactly five weeks, I will be officially unemployed. Although circumstances have helped bring me to this point, it is with exhilaration that I choose to finally be free from the office, and declare that I want to be a bum--a traveling bum.   When I told the news to friends and acquaintances, many of them expressed envy, congratulations, and best wishes. For my guts to actually leave the rat race, one said.   What rat race? Ever since I graduated from college, I’ve been working for non-profit organizations that let me dress the way I want (rubber sandals, sleeveless shirts, loose pants...what I’d call “in perpetual beach mode”), report for work later than most offices, and let me put my feet up on my chair as I type my reports.   At my office now, I have a large glass window that I open on lovely gray days to watch green leaves dripping with rain, the branche...

the greenie patch by Jeneen R. Garcia to be published on February 26, 2006     This week at the greenie patch, things are pretty sad, as we continue to hear about the lolos , lolas , parents, and kids as young as you who have been buried by the landslide in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte .   The people in the town say that the landslide was caused by the rain that pounded on the mountain every day for two weeks, making the soil soft and unstable. Our weather officials tell us that this kind of rain that never seems to stop is caused by La Niña, a weather phenomenon where the Pacific Ocean becomes unusually cool. The cool ocean temperature creates more typhoons and strong winds than usual in our part of the world. Its opposite is what we call the El Niño, when there is less rain and more droughts.   La Niña and El Niño are natural climate patterns that happen every few years. But scientists studying these patterns tell us that El Niño has been coming more and more often...

February 4 to 6, 2006. Had a free plane ticket I had to use, so I decided to hook up with my college thesis partner from bulacan, john-b, and rica, my college dormmate from surigao, both of whom i hadn't seen in years, for a weekend trip to zambales. it had been six years since i'd been back to my old thesis site and its moonsets over the south china sea. incidentally, just two weeks before, a Greenpeace volunteer was beaten up by the guards when he tried to enter the coal-fired power plant that we did our thesis on. it was good to go there, to remember. the three of us talked about what we've gone through since graduation, how far (or not far) we've come. and zambales is really an amazing place, with so many parts of it still undiscovered. and how the children have grown! and how things have changed. some things have stayed the same though--the island still doesn't have electricity and running water. arrived in manila 10pm, took the midnight bus at caloocan, and a...

the greenie patch (#2) by Jeneen R. Garcia published on February 12, 2006     Just a few days more and it will be Valentine’s Day! Flowers of all colors and shapes in gardens everywhere will be swept up in lovely bouquets.   Sure, flowers make the air smell sweet, but what if you could give cool, fresh air to your parents and beloved friends instead?   In the United Kingdom, people can “buy” or adopt an acre of tropical forest for £30 (about P2,800 or roughly 50 one-piece chicken meals!) through the World Land Trust, a British organization, and offer it as a Valentine gift to their special someone.   The trees in the piece of forest they buy will be protected from loggers. Then the trees can keep producing fresh air for everyone on the planet for a long, long time. Now isn’t that a cool way of saying “I Love You”?   Good news, kids! Even if you don’t have enough money to buy an acre of forest, you can still give fresh air as a gift to your love...

Start:      Feb 24, '06 1:00p End:      Feb 24, '06 5:00p Location:      klima Conference Room, klima Climate Change Center, Manila Observatory, Ateneo de Manila Campus, Quezon City The Earth Day Network-Philippines and the klima Climate Change Center of the Manila Observatory cordially invite you to "Global Warning: the Case for A Changing Climate", a briefing aimed at heightening awareness on climate change and its impacts on the economy, health, coastal areas, water resources, agriculture and forestry sectors in the Philippines. This is being conducted in line with the international theme for the Earth Day 2006, "Climate Change Solutions." This rare occasion will provide a venue for exchange of ideas and opportunities on the issue and its relevance to the livelihood in the country. In this briefing, we hope to bring science to the level that illustrates the changes on our way of life should the problem be ignored and to provide possible ...

On April 1, 2006, I will be officially unemployed. Yahoo! I’ve been dreaming about this day for the longest time, when I can truly enjoy my summer as it should be enjoyed. The meteorologists predict La Niña (this is what we get for still emitting all those greenhouse gases =( now the farmers need to change their crops to cope) in the next few months, which is not so bad because I’m most happy when it rains, but not so good for visibility in diving.   But aside from that, I also want to see if I can be more productive working out of the office instead of in. I usually work best and get things done quickly on my own time, in my own physical spaces, because I prefer working on something until it’s done rather than having to divide my time into “day job” and “night job” or “weekend job” as I’m doing now. And could I possibly earn more? Pray more? Help more people? So this is an experiment.   How long will the experiment last? If I don’t get a scholarship for an MS, only until the ...

my third cebuano poem... =) got the idea for this last summer, but never quite got around to writing it. a few weeks ago, i was standing at the corner waiting for a ride with vince, my officemate, when i asked him what tree it was that i'd been feeling sympathetic for all these months. when he told me it was a duldul (kapok), which is what people use for pillows, i knew i had found my poem.   and since our WILA valentine reading  was coming up, i thought it would be the perfect time to write it. and now i know why i wasn't able to write it before--it had to be written in cebuano. and since i've just recently found my cebuano voice, it could only be written now, in this joyful season of words.   still with some help from boogie  who was in danao the whole time. was texting him throughout the rainy afternoon (opted to stay in and write instead of look for lunch), and then called him when i finished the poem at 5 pm to make sure i pronounced the words right. also w...

the greenie patch (column #1) by Jeneen R. Garcia published on January 29, 2006 in Sun.Star Kids 'R Us   Hey kids, can you guess what important day is coming up in February?   Nope, it’s not just Valentine’s Day. On February 2, people all over the globe are celebrating World Wetlands Day.   Wetlands are the Earth’s naturally wet places, like marshes, lakes, mudflats, mangrove forests, and cora l reefs. They cover approximately 6% of the Earth’s surface.   Wetlands are very important because this is where fish lay their eggs to keep them safe from bigger creatures that could eat the baby fish. Wetlands are also rich in nutrients, so animals like crabs, shellfish, and migratory sea birds like to stay here and eat. Plus, wetlands are Mother Nature’s way of protecting us from tsunamis, floods, and droughts. They act as a natural filter to help keep our drinking water clean.   So imagine what the world would be like if there were no wetlands! We would hav...

Start:      Feb 17, '06 8:00a End:      Feb 17, '06 4:00p Location:      Moot Court Room, 8th floor, University of Cebu - Banilad Campus The Alternative Law Groups, through the Children's Legal Bureau and the Juvenile Justice Network, is holding a forum on the newly-passed Juvenile Justice Law. The forum will also include a screening of Ditsi Carolino's award-winning documentary BUNSO, and a sharing by children in conflict with the law (CICL). Please confirm your participation by calling Atty. CAthy Alvarez or Vangie at 2545091 by February 13.

Start:      Feb 11, '06 6:30p Location:      Kahayag Café, M.J. Cuenco Ave., Mabolo, Cebu City In anticipation of Valentine’s Day and in celebration of February as National Arts Month, the Women in Literary Arts, Inc. (WILA) is hosting a poetry reading dubbed "Hay, Gugma! In Praise and Lamentation of Love". Flooding the stage with words of passion and longing will be Cebuano literary greats such as Ernesto Lariosa, Tem Adlawan and Myke Obenieta. The floor will also be opened to anyone who wants to share a sigh of contentment or regret over that four-letter word poets have been writing about since the beginning of time. Please feel free to pass this on!

 a fter almost nine years of writing poetry in english, i finally wrote not just one, but two (!) poems in cebuano the other weekend. i already put it in my head that i had to have something of my own to read at Bathalad’s 7 th Bantawan sa Bathalad at Kahayag (poetry reading in Cebuano, every first Wednesday at 7:30 pm) on February 1.   and so, as i was falling asleep Saturday night, the words started tumbling out for the two poems. actually, i don’t think i could’ve written them any other way, as i would’ve been too afraid to start. since i had two half-poems when i woke up the next day, i had enough courage to push on and finish them Sunday night (had to keep them out of my mind during Sunday school and church, otherwise i wouldn’t have been able to do anything else), revising them by Monday lunch time, ready for reading on Wednesday evening.   i wrote these directly in cebuano, thought them out with the part of me that’s become cebuano, because the sensibility of...

Start:      Feb 13, '06 End:      Feb 17, '06 Location:      UPP store at Balay Kalinaw and the UPP printery in UP Diliman The University of the Philippines Press (UPP) is holding a clearance sale this Valentine season from February 13 to 17, 2003. Books published in 2000 and earlier are on sale with discounts up to 80 per cent. Majority of the titles are available at half price. The week-long book sale called Bye Bye, Love is held at the UPP store at Balay Kalinaw and the UPP printery in UP Diliman. Bye Bye, Love is UPP’s way of saying goodbye to some of its stock of well-loved and well-written literary and scholarly titles. The sale is held in preparation for the arrival of 15 new UPP titles to be launched on February 23. In keeping with the Valentine season, UPP is offering two of its best-selling titles One Hundred Love Poems: Philippine Love Poetry Since 1905 edited by Gemino Abad and Alfred Yuson and Fourteen Love Stories edited by Jose...