Work Away From Your Bedroom!!!

There has been recent developments in my dissertation. I discovered that I work best when I work at our dinner table. How strange.

I guess it has something to do with being away from my bedroom. Whenever I work there I tend to feel lazy every time I see my cushy bed.

Now that I'm away from it I am FINALLY getting some work done. Our dinner table is quite long which enables me to organize the stuff I need.

My pace may not be so fast but at least I'm churning up quality work. If this keeps up I may just make it. Hope for the best!

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Illustration Cited:

http://ww.weblogcartoons.com

Blank Stare

Whenever I start to seriously work at my dissertation I always get into a fix. No matter how much effort I put in getting myself to write nothing comes up to mind.

I have never felt so stupid in my life. Imagine years of training in graduate school for this? A wannabe scholar having nothing to write for a dissertation. And after ALL that reading!!!

My time is almost up. Who knows what will happen? Good fortune has always been kind to me. The question is for how long?

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Illustrations Cited:

http://www.grinningplanet.com/2006/05-30/plural-words-joke-pun.htm

Abstract Accepted

I just received word stating that my abstract was accepted for presentation this coming May. This is my second abstract accepted for a foreign conference this year.

Such a message could not have come at a better time. Just when I was beginning to be intellectually demoralized.



Working on my dissertation is taking its toll. I'm not sure if it's stress or maybe my brain is slowing down. It is probably the most boring activity I ever did in my life!




Acceptance of an abstract may not be such a big deal however, if it was screened by the National University of Singapore (NUS) it's a different story. The NUS is the 20th best university in the world according to Times Higher Education Supplement.

Being acknowledged by one of the best universities in the world is a feat in itself. Even if it wasn't NUS that screened it the very fact that foreign scholars recognize your work is truly gratifying.

It's a pity that many of my efforts are not recognized in my home country. Sometimes your kin could be your worst critic.

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Illustrations Cited:

http://www.cartoonmotivators.com/pages/MikeMoore.html

http://www.terrace.qld.edu.au/terrnews/tn220799.htm

http://www.nus.edu.sg

Back to School

By Monday I will be returning to life as a college educator. I missed this job tremendously after being stranded at home doing my dissertation. Teaching will finally give me the peace of mind I can't seem to find elsewhere.


I love my "home" university, Perps, very much. It saved me countless times from professional oblivion. Whenever I had to leave certain universities for political reasons Perps was always there to welcome me back without asking a word. It is a place where I really feel appreciated.

This semester will be a turning point in my career. The administrators at Perps are asking me for the nth time if I want to stay for good as a tenured faculty member. Tenures are hard to earn taking at least 3 years probation but they're giving it to me on a silver platter!


I'm really confused. I really love Perps from the bottom of my heart but I'm not sure if it is the place where I can grow academically. Research priorities and funding are limited to studies about Perps. Promotions there are done every three years only. This means you won't get promoted even if you win a Nobel prize unless the three years isn't up yet!

I really don't mind the not so spectacular pay. What I do mind is their ambivalence to faculty achievements. Productive faculty members should be compensated for being productive especially those who bring honor to the university. They deserve it.

Well, I will have to make a choice sooner or later. I don't have the heart to say no for the nth time. I guess I'll just have to make the best of the current situation. For now I'll just relish the moment for having the chance to teach once again.


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Illustrations Cited:

The Online Learning Centre
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/newsletters/06issue1.htm

The Importance of Getting Things Done

As I was browsing through a bookstore in a nearby mall I was able to find a very enlightening book entitled "The Technique of Getting Things Done" by Donald Raid. It looks and sounds like the usual inspirational stuff one finds in commercial bookstore but a close cursory reading of the book will reveal that it has much to offer than inspiration.

The main idea of this book is that people fail to achieve great things in their lives not because they lack intelligence but rather they do not know how to get things done in their lives. This simply means that many underachievers do not have the prudence to act at the right place at the right time.What the author says is very similar to a Filipino belief that success in life is not all about how smart or how much money a person has. A truly successful person is someone who is "madiskarte" or a person who knows how to use various circumstances to their advantage. Virtually all mentos commercials exemplify people who are "madiskarte" in a practical sense.

The book also implies the idea that too many people whine about their inability to do or finish a certain things rather than doing something about it. The pictures on this entry may seem rather silly but it catches the message perfectly. The guy on the left has every reason to whine about his inability to cook eggs to eat but he mprovised by cooking it with a magnifying glass. It may look silly but it shows a person who acts to get things done no matter how odd or awkward the solution may be. At least he did something to alleviate his situation rather than to mope about it.

This book's main idea really hit a raw nerve on my part! There were many instances in my life when I simply bemoan the difficulty of finishing a task (like my dissertation!) instead of working on it one step at a time. The message came as a real slap on my face. I guess I better start reorienting myself to be more productive no matter how crappy my original work may be at first. Rome wasn't built in a day after all.

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Illustrations Cited:

Review of Solar Cooked Designs by Ashok Kundapur
http://ashokk_3.tripod.com/solar1.htm

Editorial Cartoon by Jimmy Purcell
http://media.www.jacconline.org/media/storage/paper212/news/2000/10/01/SocalConference/2005-OnSpot.Winnervisual.Entries-1042853.shtml

Mentoring Blues

I just received a scolding from my mom a while ago about a neighbor I have been mentoring for some time now. I have known this kid ever since she was a kid and I'm happy to see how she has grown to be a very kind and intelligent lady through the years. I really enjoy the moments we spend talking with each other because of the jolly, candid and insightful ways she directs our discussions.

It caused me great sadness to know that her grandmother was very upset with the academic advises I was giving her. Her grandmother's family and my family have been friends for decades and this is the first time that a family friend became angry for something that I did. Truth be known all I ever advised her to do was to be active in order to reach leadership positions in her organizations, participate in national youth conferences and of course, to always study hard. Was there anything wrong with saying such things?

In all fairness I do understand her grandmother. They don't have much and adding extra curricular activities on the bill can really cause a financial mess in their lives. Given such conditions I still feel that she's on the right track. She needs all the credentials she could so that she can have the best job possible. No good company will hire a mediocre, so-so candidate even if they graduated from an ivy league school. lots of students graduate from ivy league schools anyway so what makes her special? I'll tell you what, it's the extra curricular activities, of course. That's what makes all the difference because it shows a candidate's interpersonal dimensions which can never be written in a resume. Active and extensive participation in organizational matters entails great people skills. That added with brains makes a person an ideal candidate.Not to mention the numerous friends and contacts you could make by simply engaging in such activities. These are things that a lot of students fail to see.

I guess I better leave her be. I never had the right to meddle in their life anyway. Of course, I'll still help her in any way I can. I do not have the heart to turn down a person in need. I'll just keep a little distance just to maintain the peace. I'm sure that she has learned enough from me. All she has to do is to be the best person she could possibly be.

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Illustrations Cited:

Mentoring Illustration by Samantha Dellinger (http://www.yorkblog.com/artist/graphic_arts/)

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mid-Missouri
(http://www.rmhccolumbia.org/Volunteers.html)