Interviewer: Is Al Gore a prophet?Al Gore: [chuckles awkwardly]Richard Branson: ummm … ah… how do you spell prophet?Al Gore: [more awkward laughter with the other two men] Climate change is such a complex issue that seems to be beyond the full understanding of alarmists and skeptics alike. And yet, it is hardly the only environmental…
Blog
Blogs about work, life and everything in between.
Another year of raising a son with autism
It’s Aidan’s 6th birthday. It was supposed to be part of an extended stay with my family in the UK which I had been planning for since early last year. Unfortunately, the trip had to be cancelled. Instead we are over a month into the quarantine of the Philippines, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. We…
Learning journal excerpts from the last three months
For the second module in my PhD programme, one of the activities was to write a learning journal. I wasn’t sure how to handle that. Some in my cohort took a rather analytical approach to it. But I was one of those who took a less formal style. At the end of the module, I…
Educate before you advocate
These past few weeks, I found myself in face to face forums and discussions about green living. I wouldn’t be motivated to attend of my own accord. But I did so to support my wife, who was part of these talks. She is currently into conducting natural hand dyeing workshops, which would be a fascinating…
Grinding in isolation
Every now and then, I write something for my blog which snowballs into a huge personal rant that exposes me emotionally in manners that I might regret. I end up not posting these blogs. Even before I started typing this, it somehow felt like this was going to be another one of those. But I…
Digital Collective Autoethnography Study Blog 3: Peer feedback
I was able to get a few of my cohorts to provide some highly valuable feedback regarding my one-page proposal, which I posted here. The level of discourse has so far been higher and more focused than what I have grown accustomed to in my own courses at UPOU. Limiting discussion posts isn’t something I…
Digital Collective Autoethnography Study Blog 2: One-page proposal
We were required to submit a 500 word proposal. Below is my submission, word for word, along with paraphrases of our professor’s comments. Enhancing student engagement in an online university: successes, failures and how to move forward Submitted February 17, 2019ED.S821: Research Methods in Education and Social Science Settings: Philosophy, methodology, techniques and tools For…
Autoethnography study blog 1: The Digital Collective
So, I’m nearly a month into my PhD studies. I started off pretty good, then got derailed by a bunch of things and am now trying to catch up. I’ll manage that, but I just had a thought. The depth and structure of the discussions we are expected to participate in class has been challenging,…
The detour to 2019
Yes, each year hardly turns out being the same. But the past ones haven’t really been all that different from each other either. The milestones were different. The routine… not so much. But even that changes this year. The last few years were a buildup for this one. And they were rough. It has been…
Farewell and thank you, Ma’am Liza.
I had strong second thoughts about attending my high school alumni homecoming last December 8. I always do, because I have mixed feelings towards my time in UP Rural High School. I don’t hate it. But I didn’t particularly enjoy it, either. However, one of the few things about high school that I cherish to…
Congratulations to the BA Multimedia Studies Class of 2018
This is the last batch whom I will be marching with, at least for a while. As I look at this picture, most of their faces felt unusually familiar, perhaps more so than previous batches. Obviously, I know all of them. But the sight of them elicited emotions not quite like last year. And then…
Presenting the UPOU Digital Collective at ICEM 2018
Hardly anything went according to plan. I’d decided on attending ICEM 2018 the moment it was announced. It was just as well, as with anything that involves a trip to Europe, you need to prepare well in advance. I already knew back then what I’d be presenting. However, circumstances would not permit me to do what…
My Schengen Visa Application (Estonia c/o Norway)
I love traveling to Europe. I’ve been lucky enough to make the trip a number of times, and they all leave lasting memories for me to fondly remember. But what I do hate is the preparation. After the initial excitement fades, the weeks leading to the actual departure is riddled with anxiety and second thoughts…
Tribute to the old man
I thought writing about one’s father would be relatively easy. That’s why I took my time, thinking the process would be quick when the thoughts start flowing freely. It has always been the method that felt natural to me. It’s how my best work comes about. Then I realized what’s behind my difficulty. It’s easy…
A decade in UPOU
I’m not here to preach about how you should always persevere and never quit, that tomorrow is a better day, or that God loves you and will always be with you, going ra-ra with fluffy pom-poms and all that. If you know me at all, you would know it would all be bullshit, coming from…