Blogging in 2012: A Review

Since I started my law studies in June, 2012, I thought 2012 would mean death for my blog. On the contrary, I became more active in blogging. I found a new source of material from studying law. Thus, most of the posts for 2012 have something to do with the law. How did my blogging activity fare in 2012? Here's a review the guys at Wordpress did:

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.



Here's an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Onyot's Trip: Walang basagan ng trip!

[caption id="attachment_2201" align="aligncenter" width="394" caption="Taken during our trip to Seagull Mountain Resort (Seagull 3), located on the outskirts of Bukidnon and Davao City (BuDa)."][/caption]

I have many nicknames. But it's "Onyot" that survived the test of time. I don't mind if you call me Onyot. I have become used to it anyway. In fact, now I like it when you call me Onyot. It's as if you and I have known each other for so long a time.

So I'm Onyot, and ito ang trip ko.

Trip, in English, denotes a "voyage," a "journey." But from the dingy and squalid kanto and looban of Philippine slums to the posh and bongga subdivisions, the word "trip" takes on a different meaning.

It refers to the things you do to break your humdrum routine, to express your in-ordinariness in this ordinary world, to wean yourself from a stressful work, or to try things for the sake of trying them.

Someone's trip might be food, manicure, or, uh, saving Mother Earth.

But sometimes if you do something as outrageous and bizarre as the acts of Jesse Caigoy,"Master of Pain," something as outlandish as having a Winnie The Pooh tattoo on your back, something as banal as planking, people would ask you this standard question, "Anong trip mo?"

"Wala lang!," or "Walang basagan ng trip!" is, of course, the standard retort.

When I started teaching, in 2010, I thought my teaching experience would be a fodder for my blog. I thought the bouts with students in particular and school life in general would be a well from which I can draw inspiration to blog. But no, I was caught in the thick of making lesson plans, preparing slide presentations for class, making test papers, checking test papers, recording and computing grades, reading essays, accompanying students to contests and conferences, meeting with parents, and complying with a host of other paper-works.

As a result, blogging became less frequent. Blog posts were sparse, mostly limited to announcements, slide shows for students to download, and a few lousy write-ups---lame attempts at reminding people who stumble upon this blog that its owner still exists. Soon, all I wanted was not to blog more often, but to have a goodnight's sleep.

Nevertheless, I continue to write. Sometimes, if I have time I write about teaching. I never write about sleeping. Most often I write about my activities in between---mga bagay na trip kong gawin.

That explains why I found the name of this blog---Onyot's TRIP---most fitting because this blog has been, is, and will always be about my trip: trip as a journey and voyage, and trip as wala lang, I just feel like doing it.

So welcome to Onyot's TRIP. And please walang basagan ng trip!

Posting via mobile phone

This is my first time to use my mobile phone to blog. I don't know if this will work. If you'll be able to read this, then it works. If not, then it doesn't.

Dealing with defeat my way

I went this afternoon to the Education Student Council's Office, only to be told that I placed third in the Essay Writing Competition sponsored by the Learning Resource Center of our school.

Of course, the news rather disappointed me. I'm not the pseudo-humble person who says that joining the contest is in itself enough for him. Truth to tell, I expected to place first, and I guess the five others who joined the contest did.

And what exactly did I do to, at least, cushion this recent blow on my pride?

A. Pretend that I'm doing a greater good. Perhaps the winner needs to beat a person of my stature in order to raise her morale.

B. Recall my past accomplishments, which the winner obviously didn't achieve.

C. Take note of the fact that she wasn't published in any national broadsheet. I was. She wasn't a finalist in the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards. I was.

D. Take note of another fact that when you google her name, the only result that the search engine will yield is her Friendster or Facebook account and nothing else.

The answer is E: all of the above.

(OK, thus is imitated from Jessica Zafra. I just can't help it. I couldn't find a better way to say what I want to say. My apologies.)

On leave, sort of

I will be blogging less frequently from November until March, as I will be giving more time to doing the requirements in my internship: professional readings, learning insights, lesson plans, visual aids, etc.

Although I don't consider blogging as an extra activity, I figured that I have to be AFK (away from keyboard for the uninitiated) for a particular period of time. And that period of time has just started this November.

If you notice, I have made three posts so far. Four if you count this one. That's because over the past weeks, I have attended seminars, workshops, and orientations that, our Practicum Supervisor argued, could help us in one way or the other become a better pre-service teacher.

One year of writing and blogging—and beyond

(Here's the result of following Forrester's advice. I'm not sure if I pulled it off well, so you be judge.)

It all started with a deceptively simple question, this passion for writing.

“Why do you want to be a teacher?” our professor in Principles of Teaching asked us at the first meeting of the class. We were turn in the essay, she told us, by next meeting. It meant, of course, that we only had one day to write what we think was the reason why we enrolled in Education.

The question got me thinking. Indeed, what is it that compelled me to want to be a teacher? For a while I thought of many reasons. Money? Definitely not. Fame? Only few teachers became famous. Some, who lived an epic life, died unsung. Prestige? Other professions such as medicine and law are far more prestigious than teaching.

After mulling over the question, I was able to fashion out a fairly decent essay. As I was about to read it in front of my classmates, I felt anxious. Would they like it? Would I be able to deliver it without stammering? But my anxieties turned out to be worse than the result. After I read my work, my classmates applauded me. My professor thought it was inspiring. “If Arvin’s essay did not inspire you,” she said, “I don’t know what will.”

However faint that praise was, an idea struck me. If this essay were inspiring, I thought, why not send it to Youngblood, a section in the Philippine Daily Inquirer where young people can send their essays. If the essay’s good enough, it will be published. I’ve been meaning to send to Youngblood, but never did attempt to do so. Or was it because I didn’t have some sensible things to say? But now, bolstered by my professor’s comment, I’ve finally mustered the courage to try to send an essay, hoping that it would inspire others the way it inspired my classmates.