Poverty by chance and by choice

I dwelled on this thought over and over again just in order to get solid factors that results to such incidence. I believe that there are only two factors that basically govern its existence.

Chance, a word that basically tells us that we can either get one, more or none. A word that implies that a certain instance may be able to result or not. The thought here being emphasized is that we are always and will be subjected to chance. A person no matter how much effort he or she may put into his or her efforts in order to weave a good and decent life will be risking all of it to chance, a chance to get better results than expected such as having a business with a high rates of return; a chance to have all his or her belongings to be ravaged by natural calamities (personally witnessed), or the neutral chance that he or she will get that goal at a moderate point in terms of the result. In the end we can see that we just had a u turn towards the main sentence stated above that we can get one, get more or get none. Poverty in this case can be greatly greatly caused by such factor and that is due to chance.

The second factor I believe is due to choice. This factor is very prevalent but however is not very visible. The first factor is very much blamed for poverty incidence due to the fact that they thought that chance had pushed them in that condition. There was this theory in driving that people tend what they tend to see because they are expecting or not expecting it, same is true for people who blame it to chance for their poverty they only tend to see their poverty caused by chance because it is what they want to see, being content on their lack of action because chance said so. We can basically cite many instances wherein poverty is driven by choice. One easy example is when a person tends to spend more than what he currently earns is one form of poverty driven by choice because in the long run he will eventually fall into bankruptcy and we all know obviously what caused that and that is definitely not chance but by choice. Poverty by choice is very tricky because it will either get rid of wealth in a matter of seconds or in a matter of years at an unconsciously alarming rate. Wealth vanished in a matter of seconds is prevalent in gambling as it is one's choice to risk property or assets in order to gain one while adding a bit of chance in the formula. 

In engineering we always delve into the areas that are controllable, we frequently ignore or eliminate the factors that are prevalent in nature or what we commonly call "ambient" in nature. Thus in this case we must be wary of the choices rather than the chances as we cannot control the conditions set by the chances. The choice however can be easily manipulated as it is very much subjective in nature, being influenced by the self. I believe that by making informed, precalculated and evaluated choices we can definitely avoid or reduce the chances of being poor in the tapestry of life. As obvious as it is we can also say that these two factors can even lead us to a decent or luxurious life such as being lucky enough to win a lottery (chance) and by strategic investments (chance). In the end it is really dependent on the perspective really but as of now let us simplify things.

 That is all for now :)

a storm is brewing...

I have just realized that I only start writing in this blog whenever I face serious problems... LOL and that just means that I am really having not only one but many. Though I haven't received my midterm grades yet I have already known which ones are bad and good through several discussions with my teachers some are really at a critical point but in general it can be labelled as satisfactory.

I was trying to prevent the nightmares of the past semester through very thorough understanding of the several subjects that I have been taking. Though these efforts were heavily supported by sheer self motivation, I still could not accept the fact that these efforts bore little fruit. I am beginning to believe in delayed gratification due to the fact that I am still not enjoying better outcomes through these efforts and I am also beginning to believe that whatever I apply in these times will always develop into a habit rather than a forced effort on my part.

This is the fresh start of the second half of the semester, a third quarter of a basket ball game. I really need to double time and triple the efforts, I even think that my ram broke down just a week ago in order for me to get the most moderate grades ever.

Enough with the miserable academics and back to the life outside of the four corners of the rooms in school, I almost forgot that it is February this month and of course first thing that comes into mind to those of many is valentines and dates. Well this could be very redundant for others especially for the ones who are very much experienced with such activity and even sees it as a "annual holiday" but for me it is likened to a concert wherein people have the privilege to go or not to and for me it has always been "not to go". Not being an anti social here but most people who go on dates and have relationships especially in this age bracket do not really go that far. And honestly, if I were to question most college couples out there if they ever have plans of having a long term relationship I will be expecting fake yes answers from both sides.

On my part alone, I see to it that if I ever have important things under my possession or even memorable relationships with other people I always look at the long term part of having these things. This type of belief is very much absent in the society today. People change girlfriends and boyfriends as if they are changing clothes or replacing their old cellphones with new ones. I strongly believe in what Warren Buffet who is one of the world's top billionaires (I think he was the world's richest man at one point) said "if you do not plan on owning something for 10 years then dont own it for 10 minutes" which was brilliantly explicated by the billionaire. Bottom line here is that, if people really are not getting any serious with such relationships then why bother. I'd rather stand passive and low profile than being one of those extravagant couples who really did not have plans for their future. Personally, I only see to it as a liability to have one because first you have to spend time with the partner and second you spend money for and with the partner whatever maybe. As for me, well I think that I'll just wait to get a decent job after graduating and getting the license that I have been dying for and get a serious love life... eventually... but as for now, I have to date with different kinds of subjects every semester that has been corrupting my mind in the past few years.

Final Grades and the second sem

Well its been a very very long time since I written something in this blog and that was actually during the week before midterms. I have been very busy budgeting my time studying some mind boggling books and ideas that were very foreign in my basic scientific understanding concerning thermodynamics to the electrical circuits, both of which were being composed of different mathematical patterns like tables, loops, forms of energy and others.

It was a very challenging semester for me after immersing different schemes and manners of using mathematics as tool in solving very distinct problems that composes the different subjects that I am enlisted in. The main problem that I have been experiencing is the instantaneous absorption of technical ideas and concepts that are to be learned in one very insufficient day.

For the second semester however, I am readily planned to change my time allocation. In my point of view, it has been outdated in a way resulting to a hiatus in terms of learning some concepts in a days time. I am willing to sacrifice very vast amounts of time just for the sake of having better grades now, bearing in mind that a C can be acceptable but a B or even an A is very much more appreciated. Even my parents nowadays are very considerate with my grades especially my majors. They have begun to understand that taking up an engineering course has never been a walk in the park, but getting failure marks in any way is also unacceptable. Inevitable sacrifices on my part must be made as preparation for the second semester.

Though I haven't received my grades for the first semester yet I cannot help but to understand the saying "hope for the best and expect for the worst" statement. It really was a very different semester for me, I even considered it the hardest semester (hopefully but most likely there will be more in the near future). On the third of November I shall be receiving my hard earned grades and I am beginning to love a letter grade of C nowadays putting in consideration the hardest kinds of subjects that I have been tackling and will be tackling. :) hahaha that is all for now :)

midterms week :|

Yup midterms week. One of the times wherein students gamble their lucks to different forms of prayers and efforts. But before I elaborate more on the subjective rants and expectations about midterms more of which will come from my past experiences, I have to look back at my previous post which emphasized on the study hard, grasping the essence of knowledge about math etc. notion I think it would be appropriate for me to observe the results.

Unfortunately, I cannot decipher if I would be satisfied with my performance and the results that have been the end product of that test effort. Though I have to be honest that my grades are not really that high as expected at the time of the previous post but I have to be grateful enough that my grades have not turned out to be at the worst possible outcomes. During these previous weeks I have seen very many brilliant blockmates of mine having worse quiz results than mine. This happens only at the rarest moments though, but I have to hope that the frequency of these moments will not have an increase in probability (having intelligent classmates fail in most major subjects means bad news for people like me who are at the average level of thinking... LOL). Kidding aside, I really have to get serious though. My blood draining study activities have made my college days more miserable than ever. I cannot even get a peaceful minute, a minute which does not concern remembering problems from circuits, thermodynamics, dynamics, advance math and all the subjects that are endangering our lives as regular mechanical engineering students. The bottom line is that my 15000x10²% effort in studying only gave a 10-15% increase in performance which i think is negligible (this makes me think that I should stop studying if the increase in my performance is almost insignificant LOL)... I guess the hard difficulty that is embedded on these subjects really distorts my innocent mind. I have to pray to lady luck and to heaven for abundance of mercy coming from our instructors who are really seeping the life out of our brains T_T.

Going back to the main event for this month - Midterm examinations, I have to say that I haven't really prepared enough yet. I still have to solve 300 more so problems multiplied by 5 subjects in order for me to be familiarize the problems which are far from the examples that my professors have been writing on those miserable black boards. I should have said to these professors that the word "exam" came from the word "exam"+ ples so they should start from there >:(.

Basing on the tone of the students, I hear silent roars of desperation. It is very apparent especially nowadays that there is an increase in the population of students who visit the chapel. I also hear and read rants from here and there especially in facebook that they have been going in the same torture that I am undergoing. Rants from motorela conversations also have been a popular genre in music while I ride my way home.

Focusing on tomorrow, I and my blockmates together with the JPSME, and PSME will be having our tree planting activity tomorrow. I have many expectations with this event because I know that many will be participating and the name of the venue where was alien to me as it was the first time in my entire life that a place like that existed in Opol or somewhere there, the place was so new that I even forgot the name.

That is all for tonight. I hope I can still maintain my sanity after midterms :)).

it's been a while :)

well to start off, i have been busy with my academics lately due to the fact that i have board exams to face after i graduate. i have realized that it will be very essential to put learning into heart rather than knowing only the principles. i have known many people who are very passionate and determined when it comes to the engineering sciences which also includes math as its backbone. i never wanted this feeling of mathematical and scientific alienation towards my classmates in engineering thus i have made very cautious acts when it comes to studying by squeezing the essence out of the books that i have been reading. to my surprise i have been very interested by studying by the roots which i myself was not expecting.

i have very competent classmates that are very brilliant towards their academics. as a student who only wants to get the relevant factors out of the different lessons ranging from various subjects, it was really not that easy to be caught in the bandwagon of math brilliance and engineering passion. it took a while for me to realize that i have spent too much time being idle on computer shops or wasting precious time on computer games. i also have come into realization that indeed with the absence of being hooked to the computers i have been able to have a better social connections with the people i hang out with.

it just goes to show that sacrifices must be made in order to make great changes and the concept that all of us have the same number of hours in a day which is also simply called as time is one of the greatest raw materials in the lives of human persons, doing much and doing less of the 24 hour time allocated for everybody will determine the 24 hours of the future thus doing more of what we have can always lead to success in the near future (delayed gratification)

- lessons that i learned in economics. :)

June 30, 2010

Time really goes fast especially in the political aspects here in the Philippines. Tomorrow, a new president will be inaugurated in front of the many people both local and international community. His main agenda is to purge the Philippines on the list of the top corrupt countries in the world pushing him to chase after the president that he will be replacing on the said day.

Noynoy Aquino, the presidential candidate of my family, possesses some qualities that my family has been looking for in a very long time. His landslide victory greatly represented the many Filipinos that have been tired of traditional politics. He believed that change can come from within and that there is no change if the system is not cleansed with anomalies. Believing in what he said, my family fully supports his political agendas as long as it is in the realm of morality and benefits the majority. This then leads us to having our June 30, 2010, a holiday, to be at our home and listen to the words that Noynoy will be promising and expecting in his term.

Leaving politics aside, there are also other things that I have to attend to on the same day. I will be blessed to have orthodontic braces on the said day. Many people might consider it minor but for me it has been a really big deal for in fact my family is situated in the middle class bracket with little to spend on luxury goods which includes braces. I feel very blessed and thankful to God, who has always been there for me and my parents that have allocated some money for some optional expenses.

June 30, 2010 is also the day wherein my Mechanical engineering block mates will be having their bonding activity in Guadalupe wherein they have to cross a river several times accompanied with prayer via station of the cross. I hope they have a fun trip that strengthens their bond not only socially but also religiously.

One rainy day.

well its been the second day of classes and some of my subject teachers are really not that persistent in showing up (yes they do this frequently and is considered by many as their tradition). I also observed some instructors who are not that effective in teaching a class composed of 45 students all in all many of which are male students in engineering and yes it has been one hell of a class the noise is mainly a collection of back biting, teasing and boasting - a scene wherein it is almost common in most other boring subjects.

What worries me more is that the said subject is one of my majors in engineering and learning little will really tell the difference in the near future especially in the board exams (this subject is about machine designing). My instructor back then was a very specialized Mechanical engineer that is really poor in terms of teaching. Even with his poise and voice, people cannot really tell the difference between him and another security guard XD. That being a side I still hope that things work out fine for this subject as it was one of the most sounding subjects that I have read in my prospectus "Machine Elements design" and I hope things will change for the better.

I arrived home wet and dead tired after forgetting that I have to buy a book that is required in my 8am class. I am still being hopeful though by not knowing the inevitable consequences for tomorrow. I opted not to watch the news for I am sure that it will surely make my day less happier due to the non-sense showbiz news and the traditional filipino bad news which are emphasized by most news stations.

The day was concluded with a sudden gush of rain. Overall the day turned out fine with some flaws but yet I am still thankful for it not being worse and that somehow made me classify it under "not so bad things happened/nothing much happened" type of day.

well that is all that mattered to me on june 21 2010 :)