When it rains...

...it pours - in sweeping deluge.
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by PAM


Indeed, when it rains, it does pour!  And this week is one for the books for us in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) as blessings poured in, making a complete deluge of joy.  Our hearts were full... and it felt incredible.  Thanks be to God!  

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Quality... in action, and in effect

This week, our university was visited by the ASEAN University Network - Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) for Institutional Assessment (IA).  It was a week-long onsite visit to verify what we submitted in a Self-Assessment Report (SAR), showing how we are satisfying the twenty-five (25) criteria of AUN-QA on Strategic QA, Systemic QA, Functional QA and the Results.  Ours is just the 8th university in the ASEAN region, and only the second university in the Philippines, to undergo IA by the AUN-QA.  

The whole week was a grueling five days of showing evidences that, indeed, we satisfactorily comply with the criteria, and that, as a university that spouses excellence, we even exceed the expectations that define 'quality' in the four areas of criteria

mentioned above.  The Faculty of Engineering - the college that I lead, was chosen by the AUN-QA Visiting Team to be the six (6) out of the 16 colleges/faculties (19, including the Ecclesiastical Faculties) in the university to be visited on the third day of the Team's onsite visit. Therefore, the preparations made our schedule extremely hectic for the past three weeks as we juggle AUN-QA and the on-going online preliminary accreditation process of our six Programs by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), and all our already brimming cup of daily tasks.  And yet, the Faculty of Engineering went on 'business as usual' in spite the fact that the officials have been sleeping less and less over the past month, myself included... maybe, myself... uhm,  mostly?  But God is good... and He took care of us over the past week, and the weeks before that.  Hence, we are still standing! #UnendingGrace

Today, in the morning, we heard very positive review by the AUN-QA IA Visiting Team as they issued their Exit Meeting with us, discussing the result of their assessment.  And so, we were all overjoyed... all the challenges of the past how many weeks that culminated to this day were worth all our combined efforts, and we are very grateful.

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Receiving 'a gift'

Our Mechanical Engineering (ME) Class of 2019 did very well in the Mechanical Engineers Licensure Examination, administered by the Professional Regulatory Board (PRB) of ME for the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) of the Philippine government last August 2019.  This afternoon, the Licensure Exam passers all over the country took their Oath as

Receiving an exquisite 'gift'... what a joy!

mechanical engineers, which is again administered by the ME PRB at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).  

As our ME Class of 2019 afforded us the recognition as the fourth Top Performing School in the said Licensure Examination, we received the Plaque and the Certificate of Recognition.  It was their 'gift' to the Faculty of Engineering and to UST... and, to receive it on behalf of the Faculty and the University, it was, indeed, an incredible joy!  Words are not enough to express how proud we are of them... and how happy we are for them and their parents.  

It's moments like this that make us, 'soldiers' of the teaching profession, feel emboldened to keep pursuing excellence, and showing our students the way to the starting point of their own journey of pursuing excellence and happiness... in joyful service of others and of God.  It's too beautiful for words... and it makes us hopeful that, perhaps, our offerings to God, He does appreciate.  And, He shows His appreciation by answering our collective prayer. 

***
Another answered prayer

Just when our hearts have become so stout of pure happiness, we received these wonderful pieces of good news just before the work day ended...

Defining excellence... the UST Electronics Engineering way!

...and the Roque Ruaño Building was swept in a massive deluge of indescribable joy!  I was speechless for a few seconds... until I got back down to earth from 'Cloud 9'.  Still, it was impossible to express happiness in words, so the tears made their way out in an attempt for eloquence.  Indeed, they expressed the happiness that was impossible to articulate albeit quite embarrassing!

We are, indeed, very proud of our Department of Electronics Engineering (ECE) and our ECE Class of 2019 for this incredible achievement!  We salute the topnotchers, #1 Neil Kenneth T. Mendoza (ECE Class of 2019, magna cum laude) and #10 Jay Patrick M. Nieles (ECE Class of 2019, magna cum laude).  I will not forget this incredible year for these kids and for our ECE Department.  As Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, and a true believer of our faculty members and students' excellence, I am amazed beyond words and truly humbled... and I thank God with all the gratefulness that I am capable of for another answered prayer.  These are all for His greater glory!

***  

Saturday photo

Happy, and lucky... that's what we are.

It has been a very tough week.  The work was heavy, and the target was challenging... but the results were satisfying... and good.  Well, at least, it felt good - for me, and these kids who also went through the same experience of accomplishing a challenging task this whole week.  And, it felt good that, at the end of it all, I have them to celebrate the week that was... and that they were looking forward to spend some quality time with their Mother #2 the way I was looking forward to catching up with them as well.  

God is good... and so is life.

***

About the photo:  This was taken at the Fisher Mall Cinema in Quezon City after catching up over casual dinner and just before watching the film, "Joker". 

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Singing...

...from the soul.
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by PAM

Yeah, it's been one of those days when the situation is pushing you to sprint, take off... and fly... but your tank is empty, and you're just off 'on a wing and a prayer'.  What to do?  Just keep... soaring, perhaps?  After all, you've got all that you need - a wing... and a prayer.

"Take these broken wings

And learn to fly again

And learn to live so free..."

When did it all start?  Why do people wish to clip your wings... prevent you from flying, keep you from soaring, undermine your courage, put off your fire and feed you to the ashes?  Jealousy?  Nah... they have more than anyone else, especially the ones they wish pinned on the ground with broken wings.  Human nature?  But why... isn't man good by nature... because its Maker is good, and the breath breathed to it by his Maker is one of boundless kindness and love?  As such, isn't it easier to be happy for someone than to be wishing ill of someone because we all are good by nature?  Isn't it easier to be generous and indulgent than being bitter of others' happiness and success?  Love... why not just give love... and kindness - the pair of wings that make the giver and the receiver soar freely and happily?  Ah, perhaps, it's love, too... but sometimes, 'love hurts'.  Perhaps, it is kindness, too... it's just that 'you gotta be cruel to be kind - in the right measure'.

"Today's another day to find you

Shying away

I'll be coming for your love, okay?

Take on me

Take me on..."

Hmmm... a sweet invitation to love, to be kind - some sincerity, lots of truthfulness, tons of consistency in love and in wanting the same love - over and over again... amid all the trendy impermanence that the world these days embraces and espouses.  

And this song by that wonderful Norwegian band, A-ha, "Take on me"... aah, so timeless - even in this slow rendition rather than the original danceable tune.  And so, I'm totally 'smashed' again! It will take a while - I'd be 'hunting high and low' for some brilliance like this these days, but I am quite sure that the search would be in vain.

"So, I guess I'll be hunting high and low

There's no end to the length I'll go to...

Hunting High and low

Do you know what it means to love?"

***

Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.

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Mood...

SUPERMAN

(It's not easy)

Five for Fighting

I can't stand to fly

I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find

The better part of me

I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane
I'm more than some pretty face beside a train
And it's not easy to be me

I wish that I could cry

Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie

About a home I'll never see

It may sound absurd, but don't be naive

Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed, but won't you concede

Even heroes have the right to dream

And it's not easy to be me

Up, up and away, away from me

Well, it's all right, you can all sleep sound tonight

I'm not crazy or anything

I can't stand to fly

I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride

With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me

Inside of me

Inside me

Inside me

Inside of me

Source of lyric: LyricFind

***

Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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Wednesday Nostalgia...

...because it's been a while.
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by PAM

I've been missing taking at least one thousand steps per day.  The last time I did that - walk a thousand steps - was almost seven years ago.  Those were the years when I was still actively engaged in research while I enjoyed what I love doing the most, at least, professionally - teaching. 

I miss those days.  Those were 'nice', productive, exciting (in a kind of subdued way) and really enjoyable days... not to mention healthy days, given the guaranteed one thousand steps I took everyday as I walked back-and-forth from the Roque Ruaño Building (or Engineering Building), where I teach, to the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences (RCNAS) at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex (TARC) in my university.  Except when it was raining cats and dogs, or when we were having a sweltering day, those walks were truly enjoyable. The outdoor air cleared the mind... and the laughter of people around engaged in a myriad of activities made me aware of how I was a part of a world that's alive and happy!  I would usually bump into someone... stopped to catch up for a few minutes, 'gossiped' a little and laughed a lot... before walking hurriedly to either rescue my experiment in my lab at RCNAS or try to be less than 10 minutes late to my class.

Yesterday, I savored the chance of re-living those days, like walking down memory lane... and it felt good.  Nah... it wasn't just good, it was very good!

Ah, that familiar walking route...

...through walkways that are lined with trees
and plants so thick and richly green...

...leading to this 'hallowed' hall where ideas become
an unforgettable experience!

I am actively engaged in research again!  After six long years... I am back to RCNAS, and I love it!

***
About the photos:  I took these photos as I walked from TARC to the Roque Ruaño Building, after spending hours at the RCNAS.

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Saturday photo

PROMISE

Love appears

like a beautifully wrapped gift

under the tree on a Christmas morn –

hoped for... yet still surprising, unexpected.

I said it will last.

You said you’re glad.

And it did feel like it would – last, promise...

until the bow worn out, the colors faded. 

The excitement subsided, the feeling waned.

Questions arose, answers ran out

doubts lingered, assurance retreated...

‘beauty’ disappeared.

Should love, in whatever form, be 'a gift'?

Should its value depend on how beautifully it’s wrapped?

Should its attraction be hinged on such visibly awesome beauty?

Should a promise be made?

Doesn’t promise make love an obligation?

Is it, indeed – an obligation? Should it be?

Really?

Promise?

***

Dedication:  To a friend, and this friend's loss.  May coping be bearable.

***

Friday night music...

...and I mean, the good and meaningful kind.
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by PAM


It's been, uhm... "hell week", as what kids these days would call an extremely grueling week - a "festival of challenges"... the kind that leaves you stuck in frustration, feeling clueless and stupefied, and dead tired, too!  Well, it's been a series of "hell week", actually - for me, anyway.  And I need a little respite to revive this fading, dying soul... and get the spirit soaring - again!  

Let me begin with honesty: just honest, bare music - of pure talent and artistry, defined by depth and insightfulness... not made to sound cute and pretty in canned computer-enhanced mere 'mimicry' of music... and definitely, the artists not made to look like something they are not.

"And you give yourself away...

with or without you... I can't live with or without you."

"And you give yourself away..." to the craziness of this life, to the upsetting inconsistencies and lack of conviction in what people do these days; to all the fakery and artificial 'beauty' that abound in the pop world where many kids live in wishful thinking these days; to all the tutti-frutti colored promises that people make on sand these days; to all the devastating traps of dishonesty and lack of sincerity in what people say and/or do these days; to all that selfish personal agenda that drive people to achieve beyond what is necessary and good at all cost including their very soul...; and to all that's not what this life should be and what life actually is.  

No, it isn't the amount of work that makes my spirit sink... it's all that fakery around, heightened by its soundtrack - the pop music of today.  And I thought music can't get anymore cheap and shallow in vulgar rap, lamentably performed by wanksta... until this "tutti frutti" Eastern Asian music dominated the airwaves... including our own supposedly discriminating ears that can (supposedly, that is) distinguish between hype and music from the heart.  The visuals that accompany music these days - of thin young people with "rearranged", "restructured" and "airbrushed" faces, hair colored and held in place by a blend of chemicals and what have you - advertised as "natural and organic" and yet the very way their hair looks is unnatural and can't be anymore remotely related to organic than a piece of moon rock; and clad in clothes that used to be reserved to dolls living in dollhouses... gyrating and blowing fake kisses while they sing in trapped mouse-sounding squeaks that sadly define the music of today mostly.  

Hmmm... if it's true that music is the language of the soul... I shudder in fevered anxiety to think of the state of our souls these days, given how articulate our current "spokespersons" are.  To whom... or to what did we relinquish our souls?  Ah... I finally understand my late mother when she ordered me and my siblings to take down Madonna's and Boy George's posters from our bedrooms' walls!

And because "you give yourself away" to what is unnatural and untrue, life for you is always lacking, wanting, desiring - to no avail.  And then life becomes tiresome and meaningless... not worth anything... and, therefore, could simply be thrown away... to end in despair... as if there is no love left... regardless of the abundance of true love, just hidden by all the fakery where we prefer to mine for joy these days... in utter failure, of course.  And it's sad... very, very sad. Devastating.

***
If it is true, honest and pure... it can't be marred by hype... not even by time.

"And you give yourself away..."  30 years later.

And that's what 'classic' is all about... well, for me, anyway - for this old dying soul, still 'stuck in the jurassic era' as kids these days would say... just waiting for its time to pass on... and be free from all this tiresome fakery! 

***

Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.

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Saturday Photo

And the good harvest continues!
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by PAM

Ever heard of 'low melatonin nights'?  The nights when sleep won't come to you no matter how hard you try to black your mind out? Well, I am having that right now, and I tell ya, it ain't pretty.  Good thing I have this to mull over...

Up there... again.
And it feels... awesome!

Ours is Top Performing School in Registered Electrical Engineers Licensure Examination... again - seven years in a row!  How does it feel?  Uhm... good!  It feels good... it's a concrete outcome of all the humongous efforts - but being invisible, in the backstage... behind that  endlessly flowing veil of tears, where no one can see... where all they see is my 'invisibility'... and others' larger-than-life presence, bathe in spotlight - in center stage.  But do I mind?  With this result?  Nah.  Should I break through that veil and claim a little of what is mine... and have worked hard for?  Uhm... nah.  I know so well that it is a thankless job... therefore, I take none.  I do not consider any of this as mine.  But no one can take away the joy in my heart... that is mine, and mine alone.  The knowledge that I have done my very best, and with no personal agenda to protect and to put in front of service... of serving these kids, and of serving God. And it all translated to this - dreams becoming reality, wishes coming true... and many, many more like this.  I couldn't ask for more.  At least, not right now... except for a little sleep.

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Saturday photos...

... because I need more than one photo to make a point.

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by PAM

A couple of months ago, I was going through my options - a necessary exercise before arriving at a hard decision.  I tried looking for answers, taking hints from family and other people's opinions, views and sentiments... and seeking God's will in prayer, of course.  This is the third time for me to make this decision, but unlike the first two times, choosing something else other than what I chose then was a real and plausible option.  And yet, I decided to go for my 'old choice' - for the third time.  And so, I signed on for a third Term as Dean of the first Engineering School in the Philippines - the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

That decision meant that I had to continue leading the Faculty to this...

  

Joining the Engineering Education 'Big League'

I had to follow through the work that I put on with my Team for the past six years, and bring the vision to fruition. Of course, prior to making that decision, I finished my second Term with an all-system-go towards accomplishing the task.  All the buttons are set, we only had to turn the key to the button guards and press them when the time is right.  

After the decision was made, and while mingling with colleagues of equivalent designation from different universities in the United States of America and in other parts of the world, I momentarily doubted my motivation in deciding to stay.  I asked myself, what else was my motivation other than service?  Was it the prestige of being at the helm when this happened, even if I did build the foundation 'brick-by-brick' - at many points, against the current and against the direction of the wind - leading to this and, therefore, in all fairness, deserve to claim the credit?  I searched my heart... and no, claiming credit is not there.  After all, true credit is given, not claimed.  All I found was still the desire to continue serving, and making sure that, when the time is right, I can turnover the helm to someone with all the creases smoothened so that he or she, can begin to lay down a foundation for another monument of progress, building upon what we have built over the last six years and the three years in front of us.

My Team was off to a terribly busy start, and I was running and 'shooting' with my 'big guns' as I sprinted from one goal to another.  I was enjoying a momentary respite when this happened...

...132 new Registered Mechanical Engineers:

our gift to the society, the fruits of our collective labor.

No, there is nothing like seeing dreams coming true... keys turning, doors opening - for our students and their parents, and for all their loved ones; and knowing that, somehow, in the smallest of ways, you were instrumental in having them realized their dreams.  To know in your heart that you can do this, and choosing otherwise because your own dream is 'bigger' than theirs is, I can imagine, a lifetime without peace of mind. 

I choose peace of mind.  So, I chose what I do now: service.  And, I shall keep persevering in service.  Until when?  I'll keep searching for the answer because, I know that when you search, you shall find.    

***

Image credit:  The first photo was taken at the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Institutional Representatives Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland in July 2019 by an ABET staff; and the second photo is a collage of images from the website of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) of the Republic of the Philippines.

***

Had an urge to reminisce...

...and I just had to watch The Graham Norton Show!
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by PAM

All that driving around Idaho last week, before heading home to Manila, reminded me of my roadtrip with my family last year from Meridian, ID through Oregon to San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA to Las Vegas, NV and back to Idaho - but in Boise, ID this time. And it was just as well as it was Thursday, after all... 'throwback Thursday' and all that.  

Anyway, yes, that roadtrip was awesome!  And what made all the reminiscin' so fun was the memory of the Extraterrestrial Highway (or 'ET Highway') amid the endlessly rolling desert of Nevada. The ET Highway was actually the Nevada State Road 375.  I remember how amazing the drive was that merely recalling how it was led to adrenaline rush!  

Now, I just have to find a way to dissipate all that energy packed by the memory of the ET Highway!  And so, Star Trek... and Jean-Luc Picard came to mind. I do remember that Graham Norton has had very good interviews with Patrick Stewart - the brilliant actor that gave life to Picard.  And, look what I found...

          GN:  'Cause you had nicknames, growing up, didn't you?

          PS:  Yeah, I did. "Stewpot" was one of my nicknames. "Stewie" was another one. 

                 It's different now, you know, social media... there's another one, "Beef Stew",

                which I rather like. (2:04 - 2:32)

          GN: Do you (go to the) gym all the time?

          PS:  No, sir, I do not.  I just think clean thoughts.  (6:27 - 6:35)

Totally hilarious, it made my evening... eventhough nothing about the interview had anything to do with ET Highway!  At least, there is some 'ray of sunshine' in this gloomy rainy August Thursday. Ah, talk about the 'ghost month' that is August!

***

Video credit:  Thank you, YouTube, for the video link.

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