A Professor's Homily

Having the reporting finally started today, a lot of technical problems have occurred. While we were waiting for some of our classmates or rather reporters to arrive while fixing some of the technical glitches, our professor started to discuss certain things to us, wherein which we would call it a "homily".

It not about godly things, as one might have derived from our description but its a sort of a review to some items he already discussed to us (of which I wont deny, that I or we forgot already. Talk about short term memory loss).

Just like our last discussion, our professor who was first discussing about where strategic planning started then about the world being flat due to cyber space and later the talks feel on our respective goals and dreams. Its a funny how certain discussion fall into topics that seem poles apart. But I understand that our professor is stating a point in relation to strategic planning not only in one's studies or occupation but also to one's life. He is always keen on asking us about our goals in life, on what do we do to achieve those and are we planning to succeed or not.

Honestly, this topics is one that I try to avoid. Stupid as I may sound but it true. Why? Well, it because our professor is right. I create certain decisions abruptly. I don't spend time to think things over, devise a "bulletproof plan" to make things go the way I wanted smoothly and surely. I guess I am really a spontaneous person in more than one way. I don't want to face the reality that I was planning to fail. Facing such thoughts just tends to freak me out. But then, its now a lesson learned. I should and would plan from now on (I hope).

Also, in this semester, we are to produce a Strategic Plan directed to the Institute of Computing. It aims to devise a plan that will enlighten the faculty, staff and university officials on the problems of the institute and what are the ways that we can address to each problem. He told us to look for the S.W.O.T, which means the Strength, Weakness, Oppurtunities and Threats that the institute and its community is undergoing. Determining such factors can help us to see the things that undermine the growth of the Institute of Computing and create solutions for it.

Also, he discussed the STEEP or PESTE principle to us. This principle refers to Political, Economical, Sociological, Technical and Environmental Issues that we must adhere to in doing our major paper.


It may sound that we really have a serious talk in our class a while a go but actually we were all goofing off since our professor keeps on making jokes that I wouldn't dare to post here (just guess why.. hahaha) and due to some of our comical classmates lead by King George (peace George). To Simon, we may not be that close but condolence on the spermies (joke lang jejeje). All in all, its another fun filled (hmm.. partly) freezing day in school.

..what wiLL I be.???

Questions tends to boggle the mind of people and one of the questions that bewilders me the most is "What do you see yourself doing a few years from now??"..

Why?? Well, its because its about the future, a time a bit far from where or when I am now. I am still student, struggling at that, who endures sleepless nights and sometimes no bath due to overloading projects from my subjects. I am still having a hard time thinking on how to do certain tasks, prepare for quizzes and projects so thinking about things that would occur in the future seems futile for me at this point. "Concentrate on the present and let tomorrow worry about itself", I always say.

So when someone asks me this question, I get kinda queasy, because I have no straight forward answer. But honestly, I really dreamed of working in Google, not only because its an IT haven but also it is the most ideal enterprise to work in the whole world (according to study and survey).

Google is one of the factors that encouraged me to enroll as a BS in Information Systems student in the University of South Eastern Philippines. I thought that if I be an IT professional, I would have a chance to work in Google or Yahoo or be an animator (I am a huge otaku fan.!! hahaha). Any of those jobs would make me really ecstatic.

As I became a full pledge IT student in USEP, I learned a lot of things about computers and programming yet I don't see myself as an expert or knowledgeable about IT or computer stuff. I just feel as if the computer is just someone I am acquainted with and not a close friend which should be the preferable state. Even with all I learned and I know I am going to learn in the university, I realized that its not right to solely dependent on the university I am attending. Though it teaches me all the basics and more of the things I should know about, the IT world is such as wide scope that the four corners of the classroom and the university lab can never conquer.

To be what I want to be, whether it be a Google contributor, programmer or animator, I would embody certain values such as diligence, hard work and having fun with the learning process. Learning either from the university, seminars, tutorials or self study must be undertaken to cover maybe not all but mostly of the IT knowledge that I could gain. In the end, perseverance and will shall lead me to what I will be 5 years from now and hopefully I can be a full pledged IT professional by that time.

"Change We Need"

History now unfolds itself as the strongest country in the world have a newly elected President. What separates this man from his predecessors it that of his color, the first black American president of United States of America, Barack Obama. His victory in the race to be the 44^th American Presidents and on one of the most well fought election battle in the USA marks that change has finally come to America.(Surely, Martin Luther King would be proud.!!)

Found below is the speech, President Barack Obama on the announcement of his victory.

"Hello, Chicago.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

"It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.

"A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

"Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

"I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor (Sarah) Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

"I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

"And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.
"Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.

"And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

"To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

"And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best - the best political campaign, I think, in the history
of the United States of America.

"To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics, you made this happen and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

"But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

"I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.

"We didn't start with much money or many endorsements.

"Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

"It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give 5 and 10 and 20 to the cause.

"It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

"It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organised and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

"This is your victory.

"And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

"You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

"Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

"There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

"There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

"I promise you, we as a people will get there.

"There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

"But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

"What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

"It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

"Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

"Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

"Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

"To those - to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

"That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

"She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

"And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

"At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

"When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

"When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

"She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that 'We Shall Overcome'. Yes we can.

"A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

"And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

"Yes we can.

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

"Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America."