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john_earlm
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Name: John Earl
Birthday: 8/14/1985
Gender: Male
Interests: graphics designing [adobe/macromedia], bowling, writing, net surfing, partying, picture-taking, travelling, studying, debating, watching [tv/movie], friendstering, mambara ng kabara-bara, manlait ng kapwa
Expertise: basic financial management, writing, graphics designing
Occupation: Student
Industry: Banking/Finance
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Yahoo:  john_earlm
Member Since:
10/15/2004
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| A Timely Unexpected Good NewsTo be honest, the past few days have not been very easy. It is so
difficult to find a job that you really want. I thought that if you
have done extraordinarily well in college, you will be guaranteed with
a good job. I always had to deal with competition and bureaucracy
(which is usually true in the HR level). Until now, I am still waiting
for a company to call and say "hey, you're hired!"
I
am feeling tired, though not really depressed since I'm generally
positive that I will be given the chance to be part of the world of
work in the very near future.
This afternoon, around 2:30 PM, I received a Chikka text message from a certain Dred Ople.
Hi Earl, this is Dred Ople, Managing Editor of Starfish Magazine. Please check www.starfishmagazine.com for the top 20 finalists. Thanks.
I joined the essay writing competition of Starfish Magazine, the publication arm of Ayala Young Leaders,
last November 2006. According to the guidelines, the top 20 finalists
will be notified on February 2007. The expected month of announcement
had passsed, and nothing happened. I thought I never made it to the top
20, until this afternoon.
Out of curiosity, I replied to Dred and asked if I made it to the top 20 and to the top 10. She replied:
Yes, you are one of the top 20.
The top 10 and top 3 will be announced on the 27th of July, will send
invites to your school so block off your sked then, including your
parents, congrats!
 Click the image to enlarge
At
least a new blessing came in. I am just grateful that despite the
difficulties, something good still happened. I will try to look for the
actual copy of the article that I sent and will post it at my blog. | | |
| A Year After I Dealt
 It's been exactly a year since I dealt with Kris, and in 8 more days, it will be a year since my first (and probably the last) major exposure on Philippine free TV (it was June 14, 2006). The official tagline of the program says "Isang Desisyon ang Babago sa Buhay Mo".
Indeed, my decision to deal somehow changed my life. Thanks to the
cumulative 30-minutes exposure on Philippine Primetime Television, I
met a lot of people from different walks of life. Would you believe
that until now, some nasty bystanders and kids in our barangay still
shout "Deal or No Deal"
everytime I pass by? Though I'm quite known to a handful of students
from San Beda, I became more familiar with the Bedan community because
of that exposure. Coincidentally, it's been a year since our
unforgettable and unplanned Baguio escapade.
 I
can still remember, days after that exciting moment, that I had heated
arguments with my mother as to how I should share a little portion of
my winnings. Believe me, it's difficult to escape or put to an end in a
monetary-inspired argument. The hardest part is on how to gracefully
evade those people that are "seriously" asking for "balatos". Haha.
The
prize money that I won had its purpose, as if God really made things
happen. Months after my stint, a major crisis occurred in the family.
Good thing that I managed to save my money, and a huge portion of it
was used for my necessities, specifically for my studies. A little
amount of course, was spent on shopping, and the remaining was invested
in mutual funds. My mutual fund savings came in handy for the
unexpected expenses. Thanks to my dealt prize, I now have an upgraded
computer, DSL subscription, and I was able to stay in a dormitory near
school for a short time. I became more participative on certain gigs of
my friends.
If only I could turn back time, haha. I'm just glad
that I had the chance to participate in that game show. Thanks to that
event, I became more blessed, tangibly and intangibly.
Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal
is back on its second season. With its pilot that will start on June
11, 2007, the highest amount in the money board that could be won by
the lucky contestant in a No Deal situation is P3,000,000.00. I heard
that there's some sort of game for the texters, and they could win half
of the prize won by the contestant for the day. Indeed, it is the
richest game show in Philippine Television history. | | |
| 105th Commencement ExercisesThis afternoon and evening was a day of extremes. It was the saddest
yet happiest moment of the year, and probably of half the decade, or of
my main teenage years. It was the day of firsts, and the day of
conclusions. Indeed, this day will be remembered, not only because it
officially concluded the day of my daily stay at my 2nd home for the
last nine years, but also because our batch made history.
Batch
2007 is the first co-ed batch, the batch with the highest number of
academic honors in terms of percentage and headcount, the batch which
took part of the NCAA Season 82 championships, and the batch with the
most number of graduates, with three new courses including my program, BS Financial Management and Systems Development.
It
was also one of the proudest if not the proudest day of my life. It
felt good wearing the red academic gown, which happened to be the only
red academic gown in Asia, and wearing it was the best when I received
my diploma and silver medal for being an academic distinction. Allow me
to boast this time, I am an Academic Distinction awardee, and the highest academic distinction awardee for the BS Financial Management program. I won't be shy in saying that I really felt good and proud marching at Plaza Bedista and the school quadrangle with salutations from the cadet and the faculty. Accepting the silver medal and diploma, while shaking hands with the faculty and the administrators will probably be my most memorable seconds.
Well,
the day had its worsts too, because we staged the commencement rites in
the middle of the afternoon sunlight. I had sweat all over. I really
thank Joyce, Tophie, and the rest of the academic distinction awardees for allowing me to have fun with them, and for laughing at my jokes, as if I was a stand-up comedian. Haha. Thanks also to Benj,
my cum laude friend (he's the guy whom I'm so proud of next to myself),
as well as Ronald our magna cum laude. for taking pictures of mine.
I
was also glued to my seats when I listened to the speech of our
commencement speaker. She's Victoria P. Garchitorena, President of
Ayala Foundation USA, Ayala Foundation Inc. and the Managing Director
of the Stakeholder Relations of the Ayala Corporation. Her speech was
truly inspiring and almost flawless. Her words, including her delivery,
were spellbinding. I will surely ponder on her words for us graduates.
My sincerest thanks to the graduates of San Beda CAS 2007. To my fellow finmans, thanks for everything. Batchmates,
continue to be the best in your chosen fields. I pray that you will all
find happiness and success in your future endeavors. Never embrace
mediocrity. As Gandhi once said, "BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN
THE WORLD". Always "ANSWER THE CLARION'S CALL, FOR SAN BEDA, OUR COUNTRY, AND GOD".
I
also want to thank my educators and formators, for molding me and
contributing to my character. Special thanks to my favorite mentors: Prof. Delilah Bernardo, Prof. Adelo Brabante, Prof. Marco Montes, Prof. Cadz Malbarosa, and Prof. Araceli Fernando.
Lastly, I wanna thank my family,
especially my mom and dad, for everything. Thank you for
unconditionally loving me, and for investing in a San Beda education.
Thank you for your endless support as well.
Congratulations batch 2007.
To my friends, I'm just one text away, please remember that.
Up to this moment, the only tune that sinks in my mind and heart is the
"Pomp and Circumstance" melody, which is the universal graduation or
commencement theme. I even downloaded an mp3 of it just to relive the
moments that I just had a few hours ago.
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| Batch 2007 Baccalaureate MassAt this point, I am mixed with different emotions and thoughts. A few
hours ago, we had our Baccalaureate Mass for the graduating class of
2007, San Beda College of Arts & Sciences. It was probably the last
mass that I will attend inside the Abbey Church of our campus.
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| A Fully Blogged Year @ BloggerView the original version of the banner above here.
It's been exactly one whole year since I officially blogged here at blogger. Roughly 110 stories of the Pinoy version of Harry Potter have been chronicled and blogged. Coincidentally, the blogged also reached its 5,000th hit.
"Pinoy Potter's Chronicles, Viewpoint... Plot... Emotion" served as the outlet of my opinions, stories, and sentiments. Since the day I switched to blogger from friendster, blogging has been at its coolest. I never thought that I'll find myself blogging, as if I am talking to myself while being transparent with the people of the world. I never imagined that I'll be making friends and acquaintances through this medium. I can't even believe that some distinguished people from various fields eavesdropped at this online diary. Indeed, as Thomas Friedman said, "The World is Flat".
I sincerely thank all of those who dropped by, those who regularly visited, and those who interacted and gave me a link to their respective diaries and sites. More power to blogging. I'm looking forward to the next 12 months of sharing and interacting with myself and the people of the flat world, or better, the next 50 years. Haha.
In case you forgot how my very first banner looks like, here it is.
 View the Christmas edition of the very first blog banner here. | | |
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