Technology alone is not the answer…but at least, I am already registered!
Second to the last day of registration for 2010 elections, Oct30 (Friday), I decided to go back to the nearest COMELEC office to my house (near SM Manila) and have myself registered no matter what. I am blogging about this so that I have something to look back to after years.
If you are thinking that I am about to whine about my experience that day, well you are right! hehe! I am aware beforehand that going through that line is definitely not easy. I admit that I am envious of my friends (Jorron, Ace, Ren) who are already registered. I also know that, as what others call it, this is the price of cramming and the bloody line/process should not be blamed solely on the COMELEC.
Enough of disclaimers. I was there at the registration for 8 freaking hours (you may change the underlined letters), hours when I should have been sleeping, playing restaurant city, starting reading Vampire Academy ebooks (given by Kath, of course), or watching TV with my brother. I was there as early as 6:30am until 2:30pm. People ahead of me came at 4:30am.
There were lines outside the COMELEC building and another line when you get inside the building. I stood up for 6 hours, sitting from time to time along sidewalks. I was wearing rubber shoes and my heels still ached a lot because of standing too long. I managed to control my sweat glands (haha!) so I did not sweat at all while I was outside the building. But when I went inside the building, the adjective hot was an understatement. Fortunately, nobody fainted. The space of the building was maximized, people were everywhere around you. At some point, it’s hard to breathe. One false alarm would cause panic and stampede. While waiting for my turn, I was planning what to do once panic occurs.
It took me 8 freaking hours (again, you may change the underlined letters)to finish the ff simple procedures:
- (Assuming that you are qualified and you have complete requirements with you) Get three registration forms from the COMELEC people and accomplish those. If you have downloaded forms, have them validated.
- Submit the accomplished forms and requirements, like a photocopy of your ID with your current address, to the COMELEC official and wait for your name to be called again.
- After receiving back your registration forms and requirements (rechecked by the officials),have your biometrics taken…then you’re finished!!
I waited for 5 ½ hours to get to STEP 1, 30mins to finish STEP 2, and almost 2 ½ hours to reach STEP 3. Not to mention, taking my holy biometrics only lasted for not more than 3 minutes.
So WHY did it take me loooooong hours to finish these simple procedure?
- Technology alone is not the answer especially when you are lacking in man power. Yes, taking biometrics is time efficient but what the use of that if you only have two apparatuses to serve thousands of people? Moreover, what can 10 officials do to speed up procedures for thousands of registrants?
- There was prioritization!! In other words, people cut in and COMELEC officials allowed that! These people are not ordinary persons but maybe actors/actresses, relatives of government officials, or ordinary but RICH individuals who had easily squeezed their butts in and finished STEPS 1-3 in just 15mins just like that without falling in line! They were escorted by COMELEC officials so people in line could seldom, or not all, complain.
- Abusive people. There were, and there will always be insistent individuals would occasionally cut in the line before people who look either too kind or gullible.
HOW did I survive?
- I had no choice but to trust all the people ahead of me that they would not let people cut in because everyone knew the sacrifices of each person in line. Even men did not allow attractive women to cut in. haha!
- There were interesting and bubbly people around whom you could communicate with. I met this cute little girl, called by her grandma as Teresa. She was so energetic even if she was perspiring hehe! I remember giving her one of my biscuits because she was hungry and so bored. I hope to see her again.
- I brought water, 2 sachets of biscuits, 2 cupcakes, and lunch (longganisa with rice) with me! Of course, tissues, alcohol, fan, and a book (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) to read when there’s no one to talk to.
- Patience and a touch of aggressiveness (in a good way, okay). I had to wait and maintain my patience while actually using the aggressive side of me when needed.
- Humor. There were moments of laughter there. People giggle and laugh together out of jokes.
What I wished:
- I wished I registered earlier than October. I could have avoided that line.
- I wished there were more than just 2 apparatuses for biometrics. That would definitely speed up the line. No budget for that? Bakit yung NBI, government office din naman pero madaming aparato kaya mabilis ang proseso? No budget for COMELEC or they just don’t want to fund its operations?
- I wished people who sneezed and coughed without covering their mouths were sent out. Ansama ba? They should have covered their mouths because in a place like that, it’s very easy to transmit and acquire viruses.
- I wished people who sweat a lot were separated from those who don’t hehe! Joke lang pero wish pa rin! (I belong to the latter ha! Hehe)
- I wished registrants did not bring their kids with them. I pity kids who had no choice but to endure that line with the elders who brought them. If no one would be left at home with their kids, they must’ve not gone to COMELEC and chose to stay at home with the children instead.
- I wished that COMELEC put up an express lane for the people they gave special treatment. It was very unfair to see registrants, who did not fall in line, walking directly to the biometrics room accompanied by COMELEC officials.
I am lucky that I did not have to go back there the next day unlike others. I am lucky that my registration took only hours, not days.
After going through and finishing the procedures, I walked out of the COMELEC building feeling more than happy and contented. It was like I was floating. Haha! That’s for real! Now, for the first time, I can exercise my right to vote on May! Let’s all be responsible voters.
Alright, this is one of long posts, I guess, or the only one?
How Disappointed Can You Get?
It’s your last year in your university and probably your last time to watch UAAP Cheer Dancing Competition as a college student. Your university did not win, nor the other universities that you expect. How disappointed can you get?
With all those tamaraws using “sarimanok,” eagles (who happen to have the same color as the sponsor) imitating “MJ,” archers performing a “pseudo-masquerade,” falcons turning “Japanese,” tigers being “set on fire,” warriors with “jeeps,” and bulldogs who (oops! I honestly can’t remember their performance
), still judges are judges and I cannot contest their decision. In the same way, I am the “judge” of my own blog and I have the right to say that when UP Pep Squad started to add story (adding “kwento” and not just dance there) to their cheer dance last year, it seemed that other universities suddenly did just the same. Oh well, that’s it. Imitation is next to admiration
.
After getting your attention, let’s move forward to something else. Have you tried searching your whole name or nickname in Google and other search engines and getting unwanted/disappointing results like a hate blog or site of another person with the same name as yours? I know this is a bit late post in response to Sir Barry’s question in his blog last time. But this is another story, okay.
I remember trying to search my name in Google when I was in 4th yr high school like what our English teacher told us to do. I saw that my name was registered in a database of a school where I never attended. Then, just this semester, I found out that my name was still registered in that database. It’s not that I am against that school or what, but seeing my name under that school may bring unnecessary problems in the future since that school can’t be seen in my resume.
Here are some tips (based on experience) on how you can save your online reputation:
- Copy the exact URL of the site where you see your name.
- If possible, copy the exact location and paragraph/text where your name appears (because this is what the search engine keeps on finding when your name is typed)
- Double check your accounts and see if you are registered in that site in any way. (Most databases and other sites send messages to email once in a while and these messages often include a link that allows you to unsubscribe.)
- Contact the admin or webmaster of the site and relay your problem politely. (There is always a way to contact the admin or webmaster of a site. You must give the URL and even the exact location and text where you see your name to make it easier for them to address your problem.)
- If the problem persists, repeat all steps (hehe!).
As for my own problem, I did not get the result I wanted when I first contacted the webmaster. I repeated the first four steps carefully and that time, I was successful. Now, I am completely happy with the results when I search my name online. This is one thing UP has taught me: speaking without getting intimidated, even to the person of authority (like here, a webmaster hehe!), as long as I really have my point.
You have to read this even if you’re not my dadddy :-)
In one of my conversations with daddy via Skype, we talked about blogs, especially why do I have to ask him everytime we talk to view and read my posts often (haha!). I pointed out that this is a way of helping her daughter in her academic needs. Aside from that, our conversation reached SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and what it can do to one’s personal site.
It really helps when your parents are computer and net-literate because explaining new social media becomes easier. So, here it is, extension of my OrCom 152 class discussion. (Here it is, daddy!)
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is the process of making a site and its content highly relevant for search engines and searchers. It is through SEO that your site can easily be seen in search engines like Google and Yahoo Search and more people will visit your website.

Why is SEO important?
- SEO allows your site to be at the top list when titles, tags, and other words related to your site and posts are typed in search engines.
- It increases the credibility of your site.
- It enhances your online presence and reputation by giving a credible site as a result when your name is typed for example.
Do I need to get special services for SEO?
You don’t have to get a professional to do SEO for your site. You can do it by yourself.
Here are the tips for optimizing your site:
1. Make your site and its content reader-friendly.
- Make sure your site is easy to navigate (and not an eye sore
) - Put headings and subheadings
- If possible, don’t make your posts too long (most people have short attention span)
- Be concise
- Present lists in bullet form
- Use bold, italic, and underline to highlight ideas
- Add relevant pictures
- Use appropriate tone (formal?informal?conversation-like?)
- Contribute knowledge and information to your readers
2. Mind others’ businesses
- For blogs, create a blogroll
- Link up other sites related to yours
- Reply to comments you receive and comment to others’ posts (this will help the number of your visitors increase)
3. Promote your site
- Make RSS feed or feed subscription available to your site
- Have good choice of tags
- Submit your site to these feedreaders:
My Yahoo! Bloglines NewsGator My MSN Pluck Feedster.com Syndic8.com Pingomatic.com
- For blogs, submit your blog to blog listings like:
technorati.com blogsearchgoogle.com blogorama.com blogpulse.com topblogs.com.cph daypop.com ratified.org
- Put a link to your website in your social networking accounts
- Make your site’s URL your status in Yahoo! Messenger and Skype (haha!)
- Write your site in your business cards or include it at the end of your email (I don’t know how you call that)
- Use word-of-mouth technique (hehe!)
OOPS! I think this is too long already
but I hope you, especially my dadi, learned something from this post. I intend to share something else here. Maybe I’ll just create a separate blog for that haha!
Overnights, Stress, and Friendship
Two weeks had never been that stressful. However, one of the ironic things is that most stressors were not directly academic-related but extra-curricular activities which others, including me, called unnecessary-but- wanted stress.

It was my first time to be allowed (or my first time to impose) to spend two nights at my 2 friends’ houses, in the same week and another overnight the week after. In addition, staying extra hoursss in school and in coffee shops, and going to school even if I had no class must also be counted.
Aside from unsolicited eye bags and zits, another indicator of busyness and stress is an exhausted wallet. We had to buy overpriced coffees and bars from shops that provided haven during group meetings. Moreover, it’s during these consecutive hectic events that you would love your laptop and Wi-Fi even more. Your and your friends’ laptops and Wi-Fi become your best friends. USB’s and CD’s become secondary because you can send small files to others through email and big files through sendspace.com. Search engines, such as Google, are very helpful for immediate information and needed pictures. Furthermore, access to social networking sites such as Plurk, Facebook, and Twitter become avenues for venting your stress and for getting updates from your friends. For instance Restaurant City, an application in Facebook, has become my favorite pastime, online detoxifier, and motivation to stay awake and work.
Of all the factors that turned out to be visible and felt in this stressful two weeks, friendship has been the most fulfilling and uplifting among them all. Now, I know this is being too cheesy but your friends (your FTF social network) are the only ones who will remain after all your experiences, happy and sad ones. And to those who endured my being RC-addict and my low tolerance for sleepiness, this is for you–>
(another smiley).









Recent Comments