Hago

Just came from the marco polo for a writeshop on the revision of the rules and procedure of the ncip...i was the facilitator appointed in the spot...wud have loved to just sit down with the rest of the lawyers and perhaps nod off for a couple of seconds but,as facilitator,i did not have the option...i love my role,but sometimes,hago ra gyud...especially as i had no alternate throughout the entire session...my training in prp did matter though...all the power,glory and honor belong to my God

Logic

Research the following:1. Inductive reasoning;2. Deductive reasoning;3. Abductive reasoning.

Poligov

Ask your classmates for the assignment and for the references.

Welcome!

To students taking up philo 1(logic) and poligov at the usep ep, this is your worst nightmare signing on... Hehe. I will be posting assignments,updates,announcements( especially if walang klase) on this blog. So time to level up, hi-tech na ta karon.as usepians, i expect you to eat excellence for breakfast, resilience for lunch, determination for dinner and well-roundedness for snacks.

Waaaahhh….

That’s why my mom didn’t bring me to malls when I was a kid!

Yesterday, my dad and I went to Abreeza Mall with my nephews and nieces: Joshua, 10; Jannah, 9; Joseff, 7; and Jemimah, 6. Together with their mom (my sister Lotlot) and my brother-in-law, we had four grown-ups looking out for four kids. I kid you not; it was a high-intensity situation for me. I’m a licensed teacher and being with kids is not uncommon to me but remember that students are in a classroom and within school premises. As far as I was concerned, my students can do anything they wanted to do for as long as I don’t catch them doing it. Yesterday was a very different story and my usual laissez-faire attitude was ill-equipped to handle the situation as my nephews and nieces had the whole mall to destroy, to get lost in and to run the hell around! My eyes were darting to and fro when I don’t see any of the four and my heartbeat was erratic to say the least.

Being from Toril, which is a good part of 20 kilometers away from Abreeza, the kids were very excited as it was their first time to go in. They rode the motorized animal thingie, slid on the playground, and went on their own way (or so they thought). I’m ashamed to admit that I felt a bit embarrassed when they were shouting at each other to hurry along, threw a tantrum because we didn’t allow them to play in the arcade, and “Ooh!”-ed and “Aahh!”-ed at the automatic sliding doors and the open-sky rooftop. They had this wide-eyed wonder and idealistic innocence which, when compared to the jaded eyes and weary attitude of other shoppers, made them stood out.

Then we watched “Hugo” in 3D. It was their first time to watch 3D and this being so, we definitely drew stares from the other moviegoers.

“Hugo”, in a nutshell, is a story about brokenness and how it affects things in general and people in particular.

Which made me wonder; the kids’ naïveté against the adults’ cynicism, who was more broken?

Matthew 18: 3-4 says, “[T]ruly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” In effect, Jesus is telling us that a child-like attitude toward life is a prerequisite before entry into heaven. Take note- before entry!

Personally, I emerged out of childhood relatively unscathed. By the usual standards, I’m not irretrievably irreparable. But I must say that the wounds that did scathe made me un-childlike; untrusting, jaded, and a cynic. In a word, broken.

No drama here. I think that in one way or another, everybody gets broken by relationships, by circumstances, and by experiences. We think we learned from them but what we think we learned are not the only things we learned. Unconsciously, we also learn to be cautious, wary and distrusting- virtues that are non-existent in a mind of a child. Yes we still function but we’re broken nonetheless.

For the past few months, I’ve been praying for wisdom, prudence, discretion and a sense of responsibility for each of my nephews and nieces. I’ve also been asking God to protect them from untoward accidents and evil influences. Most of all, I’ve been praying for the Lord to lead us, their elders, into molding them into the persons who God called them to be. I pray that we be able to train them by the way they should go so that when they are old they will never depart from it.  With all these prayers, I can’t believe that I forgot another prayer; for us, their elders, to learn from the children about how to be like them- children.

Father, teach us how to be like a child again because in our search for our own ways, we seem to have forgotten that you also gave this commandment.

Abba, I know that my nephews and nieces will get chipped in some places but we ask you to lead us, their elders, so that we won’t be the reason for it. Fill us, both the elders and the children, with your Holy Spirit who will comfort and counsel us that whatever happens, our brokenness is made whole in your Son Jesus.

Amen.

Voice-activated

Wow! Three “Be still’s” in an hour- that may be some kind of record. First during morning devotional, the second via a podcast message, and the third one via a random pick on my Ipod. Was it for me? Or was it just a confirmation and encouragement for what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks.

If it’s the third one- Lord, I really needed that.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been repeatedly told to wait on the Lord and be still. To tell you frankly, I’m starting to doubt the message.  For crying out loud who encourages stillness nowadays?! In a society of hurry, hurry, and keep up, an attitude of stillness will wag a hundred tongues and raise a thousand eyebrows. Again, who?

God- that’s who!

Psalm 46: 10 tells us to “Be still and know that [He] is God.” The verse, the “logos”, seems simple but by God! The “rema” is crackling with electricity.

“Be!” By just a two-letter word, God tells us so much. “Be!” It’s a command. “Be!” This means that we are not but we should- “Be!”

“Be still!” Stop right there, cease every movement, drop everything else. “Be still!” Two words that rebukes and encourages at the same time. “Be still!” It means we aren’t.

“Be still and know!” The first command is not enough. “Be still and know!” It emphasizes diligence and not laziness. “Be still and know!” Shutting up and listening is not enough. “Be still and know!” Engage your mind. Do not just learn, do not just believe, do not just remember- know! It’s more than blind faith; it’s an assured, rational fact.

I AM GOD! What do you know that I don’t know? What have you learned that I have not taught you? What do you have that I have not given you? Without I AM, YOU ARE NOTHING!

I AM GOD! It’s forever in the present tense. Not ‘was’, not ‘will be’, and not ‘is going to be’. I AM GOD. God is always God. Whatever is happening; whatever you see; whatever you fear; whether you want it or not; whether you obey or not; whether you like it or not- I AM GOD!!!!

Isn’t that amazing? The God of heaven and earth, with the full arsenal of nature, science, technology, logic, miracles and everything else, takes a moment to remind us that He is GOD. He has everything in control. He has been doing this for eternity and you, mere mortal whose life is less than a blink of an eye, think that you know better?

Hear the reminder, feel the love, listen to the rebuke, and receive the encouragement. Ryan, the world may be destroyed, everything may crumble into nothing, and you may very well lose your life- in the chaos, just close your eyes, take a deep breath, no questions, no fear and without any worry- “Be still and know that He is God!”

(Note: The message ain’t for me. Shoutout to Karkie! Hehehe… Ingon pa lagi ba…I can’t be any stiller because if I’m any stiller, I will go backward…hehehe. Sorry sa late posting.)

(PS. The message was for me last month, iba na ngayon….Still asking for confirmation.)

30 lessons learned by a two-month Associate lawyer

1. Never believe anything an opponent throws at you. More often than not, they’re serving a selfish purpose. VERIFY!
2. Lawyers rarely pick up tabs, rarer than a Philippine Eagle. It should have been rarer than a T-rex.
3. You should always have a red line and an orange line; lines that you should never cross. Or if you do cross it (depending on the circumstance), it doesn’t mean that you should erase it.
4. Coffee is your best friend; deadlines are your worst enemies.
5. It’s a profession of appearance, so- APPEAR!
6. Do not be worried that your friends will ask for discount for notarial services, they’re often the ones who will pay the exact amount. I don’t know why but it’s true.
7. Balls of steel, nerves of ice. If you don’t have these, you’re in the wrong place.
8. Prepare, prepare, PREPARE!
9. If a judge eats you alive in court, you probably did not follow number 8.
10. Always have a pen; or at least the Iphone’s trusty voice memo.
11. Observe office hours, meaning you should be at the office by 9. Oh, by the way, office hours begin at 8:30 (late ka na!) and end whenever it ends. Lunch break depends on a client’s wristwatch and not yours. Court starts by 8.
12. Learn to save; believe me, there will be days when an Affidavit of Loss will save you from walking all the way home…to Toril.
13. Work hard; rest harder. Your sanity depends on it.
14. Observe margins: on your pleadings, your schedule, your finances, your life.
15. Count your blessings…because when all is said and done, you’re really, really blessed.
16. You’re a Christian who happens to be a lawyer. When in doubt about your profession, remember this!
17. Humility in victory, pride in defeat. In a compromise, be sure that you win! (Hehehe…)
18. There will be days when you’d like to NOT be a lawyer. My advise- go home and then come to the office the next day. Simple.
19. There will be clients who will be very difficult. If they’re REALLY difficult, say goodbye to your fees and refer them to other lawyers. If you can’t, a good effort is better than none. (Capisce?) Oh, btw, numbers 18 and 19 usually go together.
20. Legal problems will sprout like mushrooms whenever you’re around, problems that you did not know existed before. Well, it comes with the territory. Advise? Make mushroom soup.
21. Always take the first narration of facts by your client with a grain of salt. There will be things that they won’t tell you and sometimes, they will even lie straight to your face. Call them on it! It will save everyone’s time and effort the next time.
22. No one comes to a lawyer when everything’s fine. Negativity abounds. Be sure to stay positive. Nothing’s final until the Supreme Court says so.
23. War consists of several battles. Count your victories by the battles fought.
24. A lawyer is worth every penny he’s charging to the client. If you’re not, make sure that you become one as you address the client’s case. Ayaw kaulaw paningil…you’re charging them not merely by the span of time that you entertain them but also by the amount of time that they occupy your thoughts. You are also charging for the missed laag, missed parties, missed opportunities, girlfriends-that-you-would-have-had-otherwise, sleepless nights, heavy books- things that you did, or did not do, during law school. You are also charging them for the gallons of coffee that you are consuming so that you can read whatever you have to read, for the increasing creases on your forehead, and for that butterfly in your stomach every time you discover that your client lied to you…and most of all, they’re paying you for your future hospital bills.
25. A lawyer is not the panacea of all legal ills. You can’t solve everything. Just be sure that you gave your best effort. That’s the only assurance you can give. The rest is up to the Court and God.
26. You need a car- really! Preferably one with a built-in parking space. Hehehe….
27. Just because you’re a lawyer doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re better than anybody. If you have to be better at anything, be better at humility.
28. Truth is so sacred that it has to have a bodyguard of lies…or so one judge says. Hmmm….
29. If you think that reading is for law school only, think again. You probably have to read more because practice is now not just a question of law but more of facts. Hala, sige, try mo sagutin ang kaso mo na puro medical terms ang gamit nga wala’y basa-basa….mao na, BASA!!!!
30. ENJOY!