RIP Former Pres. Cory Aquino

“I’ve reached a point in life where it’s no longer necessary to try to impress. If they like me the way I am, that’s good. If they don’t, that’s too bad.”

“I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life.”

“I know my limitations, and I don’t like politics. I was only involved because of my husband.”

“As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it.”

“I don’t have any formula for ousting a dictator or building democracy. All I can suggest is to forget about yourself and just think of your people. It’s always the people who make things happen.”

“Maybe this is one way of telling them how much it means not only to me but to all of us who love our democracy and who are searching for the truth.”

i wasn’t born yet when she stepped up to rule the country after the tragic People Power Revolution, after the dictatorship has ruined her family. i was 1 year old when she had her last State of the Nation Address so i don’t have concrete memories of her speaking in public but that didn’t deprive me to stop knowing who she is and why do people put her in pedestal during her time. all because, SHE MADE HISTORY—history of the democracy and as the first female president of the RP, an advocate of women empowerment and a living legend of faith&power.

i wasn’t her avid fan, but i am one of those who were amazed in every word she deliver. i am one of those who mourned when her youngest daughter, Kris, announced that her mother is almost dying of cancer. i am one of those melodramatic geeks who were touched by the outpouring prayers and sympathy that the family is receiving from the entire nation. and now, im joining the throng of grieving filipinos because of her death. this is maybe the end of her human life but a beginning of her eternal life. im sure she’s happy up above. <3

Maria Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009)

Most Common Facebook Updates

*credits to http://tech.msn.com/products/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=20260811

Facebook Updates: What Kind Do You Write?

Sean Is Hungry, Chris Is Tired

Our lives may be full and our experiences rich, but when it comes to squeezing the latest mini-chapters of our personal journeys into the limited space of a Facebook status update ─ with the added pressures of being clever, looking cool, sounding interesting and eliciting responses ─ there are only so many ways to tell the folks on our social networks all about it. You begin see the same stuff over and over again: "Sean is hungry." "Chris is tired." "Ann is in a boring meeting." "Bob had a crazy dream." "Jane needs to study."

English professors claim that there are relatively few distinct story plots and that every piece of literature is just a retelling of one of those narrative archetypes. I'm convinced that the same is true of the things people write in their Facebook status updates. On the following pages you'll meet some of the most common "archetypes" I've recorded so far.

-- Hillary Rhodes, for PC World; Illustrations by Mike Reed

The 'OK, This Person's Life Is Legitimately Interesting' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Greta Schurman qualified for the Olympics!!"

"Jared Penn arrested five big-time mob bosses today."

"Adam Melby is safe in his Baghdad hotel after a bomb exploded at the market."

Face it, Facebook fans. Many of us go there to record mundane activities like grocery shopping and watching TV. But once in awhile somebody posts a status update that leaves you wondering, "Wow, your life is that interesting and you still think it's worth logging on to Facebook?"

Social networking is a paradox because usually the people who are the most active online are the least active in real life. At least that's a common criticism. Is it a fair assessment? We're not so sure, but it does warm our heart when we see people manage to lead an exotic life offline and still show up online to tell the rest of us about it in an "OK, This Person's Life Is Legitimately Interesting" update. Unless, of course, it's actually an "I'm a Big Liar" update.

Now, off to drink some water and brush my teeth.

The 'My Job Sucks' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Ann Ash is in a meeting, yet again."

"Mindy Theo wants out of this cubicle!"

"Alex White would rather work at Dunder Mifflin."

Since so many of us are attending to Facebook while working, it's no wonder that the "My Job Sucks" update is so popular. Work is on our minds. And often it sucks! If it's not the mind-numbing work you're assigned to do, then it's your insensitive boss, your hectic commute, your chatty co-worker, your long hours, the bad coffee in the break room, the bad smell in the bathroom or the bad severance package that you're expecting any day now.

On the other hand, if you're inspired to post yet another "My Job Sucks" update, at least it means you aren't in a position to post an even less enviable "Help! I Really Need a Job!" update.

The 'Oh Come On, Just Tell Us What It Is ─ Are You Dying?' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Lewis Davies just got some sad news."

"Abigail Evans feels sick about what happened today."

"Debby Stein can barely breathe over this."

You clearly have some big bad news ─ so bad, in fact, that you can share only the vague news that you have news, not any of the details. As a result, the rest of us have to write you private messages, fearing that a wall post or status comment is too public!

With the "Oh Come On, Just Tell Us What Happened ─ Are You Dying?" update, you elicit tons of sympathy and worry. But either your news is too sad and personal to bear mentioning on Facebook at all (so shame on you for exploiting it) or you're being melodramatic (so shame on you for taking up our time and sympathy). None of that would happen if you just cut to the chase: Are you dying? Or did you just spill marinara sauce on your nice white pants?

The 'You Never Seem This Happy in Real Life' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Nora Leo loved spontaneous salsa dancing in the park today! Yay, sunshine!!"

"Vicky Tabor had the best ever DQ Blizzard and now gets to see Cheryl and Tyler at the Toby Keith concert!!!! Life rocks!!!!!!!!"

"Aaron Proctor found an extra quarter in the Laundromat change machine!"

The "You Never Seem This Happy in Real Life" updates come from the mopers and negative Nellies in your life who never have anything positive to say in person, but who magically transform into positive-thinking Pollyannas when they assume their virtual identities: Suddenly they're all ga-ga over cheap gas or good weather.

Facebook is full of giddy people bouncing off the walls, often over very simple pleasures. In fact, sometimes the simple pleasures often seem to get more than their share of the limelight ─ maybe because the poster feels pressure to make something out of nothing or because many truly thrilling moments aren't appropriate for a status update: "Yay, my cancer is gone!" "Yay, I got into Harvard and my best friend didn't!" "Yay, my wife is finally losing all that extra weight!" So instead, we revel publicly in the small things. And as a result, our online persona may be a lot sunnier than our real-life presence.

The 'Look How in Love I Am' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Pete Lark sends a kiss to the love of his life and future wife!"

"Holly Quint could lie in bed with Ben forever."

"Bob Chani adores his sweetheart more than life itself."

Though our own love lives gravitate toward the "it's complicated" description on Facebook, theirs seems to be 100 percent perfect ─ and naturally we love hearing about it every day. But sarcasm aside, what compels some people to gush on Facebook? Could it be that they're overcompensating for something ─ that they feel a need to prove something to others ... or to themselves?

Undoubtedly the "Look How in Love I Am" update is sometimes an expression of innocent exuberance ─ the product of a person overcome by joy and appreciation for their significant other. But not always. Sometimes it's an attempt to quell internal doubts ("See? I really must be in love") or a coded message to an ex ("I'm happier without you, loser!").

The 'Big News Break' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Kelly Babson is PREGNANT!"

"Jeremiah Post quit his job."

"Sybil Connor is finally free after a month in jail!"

When you encounter a "Big News Break" update, you need to be aware of a couple of things as you read it:

1. The poster's real friends already know the big news.

2. Therefore, the point of the announcement is to solicit compliments, shock or other strong reactions from the poster's second- or third-level "friends." That means you: you who don't occupy a high enough rung on the ladder of intimacy to merit a call or in-person conversation about whatever the big news is.

Face it: When you get pregnant, you're not going to tell your best friend over Facebook. No, the "Big News Break" update specifically targets people who aren't among the inner circle of friends. But we're not knocking it. Facebook is all about lesser friends, and there's nothing wrong with second-tier.

The 'Too Much Information (TMI)' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Bob Levin is still gassed from his long-delayed sigmoidoscopy."

"Joe Kass can't stop picking his nose."

"Jodi Portia is having the heaviest period ever!"

Who needs juicy third-person gossip when Facebookers seem more than willing to reveal intimate details of their own private lives to a horrified yet fascinated public? Nothing is off limits when it comes to the "Too Much Information (TMI)" update. From behind the veil of Facebook faux-anonymity, people will talk openly about their sex lives, body issues, bad habits, secret thoughts, perverted minds and weird quirks.

Sure, a TMI update might make your readers cringe, but there's something liberating about exposing your inner demons to a generally supportive community of online friends. And who knows ─ maybe someone will comment in agreement, making you feel less alone.

The 'Passive Aggressive' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Gabe Samson would rather not, thank you very much.”

"Mary Hales told you so."

"Brenna Vogel could do without THAT in her life."

Though Facebook invites a wide range of uncomfortable dialogue and public displays of TMI (see the previous slide), a line remains in place that many social networkers won't cross. They'll suggest that they're angry, but they won't say why; or they'll express frustration about something or someone in their life, but they won't provide any specifics about who or what is getting on their nerves.

Like passive-aggressive behavior in real life, the "Passive Aggressive" update lets you grumble without truly confronting your problem. It means omitting details but adopting a tone that's just bitter enough to let everyone know you're disappointed, and it might also send a message to the particular person who is getting under your skin.

The 'Song Quote' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Liza Kitter kissed a girl, and she liked it!"

"Robin Lamb forgot her umbrella, ella, ella, ella."

"Isaac Clapp won't hesitate no more no more."

If you're a frequent Facebooker, you've undoubtedly suffered at one point or another from status update block ─ and that's when the "Song Quote" update can come in handy. It's pretty self-explanatory: When you can't think of anything good to say, summon a good poet or lyricist, and just like that you'll have one of the most compelling status updates around. Plus, song writers are adept at zeroing in on universal themes like love, loneliness, hope, despair and forgotten umbrellas, so why not just channel the pros when you can't think of the exact right words to sum up your mood?

The 'I'm Tired, and Here's How Many Hours of Sleep I Got Last Night' Update
EXAMPLES:

"Dan Wright was up till 3 and up again at 6 for work."

"Chris Keel is functioning (barely) on 2 hours of sleep."

"Inge Neal did not get her required 8 hours and wishes she could take a nap."

Is this really an update? We're all tired, always. Isn't that a given? We all work too hard and stay up too late watching TV and surfing the Internet and Facebooking ourselves into bleary-eyed oblivion. A real update would be the refreshing exclamation, "I feel so AWAKE today!"

And yet the "I'm Tired, and Here's How Many Hours of Sleep I Got Last Night" updates persist. People tend to aim for scientific precision when it comes to hours spent in Zone Z, so as to prove that while everyone else may be in a sort of mild daze, they are genuinely sleep-deprived. But it probably means nothing more than that they're too tired to think of something more interesting to say.

**it's horrible how i can relate to this article. *now im getting ashamed of my statuses* but who the hell cares? this is your way of pleasing your facebook friends so they'll click like button or drop a comment with your lame status. this is how you want to introduce yourself to the e-world, this is how you'll get attention in harsh ways or not, this is how you reward yourself and THIS WHAT MAKES FACEBOOK PHENOMENAL.

internet savvy

you can call me an obsessive compulsive internet user, i want all my accounts be updated as frequent as possible and everything should be at proper boxes, no unwanted texts or codes hanging anywhere in my profile page. recently, i am committed to twitter and plurk and facebook and blogger and multiply. im feeling strangely irresponsible when i didn't tweet the whole day; when i haven't logged on to facebook to update my status, answer surveys and read some posts and i hate seeing notifications saying someone has beaten my score on typing maniac; when i don't come up with a nice blog in a week is a mortal sin; each time i wasn't able to listen or download new music, i feel outdated; when the websites i religiously visit has many posts i haven't read yet, it's like i know nothing. the social networking havoc literally makes me aggressive and drives me to spend the rest of my vacant hour browsing.

i was in my real ordinary self way back 2007, when we're not broadband connected yet. i manage few accounts online and go to the shop when school calls for it. in short, i really am not an internet dependent person until we've had one at home and until i started to learn something interesting that i was horribly hooked up 7 hours straight. really, im not seeing myself avoiding internet in a decade or two. maybe i wouldn't be that hyped but for sure i won't lose touch. is there something wrong with me? ikaw, (in all honesty) can you live without it?

"social networking sites were built to enhance relationships, not SUBSTITUTE it. sometimes status updates aren't really "what's on their mind", it's more of how they want to present their selves online."--> is my recent status on facebook. aside from the educational and knowledge enriching online sites, we're all benefited by social networking sites which gives us an instant cheap connection to reach out with friends. i don't even think snail mail still plays its role as a letter sender coz we're all equipped with e-mail and comment boxes and instant messaging. even mobile phones has less job coz we're charged bucks for a text message or call, right? especially when the reply can wait for a few days or so, we wouldn't bother calling a friend until time fades. i mean, if not for emergencies we won't use our phone. i wonder what would happen if the entire world wide web was infected by a virus wrecking all the data and everyone has to start all over again, FROM THE BEGINNING. im pretty sure ocean full of tears will be formed and the entire universe will be fucked up.

i visit almost 10 to 15 sites in one sitting, the number goes larger if im given more time. sometimes, i set my alarm to 3am (if i have a 7:30 class) so that i'll have 2 hours to check on my accounts and a number of sites. during non-school days, i'd go online for 3-5 hours straight. then i'd end up a little longer coz another site calls for a few minutes more of discovery, i hate it when i can't resist the temptation of the online world. hence all of this is for i-should-know purposes and not the unimportant things, i don't waste time online & as in what im doing is productive. see? it goes to show that im addicted to the internet because my brain can't stand idle time, my mind wanders a lot and it worries me if im taking myself away from the present to predict what's at stake for me in the future. so instead of collecting pressure boosters, i'd desperately make myself busy doing stuffs online to separate myself from the anxiety of living in tedium.

we love the instantaneous feedback we get from our online buddies. the affirmation of our status updates or blogs or pictures or videos or links somehow makes our day. narcissists love social networking. it gives them sudden elation when the world get to visit their page and compliment their photos or even agreeing to their shoutouts. if you're just cramming for attention then go spread your love to everybody online.

on the other hand, i doubt the sincerity online coz people can be somebody they're not; portray a charming role and be adorable on photos or maybe a villain or backstabber. we can't be really good friends or lovers secured by the shitty "i love you" glitter graphics posted on your comments box, i just don't think we'd trust somebody we don't know personally.

technology should enrich our lives, not replace it. the internet was made as a medium of communication so that we'll be more aware of what's happening in all parts of the world. but that was just the broader sense of our initial responsibility which is the people that surrounds us and our community.

if every computer is busted for a week or two, what's the worst thing that could happen? what if we won't have access to youtube, google, twitter or facebook, who would you even bother calling? when the celebrity gossip and scandal sites were banned, would you even dare reading weather news reports? in the absence of these sites, who would you think of?

blogging has been the counterpart of me coz it's were i share unspoken thoughts. it's were i can say anything without hearing complains or reaction that would piss me off but above all this, none of my blogs has ever contained what i felt the moment i was writing it. still, you wouldn't know everything about me without my physical presence. AN ONLINE BUDDY CAN BE SOMETIMES THE TOTAL OPPOSITE OF THE PERSON YOU MOLDED IN YOUR INTERNET-INSPIRED MIND.

-diannereodique@ymail.com-