This is my Christmas message to all of you.

  This blogger is now officially a licensed professional teacher...more or less.

   You see , I have accomplished my registration process at the PRC. And once again it has proved to be quite an ordeal.

   First of all, they required two passport size pictures with a nameplate and a 1x1 picture with a nameplate as well. The photo shop at Circle C was trying to tell me that I have to pay P300 because they don't normally print in those combinations (P150 for passport and P150 for 1x1). However after some haggling and upon their realization that I'm a returning customer (they found my pics on their computer), they gladly did everything for just P150.

   PRC was another thing altogether. First of all, I had to pay for the cedula again. Not really a bad thing, but I still don't understand why it's really needed.

   Bureaucracy at the PRC is at its best. How to apply as a new professional? There's no real process to it because everyone gave me conflicting accounts as to what the first step is. Website was a bit helpful, but not much. Upon reaching the to the teacher's department or whatever on the third floor, I was promptly asked to pay P300 for a souvenir programme for the oathtaking, which I didn't attend. Good thing I paid for it because it turns out my certificate's tucked in its pages somewhere.

    Next I had to pay for the metered stamps, whose person in charge didn't have change for P100. I had to ask our driver for some change. So I ran back up to the third floor, get back my stamped form and went down again to go the next building, second floor to the legal deparment to have my form notarized by this lawyer woman who looked like she just got out of bed. Or an all-night Tupperware party. Another unspecified payment.

  As soon as I got back, they asked me to sign here and there and told me to go to the cashier. I asked how much and he said P1050. So I ran back down because the P1200 I had initally brought clearly wasn't enough.

  Once I got to the cashier, she suddenly asked me for P1300. Because apparently I had to pay for my membership dues for the whatever organization, which I "had to sign up for" but had no intention.

 At this point, I was already peeved and demanded why I wasn't told of this at the previous step. She said part ho talaga yon. I insisted that I should only pay for my registration at the PRC and not for the organization. I think I saw her roll her eyes and gave me that unconcerned look.

However I was adamant that I was unwilling because at this point I only had P1060 at hand and not having eaten breakfast yet, I was in no mood to be cordial and to run back up and down for the fifth time. She begrudgingly agreed, but said that she wouldn't be able to give me my P10 change. WTF?!? What's the point of being a cashier if you don't have ample change?

Unfazed,I dryly said that I'd wait.

And I did. Got back my P10 and finished the process.
 

The cherry on top of this sundae of delight is that they were singing karaoke in their offices! There were more people joining their Christmas party than attending to us.

Idiotic.

I ended up paying more than P1600 for a piece of paper that doesn't even have my name on it; I have to write my name on it myself.

 

 

 

 

I suppose if I had them write it, the cost would shoot up to over P2000.

 

The only consolation is that there weren't that many people there yesterday. Everyone else was probably doing something more sensible.

 

 

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Gamecube 

 

I had spend the last few weeks obsessing over the Wii, or my lack of it. I had exhausted all my possible options and have just conceded that I won't get it this year.

 

Like any good managment/leadership/self-help book will tell you, re-evaluate your purpose/goals.

 

Is the goal in itself really that realistic? Maybe there's a different approach to it.

 

Of course I knew it, but I just had to face it. What I'm really after is to play the new Zelda game. The Wii was just a means to play it.

Unfortunately, all stores in the US are apparently sold out of the Gamecube version of Zelda. 

 

Great job, Nintendo! You don't supply enough Wiis to serve demand, so most people can't play Zelda on it. On the other hand, millions of Gamecube owners who can't get a Wii, can't get their paws on Zelda for the Cube as well.

 

Is this actual scarcity? Or just manipulative marketing?

 

If the demand for the actual product is genuine (and not just a result of  the spirit of the holiday shopping), then they'll still sell well even after the New Year. If not, you just lost potential buyers Nintendo. Wunderbar. 

 

So imagine my surprise when I casually updated this topic I don't usually look at in the Pinoy-N forums.

 

vincent_valentine Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:09 pm  

Saw the GC version at TK, buit Blitz has a reservation list going so just maybe there's a lot of copies coming

 

...WHAT?!?

 

 

EdgeMaster Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:27 pm 

Which TK did you spot it?

 

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the voice of Pikachu!

If I rub her cheeks will she hit me with a bolt of lightning or thunder or whatever?

Must. Give. Her. Hug.

Last night I attended Simbang Gabi at Ateneo. TJ and the 3C boys were there.

I was late since I overslept and I stayed on the left side of the church. Funny to think that I heard mass Friday, Saturday and Monday, but not Sunday.

Anyway, the homily was very good. I forgot who the priest was but he made some very important points which reinforced some beliefs that I have long held.

God is Wild and Untamable.

We always think of the "wild" as uncivilized or anything not like us. The tendency is that it is inferior or chaotic outside the walls our homes or the boundaries of our cities. However nature does work on its own laws. Animals follow their own norms. It is our own shortcoming if we do not understand them.

Similarly, God is not like us. We do not expect him to come when we please. He is not a dog or horse for us to command. We follow Him on His own terms and it should be good.

The reading on Job points to an absence of God. An absence which in my opinion is not really a reflection of abandonment, but one of limited understanding.

It is precisely because of absence do we value what is present.

That said, it was the first time this year I felt that it was Christmas.