Sell Any Ginto?

Addicted by sell any ginto?

Last year, I looked forward to entering university and trying out new things: dodgy sun-tan orange isaw, winding routes to the Math building, and racing from one end of campus to the other. I was fairly certain that my high school interests (i.e. obsessions with Canadian paper and arguing with boys) were going to remain firmly in the land of yellow gingham. "Yeah," I told my fellow IDEA baby, "Debate and I are on a break." And so we were. I went my way (damn you, Math 17) and left debate to the hands of the experts (I'm talking about you, Nicolo Cabrera and Claudia Poon).

Then a few months later, the withdrawal pains kicked in. I lovingly remembered the matter-cramming sessions, the laughs over made-up words uttered during a heated speech, and even the sense of disappointment after a particularly bad debate. Despair after drawing OG for the ninth straight round, smug amusement when an opposing team finds itself boxed out (it's called karma, boys), and heady relief of making it past the break-- all these are feelings I acutely missed. So I took the chance of applying to UPDS, even though I was (or rather, am) afraid of not being decent enough for college-level debate. In a matter of a year I was back at Econ, hoping to be accepted to the only community I ever felt at home with.

It's tough, finishing a ton of tambay debates and playing eenie-meenie-minie-moe on matter exams, but I want to say it's worth it. I certainly hope that the hours of making bola and humiliation for the sake of learning will pay off and I get into UPDS. But I have a feeling that if I don't, it wouldn't hurt too much. I made friends, which I totally am glad about since I have always been intimidated by the thought of forging social relationships, and I learned slang (at last! Aw aw!). I found fellow football fans (Victoria Concordia Crescit), television geeks (Love Sylar), and trippy food fans (ramyun is best served hot). I discovered people are funny and interesting because they don't care about being too loud or too normal. Weird is good. Debate is good.

The application process is not as impossible as some people think. It certainly isn't a frat. Not when those expert jugglers in MAC have got all bases covered. If there was a television series about the travails and triumphs of MAC members (Eureka! New reality show idea!) the theme song would be Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross. Incidentally she's got the va-va-voom style MAC has.

If you need me, call me/No matter where you are, no matter how far/Just call my name/I'll be there in a hurry/On that you can depend and never worry.

But if there has to be one thing the UPDS application process needs to have for future debaters-to-be, it would be adjudication sessions where applicants can actually listen to the discussion among members adjudicating. I really think that would have helped me understand adjudicating more. Or maybe it's just me. I'm rotten at it.

Whenever I start talking about debate my little brother covers his ears and goes lalalalalalala in a high-pitched panicky voice. Such is the manner in which debate has once again taken over my life. Articles torn from TIME and pamphlets from the World Bank are strewn all over my bedroom floor. I have to dodge the stacks of matterloaded books in order to get to my clothes. I can't go to sleep without hearing George Alagiah on the evening news, nor can I leave the house without reading the ticker on BBC World. My habit of building cases for newspaper headlines has returned, slowly but surely. Debate has wriggled its way into my heart, but I'm not sorry about it.

BJ is a rainbow lollipop
Once he starts he can't stop
He's got the looks; he's got the heart
BJ is so very smart!

He's here and there
He's everywhere
Too cool for school
BJ, you rule!

Jessica Hermengarde

This House Believes. By Jessica Hermengarde

THBT BJ is God’s gift to mankind.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me speak to you about the wonder that is BJ! He or (she) is God’s gift to mankind.

Mankind defined as UP debate society, as only those of superior intellect deserve to be called human.

Gift defined as a beautiful parcel waiting to be unwrapped.

God defined as the mystical force that created BJ.

Let us discuss the nature of a gift. A gift is hardly a gift unless it’s a fancy package. It has to have un-grepa wrapping paper, and ribbons that frame the box as wonderfully as yang’s hair frames his face. BJ clearly meets this standard, Madam Chair, as he is evidently good looking and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. His hair is amazingly clean cut, leading others to believe he is heterosexual.
His eyes pierce right through you, whether or not he intends it to do so. His smile brightens up any place, that’s why they don’t bother to turn on the lights in the Econ walkway when we debate. If BJ were straight, he’d have a long line of chics waiting for their sigsheets to be signed and their sorry asses asked out on a date. Hahaha.

But more than the fancy package, a gift has to be of use, and for it to be of use, it has to be unwrapped. BJ is being mercilessly unwrapped by the application process. His repetitive adjing for countless tambay and graded debates, his precious time spent in front of his laptop poring over applicant requirements, his endless need to sign this and sign that, his efforts to organize everything, show us ladies and gentlemen, that he serves his purpose in debate society, that he is a gift to them-- unwrapped all too harshly it’s almost like stripping. ;)

THBT the MAC committee is the anti-thesis of power tripping.

Frankly, I expected the members of the MAC committee to be scary, applicant-eating, people whose end goal is to make all of us cry like motherless babies.
Instead I met wonderful, even-tempered upper classmen who spent their time getting to know us, and encouraging us to improve all throughout the application period.

Thank you to BJ, Yang, Biboy, Celeni, Jovan, Nico, Pluto, Dimple for not giving us hell… well not yet at least. Haha.

TH does not regret applying.

I remember asking my fellow applicants one day if they feared the idea of not getting in after all the hard work (because I certainly did). I thought they would immediately nod and vent out their feelings; instead, I got such mature and objective answers, which reminded me once again of how one should handle oneself in the world that is college.

They told me that ‘of course it would suck,’ but that they think the application process is its own reward. We learn a lot of things merely by applying to UPDS. We learn to speak constructively, to matter load and actually ANALYZE and USE the matter, to work with different people, to listen and filter ideas, and above all, to be patient and persevering all throughout the application period.

We were also able to test ourselves, to see how far we can go. On my part, I never thought I’d face such a long and tedious process in my first semester of college. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the things we had to go through as debsoc applicants. I felt I was investing my time and effort in something worth it, something I can always look back on as a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience.

Above all, I cherish the friends I’ve made, both members and co-applicants alike. I remember sulking during the early part of the school year, because unlike my friends in other universities who had blocks to regularly hang out with, I only had random acquaintances from classes. When I started applying to UPDS, I took comfort in the fact that I could go to their “tambayan” if I had nothing to do or no one to stay with. I liked that I was able to build relationships, beyond a simple conversation or a class-related question. If ever I don’t get in, what would suck the most about it is the fact that I’ll miss everybody.

Overall, I say the application process is worth it. I wouldn’t have chosen any other way to start off my life in college. =)

Renier Bongga

The insistent annoying fly by Renier Bongga

Still finding out if it was sheer masochism, or impulsiveness, or the noble and Miss Universe-worth answer which is pure love to debate or genuine interest to join the org, I swallowed all my elephant-sized reservations and applied for UP DebSoc. Of the many things I'm ignorant about, I had at least one tautology- I am certain that this is gonna be bloody for me. Or so I think.

Blood is a cheap commodity, compared to the big part, if not all, of my dignity that I lost (about to lose since it's not yet done) during the app process. The app process was rich of all the underlying principles MAC wants to teach us or to make us remember. Kapal ng mukha? People went gaga over the boldstars in the applympics.The scrutiny of adjing in open areas where people could hear. Resourcefulness? Talk about the debates in the econ exterior, the formal attire we had to wear in Vinzons. Competitiveness? It was a race. Whatever sugarcoating applied to it, it was more of a race. Never mind the money struggles I had to face, the absences I had to make, and all the butt-aching and calorie-burning tasks I went through, because there were more to see.

There is BJ. He is the menstruation that happened for the third time in a month, the bungang-araw that came in winter, the twenty-five cents left on your entire body and bag after you've been harrassed by a hold-uper and you're just halfway home. He's the (not an) enigma.

As if he's wearing an invisible mink coat adorned with porcupine thorns. I can't approach him most of the time. There's no shallow reason for that. He's no goody-two-shoes to me. I explain how I adjed and he looks at me as though I'm bound to eternal damnation, as if I've adjed totally miserably. The stare tells me I did. He speaks the verdict of the debate as cold and sharp as he could (sometimes, he opts not to, but I haven't experienced that), as true and clear as he could, that even I would like to pounce myself for debating so stupidly. He can convince me that I have the mind of a premature cockroach and I don't hate him for it. All these but I still couldn't not respect him, because I know he's right. (Shame!...on my part ok?)

There is the losing and regaining of self-confidence, patterned to how many times I suck and not suck so much in debates from first tambay to third graded, from mini-mock to the mocking reaffirmation that I don't belong.

But here comes the (coincidentally) members of MAC. Make Anyone Comfortable can even be their motto. I splurge in the mud of self-doubt and someone from this committee tells me I'm not the worst case, only bad. Just playing around. Seriously, and often unbelievably, they have the talent of patching up one's hopes when the rebuttals, POI's, and bluffings have torn it and made it into a Prada bag. They juggle what they can juggle, the legworkers of DS they are (no pun to other committees, there's the other leg if you assert your hardworkings) and still make you believe either that you're the best debater in the world, or you can be in the future.

So many time spent. So many people met. So many things on the line. It wasn't just blood and tears and eye-bags after all. At first, I wonder how I wildly fight to live up to that choice, how I had many chances to defer but I didn't, how many things I had to give up- and disregard all that and anticipate the next tambay debate, adj, kupalan, etc. All the inconveniences and I still stay.

Then, when I sing in the bathroom, it all falls into place. The reasons why come like I had the voice of Charlotte Church and I sang for soul redemption.

It's about not caring, or wanting to shed all those, for that gleaming but faint chance of membership. The membership I want because it means more than just a title or gangsta feel. It's more of, mushy as it sounds, knowing it's worth it, knowing that you owe it to yourself. Like nothing would ever be more right to do.

Jowee Pasensiya

This is my quest to follow that star, no matter how hopeless... by Jowee Pasensiya

While I was reading the blog entries of my co-apps, I think majority of them thought that the “BJ” they should talk about is Benjamin Joseph Esposo Guerrero, who is the very famous MAC Chair. Although BJ is nice to me and I already consider him as my friend, I would rather talk about a different BJ. As an applicant of upds, I know I have a lot of things to fulfill, (i.e. debate and adj quotas, sigsheets, internships, whatever!) and I must say that all those things are part of the BJ or the Big Job that we’re expected to do. The responsibility given to us is not easy believe me. You have to learn how to balance acads with org work since the app period requires you a lot of time and effort. It would be helpful also if you’d read broadsheets everyday and buy the economist magazine every week. Unfortunately for a student like me it’s really hard to save up since when i'm in school I also get to spend a lot (i.e. food, transportation, unnecessary expenses, etc.) I really think that the big job is important because even if it will not assure you of a slot in the org, at least it can improve your chances. And even if everything is equally hard and stressful, at least at the end of the day you’ve learned something from it.

The whole app process even if it’s not yet done is really tiring but enjoyable. It’s enjoyable since you get to learn a lot of things. It’s when you meet a lot of intelligent, weird, moody and not to mention pretty girls. For a person lacking in social skills, I know that the whole app process is a challenge I have to take. For the reason I don’t really understand, I’ve been very shy all my life so it’s never been easy for me to mingle with other people but I’m really trying my best to catch up and socialize with the rest. I feel a bit uncomfortable when I’m exposed to a new group of people but thanks to my ever-reliant buddy and some debsoc people since they made me feel as if I can share to them everything I have in mind, especially those things that concern the app process, which mind you is very tiring since it requires you to devote substantial amount of time and effort.

When everything gets rough, that’s when MAC comes in. They’ll let you know what you should do and they’ll inform you the things you need to improve. MAC is composed of nine interesting people, who I think deserve a place in this entry.

Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero: He’s the VP for MAC but according to him, he’s the “Queen” of the org. He may be snob at times but BJ would always be there when you need someone to talk with. If you have problems in terms of the entire app process and you don’t know who to talk with, BJ is the man (or the other way around)! Believe me, he seems to be a snob but BJ is really nice and friendly too.

Yang: He may be brutally frank in terms of adjudicating but I really think that he’s the friendliest among the members. If I’m not mistaken he’s one of the primary movers of the “Seven Deadly Questions”, and if you’d ask me if the questions are really worth answering, I really don’t know because most of the questions are very hard to answer. Anyway, the “Seven Deadly Questions Game” is really fun. Even if you don’t like the question, you have no choice but to answer it and I assume that’s the primary challenge of the game.

Paula: I rarely see her during debate trainings but I get to see her twice a week. She’s pretty, well dressed, very articulate, and not to mention she’s also sexy. I think she has this resemblance to female newscaster Rhea Santos. Like everyone else in MAC, she looks like a snob but the moment you talk to her, you’ll find out that this woman is also fun to be with.

Pluto: This guy is very funny. I think he’s the most kikay among the male upds members. I haven’t seen him debate so I have no idea if this guy is a killer or what.

Celeni: Even if we see each other often, we never had the chance to sit down and spend the next 15 minutes together. That I guess is one of my regrets because I really think that Celeni is a very funny girl. The way she carries herself is also amusing and I’m really looking forward to be her friend.

Jovan: Although Jovan is nice, I think he has to eat more. Hehe. He seems to be very quiet just like me.

Biboy: I guess he’s one of the most competitive members of upds. I’ve seen him debate several times already and I must say I’m a fan, it’s just that he has this very high pitch of voice that is a bit unusual since he’s a very big guy.

Nikko: Like everyone else in upds, this guy looks like a snob. But when I had a chance to talk and spend some time with him, I realized that he’s really not.

Dimple: I rarely see her during debate trainings so I have no idea if she’s nice or what. But I guess she’s friendly because she always carries a smile on her face not to mention I was able to get her signature without any challenge at all.

I’m grateful that I applied for UPDS not only because I know that it will help me in terms of future reports, paper works, job interviews etc. but I’m more grateful because at least I’ve met a lot of people who can be my friends in the long run. It has always been my dream also to be featured on national T.V. and I’m positive that debsoc can make that elusive dream come true. Haha. Peace.

Anna Porcelana

Learning how to Masterdebate by Anna Porcelana

A normal person would rather choose to spend nearly two months of his time studying, playing, flirting or even watching plants grow in their yard over applying for UPDS. Arguably, the DebSoc holds the title for the most competitive application process, from the Apps Olympics to the Tambay Debates, Tambay Adjes, Mini-Mock, the Graded Debates and the dreaded Matter Exam. By sheer length ang complexity, the process has completely stretched me beyond my former bounds, I had to struggle with severely conflicting schedules and tempting holidays all in good hopes of making it. I will never forget running across the campus in search for condoms and sanitary napkins or even hitching a ride with a complete stranger delivering ulam. Even debating in Vinzons over limited space and light, to sit in Econ building just to manage my quota was worthwhile. Our buddy made sure that we were ready for all the things that we would be facing, from case building to adjing our buddy made sure that we were all in the right track. Looking back the buddy bid fee which I used to think was irrational is now justified, I feel that we undercompensated our buddy’s effort and patience with us. All in all the process wasn’t just about getting grades higher than 75 but rather an intrinsic checking of desire to make it, because as I have heard the app process is just a warm-up of all the stretching that I will have to make assuming I get in.

What added flavor to the process are BJ and MAC and in order to be able to talk about them properly I have to define them first, BJ, contrary to the misnomers who shallowly define such as blow job or buko juice, is a word (not an abbreviation) used to define something which adds positive value to somewhat negative scenarios. For example; if you are lonely, all you need is a BJ and everything will be alright. If you think that you can’t appreciate things anymore, just get a BJ and you’re all set for seeing the beauty of life. As far as research is concerned, BJ will be placed in the thesaurus as something synonymous to appreciation or hope. The only rule about BJ is that you must pay it forward, meaning that if someone BJs you it is imperative that you BJ someone else who desperately needs it.

This then leads me to MAC (Membership and Administration Committee), how is MAC anyway? MAC is a spawn of the concept of BJ because throughout the process, MAC is the main cursor of the applicants, helping us through the whole process by giving out tips about sig-sheets, making us physically fit through the Olympics and helping us figure out strategies how to increase our chances of getting in.

In summation, the process has promoted my whole outlook about debating and it has made me realize that I must follow the BJ principle which is useful in everyday scenarios. I had a taste of the UPDS life, and it is tough and worthwhile no matter what.

Kriska Karengkeng

Centrum (I Want To Be Complete) by Kriska Karengkeng

This is also your story. You woke up this morning with a big smile on your face. You are lucky because hot Hollywood actor Jude Law was able to kiss and even hug you… But of course, those are just part of your fantasies... Err, your dream.

As you have checked the time, your once smiling face suddenly turned into a wrinkled one—comparable to a piece of crumpled paper. You happened to remember that you have a short story due today yet you forgot to finish it last night since you arrived late because you have debated for UPDS as part of the application process.

A few seconds later, you started smiling again, got up from your bed, turned on the computer started typing some words and after an hour, voila! A literary work-of-art was produced!

Well, why am I telling you this story? Basically, that defines BJ. How? BJ, for me is a talent. It means being able to multi-task, and carry out each tasks with confidence and finesse, ergo grace under pressure. BJ is neither an acronym nor a word consisted of only two letters. BJ - to put formally, Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero - is an adjective used to describe the true essence of being a UPDS member—that is being able to excel both in academics and in debating and/or adjudicating as well without sacrificing your gaiety and societal entertaining influence.

BJ is also a term used to describe professionalism. It means being objective and rational… Being unbiased that no matter how emotionally attached you are to a person, in the name of professionalism, you will be fair and rational in analyzing issues (involving that person)

BJ is simply a word with many meanings. But despite this complexity, cliché it may sound, BJ exemplifies the true meaning of a rational iskolar ng bayan.

These characteristics are personified through the Membership and Administration Committee (MAC) chairman. He is indeed suitable for the committee he was into, since the MAC served as rational league of applicants’ comrades during the entire application period. They’ve served my sisters and brothers (second to my buddy and my partner) to whom I could ask questions, share my concerns and get advices. They helped me in being compatible with the organizations’ members and activities. They remove the line that divides the members from the applicants and they try to welcome you with open arms for you to feel comfortable with UPDS thus, helping you carry out your best during the process.

MAC is the committee where most of my and other applicants’ “friend-members” came from. The committee members really upheld their purpose to bring the applicants closer to the org. MAC is simply great! It is helpful and if there’s one adjective that would describe it, that would be, “friendly”
With all these elements, I don’t think any applicant would dare to hate the application period.

Before, I am hesitant to enter UPDS since, in the first place, I thought, I have no debate experience in high school thus it would be hard for me to debate in front of many people. Plus, I thought, there are lotsa public humiliation, etc. but I was wrong. The members are rational enough to think of your “rights” and thus they only focused on the “honing” of your skills and “developing” your confidence.

I feel so fulfilled with my application to UPDS. And though there are times that I really cry because I find it hard to allot time for the organization yet I don’t want to defer, I just sacrifice my time for other things (e.g. time for rest) to devoting myself to the organization.

I always tell myself that if I am not a brilliant debater as of now, I promised to persevere so hard for me to uphold the meaning of a real UPDS member. I know I have lots of inferior moments yet I know that I can improve and transform to a better debater.

The process itself taught me to persevere more, to devote myself to the organization no matter how stressful my subjects are and to accept my mistakes and improve them.

As the application nears its end, I am proud to say that I have no regrets in the things I have sacrificed for UPDS and that the fruit of these sacrifice is a measurable amount of happiness that brings a sense of self-fulfillment within me. As journey take its toll, I am hoping that another door will be opened for me and thus continue the struggle towards self-fulfillment.

As of now, though I am still unsure if I would be accepted or not, I can say that I can shout out to the world that, because of my experiences during the application period, the jigsaw puzzle of my UP life, like Centrum, is now complete.

A-Lester Tuking-pun

Application by A-Lester Tuking-pun

The prefix "a-" which means without and the pun intended with the third sex word "tuki", you can easily figure out what the distortion means. For your information, his name is actually my household nickname. =)

BJ. Bernard Joseph Guerrero is the head of the Membership and Application Committee(MAC) of the UP Debate Society(UPDS). He plays a big role in my future. I first encountered BJ during the orientation of our application period. The way he acted and talked, I knew one thing for sure, he was gay. Nowadays, BJ has been a part of my life, and so has the rest of my fellow applicants and the members of the UP Debate Society. BJ is everyone's mother. Despite bilogical differences from the typical mother, he manages to fulfill the role just as good. I have spent a lot of time with him and hopefully more so in the future, whether or not I pass UPDS.

MAC. The Membership and Application Committee was the whole committee in charge of my future, BJ extension. Everyone is perky and nice. Some of the MAC members can be intimidating and made me hesitate to get to know some of them. But my hesitations were unfounded. So far, they have given me no reasons to doubt their sincerity. Everything has continued to run smoothly, even when faced with typhoons and people deferring.

The application period were the two best and worst months of my life. Applying to an organization, I didn't think the process was so demanding. The requirements were: 10 tambay debates, 5 tambay adjudications, 3 graded debates, 3 matter exams, 30 tambay hours, an internship in each of the 5 committees, a sigsheet which meant a whole lot of tasks to acquire the signatures, an apps olympics, a matter exam, an adjudication exam, attending two debate seminars, one adjudication seminar, and one IR seminar, buddy fee, application fee, resume, a copy of my Form 5 and JDC. On top of that, you still aren't guaranteed a slot because of the tier system and the existence of a second phase. If you put it that way, I can't even believe I pushed through with the process. To be honest, I thought the requirements were unreasonable.

I was about to defer after the orientation. I couldn't imagine myself managing to fulfill the requirements. The day of the buddy bidding, braving the storm, I decided "What the heck, might as well continue and try. What have I got to lose?". It's been two months since. My adjudication exam is this afternoon. JDC is this Saturday. My views have changed. The requirements are achievable and they are the most meritorious way of filtering the applicants.

And I've never been happier. Last Monday, during my first subject(Maths 17), I was thinking about how long the time was until it's finally dismissal. Then, I can tambay at Econ. I've cherished every minute. I'm more passionate about UPDS than any of my college subjects. And I can't believe the process is coming to an end. Yesterday, 9am I was at Econ and 9pm I was having dinner with my co-applicants and members at Jollibee Philcoa.

I have changed my attitude a lot. People think I have a high level of self-entitlement. And to a certain extent, I do. Trust me, I have been working on my problem. To give faces and to be rowdy during rounds, I haven't been for two weeks. And people have been telling me, that since then, I have become pretentious and beauty pageant-ish. I don't see anything wrong with that. After all, we all control even our most basic instincts, like agression and sex. We all do a lot of pretending, like wearing make-up. I don't think I've been "plastik". When people want to change, I don't see anything wrong with that. What's wrong with changing for the better. And when I feel the way I do, like annoyed and pissed, I don't deny, I just control them.

The process has been life-changing. Just last week, I was in my most depressed state. My acads were deteriorating. The worse part is, so is my debating. A lot of people cheered me up and I realized that the problem wouldn't exist if I acted upon it. And on top of that, I have amazing people surrounding me.

I will always look back at the application period with no regret. Whether or not I get accepted lies in the hands of the members of the UPDS. And I am going to be honest about my feelings. I want to pass and I can't imagine life without DebSoc.