Contemplation IV

Thanks first and foremost to our ICT professor. Without her combined brilliance and generosity in documenting and sharing solutions I wouldn't be able to make things I'm even slightly proud of on the Web.

In this chapter, we've learned the basics of Adobe Photoshop. Not only studied, we experimented with photos. We've also learned how to creatively edit different qualities of photos using a variety of processes. If you think you need to edit your photos like an expert—think again!

We've been working actively in this field for the past 2 or 3 weeks, the last week concentrating on our blogs.

So far, so good!

I didn't at all think that using Adobe Photoshop would be easier than the normal editing apps. You'll have to learn steps in doing this and that. It may be hard at first, but keep on trying so that you’ll ace the editing process!

So, there is n number of people posting lots of photos on the Internet, and those photos look quite low in quality. Some

With our newly acquired knowledge of this technological weapon, we're armed with everything we need to start appreciating the best that the Adobe Photoshop has to offer. Surely we can do better!

C H A N G E

Like death, change is inevitable. It is attached along with us as we live through the years.

I’ll never let anyone see, how change starts with me.

When I think about change, I think twice. The first time, I try imagining possible changes to the world. It’s all in my head. I solidify what the change is and how I’m going to bring it into action. Sometimes, I even sketch it as a paragraph or a portrait. Once I’m done, I think about it again. Now I've got an outline of an impossible plan.

Change is nothing special. It constantly occurs.

I stop to actually ‘perform’ the scenes I have molded from the crumpled ideas. I may end up at a bad atmosphere or a good one. Thinking as though the world is such a bad place, who wouldn't think twice on changing it? How nice if we could edit the whole world. If we could stop a a certain point and make changes. Though those are plain goals and imaginations, one may courageously stand up and start putting it into action.

Like me, for example.

I'm just an introvert but with my own simple and silent ways I have been bringing out changes.

My Dream, My Future

A dream can be the highest point of a life.

- Ben Okri

Wake up on your own and look around you, 'cause you're not alone.

Release your high hopes and they'll survive

'cause this is the future and you are alive.

I myself agree that the best thing for one would be to believe in oneself and concentrate on achieving priority goals. I hate to say it, but it's all we can do. Patience is the most important thing. Education is the key to success, might I say.

I was impressed anew by the variety of dreams and goals life could offer.

Serving was the one small dream of my one small life. The others thought I wanted to be a writer, because I was always alone with a book, but I had no such ambition. 'I'll be a guardian of the law,' that's what I used to tell myself. But I never found the right words to express myself. I wasn't going to let it beat me. I figured it'd be exceedingly pleasing to have more-than-one professional careers. I want to be a soldier and a historian at once. Wouldn't it be profound to be a Lieutenant like Soma Peries? Or a Colonel and Tactical forecaster like Kati Mannequin? I have a number of dreams I would allow myself to pass, but this one? Yes, I wanted to put it into action, and of course, to have it achieved.

First lieutenant Soma Peries

We have to go on unraveling the jumbled threads one at a time, without losing hope. I know it's going to be hard, but keep your hopes up.

Kannawidan Ylokos Festival

Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit.

To promote Ilocos Sur tourism and its trade and industry products, a week-long Kannawidan Ylokos Festival is observed from January to early February each year to celebrate the creation of Ilocos Sur as a separate province on February 2, 1818. Highlights of the festival are the holding of a trade, agri-aqua and livestock fair to promote the One Town One Product (OTOP) Program.

If we stand tall it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors.

Yes, it is wonderful to be an Ilocano—until one comes to Ilocos Sur.

The Ilocano has an elaborate network of beliefs and practices through which he deals with the world around him. These beliefs and practices developed and nurtured by his ancestors, guide him in going through the different stages of life. It is possible, however, that many of these beliefs and practices are gaining less importance among Ilocanos of today. And so I assent — Kannawidan may truly be a way to bring back the old times.

"Agbaliw ti panawen tayo, agbaliw met ti Kannawidan tayo."

Nothing in life is more breathtaking than history and culture—the enlightenment and sophistication acquired through education and exposure to the arts. The art, music, literature, and related intellectual activities are considered as exceedingly pleasing in our native land — Ilocos. Kannawidan provided an opportunity for the elders to pass on folk knowledge and the meaning of tribal lore to younger generations. It also binds its citizens in a unity that transcends personal concerns. 

'Culture' is simply how one lives, and is connected to history by habit.

- Imamu Amiri Baraka

For observers, this festival offers a nostalgic experience. It exhibits a sentimental portrait of our land. Ethnic and national groups are credited with the preservation of unique customs, folktales, costumes, and culinary skills. Kannawidan covers a variety of subject matter, exploring both personal and uiversal themes, depicting the dreams and realities of life, and portraying everyday activities and experiences. As we know it today, rituals are equally essential festive as are music and dances. Hardly any social function is ever complete without a ritual. As in this festival, Ilocanos reveal much of their character, beliefs, and aspirations. For now, I see the true old times of Ilocos Sur in action.