2016 in Review

It’s the first day of 2017. I’m here at a coffee shop using my bluetooth keyboard typing this post on my 5.2-inch Android smartphone. I was thinking of other things to do other than try download some virtual reality games for my smartphone, so I thought I could have my life’s year in review for 2016.

I really cannot do a per month basis, as I know I have rather few things I would like to include here. Let’s get right to it:

• Designed, coded, and put online my personal learning project, the Integrated Performance Management Information System. The online system uses PHP and MySQL.
• Established a small team of colleagues intent on learning how to improve productivity and quality through information technology. The group is called “Everything Goes Club.”
• This is not really an accomplishment, but I would call a shift in appreciation for risk-based decision-making. I would say that, probably, due to my focus on learning, I have made risk-taking more frequently. It started with trying out code even though I was afraid it would not work, just so that I could find out what’s wrong with it and fix it. I hope the initial experience would not be the same for my other decisions with risks, God willing.

I think that’s all. Two actual accomplishments and one shift in behavior.

Let’s see what would happen in 2017.

Unlearning Pain

For the past week, I had a sore gum at the right side of my lips. It was painful. A simple smile made me want to say all curses, and eating was torture. It was like that for like five days.

When it began to dry up and heal, the pain was still there, of course, but I could feel the pain getting less. But the pain I "learned," made me fear it nonetheless.

Even when I don't have it, brushing my teeth makes me remember the torturous pain.

It was "just" sore gum.

The fear it created is still there.

And unlearning that will take a while.

Just like in life.

I don't know the solution to this. But if you continue to stay in that state of fear, you will get nowhere.

By not risking on something, you are actually risking everything.

My Roles: IO2CASUPM

Obviously, it's been a while. Anyway, this is just like an audit of my roles:

Information Officer II

• Public Information and Publicizing, College of Arts and Sciences

1. Faura Online
2. CAS Blog
3. CAS Facebook
4. CAS Twitter
5. CAS website
6. CAS Event Communication Campaigns
7. GPAS website
   

• Administrative Staff, Office of the Dean

1. College Memoranda
2. Letters of the Office of the Dean to other offices and external organizations
3. Event management and/or coordination support
   

• Representative, Office of the Dean to various College Committees

1. Information Technology Committee
2. Institutional Strategic Planning Committee
3. Pandiwa Online Journal
4. Research Committee
   

• Information and Communication Technology Support, College of Arts and Sciences

1. ICT availability and function advising to various committees
2. Project communication advising
3. Information technology development and planning
   

• Other Roles - As Needed

I somehow feel that this is not complete.

Sharing experience badly handled by other people - ethical?

Now, it is time to reflect--for myself.

1. As a communicator, did I do the right thing?
2. If I did, did I do it properly?
3. If not, what wrong exactly did I do?
4. What should I have done instead?

Sadly, not I--a BA Organizational Communication major and a Masters of Management candidate--can assess the situation.

I guess my emotions got the best of me.

This is not revenge. This is documentation. I believe that if lesson will be learned by me--it will not be about ethics or patience, no. It will be that however ideal institutions maybe, they can only be as strong as their weakest link--human emotion and ego.

Did ego play a part in my writing of these posts? Or how about revenge? Did I really do this to teach a person a lesson?

I will not make any justification for my action. Again, this is just documentation.

And documentation of human experience has never been objective.