My Favorite Subject – SM 101 Major in Creating Splendid Memories

Bloody exams, fatal theses and endless deadlines, these are just some of the mountainous burdens of college life. Every student seems to be cursed to suffer the difficulties of getting high grades or simply passing a subject which in turn causes headaches and worse heartaches.

I’ am one of the many college pips in Batangas State University Lipa Campus who share the same dilemma of coping with the demands of school. Indeed, having my social life sacrificed is the most hurtful. It’s like missing the plane that will take me to heaven! That’s why my bonding siesta with friends and classmates is the greatest and probably the most rewarding experience after long and heavy study schedules. Definitely, there’s no better place to live, laugh and have fun than at SM City Lipa!

SM 101 (just like what our subjects are labelled) is what we call our SM getaways, it has been part of our everyday culture to use up our extra time to relax and accomplish unfinished school works at SM City Lipa. And because the mall is just steps away from our campus, my classmates and I most likely spend our afternoons and break times strolling, gaming, chatting, eating and comfort room hopping at our second classroom or should I say “class mall”. Why not, if every single moment is never dull and is unsurprisingly full of delight!

Window shopping at the stores inside the mall is perhaps the sweetest escape from the guilt of spending my allowance over luxuries (accessories, clothes and shoes which are not too expensive yet certainly not cheap). It can also be viewed as the golden chance to look for the best buys for my money. And undeniably the right time to buy them is none other than the most awaited and truly anticipated… 3 Day Sale (oh just typing the words give me goose bumps due to excitement)! The three days full of low priced apparels and other fine possessions are the causes of traffics and people flooding to the mall, days jam-packed with amazing offers and a complete attendance from loyalists like me!

SM cinema is what I dub as my “stupid cupid” for it is where I got to know my current partner and best friend Mark. Within the four corners of the cosy theatre, I had the first close up sight of Mark, the first holding hands and the first serious conversation with him. I really am not that fond of seeing movies but since I met him and because he loves motion pictures (not to mention the really good feel inside the theatre), SM cinema served as our love nest. It’s not that we are doing illegal or immoral things there but for it is where we can portray the role of film critics and share our bright views about the various aspects depicted in the movies we watch.

The amusement areas namely Quantum and World Of Fun (WOF) are my favorites! They are the two top places that I can go to even with my eyes closed. There you could find the coolest and the most addictive entertainment machines in the planet. Customers could also get a glimpse of lime light once they got hold of the microphones and sing their favorite songs with family and friends inside music rooms or out in the videoke areas.

SM food court is what I and my classmates label as “the place to be”. I myself am guilty of committing crimes there. Crimes in the sense that though students are advised not to do their projects at the food court, I with all the other Borbonians kept on gluing, pasting and writing our home works at their tables. It’s just that it’s comfortable and a lot more enjoyable to do school stuff with classmates as we take pleasure in the cool and calm ambiance of the mall. Plus, the very strong wifi signal which enables us to search essential stuffs regarding our studies (sounding like a really GOOD student) and of course stay updated with the latest happenings in the community, country and world. Nothing beats the fastest and free wifi connection at SM!

Now that I’m approaching my last days at BatSU Lipa( being a senior student), I can’t help but relive the blissful and meaningful times I had with my friends and classmates. Their cheers as I go fight with the experts in Tekken, the sad faces they display whenever we miss the tokens in Indianna Jones , the hard laughs in the pathways of the department store, the meetings we’ve done at the food court, the make over sessions plus pictorials in the rest rooms and I’m sure all of us would miss our “habulan blues”(chasing blues) in the escalators of our beloved mall. Surely, SM City Lipa gives me and the rest of its consumers the most awesome experience in their lifetimes. SM City is not only a place to shop nor to eat for it gives its customers not only an avenue for leisure and entertainment but also a favorable place to spend quality time with families and friends – as we all make treasurable memories of fun and splendor at SM City! Truly SM got it all for us!

The Holy Month of Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan enjoys a special importance in the Islamic calendar. As the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said: "It is Allah's Own month." It is the chief of all months and the most glorious one.

As we already know, 'Fasting' is one of the important pillars of Islam and it is the very month of Ramadan during which fasting has been made obligatory for all adults and sane Muslims. By fasting during Ramadan, a Muslim besides discharging an obligation imposed upon him by Allah (SWT), becomes entitled to great reward in the Hereafter. On the other hand, any lapse in the matter amounts to a great sin. Fasting is an article of worship, the knowledge about the performance or otherwise whereof rests only with Allah (SWT) and the person concerned. Hence, it is Allah alone who will reward that person for it, on the Day of Judgment.

The Islamic calendar is a lunar one used in most Muslim countries. It is reckoned from A.D. 622, the day after the Hegira, or flight of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina. The Islamic year consists of 12 lunar months. Thirty years constitute a cycle in which the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 26th, and 29th years are leap years of 355 days; the others are common years of 354 days. The Islamic date corresponding to a date in the Gregorian calendar can be computed by the following rule, with a maximum error of one day: multiply 970,224 by the Islamic year, divide by 6 decimal places, and add 621.5774. The figure to the left of the decimal point is the year A.D., and the decimal fraction multiplied by 365 is the day of the year.

The blessings of Ramadan are not limited to fasting alone, because the performance of all sorts of worship and good deeds during this month is also a source of great Divine favor. The revelation of the Holy Qur'an commenced during this very month and it is therefore the duty of every Muslim to read and try to understand the meaning of the Holy Qur'an and thereby gain an insight into the Divine secrets enshrined therein. It brings peace and illumination to the mind and imparts purity to the soul.
Ramadan is the month of fasting, intensive prayer, sacrifice and Divine worship. Throughout this month a devout Muslim fasts during the day in the true sense of the word, that is, he had merely denies himself food and water, but as explained by the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), exercises strict control over his tongue, eyes, ears, thoughts and deeds and does everything possible to seek the pleasure of Allah (SWT).
Devout supplications to Allah (SWT) and repentance of one's sins during Ramadan are the sources of Divine blessings and mercy. Some nights, among the last ten nights of Ramadan, are called the 'Nights of Glory' (Laylatul Qadr). These are the 19th, 21st, and 23rd nights. Muslims keep awake during these nights and offer special prayers. Even among these nights, the 23rd enjoys excellence over all the others. It is accompanied by great blessings, and he usually grants the supplications made to Allah (SWT) during this night.

The holy month of Ramadan, besides being the month of worship and Divine blessings, carries a historical importance as well. As already mentioned above, the revelations of the Holy Qur'an commenced in this month. The epoch-making 'Battle of Badr' and the 'Conquest of Mecca' also took place during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Month of Ramadan is also the month souls are purified. The social scientists studying ethics believe that acquiring ideal sublime and ethical conscience passes through three stages:

Getting rid of bad habits and attitudes; acquiring new good traits and habits; strengthening and crystallizing these traits.

Ring of Life

“Thank you for calling Verizon High Speed Technical Support, My name is Shane, how may I help you today?”

Above is a spiel I learned from a friend working in a call center. Nowadays, being a call center agent is one of the most in demand jobs for Filipinos. Answering calls seem to be the bread and butter of most of our countrymen. Why not? One just have to pass exams and interviews and with learning the particular accent that an agent’s account needs, one is then ready to converse and provide help to different people around the globe.

Great pay awaits for an aspiring call center agent. And, as I’ve read from an article in the net, more call centers shall be based here in the country. Australia-based company Call Design sees opportunities in the local contact center industry amid the US financial crisis.

According to Call Design managing director Miles Stanton, organizations such as banks in the United States and Europe are still outsourcing business processes in countries that provide lower cost yet high quality services.
In the US, the average trust of a call center agent is around 150,000 dollars. In the Philippines, I understand that it’s around 25,000 dollars. The banks abroad will have no choice but to outsource non-call center functions to another lower cost, high quality countries. There are only three that they can choose from, India China and the Philippines.
Among the three countries, the Philippines has the most potential because Filipinos can speak English well. Call Design director Brett Redman said the Philippines is one of the countries that have been identified globally for outsourcing call center services, which is also the reason why the company chose to invest in the country starting with an office in Makati City.
Redman pointed out that clients get upset when they learn through agents’ accent in some countries that calls are being made offshore. But they barely notice it in the case of Filipino agents. Stanton said organizations need to focus more on developing agents rather than just investing in technology.
“By focusing on the human being, we can make that human being so much more effective, so much more able to provide quality solutions and a quality account of the call that it makes the technology work for them,” Stanton added.
With these, I was reminded of the last question of a speech we recited for our Oral Communication’s class, “What could we become in the future?” Finally I got the answer; Philippines will soon be the call center capital of the world!

Possessing Leadership Prowess

Every human creation has distinct characteristics. As daughters and sons of God we are all blessed with unique traits and abilities, thus, our success and failure will depend upon how we are going to improve and utilize the gifts He gave us. We all possess leadership prowess for we all think rationally as we make valuable decisions all throughout our lifetimes. One maybe of advantage of another but we are provided with wide avenues to practice and hone our leadership skills. The following are useful tips on how to develop into the best and effective leader you want to become.

Have the Passion

An effective leader is a person with a passion for a cause .Someone with a dream and a vision that will better society, or at least, some portion of it. Also, without passion, a leader will not make the necessary courageous and difficult decisions and carry them into action.

Possess the Values

Leadership implies values. A leader must have values that are life-giving to society. It is the only kind of leadership we need. This then also implies values that are embedded in respect for others. You can’t lead without it. Respect means also that one can deal with diversity.

Seize the Vision

If one doesn’t care about an issue, then one would not spend the time thinking about how it could or should be different. Thus a leader has to have some ideas about change, about how the future could be different.

Be Creative

One has to try to think out of the box to have good visions and to come up with effective strategies that will help advance the vision.

Acquire Intellectual Drive and Knowledge

A leader has to be a student. In general it is hard for a leader to be around enough other leaders to pick this up just through discussion, a leader has to be a reader and a learner.

Be Confident yet Humble

Though one has the intellect to lead but one does not possess confidence then action will not occur. Without action, there is no change. Yet, ironically, a leader needs to have humility. No matter how creative and bright one is, often the best ideas and thinking are going to come from someone else. A leader needs to be able to accept that.

Be a Communicator

None of the above assets will work for a leader if one can’t speak or write in a way to persuade others that they should follow along and join the team. A leader must know how to reach out to his/her members and to the masses of people in his/her society. He/she also needs to learn the techniques of good listening, honest and open communication.

Having been equipped with wisdom and exceptional capacities, everyone can emerge as an effective leader, especially if one would take into consideration the aforementioned tips. A person doesn’t have to be rich and powerful to be able to lead, for as long as one has the passion to lead and the willingness to serve then, you deserve to be called as an successful leader , with this, I want to share with you a quotation from the 6^th President of America, Pres. John Quincy Adams, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”