Do you feel unfortunate?

Personality Test

Your answers suggest you are a Mastermind
The four aspects that make up this personality type are:



PLANNER: You like making schedules, being on time and avoiding last-minute stress
IDEAS: You focus on the big picture rather than on details.
HEADS: When making a decision, you tend to weigh the possible consequences in a logical, detached way.
INTROVERT: You tend to focus on and get your motivation from your own inner thoughts and ideas.


Summary of Masterminds

Visionaries who put energy into achieving their goals Prefer to work independently and dislike inefficiency Think of themselves as logical, thorough, and bright Values practicality and common sense above ideas and theories

More about Masterminds

Masterminds create a vision for the future by gathering and organising information. They then develop strategies to achieve their goals. They have a rare gift for looking at almost anything and seeing how it can be improved. These skills and the Masterminds' high standards often allow them to reach leadership positions at work.

Mastermind is the least common personality type in the UK, according to a nationwide survey.

Masterminds value independence and prefer to work on their own. Once they have decided on a course of action, Masterminds rarely change their minds, although they can be persuaded by clear reasoning by someone they respect. In situations where they can't use their talents or are unappreciated, Masterminds may cut themselves off from a group and criticize people who don't understand their plans. Under extreme stress, Masterminds may overindulge in sensory experiences like eating, shopping or watching television. Masterminds often have an unusual sense of humour, which arises from their ability to spot surprising links between seemingly unconnected facts. Mastermind Careers Masterminds are drawn to jobs requiring logical analysis or abstract thinking common in science or technical fields.

Take this quiz!

Short Story: Ang Ita

Bakit kung sino ang masikhay at mapunyaging dumakot ng karunugan at mangarap ng tapat sa buhay ay siay pang naghihirap. dukha, at salat sa pangangailangan? Bakit kung sini naman ang may paraan at hustong pangangailangan ay siya namang walang asaming makabagwis sa ituktok ng karunungan at tamasahin ang mga pangako nito tamad at walang sikhay at pagtitiis ng kumupkop ng karangalan at pangarapin. (A, marahim ay talinhaga ito ng buhay!)

-Alberto de Guzman

Film: Photocopy

(A theis made by UP Fine Arts students)

Setting: classroom

Characters: Eric and JM

Eric is a typical college student. As their professor ends his class, he tells them that the readings are available at the AS lobby. He goes there and asks JM the copu. JM photocopies two sets, one for Eric and one for himself. As Jm goes home, he reads them. He stares at his highschool graduation photo.

Eric asks him to photocopy a piece of paper with job opportunities. JM makes two. Eric with a full-lenth mirror grabs his car keys. JM, on the other hand, casts at a last glance at their mirror that almost does not have enough space for his face, and he counts his fare. They both go to the interview. Eric makes pacute to the interviewer. JM answers more nicely than him, and in Filipino. Nothing was said for Eric, but for JM, he was denied, but he insists.

JM lands a job at the company as a photocopier.

Film: Dansport

(A thesis made by UP Mass Com students)

Luchi is at the bathroom holding a blade and his enters shouting.

Luchi is a dancer, and he likes it even if he is being teased as a dance instructor, or a sissy, by his brothers. He is also called a ballerina by his neighbors. Sometimes he likes to give up, but his heart is on dancing. He keeps on practicing and practicing and his life is defined by his moves. He feels that every move he makes defines and expresses his drama in life.He regularly competes with his partner. There was a time he told her he does not want to dance anymore, and his partner slaps him. But they still dance: the tango, the samba, the the rhumba, a very slow and sorrowful dance.

After the competition, he goes home, and goes to the bathroom. He throws the blade onto the floor.

Film: Binyag

(Thesis by UP Masscom students. Setting is early 1990's yet the film was made in 2002)


A baby was being baptized. With blood.

Then the dreamer, a mother woke up. She looks at the time, past 1 am, and still their son is not yet home. She worries even if the husband calms her down. She tells him that their son will be a godfather two days from now.

Outside, a teen-aged boy walks frightened by something. Or someone.

In a police station there is a new policeman assigned. He is being teased that those who are afraid to make rounds just stay in the station the whole night and uses the typewriter. They are referring to the old man.

Later they make rounds and they found the boy, accused of being a drug dealer. They torture him, beat him, so that he will spill who the supplier is. He does not want to talk at first but being very hurt, he tells them. They continue punching him, kicking him, and the newcomer was given a rope to tighten around his neck. He does not want to kill him, but he is under pressure.

Meanwhile, the mother continues to pray. It is now 5am.

The boy dies.

Around 8am, the new policeman assigned to the area comes home. He makes his mother's hand touch his forehead (known as mano) and she offers him breakfast. She tells him since he became a policeman, there was never a night that she did not worry.

The son goes to the altar and prays.

TV Marathon

Yesterday afternoon I watched Tarzan on Disney channel. Since I turned on the TV when it was almost over, I switched to another channel, showing Tom and Jerry but found it boring. More channel surfing.

There was a pep squad competition on Studio 23. The contenders were St. Scholastica's College in Manila, Assumption College Makati, Poveda Learning Center, and Rose Hills Institute in Antipolo. St. Scho did good, but somehow I did not find their costume very nice. AC was really good and they had a lot of steps and different stuffs. Aside from pompoms they also had ribbons. They also wore skirts and their shorts bore the initials AC. Except that during the finale, one student should be standing on the knees of two individuals who were standing on the palms of other Assumptionists. Poveda was the champion last year and I hate their costume. They had a lot of tumblings. Rose Hill, well, they had one striking move. They had a more dull costume than Poveda. SSC and RHI tied at 2nd runner-up, AC students were crying that they got first runner-up and Poveda won.

Change channel.

At IBC, Joel Torre was hosting A Legacy of Heroes: The Fall of Bataan and Corregidor. The Japanese were good in the logistics of both air and sea. USA left the Philippines to aid Britain, and to quote from Quezon, "How typical that they anguish over the fate of a distant cousin while a daughter is being raped in the back room. The defenders were strong, except that in the final days they lacked reinforments, food, and medicine. They continued to uphold the barriers of Bataan. Even if the Japanese devised a lot of propaganda against USA, the Filipino and American soldiers still fought. General Homma was the main commander of the Jap troops and he knows how to keep his soldiers win the battle. In the meantime, Gen. McArthur left, turning over hte fate of the country to Gen. Wainwright and Gen. King. Although there was much moral support, the soldiers need aid and when there was too much fatality on our side, Gen. Wainwright declared that Bataan has fallen. During the interview, while the veterans recalled this, I can feel the sadness in their eyes and hear the dismay in their voices. Then the Death March. Corregidor still continued the battle and the Japs used more tactics and skills. Until Corregidor too, could fight no more. I have admired Gen. Homma before, and hated Gen. McArthur because he was not even sure if he would return, thus the word SHALL.

Change channel.

Stardance on ABS-CBN. Need I say more?

And He's Not Filipino

Here's something to uplift your spirit... read on...

An Interview of Dylan Wilks by Bo Sanchez

Dylan Wilk was born to a poor family. But at the young age of 20, he started a computer games company that made him a millionaire. Soon, Dylan operated in nine countries and ran his own TV channel. Then at the age of 25, Dylan sold his company for multi-million British pounds. He became the ninth richest person in the Great Britain under the age of 30.

But one night, while lying in bed, he was distressed by a nagging question that wouldn't let him sleep.

"God, why am I rich?"

He asked if there was a reason for his immense wealth. Ironically, he also felt terribly empty inside. This, despite his ability to have any kind of pleasure he wanted. He had just bought himself a brand-new Ferrari and took one holiday after another. But he was discovering that pleasure was like fire... it constantly needed more fuel to keep it going.

And he realized he would never be happy in the path he was taking.

One day, a Filipina friend visited him. She said she felt guilty going there because her plane fare could have built two homes for the poor. That made Dylan pause. How can you build two houses for that measly amount? He decided to investigate.

In January 2003, he visited the Philippines. And for three hours, Gawad Kalinga (GK) Director Tony Meloto brought Dylan to different GK villages for the poor. With his own eyes, he saw something that would change his life forever...

Bo: What did you see on that day?
Dylan: I saw hope. More than newly built houses, I saw transformed lives. We were entering rather dangerous slums, breeding ground for thieves and kidnappers... yet in the middle of that was an oasis... the Gawad Kalinga village. I saw people smiling, men working, children laughing... I've seen many other projects in South East Asia and across the world. And I've never seen anything like GK. This was different. This really worked!

Bo: So what did you do after your trip?
Dylan: I went back to England. I saw my BMW parked in the garage and realized I could build 80 homes with it... and affect the lives of 600 people. I saw the faces of the children I could help. I called up Tony Meloto and told him I was thinking of donating $100,000 to Gawad Kalinga and asked him if that was okay...

Bo: What did Tony say?
Dylan: He said, "No, I don't want your money."

Bo: Only Tony can say something like that. (Laughs.)
Dylan: He said if I was really serious in working for the poor, I should go back to the Philippines. So two months later, I sold my BMW and flew back to Manila. And in June of that year, I made a decision to stay in the Philippines and work for GK for seven more years.

Bo: Wow.
Dylan: I've decided to invest in the poor of the Philippines. Not in stocks or bonds. If I can help in uplifting the poor of this country, I can say that I spent my life well.

Bo: I presume your family wasn't too crazy about that decision.
Dylan: No! They thought I was brainwashed by a religious cult! (Laughs.) So my mother came and spied on me. But she was soon convinced of the beautiful work we were doing and went back home and told my sister about it. And my sister said, "Oh no, they brainwashed you too!" (Laughs.)But today, all of them support what I do.

Bo: You've made a decision to give up your wealth for the Filipino poor.
Dylan: I don't see it as a sacrifice. When you give charity out of pity, you feel pain parting with your money. But when you give charity because you love, you don't feel that pain. You only feel the joy of giving to someone you love. That's what I feel.

Bo: I hear you built an entire village for GK in Bulacan.
Dylan: I don't see it as my village. I just provided the materials. Architects, engineers, volunteers gave their labor. Together, we built 63 houses for the poor.

Bo: Amazing. What else do you do?
Dylan: I go around the world telling everyone that Filipinos are heroic. Because I work with them every day... the volunteers of GK.

Bo: What do you see in the Filipino that we take for granted?
Dylan: You're hardworking. You're always laughing, always eating, always singing. Even in your problems. You're loyal. And honest. Sure, there are exceptions, but generally, that's been my experience. And you have the bayanihan spirit. The pyramids of Egypt are beautiful but they were built by slavery. GK villages are more beautiful because they're made through the bayanihan spirit of the Filipino. It's especially this bayanihan and love of family and community that makes the Filipino more valuable than gold. If you take a golden nugget and kick it on the floor for 400 years, afterwards you won't be able to see much gold, just mud. This was what happened to the Filipino... for 400 years you were slaves and then you suffered under dictatorship and corruption. This is where the crab mentality came from; I don't think it's a natural Filipino quality because every day I see the gold under the surface of ordinary Filipinos. If we wipe away the mud by bringing hope and being brothers to one another in bayanihan, the gold will shine through and the world will see it.

Bo: Let me get personal here. I hear that you don't only love the Filipinos, but you've fallen for a particular Filipina.
Dylan: (Smiles.) Two months ago, I married Anna Meloto, the eldest daughter of Tony Meloto. She grew up with the GK work, so we're totally one in our mission. And yes, I'll be having Filipino children. The best way I can secure a future for my kids is to continue to help raise this country from poverty. Instead of building high walls in an exclusive subdivision to protect us from thieves and kidnappers, I will go to the breeding ground of thieves and kidnappers and help transform their lives.

Bo: Thank you for this interview. You don't know how much you inspired me.
Dylan: Thank you for being our partner in GK. I read KERYGMA every month and I'm happy to see GK stories in every issue.

Bo: It's our immense privilege to tell the world about it and ask others to join the miracle.
Dylan: To me, GK isn't just Gawad Kalinga. It is a part of "God's Kingdom" in this world. Thank you.

=======================================================

Dylan was our sharer in one of the talks for the christian Life Program for Singles for Christ.
He will be guesting tonight in Pipol.