What is... VAULTFILES

When asked in my tagboard what vaultfiles means I kind of realize how things are different when I use the cadet lingo in what I write here. I realized that people may not understand and considering an answer by another visitor which was not quite correct, I find it necessary to explain some of the things. I decided that everytime things like this come up, I will just have to do the explaining. In a way this will be some kind of a crash tour in the cadet culture.

The cadets, being somewhat isolated to the outside world, has developed a certain sub-culture that distinguishes it from other institutions. Just like students from UP are able to come up with their own sub-culture, the more that cadets are able to develop their own. This is in fact one of the things that identify us even to our graduates. We use words such as ungas, mato, laksitibo, vaultfiles, tuyo and others which to some can be misunderstood.

I have had an experience of being used to calling people ungas only to realize that they were offended when I use the term. Ungas can actually mean so many things, it could mean "nanggagago" or simply somebody who jokes around or somebody who is not serious. Now the reason for this entry is on the term VAULTFILES. As I said in the tagboard, it can mean a lot of things depending in the context upon which it is used. So here it goes.

As a rule, the word generally means the usual or its not new. When a joke is given by anyone it is vaultfiles if the joke is common and that many have heard of it. When you do something that is the usual such as marching, going on parade, ironing uniforms, we call it the vaultfiles. When I said in an entry that the Superintendent addressed those cadets sitting beside the ladies to do the vaultfiles, it simply means to do the usual thing that cadets do when they are seated with beautiful ladies (in that instant it means that they get to know the lady, perhaps get their numbers and then....). And so one "tambay" as he or she would put it in the tagboard defined the term in the context of women. I have to say that using the term vaultfiles in the context of women is negative in nature (ladies, take note). A lady is said to be vaultfiles when he has had several boyfriends who are cadets. Something like she was a girlfriend of class 2001, 2002, 2003 and so on. Some people may not believe it, but there really are women out there who are somewhat obsessed with cadets. They feel that they just have to have a boyfriend that wears the full dress. And so they are somewhat "passed on" from one class to another. They are actually "the usual" girlfriends of cadets. Here in PMA, we have come to identify this type of women, those that we see with one cadet and then in another day with another cadet. They are not reserved girls, as the tambay would put it, sometimes they are the OAO (one and only, another lingo we use) of the cadet only that the face is just so familiar that they are regarded as vaultfiles. Of course, not all of them are the vaultfiles that have negative connotation, some of them just happened to have so many cadet suitors that they end up with several cadets. I do not want to debate on whether the notion of some cadets about these women are correct, this is not something tha can be debated on, this is something that is part of the cadet culture.

Well, if you have other questions, just ask away, I will be very glad to answer your queries. In the meantime I'll do the vaultfiles, go back to barracks and doze.

Why I'm here

A friend told me once that the way I write in this blog seems to say tha I do not like being here but I still remain here. She said that it was funny how I keep on complaining about things that I do here in PMA when the fact remains that I try my best to pass my subjects, do what I am supposed to do just to be able to remain being here. And so now I try to explain.

Yesterday, as I was surfing the net, I read a Youngblood contribution from INQ7.net. It was basically about a young woman who was doing her internship to become a doctor. Anyway, my point is basically like hers, you can just read it from the link I provided.

A long time ago when I was very very young, there was this picture of me hanged on our wall. I was about 5-years old, wearing a red jumper standing at some rock. I did not pay much attention to that picture as there was nothing special really with that picture except that it was my picture. My father always out on assignment and my mother always working, there wasn't really time to talk about things. In the few instances that we do, I would marvel at how my mother would describe how was it in PMA. My father did not talk much but I was always fascinated when he wears his bull ring, sometimes I take it when he is asleep and wear it. But then our family had problems, my parents separated, my mother went to the states and it was just me. From the time I was in grade five, I was just being a regular student and PMA did not come into the picture. In second year high school, I learned that my brother was accepted for cadetship. I was happy for him but never really cared about it. By May of that year, all of us went to Baguio to attend my brother's Incorporation Day. There, I saw how proud my father was, walking inside his Alma Mater I could see in his eyes that he was sentimental, he have not seen the place for quite a while. When we finally came to see my brother, his lips were swollen, very ugly but he was the star of that occassion. As I watched the parade, I imagined myself wearing the same uniform and parading like them. It was from there that I started to dream being a cadet.

Years passed, my brother sent me the Corps Magazine often and I became more interested. I was in fourth year high school when a classmate was accepted for cadetship and I envied him so much (he resigned after two months). I was still 15 then and I still have to wait for 2 more years to be accepted. So I kept on dreaming. I took the entrance exams September of 1999, it was the only entrance exam that I really took the time to study for. My acceptance was kind of easy, everything went well except for the fact that I had to have one of my tooth removed and it was very painful. And so in 01 April 2000, I marched towards the Philippine Military Academy. As we were going into the Borromeo Field, I noticed the Flirtration walk, I realized it was there that my picture in the red jumper was taken. And so I became a cadet, but not for long, I got into trouble and was discharged.

They say that when God puts a desire in our hearts, it will continue to bother us unless we heed its call. I believe that was how it was for me. Even when I was discharged, I would imagine myself still wearing the cadet uniform, sometimes even weeping at the thought that I might not just wear it again. There was one event that I remembered how much I really wanted to be here. It was the graduation of the Class of 2002, my squad leaders, together with my other discharged classmates, we were blurting out remarks as each name was called. Then before the program ends, the PMA Alma Mater started to be played. Like some reflex, we stood in front of the television, in attention, and sang the song... weeping. My thought then was, I may not be able to sing this song again wearing the cadet uniform.

Time flew, three of my appeals were denied until finally, in the fourth one I was allowed to take the exam. This was to be my last chance. I was already 21 and it was now or never. The application process this time was not that easy, I was required to have my eyes laser treated to correct the vision. I needed P57,000 for that treatment. I practically begged people to help me, I got P37,000 from the PCSO and was given P20,000 by then Chief of Staff General Abaya. See, when you want something in the world, the universe will conspire to make it happen. And so I am now back in PMA, soon to be a second class and I have to say doing well.

You see, at the end of it all dreams are whispers from God that guide us what to do with our lives. Dreaming is always the starting point upon which God will reveal himself to tell us that He is in control of our lives. Now you ask me why I am here despite of the fact that I complain about the things that I do, I am here becaue this is where God put me. I may complain at things, feel bad why I have to sacrifice so much, be lonely, miss the people that I love, have an abnormal social life, and even put my life in the website because I just do not have people to talk to, yet I am still here. I am still here because in the vastness of everything that happens in our lives, it is never about feeling good about the things that we do, it is never about getting all the good things from what we are doing. In the end it is about being true to ourselves, following our Heart, listening to God's whispers and being the best out of the situation we were placed. Yes, life is a box of chocolate, this is what I've got and this is where I will define myself. Life is an adventure people and my adventure is unfolding right before my eyes.

The race is on

If you have noticed, there is a number in my Pinoy Top Blogs icon in the side. The number means that is my current rank in the Pinoy Top Blogs. The more people who go to my webite the bigger will that number... so the race is on, I am hoping to come up with interesting topics to write about to keep on feeding you people with the information you want. I am hoping that you will make it a habit to check my blog as often as you can. I also wish to hear from those who read what I write, tell me what you think. To everyone, thank you for visiting and hope to see more of you in the next coming days...

PMA amidst a chaotic political scenario

Last Friday, the President announced a National State of Emergency. The news did not reach the cadets until about lunch time when some of the instructors were able to share some of the news. By noon time, the Superintendent dined with the whole Corps, somehow we knew what was coming. Even when he was Commandant of Cadets, he always went to the mess hall and talked personally to the cadets whenever issues of importance come out. When the issue that the cadets walked out en masse allegedly in support of BGen Gudani, he allowed the press people to enter the mess hall during noon mess, talked to the Corps and asked the state of the morale of the cadets... the answer was of course a resounding "High Morale, sir." He even bragged to our Australian visitors at that time how good we, cadets, go on parade emphasizing that we are BETTER than them and that they can not complain because they are in his turf and that he is a general... hehehe. And so in Friday, he was there in the mess hall, he asked all of us to go near the OC's porch (it's actually a stage in front of the mess hall) and talked to us lake any commander would do to appraise the state of his men. He placed emphasis in the chain of command with the words "Follow the chain of command, study, study and study; Leave politics to the politicians." He gave specific instruction for us not to wear the usual BDA (Battle Dress Attire, fatigues to the civilians) as customary when the alert level is on red to normalize the situation in PMA. That night, as Manila was in chaos, the Cadet Corps was watching dancing scholars from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) giggling as the beautiful dancers were strutting their tinikling, pandanggo sa ilaw and other clutural dances. To top it all, the Superintendent himself wowed the crowd when he danced the tinikling. During his speech, he was still panting after the dance number but was able to regain his composure, even joking that the chaperone of the ladies should watch out for their dancers, they do not know what cadets can do causing the whole crowd to laugh out loud. The next day was the usual saturday inspection, our visitors? The dancers who entertained us the night before. By noon mess, the dancers dined with the Corps and again in the speech of the Superintendent he gave specific instruction to the cadets sitting beside the dancers to do the vaultfiles. The next day was the Close Order Drill Competition where Charlie Company became the surprise victor, sadly my company was again the goat... for the nth time. And then back to classes.

The point of narrating all these it so assure the public that the Philippine Military Academy, especially the cadets are not affected by the chaos that is happening in our capital. Not that we are not concerned because we are... very much concerned. We talk about it, watch the news, even wait for our turn to read the newspaper. But as the Superintendent always said, our mandate as cadets is to study and that is what we will do. Our commander tells us to maximize the last two weeks of Academics and as professional soldiers we are doing just that. PMA is still the country's bastion of Courage, Integrity and Loyalty and rest assured when the cloud is clear, we will be proud to graduate from this halls fully equipped to tread the right path towards a lifetime of selfless service to God, country and people. I hope that those who read this will spread the word. Let us do our individual roles, let us not involve ourselves with issues beyond us. Let us all work for this country not against it.

Huh?... the people in my friendster

I have this rule in friendster that I will only add people that are really my friends. I reasoned that as long as I follow that rule I will get all the benefits of the website, it is in fact for reaching out to friends and considering my situation, it keeps me sane when I am able to see friend even if only in friendster. I have been noticing this for quite a while but never really wrote about it so now is the time.

A while ago I was looking at the account of a classmate in high school, lo and behold he was hugging another high school classmate... they are now a couple. The thing is the lady was my classmate from 2nd year to 4th year and we were, may I say, close. We have this routine to cut every social studies class. In the first few days, we had ideas where to go but then after sometime we just walked and walked and just returned for the next class. As a result, we get to talk about a lot of things and became close. We were not bad student who did not attend classes we were just very good at social studies that the subject became (pause) BORING... can you blame us? Now the guy, at that time, was with another girlfriend and although they were friends, there was never a time that I thought that it would turn romantic... and then we graduate and I did not see them anymore... only in friendster.... and this time they are a couple and it seems that they are inseperable... its funny how things change, I still have to talk to them and ask what happened, I hope that time will come. Then there is also this another classmate who now has picture of her from the great landmarks in the world all over her friendster account. You see in first year high school, I did not know how to speak Cebuano, I was a genuine Tagalog then. Luckily, there were three of us in my class who were from Manila and one of those three is that classmate. Now, in second year high school this classmate was elected President of my class but after sometime there was a revolt and another President was installed... and guess who... it was me. I wasn't a leader really, I was just brave. Being high school brats then, we always wanted to do crazy things and it was me who always had the guts to go to the Principal's office and defend our misdeeds even if the reason is invalid. My classmate was ousted because she simply was not somebody who shared our idea of fun. One time, I told all my classmates to cut class in one subject. All of us just went to some place and just hang-out but then this girl went to class together with her disciples. On that day there were only three of them who went to class, the rest of us were in some place having fun. In short and simple words, I tormented this girl in high school... no, torment is not the word, I made her life somewhat miserable, the class hated her and most of the time it was because I placed her in a situation that was "hatable." But now, she's a flight attendant travelling around the world. Now speaking of flight attendant, another classmate is also travelling the world as one. This girl is different from the other one, she was in fact a very good friend, I use to go to her house on weekends just to hang out, if I am not mistaken I may just be the only guy who is able to go inside her room and wreak havoc. I think I might even be the one who introduced her to the likes of fishball and kikiam. Now, she's so pretty, travelling the world and I guess rich. I do not know how she is now but I kind of wonder how her life is, I last saw her 7 years ago while flying to Dumaguete from Manila. I hope we see each other again. See the wonder of friendster.

Of course there are also my new friends. There was this one girl, that I keep on bugging about her boyfriend. She is like a sister to me and I can not really stomach the treatment she is getting from her boyfriend. So everytime we have the chance to talk all she hears from me are ramblings from a "pakialamero." Not that its unwelcome, she thanks me even if I make her cry, I bet if you know the story you will share the same sentiments with me. And then again in her friendster account suddenly she changes her status to "It's complicated" ang taray.... hahaha.... but I really hope she leaves her good-for-nothing boyfriend she deserves someone better. And then there are the Lipa Girls, three of them actually. Every now and then I look at their accounts and see what has happened to their lives. Just a while ago one of the three posted something in her blog... well I won't say a word about it but it was actually the same blog entry she posted around three or four days ago but this time the letters are bigger. The title is like "Sa mga nagrereklamong hindi nabasa yung blog ko" hahaha, I was laughing but the observation was true because when I read it I had to copy the whole text and paste it in notepad (see my brilliance?).

Well, I think I just miss all these people especially when the break may not happen if the political crisis will not end soon. Thanks to friendster somehow it gives me some assurance that the people I love are just out there. Every now and then I see pictures added with happy faces, I see status changing from single to its complicated to married to single again and I smile. I read blog entries that kind of reminds me of these people somehow hoping that I might spend some time with them in the future. I almost want to cry when I see a new picture of my niece, she's so pretty I miss her so much. I have my ways in dealing with loneliness in this prison and I would like to think that despite of the times that I hate the fact that I have no choice but to be here, I am coping up. I really hope that my friends who read this will feel the loneliness that I am saying and just maybe will try to cheer me up... I'm begging you people... please...