Online (In)Security

Facebook. Twitter. MySpace. Blogger. Plurk. Friendster. Wordpress. Et cetera, et cetera. All over the web, and on our cellphones, Blackberries and iPhones, sharing is in. We share pictures, videos, all types of files, and we tell people--strangers--about minute details in our daily lives.

I, personally, have networking accounts on Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, Plurk, and MyBlogLog. Anyone wanting to find more information about me can search these networks and see everything I have put up online. It's a scary thought. Do you remember the movie The Net? And the more recent Eagle Eye? Anyone can use my info against me, if they wished to do so. That's why as much as possible, I try to keep my personal information safe online. I keep my full name and home addresses hidden, and restrict my profile to friends only on networking sites.

What about you? Do you have any qualms about how the world shares and communicates nowadays?

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Good and Bad

Ah, finally! After endless posts about bad days and unfortunate happenings, I can finally write some good news!

Mabuhay! Yahoo! ASIA Philippines Edition is now on the world wide web! It's not yet Yahoo! Philippines, but it is a start! :D

Flattered. Enrollment is over, and thankfully, contrary to what I expected, I didn't have a hard time. In fact, I had a really easy time! And, I believe I owe that to the fact that I went to Japan. Ever since, I went there, teachers and staff in my college have gotten to know me (or at least heard of me), and have been really helpful. Since we're still a baby college (i.e. new - 2001), I guess they're happy that someone from our group got that scholarship. They practically did everything for me, like figuring out which classes I should take, encoding and finalizing my schedule, squeezing me into one major class where I am an extra student without a designated pc, and called the Physics department to add me as the 36th student to an already closed 35-student class. *bows* Arigatou gozaimasu! I am indeed very grateful. And even though one might say that I don't love Silliman as much as I should, I love my college (College of Information Technology and Computer Sciences [CITCS]) very much indeed! It totally rocks!

Success. The Centennial Foundation Anniversary of St. Paul University Dumaguete was a truly meaningful one. Graced by prominent personalities such as the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres's (SPC) Mother Superior from Rome, and Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself, it was truly a momentous celebration. The highlight was yesterday's parade, which my high school batch joined, that started at the school and ended at Rizal Boulevard where there was a re-enactment of the arrival of the 7 original French SPC sisters who came from their mission in Vietnam to build a school in Dumaguete. Restaurant booths where tables and chairs were set up were teeming with alumni, and the highlight was the fireworks display which was done from a boat in the water. It a great sight. Since it is October, San Miguel Beer is having it's Oktoberfest, and last night they had a live band which old and young Paulinians alike danced to. Since today is the final day of the celebration, there was another fireworks display at the campus just a few minutes ago. We saw it from our house and it was great. :)

Something sad happened too, though. Mark sent me a text very early this morning and told me that one of his parents' two dogs, a cute Bichon Frise named Penny died because she got ran over. I could just remember all the stories he's told me about her and couldn't help but cry. The poor lil' thing. :'(

Mabuhay - a Filipino greeting used in welcoming; literally means "long live"
Arigatou Gozaimasu - "Thank you" in Japanese

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