The Anniversary

This Monday leaves another imprint of a happy memory for me. I will be celebrating my pilot year as a public servant. Exactly a year ago, I joined the agency with immeasurable hopes and aspirations that somehow I can be an instrument of change.
 
Change the mindset of what people think as far as government agencies are concerned.I've became numb on criticisms. Those prevailing to every citizen's tongue when it comes to the delivery of the services. Snail paced or turtle paced, whatever they call it. Some have failed to live up to the expectations, but there are those who excelled in their own rights.
 
My early exposure to public service could have triggered me joining the institution after several years working in private establishments.
 
For one, I've grown seeing my father working as a community organizer for several years and likewise, my mother who was a public school teacher.I have several aunts and uncles on the teaching profession. Some settled as a social worker, a community organizer to name a few.The passion to serve probably runs in our blood.
 
I planned to give a blow-out at the office. It's a way of extending my gratitude to them for all the support and encouragement since day one when I set foot and joined their family.

Knowledge power

One afternoon a lawyer dropped by at the office to claim his subsidy entitlement. I've noticed him before while attending a meeting with one of my senior colleague. I can't forget his face even it took years to see him again. He frequented almost always to the office where I worked before.

Dressed in a polo barong. An attache case on his hand. I usually see lawyers with these accessory. He still looked the way Ive seen him some years ago. No marks of aging on his part.

I greeted him politely and handed what he was after of. I had the time to introduce myself and got the whereabouts of his son who was a batch mate in college.

"He's working in a bank right now." he said. How long have you been here? Are you now in a law school? Have you taken a master's degree? This questions came out from his mouth unexpectedly.

"You shouldn't stop learning." he added.

"I have plans for it." I answered.

He's right. We should not stop learning. It's a continuous process. Our daily interaction with our friends, peers and everyone around , uncovers a lot of things that we don't know. Surfing the net, reading the local dailies offer opportunities to discover more. For instance, I bumped across an article which tackles on diabetes. It says that persons with diabetes heals more rapidly than those who are not when inflicted with wounds. This is contrary to what I know that these people have hard time recuperating.

When you cease to learn, it is tantamount to incarcerating yourself behind bars. You'll become stagnant. You could not enjoy the beauty of the world which really is what everybody wanted and continually longed for.

My father ever since the wave of cellular phones hit this generation, he is not interested to learn the gadget. It's cumbersome for him to study the tedious process at his age. He's dwindling eyesight is another factor. My mother however, is the exact opposite. Even though she retired from public service years ago, she's still active nourishing her knowledge. She has still the heart to teach the children of our neighbors who visited our house for her assistance. A teacher by profession.

Indeed, it is just right to thirst for wisdom otherwise, you cease to see the beauty of God's creation.

Cheers...

I've got simple accolades from my co-employees a couple of days ago. It did boast my ego for a while, and it will ever be. It can be likened as dividends from an investment.This after they arrived from an event in Manila which lasted for three days.
 
Our region received praises for having the most number of articles for our quarterly newsletter.For this feat, I am in high-spirits.Being able to share what I know and live the expectations makes me nervous and sometimes pressured. But it paid off.
 
Who doesn't want to be adjudged as the best feature and news writer come next year, which every writer aimed at. Beating all the odds and ultimately taking home the bacon to their places of origin.
 
With the upcoming workshop this August, we will polish ourselves once again our writing capabilities under the tutelage on some prominent and credible media practitioners in the country.
 
By that time then, we will roll up our sleeves and get ready for the big battle.The Information Officers Guild in action.