Unsolicited Advice

If there is one thing that I hate, it's condescending people. But what I hate even more are condescending people who just have to rub all of your mistakes in your face and make you feel lowly and embarassed.

Now, there is a reason why I do not go to the administration part of our college. I dislike most of the people there. They are nowhere near accomodating and treat most students like earthworms (and ironically, these are the very same students who provide them with their salaries). If you are not a visitor, a parent, or a PACUCOA accreditor, most likely you'll be given condescending looks or ignored completely. Yep, the administration certainly provides its students with quality service.

Another reason why I dislike going to the administration part of the school is because I don't like bumping into Erick, a previous Clarion EIC. Why don't I like bumping into one of my predecessors? I'm uncomfortable around him. His whole aura reeks of fakeness and arrogance.

So, since you already know why I hate going to the admin, I'll tell you why I got so steamed earlier.

I dragged myself to the admin to have the action plan for our tree planting signed (since my managing editors neglected to follow it up). Dr. Villano's secretary, the woman I disliked since last year (yes, I occasionally dropped by the admin during Roh's tenure as EIC to get action plans signed) was there. And since it seemed she was the only one who didn't look too busy, I approached her, intent on just leaving the action plan there and having another Clarionet fetch it later. I didn't want to stay too long in a place I disliked.However, as luck would have it, she recognized who I was.

I usually take criticisms in stride and try to take them positively as tools for improvement. However, the way she commented on the various typos of Clarion's second issue made me want to grab her by her large, overly-curly hair and have her run over by a garbage truck...a million zillion times.

Secretary: Daghan lagi mali ang Clarion.
Me: Lagi ma'am. *smiles sheepishly* Kulang kasi kami sa oras ma'am eh. Medyo minadali yung issue.
Sec: *throws me a condescending look* That's no excuse. Editor-in-chief pud baya ko sa una...
[Like the hell do I care kung EIC siya dati. Haler. She is in no position to compare our situations. She was no nursing student. She probably had more spare time in college than I ever did...]
Me: Yes ma'am. *plasters on a fake smile*
Sec: Dati nga 1 o'clock na ako makauwi...You should know how to sacrifice...
[If she only knew na 12:30 AM na ako nakauwi sa sit-in. What does she know of sacrificing for the paper? Hell, I skipped History 2 twice in a row just to make sure the damn magazine came out before the semester ended. I come home late most of the time because of Clarion-related activities. I am almost always stressed because of paper-related issues. I skip hanging out with my friends just because of the school paper. I barely have free time because of Clarion. In fact, all my classmates and friends would agree that I probably eat, breath and sleep Clarion this entire sem...Who is she to tell me that I don't know how to sacrifice?]
Sec: Marami talagang mali yung issue niyo.
Me: Yes ma'am. Mali po yung spelling nung "foundation" at "phoenix".
Sec: Oo yun, at marami pa. Tapos yung pictures niyo masaydong dark at lampas [sa margin]. At yung boxes, nag-overlap pa sa text...blah blah...
[She was talking about the editorial part of the mag. Geez, like we could actually control the darkness or lightness of our column pics. And the red vertical bar was actually a design. On the overlapping part, yes, one column had that problem though. But overall, she was pointing out the technical aspect which I had no control over. That is the job of the printing press. Sometimes, it cannot be helped that plates are not positioned acurately.]
Sec: I hope this serves as a lesson. Nakakahiya sa school. Alam mo ba na ang nakapansin pa ng mali [sa cover] is hindi pa dito sa school? Visitor pa galing sa Tacurong. Nakakahiya. Ako pa ang napagsabihan...
[And do you actually think I like seeing those mistakes on the magazine? And don't you think I'm embarassed as well? I was the only one who sat-in at the printing press, and I hardly had time to proof read everything because of the extensive layout changes that had to be done. I had to finish the magazine in less than 24 hours; I was tired, stressed and alone so I could not see all the typos during my sit-in...cut me some slack. If I had been in a better condition, I wouldn't let any typos get pass me... And geez, if this is already a source of embarassment for the school, she should see the humiliating passing rates at the NLE or the tag of "labayanan sa mga bagsak" attained by DDC...And what "lesson" is she yakking about? All I've learned from this incident is to stay away from the admin and that many of the school staff are shallow, condescending and utterly obnoxious.]
Sec: Mabuti naman at maganda ang tanggap mo sa criticisms. Let this be a lesson ha.
Me: *continues to smile that fake smile*

I'm okay with criticisms, but I detested the way she told me about it. I swear, if there weren't any repercussions, I would have done so many nasty, inhumane things to her. If she were so great, I dare her to fill in my shoes and try to manage the school paper with my schedule. I'd like to see if she could do any better.

Thus went that unfortunate admin incident. I cooled off by eating chocolate ice cream at the mall. If I have the chance, I'd probably burn all the second issue mags just to spare me from future crap like this.