“It was not just about free books. It was about access. It was about the open circulation of knowledge. It was about the everyday life of students.”— Christopher Kelty, The Disappearing Virtual Library (2012) When I read that line, it hit me straight in the chest. Because it wasn’t theoretical to me—it was personal. Going to College in the Philippines
Category: Coping
“I miss my dad, but I also wish he didn’t treat life like a group project he stopped showing up to. Still love you, though.” Okay, let’s be real. I miss my dad. A lot.Sometimes randomly — like when I eat sinigang that actually tastes right, or when I hear a corny dad joke and go, “He would’ve loved that.”
When I was younger, I had a dream.Not just any dream—but a green one.I wanted to study at De La Salle University. DLSU wasn’t just a school to me. It was the school. The one with the prestige, the tradition, the cool jackets, the gorgeous campus, and the kind of intellectual energy that seemed to shape future leaders with laser
Being a solo IT admin means you’re the helpdesk, the network engineer, the cybersecurity analyst, the patch management lead, the database whisperer, the app wrangler, and—if you’ve been around long enough—the historian of that one legacy system nobody dares touch. It’s a role powered by caffeine, duct tape solutions, and the faint hope that nothing breaks after 5 p.m. But
So the headlines screamed: “₱200 wage increase approved by the House!”And for a brief moment, it felt like we might finally be able to afford breakfast and dinner. Workers got excited. Lawmakers posed for Facebook banners. The internet lit up with memes about finally buying “the expensive canned tuna.” But here’s the twist:That ₱200 increase? It’s not law yet. Not
Let’s get this out of the way: working solo in IT isn’t just a job — it’s an extreme sport. Except instead of medals, you get weird help desk tickets, 3 a.m. server alerts, and the unshakable knowledge that if anything breaks, it’s your fault. And you know what? Sometimes, after explaining for the fourth time that the Wi-Fi password
Now, please hold while I patch your router, block that ransomware, and stop Gerry from downloading malware. Again. Oh, you think being a network and cybersecurity engineer is cool? Glamorous, even? You imagine dark rooms lit by cascading lines of code, high-fiving your team after foiling international hackers, and maybe a dramatic “We’re in!” moment every other Tuesday? Yeah, that’s
Let me start with the truth: I didn’t choose the self-study path because I thought I was some kind of untapped genius. I chose it because I checked the price of a cybersecurity bootcamp and nearly choked on my instant noodles. I want to become a network and cybersecurity engineer. Not because it sounds cool (okay, maybe a little), but
So you’ve decided to dive into the glorious chaos that is network and cybersecurity engineering. And now you’re asking yourself: “Should I get a new laptop?”“Do I need triple monitors?”“Would an RGB keyboard help me hack faster?” Let’s clear that up real quick. A New Computer Just Looks Cool — That’s It Listen, a shiny new computer, ultrawide monitors, and
Let me tell you about my on-again, off-again, therapy-worthy relationship with Ubuntu Linux. It’s like being with someone super smart, mysterious, kind of hot (in a nerdy way), but also emotionally unavailable and occasionally deletes your stuff without warning. At First, It Was All Butterflies and Bash The first time I installed Ubuntu, I felt like I’d joined a secret