10 years since getting my bachelor's degree

10 years ago today, I have graduated from UH-Manoa with my bachelor's degree in sociology.


Here is what I wrote for my blog post that day

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2004/12/i-graduated-earlier-this-morning-i-have.html

I also wrote a Ka Leo editorial that month about the experiences as an undergraduate student at UH, which was re-posted on my blog at   http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2004/12/my-last-editorial-on-ka-leo-i-will-be.html


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5 years later, in 2009, I wrote a blog post titled "5 years since my U.H. graduation" which explained more about my experiences as an undergraduate student at UH
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/12/5-years-since-my-uh-graduation.html



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Now fast-forward another 5 years ............today!

I am at UH-Manoa again, this time as a graduate student working on my master's in Library and Information Science (LIS)

 I'm about 2/3 of the way through the LIS program.

That being said, I have noticed some changes on campus since my undergraduate days.

Social Atmosphere

Biggest change I noticed was the social atmosphere.

Back in my undergraduate days, there was a lot of drama and craziness on campus. Our campus newspaper (Ka Leo O Hawaii  aka "The Ka Leo") was edgy with lot of controversial opinion articles that became a major topic of conversation on campus. I know, because I wrote some of them.

However, since The Ka Leo has become a dull, politically correct newspaper that suppresses any opinion article with edginess, non-literal statements, and anything provocative. I mentioned this issue at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-ka-leo-lost-its-way.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/10/problems-at-ka-leo-again.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/02/ka-leos-free-speech-forum.html

 The Opinions section used to make the news, with it's edgy articles and fighting spirit provoking angry members of the community! 

With no edgy stuff to read in the Ka Leo, there is less funny things to talk about on campus!  That is very sad for a college campus, which is supposed to be the center of edgy, provocative debates!  

A whole generation of UH students have gone through their time on campus without any memory of all the drama Ka Leo used to provoke on campus!  

 I'm not saying people should just say stuff just to offend! I'm saying we need something to break the monotony on campus, which was what the Ka Leo Opinions section used to do. 

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Another change I've noticed was the decrease of UH sports spirit on campus.

Throughout my entire time as an undergraduate student at UH, the football team was coached by June Jones. Though I was gone before Colt Brennan came along, the football team had a reputation for their swagger, warrior spirit, wild hair, and WINNING SEASONS! 

I remember school morale being lifted during my freshman year, which was June Jones 1st year as coach! A former losing team became a winning team, lifting school spirit BIG TIME!

Even when we had QB Timmy Chang (former high school star with consistency issues at the college level), the team still find a way to win, with dynamic receivers , rugged running backs, strong linemen (some of whom later played in the NFL), and a very fierce defense! 

The team not only won games, they won fights! That's right, UH football gotten into fights with their opponents, giving UH students something exciting to talk about!

We also had Vili the Warrior, the biggest and baddest mascot EVER! 
(read more at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/08/vili-warrior-retired.html )


But now with Norm Chow? A joke, just like Fred von Appen!

The problem doesn't just infect the team, it infects the campus atmosphere as well! Back when June Jones was coaching, the campus was hooked on the football team! The team lifted our spirits with every win, every news of craziness, every dramatic turn!   But now? Apathy!

And now I'm being told that Norm Chow will be coaching during my final semester as a graduate student! Not just another year of losing, but another year of non-existent football spirit on campus

So, all my graduate school years will be with Norm Chow as coach! Now I know how the students of the Fred von Appen era feel!

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We also had a men's basketball team that made the NCAA tournaments, and a men's volleyball team that won the NCAA championship (with a player later deemed ineligible).  Both has gone through serious decline in the last few years.

The Wahine teams are still doing good, though the volleyball team has just completed a re-building year! The Wahine basketball have a great coach and great potential! Now, the men's teams need to step their games up!

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Facilities

On the bright side, the campus facilities are slowly being upgraded! The More information technology, cleaner rooms and innovative classrooms! 

The recently built Information Technology Center (ITC) has very fancy facilities, which I took a tour of in the Spring 2014 semester!

I had a class at Sakamaki Hall this past summer and the moveable tables and chairs were GREAT!  I noticed the same for the newly renovated Gartley Hall too! 

Soon, Keller Hall and the Physical Science Building will have renovations! Their classrooms still have chalkboards (eek..............chalk dust!). Don't get me wrong, I like some of the retro vibes of those buildings, but they should at least replace the chalkboards with the whiteboards!



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Personal Changes






Within the last 10 years, I had to go through some changes as well.




Whereas I could get away with some edgy humor as an undergraduate, a lot of that went out the window as I became a substitute teacher. I was now supposed to be a role model! To add to the pressure, there isn't much job security as a substitute teacher, so you need to really work on being a great Role Model if you're a substitute teacher. 




As I mentioned in "What is an Adult?, (part 2)"
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-is-adult-part-2.html

For me, when I became a substitute teacher, I had to unlearn some bad habits. I had to distance myself from inappropriate jokes that once entertained me. I had to learn other ways to deal with stressful situations other than the "flight or fight" impulses that most of us relied on as teenagers.  I had to reduce my use of profanities. I had to be super-careful in dealing with the opposite gender.

Please read that paragraph again!

So yeah, having to go through those changes means I had to present myself in a more mature manner!

(for example: no more poking girl's sides for fun this time like I did in my undergrad years.)

However, coming with more maturity also means some social akwardness when dealing with younger college students who never had to deal with the great pressures of maturity I had to go through when I worked as a substitute teacher!

But you know what? I have to be the example! That means not joining in with peers who want me to take a step backwards in maturity!  Walking away and looking for the nearest exit becomes an important life skill!

However, I can still have fun! I still like music, still like UH sports (but not Norm Chow), still like toys, still like YouTube comedy skits, still like  riding bikes.

 I still like nightclubs, which can present serious temptations to lose your maturity.
 In an environment where some girls just come up to rub against you, you cannot assume all the girls nearby want to be rubbed against! 
Telling the difference is easier said than done! 

 I do NOT drink alcohol (NEVER DID!) but I still got to be careful! 



I still want to enjoy the nightclubs since I have many fond memories there! I just have remember that in the era of smartphones, I want to recorded in a positive light, not a negative one!


The same goes for every other situations.

Coming Soon

The next 2 days have symbolism for me.

Tomorrow is the one-decade anniversary of my graduation with a bachelor's degree from UH-Manoa. So my blog post tomorrow will talk about the changes of the campus atmosphere, as well as changes to myself since that graduation ceremony. 

Also, tomorrow is also the last day of the Fall 2014 semester.  The  day after tomorrow is the graduation ceremony for the new graduates. So I'll have another blog post about my experiences that semester.

Also, I'll have end of the year blog posts, where I list my favorite songs of the year, as well as some other stuff!

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The last 2 days, this blog has become the Hawaii's version Public Shaming blog post, where bigoted screenshots get exposed to the light! 

I really don't want this blog to be just a Public Shaming blog all the time.  However, there will be times when I think racists need to be exposed to the light! 

I did have an online argument with Robert Manning (see previous blog post) and show how ridiculous he is.

I'll probably restrain myself from arguing with them, I'll just say "hey everyone, I'm doing screenshots of racist comments, if you don't be exposed, just delete your stuff in 24 hours." That way, I gave them a 2nd chance to clean up their act!  Those not interested in a 2nd chance will have their comments screenshotted, exposing them to potential employers, dates, etc. 

battle of the screenshots

From the discussion board in response to 

http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/12/how-hawaii-is-like-ferguson/

I respond to Robert Manning and his racist drivel!

I usually call trolls  a "troll"

a few hours later, I got around to doing these screenshots

Yep, this is what happens on days when I have a lot of time on my hands!  I'm about to go outside, get some fresh air and move around a bit! 

That would be much healthier than  dealing with the likes of Robert Manning of Church College of Hawaii!

Update on my foot

Two months ago, I wrote a blog post about the pain I was experiencing my right foot.

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/10/foot-problems.html


I mentioned my drama dealing with Step Ahead (don't trust them) as well as going to Kaiser Moanalua clinic.

I was recommended to get a custom-made orthoticThe orthotic was to lift up my foot's arch, so that the pressure doesn't flatten my foot arch any further

At the time I wrote my blog post, I was still waiting for my custom-made orthotic to arrive!



It arrived late October.

Pablo Wegesend's photo

an orthotic 

Many weeks later, I can now confidently say the orthotic is a major miracle in my life  :)

 The foot pain has been greatly reduced!

I can walk faster again :)

I'm not wincing in pain if I have to cross the street at a faster pace! 

I can walk up-hill without wincing in pain!

I can ride a bike without much foot pain!

I can even dance around (like I did at Rumours Nightclub 2 weeks ago) without worrying about foot pain! 

As I mentioned in the previous blog post

I want my foot arch pain to be a "just a phase" instead of  "the new normal".

I can say....... for now....... it was a "phase" NOT a "new normal"


Happy Foot Status :) 

  

Public Shaming of Bigots in Hawaii

There was a Tumblr blog called Public Shaming, which exposes the bigots with screenshots of their online comments!

http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/

http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/about



The Public Shaming blog has been inactive for months, but racist idiots don't take vacations.

And Hawaii isn't immune to this nonsense, and I feel that our local bigots should be exposed to the light!

comment to http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/12/how-hawaii-is-like-ferguson/

I lived in the housing (Lanakila) back when there wasn't that many Micronesians and was still living there when the Micronesians started moving in! Nothing got worse! They're NOT more dangerous than those who lived there before! The only difference was the languages spoken! 





But the person who really deserves Public Shaming is my former middle school classmate named Kimi Kailikea (aka Kimberly Kailikea).


No, she didn't do anything to me back in the day! In fact, she was a quiet person who caused no trouble!



However, something changed about her since we left middle school (we went to different high schools), because   the formerly quiet person has become and angry, vulgar, hateful person! 



In fact, she is more immature and trashy than those former classmates who were once class clowns, wanabee gangstas and gonnabe gangstaz!

Many of the former class clowns and gangsters from my school days have matured and have grown beyond such immature nonsense!  While they sometimes show a little edge in some of their facebook posts, they are mature enough to at least present themselves like the 30-something adults that they are!

But not Ms Kailikea!

 Reading her posts makes you feel like you're reading something from some teenager always in detention instead of a 30-something adult that she is! 



Some of her angry posts were funny, like "ha, ha, look at this crazy lady going at it again".


However, as time went on, it got worse and worse.


Where I drew the line and deleted and blocked Ms Kailikea  from my facebook list was when she made the following racist comments about Micronesians.


I was told earlier that "you can't reason with stupid"!

Those people are super-correct when applied to Ms Kailikea!


I reminded Ms Kailikea (who is of Polynesian ancestry) that the same nasty, negative stereotypes she said about Micronesians were also said about her people just a few decades ago!


Here are her responses!

some of her friends jumped

Charmss - tough enough to use racial insults and profanity, NOT TOUGH ENOUGH to use her real name!

I reminder Heather Tomita that people once said the same thing about Samoans a few decades ago, but with Mufi Hanneman having been a mayor of Honolulu, and more examples of Samoans having middle class jobs,  those old stereotypes have faded! 

I mentioned to Ms Kailikea the same thing she says about Micronesians are the same things Asian-American kids say about Polynesians behind their backs!  In other words, you're NOT immune to being stereotyped! Here is her response!

This is where I mentioned that 2 decades ago, there were big fights between Samoans vs Vietnamese at McKinley High School, as well as Samoans vs Filipinos at Farrington High School! 

And that she can't even prove that "Asians rather live amongst the Polynesians than Micronesians" because I have actually heard some Asian-American kids say the opposite!



I also mentioned that I worked at schools with large Micronesian populations, and those negative stereotypes are BS! 

Here is her response

Probation office? 

I'm not sure if she works fed eral, state, or county. But once they see this, she'll be the one NOT working! She'll be the one doing the Eazy-E dance from the "Dre Day" video! 

Well, Ms Kailikea, I know Micronesians working NOT ONLY at fast food or janitor jobs, but also at schools, libraries, social services and more!

In fact, I have one classmate from Pohnpei in my class at UH-Manoa, a class in the master's level!


How many college degrees does Kimi Kailikea have ............................ ZERO?


That's what I thought!



Kimi Kailikea called Micronesians "trashy people"

Hey, Kimi Kailikea, you want to talk about "trashy people"? 
Let's talk abut trashy people!


You, Kimi Kailikea, has behaved much more  trashy than 99% of the Micronesians that you hate so much!




You, Kimi Kailikea,  has more trashy, immature, vulgar posts than everyone else that was on my facebook list!
(and that's including former classmates who were class clowns, gangsters, jocks, and other crazy characters)


You, Kimi Kailikea, saw that our immigration system should draw the line! 


I draw the line! I banned you from all my social media connections, because YOUR ATTITUDE IS POISON!
You need to grow up and start acting like a mature adult already!





You, Kimi Kailikea, need to be exposed to the light! 


No, I don't need to say any of this to your face, because it's already been said! You want to confront me, then you'll be the hypocritical one who blames a whole racial group for crime when you want to commit a crime yourself, you hypocritical person! 


Too bad you weren't the quiet person you used to be! It's like the saying "it's better to be quiet and be considered a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!"



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PS: I usually use Jing for screenshots, but the computer I'm working on only has Snipping Tools. This is why you see "chicken scratch" as my comments to those screenshots!

Apologies to those who don't find the "chicken scratch" appealing, 

ZERO Apologies to the racists mentioned in this blog post!

Dimebag Darrell - a decade later

A decade ago today, legendary heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell was killed on stage in Columbus, Ohio.


Dimebag Darrell was playing for a band named Damageplan that night, but he was best known for his work with his previous band ----- Pantera!

Dimebag's brother, Vinnie Paul, was a drummer for both bands!

Pantera started as your usual 80's hair metal band..............until a new lead singer (and yeller) joined in.........Phil Anselmo! That was in the late 80s, ready to get into the 90's!
 

With Phil Anselmo, Pantera took on a much more aggressive direction!  Pantera was now the "dont f---- with me", "take no sh--" kind of band!  To match Anselmo's persona, Dimebag's guitars now took a much more heavier sound!

Whereas other heavy metal bands scared people with face make-up, eating bats and crazy videos..................Pantera's Phil Anselmo scared people with his big muscular physique, his bald-head, his big fists  and his "take no crap" personality!  He sure didn't need scary make-up to scare people!

Henry Rollins was bringing the big, muscular, tough guy image to punk rock & alternative rock! Phil Anselmo brought it to heavy metal, which was even more aggressive than punk or alternative! 


With Phil Anselmo now on the scene, Axl Rose was no match for him! Axl Rose's antics wore thin with fans who are now aware of a much tougher guy in the heavy metal scene! 

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It was 1990, time for Phil Anselmo's debut with Pantera, the legendary album "Cowboys from Hell". It was a statement that Texas was not going to be ignored as a heavy metal hotspot! It put New York and California on notice that they got competition for the baddest heavy metal bands out there! 

The album had the song "Cowboys from Hell" and "Psycho Holiday". But it also showed that Phil Anselmo had a gentler side as well, with his legendary song "Cemetery Gates" which was a dedication to his friend that passed away!


In 1992, came the next album"Vulgar Display of Power", which was even crazier than "Cowboys From Hell". The guitars were even more heavy, and Anselmo was even more angry and ready for a fight!  Anybody ready for a fight ( or a football/rugby/hockey game) would listen to songs like "Mouth for War", "Walk" and "F______ Hostile"  to pump themselves up! Pantera can even make love songs sound scary with "This Love".


In 1994 came  the next album "Far Beyond Driven", which debuted on top of the charts, even without much radio/MTV airplay!  Whereas MTV was focusing on alternative rock, there was still a major fan base who want real heavy metal!  While the hair metal bands faded, people still wanted to hear real metal from bands like Slayer, Biohazard, and Sepultura! And of course, Pantera!

From the 1994 album "Five Minutes Alone" (which actually goes a bit longer than 5 minutes) was the most popular song. It was another fight song! It was Anselmo's response to a lawsuit from an angry fan who got beat up at Pantera's concert! The fan allegedly taunted Anselmo, and Anselmo responded by encouraging the other fans to beat that unruly fan up!

In 1996, Pantera had it's "Great Southern Trendkill" album.  While it satisfied many metal fans, it didn't have the mega-classics like the previous albums had! At that point, there were tensions within the band. Anselmo was taking medications (both the legal and illegal) for his back pains! Dimebag & Vinnie Paul got tired of dealing with Anselmo!

By the early 2000s, Pantera broke up! Phil Anselmo joined another band, Down. Dimebag & Vinnie Paul joined Damageplan. Neither band gained the status that Pantera had!

Damageplan was playing a concert in Columbus, Ohio when an apparently deranged fan shot and killed Dimebag Darrell!  It was alleged that the fan blamed Dimebag for Pantera's breakup!

There were also rumors that Phil Anselmo was behind the murder of Dimebag Darell.  It was as if this was going to be the heavy metal's version of "2pac vs Biggie". 

Anselmo wanted to make peace with Vinnie Paul. Vinnie Paul wasn't interested! He didn't even allow Anselmo to attend Dimebag's funeral!

To this day, there are no signs of a Pantera reunion. There are still hard feelings between Anselmo and Vinnie Paul!

However, Dimebag Darrell is still remember by many heavy metal fans as a great guitar player, and a contributor to many classic heavy metal songs!

Expanding Access to Audiobooks

This Saturday, I'll be making a speech to the Hawaii Library Association conference. It will be titled "Expanding Access to Audiobooks".


Libraries that serve the print disabled (which includes the blind, visually impaired, and those with physical disabilities which make it difficult to hold a print book) loan out audiobooks for those patrons.


However, federal law has limitations on the lending policies.


So here is my letter to Congress about that issue.

The Pratt-Smoot Act of 1931 (and its various amendments) allows the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped (also known as NLS) to loan out audiobooks to eligible patrons.  The eligibility requirements includes any of the following conditions

• blindness
• visual impairments
• deaf blindness
• physical disabilities that make it hard to hold a print book
• reading disability caused by organic dysfunction

The following conditions that are not eligible to receive audiobooks from NLS include

• developmental disabilities
• intellectual disabilities
• illiteracy due to a lack of education

People living with such conditions should  NOT be isolated from information that is easily accessible to everyone else.

People living with such conditions may have difficulty reading a print book or reading from a computer screen  could benefit from access to audiobooks.

However, it would take an act of Congress to change the eligibility requirements to receive audiobooks from NLS.

I would want Congress to do the following

• open eligibility of NLS provided audiobooks to those struggling with illiteracy, intellectual disability, developmental disability, emotional illness, mental illness and any other disability that makes it difficult for a person to use a print book

• change the NLS official name to National Library Service for People with Disabilities to reflect such changes

• change the terms listed in Pratt-Smoot Act (and amendments) and NLS materials to better reflect modern terminology related to disabilities (ie. use "intellectual disability" instead of "mental retardation", use "physical disability" instead of "physical handicap")

Please introduce bills in Congress that address such issues.

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The letter and the speech is an extension of my work for my LIS 699 Project: Library Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired.


You can check out my writings for that project at http://pwegesen.wix.com/pablowegesendlis#!lis-699-projects/cdgt