RIP sir joven velasco

tragic news of the day. this just in.

my friend dang texted me if i already knew of sir joven's death. he passed away this morning, died in his sleep or something like that. which means i guess it's a cardiac arrest or something like that. tragic. sad. wake will be at his house yata tonight sa #44 aberdeen st. proj8 if you kids wanna go visit. starts at 7pm daw, according to upfi director anne, who's a good friend of his.

sir joven was the teacher of some of our generation as well as this new one i'm also teaching. he's a good teacher and the kids love him, that's because unlike some motherfucking professors out there, he is not madamot to share his knowledge, wit, humor and experience to his students. and he's also fun to be with as a colleague, as i found out later when i was already at this side of the teaching fence. saka masaya siya ka-deal when it comes to teaching stuff. in short, he is a clear team player who really wants to help the kids and the institute, unlike some motherfucking professors out there whom we just love to hate. minsan nagtataka ako bakit hindi sila ang kunin na ni lord please lang ipagnonovena ko pa yan at yung mga talagang gustong tumulong pa ang inuuna niya sa checklist niya...nakakainis. life's not fair!

hay...

something happened din sa tenure chenes niya before. he was a lecturer first who became a full-time faculty, at dapat lang dahil may K siya to be that, unlike some motherfucking professors out there. i can't seem to say that enough, can i? nakakainis kasi ang contrast e, nabubuwisit ako! or maybe this is how i deal with this certain type of grief... hay ewan.

dati kasi, nagkaroon ang sangka-akademyahan ng stupid rule na tinatawag na "up or out" meaning lahat ng guro may taning, kung hindi susunod sa ilang oppressive na patakaran. isa bilang fulltime faculty, kelangan dapat makatapos ka ng MA degree within 5 years from the date you've been hired or else ligwak ka at demote to lecturer part-time status. tapos pa, kung natapos mo naman ang MA mo, you hae 3 years naman to fulfil the criteria for getting tenure, meaning getting a permanent teaching post para di ka rin maligwak. that means submitting a creative work or publishing an academic paper in a reputable journal of writing of some kind local or international. kaloka maging guro di ba? as if ang taas ng sweldo dito sa peyups...hay.

unfortunately, naabutan si sir joven ng up or out rule na yun, at for a while he distanced himself sa institute until i told anne to persuade him to teach again as lecturer, kasi alam ko capacity niya at sayang siya and the kids love him and benefit form him greatly. so i was so happy when he agreed naman, kaya ayan lagi na siyang full load, minsan nga ino-overload ko pa upon his request din naman kasi, kasi nga he likes to teach. sinabi ko nga sa kanya one time, bakit di niya tapusin na lang din talaga yung MA na iniwan niya para maibalik namin talaga siya bilang faculty na ulit, dahil sobrang kapos sa faculty na tulad niya ngayon sa institute. natawa siya at sabi niya e tinatamad na daw siyang tapusin at saka he only has a few years left to go na lang naman daw, meaning few years na lang e retiring age na siya, ire-retire na siya kusa ng peyups kahit gusto pa niyang magturo, like what happened to mam ellen. yun din sayang yun... but she needs her rest more than anything, with her health and all. anyway...

i was talking to anne about this, even tried to make him at least a substitute faculty para maging fulltime siya, seeing na kulang sa faculty now dahil nag-leave si ed lejano and si roland aalis ulit and all, wala, ligwak din, di daw puwede because of that stupid rule thing na nakaka-influence din sa life now. hay... pero last i heard, sabi ni anne, he was actually reconsidering it, and thinking of finishing the darned MA once and for all... men, sayang. sayang talaga. minsna talaga unfair... kainis...

hay...

rest in peace, finally, sir. we'll miss you...

i know where i'm going tonight. so many friends and colleagues are already asking... what a freaking time to get together... i hate it when the reason is a wake, and the death of someone we care about... hay...

ce n'est pas juste.