Entries for March, 2006
that's me.
I'm turning into a real trip queen.
Clueless?!
It's literally that I trip a lot. I have a knack at tripping on very conspicuous places.
{ music } Jasmine Trias
{ book } --- ---
{ show } Princess Lulu
{ mood } jealous
The Black Experience
Maya Angelou, originally named Marguerite Johnson, was born in Saint Louis on April 4, 1928. She is well known for her searching, frank and joyful autobiography, one of which is “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1969)” where she chronicles her life as a young African-American girl raised in the United States. It covered the years from the early 1930's, up until about 1970. Growing up in Stamps, Arkansas, Angelou learned what it was like to be a black girl in a world whose boundaries were set by whites. Her book reflects the essence of her struggle to overcome the restrictions that were placed upon her in a hostile environment. In this book she wrote, “I speak to the Black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition.” Maya Angelou rises to become a point of consciousness for African-American people, especially black women seeking to survive masculine prejudice, in addition to whites hatred of blacks and blacks lack of power. The three selections, “Finishing School”, “Champion of the World” and “Graduation” were taken from this book, chapters 16, 19 and 23 respectively. In “Finishing School”, she tells the story of a painful lesson she learned in a white woman’s kitchen. In “Champion of the World”, she describes the night when Joe Louis, the “Brown Bomber” and the hero of their people, defends his heavyweight boxing title against a white contender. In “Graduation”, she remembers her high school graduation and how an unexpected but otherwise momentous thing happened. These three stories are bound by a commonality. They show us how a race, in this case the Negro race regain their pride and dignity in the midst of racism.
For African-Americans in general, Maya notes, naming is a sensitive issue because it provides a sense of identity in a hostile world that aims to stereotype blacks and erase their individuality and identity. Deprecatory labels for centuries such as “niggers, jigs, dinges, blackbirds, crows, boots and spooks” are used to cut down blacks or simply insult them. This is the situation faced by Maya Angelou in “Finishing School”. In the story, Maya, ten-years-old at the time, works as a domestic helper in Mrs. Cullinan's house. Mrs. Cullinan is a symbol of all the wealthy, overly proper white people that seem to proliferate in Stamps; she is sharply contrasted with the people that Maya knows, in her fine manners and proliferation of things, rudeness, and general condescension toward black people. When Mrs. Cullinan “called her out of her name” as Mary, she is almost denying her identity; to blatantly disregard someone's name and give them another for the sake of convenience is very insulting, and Maya, rightly, does not appreciate it. She does not exhibit violent racism, but she perpetrates an indignity that American blacks have faced throughout history. It is also a display of power of Mrs. Cullinan over both Maya and Miss Glory, that she feels she can arbitrarily rename them, and they have to put up with the indignity. Maya’s indignation toward Mrs. Cullinan for presumptuously renaming her attests to Maya’s strong pride in her self, now revealed in the face of complex racist forces. It also exemplifies the subtle forms of resistance available to American blacks. Maya cannot directly demand recognition of her identity, but she carried out her first act of resistance, by breaking Mrs. Cullinan's heirloom Virginia dishes. This resistance powerfully affects Mrs. Cullinan. By switching back to Margaret, Mrs. Cullinan believes that she has reasserted her power over Maya as well as protected the holy name Mary from tarnish. Essentially, however, she has relinquished the name that was her symbol of power over Maya. Mary may have been under her control, but Margaret is not. Maya regains her name and her sense of self.
Another act of resistance in an effort to regain their lost pride can be noted in the story “Champion of the World”. Maya’s description of the symbolic meaning behind the boxing match between Joe Louis and a white challenger attests to the pervasive nature of racism in 1930s America. For Maya and the members of her community, Joe Louis’s victory is an empowering repudiation of the negative stereotypes heaped upon blacks. The importance of Joe Louis’s world championship boxing match to the black community reveals the dearth of publicly recognized African American heroes. It also demonstrates the desperate nature of the black community’s hope for vindication through the athletic triumph of one man.
“Graduation” establishes further the struggles that an African-American goes through against racism. It also entails a greater kind of resistance that boosts the pride of their race. The black community’s excitement over the graduation comes from the fact that they have had to fight very hard to receive even a modicum of education. Black activists of earlier generations had fought to build schools for black children. In Stamps, the graduating eighth-grade and high-school classes surmount the pressures of poverty and racism to earn their diplomas. Edward Donleavy's speech harshly reminded the graduating classes of the limits on their futures, just because they are black; they are not expected to attain professional careers, and the girls are not expected to do anything but become wives and mothers. As much as they might aspire, the reality is that there are firm limits on what they can do in society, simply because of their skin color. Maya is repulsed by this idea, that the fate of her schoolmates is already decided because of prejudice. Angelou's statement that "we should all be dead" is highly charged, but expresses the unfairness that entire races are judged by their appearance, and what an aberration this system is. Maya’s reversal from disgust to pride during the graduation shows that she has begun to take serious pride in being a member of a resilient black community. Not even Henry Reed’s beautiful speech can pull Maya out of her pessimism. However, when Henry invokes the James Weldon Johnson’s inspirational song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”, the so-called Negro national anthem, he reminds the audience, his fellow graduates, and eventually Maya that they should retain their pride in themselves and their abilities. Maya realizes that she is black, and that other black people have worked hard to provide her with the opportunity to graduate from school. She comes to understand that blacks have written poetry and literature in celebration of black identity and achievement. As Angelou embraces these, she also embraces her skin color, Suddenly, she is proud of who she is, and quits her many years spent trying to deny it. She no longer considers herself just a member of the graduating class, but also a member of “the wonderful, beautiful Negro race.” As an adult looking back, Maya thanks black artists and poets for helping her to sustain her hope and realize her black pride in the midst of disappointment and discouragement.
Over the centuries, African-Americans have tried to retain and strengthen the pride and dignity of their race in the face of racism through several acts of resistance. Three of which are presented in this paper. In “Finishing School”, Maya deliberately broke Mrs. Cullinan's beloved China when she renames Maya as Mary for her convenience―denying Maya her identity and individuality. In “Champion of the World”, Maya uses Joe Louis as a metaphor of the Negro race, making his victory as their race's own and as marked proof that they were “the strongest people in the world.” Lastly, in “Graduation”, Maya through the Negro national anthem and the black's literature embraces that she is black and regains her pride as a member of a “wonderful, beautiful” race.
{ music } --- ---
{ book } moi
{ show } Passion of the Christ
Please visit my Johari Window at:
http://kevan.org/johari?name=zette
and my Nohari Window at:
http://kevan.org/nohari?name=zette
Thanks!
You are greatly appreciated.
{ music } MYMP
{ book } Third Essay
{ show } NUMB3RS
{ mood } sore
Yippee! Last NSTP na namin. We graduated from the course last Saturday. Kakapagod ang araw na 'yon as in. But last na naman e so it's fine. I included Marion's pictures na din. Wehe...
{ music } LX 300+
{ book } Frindle
{ show } Oscars
{ mood } tired
These two persons are my beloved blockmates. We're together from the first class to the next and until the day is over. We do most things together especially essays and projects. They made my stay at the Ateneo tolerable and fun. I have come to love them. (Hey! I know what your thinking. Bad ka man... Hehe) When I think about it, We're so different from each other but then we stick. It's not that we don't have a choice, it's that we made one. I'm getting mushy so I'll stop here. Kareen won't like it. Indulge (Cardenas 2006) in my life once more...
Kareen Fernandez aka The 'Astig' Angel
She is more than what you think. According to Sin, she's an angel. Why? The reason is something I could not tell for this girl would bury me alive if I did. I told her once that she breaks the monotony of my life. Yes, she really does. She has a good sense on things. Masarap siyang kausap, may sense. She has certian ideologies that amazes me. A very smart and wise girl. Naks! Mas lalong hahaba ang buhok ng babaeng ito. She's pretty noh?! Ayaw niyang ipakalat ko 'tong picture niya pero I want to eh... hehehe
Joyce Marie Nono aka The Smart Little Girl
She's the cousin of my former classmate. She's the smartest girl in class but she remains modest. She gets paranoid when things get out of control and like me she gets cranky when she's under pressure and is hungry at the same time. She's like a little girl because you can't help but give her and do what she pleases. Her biological clock is broken. She's cute when she gets angry. Ask Martin about it. She's a good girl. She balances Kareen and me--the evil ones. She's the true angel.
{ music } Narda
{ book } The Joy Luck Club
{ show } --- ---
{ mood } grateful
Zette: ei rai... i'm here again.
rai rai: hei zette
rai rai: got invisible monsters na?
rai rai: survivor is nice
rai rai: brb
Zette: not yet.
Zette: just read knights of the kitchen table, yung trio. it's pambata. i know you got a copy of yung the good, the bad and the goofy. same characters.
rai rai: iv read those kids na din
rai rai: hehe
rai rai: they're cute
Zette: just got a really bad news. do you mind if i share it with you? grrr...
rai rai: sure
rai rai: go ahead
Zette: i flunked accounting, my major. i'll do over again.
Zette: worse of all, i'm discontented with ateneo. i should have pushed thru with UP. I would have put more effort. well, regrets are always done in the end of it. no cn do. hmph...
rai rai: oh wel....
rai rai: let me think
rai rai: what would make u happy?
Zette: harhar
Zette: hmmm...
Zette: let me think din
rai rai: kasi the the real unhappiness
rai rai: stems most
rai rai: from disillusionment
rai rai: you need focus
rai rai: ask the question
rai rai: what makes you happy
rai rai: and work towards the answer
rai rai: no matter how strange or impossible it may seem
rai rai: you'll find more satisfaction that way
Zette: i'm confused nga e. i'm thinking of shifting but i don't know kung anung course. on the other hand i also think of pursuing it. how ambivalent!
rai rai: think hard
Zette: i'll pursue it.
rai rai: then do it
rai rai: yun lang naman yun eh
rai rai: if you cut all the emotions out of it
rai rai: it'll be ok
Zette: siguro i'm just sad kasi i won't be with my frinds anymre. well, not most of the time na. i'll get over it.
rai rai: alamo, hard as the concept is, accept it. friends are not everything in the world. maintain your focus.
Zette: what is everything in the world?
rai rai: everything in the world
rai rai: is the path
rai rai: to getting where you want to be
rai rai: brb
Zette: how do you know where you want to be?
rai rai: you know
rai rai: kasi
rai rai: somewhere inside you
rai rai: you know it's what's going to make you happy\
Zette: okay, i got that.
Zette: but
Zette: my life is bland
rai rai: you need to turn up the volume
rai rai: do you need advice about that?
Zette: yeah, go ahead.
rai rai: well
rai rai: to turn up the volume
rai rai: i suggest
rai rai: you stop conforming.
Zette: i'm totally an unconformist.
rai rai: hahahaha
Zette: to what do you mean?
Zette: life?
rai rai: that's what everybody's initial thought is
rai rai: non-conformist
rai rai: forget the rules
rai rai: forget the fake things in life
Zette: sorry, forget my grammar.
rai rai: do not mistake it as losing your focus
rai rai: but instead take it as
rai rai: living your life up
rai rai: meet people zette
rai rai: dare to be different
rai rai: be someone with a passion
rai rai: with A passion, take note, not necessarily just be passionate
rai rai: brb
Zette: i'm a coward.
Zette: now i said it.
Zette: a blind coward.
rai rai: of course you are
rai rai: everyone begins like that
rai rai: and now that you know
rai rai: think about how to change
rai rai: dare, zette
rai rai: that's the first step
rai rai: in my life,
rai rai: i know that for a fact
Zette: i'm caught up with adolescence.
Zette: too much holden caulfiend
Zette: sorry caulfield
rai rai: tsk tsk
rai rai: holden is a bad example
Zette: i'm eighteen and yet i do not feel it.
rai rai: he's too sorry
rai rai: age is not a good excuse
rai rai: you have to listen zette
Zette: i'm not using it as an excuse.
Zette: listen to?
rai rai: it's an excuse for how you're feeling
rai rai: listen to the angrier side of you
Zette: you know what? I know i do have to do that but i do not know how.
Zette: i'm pathetic.
Zette: i'm make the easiest thing impossible for me.
rai rai: ganito ha
rai rai: let me break it down for you
rai rai: do it step by step
Zette: do please.
rai rai: don't read anymore of these nice books
rai rai: you don't need their influence
rai rai: you need some real life
rai rai: stop caring so much about school
rai rai: which is not to say you should stop studying
rai rai: but to say
rai rai: that you should loosen up
rai rai: you need a break
rai rai: most of all
rai rai: be angry
rai rai: say things you normally wouldn't say
rai rai: be free
Zette: rai, thats what's wrong with me. i am so loose about school.
rai rai: no zette
rai rai: that's not true
rai rai: what's wrong with you is
rai rai: the fact that you can't accept that you care about judgements too much
rai rai: you are worrying too much about the end point
rai rai: so much,
rai rai: that you don't notice the journey
rai rai: (ugh, i hate that word-- journey)
Zette: rai, i think you should take up psychology.
rai rai:
Zette: hmmm.
rai rai: i don't need to
Zette:
rai rai: i should take psycho-living
Zette: yeah, ido care a lot about what people say.i'm like a sock-absorber most of the time but i haven't release all the shock yet for the last eighteen years.
rai rai: well zette
rai rai: nobody told you to do that
rai rai: accept the fact
rai rai: that you should just STOP CARING
rai rai: i implore you
rai rai: BE SELFISH
Zette: am i not selfish?
rai rai: you are not selfish enough
Zette: because i think i am
rai rai: because when
rai rai: you realize selfishness
rai rai: and you embrace it
rai rai: that's the true meaning of selflessness
Zette: whoa
rai rai: because you acknowledge what you are and that is what matters
rai rai: so in essence
rai rai: you are letting go
Zette: where do you get this stuff?
rai rai: and in letting go
rai rai: you are selfless
rai rai: from my solitude, zette. hahahahaa.\
rai rai:
Zette: you're like a shrink, really
rai rai: hahaha. i should hope this stuff is helpful
Zette:
Zette: i hope too
rai rai: good
rai rai: for now
rai rai: kakain muna ako
rai rai: brb
Zette:
Zette: takaw...
Zette: cige
Zette: thanks for now...
Zette: Nutty: Sugar High!
{ music } --- ---
{ book } Miracles on Maple Hill
{ show } --- ---
{ mood } pensive
I just had an epiphany which is Raiza Abubakar. This lead me to look for things to spend my pent-up ambition. I googled anything to do with my course, such desperation! urgh... Well, got this article. Read...
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A CPA?
by Ruth Ann Satorre
When I applied to Golden Gate University to major in accounting, I didn't know what a CPA was. To me, it was just a three-letter acronym that sounds slippery when you say it. Sure, I took a beginning accounting class in high school. However, I only learn ed the concepts of debits and credits in that class. My teacher hardly mentioned Certified Public Accountant in the class. On occasion, my teacher talked about subfields in accounting like bad debts and tax accounting. My aunt, whom I rarely see since she travels a great deal, is an accountant. Her salary and benefits are excellent. I really find traveling and seeing different places exciting. This was why I seriously considered majoring in accounting. There also may be a great deal of flexibility in the field. I wasn't sure of that aspect, but I figured if there were different subfields in accounting, then it must be flexible. So, now I'm here at Golden Gate University pursuing a bachelor's degree in accounting.
When I first started this paper, I wanted to find out more about the different types of certified accountants: the CPA's, CMA's and CIA's. I wanted to do a comparative study of the three. I started looking at the Internet. I tried the keyword "Accounting " and there were about five million hits. I tried "Certified Public Accounting" and it was less. There weren't as many hits on the other two. I decided to concentrate on the subject of Certified Public Accountants because it seemed trivial to me why there was so much information under this. Besides, a comparative study wouldn't do me much good. I've learned in the few chapters of my textbook the differences in these three types of accountants. I know them already, so it's not beneficial to me.
As I searched for material on CPA's, I had doubts if indeed I wanted to be one after graduation. I asked for an interview with my current accounting professor. Professor Simon has been teaching in Golden Gate for more than 12 years and is a California ce rtified public accountant. One of the questions I asked was if I should start in public accounting and be a CPA. Since Prof. Simon has worked in the public and the private industry, I considered him to be an authority. He said that despite the changes in the field of accounting, he still believes that it is still the way to go. "I think that if you're going for an accounting degree, go for the gold, so to speak, at least give the CPA exam a try. You're also going to get the best training from a CPA firm b ecause they have the resources that many other companies don't. The other great thing about a CPA firm is it's clientele-based. You have different kinds of clients with different kinds of needs. That of course, broadens your knowledge base, in terms of di fferent types of companies that you can work for or do consulting for. I feel that starting out as a CPA is still the way to go. It was the way to go 25 years ago, 30 years ago. It's still the way to go."
With the idea of becoming a CPA firmly in my mind, I decided to look for material about the CPA exam and more about the work conditions of the CPA. I wanted to know if the idea of being a CPA is truly something I'd be interested in. I was trying to get some answers on what it takes to be a CPA. I've asked myself if I could be dedicated enough and interested enough to become a CPA. I started looking at what exactly a public accountant does. According to Wescott (1986), "Public accounting consists of thre e basic functions: auditing, tax advice and planning and management consulting. On an audit, the public accountant goes to the client's business, observes the physical processes performed there, examines the records that have been kept and expresses an op inion concerning the accuracy and adequacy of the company's financial statements" (p. 8-9). That's when CPA's like my aunt get to travel a lot. In the tax area the public accountant provides guidance and advice on tax matters and helps the client arrang e his or her affairs so that future taxes will be minimized. CPA's don't just work for H & R Block for filing income tax returns on 1040's; that's just side business for some CPA's. On the first quarter of the year, CPA's are very busy because it's tax an d audit season. CPA's give tax advice for companies or individuals with varying needs. As a management consultant, a CPA works with clients to look for ways to improve the internal control structure of the company. He or she works with operations, human r esource, finance and even computer systems consultants to achieve the goal of improving a company's structure or for decision making purposes.
After looking at the duties of the CPA, I also thought about the implications of being one. The public accounting profession is as people-oriented as it is number-oriented. Ben, from my preliminary interview, said that he was bored with accounting becaus e the work is so repetitive. However, I see that to work with different clients must involve unique solutions to their needs. It's a good thing that I won't be sitting in a chair 8 hours a day just making pages and pages of spreadsheets. Being a CPA would mean interacting with clients and this was what Prof. Simon found great about public accounting. He said that it was gratifying to come up with solutions for live clients. He compared this with working for a corporation, "an inanimate object", and he sai d that the feeling of accomplishment is greater in public accounting. The other traits of CPA's include endurance and good interpersonal skills . CPA's must have the endurance to work under pressure, especially during tax season. The job must be done righ t and on time. It's a very challenging task, which I find a bit intimidating. This is a major drawback to public accounting. I've read about "burnouts" of public accountants after 3-5 years working for a CPA firm. It's scary to think of being in my twenti es and losing my hair from stress. Communication skills are also necessary to explain and interpret complex matters to clients.
On the Internet, I found the website of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the AICPA. The AICPA has been preparing and grading the CPA exams since 1917. The test is used to measure the technical competence of those applying to be l icensed as CPA's in all 50 states and other U.S. territories. There are four parts to the test, of which each part must be passed with a 75%. Nationally, the pass rate on the CPA exam is 33% on each of the four parts. The pass rates are low, relative to b ar and medical exams. My aunt said that she had to take the test three times to complete all four parts. It was scary for me because she was so smart and she had to take the test THREE times. The accounting profession indeed has a high standard and it con tributes to the profession's reputation. I find it challenging.
The word certified in "Certified Public Accounting" is the operative word. Doctors are not allowed to practice without licenses; so are CPA's. That's why they have good salaries. Each state has a board of accountancy that actually gives the license. The California State Board of Accountancy has the following requirements: passing the four parts of the CPA Exam, a bachelor's degree in business with a concentration in accounting, two to three years experience in public accounting and passing an ethics test . Renewal requirements include continued education and experience.
Now that I've learned the requirements in becoming a CPA and what CPA's do, it has given more meaning to the B.S. in Accounting that I'm pursuing. I'm not just looking forward to getting a diploma and being done with school. I'm pretty much decided on b eing a CPA. I know the drawbacks of working long hours. Probably I won't start to have a family until I'm out of public accounting. If I reach the burnout stage earlier than I expected, then I will move on. The background that I would get in public accou nting will be a springboard for me to land other accounting jobs. This is done by a lot of accountants. They get their experience from public accounting and move to private industries, the government or non-profit agencies or start their own practice. I w ould try to endure the long hours of public accounting so I will become a CPA. Then again, don't blame me if I change my mind. I'm still a long, long way from this goal. I'm only beginning to see the possibilities that lie before me in the field of accou nting.
Sources:
Internet AICPA 1997 CPA Examination Summary 2 pages [Online]. http://www.aicpa.org/edu/candbro2.htm [1997, February 6]
(1995). California Occupational Guide Number 1 Interest Area 11 [Online]. http://www.calmis.cahwnet.gov/file/occguide/ACCOUNTA.TXT [1997, February 6]
(No date). Student Guide to Accounting [Online]. Http://www.csulb.edu/~dchand/student.htm#C2 [1997, February 7]
(No date). SFSU Accounting - CPA Page [Online]. Http://www.sfsu.edu/~acct/cpa.htm
(No date). Jobs in Accounting [Online]. http://www.cob.ohio-state.edu/~fin/jobs/account.htm#Link1
Books
Wescott, Shari H. (1986) Women in the Accounting Profession. New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, Inc.
Fay, Jack R. (1992) Accounting Certification, Educational, & Reciprocity Requirements. Connecticut: Quorum Books.
Interview
Jack Simon, Senior Adjunct Professor, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA, February 12, 1997
{ music } Rai's voice (imagination)
{ book } the Epiphany
{ show } Blank Screen
{ mood } weird