PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

What is Professional Practice? Kayo, magiging architect kayo in 2, 3 or more years from now. To
learn Professional Practice while you’re still in school is very essential in preparing you to go out there,
to practice the profession.

Being an architect is not just a job that you get paid for, but a responsibility.

That’s why we have these laws.

Ako noon, rebel dibil ako e. Haha. Fuck the police! Lol. Anong rules rules? Gusto ko ng
kaguluhan! Syempre arki ako diba, so goal ko maging architect. Wala e, yun lang ang alam ko. Pagka-
graduate, apprenticeship, exam. I was caught in waking up in the morning, go to work, work your ass off,
and then go home. Sometimes, super boring. Uupo ka sa computer mo, magca-CAD ka lang the whole
day. Pag may deadline madaling araw na uuwi. Pakyu Asya. Joke. There are times I enjoyed my work,
lalo na when it comes to coordinating with consultants. Kasi I learn from engineers and designers. Office
lang! Some days are salty, some days are sweet, and some days are just meh. That became a routine for
me.

And then one time sabi ng boss ko, Janine gusto mo a mag-Site Architect sa Gen. Tri? I was
shocked. I don’t know what I’d feel. Iniisip ko nun, what??? Most of our Site Architects are men, kaya ko
ba yun? Minsan iniisip ko pa, ayaw na ba nila ako ditto sa office?—Pag naging Site Architect ka dun,
meaning dun ka lang until matapos ang Construction. Bale ang projet ay CityMalls. E tangina yung mga
malls nga nila may 3 years na, construction pa rin. Pero dahil gusto ko lagi ng iba, tinanggap ko. For 3
months, nag-site ako dun. Tapos balik office kasi nag-stop yung construction. Pagbalik ko sa office gusto
ko na mag-resign. HAHA.

Tapos sa SM, ayan. Naka-pasok ako as Design Officer ng SM Store Bacoor last year. Kung may
naka-dayo sa inyo sa Dept Store dun and nakita nyo yung renovation. Minsan nandun ako sa loob
mukang tanga lang. HAHAHA.

Sobrang dami ng happening, minsan nakakalimutan ko na na – ay, dapat pala magtake na ako ng
board exam. So I resigned (again) kasi probation pa lang ako nun sa SM and bawal pa mag-leave sa work.

Resigned -- Enrolled review classes -- Took the boards -- Passed the exam.

Dun ko narealize, shet! Ambigat pala talaga maging architect. Kasi it is not just a job that you get paid
for, but a responsibility.

Alam nyo, sobrang gulo kong tao talaga. Haha. Hindi ko lagi alam ano gusto ko, I am very
spontaneous. Hindi ko alam kung sa inyo yun kinekwento ng mga prof. Yung pasaway, bumagsak kasi di
nagpapasok, di nagaasikaso, huminto sa pag-aaral nag-call center. Haha. Ako yun. Kahit nung
grumaduate na ko magulo pa rin ako, kumikita na ako nun e. Andami ko laging gustong gawin na
activities, hiking, diving, beach trips, tumula, magpinta gumawa ng kung anu ano. Nung nagwo-work ako
sa Asya, madalas pa ako mag-inom nun pagka-uwi. Haha. Ang kalat diba.

Pero yung review days ko yung nagpatino sakin na hindi ko i ne-expect. Kasi sabi ko nun dapat 1 take
lang ako! Ang mahal mahal mag-review. Haha. Yun lang yung sakin noon.
Sa experience ko, maihahambing ko yung review sa “Retreat” na tinatawag. Sino dito nakapag retreat
na? Nung highshool or kahit sa yfc? I’m giving you 5 seconds. Diba sa retreats you get to look at yourself
and reflect on the things that you’ve done and how you can improve things. Ganun yung nangyari sakin.
Para akong nilabas sa earth ng mga aliens tapos sinabi sakin, “Look ayan yung mundo mo”—in short, I
got the perspective that I needed that time. Kasi ang goal ko is-TO PASS THE BOARDS. Diba, alangan
magtae tae pa rin ako no, nag-invest na ako dito. I told myself I have to pass the board exam on
January 2020.

1. I conditioned myself into being prepared for the boards. 2 months before the boards, I refused
invitations, refrain from scrolling so much in facebook and ig, and I only entertain the things that
are related to passing the boards,

Someone messaged me, “Ja, punta ka dito, inom tayo, birthday ni ganto”, I question myself first,
will it serve me in passing the boards? No.

Someone messaged me. “Ja, punta ka dito, inom tayo, kunin mo rin review materials” Will it
serve me in passing the boards? Yes. –That’s how you persuade your reviewing friend to come
into you. Pumunta ba ako? Yes. Pero kinabukasan na. Nung wala nang inuman. You know,
drinking alcohol will affect your Neurons. Syempre ayokong mawala mga inaral ko tangina
pinaghirapan ko yun.

Totoo ba yung kwento ko? Hindi. Magaling lang akong magkwento. You always have to practice fact
checking specially in reviewing. Not because ito ang sinabi it’s always true, if you don’t trust it, then
don’t. Always do your research.

Of course aside from conditioning yourself mentally, you also have to take your body into consideration.

2. Some of the things I did in conditioning myself into taking the board exam is eating healthy,
getting enough sleep, clearing negative energies around, why these things? You probably have
heard of it million times. But I am emphasizing these because it’s true, it is your body, it is the
one that goes in the exam room, which takes the exam. (It is not just a five day preparation).

Now, some of you, or you guys are all familiar with the “Law of Attraction”, and maybe some of you are
even skeptic about it (it’s okay, that’s yours). If you’re not yet familiar with it, I’ll put the link here in the
chatbox para maka-access kayo. You may check this out later.

3. I do believe in the “Law of Attraction”. It’s you trying to manifest the Universe to turn things in
your favor through your thoughts. How? In my case, yung conditioning parang yun na rin yun e.
Pero to be more specific, If you’re a negative person you’ll attract negative energies and may
stem into negative results. Sa Facebook, I turned off pages or people that are affecting my
mental state. Why? I am focusing on good things, on passing the boards, mamantsahan lang yan
ng rant, masisira conditioning mo. For example may makikita akong post na defaming a person
because kabit or nangabit sya, nakakagigil diba? Or post about people abandoning their parents
kasi matanda na, or yung mga sinasaktan ng hayop. There’s nothing bad about feeling bad for
them, it’s naural that we feel that way. Pero remember what you we’re focusing on, and why
are you doing this for? Sobrang laking move non sa mental state mo. Nagbasa ka na nga ng long
post, negative pa dulot sayo tapos it took like 10 mins of your screen time tapos shinare mo pa
 at nagcompose ka pa ng long caption!! It leaves you feeling agitated for like 20 mins. Imagine sa
loob ng 30 mins ang negative ng nararamdaman mo,
- galit ka
- malungkot ka
- gusto mo mang-away
- gusto mo magpakulam
- gusto mo pumatay

Oh eto pa, pagka-post mo, after 10 mins, may nag-comment! Si beshie!! Gigil na gigil din!
Nireplyan mo diba tapos may thread na kayo don. An hour, yung Tita mo nag-comment napa-hugot din.
Ilang minute na in.ispend mo para lang magreply dun habang ganun pa rin nararamdaman mo, nahawa
ka na, naka-hawa ka pa! Ang toxic diba. Hindi lang yun! May mga pasundot sundot pa rin na minuto at
sandali sa lingo mo na naaalala mo yung post na yun tapos mapagkwkwentuhan nyo pa ng tropa mo.
Imbis na pag-rereview na lang inatupag nyo diba?? Dadating ka sa ganun point e, yung tipong shet, sana
nireview ko na lang yung pagpunta ko sa mall para humanap ng white t-shirt. Everything you can do to
shorten your “other” time, you will do para lang ilaan yung oras sa pag-aaral. That’s how dedicated you
should be when you are going to take the boards.

What if hindi mo pinansin yung post about kabit? Edi sana in less than 20 min, na-browse mo
yung Rule 4 Article 29 ng IRR of RA 9266 na lumabas sa Day 1 ng board exam! Yung positive affirmation
na pinaghirapan mo, in one click lang namantsahan na, yung points mo sa board exam nabawasan na
nga isa (baka di lang isa)—mejo unbelievable, but who knows?

Basta alam ko nakapasa ako. Kasi I managed to be better. That’s just one sample of it. What you
attract, you become.

 It’s not bad changing your habits, or your circle. As long as it pays yourself better. Sa panahon
ngayon many are already realizing that. If you and your friends want to stay together, talk about
each others goals and values make sure aligned kayo sa isa’t isa. If not anymore, and you’ll get
tagged by your friends as ‘You’ve changed/Nag-iba ka na’ in a negative manner, let them go. You
guys are just not on the same page anymore.
 However, there are precious friends na kahit you’re busy, or away, or you’ve changed for the
better, they’ll still love you for who you are and who you’ve become. Cherish those kinds of
friends.

If you’re a positive person you’ll attract positive energies and will stem into positive results. Of course,
it’s not always rainbows and butterflies as you go along, but at least you have something to hold on to,
to keep you on track.

Nung nagwowork ako na hindi pa ako architect, la pa akong paki sa “responsibility”---- we’ll get to the
word responsibility later on. Wala pa akong paki sa responsibility kasi wala namang mawawala sakin.
Wala naman akong lisensya na mawawala sakin pag tae tae yung Professional Practice ko. I can do
commission drawings, nagpapagawa ng design yung HRM Students, go! Nagpapagawa ng design si Tita,
go! –Oo may knowledge tayo ng “tamang design” kasi architecture students tayo, and we also try to
implement those in our drawings.
Pero once you get to taste the responsibility, hindi ka na lang talaga gumagawa ng design. Hindi ka na
lang sumusunod sa boss mo, kesyo palalagyan ng ganito, ganyan. You seek reason, you seek applicable
laws na tatamaan. “Eh ganito rin naman ginagawa namin as students”—Yes. And sana consistent tayong
nakapaloob sa Standards of Professional Practice. Pag hindi mo profession, wag mo akuin. Structural? Sa
CE mo ibigay, Plumbing? Sa MP or SE mo ibigay. Di katulad ng iba jan. Lol. Yes, we know the basics. Pero
hindi tayo basta gumagawa ng design na hindi verified ng tamang professional. Sila magchecheck ng
drawing mo at sila ang pipirma ng sheet nila. As an architect, you will get paid for the overall input in the
design. Kaya sa DAEDS (Method of Compensation), mas malaki ang porsyento ni Architect. You put
together all the trades, Architectural, Structural, Plumbing, Electrical, and Mechanical. You may initiate
the plans but you do not verify all trades, only the Architectural.

Lagi sinasabi ng mga prof naming noon, “Wag nyo isipin na students pa lang kayo, isipin nyo na Architect
na kayo kasi dun din kayo papunta”. I was like, “Yea. Right. Sure”. Ngayon, sasabihin ko rin to sa inyo.
Pero wag nyo akong maye-yea.right sure jan!!