the devil wears prada

Im still reading it...

mia and me

The work as Coordinator for the Light Cavalry Leadership Community in the school is one tough job. When this was bestowed to me last school year, I never had it in mind in the first place. I guess other people are amazed when I got it. Well, they should have asked me too and we could all join the bandwagon of bewildered people as to how a probationary teacher (just in my third year of teaching) could get the job whose description entails a lot of overtime in school, hard work and planning and management.

Come to think of it, before I got the job I was already staying late in school (How do you think English teachers would be able to read and grade your compositions?) and did my work seriously (just ask my students), but planning and management? Oh come on! The rest of the OSASI team would say I am the most un-multitasking person in the group. I can't really blame myself and other people of my inadequacies. I think I'm that kind of person who would rather work alone and do my stuff than ask help from other people.

And so the greatest challenge then was to work in and for a community. Mia, as the chairperson of the LCLC has been very generous of her time, effort and talent to serve the whole student body and the whole community. Truly, efforts of volunteers really make that difference we all need in this world. You guys deserve the recognition.

dramatis personae

Plays are always personified by the people who perform them. I really appreciated the seniors in their efforts to portray the characters they were assigned to the 10 plays for this year's play fest. There were those that did not that sucessful but a lot really were effective in thier roles.

appreciate this day

Today is the most tiring start of the week (aside from the JIG event we had in school). Organizing events such as the appreciation day is no easy task. The Saturday before today was back breaking, i must say. The preps for the program, gifts, certificates, presentations, and everything were a smorgasbord of demanding freaks! (Whew!) Jyle, Mia, Krenz, Karen, Cesar, Bernard, Vincent, Yayam and the rest of the LCLC Volunteers and the class presidents maximized the remaining time for making the best appreciation day we could think of.

When people see the program as it is, they dont really see the brainstorming and the hard work behind the spectacle brought to life in front of them. It just like watching a fireworks display in the night sky, people are awed by the bright lights and all. What they dont see and experience is the preparation of mixing all those explosive stuf too appropriate amounts to give just the right kind of blast. I have had my experience in productions and you will really be trained how to think at the opposite side of the fence.

My heart aches for those who complain and give unsolicited suggestions as to improve activties. They can look at my garden from the picket fence and bother me as to how to tend to it. If I look into theirs, it will all be just rubbish since they don't have a green thumb. But, I'm really not interested to look, since I have a paradise in front of my porch.

I don't want to quote Exupery.

the magic pencil - the way it should be told

The 2 - St. Alphonsus Rodriguez class was able to garner the first place for the Storytelling Contest for the Sophomores during the English Month. Although much of the work was done a week before the presentation, the class was able to pull out a very vibrant and entertaining presentation. When I gave them the piece - The Magic Pencil, they were very excited to make a show to their audience. Even if there were only twenty participants for the contest, the others were eager to make costumes and props those presenting.

Since these bunch of students were very creative, they end up having an 8-minute performance during the practices. We really had to squeeze everything (not to mention peel off some of the lines and actions, to the dismay of some performers).

I appreciate the work done by Jessa and those involved in the making of the props; Lawrence and the performers for the synchronization of the actions and lines. Both Joede (as Annabelle) and Erika (as the goblin) really brought down the house with their exemplary performances. Ideas from Christie, Donna, Andre and Nicole also were utilized to make the most out of the alloted time limit.

When you actually win three times in a row (Earth Song, Math Jingle and Storytelling), that actually means you won a grandslam, am I right? Congratulations guys!

trees are the kindest things i know...

I have been doing this thing for the second time and boy I made it big this time. I actually made all the first year students (12 sections) plant together at the same time! I had a different strategy last time, but I thought the impact would be a little more felt when they see all their batch mates do the same thing they were doing, and they did.

48 new saplings were planted today. The mini forest had 48 new trees in it. When Manong Bert (my sincerest thanks for the assistance) told me that we would plant the saplings in that area since some did not survive thus leaving some gaps between the rows of trees, I was elated because these new saplings would be with other older trees. I'm no expert in tree science, but it made me think that the new saplings would be more comfortable there (you can now laugh about my hypothesis, sorry science teachers!) Well, I just thought that since the mini forest would be the next attraction some 30 years after today, then these freshmen would be very proud that their trees are there.

It was tiring.

The kids were all around!

Thank you to LC1 06 Volunteers for the assistance (you are meant for greater things).

Doing something good (or should I say great) does make you feel better.

press the button, it's yours!

The launching of the English Month Celebration for this school year was graced by Ms. Kris herself (well, that's Mia really hosting the game show-presentation of activities) for the game show Deal or No Deal. Last year, the department was also responsible for bringing to XUHS Manny Paquiao and Oscar Larios (again, we just had students then who were willing to punched in public) as they fought for the championship match.

This new face in the launching of the departmental activities really get students to anticipate and to be interested to the various contests and activities for them. Since last year's launching, I believe the others have then followed suit.

Performances like these would not be possible without the initiative of the faculty members and the assistance of the Edmund Campion and senior students who got themselves involved. I appreciate those people around who see the vision the way we are able to see it... and in the process made it work.

The idea actually just came out from one of our discussions - and people make it happen. Anili just asked me recently what would it be for the next year... I just had a smile on my face.

make music with the ivory keys

The ivory keys aren't pearly white anymore, I should do some cleaning.

I don't know what it is with me and with power interruptions + piano playing. Hitting those keys seem to be more purposeful when things around you go silent. Even when I was still studying to play the stringed instrument, I always hated it when a lot of background noise could be heard. I love the sound of the piano, from the pianissimo, staccato to the forte. It is way too delicate to be harmonizing with the noise of the vehicles and the karaoke system in the neighborhood. It just can't compete. And as a warrior, I know when to use a weapon when it is very potent.

Last night was definitely the right moment. A series of power interruptions caused everyone to go berserk. Something must be done. And so I sat on the stool and I really poured my heart on those melodies. It's amazing how my fingers still remember where they were suppose to be when needed. It was just like my fingers did the talking, or singing, or whatever. I still commit those usual mistakes I had, but I played with my heart. There was no applause after the sixth song. All was still silent. I guess I lulled everyone to sleep.

an inconvenient truth

Reading an article of Mr. Conrado de Quiros in the Inquirer (Oh, how I adore his columns!) is like going to church listening to a sermon (But he doesn't talk about religion, but of politics and social issues.)

On one of his recent columns, he mentioned about watching (whatever it takes) this documentary of the Vice-President of the United States, Al Gore. There seemed to be a sense of urgency in his "sermon" about how little time we have to actually do something to save the environment. I'm no die-hard environmentalist, but I think we could do something about it. I have been asking people if they have seen it or if (bless them if they do) they have a copy of the film. But to no avail.

And of course, it just slipped my mind, just like any kid in a grown-up world.

How come we find things when we don't actually look for them? Lo and Behold! As I got to the DVD stacks in an undisclosed place (sorry!) I saw it there, with the rest of the new movies of 2007! I grabbed a copy and went straight home.

And I took the truth like a bitter pill.

an advocate's quest

I was able to host the Lecture-Presentation on Eco-Spirituality and Sustainable Development with Ms. Chin-Chin Gutierrez. I do admire her in her quest to help educate others about learning more about themselves, and of course, the environment.

The topic was something novel and interesting in a way that she, her own way (with the help of a presentation), related our existence with our relationships with God, others and the Earth itself. I was a bit skeptic and analytical about it (sorry, that's just me using my head again) since the presentation was, for me, a hodgepodge of ideas to prove a point. I don't know, I guess I just see some grey areas or holes in the analogy and such that presenting it to highschool students would actually distort some of the truths we consider as logical.

Moreover, people seemed to appreciate her performance ( I really got confused if it was her singing, her presentation, or just the mere fact that they are looking at someone who is a part of a soap.)

Again, I appreciate her efforts. She was very cordial and simple, I must say. We had a dinner with her and the rest of the PSTAG Officers and there she was able to share her experience that fateful day when her house caught fire. For me, that was traumatic, but for her, I could sense she is someone strong.

I remember teachers as they jokingly tell me to ask some very "important" questions to her like, "How does it feel working with Sam Milby?" or "Sino ba talaga si Eli?" I wish I could have granted their wishes, but when we met, I knew for a fact that she came with a purpose (which, was not to reveal things in her soap) and she delivered.