TA-DAH!!

after a 3-month absence, I'M BACK! to my fans, i'm so sorry and i missed you too! mwa-ha-ha! having to share 1 computer with a "workoholic-insomniac-retired (?)-working-mom" doesn't make blogging easy... and then there's the work part of the sked to deal with, and our internet connection sucks, too!

well, thanks to a self-imposed leave to study for my comprehensive exams, i finally found a vacancy in mom's pc use... a gem, believe me! i may only have a few for this so let's get on with it!

highlights of the last 3 months, in no particular order...

SAGADA!
i told ree i'd write about this. spent the sem break with 7 other adventurers whose only common denominator was my friend, riya. hence, we were known as chopsuey, inc. twelve hours after leaving manila - including breakfast and coffee in baguio - chopsuey, inc. finds themselves in sagada.

sagada is one place i'm glad i visited before i turned 40. our big accomplishment was that we did the cave connections where you enter one cave and come out another one... 5 hours later! considering that my very first blog was on caving in tuguegarao, let me just say that these caves are WAY more challenging, fun, daring, and scary... but i still love anton c. imagine rapelling from a 45-foot cliff with just a rope tied to a rock -- no harness, no helmet, no first aid kit... also, no guts, no glory. and THAT was just one part of what we had to do in the dark. i'm not so sure i'd recommend the activity to my friends thinking that putting their life in danger was MY idea! we later found out that only crazy people like us would do the cave connections.

we trekked down (the easy part) to the big falls the next day... over, around, through and into (i have the scar to prove it) rice terraces. the sight of the falls was AWESOME! it humbled me knowing that only God can make something as beautiful and powerful as the big falls. a swim in the pool and a packed lunch later, we made our way up again ( the hard part). back in manila, i again found out that grappling over boulders to get to the pool was another thing only crazies did (duh).

there's much, much more to be said about the chopsuey adventures (my bad). this much i know... i have to go back there one day, probably through the back route (batad, banawe). wanna?

MIGUELI
since october, he has...
- been accepted in the ateneo (halikinu!)
- learned how to tell time (not with a digital clock, mind you)
- learned how to tie a bow (and wrap Christmas gifts... no accounting for neatness)
- started piano lessons (albeit the sked has been very erratic)
- been a ring bearer to my bro's wedding... which brings me to...

DENNIS and ESSIE's WEDDING

a great Sulit affair, if i may say so. we finally fitted our gowns and got all dolled up. the effort was well worth it. i have never seen my brother so happy! come to think of it, i had never seen him dance until that night either!

it was a very nice ceremony... short, personal, and sweet. food was good; drinks were flowing; firewroks were a nice touch, too!

my sis-in-law (SIL), essie, is in the house now, very much a part of the family. i really like her. hey, she got my brother to pray and go to mass again... she's good in my book!

CHRISTMAS 2005

did my Christmas shopping for the kids this year with frankie (she begged for my help - haha!). still, Christmas would not be the same without a shopping day with mama aly. it's been some sort of a tradition, like thanksgiving at her dad's and new year's at our place. i'd chuck a wedding just to shop with her during the holidays - which i did (hehehe). well worth it!

i also hosted my annual ateneo college barkada dinner - a 15-year tradition - for the first time! the pressures of being a hostess! the meal was a year in the making since someone had the bright idea that hostesses HAVE TO have souvenirs. well, the theme and cuisine was chinese. thank God for divisoria chinese take out boxes and tita lanelle fernando's soy pots! it also helped that i know the number of hap chan's dimsum supplier :)

going on it's 21st year tradition was my high school barkada Christmas party - also hosted at home. there's around 10 of us in manila, half of which are married with an average of 3 kids per family. do the math on that and shop for all those, plus the moms. not to forget that 4 or 5 of the kids are godchildren so their gifts are a little more special. then again, what's Christmas without the frazzle, right?
PYRO OLYMPICS

what kid doesn't like fireworks? I LOVE 'EM! i'm sorry, but it gets me jumping and screaming like a little girl. got to see the pyro olympics with jali twice on the week that it was hosted. we were there on the first day, on the wall in front of the barge, when australia (who won!) showed-off their nautical shells. our connections paid off when we went again 2 days later with the mendiolas of SM. so blessed to have them in my circles. oh, thanks, jali, for the photos! aren't they pur-ty?! i'm looking forward to pyro olympics 2006 with you and anyone else who loves fireworks!

there, among many other things, is 3 months in a nutshell. my mini-entries may not do them justice, but hey, i gotta start somewhere, right? and considering that i even put in photos... not bad!

rise and shine!

back during my schooling days, when i was much younger, my friends and i had these myths about our teachers. we were told that teachers went home late (around 7 p.m.) and were in bed by 8 or 9 p.m. since they had to be in school early the next day. rumor also had it that teachers slept with their feet up against the wall, to return the circulation of blood to their legs from standing on them all day. in other words, "they had no life."

when i got to college, i found this not be unnecessarily true. i once had a professor who came in late for class one day, hair disheveled and unkempt. he gave the class a free cut that day on account that he was still hungover from the night before. not the best example, but it showed me that you can be a teacher AND have a life!

being the night owl that i've always been, the biggest struggle i've always had with being a teacher is the "waking up early" part. far be it from me to complain when my colleagues are up before sunrise, just to commute to get to school on time.

recently, i've been finding myself awake way before the sun is up. it's the only time i get to use the computer since mine conked out a few months ago. but i realize now that what wakes me from my slumber is the dedication i have for my job and the kids that depend on me. it has become more than a job; teaching has become my service.

yes, i've become a "teacher." that having been said, i'm proud to be up early. God has blessed me, enough to have "a life" and yet be of service to Him and His. but let me be the first to tell you, I DO NOT SLEEP WITH MY LEGS UP AGAINST THE WALL!

a place called "sanctuary"

"time stops at the sanctuary." that's what the owner said and she was right!

such a place exists, on a small island in caliraya lake, home to exotic animals and it's weekend owners, peter and esti wallace. the place is beyond words. the common area is very eclectic yet tastefully done. giant masks made into doors, large baubles, totem poles, and carvings infuse to exude a sense of home. the guest cottages are very welcoming, each with a view of the lake and comfort rooms that are really "comfort rooms" (although the glass panels can make you feel a little self-conscious). it's easy to forget where you are... and what you came there for.

and let's not forget the food! i haven't had such a perfect meal in such a long time. we were served sinigang, fried liempo, greeen mangoes with bagoong and crispy shrimps, with buko juice as beverage, and capped with karioka and mint tea for dessert. everything was so tasty; just enough to whet but not overwhelm. and this is homecooking, mind you! we almost forgot that we were there to visit their campsite for next year's youth camp! (the campsite was a great one too, by the way.)

i hope camp gets to be held there next year.

miguel "gets smart"

once every semester, the preschool children are assessed on their developmental skills. it's a one-to-one visit with the teacher so there are no regular classes on those days. miguel had his yesterday.

when i got home yesterday...

ninang: how was your assessment?
miguel: fine.
ninang: who else was there?
miguel: toni.
ninang: who else?
miguel: patrick.
ninang: anyone else?
miguel: (pauses and smiles mischievously) yes! spongebob!

har! har! har!

loyalty pays

who doesn't like freebies? for someone who does not win at raffles, getting freebies is especially sweet. and for what, keeping the same mobile number for 11 years? sus! kadali!

what did my loyalty actually get me? P15,500 worth of either bill credit, handset discount, or G-cash. i opted for the last since i only had 5 minutes to decide (pressure!). i'm not fully familiar what to actually do with G-cash. they say i can pay for my pizza (shakey's) and burger (jollibee) plus some school & office stuff from national. they also say that i can cash in my wallet for actual moolah! mwahahaha! not bad for all those years of texting!

the benefits may not be as "hot" as winning an iPod (i'm still weighing if the m&m cd case tops this - haay, babaw...), but these days, you don't get to pick up P15,500 from off the street. so i AM thankful. bow.

back from the dead

celebrating my quasi-resurrection from oblivion... partially due to the proddings (and naggings) of mama aly.

where've i been? you may ask. on the sidelines, mainly. my PC got "fried" (along with some other household gadgets -- including the doobell) during a thunderstorm more than a month ago. since then, i've been an inginual (in tagalog, "singit") to whenever my mom isn't hawking the computer. today, i was especially lucky; she wasn't home when i got here.

so much the sad story. much has happened and much will be detailed - albeit belatedly. in the meantime, on with the show!

mind play... wala lang

got this from my officemate

count the black dots :)

looking good

while in UP, teacher carol asked me if yolando was my father. of course, he was (i gush whenever i say i'm his daughter; i was a "daddy's girl")! when another teacher asked the significance of the name, teacher carol replied, "only one of the best doctors in the country!" hear, hear!

i stumbled on my dad's resume on my mom's dressing room table one morning. it read like an award citation! all his accomplishments on 3 (?) sheets of paper... president of this, chairman of that, medical director of this, awardee for that... teaching posts, positions in both local and international organizations...

i gotta admit, even in death, dad looks good! damn! what a brilliant, brilliant man!

man, i miss him!

fear and an answered prayer

procrastination paved its way for me not to take my comprehensive exam for my MA this august. turns out that my true copy of grades won't be ready for another 2 weeks and the deadline is... tomorrow! hahaha! will take it in february next year and will still finish in time without penalty.

it's an answered prayer (yes, i prayed about this.). i went to UP with all intention to apply for the exams. my college's registrar sealed my fate.

truth be told, i'm not psyched up for this exam... yet. c'mon? five questions in 2 days to summarize everything you learned in 5 years? you gotta admit, THAT is scary (especially when you feel you really learned diddly-squat... moreso when you haven't read a single word from your notes of 5 years!).

after UP, i went home and did the unimagineable... i read my notes in FLCD 201. ooooh! sometimes, i impress myself. hahaha!

from the desk of...

like any other person in the workforce, i always look forward to fridays, especially friday afternoons. it's a day when you can feel proud of the work you've done the days before and guiltlessly repay yourself with a nap as you lounge on the bed. friday also happens to be "playstation day."

a i lay in bed, playing a game of solitaire on my palm, in marches a newly-bathed miguel:

miguel (demanding): ninang, you have to play playstation with me!

ninang: i'm sorry, i never got the memo.

miguel: what's a memo?

ninang: it's a piece of paper with instructions for the day.

without another word, miguel then turns around and runs out of the room. minutes later he comes back with this:

he wrote this all by himself! the only help he asked from yaya was the date today. i easily recognized the format of his memo; it's how we write our board messages in school. kudos to teacher mitch and ashley!

after a hearty laugh, a hug, and a kiss, i then happily proceed to whoop his ass in marvel vs. capcom.