habulan at taguan*

*tag and hide-and-seek

what's worse than the summer heat? trying to collect signatures for your clearance so you can graduate IN the summer heat!

it was like playing tag WITH hide-and-seek! 12 signatures, 5 buildings, 2 days... and i'm still not done! "they" were either at meetings, out of the building, in another office, or "get this signature first". add to that their new 4-day work day scheme and my scheduled training at camp rock and tagaytay... i don't think i'll ever get my diploma -- which won't be available until december 2006 anyway!

UP... hanggang sa huli... AAAAARGH!

the *SKWEZ* is back!

*skwez - a very tight hug; initiated by the Phil. delegation to CISV JASPARC/APRW 2004 in Thailand; inspired by a billboard ad

after 2 years, i got a skwez from 3 of my former kids (although they're 17 and 18 years old already) to thailand... AND IT FELT GREAT! gosh! i didn't realize that i missed them that much too! my visit was short and sweet; well worth the time i stole to be late for the village staff meeting (hehehe).

i love my kids! i love skwezes! looking forward to getting more of those next week in jasparc ONE in tagaytay!

p.s. david still smells nice. he still uses the same brand of deodorant ü

jya camp lessons

it's amazing what spending a long weekend with 93 kids could teach 1 adult, me. the adage "never stop learning" was certainly true-to-form.
God all around me
i've always told my students, "lose a game but never lose the lesson." the lesson applies not only to games and contests, but with material things as well. my wallet and cellphone got stolen the night before the kids arrived. i was calm about the whole thing (what's lost is lost, after all) and actually only felt bad about the small things i couldn't have again.
come thursday night prayers, the prayer leader asked the kids to think about God's presence in the day's activities. leave it to foolish me to ask, "where were you, God?" and He replied. "my child, I was in the blanket that kept you warm last night; I was in the people who stayed up with you and worried with you; I was in the shade of the tree that kept you cool this afternoon. you need not look far. I am everywhere. I surround you." cue the tears (i seem to do this every jya camp!). of course, i never doubted that He was there; it was just so strong to hear it come from Him Himself.
only God is perfect.

simple human error can turn what i thought was a well-planned activity into utter chaos. thankfully, calm, common sense, cooperation, and responsibility were a-plenty, and THAT is the perfection God had in mind, no matter how many colors of paper i used.

kids DO grow up

i hardly heard from the COJ kids this year compared to last year; they've successfully blended in with the rest and have made friends beyond school colors. my own niece and nephew hardly looked for me too, except when there was a frog near their bag or a bug in their tent. i guess i needed them more than they did me. it's a happy kind of sad.
family makes for a strong presence

there's nothing like the sight of family members to make you feel so loved. i somehow know that aly and freddie did not only come for their kids, but for me as well. dinner under the tent that night was nothing different from the family gatherings we share... and we were surrounded with friends we considered "family" as well. then there were the COJ parents and classmates from JOD, and my boss (not to mention her daughter, who now lovingly calls me "ninang", that stuck by me all saturday night). ligaya has become my family.

i signed-up to serve the jya camp and got served instead. there really is no losing when you serve the Lord. i truly am BELOVED.

fini!

as of today, school is officially OVER! WOOHOO! i may not have my clearance yet (ergo, no final pay yet), but i don't care! it's DONE! (why we always end so late, i may never know.)

here's my summer to do list:

• catch up on my sleep (only had 40 mins. on thursday)
• stay up late voluntarily to catch up on movies i've missed
• get a well-deserved massage!
• get ready for camps (plural!)... unless i decide to take on the invite to the brazil village (decisions, decsions!)
• hopefully, i get to "play" with mama aly and teacher mae this summer
• spend many hours in the pool with my nieces and nephews
• read a new book
• try a new recipe (hmmm...)
• have cabinet made so i can move out of miguel's soon-to-be-room
• get away from the city (training in tagaytay for cisv does not count!)
• drink more yakult! hahaha!

i just want to be brain dead for a month before i have to report back to work in may.

a girl could dream

it was a fantasy come true! me, sleeping in a room... with 12 boys all to myself!

thing is, they were from grade 1 to grade 6. hahaha! so much for cradle camp :)

good news

got a phonecall from one of my UP professors in the middle of a ligaya meeting this morning...

I PASSED MY COMPRE!
woohoo!

what a relief!! i'm so glad that i don't have to redo any portion!

thank you! thank you! thank you to all of you who prayed for me and prayed over me and to those who had more faith in me than i did in myself.
you can all just call me MASTER from now on. hahaha!

my first

lactobacili shirota strain. yakult. i had my first bottle today (thanks to a pre-schooler's loot bag) and guess what... i actually like it!

who would've thunk it?! :)

now i understand why my nieces drink so much of it. gosh, i have so much catching up to do! hahaha!

here's my disclaimer: just because i tried my first yakult does not mean, in any way, that i will EVER eat ampalaya (bitter gourd) or dinuguan (what my dad would explain to our foreigner guests as "chocolate meat." hehehe).

time well spent

i have always been a believer in sharing. after all, all we have belongs to God and we are merely stewards of what He "lent" us.

in the wake of the leyte landslide tragedy, several calls for donations came out and are still coming out. i never realized the extent of the destruction until i saw the pictures. when things like that happen, you pray... and you stir. i have to do something!

it was very apt that at around the same time, the first reading from the bible was about sharing with the less fortunate. i was convicted. i had neither money nor old clothes to give. then i realized that what i DID have was time... time to forward emails for a drive collecting relief goods, and today, time to volunteer in the relief center.

i worked for 2 hours, but it sure was 2 hours well-spent. together with 6 other "young" volunteers, we sorted sacks and sacks of clothes into male, female, children, and rejects. the activity made me see a whole genre of clothes, not to mention material (gabardine, spandex, wool...). it was hard work. it was tiring. but it was also a lot of fun and fulfilling.

there's a lot more that needs to be done. there are mountains of clothes waiting to be sorted. inside the building (we were outside), more packing was being done. i'd be more than glad to do it again. :)

so, if you're free and able, why not pitch in?

looking for intelligence

a little anecdote for your entertainment

on free days, i help coordinate weddings for coordinator-friends of mine. last sunday, i did such a thing.

one of the tasks assigned to me and another friend was to look for "intelligent men" to handle the confetti cannons (they came with detailed instructions) towards the end of the mass.

i spotted a couple just outside the church doors. i had seen them inside the church earlier. the man looked intelligent enough in his suit so i decided to go and ask if he could be one of my cannon bearers. my friend followed suit and approached another man outside, wearing a barong tagalog (i.e., traditional Philippine formal wear for men).

when asked if he could be of help to her, this was his apologetic reply: "ah, kasi, may hinihintay din ako eh. ako kasi yung sunod na kakasalin." (i'm just waiting for someone. you see, i'm the groom of the next wedding.)

MWAHAHAHA! :)

yet again

when history repeats itself, it loses its novelty.

take people power, for example. the first one was thrilling; the second had steam, but no umph. the third time was not a charm, nor were the ones that followed. coup d'etats and their attempts are the same thing.

after a while, these things become bothersome, not to mention disruptive to the economy and personal schedules.

maybe they happen too much too often because we fail to learn the lesson or take the lessons seriously. and in the end, we, as country, are not taken seriously.

it's sad. it's pitiful. it's sickening.