Saturday
Atttended the mock proposal of SophCom. I know i was harsh during the first mock proposal presentation at 9:30 a.m. Surprisingly, my colleague was harsher. It was unexpected. He is not always like that. Some students even cried because of our comments and perhaps because they weren’t able to get enough sleep anymore. They stayed in school right after an activity and worked nonstop on the proposal presentation.

But I was very happy for them. They’ve improved after lunch, when we had the second mock proposal presentation. They were synergized, focused and confident. I do hope they can even do better than what they’ve shown us last Saturday on the actual presentation itself in front of the A-team.

Even if I was really really tired, I brought my dad to the mall. My mom followed us there, too. We had dinner and we chatted about random things. Glad that we were able to bond again. Normally, I am already too tired to go out after work and well my weekend’s mostly spent either still working or meeting backlogs. Whew! Buti na lang may oras ako noong Sabado para sa family bonding.

Sunday

My mom was already nagging me for the past weeks to organize my stuff in my room. I’ve been accumulating books for the past weeks and I had more book purchase again during the bookfair at SMX. I cleaned my room and organized my books. I just realized I have bought more books the past months. I have to stop and read them first before getting new ones.
Well, even so, I am pleased with my purchases. They were the books I really really want. Halfway done with Friedman’s new book. If not for my headache and muscle aches I would have finished that today. Too bad, masama pa ang pakiramdam ko. Naulanan ako last Friday sa field trip trying to help my students get into the bus amidst the heavy downpour. The result? I have colds, muscle pains, and a terrible headache. I could not even stay on the computer for a long time. Naku naku! I should not get sick. My students will be doing the proposal on Tuesday.  I better get some rest. Enough blogging!

Just got home from the field trip. No, we didn’t just arrive from the field trip site. I was stuck with some colleagues a while ago to chat and to update each other. But the field trip today was great! Indeed better than last year’s. I had to say better because of the mere fact that it suited the learning style of the students. No other meanings intended for that.

The students were exposed to the lifestye of training would-be soldiers. It wasn’t easy, of course! Yet to experience how difficult it could be was perhaps one of the most meaningful experiences my students had in this field trip. Hohummmm..yeah, getting tired…seems like I can’t finish this tonight. So to just cut this short, I’d like to say the trip was fun and indeed a bonding moment for us all!

I have to sleep soon. I still have to face the SOPHCOMM tomorrow in their mock proposal presentation, finally one I can call a real preparation.

Good night.

Even if I really feel sleepy I have to blog this so that I won’t forget.

Today’s a very busy day. I had no breaks, lots of meetings in between my classes. I actually had fun. It was fun to be busy. One learns something new everyday. I learned to enjoy whatever each moment offers. It has to be one’s state of mind, too. I had to focus and concentrate on what I can learn from those busy moments I had to deal with.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed all my classes today. The sessions were meaningful. Students were asking the “right questions.” They’re beginning to be critical thinkers and it’s a very good thing. I want to at least help them learn that before they reach third year. It’s one good goal for the entire  year because it is indeed difficult to achieve and usually hard to measure or couldn’t be measured at an instant.

Meetings were cool today. The year level meeting I had with my colleagues were fruitful. We were able to talk about the project. Guidelines were set. I had to work double time this weekend though to finish the draft of the project specs and guidelines for students.

Hmm..and yes..tomorrow. I am excited. It’s our class field trip. I hope it will be fun and meaningful and no donwpour. I hope students will be safe so we will all have fun.

…………..on another note, I greeted Pau and we were able to talk last night. Hmm..that will be another entry….but right now I need to hit the sack. Tomorrow’s a long day again…a long but happy day hopefully.

So I still am trying to blog even if my day was swamped. I woke up late but of course not too late to miss my classes. I was just not being my normal self lately.  I still want to be functional. I get into one of these moods again but it’s not because of anything else. I only feel generally tired. However, I do not let myself be carried away by my moods so even so I made my day productive.

I went to my classes and today was unexpected. My classes all performed well in their respective mock peace talks. They were not only great performers but they were also great researchers. They researched well on what their respective roles were aiming for or were fighting for. Most of them even brought with them documents and statistics that will back their claims. I wish some of our government officials can learn from them. Preparation is one of the keys to an efficient system.

After my classes, I managed to still visit my students who were playing for the Intramurals. We won 3-0 against another class. My students reported to me. They said we had teamwork. Finally, my class is beginning to understand and imbibe teamwork into their systems. How I wish I can at least leave that to the class as a legacy…or perhaps even better than that is to see all of them succeeding because they were great team players and great at understanding one another.

I disciplined myself today. After dropping by the Office of Student Activities, I decided to go home. I badly wanted to finish Friedman’s book but I know I really can’t unless I try to allot at least one hour per day for reading. So before facing the computer again, I squeezed in an hour of my evening for reading his newest book. I was very very engrossed in reading but I know I had to still work on several things and I badly need to get on the computer and finish writing down minutes, finalizing my powerpoints and of course finalizing my LPs for next week.

God knows I am already looking forward to my weekend. I want to just keep on reading and reading and reading until at least I finish three books this week. Well impossible in fact…I have to prioritize workloads. Well, time management.

Traffic jam. No system in place for cabs, jeepneys, and even cars. Too crowded (which actually makes businesses there happy but not SM goers in particular). Too narrow (for hallways inside the mall).

Of course, on top of it all, I will not go back there because I never like malls in the first place!

I had to see the place to get sponsors for SophNight. Naku, I think I am not really made for those places. Or maybe I am just getting old. Haha.
Well, at least I was able to eat at TOSH with my parents. Seafood marina is still the best! We were able to do grocery together. And at least I got myself some DVDs from CDR King. Hehe.

Nothing new. I teach. I check. I record scores. I meet my moderating class. I attend meetings. So what was new?

We were able to get Goldilocks as benefactor for SOPHNIGHT, an event attended by sophomores to raise funds for the TD program of the school. We made an official deal with Snowcone as a food booth sponsor. More meetings and an afternoon meeting with the Faircomm Sponsorship team.

I think I missed doing brand work and so I enjoyed working with students in getting more sponsors for the SOPHNIGHt and for the fair.

Other news? Well, Pau’s birthday’s coming up. My brother just had his first week at work and he’s survived it. Hehe. I need to prepare for my classes for this week (and that means do my LPs)…I will have to write letters again for the Oct 11 event of AP (reservation of venue, equipment, etc.)…and a PTC with parents tomorrow.

I didn’t mean that in a bad way. It was one crazy weekend! A fun fun fun weekend! Many firsts! It was my first time to see Mall of Asia (I don’t like malls) but only because books lured me to the venue. I went to the bookfair with my dad last Saturday. I was there the day before that but of course I did not enjoy that much. We were restricted by time and most of my colleagues needed to go back to school to attend to their other appointments.

It was my first time to actually go to the bookfair. My friend Nald kept on telling me that it was great but I always do not enjoy crowded places shopping for books. This time I was into it. I had fun, soo much fun!

I was able to get Friedman’s book at National with a 20% discount. I was able to get my own copy of Planet India at A Different Bookstore for only 300 bucks! Plus, I got four more hardbound books for less than a thousand! Naku, I went gaga over all the books there! It was a productive Saturday for me! My dad also got his own books, his most wanted, at a discounted price!

Books, books, books! My greatest weakness!

Anyway, my dad and I were able to go around Mall of Asia, well the area nearest only to SMX. We ate for a while and decided to go home. Shops and a crowded place are a total turn off for me. It would have been great if there are nice places near the waters of Manila instead but not commercialized ones please!

It was worth it! Now, I am reading Friedman and I hope to finish it immediately (hopefully).

This weekend was fun!

I spent Saturday in UP Diliman. I was with some students. I managed to drop by Socio-Anthro with a colleague. Unfortunately, the office was no longer open. I took that as a sign that maybe I am not yet ready  for higher studies this second semester. Perhaps, a better time or a better opportunity is going to present itself to me.

I spent Saturday evening with my parents. We watched a movie at Gateway and had dinner after that. We were able to chat. Spending time with them is beginning to be a regular activity. It is something I should be grateful for.

I spent the whole day of Sunday in bed…I slept, slept and slept. I woke up late afternoon, and slept again. I started working late evening, around 8 p.m. And yeah, until now, I am working. I don’t think this is even healthy. Yet, I feel like I deserve to have my weekend to myself. It was not enough but at least I was able to rest lest I don’t think I will still be sane enough to face my workload.

The past week was still hectic. I expect the coming weeks will be more hectic. I keep my books beside me just to make sure I can remember to escape for a while from my usual routines. My books allow me to see beyond my present environment. It was good that I keep at least one in my bag everyday. I need to at least remember other things happening to the outside world or to another world where I do not belong. It helps me keep myself refresh and ready for whatever work I must do.

This coming week seem to be a rather busy week for me. My students in my moderating class will be having a recollection on Thursday. Unfortunately, I cannot stay with them the entire day. Thursdays remain to be the most hectic day of my week. I will have more than four meetings this week, too. Well, I am not complaining. In fact, it feels like I just started my school-year….my real school-year…the school-year I want and I expect to be. I love to work with students on school activities. I believe that even though I love to teach inside the classroom, my passion remains  with extra-curricular activities I can do for the school. I hope I can balance both.

On other news,  I think I will try take my brother’s challenge. Well just for fun, I will take up the exam he’s also planning to take.

I should be happy today. I did not have to teach. My only class joined the other three classes I teach this year in a field trip. Yet I did not feel today was a rest day. I finished my grades the night before but I had to stay up really late to finish all of them for all my sections. I hardly had energy for whatever form of activity the following day. Yet, I feel like I am beginning to find my source of happiness again. And today, I found them in the following:

Discussions I had with 3 students from A and M

I was able to know my students more and how they actually think about issues. Given that they are student debaters I can already point out the ability of these three young men I was with earlier when I proctored them for AP period. It was an intellectual discussion spiced up with wit and humour by these three students. These students are promising. I do hope they can keep their idealism when they finally face the real world. I enjoyed chatting with them and I will forever remember this day. It’s an intellectual conversation and a sharing of views and values.

Lunch with a true friend

I bumped into a good friend of mine on my way to the cafeteria. We decided to eat lunch together. So what was significant about the lunch meeting? It was the fact that we were able to talk about light matters – books, business, feelings. Sana mas malimit pa ang mga ganitong sharing.

Blessed to have heard “angels” sing

My colleague requested me to accompany him in an exhibit venue. He’s about to close the venue and was in need of someone to just be there with him. I did. It was a blessing I did. A world-renowned choir was passing by on their way to their presentation and decided to view the exhibit first.

While inside the exhibit room, the member kids of the choir looked into the holy images there and sang a prayer for the images. It was the best choir I have heard so far in my life….they’re like angels singing…serenading the holy images…and us…mesmerized and totally stunned…they’re simply amazing

Sat in a mock proposal presentation

I was invited to attend the mock proposal presentation of the third year students. I immediately said yes to my colleague. It was one of those I love doing, to work with student leaders…and with colleagues who are also passionate about training student leaders. The presentation went well and comments were given. What made me appreciate the experience was the fact that I learned new things from them while at the same time I was able to share  with them what I also learned in the past. Very satisfying for me not just as a teacher but as a person.

Hmmm….I think I am beginning to really get back on my old true self. Sana tuluy-tuloy na….

I lack sleep. Yet when I got home I decided to face my computer and finalize the grades for all the sections I am handling this year. I just finished a few minutes ago. Salamat sa Diyos tapos na!

Thursday Sked

After experiencing my first Thursday schedule for the second term I realized my Thursdays will really be challenging! Puno ang lahat ng periods! May mga meetings pa na hindi siyempre pupuwedeng baguhin. My moderating class also has an 8th period! Talagang nakakapagod! Pero sabi nga, magtiyaga. Kaya ko ito!