The Ocean of My Being

The past week was wonderful... and busy. At work... I had to work from 8 o'clock in the morning up to 6 o'clock in the evening for the past two weeks. I love and enjoy teaching, but teaching every single hour of the day (from 9am-6pm) with just 5 minutes interval per session can be tough. Especially when you're working with a group of students with different levels of proficiency in English. Add the fact that you're doing this online (through the Net). Sometimes, there are sessions where some of the students are almost as good as native speakers already, some intermediate, some just beginning and some can barely speak English. You have to always be up your toes and make sure nobody feels left out or nobody manipulates and/or dominates the whole session. You have to make sure nobody gets bored or loses interest. You have to make sure that each of the students understands everything. And, you also have to make sure not to rub them the wrong way and always keep in...

All my life, I have been an animal person. I've always loved animals. Freaky as it may sound, I can even touch the friendlier house mice/rats and give them some pats. I remember when I was in high school, at one of the very few times that we didn't have a cat at home, we had rats. They were weird because they were not scared of us. When we passed by them, they just continued doing their thing and minding their own business. My sister, I remember, would freak out and all. As for me, I tried befriending the rats. And, it came to a point when I could actually sit near a rat and run my fingers through its soft-furred body. The only thing I never liked about them were their tails, especially very long ones! Those very weird tails, weird in a negative/bad way! But, despite that, I could still play with rats. Now, I still can but I don't because I've found out how dirty they can get! I've had cats, dogs, goats, fish, chickens, ducks, and geese for pets. I'...

I've been really busy with work. One of our co-teachers accidentally broke her arm, so we have to substitute for her. It has been quite exhausting so that as soon as I get back to the dorm after dinner everyday, I'd just wash up and get immediately in bed and doze off. When I do get to my PC and surf the net, I just check the latest soccer news, read some of my regular reads and then I'd decide to turn the PC off and just hit the sack... again! The weekend was supposed to be my rest time, but my mom came for a visit (all the way from Mindanao), so I went around with her and my aunt. We had such a great time together. And then, of course, my Kuya A also came to Manila for an interview and, so, we also got together. The guy's actually one of my favorite people in the world. It was so nice seeing him again and hanging out with him again after four years! We just laughed and laughed the whole time we were together. Oh, I miss the old days. And, it was also fun to...

Today is a very special day for we celebrate the women to whom we owe our lives. We celebrate our mothers! :) I don't really know how and where the idea of having a Mother's Day started, but I really like the idea. Sure, it has become another grand day for the capitalists and all, but, it's still the day that honors the most important women in our lives! I feel so proud and lucky to be my mom's daughter. She's the kind of mom that transforms the world into an ocean of colorful and golden rainbows. In the book of my life, pages upon pages are filled with beautiful stories, great thoughts and pink dreams because of her mere existence and presence. Her love for us, her children, is so unconditional and so true it makes me cry and smile at the same time. She may drive me nuts at times; that makes our bond stronger. I can go on and on about my mom, but words are just not enough to capture how I feel about her. Today, I would also like to honor my two grandmother...

I've been quite busy the past days as I've come back to work after being on-leave since last year. I just cannot let this day pass without thanking Miss Ala Paredes for my new layout. I know it's not very easy to decide on a design for somebody as " sabog " as I am, but Ala did such a great job and the layout came out exactly as I wanted it to be (not that I actually had an idea of how I wanted it to look like). It's perfect! The new layout is just sooo... ME! I'm in seventh heaven just looking at it! :) Ala, doumo arigatou gozaimashita! :)

My long-time wish came true last April 13th when I boarded the plane that took me back to my beloved Mindanao! As I've always said, ever since I came to Manila, my trips home have become the most awaited parts of the year(s) for me. Going home would always do me wonders. And, this year, the timing couldn't have been better. God is great! Life is good! :) I went home for my Grade School and High School Alma Mater's Grand Alumni Homecoming. My trip wasn't really planned. I was feeling a little sad because I really thought I couldn't go. But, my mom felt that I'd miss a lot if I didn't go (I sure would have), so she sent for me. I was just so happy! The Homecoming was great! It was a 4-day-celebration. We had a motorcade, a torch parade, bonfire, inter-batch sports fest, parlor games, outreach, parties and looots of catching up with old friends! It was great remembering, talking and laughing about high school times. We (my batch) didn't win any...

These past days, I've been feeling a little sad about some development in the life of one of my best friends, Dean . He's actually my closest guy friend. You see, his family wants him to marry soon. This isn't really new to me (us) because his family (aunts, uncles and mom) have been urging him to choose a girl and have been going around our place searching for the perfect girl for him for a long time now. And, finally, around December of last year, they found her. They told Dean about her and Dean was okay with the idea, but, of course, he had to see the girl first. We joked about the whole thing. Every time he would think of going home to visit his family, I'd tease him endlessly about the possibility of coming back married and all. Last Friday, I went to see him off at the Centennial Airport. He went home to get away from the heat here in Manila! Again, we joked about his getting married soon. I seriously asked him how he really felt about it and he said ...

I am a quarter of a century old today. To my Sanggumay Diyosa family, thank you so much... Makahilak man sad ta ninyo, oi. ******** For my 25th birthday entry , I shall list down (top) 25 things I want to do or achieve in my lifetime. The list is in no particular order. 1. Go to Hajj (pilgrimage). 2. Go study or work for a while in Japan. 3. Watch my favorite soccer team ( Juventus ) play in person and see my biggest crush, the love of my life David Trezeguet , in action. 4. Teach at the Mindanao State University (Marawi Campus) and try to make a difference in young people's lives the way some of my teachers did. 5. Train and develop young Meranao people in every field I have knowledge and skills/talent in. 6. Watch the APO Hiking Society perform in person. 7. Learn at least eight different languages. By this, I mean really know the languges in the sense that I'd be able to read, write, understand and speak the languges fluently. (At present...

I remember asking Balbonics what her New Year's Resolution was back in January 2004. She jokingly answered, " stop waiting for inspiration! " I remember laughing about that because I knew what that meant. Balbs and I are very much alike in our approach to our studies, you see. We are both "crammers" and we would sometimes come to class half prepared for certain reports or recitations. While our classmates were comparing notes about their readings and all, Balbs and I would be very busy rushing or finishing the last few parts of our reports or our readings. Despite this, Balbs and I would often just laugh about everything. Yeah, we could laugh because we would usually do okay almost all the time. ( Oh man, Balbs, I miss you so much tuloy... ) Anyway, at this moment, I am trying to finish, make that rushing to finish, a paper on language theories. I'm supposed to trace the history of language studies on a map or a timeline and I'm to situate t...

Today, as I was bloghopping, I hopped into a blog dedicated to one of the most beautiful little girls I've ever seen. Her name is Isabel. As I read through the entries, I knew what I had to do. Let me introduce her to you. This is Isabel Lynn Coupland. She's Filipino-American. She will be five years old on the 20th of March. Her beautiful smile would tell you what a sweet little angel she is. She's a happy little girl, not different, I guess, from other little girls her age. But, sadly, on May 7th, 2004, she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Stage IV. I have always been one to believe in the power of prayers. Thus, I am asking everyone who reads or comes across this blog to please help pray for little Isabel. I can only admire her strength. Her beautiful smile truly serves as an inspiration... :) -- We can also help by sending her cards or letters to show her that she is not alone in her battle. Here's the addy: Isabel Coupland 5000 Inspiration Dr. Hilliard, O...