Jellyum Lychee Nata de Coco Jelly

I am munching Jellyum Lychee flavored nata de coco jelly. I love its slimy texture flow down to my throat easily, while its flavor retains in my mouth making my breath smells like this tasty fruit that I used to put in mom’s original recipe gulaman.
It is my treat to my throat. Yesterday, I emceed the Ginebra San Miguel Flair Idol 2009 at the Rizal STadium in Vito Cruz, Manila.
When Dr. Gloria Baken Wong- Siy, dean of College of Hospitality and Tourism Management of Trinity University of Asia and president of AAHRMEI, the association of HRM and Tourism professors, handpicked me to be the emcee for the said event, I immediately said yes. She informed me that talent fee is only P3000, quite low as compared to other big events that give much budget for the master of ceremonies. But still I accepted the offer because I might get the break that I need to be discovered. She said that Nicole-hiyala of 90.7 Love Radio will join me by 5:00 pm and the event will also be televised in Channel 13 or 9, I guess.
So yesterday, I did not sleep at all because I need to be in the stadium early in the morning so I can secure a good parking slot and be able to prepare for my hosting job. The program says registration will start at 6am and my hosting at 8:00 but I do not know what happened. The program started at 9:30. I am already sweating. The morning should be devoted to the elimination round of pulutan showdown and flairtending but it extended until the mid of afternoon. I wasn’t given a break, and I can’t go out because I need to keep the audience alive inside the hot and humid stadium. I only ate the 1-pc burger steak that Mark Adem gave me when the flair idols are performing, one spoonful at a time.
The two events ended and its time for the final showdown. But since we’re running out of time, the events went on simultaneously, with only one host to take care of introduction and summary.
Later, a high ranking official of GSM talked to me, asking me to prolong the segments so that the concert of Shamrock and Spongecola will begin by 8:00 and not 7:00 as stated in the program. But there is still Mr. and Ms. Flair Idol to take care of. We were not able to make it on time, and I had to go home without finishing the program, disappointed in some ways, that only I can explain.
Emceeing a big event like this is really a gargantuan task. Everybody thinks that I am part of the committee so all of their concerns are given to me. Crowdpleaser Dino did not disappoint them. I took care of their simplest problems like blender that is not working, to big things like complaints and pleads. Yet in the end, some people still blamed me for things that are beyond my control.
Papa Jack (90.7 Love Radio, not Nicole) got mad at me because I introduced Shamrock and it’s his spiel. He did not know that the floor director gave me that instruction.
I got embarrassed because the organizers of Mr. and Ms. Flair Idol did not orient me with the sequence, and I ran out of spiels while I was in the stage.
Shamrock entered the stage when we are not yet finished with the Mr. and Ms.
A professor shouted at me because she found out that I allowed a barista to perform when he did not appear on the time allotted to him. At that instance, that is the best judgment that I can make. More issues can be thrown at me if I did not allow him.
It was ten o’clock and the show is not yet finished. Audiences are going gaga over Shamrock and I feel I’m useless anymore. I am sleepless, very tired, very hungry (the last food I take are two pieces of empanaditas around 6 hours ago) and I don’t know what to do with Mr. and Ms., as their presentation were held because of a lost bag of a candidate. I did not finished the program. I went home teary-eyed, disappointed, and my chance to be discovered went to the thick and humid air of Rizal Stadium.
Now I’m treating my throat with Jellyum for a work well done (?) and I have finished a pack while I am typing this part.

The busiest days of my life…

Many think that being a professor is just an easy job. They think that sending students to the library or discussing non-sense things are easy escapegoats to take a rest in a sleepy afternoon. But for those who closely monitor my actions, there is one word that’s appropriate for the gargantuan tasks being put on my shoulders — exploited.

Yes I am exploited, but it is part of the contract I signed at the beginning of school year. We are supposed to perform tasks that are assigned to us by our superiors aside from the main task which is teaching. Though there are no monetary remuneration for the extra jobs I am performing, sometimes a pat in the shoulder, shakehands from administrators, treat to a dinner, or even simple kind and heartwarming words are enough to replenish the efforts. Trust is a very good investment that one may reserve for future use.

The first week of February is our university’s founding anniversary. Since my student days, I am being tapped to be part of several committees. Now that I am holding a middle-level position, more responsibilities are being put on my shoulders. This year, I am the chairman of the documentation and sound system committee.

As chairman of the above-mentioned committee, I have to be literally present in all activities, from day 1 to day 7, sun up to sun down, to supervise the photographers, videographers and sound system operators. I have to ensure that they capture through the lenses the highlights of the celebration. We are tasked to produce an annual montage at the celebration. But before that, we had experienced a lot of pre-production like preparing the video presentations for university night, Lupang Hinirang, and Trinity March. It took us three weeks to complete the process.

During the week, I requested 5 student assistants that the HR director Jose Lino Sarmiento gladly approved. We need them badly especially during the big productions like Mr. and Ms. Trinity 2009 and the University Night.

I also shelled out money first because materials and budget for food came late. My car became the service of my committee to transport equipment from the school to another venue.

But aside from these tasks, I was also requested to be one of the two emcees for the pageant. I do not know if I did well on stage but as per self-assessment, I think I got 7 out of 10. Mr. Sarmiento also asked me to direct the university night which turned out very well. I got positive response.

Last night is the last activity of the celebration. And papers have gathered in top of my table. I haven’t checked the midterm examinations of my students yet nor computed their midterm grades and the deadline is fast approaching. If I may add, by Monday, we’ll have a research grand prix, courtesy of my professional organization and I have a part in the program. My students will be competing in this grand prix. Accreditation (?) and ISO certification is fast approaching, as well as our bid for autonomous status and for sure, more paper works are in store for us.

It’s hard to be in my position. Slowly, I will accomplish these tasks. I just did it last week!

Fondest Memories of My Childhood

I am writing this blog because this might be the only time I have to reminisce my childhood years. A lot of things have changed and somehow, I want to share to my readers what I experienced which I know will never be experienced anymore by this and the future generation.

I grew up in a village around eight kilometers away from the town proper. I can still remember I was very young then when I first wondered why I was born in the boondocks. What if God gave a twist in my life and made me born in the city, or in another province, let’s say in Mindanao, or in another country? I could have been enjoying a very different life.
My parents are both elementary school teachers. They teach at the barangay school in the next village. We are poor. We live only in a house made of splitted bamboos and anahaw leaves for the roof. It is elevated few meters from the ground. We have a spacious balconaje where my sisters Ethel and Myra play. Ethel is already grown up then and I seldom see her because she was studying then in Manila. Myra, on the other hand, was my worst enemy. We always argue on everything. Probably because of our eight years gap. My favorite toy then is a duckling with wheels. I inherited it from my cousins in Manila. Lola Loring, dad’s mom, brought it to me one time she went to our province.
I have a few playmates then, mostly our neighbors. We play a lot of outdoor games ranging from bahay-bahayan, taguan, barilan, and the likes. Sometimes, they let me join them in shepherding their carabaos. We ride at the paragos and endure the whippings of bushes in our bodies. My first time was terrible. I panicked because I thought that the paragos will turn upside down. Only when my elder neighbors assured me that it never will because of its design that I calmed down.
During the month of May, all children from our village are instructed to participate in Mother Mary devotion. We search the wilderness for wildflowers and other colorful stuffs to toss to the image of Mary when we parade her to the altar. My most favorite then is the fire tree. I am very amazed with its color – yellow-orangy with lollipop-like pistils.
May 15 is the feast of San Isidro Labrador, the patron of farmers. Our town celebrates it with aranyas at baluartes. My mom always bring me to the town proper to see the sights and wait for the procession. When the image of the saint passed by a balwarte, all stuffs like fruits, vegetables, coconuts, and other agri-products are being dropped from arches, causing a friendly chaos among people who try their best to get their share of loot. One time, my mother got engaged with her tete-a-tete with Ninang Mila that she forgot the time of procession. When we checked the baluartes, nothing’s left except for the trash that the commotion created.
I also remember Nanang Lilia and her stories of horror. She’s our neighbor and the mom of my playmates. Sometimes, when mom doesn’t allow me to go with her at work, she leaves me to Nanang Lilia’s custody. Inihabilin is the tagalog term for that. I usually cry when she doesn’t allow me to go with her but I got used to it after many months. One time, they have a night affair in the school and it’s already 10:00 in the evening. Nanang Lilia prepared my bed in their house and I began my silent cry. Then I saw her and Tatang Sonny put the buntot-pagi and bolo on their bedside. I ask them why and they began telling me stories about mananangggal and tikbalangs. I think I was gullible then that I believed in the stories at least for that night but I am not afraid. I don’t know, but I am just not afraid of them.
Sometimes, when my parents leave me at the neighbor’s house, I wander around our area. I put on the medal of my dad (saw it hanging in the wall and its nice to wear) and walked until I find something interesting. My uncle Johnny then maintains a tupada. It’s a cockpit made out of bamboo and usually illegal. I would peep in the cockpit wearing that medal and rub elbows with people I do not know. Now that I am already old and I realize my stupidity then, I can’t help but smile.
I have a lot of memories and I have to put it in record so I will not forget it. Some are already scattered in the corners of my mind and I know I am in the verge of losing them. But I am happy that I was able to experience it. Not all people were able to catch dragonflies and chase fireflies at night. Not everyone danced and sang in the rain with playmates and went to the river to catch talangka and hito afterwards. Not everyone hiked from one village to another because the road is too muddy for vehicles to pass by (actually I did not hike, I was carried by an elder neighbor in his shoulders).
In the age of starbucks and facebook, these are treasures that only a few enjoy.

Who are you going to choose…?

They say that some persons are very good in advising problems especially when it comes to the matters of the heart, yet they find it dificult to solve their own love problems. The same is true for me. And I am in the tip of a stiff cliff right now, and I have to decide before I fall down.

Who are you going to choose? It’s really a tough question and it needs a very careful examination of all facets so the decision wouldn’t be immatured.

I am happy when I am with person A. With ___, I feel secured and protected. Nevertheless, we shared more than  four years of good friendship and we have finetuned each other’s differences. I have a lot of good memories with ___. And many times I realized that ____ is willing to risk ___ life for me. Friends who know me well know who ___ is and can attest to the strength of our special friendship that has withstood the test of time. Lately when I realized that ___ still values me the way __did before, it made me want to take a u-turn and find ___ side where I am so much happy. If not for some instances that made us part ways, I know I will still be by ___ side. The problem is ___ has an excess baggage now, but I don’t care. If __ agrees, I even want ___ son to be mine. But I think the biggest obstacle is that ___ is not ready for us, yet ___ gives everything and every effort to let me feel that I am loved and important.

Person B is different. _____ is the impossible dream, the unreachable star. And when I am with ___, I know I am wearing a crown that is the envy of others. ___ is always there, readily available always for me. We share the same likes and dislikes, ____ is the one I always share dinner with, somebody who gives me company in my solitary life in the city. I’ve fallen for ___, yet I did not give my whole heart unlike with Person A. I am now afraid to get hurt again. And so did ___. Anyway, ___ is a star, a million miles away from me, and it is impossible for __ to fall for a commoner like me. Though I am enjoying every moment I am with ___.

This time I want a level-up. I want more than friendship and companionship. Person A gives me love that I need yet __ is not always around to show me that he does. Person B gives me company and boosts my morale and ___ is always (read: always) there for me yet it’s just friendship and companionship.

Who am I going to choose? If I can only make one person out of them…

Noche Buena and Ate Mhy’s 13th Death Anniversary

This year is a very good year. At long last, after 13 years of waiting, we have achieved justice. We won in the case filed by my parents against Bank of Philippine Islands Leasing Company for the untimely death of my sister Myra. And to thank the Lord and Ate Mhy for all the blessings they have given us, we decided to hold a thanksgiving celebration and a mass on her 13th death anniversary last December 26.
I went home on December 22 in my new car (a white Lancer GSR). Ate Ethel and and her family arrived on December 24. She asked me to prepare our Noche Buena because they are already tired from the long trip.
Just like in previous years, my main dish is penne ala carbonara (I already perfected its sauce several years ago), plus I have a ham courtesy of Trinity University. I also made a refrigerator cake and bought some tikoy at the town proper. I also made some lumpiang shanghai for pica-pica. I also opened a red wine,a gift of a fellow professor.
11:30 pm, dad decided to be with my stepmom. Her house is about five kilometers from ours. So my sister’s family and I shared the simple Noche Buena that I prepared.

December 26. Tita Myrna and Tito rey, Kuya Neil and Family, Tita Jing with Raji and Marix, and Ate Vilma and Jess, and some other visitors went to our house for the thanksgiving party. At five pm, we went to church for the special mass for Ate Mhy.
Its nice to see our clan united again, exchanging Christmas gifts and singing in the videoke that dad and Tito Rey prepared. This is really one of the Christmases I wouldn’t forget.[gallery]

The “No” Votes Have It…

December 13, 2008 – I am supposed to go to Gumaca to cast my YES vote in the plebiscite held for the division of Quezon Province. I’ve been very active in the Internet word war in defending my position in the proposed division of my home province. But my dad went to Manila a day before the plebiscite and so I waived my right to be heard. It so happened that the NO votes won in the plebiscite. And I heard there are several cases of vote buying and other forms of it. The NO camp may have won in the battle but we have won the war. It opened our eyes to know who really cares for Quezon and who are the ones who cannot be trusted. As for me and the other YES people, we know now your fate this coming 2010 elections…

So it’s been a while…

Christmas season made me busy that I wasn’t able to have another entry for the past three weeks. Besides, it seems that the owner of the wi-fi signal that I pick up in my room has found that I’ve been hooking up his signal that’s why I don’t have internet connection for the past few weeks. A lot of things happened, and I know my Auntie Marylou has been waiting for pictures and blogs of the Christmas gathering that we had so I will try to recall all the important things that should be put here for record. Happy reading!!

After many Christmases…

I finally got my Starbucks planner. Hehehehe! Every Christmas season, I always look forward on completing my Starbucks stickers so I can avail of their beautifully-designed planners. I am not really fond of planners, in fact a lot of people give different types every Christmas, and I write on them until mid-February only. Last time, at least I was able to write down my schedules until March. But there’s something with the S’bucks planner. It actually feels good to complete the stickers ( this year, it’s 8 featured products and 8 drinks of your choice) because it’s like a reward for patiently waiting to complete the cards. I am not that rich, anyway, to avail P150 worth of coffee everyday.

This year’s planner is not as extravagant as with previous years. I like last year’s design than this one. Nevertheless, this is my reward and I’ll try fill it with my schedules (quite busy person here) until the last day of 2009.

Christmas Escapade at Marikina

Every year, my friends and I never fail to visit the City of Marikina for their Christmas Bazaar, rides and amusements. This year, we visited two attraction sites, the Riverbanks and Riverside.

There are a lot of bargains in Riverbanks ranging from shirts and blouses, toys, gift items, and of course shoes (Marikina is famous for its shoe industry). But we did not buy anything. We just had our food trip. Buttered corn, barbeque, pork intestine, dried squid, calamare, samalamig, indeed we had our fill last night. We also played in peryahan. Our policeman friend Bong perfected the shooting game and took home a cellphone accesory. Lanie, on the other hand, won two fancy glasses and a mug.

After a while we drove to the nearby Riverpark. There are more stalls here and it occupied both north and south banks of the river. Good poloshirts cost P250 only, as well as the checkered walking shorts. But we enjoyed the peryahan more. I was lucky that night to win P300 in color game and P360 in another game (I forgot its name. It’s like choosing a color then a ball will be dropped and if it falls on the chosen color, your P10 will become P120).

We also watched an attraction – a motorcycle rider defying gravity by rounding a big wooden cylinder as high as 15 feet from the ground while watchers are at the top of the cylinder.

We went home happy and satisfied. We had our Christmas escapade without spending much money.

My English 103 (Oral Communication) students, please read…

I am very sorry I wasn’t able to give you the format for the play review that you are going to make which will be considered as your preliminary examination. So instead of e-mailing it to you individually (which is not a good idea), I’ll just post it here. Submission of the review is on December 9, 2008. Please, no late submission. Thanks. SIR DYNES.

In paragraph form:

>synopsis of the play

>consider the following questions in your review:

>> Did the actors pronounce the words correctly?

>> Is the acoustics of the auditorium/ hall/ venue fitting for a play?

>> Are the voices loud enough to be heard by the audience?

>> Did the actors use proper intonation in delivering their lines?

>> Did the non-verbal cues (facial expressions, hand gestures, etc.) compliment the lines?

>> Did you understand the play?

>> What factors contribute to the success/failure of the play?

>> If you are to rate the play in scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, what grade are you going to give?

>> Will you recommend the play to your friends?

maximum of two pages (no folders please, just staple it, and do not include title page. Put your name at the top of the paper). Times New Roman or Arial only. Font size 12. Spacing is 1 1/2. Good luck.