i will be gone for a while...

hello everyone...it's been quite a while since the last time i wrote in my blogs..certain things just kept me so busy especially my summer classes and now the preparation for my thesis proposal at msu-iit...hurray! i am graduating again soon but i am just keeping my fingers crossed that i would be able to make it...with the teaching load i have, my mother-wife role, my responsibility towards my cousins and nephew who lives with me (as their guardian) is quite a tedious obligation...i have to set aside writing and blogging for awhile...i believe that there will be time for this...i just can't do everything...24 hours isn't enough for all the things that i need to do so i have to set priorities...and no matter ow much i love to write, i know this can wait so this has to wait...got to go...research class has already begun...

my nth birthday on bed...

my birthday celebration this year is memorable...i had it on bed...why? because of recurring migraine and fever...at least it wasn't that virus that people nowadays are scared of...it was due to lack of sleep and stress...God is just awesome but i couldn't write any further because i am pretty busy with my class this week...got to see you again when i have extra time...

aroma at aruma

I miss my family! This is my first time to be away from home this long and it’s not easy. I feel so incomplete. I feel like I am a cup of coffee with no sugar and cream. My kids, my sugar, sweeten my life everyday, and my husband, my cream, understands my imperfection. Without them by my side, life is tasteless and if ever there is, it is, so bitter. Being away from home gives me the feeling of nostalgia and the indescribable deep solitude. I really need solace! I know what I actually need in times like these.

When I am tired, or stressed out at work, or missing somebody so bad, coffee works best for me. So I thought of hanging out on a place where I could have a good whiff of coffee. Fortunately, our professor in our writing class suggested that we go to a coffee shop for a writing workshop. How I loved the idea! My heart leaped with joy because I have been dreaming of it. My imagination started to play as i was seeing pure dark cup of coffee giving satisfaction to my senses. Hmmm, there's moist chocolate cake, i couldn't say no to! blueberry cheese cake, so tempting and mouth-watering...and boy, the flourless cake, is a perfect ambrosia!Hey, am I smelling the aroma of brewed coffe, Mocca, Cafe Latte, cappuccino and frapuccino? What else will I get to see, smell and taste in that coffee lounge? I couldn’t wait any more...

They call it Aruma. The place is indeed superbly perfect for me and for anyone who is nostalgic. well, my colleague and i describe it as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! It has a touch of serenity and coolness with its all-white paint. The wall frames are simple and give a youthful glow and spirit. The bulb lights are classy and the room itself has a social touch at the same time, very conducive to clients. The ambiance is perfect for someone like me who is so addicted to coffee and to internet browsing, which is also part of their services. The seats are arranged ideally both for young and old people who have the feel for comfort. The cozy room can accommodate about 30 - 40 people, I think so.

I seated myself along with other 3 colleagues to the farther right side of the coffee shop where I have a good view of the passers by and those who just come inside the shop. I don’t know what’s special about the place, but it is really very comforting. Perhaps, it was the aroma of coffee which is so tempting that makes me really love the place. the place reminds of the first date I had with my husband on our first wedding anniversary at corner cafe, back at Lim Ket Kai Cagayan de Oro. I ordered as usual, our favorite, my husband and mine, brewed coffee and blueberry cheesecake.

I took my first sip of my coffee, with my thoughts wondering back to where my loved ones are. Then I realized how bitter my coffee tastes.. Ah, I was so engrossed with the thoughts of my own home, and the pleasure that Aruma gives me, my home away from home, that I actually forgot to add sugar and cream to my coffee. This has brought me back to reality, coffee without sugar and cream, is really incomplete! Just like me without my family. I miss them so bad. One day more, and I will get to see them again!

Since I am in full blast with my summer masteral classes at MSU - IIT, Iligan City, I will be temporarily away from blogging. i am still adjusting to my schedule as full-time student...be back soon with so many write - ups i wanted to post. i unluckily ran out of time so hopefully i will be able to post them in-between my skeds. whew! this is terrible but i am sure gonna love this summer 2009...so hot and scorching...can't help but sweat...well gurl here i go, sweat it out! i will be back, promise...

just for fun

try these fun and interesting questions..thought might help you unwind especially this lent season...so untimely, but at least you have something to do to keep you busy this week...i actually got this from a friend so want to share it with you. First, get a pen and paper and reflect upon your answer before writing them down...

Has anyone told you they would never leave and left?
* hmmm...yes.too bad...
.
Do you know anyone who would just drop everything to come see you?
* yes! as in but there's no more chance...
.
What is wrong with you right now?
* i have so many things in mind...as if i want to do everything all at a time...i am such in a hurry...
.
What was the first thing you thought when you woke up today?
* i am so blessed today that i don't have to wake up early and rush to school..it's lent season, no office...yupeeeeeeeee!
.
Have you ever faked sick?
* honestly yes when i was young and i didn't want to go to school...
.
Who was the last person of the same sex you had a conversation with?
* bestfriends annie and pinky...we had a conference online...
.
Who is the longest crush you have had?
* orly.
.
What will you be doing tomorrow?
* Read. write. get online and blog around.text.chat with sisters and friends.sleep...
.
Bet you're missing someone now?
* yes...grabe...
.
Do you get along with girls?
* very much...

Where did you get the shirt you are wearing?
* from my closet.(lols)
.
Are your nails painted?
* exactly. it's a metallic purple paint.
.
Ever had someone you like tell you they never want to see or talk to you?
* not exactly someone i like, but it's more of someone i used to get along well then all of a sudden, broke off with our friendship just because the person doesn't like to talk to me anymore
.
Have you ever liked someone older than you?
* nope...most of them were younger than, if not just about my age
.
Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
* yes. i always treasure them
.
Can you whistle?
* a big NO.
.
Do you have a best friend?
* Pinkoy. Nikoy. Tere. Apoy.
.
Who was the last person you took a picture with?
* myself (lols) and elkenth (my baby nephew)
.
Can you skateboard?
* gracious, no!
.
Remember the first time you kissed the last person you kissed?
* of course.
.
Does it take a lot to make you cry?
* just talk about motherhood...
.
Does it annoy you when someone says they’ll call/text, but never do?
* a bit.it depends also on the importance of the person telling that
.
Have you ever hated someone but then ended up liking them?
* yes. crazy no? pero most of the time, oo.

Do you miss your past?
* in some ways yes. the past has done so much for me...
.
Are you happy with the way things are going?
* very, very very!
.
In the past week have you cried?
* last week, my 89 year old granny was so sick...
.
Today, would you rather go back a week or go forward a week?
* none of the above. i just want to delay this week because moving on would mean start of the class which i haven't recovered much yet...and if i go back it would also mean experiencing the same hardship and difficulty with my final paper...static cguro..
.
Last December how was your heart?
* beating!
.
When was the last time you went camping?
* did i ever have one? hehhe i guess 1995 pa...youth camp...
.
What was the last thing you purchased?
* dvd tapes.battery for digicam. an outfit and pair of shoes for my speaking engagements.
.
What are you wearing on your feet?
* nothing. just the purple paint. how can i wear anything, i am on my bed...
.
Any fun plans for today?
* eat super choco strawberry cake baked and given by colleague and friend maam rizz; watch movies; stay on my bed all day...
.
Will this weekend be a good one?
* it should be.
.
Is anyone interested in you right now?
* yes oi.kuno.
.
Rent a movie or go to movies?
* none, buy tapes and watch it at home.
.
What's your hair look like today?
* very long. slash v shaped haircut, a little blond. chic. it's disheveled. didn't comb it the whole day. hahahha
.
Are you a jealous person?
* to the highest level.

Life is precarious

Life is precarious. It is indeed changing. Well, an old adage says, “change is the only constant thing in this world”, everything else is changing. From his perception down to his beliefs, outlooks and emotions, man is changing. Well they say that there is no other way but up and once you are up there, you go can’t go higher than up because it’s the ultimate destination. And while we are still battling with .life, with everyday challenges, and circumstances, we can’t do away with the fickleness of our hearts and mind. We can’t deny the issue on decision making, on weighing things out, on picking the right choices. Whatever. We tend to sway, and drift away from our stand because foremost the human heart is above all deceitful. We are supposed to guard our hearts in everything that we do.

I have a very relevant experience to life’s precariousness. I know there have been choices and decisions in my life which have total effects to the person that I am now today. And I am aware that there is SOMEONE greater than I am who is in control of all these happenings. But I wonder why, despite HIS being there with us all the time, man fails? Human err? People commit mistakes? Why can’t we just be perfect? No matter how hard we try, we can’t just be perfect!

I figure out there can be no other way to make things perfect for us but to LET GO and LET GOD. I could never forget how my life used to be. I was such a happy, carefree, laughing girl but inside I was grieving, searching and empty. When I started going with friends, I saw the difference in life. I saw how people should be treated. Fair enough if you got the money and the looks but sorry if you have nothing to show off for rejection would be your best friend. I felt that. I grew up trying to make myself loved and accepted but I always found myself sulking in my pillow, soaking it with tears, demanding for an answer to every question. Until I fell in love, got hurt and fell out of love. I trusted no one and not even myself. Then I got myself hooked into believing that there is really no hope for me. One day, I chose the road less travelled. I went to a Christian seminary, where I found myself. The many questions were answered and wrong beliefs were corrected. Yet somehow, I was still seeing some loopholes and I couldn’t seem to understand the purpose of my being. Life was so perfectly imperfect.

However, it was in that imperfection that I have learned to come and understand that God allowed these imperfections for me to need Him. He wanted to make me feel the emptiness so I would let HIM fill in the void inside; he let me see my weaknesses for me to need His strength.

I was lost. And He found me. I drifted but he kept holding me. I ran away like a prodigal daughter but he brought me home again. Again and again, I stumble and fall but he is always my Savior. So, no matter how precarious life could get with me, I know that God’s steadfast love is more than able to keep me holding still to His saving grace and love.

My education, my contribution to my future

I am once again invited as guest speaker on a high school commencement exercises. i couldn't say no because foremost, this school used to be my own and i treasure every single memory i have in this institution. anyway, this is my second time to have accepted their invitation and every invitation is always like the first time...the tension, the preparation, the excitement and apprehensions...all are there in a package...i actually have two speaking engagements this march 2009. One will be held on March 29, 2009 at Stella Mariz Learning Center and the other, on March 30, 2009 in Malinao National High School on its 36th commencement exercises. The sked is quite so tight that i have to rush home right after SMLC so i will have the evening trip going to Bukidnon. It's going to be, more or less, a 5-hour trip via bus but since i am traveling in the evening, i have to sleep over at Valencia City and take the first trip to Kalilangan the following day. Hmmm, sounds exciting and i guess i am going to lovit. i am pretty much inclined to experiences like these and i am sure i will enjoy the trip and savor the fun!

well, here is a glimpse of what i call my "partial" speech.

This year’s theme says: my education, my contribution to my future”, is a universal truth. It is not only true today, or yesterday, but it has always been true since time immemorial. Regardless of space and distance, this is always true, anywhere else in the world. My point is that, education plays a very crucial and significant role in the molding of the future generation.

We would never have known Jose Rizal and other national heroes, had it not been for education. We would never have tall buildings, wide bridges, huge malls and amusements parks had it not been for education as these are designed by well-trained architects, and built by schooled engineers. Nobody could have seen the moon and its craters, explained the complexity of the solar system, discovered some mysteries of the universe had it not been for education…

Take note of our earliest inventors who have made a difference in our lives. The American inventor Thomas Edison changed the way people live when he invented the first practical light bulb wherein people in the 18th century used candles and oil or gas lamps for light. Thanks to Alexander Graham Bell who, at age 18 had developed the basic ideas of the telephone in the year 1876, with that, communication has become easier. Who invented airplanes? Ships? Who discovered that the world is round and not square? Was it not Christopher Columbus? All these have become possible because of education. They did their best in maximizing and furthering their knowledge. We would never have computers, no cell phones, no ipods, no cars and other luxuries that technology has given us, had it not been for education. Basically, these are all products of education.

We would never have known the genius Einstein, benefited from the theory of the mathematician Pythagoras, learned from different schools of thoughts from the famous Philosophers Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, or Confucius, had it not been for education. We will never have doctors to diagnose our illnesses, dentist for our dental care, lawyers to defend us and fight for our rights; we would never have pilots to fly planes and captains to maneuver ships, had it not been for education. We would never have passionate mentors to teach us how to read and recite our ABC’s. These and all other professions and vocations are brought about by education. We would never have books to read and learn thongs from had it not been for education. What is education then?

The school is just one aspect of education – we have a bigger school out there where the teachers are not the same with the teachers we are facing each day in school. The teachers back then are our own experiences…and how do we go about the process of breaking through these learning is what we call education… There are other ways wherein we can enhance and enrich ourselves to the person we can be best at...

Education is a continuous process of learning. It is not bound or limited to a certain stage or level of educational attainment…human as we are, we always seek for something better and that act is called education…when we continually seek for what is good, what is remarkable, what is advantageous, that is education. And while we do nothing, but wait for something good to happen is fatalistic. And it is contrary to education…it is ignorance. God has opened our eyes to see what is there to see and give us wisdom on what to do with what we are seeing…we just don't look into things, we have to use them…we should maximize them not only for our advantage but for others and of the greater glory of God.

the real essence of education is that something which is not bound to anything…no level of educational attainment can ever exactly define what education is because it is relative, when we say relative, it is not permanently fixed, but having a meaning or value that can only be established in relation to something else and will change according to circumstances or context thus, education largely depends on our experience. That’s why we vary. We differ in perspective and outlook. We differ in understanding because education is relative. It goes with the person’s experience, Level of understanding and his abilities.

Children are naturally curious and tend to be very inquisitive thus parents and teachers should not deprive them of the answers to every question they raise. Don’t ever stop them from asking questions because if we do so, it is equivalent to depriving the, of education. Remember there are lessons that are learned by asking, learned from home, church, friends and in school ,and lessons learned from anywhere. So let them ask to learn. According to Peter Usnov, “After all, what is education but a process by which a person begins to learn how to learn?”

It is our every obligation, teachers and parents and the entire community to work hand in hand in building a better and wholesome education to our children because it is then in this way that we can achieve the goal of quality education; the goal of reaching our destiny to excellence and reaping the fruit of our labor, our learned products. these students will be our future engineers, future scientists, defenders, government officials, teachers, entrepreneurs, computer programmers and analysts, bankers, managers, surgeon and dentist, nurses and writers…when we have done our best share in molding our youth, and the younger generation then we won’t be ashamed to ask the question to our children, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Remember that whoever and whatever they will become in the future is their own contribution to their future, to their country and to their generation and the generations to come.

(note: photos were taken during the actual commencement ceremony and posted after the event.)