Showing posts with label happythoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happythoughts. Show all posts
Monday, June 24, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Family Fun
Yesterday was my first day in Manila and what a better way to spend my first day than to spend it with my FAMILY! :)
It also marked Wawa's 3rd death anniversary. Wawa is my maternal grandmother. Hay! Can't begin to talk about her without crying :( Pero buti na lang at masayahin ang pamilya namin kaya instead of crying sessions yesterday, we spent the day laughing! :)
Trivia: my mother's family are ALL comedians including Wawa so I'm sure she was very happy having seen that she was happily remembered :)
After we spent less than an hour in Loyola, we decided to go to Tagaytay for lunch :)
It also marked Wawa's 3rd death anniversary. Wawa is my maternal grandmother. Hay! Can't begin to talk about her without crying :( Pero buti na lang at masayahin ang pamilya namin kaya instead of crying sessions yesterday, we spent the day laughing! :)
Trivia: my mother's family are ALL comedians including Wawa so I'm sure she was very happy having seen that she was happily remembered :)
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| Happy 3rd death anniversary Wawa! We love you! |
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| Mama and Tito preparing for their dance number. As in totoo ito! They hav e a video of their dance number! :D |
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| With THE girls :) |
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| the whole family |
After we spent less than an hour in Loyola, we decided to go to Tagaytay for lunch :)
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| Hearts all over the place! :D |
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| with my sisters and pretty cousins, Gelyn and Ida |
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| with my lukaret Mother :D
Definitely a day well spent! :)
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Monday, June 3, 2013
Life's Simple Joys
Being an OFW has a lot of perks (better paycheck, opportunity to experience new culture and meet new friends, etc etc). However, it sure has lots of disadvantages too. It is a known fact that OFWs have a lot of sacrifices to make, the biggest (AND hardest) of them is leaving family and friends behind. I am really fortunate that even if I am on OFW, my kind (educator) and place (Jakarta, Indonesia) of work permit me to go home regularly (or at least every 3 months or so) :) Nevertheless, I still miss a lot of things when I am away from my 1st home (Yes, I consider Jakarta as my 2nd home now :)
Let me give you the list of the things that I will MAKE SURE to have/go to when I get to Pinas a few days from now (7 days to be exact). Syempre, family and friends will always be on top of my list that's why I will not include them anymore and just focus on other things :)
1) Puerto Princesa and El Nido, Palawan. I will be going to Palawan with my friends right after spending 2 days in Manila, hehe :) This is my 2nd time to be in Palawan but 1st time in Puerto Princesa and El Nido. I went to Coron last year and fell in love with it! So I am full of hope that I will enjoy this trip and besides, what can possibly go wrong when you have friends with you, right? :)
2) Davao. The (SUPER early as in 5am early!) morning after I get back from Palawan, I, together with Mama, Ameng and Alex, will be spending 4 days in Davao. Literal na airport to airport ang drama ko! :D (Sidenote: I suddenly remember summer of 2010 when I also did airport to airport from Bicol to CDO! Talk about maximizing the vacation!). We will be staying mostly in Samal Island. As for our itinerary, I am letting the Island Garden Resort in Pangubatan's owner surprise us! :) I promise to post an entry about our Palawan and Davao trip once I've actually been to them, hehehe :)
3) Eng Bee Tin's hopia. Back when Alex and I were still in college/ young professionals (Naks! Gumaganon!), he used to bring me Eng Bee Tin as pasalubong (Intsik na intsik lang! Oopsie, no racist remark intended). From J.Ruiz Station (w/c is near his place), he would go to Recto LRT2 station to buy Eng Bee Tin's yummy hopia then go to Marikina :) So see, contrary to what my family and close friends believe, si Alex naman ang nanuyo sa akin! Hahaha! :D Seriously though, Eng Bee Tin has the BEST hopia in the whole wide world (not that I've been to a lot of countries who sell hopia, hehe).
4) Taho. Ika nga sa radyo, kailangan pa ba imemorize yan?! :D I love taho with lots and lots of sago. The suking manong magtataho in our place already knows this and would often joke me of buying sago na lang instead of taho :D
5) Fishball, kikiam and squidball. What they have here in Indonesia is not at par with what we have in Pinas. Sauce pa lang natin e panalo na! :D (Love your own, ehem ehem).
6) Fruits in ice cream (FIC)'s Pistachio. I am nuts about nuts! This plus the fact that you can really taste a LOT of pistachio in every bite of their ice cream makes FIC my all time favorite! This is a big thing for me since I do NOT love sweets! So for me to finish a tub of this ice cream in one sitting only goes to show that IT IS REALLY GOOD (or teka, baka sa taste buds ko lang!) :) I've tried other brands' pistachio flavor (let's not name names, hehe) but FIC WINS hands down!
7) Junk Food. It is such a shame, ano? After reading a lot of posts here about fitness and being healthy, you will see that I actually crave for Pinas' junk foods! They have junk food here but for me, our junk foods taste better :) I may not be an expert when it comes to "real" food but I am an expert when it comes to junk food! Sad but true :(
8) National Bookstore.It is really true that you will only know the importance of something once you've lost it. Wow! heavy drama! :D Seriously though, I've been having a HARD time looking for books here in Jakarta. Well, they have lots of books but mostly translated in Bahasa Indonesia :( Yes I know that it means positive for their culture but disadvantageous to the likes of me who only knows enough Bahasa Indonesia to not be sod to strangers, hehehe :) Another thing that I miss from NBS are their good stuff like colored pens, notebooks, for an AFFORDABLE PRICE. Things like these are quite pricey in Jakarta. I will really make sure to buy cute and usable stuff from NBS! This is a MUST! :)
9) Cyma. This is one of my favorite restaurants! Woohoo! :) I don't eat here everyday for the obvious reason that it is quite pricey BUT I always look forward to eating here everytime I go home! The big bonus is they have choices for a semi-pescetarian like ME (semi because I eat ALL seafoods not just fish). I can't wait!!!I always wonder how it is going to be like when I am actually in Greece eating Greek food! Heaven on earth I'm sure!! :D
10) Craving's spinach artichoke.A few Christmases ago when my Tito used to receive LOTS OF PRODUCTS/GIVEAWAYS (that's what you get when you are the editor of People, Events and Products section of the leading newspaper in the country! No names, PDI ehem ehem! :D ), I chanced upon Craving's Spinach Artichoke. Though it looked like it won't taste any good, I still tried it (since I am way past the stage of being fearful when it comes to food) and I SUPER LIKED IT that I couldn't take it off my mind. I am not sure if they are still selling it or if it just available during Christmas season but I intend to finally end my search for it! Hahaha! :D I might try dining at Craving's Katipunan also if my tummy and budget will cooperate! :)
11) Last but definitely NOT the least, LUTONG BAHAY food! I don't cook. Correction, I STEAM food so technically I do cook, hehe :) My older cousin used to say that I know how to get the taste right everytime I cook. The sad part is that I rarely cook and I need the aid of cookbooks because I can'tseem to remember how to prepare the same dish after a few days! :( Needless to say, I eat out/ order a lot here in Jakarta. I am not totally giving up on cooking because I know that I have it in me (Naks!) and I remember that I actually enjoyed it during those very rare occasions that I actually cooked something :D So maybe, not for now :) When I am hungry and sad (haha!), this is when I really miss my mother's cooking prowess. My mom is Bicolana so though she doesn't cook that often, I can finish the entire bandehado of kanin everytime she cooks because the ulam is super delicious! (Mama, you should read this, hehehe!). This is one of the not-so-perks of living alone, eat out or die! :D
These may sound lame to other people but the small things mentioned above are some of the things that I look forward to. They somehow make my homecoming more "kaabang-abang" :)
I can't wait to be home!!!! Manila, roll out the red carpet for me!!! :D
It is DEFINITELY MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!!!
PS:
1) All the photos are taken from the web. I figured I have to put more photos in my blog or I'll end up having gazillion of words which will make my 2 readers bored to sleep! :D
2) Sorry to disappoint but unlike MOST of the OFW I know, I do not look forward to eating at Jollibee. I know that most of them have Jollibee as their "first" breakfast in Pinas,I just don't have a lot of options in Jollibee :(
Let me give you the list of the things that I will MAKE SURE to have/go to when I get to Pinas a few days from now (7 days to be exact). Syempre, family and friends will always be on top of my list that's why I will not include them anymore and just focus on other things :)
1) Puerto Princesa and El Nido, Palawan. I will be going to Palawan with my friends right after spending 2 days in Manila, hehe :) This is my 2nd time to be in Palawan but 1st time in Puerto Princesa and El Nido. I went to Coron last year and fell in love with it! So I am full of hope that I will enjoy this trip and besides, what can possibly go wrong when you have friends with you, right? :)
2) Davao. The (SUPER early as in 5am early!) morning after I get back from Palawan, I, together with Mama, Ameng and Alex, will be spending 4 days in Davao. Literal na airport to airport ang drama ko! :D (Sidenote: I suddenly remember summer of 2010 when I also did airport to airport from Bicol to CDO! Talk about maximizing the vacation!). We will be staying mostly in Samal Island. As for our itinerary, I am letting the Island Garden Resort in Pangubatan's owner surprise us! :) I promise to post an entry about our Palawan and Davao trip once I've actually been to them, hehehe :)
3) Eng Bee Tin's hopia. Back when Alex and I were still in college/ young professionals (Naks! Gumaganon!), he used to bring me Eng Bee Tin as pasalubong (Intsik na intsik lang! Oopsie, no racist remark intended). From J.Ruiz Station (w/c is near his place), he would go to Recto LRT2 station to buy Eng Bee Tin's yummy hopia then go to Marikina :) So see, contrary to what my family and close friends believe, si Alex naman ang nanuyo sa akin! Hahaha! :D Seriously though, Eng Bee Tin has the BEST hopia in the whole wide world (not that I've been to a lot of countries who sell hopia, hehe).
4) Taho. Ika nga sa radyo, kailangan pa ba imemorize yan?! :D I love taho with lots and lots of sago. The suking manong magtataho in our place already knows this and would often joke me of buying sago na lang instead of taho :D
5) Fishball, kikiam and squidball. What they have here in Indonesia is not at par with what we have in Pinas. Sauce pa lang natin e panalo na! :D (Love your own, ehem ehem).
6) Fruits in ice cream (FIC)'s Pistachio. I am nuts about nuts! This plus the fact that you can really taste a LOT of pistachio in every bite of their ice cream makes FIC my all time favorite! This is a big thing for me since I do NOT love sweets! So for me to finish a tub of this ice cream in one sitting only goes to show that IT IS REALLY GOOD (or teka, baka sa taste buds ko lang!) :) I've tried other brands' pistachio flavor (let's not name names, hehe) but FIC WINS hands down!
7) Junk Food. It is such a shame, ano? After reading a lot of posts here about fitness and being healthy, you will see that I actually crave for Pinas' junk foods! They have junk food here but for me, our junk foods taste better :) I may not be an expert when it comes to "real" food but I am an expert when it comes to junk food! Sad but true :(
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| gawang Pinas! salty but yummy! |
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| well, they also have it here in Jkt BUT the price is almost 3 times! Insane! |
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| i will literally hug you when I get back, NBS! :D |
10) Craving's spinach artichoke.A few Christmases ago when my Tito used to receive LOTS OF PRODUCTS/GIVEAWAYS (that's what you get when you are the editor of People, Events and Products section of the leading newspaper in the country! No names, PDI ehem ehem! :D ), I chanced upon Craving's Spinach Artichoke. Though it looked like it won't taste any good, I still tried it (since I am way past the stage of being fearful when it comes to food) and I SUPER LIKED IT that I couldn't take it off my mind. I am not sure if they are still selling it or if it just available during Christmas season but I intend to finally end my search for it! Hahaha! :D I might try dining at Craving's Katipunan also if my tummy and budget will cooperate! :)
11) Last but definitely NOT the least, LUTONG BAHAY food! I don't cook. Correction, I STEAM food so technically I do cook, hehe :) My older cousin used to say that I know how to get the taste right everytime I cook. The sad part is that I rarely cook and I need the aid of cookbooks because I can'tseem to remember how to prepare the same dish after a few days! :( Needless to say, I eat out/ order a lot here in Jakarta. I am not totally giving up on cooking because I know that I have it in me (Naks!) and I remember that I actually enjoyed it during those very rare occasions that I actually cooked something :D So maybe, not for now :) When I am hungry and sad (haha!), this is when I really miss my mother's cooking prowess. My mom is Bicolana so though she doesn't cook that often, I can finish the entire bandehado of kanin everytime she cooks because the ulam is super delicious! (Mama, you should read this, hehehe!). This is one of the not-so-perks of living alone, eat out or die! :D
These may sound lame to other people but the small things mentioned above are some of the things that I look forward to. They somehow make my homecoming more "kaabang-abang" :)
I can't wait to be home!!!! Manila, roll out the red carpet for me!!! :D
It is DEFINITELY MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!!!
PS:
1) All the photos are taken from the web. I figured I have to put more photos in my blog or I'll end up having gazillion of words which will make my 2 readers bored to sleep! :D
2) Sorry to disappoint but unlike MOST of the OFW I know, I do not look forward to eating at Jollibee. I know that most of them have Jollibee as their "first" breakfast in Pinas,I just don't have a lot of options in Jollibee :(
Monday, March 18, 2013
A Fine Sunday
So no matter how sleepy I am tonight, I am choosing to write this short entry. By the way, it feels good to be blogging from home :) Hehe, I am in Manila for a short vacay (1 week to be exact). Thank you Lord that even if I am an overseas worker, I am given the privilege to go home whenever possible :)
Yesterday was quite a fine day for me. My Tito and his girlfriend who has always been so generous to us, tagged us along their road trip to Subic :) I honestly don't remember the last time we went there but I remember how much fun we had and how much we love Subic! :)
What made it extra special was the fact that Alex went with us :) I really appreciate how Alex exerts effort to spend time with me given his toxic work schedule. Thank you my love!!!! :D
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Monday, February 25, 2013
30 before 30 : 30 Books That I Should Read Before I Turn 30
I am happy and proud to say that I am already 28 years old and will be celebrating my 30th birthday two years from now (November 8, 2014 to be exact)! Do I feel old? In some ways, yes. Now I know that this is how my slightly older cousin feels (ehem, Ate Jenny) everytime I tease her that she is alreay old especially since it's now my younger cousins turn to return the "favor" of reminding me my age! haha! digital karma! (plus the proverbial question: When are you getting married?). But like what I always say, I am not complaining. I am actually enjoying the season where I am now. And besides, it is not as bad as I thought! I used to relate "aging" with fear during my younger years. I imagined "old" people not having nor enjoying their lives. Where did I ever get that?! :D Like what they, old people, say age is just a number. And this is starting to become my mantra now :D
Not that turning 30 is a big deal for me. It's just that since I am nearing that BIG 3-0 mark, I now feel that things are starting to change. Thank God that things are changing into something better (well, less some signs of physical aging, hehe)! I now feel more secured, more confident and more at ease with who I really am. I also believe that I am a LOT wiser in dealing with different situations and I know and value the things and people that really matter in my life. So exciting!!! :)
As part of welcoming this "mark" in my life, I decided to make a personal challenge that is, collecting AND reading 30 books before I hit the "mark". My goal is to widen my view on things and develop the love for reading. I actually got a list of books from the web (you may check www.marcandangel.com among others) and actually started with it. I actually finished reading 1 book from the list. However, I couldn't push myself to read other books because I felt that most books were too deep for me. So, I decided to ask my friends for the title of the books that they think I should read. Yes, this was time consuming on their part and that is why i am truly GRATEFUL for their time and patience, hehe :) But this made my list more personal and I believe that this will also strengthen my bond with them (imagine having other things to talk about aside from the usual "updating" on our lives!) :)
I wanted to categorize them but the fact that I haven't read these books made it difficult for me.
Here goes my list :)
1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2. Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. Love in the Time of Cholera
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude
by AJ Jacobs
6. The Year of Living Biblically
7. The Know It All
by George Orwell
8. 1984
9. Animal Farm
10. Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
11. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
12. Bossy Pants by Tina Fey
13. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
14. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
15. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
16. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
17. Watership Down by Richard Adams
18. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
19. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
20. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
21. Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
22. Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg
23. Lego Principle by Joey Bonifacio
24. Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity by Charles R. Swindoll
25. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
26. The Art of War by Sun Tzu
27. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
28. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
29. Honeymoon with my Brother by Franz Wisner
30. Filipino Women Writers in English: Their Story, 1905-2002 by Edna Zapanta-Manlapaz
I love it that the list is quite diverse! This goes to show that my friends have different choices on books :) This makes it more exciting! I can't wait to start collecting these books and reading them. Somehow this is also a reflection of who my friends are. It's quite a variation of the saying, tell me the books that you read and I will tell you who you are. Hehehe :)
Actually some of the books on the list I have read already (but I don't have my own copy) or I have my own copy (but I haven't started / finished reading yet). So to keep me updated, I will cross out the books that I have already collected AND read.
PS: Special thanks to my awesome and book lover friends for spending time in giving me these titles :) You actually gave me MORE THAN 30 titles but I want to make it realistic and doable for me so I only chose 30 :) For sure, I will start with 40 before 40 and get back to your list! :D
Special mention to Bobbie, Bem (who even included short descriptions of all the books that she recommended! Wow!), Angie, Mia, Lory, Joan, Eva and Alex. I actually have friends who will be replying soon but I can't wait to start reading already so I will just use their recommendations for my 40 before 40 or 50 before 50! :p
Not that turning 30 is a big deal for me. It's just that since I am nearing that BIG 3-0 mark, I now feel that things are starting to change. Thank God that things are changing into something better (well, less some signs of physical aging, hehe)! I now feel more secured, more confident and more at ease with who I really am. I also believe that I am a LOT wiser in dealing with different situations and I know and value the things and people that really matter in my life. So exciting!!! :)
image from the web
As part of welcoming this "mark" in my life, I decided to make a personal challenge that is, collecting AND reading 30 books before I hit the "mark". My goal is to widen my view on things and develop the love for reading. I actually got a list of books from the web (you may check www.marcandangel.com among others) and actually started with it. I actually finished reading 1 book from the list. However, I couldn't push myself to read other books because I felt that most books were too deep for me. So, I decided to ask my friends for the title of the books that they think I should read. Yes, this was time consuming on their part and that is why i am truly GRATEFUL for their time and patience, hehe :) But this made my list more personal and I believe that this will also strengthen my bond with them (imagine having other things to talk about aside from the usual "updating" on our lives!) :)
I wanted to categorize them but the fact that I haven't read these books made it difficult for me.
Here goes my list :)
1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2. Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. Love in the Time of Cholera
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude
by AJ Jacobs
6. The Year of Living Biblically
7. The Know It All
by George Orwell
8. 1984
9. Animal Farm
11. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
13. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
14. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
15. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
16. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
17. Watership Down by Richard Adams
18. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
19. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
20. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
21. Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
22. Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg
23. Lego Principle by Joey Bonifacio
25. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
26. The Art of War by Sun Tzu
27. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
28. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
29. Honeymoon with my Brother by Franz Wisner
30. Filipino Women Writers in English: Their Story, 1905-2002 by Edna Zapanta-Manlapaz
I love it that the list is quite diverse! This goes to show that my friends have different choices on books :) This makes it more exciting! I can't wait to start collecting these books and reading them. Somehow this is also a reflection of who my friends are. It's quite a variation of the saying, tell me the books that you read and I will tell you who you are. Hehehe :)
Actually some of the books on the list I have read already (but I don't have my own copy) or I have my own copy (but I haven't started / finished reading yet). So to keep me updated, I will cross out the books that I have already collected AND read.
PS: Special thanks to my awesome and book lover friends for spending time in giving me these titles :) You actually gave me MORE THAN 30 titles but I want to make it realistic and doable for me so I only chose 30 :) For sure, I will start with 40 before 40 and get back to your list! :D
Special mention to Bobbie, Bem (who even included short descriptions of all the books that she recommended! Wow!), Angie, Mia, Lory, Joan, Eva and Alex. I actually have friends who will be replying soon but I can't wait to start reading already so I will just use their recommendations for my 40 before 40 or 50 before 50! :p
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Better late than later: Kate's Bday Celebration
Yesterday, we spent our day in a "far away" place called Central Park to celebrate Kate's birthday (which by the way was last February 16) :D Kate has been inviting us for the longest time to visit her place pero laging nauunsyami! Hahaha! So kahapon ay natuloy na din sa wakas! :) Parang naging 3-in-1 ang visit! 1) to celebrate her bday, 2)to visit her place and 3) ocular inspection/house hunting. So very, very productive! :)
The place was really NICE! It was super nice that Toni, Cess and I are seriously considering moving there next year (nevermind the 30-45minute travel time going to school). After 2 years of living near (as in super near na nilalakad lang namin papuntang school!) the school, we want to have a change next school year. We want a different environment, yung alive naman (the place is near the malls and parang it never sleeps (New York ang peg!). We are hoping to get a good "deal" though so our plans and "computations" will materialize! Excited!!!! :)
Going back to the celebration, it was just a small party with LOTS of food!!! Pinoy na Pinoy aka bawal ang magutom!!! :) At ang cast e the usual din, hehe :) Dyaran!
Ay naku don't be fooled by the celebrant, Kate. Mukhang gorgeous at hinhin-hinhin lang ang effect nyan, pero wag ka! You should see her during the body pump class! Even men are intimated (ikaw ba naman magbuhat ng weights na mas mabigat pa sa binubuhat ng lalaki e ! kaloka!) Seriously though, I am so thankful to have met someone like Kate. She is such a nice (pero feeling daw nya ay hindi sya nice so sya lang ang nakakaalam na hindi sya nice!), very "light"(tawa lang ng tawa at mega komentaryo sa mga bagay bagay), GENEROUS (if you see food on the table, more or less e galing sa kanya yun) and totoong tao (very transparent!) :) Someone I can totally relate with and can talk with about anything and everything under the sun! :)
She is not only a blessing to me but to all of us! :)
Happy , happy birthday, Ms.Kate!
And here is your best shot! :D Guess who ang peg nyo dyan! :)
The place was really NICE! It was super nice that Toni, Cess and I are seriously considering moving there next year (nevermind the 30-45minute travel time going to school). After 2 years of living near (as in super near na nilalakad lang namin papuntang school!) the school, we want to have a change next school year. We want a different environment, yung alive naman (the place is near the malls and parang it never sleeps (New York ang peg!). We are hoping to get a good "deal" though so our plans and "computations" will materialize! Excited!!!! :)
Going back to the celebration, it was just a small party with LOTS of food!!! Pinoy na Pinoy aka bawal ang magutom!!! :) At ang cast e the usual din, hehe :) Dyaran!
from upper L-R clockwise: the "cast"; yummy cake; the pretty celebrant, Kate; super beautiful pool na one of the reasons kung bakit naeenganyo kami lumipat! ; Cess na feeling celebrant and Me &cutie Nina
Ay naku don't be fooled by the celebrant, Kate. Mukhang gorgeous at hinhin-hinhin lang ang effect nyan, pero wag ka! You should see her during the body pump class! Even men are intimated (ikaw ba naman magbuhat ng weights na mas mabigat pa sa binubuhat ng lalaki e ! kaloka!) Seriously though, I am so thankful to have met someone like Kate. She is such a nice (pero feeling daw nya ay hindi sya nice so sya lang ang nakakaalam na hindi sya nice!), very "light"(tawa lang ng tawa at mega komentaryo sa mga bagay bagay), GENEROUS (if you see food on the table, more or less e galing sa kanya yun) and totoong tao (very transparent!) :) Someone I can totally relate with and can talk with about anything and everything under the sun! :)
She is not only a blessing to me but to all of us! :)
Happy , happy birthday, Ms.Kate!
And here is your best shot! :D Guess who ang peg nyo dyan! :)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Get Down on Your Knees
I am a young educator and I could say that the past 6 years that I've been in this vocation have been a roller coaster ride for me. For someone who had no formal education about education and got into teaching just because I felt this is what I should do (much to the disappointment of my parents who dreamt of seeing me soar "higher"), as expected, my first few years were like an experiment. Correction, until now I am still "experimenting".
Teaching has its highs and lows but for me, one of the hardest challenges that I have to deal with almost every single day are students who seem to lack the motivation to maximize their potential. I was reminded of this again tonight.
I am amazed and in awe of those educators who seem to have that gift of being a good motivator. It is a gift that I am still praying and working for until now. I am not the type of teacher who befriends nor becomes a friend of my student and I see this at times as a reason as to why some of my students are unmotivated. When that emotion starts to eat me up, I consciously stop it from dragging me down and remind myself to focus on the real problem that is, how do I motivate the unmotivated students?
The bad news is I still don't know the answer to this question. But the good news is after 6 years of teaching, I am still willing to learn and I am not yet tired of finding a solution to this problem.
While I was researching on ways to motivate my students, I chanced upon this blog Motivating the Unmotivated by Ken Wilson.This is a good read for educators like me. In his entry, he gave 10 specific and practical ways to motivate the unmotivated students. He is a Language teacher so most of his examples are related to this subject. But what I like about his entry was the fact that he gave specific and tangible examples. Examples that he either observed or did in his class. I have to admit though that I've heard some of it but never tried them in my class. What struck me the most was number 3) get down on your knees, here is an excerpt:
I am indeed inspired to give it my all , to be a magis, to be a better teacher because I am given the opportunity to make a difference in this world and my students deserve only the best.
No doubt that this will be a tough job but I am sure that it will be worth it.
I am an educator. I teach, I care and I inspire lives.
Teaching has its highs and lows but for me, one of the hardest challenges that I have to deal with almost every single day are students who seem to lack the motivation to maximize their potential. I was reminded of this again tonight.
I am amazed and in awe of those educators who seem to have that gift of being a good motivator. It is a gift that I am still praying and working for until now. I am not the type of teacher who befriends nor becomes a friend of my student and I see this at times as a reason as to why some of my students are unmotivated. When that emotion starts to eat me up, I consciously stop it from dragging me down and remind myself to focus on the real problem that is, how do I motivate the unmotivated students?
The bad news is I still don't know the answer to this question. But the good news is after 6 years of teaching, I am still willing to learn and I am not yet tired of finding a solution to this problem.
While I was researching on ways to motivate my students, I chanced upon this blog Motivating the Unmotivated by Ken Wilson.This is a good read for educators like me. In his entry, he gave 10 specific and practical ways to motivate the unmotivated students. He is a Language teacher so most of his examples are related to this subject. But what I like about his entry was the fact that he gave specific and tangible examples. Examples that he either observed or did in his class. I have to admit though that I've heard some of it but never tried them in my class. What struck me the most was number 3) get down on your knees, here is an excerpt:
I asked her afterwards if she had been trained to get down lower than the student in this way and she said no, she just did it once when she was listening to a student, and the student seemed more confident asking her for help. Since that accidental discovery, she continued to do it, and now felt the class were more comfortable about telling her about things they were having difficulty with.
I am indeed inspired to give it my all , to be a magis, to be a better teacher because I am given the opportunity to make a difference in this world and my students deserve only the best.
No doubt that this will be a tough job but I am sure that it will be worth it.
I am an educator. I teach, I care and I inspire lives.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wise Words to Live By
For my first "official" post (that is, after the Welcome post) I was thinking of something to write about. Something memorable. Something bongga. Something shiny, shimmery and splendid. Hahaha!
Seriously though, I realized that there couldn't be a better post than to share something that never fails to get me excited about life. I still remember that I "bumped" into these versesa few years back fine, many years back! 12 years ago when I was still a freshie (college naman at hindi high school! :D) Time flies really fast! :)
From then on, these wise words never failed to comfort me during trying times (undergrad thesis included! Exhibit A: when you get a copy of my thesis, you will find this printed on the page right before the Acknowledgement page).
Here goes:
Seriously though, I realized that there couldn't be a better post than to share something that never fails to get me excited about life. I still remember that I "bumped" into these verses
From then on, these wise words never failed to comfort me during trying times (undergrad thesis included! Exhibit A: when you get a copy of my thesis, you will find this printed on the page right before the Acknowledgement page).
Here goes:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)'Til next time!
Welcome to My New Home!
It feels good to have a new home! :) After being with tumblr for almost a year now, I've decided to move to blogspot since most of the blogs that I read are here. So now I can follow them! Hooray! :)
Just started to edit/customize the settings of my blog. And I must say that I spent a good 3 hours to work on what you're seeing now. Right! I am that clueless! :D
Please check out my previous blog www.lifeisadailyadventure.tumblr.com while I research on ways on how I can move my entries from my old blog to here. Is that even possible? :)
Anyhow, after reading blogs today, I am inspired to continue blogging. Weehee!
Until next time! :)
Just started to edit/customize the settings of my blog. And I must say that I spent a good 3 hours to work on what you're seeing now. Right! I am that clueless! :D
Please check out my previous blog www.lifeisadailyadventure.tumblr.com while I research on ways on how I can move my entries from my old blog to here. Is that even possible? :)
Anyhow, after reading blogs today, I am inspired to continue blogging. Weehee!
Until next time! :)
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