Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Random Thoughts Part 26



French Fries. I’ve been smelling French fries everywhere lately. In fact, I am drenched in its scent right now, while doing this post. But since geography puts me 28 kilometers away from the nearest fast food chain, I cannot just grab a broomstick and fly away for a handful of French fries. The soonest I can visit the city, the soonest I can quench this quaint craving for these yellow fatty sticks. Weekend! Halika na!

Bad Habit. How do you break the mould of a bad habit? The bad habit of being late ALL THE TIME to be exact. How how de carabao?

Missing the Old Times. I miss college. I miss the pressures and exhaustions of college. The expectations of the people around me were quite different then than the expectations of the people now. Darn expectations! I am currently in the transition period. Back then, I thought flunking a subject or absenting a class is tragic. Now, I only think of those times as mild tragedies since I am facing a much bigger blight. This time, I have to deal with three things as part of life’s harsh reality -- yielding to a tangible boss who has nothing but beans in his brain, to an intangible boss who never tires to psychologically and physically tire me (and all the other teachers for that matter), and learning to balance respect for both.

New-Found Love. Despite all the new-found pressures is a new-found love. Since day one of ABS-CBN’s Pure Love, I try not to miss a day not seeing it. It’s my only consolation after a tiresome day at the office. And yes, it has served me well, especially because Joseph Marco is just so cute. Super cute! And Arjo Atayde’s dimples and eyes are breathtaking, too. Love love!

Okay. Tama na. It’s time for me to wake up and wrestle with life’s realities.


Monday, September 29, 2014

20 Facts About Me


This is supposedly a Facebook trend but it would be my pleasure to share 20 facts about me here on the blogosphere.

1. ORANGE has been my favorite color since grade 6. Pink and maroon are my least favorite.
2. I underwent a minor surgery last year. It means I was completely awake during the whole procedure. Yes, it was nerve-wracking but fun -- seeing all those blood-soaked cotton balls and crimson-tainted surgical knives and scissors and knowing that those saturated hues came from your very system.
3. Our black cat and plump dog are both named Shakespeare. I wanted to name our cat Peanuts but the rest of the family members disagreed.
4. I started blogging when I was second year college. It began as a compliance to the requirement of our then editor-in-chief, but later I found it as an emotional outlet and much later, a hobby.
5. Matt Evans and Coco Martin are my ex-crushes. Joseph Marco and Novac Djokovic are my present crushes. *insert twinkies*
6. I enjoy watching UFC. 
7. I always get watery eyes every time I sing "And Can It Be That I Should Gain" inside and outside church, especially on the chorus part. "Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me..." 
8. I've never tried riding on a plane or a train. Not yet! :)
9. Kids are my kryptonite. 
10. I talk to myself in front of the mirror, inside the bath room, or while eating or walking alone. I also laugh when I'm alone. Basilio? Crispin?
11. I have always wished I was athletic. I tried playing lawn tennis in high school but my doctor said it's not good for me because...
12. I am scoliotic.
13. I have never seen the entire movie Titanic. I saw parts of it, but not the whole thing. I can't dare watch it. There's a certain something in that movie that I don't want to watch, and I can't even name it. Shoot me. I'm weird. >_<
14. I keep a diary.
15. I have never eaten balot but I will try it soon. Kanus-a pa kaha? 
16. I was born on a Holy Friday.
17. I cry almost immediately at dramatic movie scenes. I cry when I'm angry. I cry when I mention the people I care about in my prayers. Is that what they call "emotional"? Mao dagay ni rason nga wala na nikupos akong eyebags. 
18. I always smile. I smile when I'm embarrassed. I smile when I'm scared. I even smile when I'm about to cry. I even smile at strangers when I am in a very good mood. And yeah, I get back the smile I gave.
19. "Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths." This is my life verse. 
20. I have convictions grounded on Biblical truths, so no one can force me to do something against what I believe in. I believe in Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and Savior. He died for my sins on the cross of Calvary. He forgave me and made me one of His own. One day soon, I will see Him face to face, and that day shall be the day I'll cast down my crown before Him. He shall lead me to that promised land where sickness and pain can't penetrate. Forever with Him! What a day, oh glorious day, that will be!


Friday, September 26, 2014

Never Argue With Children


You never know what to expect when you talk to children. But I really think you’re on the losing side when you begin to argue with them. I found this photo on Facebook and it drew a wide grin on my face. 

Do you have any funny encounters with kids and their charming wit? Maybe you can share it and be able to be the reason for someone’s smile today.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Experience, Still the Best Teacher



Everything has a good side. I know that now.

After the jubilation of knowing that I finally have my assignment advise from DepEd, I thought it was the end of my misery as a “caveman”. Tambay in colloquial terms. I thought I would finally be able to teach in a public school. But I learned from my superiors that I still have to wait for the appointment from the Division Office before I can officially start teaching. My whole world came crashing down after that but I had no time anymore to wallow in failure and false hopes. I was so over that. I had to move forward. Thus came the decision of volunteering at the District Office.

So what do I do as a volunteer? I act as the District Supervisor’s secretary, together with two other volunteers. I make letters, indorsements, transmittals, etc. I also respond to whatever the teachers from the Central School request. There are times when we get so busy, especially when there are meetings, contests, or visitors, but there are also times when we get so busy doing nothing.

It’s tiring, yeah, but at least my days now are more productive than compared to the past few months. I have been oriented to the different forms and reports the teachers need to make and accomplish and the stresses of the teachers that they get every day from their pupils, the parents, and the District Supervisor.

What’s the best part of being a volunteer so far? For me, it is learning how to photocopy using this monstrous machine. Hahaha. I have also learned how to open it every time the paper jams. I don’t know why I enjoy it so much and I don’t know why the reason of my enjoyment is so shallow but never mind. I am hoping for your kindest consideration. Hahaha.

Another thing. I also learned that there’s a word “indorsement”. At first, I thought the school statistician just had it wrong. I was thinking of “endorsement”. But there really is a word “indorsement”. It is a promotional statement written at the back of a bill, note or other instrument. It could also be written on a separate sheet.

I just hope this “volunteerism” thing won’t last long, because as much as I enjoy my job as a photocopier/encoder/secretary, I know I belong to the teaching force. ^_^


Saturday, September 13, 2014

How To Become A Public School Teacher



I have always dreamed of becoming a teacher ever since time immemorial. During my elementary, high school and even the early stage of my university life, I thought becoming a teacher – a public school teacher to be exact – would be as easy as enrolling at a prominent university, taking and passing the licensure examination and applying for the desired position. But it was way more than that. I never thought it would be hard and exhausting, infuriating at times even.

So how do you become a public school teacher? Here’s how (based on personal experience).

Get a degree in Education or take18 units in Ed. à Graduate. à Review for the LET. à Pray that you will pass. à If you pass, praise God and congratulations. Continue to the next phase. If you do not pass, you can either teach in a private school or apply at a call center, take the Civil Service Eligibility Exam to apply for other jobs, be bitter, review again for the next LET or you can be all of that. à Process your license and pay for the oath taking ceremony. à Attend the oath taking ceremony. àClaim license after two to three weeks or until one month of waiting. à Apply for teacher 1 position in your district or in your division during the given application dates (only). à Undergo the ranking phase. Comply all requirements for ranking (Prepare all necessary photocopies, be interviewed, present a class demonstration, etc.) This usually takes one month, depending upon the speed of the ranking committee in working out their applicants. à Get results. It usually takes two to three weeks or one month before the results come out. à The division or the district divides the applicants into four categories according to their rate from the recent ranking. If you belong to category A, you have a very high possibility of getting an item immediately (and by immediately, I mean you have to wait for another three or four months). If you belong to category B, uh, perhaps there’s a chance, depending upon the availability of items. If you belong to the C and D categories, uhm, maybe you can come back again next year? Thank you! Or you can volunteer and be unpaid for all your services. Thank you again! àThe advice for teaching finally arrives! You party to the highest level (although it does not literally imply). à Go to the division office or district office to get your assignment advice. It is a piece of paper declaring where you will teach and that you are a Teacher 1 already. à Comply all requirements enumerated on the paper. Usually, you are given 7 days to complete it. à File and pass the documents to the district or division office. The district supervisor usually does this but if he/she gives a lot of reasons for not going to the division office, then you have to do it yourself (of course with his/her permission). à Wait for the appointment from the higher office. The appointment is another piece of paper which contains where you will teach, what grade level you will be assigned, and perhaps your salary for an annum. Once you receive it, you can already start teaching because the computation for your salary starts at that date. Recently, I just knew from an old classmate in college that the appointment arrives three to four months after the advise has been given. à CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE A TEACHER NOW! You can claim your salary three to four months from now, with deductions already mam/sir. (And the martyrdom begins. Oh no! The martyrdom does not begin here. It just continues, and continues, and continues, ‘til the day you retire. Oh no! Not until the day of your retirement but ‘til the day you finally die.)

*insert Gollum face here*

Maybe you find the process easy. Yeah, it looks easy when you read it, but when you get to experience all of it – the looooooooong wait between each interval (which takes months and even years), the false hopes, the frustrations, the pressure from people who had such high expectations from you, the corrupt officials, the delays from the higher office, the procrastination of personnel, and the overly meticulous checking of documents – you will surely feel like you have wasted a lot of your time and effort, and you begin to question if your patience is even worth extending.

But I salute the teachers who continue to do service even without pay (volunteerism, as what it’s called in Education jargons). I salute the teachers who endure the sweltering heat of the sun and the anger of the monsoons just to get to their schools located 8 to 17 to 30 kilometers away from their comfort zones. Talking about dusty roads, big boulders, and even insurgents at times. I salute the teachers who teach the lesson to their classes and extend their patience every day at their pupils/students who either day dream, flirt with their crushes or learn slow. The only consolation there is to see them bloom into beautiful flowers and achieve their dreams in the future. I salute the teachers who prefer to suffer with the poor and hungry children for the sake of education rather than giving up on humanity and deciding to resign to seek for a greener pasture at neighboring first- or second-world countries with higher regard and respect to teachers. I salute the philanthropic nature of teachers and their undying concern for OTHER people. I salute them all. They are my heroes since day 1 of my schooling.

It is my prayer now that God extend my patience more and that He will give me the right attitude while waiting for the last phase of this whole “waiting” stage. I have always looked up to my teachers (although not all of them shared a pleasant memory with me) as heroes. Now, I pray I will also become a hero to my future pupils, not that I want to be famous or be lofty. I don’t want any of that. I want them to find an inspiration, a model, a person whom they can hold on to. I hope that dream isn’t bad. I used to do that (making people as inspirations), and look where I am now. By the grace of God primarily, yes, and then my teachers’ belief in me, too.

I pray that before I die, people will say I have served humanity well, and when I die, when I see my Master, He would say, “You have glorified me, my child. Well done!”  


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Take the Time to be Thankful


Let me share this passage, one of my favorites from the book Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity by Charles R. Swindoll.

(Ben Patterson in his excellent book Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems silent) wrote: There is a lovely poem which speaks to this wonderfully. It was reputedly written by a young soldier who received massive and permanently debilitating injuries in the Civil War. He lived as a cripple the rest of his days, wrestling and waiting for God to show His face, His purpose in it all. At the end of his strugglings, he wrote this:


I asked for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy;
I was  given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I have received nothing I asked for, all that I hoped for.

My prayer is answered.

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