Ang Muling Pagbalik!

Ate Caroline was the business manager of the school pub when I applied as one of its writers. That was about four years ago. Now, I still call her Ate Cah, and we still keep in touch although she's already malayo (in a faraway kingdom called Manila). Two weeks ago, she came back to Dumaguete to pay a visit to her family, and just get back with her old folks. She called me up, saying, "Rolllleeeen, nia ko sa Dumaguete. Kita ta Sunday." (with all those Manileño accent na kyut) Of course YES ang answer!!! And the rest was history. 

First stop, Shakey's. Had pizza, fruit shakes, and long chit-chats with my fellow former EICs of The NORSUnian, the official school publication of Negros Oriental State University. May funny twist pang nangyari. Wanna know what happened? (haha. kakahiya) 

An old man (na itatago natin sa pangalang Mr. Chan) in his late 70s was seated adjacent to ours. When the waiter came to take our orders, he looked at me, smiled, and said, "Ma'am, naay makig-ila-ila nimu. (Ma'am, someone wants to get your name.)" then pointed to Mr. Chan. I followed his pointing finger and saw how the man smiled at me and returned the polite gesture of the waiter. 

Crazy cheesecakes!! Kenneth ('yung katabi ko) blurted, "Uy halin na ka! (Wow! You're sold!)" Mr. Chan stood up and said something to the waiter. I wanted to run away ASAP. Waaaah!! Mr. Chan walked away and before even exiting, he gave another smile at me and left. Er mer gersh!! :p

The waiter kept his smile and said, "He is the part-time owner of Shakey's ma'am." and walked away with our orders. Kenneth again made a crazy comment. "Ni flirt ta ka dayun para libre na tag pizza. (You could've flirted so that we can have free pizza.)" (Amew) Haba ng long hair ko! hahaha. But that would be something I would never wish to happen again. -_-

We watched "Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?" then had dinner. Another long chat, loud laughs and crazy reminiscing happened. Minsan lang nagkikita eh! After the eating gusto, we had coffee and serious talks about the pub. 

One year ago, this was Ate Cah's first visit. I was still a kolehiyala that time. And I still had straight hair. :)

Two Sundays ago, that's me and her already. And my curly hair. (hehe) Ang payat ko!! --__--

Ate Cah!!! :) SA UULITIN! 

Our Monsters, Inc.

It's fun how the books we are using at G&I Company integrate arts and games in it. On one of my lessons with a boy named Lee Kyung Min, the book asked to draw our own monsters. I am happy with how it went because he enjoyed the time so much. I think he loves to draw so much that when I told him we will draw our own monsters, he was elated. 

Below are the monsters we drew for each other. 

That is the best picture I can get from Lee Kyung Min's monster. It's name is Tom, with small eyes, long, green ears and colorful body. Kyung Min was so proud to show his work.

And that is my monster. His name is Slimey. It has big eyes, two thin antenna-shaped ears, two small hands, and a slimy body. 

That's my work with the book as our guide. :) 

The "Twenty Things for Twenie Me" Project

 Belated happy August, by the way! :) 

During those cold boring nights, when I had no class and just seated in front of the computer, waiting for nothing, I thought I would dare myself to the things I haven't done before, things I wanted to happen again and things I am afraid to do. So I made this list which I called the Twenty Things for Twenie Me project. Here is the list of the things I ought to do. As long as I am twenty years old, which will expire next year, I am valid to do it in no particular order. :) 

The "Twenty Things for Twenie Me" Project

1. Learn to sew a skirt.

2. Sew and wear a skirt to a stroll.

3. Ask a seamstress to sew me two dresses.

4. Wear a skirt to work.

5. Meet a blogger and blog about it. 

6. Meet a faraway friend 

7. Finish two novels in one week.

8. Eat two baluts.

9. Watch Titanic.

10. Write events on my diary for two straight weeks (no matter how unimportant that day is)

11. Watch "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" in the theater.

12. Buy something from a boutique. 

13. Make ice cream cake.

14. Attend a Sunday Service at another Baptist church.

15. Go camping.

16. Swim in the sea with siblings.

17. Front yard picnic with siblings.

18. Finish a whole pizza by myself.

19. Give someone a Bible. 

20. Invite someone to church.

I have done some of the aforementioned. I will give you the update on my next posts. hihi. *_*

Hala! Nakaka-touch Naman!

Following the resignation letter I gave to my boss last night, she approached me earlier today and patted me at the back. She left wonderful words to me with her Korean accent. "You enjoy your one month here huh. (with a matching smile) You look for someone to replace you here (referring to my cubicle). Ei?" Then she laughed. I gave her back a sincere smile and told her, "Yes Miss. I will."

And then I thought, Did she really meant what she said? Do I really have to look for a replacement? (hala. haha.)

 And my tralala moments with Webcamtoy pag walang clase...

My Work Here Is Done...

Well, almost. One month more and I will be jobless.

I prefer to call it "rigid preparation for what's coming ahead." Just today, I passed a resignation letter to the manager and the vice president of the company where I am working. I prepared the letter one day before but my decision was made up weeks ago. I had the courage to pass the notice just now after I prayed to God. I had cold hands when I gave the letters to the manager and the VP. 

This is my second resignation within four working months. As of the moment, I cannot afford to fully think of getting a permanent teaching career especially that the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) is fast approaching. I cannot afford to think of failing in that test. Oh my! Getting a license is just so important to me that I am willing to stop working and focus in studying. 

Time is running fast and I am not satisfied with my self-study yet. I need to study more. I need to feel confident that I am ready for the test. There are actually times when I just shake my head to remove the negative thoughts inside -- the what-if-I-will-not-pass thoughts, to be exact. I'm scared. But I know God will help me. I just need to put my trust in HIM because He is BIG!

One month more and I am out. I will miss the naughty Korean kids and my great time with them. I will miss the people here. I will miss the place. But what I will miss the most is the payday! ^_^

Everyday (Morbid) Surprises

As time goes by, things (a lot of things) happen to people. Others get hired in the company they applied, others get fired. Others pass the board exam, a lot don't. Others fall in love, others get trashed. Others are happy all the time, others never learn to smile. But the painful part of being a human being is to be vulnerable to pain and the rest of what comes after. 

Heart Attack. This happened one week ago. It was Monday. On my way home with my father, he told me that one of our church members was hospitalized because of a heart attack. I was shocked with the news. The day before, Sunday, she was still so healthy during the worship service. She even stayed home after to join us for lunch. Actually, that's what she does every Sunday. And we love her company so much. 

She is 56 years old with eight children (more or less). The sad part of it is that she has not established a good relationship with her kids. It's a long story. Maybe I can write it out some other time but not on this post. And now, one week and three days later, she still cannot move, cannot talk and cannot eat. Although the doctor said that she can now be discharged, the sad fact remains: she will never be the same Nang *Ina we used to know. We will miss her talkative nature, her guffaws and her rants about her misery with her children and husband.

Gunmen on the Loose. After the horrifying news about an eight-year-old child raped and killed here in our place two or three weeks ago, another incident happened (just last night). A man was shot twice by "riding in tandem" men because of selfish money ambitions. You see, this man is a motorcycle agent and perhaps, during that time of incident, he was bringing an amount enough for these two men to feel determined to kill him right there and then. 

The sad part of this story is that this man is the father of our workmate. She was very apprehensive when she bid our manager goodbye. "Miss uli sa ko. Murag nadisgrasya si papa. (Miss I have to go home. I think something went wrong with Papa.)" These were the shriveling words she said I could vividly remember. When I arrived home, I received a text message from the manager saying, "Please pray for the father of May. Napusilan s'ya. (He was gunned down.)"

Dead. Just this morning, four men died in a road mishap in the town next to mine. Everyday, as I commute the 29-kilometer distance from our house to the city where I work, I always get horrible news such as this. 

As our van passed the place where the accident was, I saw how wrecked the public multicab was. It looked like an old sardine can being crushed by a 3x4 truck. The driver and three other passengers died while the rest had their share of bruises. The driver of the truck was arrested.

Everyday, everywhere, things like this happen. It might be a stranger, a loved one or us. We don't know. So, as long as we are still alive and spared, we must love life and give love. The most important thing is we know where we are going after the Angel of Death snatch us out of this world. 

Random Thoughts Part 25

Annyeong! Teaching Koreans has really affected my way of speaking. I say "Aigoo" now more often than "Oh my!" I also forget to say "Yes" to people who ask me convergent questions. Instead, I say "Neh." Anyway, the past few days has been funny, wonderful, yet routinary. But of course, to update this blog-o-rios (what?), I'll flood it with randomness. Still, it is the best topic I ever had. 

Cory Monteith died. Yeah! I now the whole world knows about this one already. He was cremated even, and this brought dismay to his father after he was not informed about this. (too showbiz ei?) This morning, I watched Entertainment Tonight on ETC and found out (though I have earlier read it in Yahoo! News) that the reason for his death was a mixture of heroin and alcohol. Tsk.tsk. 

Okay. So what's going to happen to Glee now? Of course it will not stop airing for the sake of his death. But it will be a big loss to the show since the story primarily had been revolving around him and Lea Michelle, who plays Rachel, and who is also his real-life girlfriend. It will not stop airing but delay for its new episode is to be expected.

I am not a Glee fan to tell you this but I do appreciated their song renditions. As for the rest of Cory's loved ones whom he has left behind, they surely will move on. Not now, but soon. They will, soon. 

That awkward moment when you reread old blog posts and then smile. I found kilig blog posts I made before, way back college. (hoot. I sound old. -_-) Way back when we still had a "special thing" with my crush. Well, time has run fast and I guess it did not work out between the two of us. (chars...) So I believe the quote "Feelings change. Memories don't." fit right perfectly at this moment. 

Looking forward to more word doodles. Yikes! I was so excited when I finished my first ever online doodle work. I tried drawings before but I guess it is not my genre. I tried word doodle and I guess that is what I enjoy doing. Below is my first work. I know it looks messy and the texts are all over the place. I still have to learn more and more. 

And I even had selfies. Sorry for these stuffs guys. You can skip this part though. ^_^ Anyway, look at life on the bright side, okay? That will make you beautiful, inside and out. (Hooray for Thursday!)

That's all! BOW!

The Philippines Needs Someone Like Her

During my random surfing on Facebook this afternoon, I was intrigued with this one video posted by a friend. I am not really the kind of person who's fond of checking out videos on FB especially that the connection is turtle-paced. But this one brought me to tears. I don't know why, but her words were just so inspiring. 

Di pa man ako ganap na guro kung professionalization lang ang pag-uusapan, ramdam ko na ang init na nag-aalab sa puso ko na kailangan kong maging public teacher soon. Hindi dahil idealistic ako, hindi dahil mas malaki ang sahod sa PS, hindi dahil doon ako galing, kundi dahil alam kong ito ang paraan upang may maiambag ako sa bayan ko. 

Let's Go HEAT!

This is my persistent yet silent cheer for the Miami HEAT during their game 7 with the San Antonio Spurs. Early this morning, I thought I will not be seeing the last game between the two rival teams because of the brownout in our place. But at around 9:15 AM, the electric current came back. Imagine the joviality I felt during that time. 

I was so distracted with my studies because of the thrill of the game. I kept reading, though, while anticipating for the wrong moves of the opposing team and the numerous turnovers, fouls and other penalties of both teams. 

Anyway, it all narrowed down to 88-95, in favor of MIAMI HEAT!! Woohhooooo! They are officially the 2013 NBA Champions.Kudos! 

But kung "epic-epic" lang ang pag-uusapan, wala ng tatalo sa Game 6 nila. This is the best NBA Championship Series yet.

Thank You

I accidentally killed my fingernail yesterday. I'm so sorry. 

But it was just the beginning of a horrible Monday story. 

Yesterday afternoon was a typical working Monday until I realized surprising things happen at your most unguarded moments. 

As I was about to close the door behind me on my way to the comfort room, I did not notice that my right pointer got stuck in between the door and the doorway. The loud bang covered my faint moan of pain as I made quick steps to the CR outside the office. Nobody should know how clumsy I was, I thought. 

For quite sometime, I tried to hold my numbing finger with my left hand and looked at the mirror. The pain was unbearable. It was as if I saw a ghost that my features suddenly turned pallid. I opened the faucet to at least pacify the pain with the cold water before it could swell or drip with blood. It wasn't effective at all. Deep inside, I was wishing I could have the guts to call for help but I also thought that I still don't need it at the moment. I could still handle myself in that situation. 

More seconds later, I felt my heart race. It was slow at first, when I entered into one of the small cubicles to release some liquid. But the moment I pushed the flush and unlocked the door, I felt my entire world turn upside down. I almost fell to my feet. If that happened, I could've hit my head hard on the floor, and who knows what's going to happen next. Good thing I still had enough of the strength that I needed to tuck myself in one corner, in a sitting yet flimsy position. My head was throbbing incessantly. My eyesight turned gray and the still image of the mirror, the mop, the pail, the sink and the floor floated like melted butter. My stomach was grueling like angry lions. I needed to call for help, I thought again. But when I tried to open my mouth, no sound came out to form into the urgent words "HELP!" 

At that moment, the only name I could remember calling was God's. I wanted to cry because of my helplessness. I wanted to crawl back to the office for I did not like the idea that I might pass out in the CR. Thankfully, I did not completely lose my sanity. I calmed down, tried humming my favorite inspirational song, and finally got back to my feet. I did not know though how long I stayed there. I walked back to the office like nothing happened, smiling even at some acquaintances along the way. 

My head was still as heavy as a sack of rice when I finally surrendered to my PC cubicle. I laid myself to rest and waited for a relief from the inside. 

As I was about to fall into deep yet painful slumber, a good friend texted me. That was the only time I remembered I can call my father for what happened. But he was far away. I also could not call on my workmates. I don't know why, but I did not like them to know about my situation. In silence, I told my friend on the other line about what happened to me. I thought it was not the right thing to do but if something worse happens to me, someone, at least, would know. He asked a lot of questions, more on how I was feeling. I did not hold long and stopped replying. That time I told myself, "I don't want to die this way."

As if he could read minds, he texted again, telling me he'd bring some medicine to the office. I was overjoyed with the idea, especially that at that moment, my head was starting to throb faster than my heart beat (again). Since he just lives near the tutorial center that I was working, he arrived in no time. I met him at the Food Lounge with a forced smile. He smiled back and I thought it was heavenly. (may time pa talaga ako sa mga ganyan ha?? haha.) He gave me two tablets, one with which I have taken in immediately. We chatted about random stuffs and laughed about it but I could still sense he sounded more concerned about my plight than myself. (ayiiiee) I felt better and took the second tablet four hours later, though there were still traces of pain in my head, which helped me survive that night's tiresome duty.

I have thanked him a million times after he left the office. I think I thanked him enough while he was with me. And even if he cannot read this blog post, I would thank him again. THANK YOU JADE. Your concern meant a lot to me.

That's what real friends are for. *blink*

Tawa-Tawa Din 'Pag May Time

This is (so) trending right now at the office, and everyone has shared a laugh at this effortful song rendition of a famous soundtrack. It's just hilarious I can't stop giggling in my cubicle. 

Song Title: Just Give Me a Reason

"It's number in iTunes," she said. 

How to Draw a Fox

Our lesson for tonight is on how to draw a fox. I asked Marly (Kim Han Beol) to draw one fox but she drew  two and said that the second one is the baby fox. How adorable. :))

Though a little blurry, she's still proud to present her work to teacher.

Take a closer look at the mother fox and the baby fox. Good job Marly!

Now, for the next class! ^_^

Laugh Trip ^_^

Thanks to a new-found friend at the company where I am working, I discovered webcamtoy.com. (haha) Huli na ba ang lahat? Anyway, I had fun wrecking my face in front of the webcam and at the same time, exploring the rest of its features. 

This is my new way of releasing the stresses out of my body. Lemme share you, btw, some of my "wrecked" face. (haha again) Wala lang po. Face bumps ahead!

Have a great week ahead! :))) 

Full Time (and other random thoughts)

Today is the start of my full time job as an English teacher for Koreans. 

*More news? I don't have any I think, aside from the fact that there has already been a change in my time slot. And I have to report to the company at an earlier time. 

*While listening to Christian songs, I began to picture out the life I would have when I enroll in that seminary I have longed to go for years now. I had this plan to study there for a year and then teach at the same time. I told my father about this and he was supportive. He even started to mention how he can help and who to call or ask. I think I will have that dream come true a year from now. God knows how willing I am to be there. But of course His divine plan will still prevail. 

*So I have finished reading The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks for less than 48 hours, and the ending brought me to tears. Whether the tragic or the happy one, it's for you to discover (if you haven't read the book or haven't seen the movie).

*Though not so bothered by the fact that the Licensure Examination for Teachers is coming very fast and I haven't filed my registration at the Regional PRC office yet, there are still unguarded moments wherein I caught myself looking blankly at the ceiling while wondering what it would be like to be in that testing room with the rest of the thousand aspirants. I am not worried though because I have a great GOD who will help me. 

*Some more? My crush looks great today. Oh yeah! (This is one of those childish moments.)

Receiving (and Giving) Gifts on Random Days

Random days are the best days to be surprised. You don't know what's going to happen next.

My first 'Nicholas Sparks'. Two days ago, my friend from the school paper publication handed me an orange-covered rectangular stuff while we were chatting on our way home. He told me he was supposed to give it last Christmas but due to the busy schedule perhaps, he said he keeps on forgetting to give me the gift, thus the super delayed giving.

'Twas exactly what I wanted though. A Nicholas Sparks The Lucky One paperback indeed. My first NS. (I used to only borrow NS before.) And since I haven't seen the movie yet, I know I will not be spoiled with the book's content. Well, it's always better to read the book first then watch the movie. After I finish reading the book, I certainly have to scout for the movie. 

Chocoliiits. Today is the last day of the summer class at the school where I was working. I have realized that I will miss the toddlers that I used to play and learn with. I will miss the kakulitan, the annoying cries and the bratty attitudes of the babies. 

I will miss the times when these two-year-old babies would run to me and gesture that they want to be carried. I will miss their baby scents and the bottles of milk which pacify them from a tiring play. I will miss the times when two or three babies would rush to me and hug me while they throw their dearest smiles and giggles. I will miss the 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' song and their favorite, 'If You're Happy and You Know It.' I will miss Nate, my favorite pupil, who does not want to enter the classroom unless I get him from where he and his yaya are standing. I will miss his smile and his voice calling me during our table tap activity, saying, "Teacher, ali. Tabangi ko." (Teacher, come here. Help me please.) I will miss how he holds my hand with his soft baby hands. (I think I should stop. My tears are already edging.)

And yes, after the class, a pupil handed his sweet gift--Reese's Butter Cups and a rose-like chocolate. I already ate the latter before I could even think of taking a picture of it. (hehe) Thank you Jayden.

Success. After days of doing a follow-up on the condition of my T.O.R which was temporarily held back by the University Registrar, I finally got my claim stub today. I just have to wait for two weeks to get it. I am so happy for this gift from God. Thank you for answering my prayers. 

And I gave a gift, too. Since one of my pupils in my Korean class loves Iron Man so much, I asked my artist friend to draw him an Iron Man figure with Brad's (my Korean pupil) name on it. I sent the picture to him last night, and he was like, "Whoah teacher! This is awesome."

Getting a Dose of Their Teacher's Day Celeb

Today is Teacher's Day in Korea. Since it is a special day for Koreans, I asked my online students about what they have done to thank their teachers. 

One of my students, in the name of Brandon, answered me and said, "I did not give anything to my teacher. But my mom gave her something." I asked him what it was but he just replied, "I can't tell you. It's top secret."

I gave a full blast of laughter after he said that. This eleven-year old boy really knows how to make me laugh. 

Later during our class, his father showed up in the video camera and I greeted him a good evening. He answered back with a big grin on his face. With Brandon still smiling beside him, he said, "I heard about you from my wife. Thank you so much for teaching my kids good English. You are such a good help to them."

Wow!! Did I hear it right? The parents like me. Now, the father is thanking me for the good teaching I have imparted to their children. I am so HAPPY. I just got a dose of happiness from their Teacher's Day Celebration.

Another student of mine, in the name of Daniel, also had a surprise for me in this special day. This 16-year-old lad sang me a song from Westlife, saying that it is one his favorite artists. He did the "My Love" song of the group and I could not help but draw a wide smile on my face. What a super wow! 

Because of these small things from my foreign students, I will have more reasons to make better in my teaching, be it in a virtual or real classroom setting. Salamat po ng marami LORD. 

The Voice

His voice turned me on. 

With the new tutorial that I have, I was able to meet new people and new personalities with new time slots in a new workplace. And with this NEWNESS comes some random appreciation for specific persons. For short, I have this one person I started to have a crush on. [ayiiiieee :)]

The history. The first time I heard that voice, I was seated on my cubicle, preparing for my first class. The instance and the exact thing I was doing during that time was not as vivid as the masculinity of the voice that I heard. The voice was not husky but it is very masculine. It speaks of strength and compassion, intimacy and fun, calmness and perfection. Oh my gooosssshhh!! I have fallen in love with that voice. And I know that the person who owns that voice is just one cubicle across. I can clearly hear him. Golly, golly, golly. ^_^

The development. I have been in this new workplace for almost two weeks now, and everyday, I hear that voice. It just makes my day, really. And even if I am tired from work, from talking to Korean kids, hearing that voice soothes everything. 

The discovery. And tonight, finally, I discovered who the owner of the voice was. After long nights of guessing which vocal chords that voice come from, I now have a face to THE VOICE. ^_^ He is tall, brown-skinned (moreno), and good-looking. (hihi) I came to know of this thing from another workmate of mine who belongs to the same cubicle row as him. (I'm blushing right now because I can clearly hear his voice.)

P.S. I can't help but smile every time I hear him laugh. And yeah, we are wearing my favorite color today. The BOTH of US!! Isn't that GREAT???? :))) hahaha

Random Thoughts Part 24

It's the start of the five-day hectic lifestyle again, and here I am battling to live one day at a time. 

I am not teaching toddlers. After this summer on-the-job training with toddlers at a private school in the city, I will never teach toddlers again (unless I will receive a salary of 100, 000 a month). [hahaha] I finally had the chance to teach toddlers this morning after two weeks of observing my partner teacher. It wasn't fun more so that someone came in to evaluate me. Another evaluation will be coming anytime this week, and hopefully when that time comes, I will be more prepared and the children will be more behaved and attentive (but I still am not expecting too much from them especially on behaving).

There has been a slight change of schedule. Or let's just say an addition to my load. Last week, in my online tutorial job, I had two Korean students only. Now, on the second week of my work, I was given four more students to tutor. I am thankful though that I will not be meeting them all five times a week. I just finished organizing my schedule and it seems okay. I think this will also mean a raise in my salary. (hahaha) Thank you Lord. 

They are friendly here. And the people are friendly here. The workplace is okay. I surely am going to love this place and quitting this part time job soon would certainly be hard for me. Anyhow, I will not think about it just yet. I shall enjoy this time with my new workmates and my adorable Korean students. 

Free spaghetti, anyone? After copying my new schedule from the cork board, our Korean boss came to me and told me to eat spaghetti. My workmate in the name of Mae or Marie (I forgot, really. haha.) is celebrating her birthday today. So cheers for the yummy spag. For long life. ^_^

Lebron James is MVP (again). For the fourth time now, Lebron "King James" with a jersey number of 6 from Miami Heat is declared the Most Valuable Player. Hooray for this guy from my fave team. hihihi. This is  after his winning streak from the year 2009 to 2010 and then interrupted by Derrik Rose on 2011. He then had his third last year 2012 and now, this. Congrats! I really love him play especially when he does his three-point shots. Way to go! ^_^

American Idol has its top 3 now. Angie, Candice and Kree are the final three contingents for the coveted title "American Idol 2013." After the elimination of Amber last week who brought some of the judges to tears, these three gals will certainly give their very best for that one spot they have been dreaming of. Watch them perform live every Thursday on Star World. :)

Monday is to end, and I praise God for this beautiful life. And yeah, happy birthday to Ante Mia. :)) 

(I shall tell of her story and how God worked in her life the next time around)

Random Thoughts Part 23

Hi there. I have missed this blog lately. Maybe not very lately because I have been away for so long. (hihihi) And since I am back, I will just talk about randomness. That's what I am good at anyway. ^_^

Tiresome, enjoying. I have a new job. Hooray for me. I am now teaching toddlers in the city (two-year-old kids) at a prestigious private school. This is the end of my second week now and on Monday, the applicants who are having their on-the-job training will be evaluated by the principal. Hopefully, I will have good remarks during the evaluation so that I will be able to get a teaching position on June. I am getting more excited as that day approaches. hihi.

Dealing with little children, you ask me. Hoooo. Superbly tiresome. There are 14 of them and three of us (teachers). But within that two-week bond with the kids, the teachers have successfully established trust inside the classroom and the babies are getting more used to our presence than ever before. I am very happy for that.

In fact, one of the kids keep on tugging my blouse every time I stand up. He always wanted to sit on my lap and do the "horsey-horsey" moves. He loved that a lot. Sometimes, when I talk to the other kids, he would approach me and smile, and then finally tug me, which means he is trying to get my attention. This cute little guy is named Nate. Oh that wonderful baby scent. He is just so adorable. Hmmm, that sounds like I am having favorites. All of them are so adorable. That cannot be denied.

Even if it is tiring to work with these kids, I know that I am on the right track, that teaching really is my thing, for I am enjoying every minute with them. And I thank God for this wonderful opportunity.

Saying goodbye is not easy (especially to kids). I am also working part time in one of the online tutorial centers here in the city (aside from my tutorials at home). Our customers here are Korean kids. Aside from noticing that they are all wearing eye glasses, these kids are apparently enrolled in this online tutorial for them to become English, if not proficient, speakers.

This is just like working part time in a call center. But I believe this is better than the latter because this has something to do with dealing with kids. And I need that training for my profession.

And yes, for the good bye part. Well, today will be the last day for one of the teachers here. She will be resting for a month and then will pursue her teaching profession in the real world. Since I had the chance to have a side-by-side lesson with her, I was able to talk to her student online. And while she was talking, bidding goodbye to her student, I can see how the Korean boy's eyes welled with tears. While watching, I realized how they have been attached to each other in a teacher-student manner.

It's heartbreaking but it's part of life. So we might as well get used it.

Minutes from now, my class will already start tonight. God bless you. Have a great weekend. ^_^

UNO Addicts

Ever heard of UNO card game? The first time I heard of this game was on Cartoon Network, during its segment "Toy News". That was a long time ago. Just recently, a friend of mine from the publication introduced the UNO card game. I was intrigued on how it's played, and though I am not really into card games (because of that initial feeling that I would lose anyway), I tried learning it. And guess what? I had a great time learning it. And now, it is the number one addiction inside the office. When we are somehow tired of reading or editing, when we are a bit bored of the humdrum of college student life, when we are depressed, when we are waiting for our next class, we grab the UNO cards from the locker of one of our great cartoonist and start the game. 

Here's how it is played. 

(I actually Googled the mechanics because I find it hard to relate it in my own words.)
[source here]

1. Use a deck of UNO cards. The standard UNO deck has 108 cards consisting of: four colored "suits" (Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow), Action cards (Draw 2, Reverse, and Skip), Wild cards, and Wild Draw Four cards.

2. Choose a dealer by having each player pick one card. The person with the highest number is the dealer. In this instance, Action cards (including Wild and Wild Draw Fourcards) have a value of zero.

3. Deal each player seven cards and place the remaining cards face down in the middle of the table. This pile of cards in the middle is known as the draw pile.

4. Turn over the top card of the draw pile and place this card next to the draw pile to form the discard pile.

5. Take turns beginning with the player to the dealer's left and go clockwise around the table.

6. Place one of your cards on the discard pile when it's your turn. Your card must have the same number, color or wording as the top card of the discard pile... unless you have a Wild card, in which case you can choose which color cards will be played.

7. Draw a card if you cannot discard. Play the drawn card if you can. If you can't, it's the next person's turn.

8. Announce a suit when you place a wild card on the discard pile. You can play a Wild card any time it's your turn and can name any suit you wish.

9. Announce a suit when you place a Wild Draw Four card on the discard pile.

10. Follow the directions of an Action card that is played on the discard pile by the player preceding you. This may mean that you have to draw two cards, skip a turn or even draw four cards. 

11. Remember to Say "UNO" when you have one card left in your hand. If you forget to say UNO and another player catches you, you must draw two cards.

12. Tally each player's scores at the end of each game. The game is over when one player is completely out of cards. That person gets all the points.

13. Here's how to score in UNO:

• Add the total of all the cards left in each player's hand.
• Count number cards (0-9) as their numeric value.
• Count Draw Two, Skip, and Reverse cards as 20 points.
• Count Wild and Wild Draw Four cards as 50 points.
• Award all points to the winner of each round.

14. Repeat the game until one player scores 500 points.

So there goes the UNO card game. If you still have a hard time understanding it, we can play it some time. That way, I can personally teach you how it's done. ^_^