fruit salad saturday

i.
abrasive people. i hate them. another bullet point in the ever-growing list. right alongside narrow-minded people and buro.

twice in a week i had the unfortunate luck to be in the company of the same abrasive guy. he’d make comments that he thinks are funny, but then they teeter on the offensive. one or two of those one-liners are ok, but a whole night of them is just too much. i wonder how his friends tolerate such behavior.

ii.
the weekend had its blessings, however. i had the opportunity of seeing a fantastic performance by the miriam college high school glee club and the cultural/classical dance club.

initially i was there to support the sister of my dear friend, M. what started out as a quiet night of music ended up as an energetic display of youth by both singing and dancing groups! added to the fact that the glee club was obviously well-prepared for the night, the performance by the dance club was astounding! apparently, an acquaintance from a friend’s ballet group was the headliner of the dance club! to say that i was mesmerized by the dances is an understatement.

that was how dance should be performed. not necessarily the snappy movements nor the display of agility, but the exuberance of passion. it’s what separates the dancers from the puppets who merely mimic the choreographer’s motions. such is the difference.

iii.
my students are now about to end their four-year stay.

i wonder: how was i as a teacher?
how much do they appreciate having given the chance to study in the school?
how will they fare in college?
what memories will they bring with them?
did the school even make a difference in their lives?
are they better people, now being ateneans?

christ week’s end

it’s refreshing to see a celebration so warmly welcomed and accepted in the high school. how often have i seen such joy and honest-to-goodness focus in the students? very rarely.

i can’t begin to describe the kind of aura this whole week has been drenched in. the week started off with a solemn rite, with the dazers symbolically showing their commitment to kuya jess, to open christ week. the front of the chapel was practically covered with articles about “miraculous sightings” of christ in a cupboard, in the sky, in a cloth. classes were treated to talks by speakers, mostly distinguished alumni, who have made a difference in their own circles. the reason: they had christ by their side. films on jesus were shown at the instructional technology center for two days. the faculty band played u2 classics: pride, haven’t found what i’m looking for and with or without you. the dance group staged a dance (gary v’s sayaweh). the premiere theater group sang a josh groban piece (you raise me up). bukas palad performed too. what a week!

the school needs to support more activities like these. only in centering our movements to christ does education make any sense. after all, it is what makes the school a filipino and jesuit institution.

my first vertigo experience

i.
it hurts. it’s no joke. ever had vertigo? imagine that after a tiring task, you sleep, then your soul goes on an expedition to an unknown place. then, when you wake up, bam! it hits you like a train. suddenly you can’t get a hold on the world around you. it’s as if your soul isn’t snugly fit into your body. like the way a shirt half a size small fits you: it goes in, but you can’t sit still. you keep fidgeting to make it snug.

that, my friend is vertigo. and our infirmary’s number one remedy? bonamine.

… it didn’t do squat. ok, in fairness to the drug, the headaches left for about three hours, then they started again.

*groan*

ii.
it’s amazing what a few hours resting can do to a man’s soul. a simple visit to a chapel can replenish one’s energies so easily. why can’t we just spend the entire day in there?

the fruits of about forty minutes of meditation and communion with the almighty:

hours past dusk
and for all day,
a steadfast calm
never gave way.

oh such silent,
ravaging peace,
“i will not bend!”…
no choice: i yield.

once He speaks
i am meek.

save the pinguins!

yes, you read it right. p-i-n-g-u-i-n-s.

you know what a yeti is.
you know what a pinguin is. (aka "penguin")

here's what happens when a yeti, out of the goodness of his heart, wants to liberate pinguins. pinguins are trapped in the soft snow, so what does he do? hint: a baseball bat has something to do with it.

on to yeti sports and see how far you can help the pinguins fly!

whee!

v-day blues

disclaimer: this entry will be wrought with incoherence primarily due to the fact that i really do not know where to start. reading on means that you will tolerate this incoherence/babbling. you have been warned.

i.
friday's night was one of a kind! the early part of the night was spent at a dance concert where the mchs sayawatha, together with the pep squad, performed their art. amazing what costumes, good music and even better choreography can do. congrats to you, girls!

the question of that hour was: how much did the pep squad spend for their stage design and costumes? (they had around 8 dances, each with different costumes, each with different sets. they even had suspension wires a la matrix for one dance!)

nyoy volante was the next item on the agenda. we headed off to eastwood and hung out at jack's loft (yummy fishbowl iced tea!). nyoy volante's music played in the background. who could want anything more?

i. (epilogue)
when i brought my friend home, i chanced upon her brother (my kabarkada) with several other common friends. even if i was dead tired at that time, i couldn't pass the opportunity to hang out for a little while. 3 or 4 glasses of wine later, i just had to head on home. still had a big game in the morning.

ii. then the morning comes
v-day. where was i? cchq, of course! it was my time to get stuff i needed/wanted for my vampire deck.

a fraction of a game later, i headed off to share a bit of my own life to 35+ dazers. everytime i get to do that, i remember why i do what i do.

iii. minsan lang…
sibol didn't stage sinta this year. what they did have went beyond expectations. it was a valentine's concert. my date? no one. i am actually happy that that night played out that way. it was refreshing to get out of the valentine's box. the box that says "you shoud have a date tonight," or "singles are losers". in particular, there was this poem that was delivered that i couldn't stop thinking about.

araw ng mga puso
(rico abelardo)

mangyari lamang ay tumayo ang mga nagmamahal
nang makita ng lahat ang mukha ng pag-ibig
ipamalas ang tamis ng malalim na pagkakaunawaan
sa mga malabo ang paningin.

mangyari lamang na tumayo rin ang mga nagmahal at nasawi
nang makita ng lahat ang mga sugat ng isang bayani
ipadama ang pait ng kabiguan
habang ipinagbubunyi ang walang katulad
na kagitingan ng isang nagtaya.

mangyari lamang ay tumayo ang mga nangangambang magmahal
nang makita ng lahat ang kilos ng isang bata
ipamalas ang katapatan ng damdamin na pilit ikinukubli
ng pusong lumaki sa mga engkanto't diwata.

mangyari lamang na tumayo ang nagmahal, minahal at iniwan
ngunit handa pa ring magmahal
nang makita ng lahat ang yaman ng karanasan
ipamalas ang katotohanang nasaksihan
nang maging makahulugan ang paghagulgol sa dilim.

at sa mga nananatiling nakaupo
mangyari lamang ay dahan-dahang tumalilis
palabas sa nakangangang pinto
umuwi na kayo!
at sumbatan ang mga magulang
na nagpalaki ng isang halimaw.

at sa lahat ng mga naiwang nakatayo
mangyari lamang na hagkan ang isa’t isa
at yakapin ang mga sugatan
mabuhay tayong lahat
na nagsisikapmakabalik sa ating pinagmulan
manatiling masaya at higit sa lahat
magpatuloy sa pagmamahal.