Tree and Me

Last 28 September, I’ve got the chance to attend the Interprofessionalism Training conducted by the Human Resource Department of our company. My Client Manager nominated me to attend the said training. Honestly, at first I was very hesitant to join as I find this kind of training very boring. But, when Marco (Officemate and Friend) told me that it is not boring as what I think, I’ve changed my mind and got really excited.
Let me share you one of the activities that we did during the subject. Ms Ava (Our Trainor) told us to make a Life Tree; each part of the tree signifies something in our life.

Then a big callout bubbled in my head “Bakit Puno?, ang chaka naman, Pede naman House, Life House, Ganun!”

Trees are going through the same hurdles as human being, so if the trees can go through that and be able to live another day, and don’t fall, then even me as a human being can do the same, cause we are all created by God.

Actually, it was so difficult for me at first to put anything down on the paper, as I didn’t find any thing noteworthy in my life that I wanted to share with the people. And, I think in my life I have constantly wanted to hide the past and not think about it because it unlock the bad memories that I have had. But when my seatmates were starting to draw, to share their stories, I realized that in my past and in my upbringing I have been fortunate to have the people that have influenced me and strengthened my roots.

The tree of life made me aware of the power of my roots and helped me identify the people that have made me the person I am now. It brought gratitude to my family and all the people that have encouraged me to hold on to my hopes and dreams, and made me realize that I am out of the ordinary. It made me happy because I had a chance to remember the good times and memories I had in the past, particularly in my school days, all the songs and my school friends, and to celebrate the things in my life, look back and appreciate life.

In the process, I began to recognize my skills and gifts, things that make me special such as being good listener, “Problem Solver” kind and always putting other people before me. It has given me the passion to achieve my dreams.

Verdict: I Enjoyed the Learning Process.

Nostalgic

THINK BACK ON  your 1st year in high school.

Let's see how much you remember and how much you regret.

What section were you?
Iron

Who were your seatmates?
Ronel Amoroso, Mark Joseph Aquinez, and Cyril Calim. Sa tatlong yun si Joseph lang naging super ka-close ko, kaso we parted ways, he transferred to another school after that school year.

Still remember your Natural Science teacher?
Yup, Si Ms. Sarreal.

What was your first class?
ahmm, If im not mistaken, Social Science. Terror yung teacher namin dito kaya lagi me nag-aaral sa subject nya, Si Ms. Arenas at ang pamoso nyang 10 pages ng Intermediate pad back-to-back "I will never forget to do my homework"!

Who were your bestfrends?
Sheena Aiza Fuyuki. Kasabay ko lagi umuwi!

Who was your crush back then?

Anne Claraine Barre. Dont know where she is right now!

Made friends with the higher years?
Nope, kinda shy during that time!

Had an admirer/s?
I dont know!

How was your class schedule?
7:00am to 3:30pm ata! Last Subject, English!

Made any enemies?
Hmmm, wala ata, not sure, nainis meron, yung mga makukulit kong classmates!

Who was your favorite teacher/s?

Ms. Sarreal, favorite ko kasi ang Science. Saka yung Values Education teacher ko, I forgot her name pero sobrang bait nya. Lagi nyang sinasabi na mag-loosen-up me. Sobrang tahimik ko kasi at shy!

What organization/s did you join?
Peer Facilitators.

Back then, do you always buy your lunch?
Yes, Favorite meal, Breaded Porkchop sa Cajulis, at Pork Steak sa Native House. 

Were you a party animal?
No, nung 1st year bahay, school at library lang ako (di pa ganoong kauso ang Internet non)!! Remember our old Library, Sa building na nasunog, sobrang cool yung library dun. Old skool, walang air-con, dewey decimal system at tahimik, malamang!

Were you well known in your school?
Nope!

Did you have close friends that were girls?
Yes, Sheena Aiza Fuyuki, Amery Galvez, and Joan Galvez (magpinsan si Amery at Joan).

SKIP CLASSES?
Yes, sa Math subject ko. Wala ata akong dalang workbook non, nakalimutan ko sa bahay. 

Did you get suspended/expelled?
No. Super bait ko ata dati. Promise!

Can you sing the alma mater?
Yes, Few lines!

What was your favorite subject?
Filipino and Science

What was your school's full name?
Imus Institute.

Where did you go most often during breaks?
Kain sa labas ng school, over crowded kasi lagi sa canteen, pag may time pa, sa Library ako madalas makikita!

If you could go back in time and do it all over, would you?
Yes!

What other things do you remember most about 1st yr?

- Favorite akong lalaking estudyante ng Filipino teacher ko kasi ako lang ang nakakasagot sa mga tanong nya tungkol sa Ibong Adarna Topic namin! Tamad ng mga kaklase kong magbasa!

- Hindi ko gusto ang P.E namin dati (Arnis)

- Andami ko laging bitbit na gamit, as in meron pa kong plastic envelope na laging dala!

- Foundation day! nakakainis kasi nagperform kami ng sayaw gamit ang Arnis, ahmm Eye of the Tiger ang music non eh., (duh!) Samantalang yung mga girls nag dance to the tune of 5-6-7-8!

- Madalas akong hinihiraman ng mga clasmate ko ng ID kapag naiiwan nila yung sa kanila, actually violation yun pero uto-uto ako eh.

- Ako lagi nag li-lider kapag may group project kami o group reporting!

- Madalas akong kopyahan ng assignment, pero may mga times na nangongopya din ako!
- Halos lumubog ako sa sobrang hiya kasi ndi naging maayos ang reporting ko sa Science subject about sa Uranus!
- Wala pa kong muwang that time!!

CineMan Presents—Despicable Me

Voices of:

Steve Carell—Gru
Jason Segel—Vector
Russell Brand—Dr. Nefario
Julie Andrews—Gru’s Mom

Assisted by a small army of minions, Gru plans the biggest heist in the history of the world: to steal the moon. With an arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way, until the day he encounters three little willful orphaned girls see in him something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. Funny, clever, warmly animated with memorable characters, the movie says no heart is hard enough for innocence to touch.

I so love this film, especially the Minions. they are hilariously funny and cute little thing as well!

CXVI---Paraphrase

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

-----------------------------------------------------

Let me not declare any reasons why two
True-minded people should not be married. Love is not love
Which changes when it finds a change in circumstances,
Or bends from its firm stand even when a lover is unfaithful:
Oh no! it is a lighthouse
That sees storms but it never shaken;
Love is the guiding north star to every lost ship,
Whose value cannot be calculated, although its altitude can be measured.
Love is not at the mercy of Time, though physical beauty
Comes within the compass of his sickle.
Love does not alter with hours and weeks,
But, rather, it endures until the last day of life.
If I am proved wrong about these thoughts on love
Then I recant all that I have written, and no man has ever [truly] loved.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 is about love in its most ideal form. It is praising the glories of lovers who have come to each other freely, and enter into a relationship based on trust and understanding. The first four lines reveal the poet's pleasure in love that is constant and strong, and will not "alter when it alteration finds." The following lines proclaim that true love is indeed an "ever-fix'd mark" which will survive any crisis. In lines 7-8, the poet claims that we may be able to measure love to some degree, but this does not mean we fully understand it. Love's actual worth cannot be known – it remains a mystery. The remaining lines of the third quatrain (9-12), reaffirm the perfect nature of love that is unshakeable throughout time and remains so "ev'n to the edge of doom", or death.

In the final couplet, the poet declares that, if he is mistaken about the constant, unmovable nature of perfect love, then he must take back all his writings on love, truth, and faith. Moreover, he adds that, if he has in fact judged love inappropriately, no man has ever really loved, in the ideal sense that the poet professes. *Wikipedia

Just finished watching Sense and Sensibility (Based on the Novel by Jane Austen). One of the character in that movie mentioned a part of that Sonnet and it made me think! Love, Love!

Decaf

Sa kagustuhan kong hindi antukin at makatulog, kanina ay nagtimpla ako ng kape, yung kadalasang timpla ko. Mas marami ang kape at konti ang asukal. Pagkatapos nag-CR lang ako sandali kasi galit na galit na pala ang pantog ko sa dami ng lamang maalat na likido. Pagkatapos kong pagbigyan si Inang Kalikasan, nakita ko si Mama na tinitikman ang tinimpla kong kape, medyo nagulat pa nga siya nung bigla akong nagsalita mula sa kanyang likuran ng “Mama, akin yan!”, sabay sabing “O ayan na,hindi ko din naman gusto”. Madalas sabihin ni mama sa akin na abnormal daw ako kasi wala na nga daw katamis-tamis ang kape ko, ang tigas pa ng lasa, kaya daw tuloy hindi na nga ako sweet ay masungit pa. Alam kong nagbibiro lang siya, at sanay na kong sinasabi ni mama sa akin ang mga iyon, kaso parang iba ang dating sa akin ng simpleng biro na iyon ngayon. Pagbalik ko sa harapan ng monitor ng PC ko at pinagpatuloy ang pag-iinternet, hindi mawala sa isip ko ang binitiwang salita ni mama. Naisip ko diba Mother Knows Best, hindi kaya sa kabila ng birong tinuran niya, totoo nga na masungit ako at hindi sweet. Nakakatuwa na sa simpleng kape niya naihambing ang ugali ko. Bakit hindi sa Frappé para medyo sosyal naman, o sa gatas para healthy diba. Habang sinisimsim ko ang lasa ng kapeng naging dahilan para malunod ako sa malalim na pag-iisip, nanuot sa akin ang pait ng lasa nya. Bitter din ba ako, gaya ng kape ko? Ako ba yung tipong mararamdaman mo ang pagkapait kasi makikita mo ang itim at luksa sa kulay ko. Naalala ko ang text message na natanggap ko dati, sabi dun “Its okay to be bitter, medicines usually taste bitter, but it makes you well” Koneksyon sa kape, Please! Kalokohan itong mga ideya na pumasok sa isip ko.

Higop sa mainit na kape, natauhan kasi napaso. Ngayon sagutin nyo ko, HOT din ba ko? ü

Survivor Ako!

Survivor Philippines
Survivor Philippines is a top-rating reality game show produced by Castaway Television Productions, Ltd. and GMA Network Inc.'s News and Public Affairs Department aired over GMA Network.
After its successful run of two seasons; consecutively held in Koh Tarutao, Thailand and Palau, Micronesia the show is now on its third season, titled Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown.
Survivor Philippines is largely based on the international franchise of Survivor produced in more than 50 territories around the world.
The format for Survivor was created in 1992 by British television producer Charlie Parsons. It is considered as the pioneer for making reality television a popular television genre.

Format
With cameras following their every move, the contestants called castaways are sent in the wilderness, usually in an island or forest setting. They would try to survive daily living without the bare necessities and compete with each other for almost 40 days for cash and other prizes.

The castaways are initially grouped into teams or tribes that go against each other during reward and immunity challenges set within every three days. These challenges are mostly physical, mental and endurance activities.

The reward challenges won by the tribe or an individual castaway entail prizes like food, fire, a video message from loved ones or simple luxuries like shower or a trip to a local tourist destination. The prize for winning immunity challenges, on the other hand, is “immunity” from the tribal council or protection from being voted off the island and from the game.

Through progressive elimination, the castaways are to vote off other tribe members until the final set of contestants remain.

The members of the jury or the castaways voted off during the merging of the tribes choose who wins the title of “Sole Survivor” and the cash prize that goes along with it.

For Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown, 18 famous personalities or celebrities are selected through screening to join the contest.

The will try to outplay, outwit and outlast each other as they brave the elements.

Adjusting to their new lifestyle, their goal is to win over their fellow celebrities to become the first Sole Celebrity Survivor. The winner will receive the cash prize of 3 million pesos.

Personal Favorite Castaway
Hmmm... Karen delos Reyes, I dont know if she has the “Sole Survivor” material, but when it comes to “totoong-tao” attitude, grabe nasa kanya na lahat! I so love this show!

Closet

Why do Bekis Hide and Act Straight?

Do you have a gay guy friend hiding in his closet. I mean living in lies, making people believe, even his own family, that he is straight. In our society today, I can say we all (if not, well most of us) do have!



There are several types of gays. Some gays dress like women and flaunt it and some are almost clown-like and enjoy showing people what they are, but, mostly there are many gays that look straight and aren't acting at all. Gays aren't "fairy-like" or "feminine" always (e.g. famous sports figures, actors, famous people are gay and you'd never know it). Gays don't have pink horns glued out of their heads or a post-it attached in their forehead saying “Hello World, I am Gay”!

As I browse the Internet, One very good explanation is "lack of knowledge in society on the subject of gays." Another reason is society as a whole is uneasy about gays to this day although things are getting a little better.

Logically: Why do criminal's wear masks? Why do spies go by alias? Why do guys not tell their wife they're in love with another woman? The answer to all of these questions is simple. Because they don't want to have problem in dealing with the consequence of being themselves.

I'm sick of hearing people say "Just be yourself because trying to be something you're not is hell, it's just stupid...blah…blah" What's stupid is that mindset of individuals that can't understand what gay is.

Put yourself in someone else's shoes for a second. For some of us it's a little harder than it is for others to come out of the closet. From the moment we're born were assumed to be heterosexual. To act what the society expects us to act. You don't hear parents say "I hope he's not straight, I hate basketball and boxing and having all those girls in the house would be so embarrassing."

A friend once confide to me that He have to act straight to survive. Like many other gay guys, he would be kicked out of their house if he ever came out.

Many others just don't want to come out in fear of losing friendships, or trust or (sadly enough) jobs or many other benefits they have from pretending to be straight.

Lets admit that not all of us have the opportunity to come out!

I have to say that gay people act straight to avoid pressure from their peers. If they feel that they have to fit in, they have to act different to how they naturally would.. in my opinion, i believe that people should be themselves, despite what others think of it. If they don't like it, they'll get over it. Being gay is not a crime, a punishable misdeed that will result to suffering.

Well, I am gay,. And so proud to be one!

A Life Worth Living

It was Emil's birthday when I finally see again my College Bitches/Bestfriends. And as what I've expected, everyone were in their pasabog mood for that night. Its good to have friends like them. Makes my life worth living!

Positivity

I worried a lot, I stressed a lot, I kept a lot battle within. But what I learned is that, when you find the knowledge too see positive in every negative, as difficult as it may be, things begin to change. Because it is literally how we think that matters a lot. I learn to make pivotal moment, a moment of truth in every situation. But when you are in the midst of the pain or something that you've lost, or an inside longing, or whatever. You've got to find the positive in it, and focus on it! Even if you know whats causing you the pain, basically you know what you don't want, and if you know what you don't want, that helps you know what you do want the most, and if you know what you do want, you can focus on it.

Everything will be fine!