miniatures

It is said that the school serves as a training ground for the real world. The best training grounds are those that simulate the real deal, and in this case, my school’s system is nothing short of being the perfect miniature for the Philippine government.

As much as I love my country, there are those things that need to be changed in order for improvement to take place. Bureaucracy, corruption, and the insatiable cravings for more power are things that reduce my so beloved country to the lowest of terms, thus, making them top on my list of Things to be Eliminated.

Kalasag currently has this issue with the Samahan Central Board. I don’t know what SCB is up to, but by the way I see things, I feel a little to be blamed. I am not naming names, but I have to talk about it. Apparently, power is something that engulfs the better reasoning of any person unfortunate enough to fall prey to its promises. Sadly, I have learned that a little too late. With the issues that have come up recently regarding things at SCB, I am a little ashamed (take note: ashamed, not embarrassed) to admit that I have not voted as wisely as I might think. But there is still that tiny ray of hope that exists: hope that this recent conclusion of mine might be proven wrong in the long run.

*Sigh*

Today’s my fifth day at work, but still no student. But I’m to face an 18-year old overachiever (apparently), on Monday. Wish me luck! *crosses fingers*

an update on my half-finished summer

For summer, I plan to:

1. Get my tongue pierced (March 26)
2. Go to Camiguin (April 28-30)
3. Get a new haircut (dunno when… maybe a little before school starts)
4. Read for the mass (maybe even sing the Psalms)
5. Join the church choir
6. Begin writing the novel I have been longing to write (hi Roa!)
7. Finish reading at least 3 books (David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and Dorian Grey)
8. Start and finish reading at least 5 books
9. Make at least 5 movie reviews
10. Make at least 5 book reviews.

(an excerpt from my March 12, 2007 entry)

OK. I am not supposed to comment on this, but I just have to. I have to suck in the pride and admit that I have been everything but faithful to this list.

First.
I was supposed to get my tongue pierced, but then come March 26, I had another bout of kuripot-ism. I decided to save up some more (just to make sure I get to survive this summer without having to kneel in front of my mom, begging for some cash) and just get my pierce on April 10, but things just happened (things usually do). Now that I have this English tutoring job, I just can’t get my tongue pierced (despite the assurance of some moolah for this summer). I am not to be blamed if my Korean students started speaking English as if they, too, had their tongue pierced.

Second.
Yeah! We are taking off for Camiguin tomorrow, 10 pm. I know, the trip came a day earlier than planned, mostly, because of my schedule. If we had to leave as planned, I’ll be spending 5 hours tops in Camiguin just to get back in time for my 5:30-9:30 AM job. Totally not worth the almost 20 hour-ride to Camiguin and back. Anyway, the rest of my Kalasag family would be coming home on the 30th of April (night) or 1st of May, which means I’ll be leaving them there if I plan to keep my job (which, as I would be talking about later, hasn’t quite come into full gear just yet).

Third.
I already had my hair cut. I can no longer bear the summer heat of Davao City. It’s much shorter than I hoped, but then, it’s just hair. It’ll grow back, and based on experience, much faster than I would want it to. I was really surprised by the reaction of other people, though. I guess people have gotten so used to my long hair, that they have forgotten that I used to have shorter hair just a couple of years ago. Oh well.

a preview of my new and improved do

Fourth and Fifth.
I completely forgot about this one. I’ll call the church later to ask for practice schedules.

Sixth.
Sadly, my room is a mess, and being the lazy pig that I am, I can’t quite come around to cleaning it. So, I doubt I’ll be seeing much of Sylvia this summer. No Sylvia, no novel. Damn.

Seventh.
This is so pathetic. I haven’t even finished David Copperfield yet. I am barely halfway, and I have been stuck at the same page for the past week. Hahaay, lazy, lazy, lazy (sue me!).

Eighth.
How could I begin reading new books when I haven’t even finished reading David Copperfield yet? (by the way, David Copperfield’s a really good book. No kidding.)

Ninth.
The last movie I have been to was Flushed Away. I have been meaning to write a review for that and 300, and some older films, but then blame my lazy butt for the indefinite delay.

Tenth.
How could I begin making book reviews when I haven’t even finished reading David Copperfield yet? Oh well, I could just write a review about the books I have already read.

So what have I been up to, really? First and foremost, I have been a taong Kalasag. I spent the first week after Holy Week catering to the needs of the fresh (and sometimes, not-so-fresh) graduates.

Second, I got this job. Today is my fourth day of being hired, but I have no students still. I am looking for new and improved ways to entertain myself using the internet. On my first day, I did some research on Hangeul (now, I can write Korean without looking at my notes. Sadly, I am not that fast at reading yet). On my second day, I watched movie trailers on youtube. Yesterday, I played Minesweeper and read episode recaps of Prison Break. Today, I am blog-hopping.

Other than the things aforementioned, I have been, pretty much, a bum this summer.

experimenting with my webcam (what a sad girl I have become)

andie acronyms

Those things, my friend, stand for ANDIE (just in case you haven’t noticed). I’m spending my time here in Kalasag, waiting for my hint to carry my butt all the way to ISETS (for my first training session). I am quite bored, and even worse is the fact that I feel quite lazy (and that does not exclude writing and thinking). I am very sleepy and my head feels a little light, but I am a survivor. And besides, its not like its my first time to feel this way.

OK. For now, let me talk about the acronyms I have above.

The first acronym is a little funny, absurd, and interesting, all at the same time. First and foremost, I AM NO ANGEL. I can be good, but not enough to call me an angel. Sheesh! Why am I taking this so seriously? Anyway, its not like I should give a damn.

Damn. I’m bored. I better leave.

an update

I just got a message from ISET. I start training tomorrow! Yehey! Five days of training, and if I get to prove myself, I’m on the payroll! Yehehehe!!!

Update on the traffic: the traffic lasted the whole day. Bankerohan Bridge is falling down, and so they had to reroute or something. I am not sure what the people responsible did to cause such a traffic. All I know is that the fact that Bankerohan Bridge is falling down was the root of all evil.

This last part involves the building on which ISET resides. It is the same building where my mom used to work (MASCO). You have no idea how much blast I got from the past. I still remember having my first ever ID picture taken on that same building roughly 15 years ago (the picture, which is in black and white, hangs on a wall in our dining area). My mom started working at MASCO years before I was born. Literally, I learned how to tie my shoe lace, first laid my eyes on a computer, learned how to use a pencil sharpener, got addicted with using the pencil sharpener, learned how to make crank calls, and memorized the multiplication table at that office. I can still remember where my mom and everybody else’s tables were. Anyway, I’m not sad my mom left that job. She deserved a better job anyway (that job made her so stressed and cranky, all at a little over the minimum wage). All I’m saying is that… What am I saying, really?

Oh well.

what starts with a traffic jam ends with a job interview (with exciting twists)

I have just bore witness to the worst traffic jam ever recorded in Davao’s history (or so I think). The 17-minute (average) ride from Davao Executive Homes to AdDU Roxas gate became an unbelievable 1-and-something-hour ride, which, minus the dust and the sweltering heat, would have been perfectly tolerable. Anyway, I felt patience engulfing the better of my senses, which made me deal with the situation in the best way possible (that referring to constant watch-glancing and dozing off–luckily, without any drool–and nothing more, or less for that matter).

Aside from patience, luck seems to be on my side today. The past two days have been extremely draining. We resumed releasing 2007 yearbooks on Tuesday, and people swarmed the office (or what’s left of it, which is actually not much), claiming their fabulous and über beautiful (but equally heavy) yearbook. Due to the number of graduates, there came a point where we ran out of yearbooks. Kimi and I decided to bring some copies from the bodega. We carried four yearbooks, each. And I’m telling you, I have never carried anything as heavy as that, ever (and I suppose, by our step-step-step-stop pattern, that Kimi felt exactly the same). Anyway, one try made as quit even faster than you could say YEARBOOK. Hell, even faster than you can say YEAR! We ended up distributing the yearbook at the basement, which doubles the temperature of the outside environment (which drained us raisin-dry), for two days: the survival of which gives enormous justice to the fact of my being a cactus in a past life. Anyway, luck switched the situation today. Midtown delivered lots of yearbooks yesterday, which gave us a chance to steer clear of the dehydrating basement. Plus today, lesser demanding and sometimes rude graduates harrased us. I was able to wear my hair down, and smell like everything but sweat, all of which was a plus for my job interview.

I applied for job as an English tutor at a learning center called ISE (I Speak English). The people there teach Koreans how to speak English through video conferencing. Though I was presentable when I got there, I doubt if I presented myself in the best of lights. I was panicking like hell during the interview (Man! The Korean who interviewed me had the voice of an angel. Honestly, if I was just a tad sillier or more foolish than I already am, I would have declared my love for the guy. Anyway, the interview was totally sad since the guy saw my face, but I only had a basic Windows XP background to consider as his.), and I left three of the numbers in the written exam blank. I am not desperate for the job though, so I seriously doubt that I would go anywhere near the edge of a building if I did not get the job (though the extra cash would actually do miracles for my summer). I just wish though that I could get another chance to speak with that Korean interviewer. I could listen to his voice forever.

What an entry. I started it at around lunch time. Right now says 7:33. SO many distractions, only one silly girl as the object.

another boring entry

I finally get a chance to be by myself, but I am not finding it completely amusing. I was supposed to have a date with ate Star today, but apparently, she is busy, so the date is postponed for another time. Good thing I asked for some extra cash today…

One of the most important things I have to do today is find Kimi a birthday gift (hope she does not get the chance to read this). That task was supposed to be finished two days ago, but then things happened. Things usually do. So I guess today would be the best time to get that gift finalized.

This really sucks. I don’t feel like doing anything today, and the mere fact that I can choose not to makes things even worse. I have suddenly turned into a monster-slash-sloth-slash-underacaffeinated pig. AHA! Maybe that’s it! Maybe I just need some coffee to wake me up. Man! Even getting a cup of coffee is too much for me right now… Huhuhuh…

By the way, say hello to the new Business Editor of Kalasag: Ang Taunang Aklat ng Ateneo de Davao University. I expected the position, but wanted it as much as I would love licking off a cow-dung cone. Oh well… I am 99.99999% terrified of handling money, but since I love Kalasag so much, I am left with almost no choice at all.

I have nothing more to say… Damn, my entries have been becoming extremely boring lately. Hmmmm, I better get run over by a bus or something, before I bore myself to death…ü