HOW TO LIVE A LIFE

March 30

It is our last day today for work but I still have a lot of paperworks and clearance requirements to accomplish before I can finally say that the school year has ended. Besides, I need to finish all those requirements so I can get my summer pay and other allowances on time. The best thing in being a teacher is that you are being paid even you don’t need to report for work for two months.

I thought that I will have an exact 2 month vacation but I need to go back in school after the Holy Week. Now I realized how stressful and demanding the Pisay administrators at the end of every school year. The government problem is still red tape. Redundant papers, forms, and reports report are just few of the things that make the process longer.
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Hope that I’ll enjoy our unit outing this Monday and Tuesday in Palm Beach Resort in Laiya Beach San Juan, Batangas. It’s my third time in that place and I hope it is more relaxing and soothing this time. My problem with the place is not the accommodation and attraction but the prices that are lavishly that may be compare to Boracay and other high end tourist spots.

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I’m very delighted with my new Dell laptop. I think that it is a great idea to buy it in Singapore rather than here. I went to SM Cyberzone and I asked the price of the same Dell Inspiron laptop that I have now and it cost 69K. Also, the pre-installed Microsoft Vista operating system is great! I’m planning to upgrade the laptop’s memory this summer.

April 2

The final project for my one of my graduate school class is somewhat successful. We never expected to have a unique exhibit from the previously planned typical photo exhibition. The project is the 2 day exhibit of the photographs we have taken during our Tanay trip last February. Some of my classmates have projected their pictures through video, overhead projectors, print in acetates, slide shows and the usual print photographs. Mine is somewhat a compilation of the pictures that I took during my Bolinao, Boracay, Tacloban and Tanay trip for the past months in poster type layouts. The exhibit was attended by the Dean of the College, professors and students of the College of Education. I’m expecting a 1.00 grade in this subject with the great feedbacks and comments that I got during the 2 day exhibit.

The Batangas outing is very relaxing and enjoyable. What I really like with the resort(The Palm Beach resort) is that the place is quite private. Also, the facilities and villas are somewhat comparable to the high end resorts in Boracay. The problem is the beach sand is not that smooth with big rocks all over the shore. We decided to go to a nearby resort (La Luz Beach resort) for swimming since it the shore there is relatively fine compare to Palm Beach.

April 6

We woke up early for the yearly reunion with my mom’s relative in Tarlac. It is the annual reunion for the Pineda clan and it is fairly not the same since some of my cousins didn’t came home to the province and one of my aunt just came from the hospital. We’re really worried to my aunt’s condition since what she is suffering now is quite the same as my mom and lola’s diabetes complications before they passed away last year. Since not many of my cousins came, we decided to spend the whole afternoon in a swimming pool in a nearby resort. I’m not that really closed with my relatives in my mother’s side since we only come home in Tarlac once or twice a year. But I’m really proud with my ‘promdi‘ cousins and nieces who’s some of them graduated and passed the board exam in such a young age of 20 and 21.

Its been a great weekend.
Last Friday, together with the other colleagues and the Batch 2008 students went to Laguna area for the Outbound Education Program of Batch 2008. We went to UPLB area for our first stop. We went to the Makiling Botanical Garden and hiked the Philippine Raptors Center. Unfortunately, the Raptors Center was closed so the facilitators of Lakbay Kalikasan provided some team-building challenges for the students. What is different with this so called Outbound Education from the typical Field Trip is that the students learn a lot of things from the professional facilitators and it is easy for us teachers because the staff and the facilitators of Lakbay Kalikasan are the one who explains, teaches and entertains the students throughout the whole trip. Thanks to Bien (certified facilitator) and Yvan (trainee and also a certified nurse) for making the whole trip educational and enjoyable.

Our next stop is the Bayan Pueblo of Pila Laguna. We went there for our lunch. We ate in a small café. The food is really great even though there is still no electricity in that area because of the typhoon. We can compare the place to Vigan in Ilocos. The “red” Municipal Hall is really cool. It is a typical Spanish structure and until now, they use it as the seat of government. Pila, “Bayan ng pinagpala” as the townfolks labeled their place. According to them, the Japanese didn’t bombed their place because they can’t see anything from above because the whole town is covered with clouds. The town is a site of well preserved Spanish houses that are still well-maintained by private individual. It is a typical pueblo wherein church and the municipal hall are facing each other between a square shape plaza. The town museum is also impressive. Old newspaper, artifacts and artworks are housed inside the museum.

After lunch, we proceeded to Brgy. Taytay and wento to Majayjay Falls by transferring to a jeepney. It’s the first time I rode at the top of the jeepney (as shown in the pic) and the experience is really great (Fresh air+great sight=really relaxing). What is distinct with Majayjay Falls is that the water from the falls is really cold. According to some, it’s around 4 to 10 degree Celsius. It was a tiring and great day for us. I promise myself that I will be back in that place again before the end of the year.
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My application for readmission in U.P. is finally approved by the college secretary. Good luck for me in the coming semester.