MSU Intrams 2010

It was my most loved intramurals ever! :)

When I was in college, which was not really that long ago, I never enjoyed intrams. It was a vacation week for me. After the parade, I kept myself at home watching so much TV, eating a lot, and sleeping a lot. When everyone else was having a good time, doing what they do best (sports), I was also doing what I do best (studying). Ahuh! The nerdy-geeky that I was. Even during intrams, I read my notes and prepare for exams which were usually given after the intrams week.

When I got to work in MSU, I had the same attitude towards the "sports week". I took a leave from the dust and heat of our beloved university and dug myself into the ocean of my paperworks. I only attended the parade and the Faculty and Staff Night which, if not required, I never would have involved myself with. When I got back to work, my students were exhausted from all the showcasing of their talents while I was so refreshed and renewed from a week long vacation.

But this year was different. I had the time of my life! :) Even before the grand week came, I really felt the excitement of being involved this time. One significant reason which gave me an excuse to be always in school was that I was a member of the tabulation committee in which Laiza was the chairperson. I gladly volunteered for the service. The first days were kinda boring because final results were still few so we had to entertain ourselves with lots of movies and ZAGU!!!

Laiza stayed in BQ for a week so it gave us a chance to get to know each other better. :) (Missing Ate My during girl bonding moments.)


I also got to know Kuya Ipe from the College of Engineering and his so adorable son Angelo.
This is the tabulation committee with Kuya Ipe at the leftmost and Julius at the rightmost. Good job guys! It was a success!

The Faculty and Staff Palaro was the best ever also! (I had lots of bests this year! Yey!)





Playing, dancing, laughing, mingling with the other hard-workeks of the university.

The Faculty and Staff Night was extra special. Ma'am Nimfa, our beloved Nanay-nanayan in the office was given a special award for a dedicated 25 years of service.


Ever since I became a teacher, I had a better view of all the activities especially during the opening ceremonies compared to the half-eyed views when I was still a student. Imagine being on a bench in the middle of five thousand people in an over-crowded gymnasium. (Calling all alumni of MSU-Gensan. Please help build us a wider and better gym .. :) There really is a need to extend or rebuild with our growing population every year.)

Going back to my better view. :) I'll beg again some other time. :P I was cheering for our cheerdancers the whole time they were performing. The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Cheerdancers have been undefeated for 3 straight years. Yeah! Go Wizards! The first day has always been for the wizards. The next days, let other colleges rejoice! We come back on the last day for the dancesports competition. And there was a new event this year. The field demonstration. Whew! A lot of other things to mention but I would be biased for the wizards! :)


But as much as I desired, I simply couldn't exclusively clap for the wizards. Teacher as I was and with a proud heart like a mother to my students, I found myself clapping for my every student whom I saw performing. This was the greatest gift that the intramurals had brought me - to be able to witness the talents of my beloved students. I realized that some of my students may not excel in Mathematics but they could be excellent in a number of ways.

I was proud like a momma, like I was the one who carried them in my womb and brought them into the world. I was really that proud. I had students in the chorale, in the university cheerdancers, many joined the musical and dance contest. As they were dancing and singing, my heart was bragging. "These are my students." It was so surprising to see them so alive on stage and being at their best. Ahhh... Those were beautiful moments.



(I wish I had a better camera. :P)

I never appreciated students being indulged with non-academic activities before. I was only focused on their academic achievements because all I knew was the importance of the grades for an impressive record. That when you enter the real world, one of the passports would be an excellent performance in school. I almost forgot about the total development. I forgot about the multiple intelligences. Maybe I haven't understand because I never experienced the same joy. And at some points, I refused to understand. The intramurals reminded me of the other aspects of life which make a happy and fulfilled individual.

I have always known that success doesn't only mean being good in the classroom but it's just now that I've truly believed it :)

My Door Was Locked

It's Friday and I was supposed to attend a Seminar on Social Graces and Pedagogy for Young Workers of Mindanao State University. It's the first ever in this university and thus, I was so looking forward to it. I even had to cancel my classes so I could participate.

After breakfast, I went back to my room to get my bath towel. And there it went! Taddah!!! My door was locked. I couldn't get any help. My housemates had all gone to work. Help! I needed to get in!

Strategies:
1. I looked for an old ID so I could swipe through the door but found none.
2. I used the knife to swipe but failed.
3. I thought of calling someone from the office. Oh great! My phone was left in my room.
4. I would ask help from the boy's quarter just beside ours but oh oh.. They too had all gone to work.
5. I wanted to scream for a life-and-death emergency! But it would just be so OA of me. :)
6. I wanted to go out and wave to whoever would come along but I was not so decently dressed. It would just be so improper.
7. Oh yeah! My last option was the internet. I again wanted to ask help from the office. I was so glad I took my laptop to the kitchen first thing in the morning but omg! What happened? I couldn't connect! Why now?

All the above ways failed. The only solution was to wait for someone from the boy's quarter to lend me an old ID. *Sigh...

Ok then. I was left with nothing but a computer with no internet connection and no paper works to finish. Oh.. What a day! But instead of viewing it as an unfortunate moment, I took my time watching lots of movies! Yeah! And lots of sleeping time, too.
:)

After 7 hours, someone truly had an old ID. Yey! I missed my room so much :)

Lesson learned: Leave a key duplicate outside the room, just in case. And oh don't be absent-minded. :P

Why I Love Marriages

Let me first talk about how it all started and the exciting things in between :)

It was one of those surprising nights. We were from the Faculty and Staff night and about to go home at midnight with my BQ buddies, Ate Zita and Ate Caring. But Ate Zita's friend, Ma'am Alma wanted to go out for a drink and a dance. I had no choice but to go even if it meant going home at dawn. I had a bad headache before that so I thought it was a wrong decision to go with the group :( .

We went to Mismo Bar - their second home. We were with Ma'am Alma's husband, Sir Mayong and their other friend, Ma'am Pilar. They go to Mismo regularly for years! It was a bar for the Oldies as we, the youngs, described it. We've been there once with the young people. Laiza got bored and sleepy. :) But I honestly enjoyed their music. Maybe I really have the heart for old songs. Well, it was not really everything old. But generally old. I maybe a little harsh with the word I'm using but I just refer to people 20 years ahead of me. And I love the oldies! Mostly are in their glorious years.

Anyway, they started conversing about anything, greeting the people who came. They knew almost everyone around there. And I was just smiling and nodding everytime I was introduced. But my head was crying loudly. I wanted to go home!

This impatience continued up until I was forced to dance. Yah! I was forced to dance Cha-cha! Oh my gosh! I couldn't believe it! After a short convincing moment, I was seeing myself on the dance floor actually grooving to the songs I called old and dancing with the people I've never imagined myself dancing with!

What more was, I didn't know how to dance Cha-cha! My feet only knew the basic. Forward left. Back close. Backward right. Such a disaster! For the next 2 songs, I only had the basics! It was embarrassing because I was with "The Dancers". I just couldn't excuse myself. They were sooooooo into grooving! So I decided to enjoy the dance instead. I slowly swayed my hands. Moved my hips even more. Put a smile on my face and danced my heart out! :)

I was studying the people on the dancefloor. I was the youngest in the crowd. But their energy was amazing! Every face had a smile. I saw fun. Fulfillment. Freedom.
It was so nice seeing people living and loving life. My body was giving up but my spirit was so glad I went out with those people.


And now here's why I love marriages.

My greatest inspiring moment was seeing such a lovely couple. Ma'am Alma and Sir Mayong was a picture of a happy marriage. They have 3 children but still manage to have fun all by themselves. I saw them dancing and laughing and hugging. I love couples! :) They made fun of each other's weaknesses and hailed each other as well. They are few of the couples who keep inspiring me that marriage is such a wonderful part of life's journey.


Ma'am Alma kept emphasizing that being married was hard. But I seemed not to care. At that moment, all I felt was the excitement of getting married :)

Another picture of seems like a perfect marriage is that of my mentor Sir Rene and his wife, Ma'am Teray.



I see them often and everytime, they're happy :) Again, I don't care how married people describe their relationships as such a roller coaster. Now, I'm just into all the goodness it brings. :) Of course, every relationship has benefits and it's SO delightful to imagine myself being with a partner who's born to take this journey with me :)