Year 2008: A Year of Firsts and "New's"

* This is my first "taglish" post...

Wow, ang bilis ng panahon! Parang kailan lang yung mga araw na nagdaan ngayong 2008. Itong post na ito ang last ko para sa taong ito, at bukas ay year 2009 na. Imaginin niyo yun! Ang taong ito ay napakamemorable sa buhay ko sapagkat marami akong mga naranasan, nadiscover, napuntahan, nakilala, napatunayan at iba pa. Ang post kong ito ang siyang parang "recap" sa buong 2008, as I reminisce this period of time.

Year 2008

January 1, 2008: Ang first day ng 2008, kung kailan kaming Dolores clan ay tumungo papuntang Pasay City at nagcelebrate ng New Year sa SM Mall of Asia. First time kong makapunta roon, na last year, pinapapangarap kong mapuntahan dahil halos lahat ng mga "CCCians" ay nakapunta run, na-oOP ako sa mga stories nila pag pumupunta sila roon, but good thing I waited dahil nakapunta na rin ako sa wakas!

Grabe pala ang MOA, ang laki! Halos mahilo ako sa kakalakad at parang hours na ang lumilipas kapag naglalakad ka roon! Di mo akalaing mall yun talaga, "nakalutang" sa tubig! :D Sabi ng lolo ko, ang sementong tinatapakan doon ay dating tubig.

3:04pm: Naalala ko pa rin yung time, kaming 5 Dolores cousins ay pinayagan na pumunta sa "Science and Discovery Center" sa MOA. Ang mahal nga ng ticket, buti nilibre kami ng mga parents at tito namin, P350 per person in 5 hours.

When we entered, kami ay nanood muna sa "planetarium". Yun ang 2nd time kong makapunta sa planetarium, first ay yung Field Trip ko sa dati kong school nung Grade 3 ako. Napakarealistic ng view na parang nandun ka sa pinapanood mo, isama pa ang SFX (sound effects), fantastic!

Pagkatapos ng 1 hour na panonood, kaming 5 ay nagtungo sa loob. Doon may mga robot, inventions, dun ko rin nalaro yung "Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects" sa maliit na oras at "Wheel of Fortune" sa computers dun. Siyempre, di nawala ang picture-taking: sa aquarium, sa mga giant robots, sa hagdan, sa trivias, maging dun sa "Burping Machine" at "Bacteria Center". Naadik din kami sa pakikipag-compete sa "Grossology", nananalo kasi kami..... :D At bago kami umalis, kami ay nagpapicture dun sa isang booth na ine-edit yung background, napili namin yung may mga planets.

Ang mga pictures namin sa SADC ay nasa photos ko, "Mall of Asia Scenes" sa http://profiles.friendster.com/patrickjuacalla.

January 18, 2008: First time kong makabili at magkaroon ng Nokia cellphone since my first cellphone was Siemens C62. Ang nabili namin ay ang Nokia NSeries na N70. I chose the black theme of the phone which costs P11,000 until now.

February 9, 2008: Date ng competition (Biology Quiz Bee) namin sa UP Los Bańos. Kasama ko sina kuya Karl Patrick Daliposa at Carlo Nikko Calarion. Si Lance Gerome A. Dela Cruz, my best friend, observer siya. Kasama rin sina Mrs. Cherrie Usares at Mr. Vic Gammad (coaches).

Kami ay talagang nangapa sa Quiz Bee dahil wala sa aming naibigay na pointers, yung ibang school meron. Ito ay nahati sa dalawang bahagi: Written Exam and Oral Exam.

Di ko na matandaan kung anu-ano mga score naming tatlo sa Written. Tapos sa Oral, nakakasagot kami kaya lang medyo mahirap yung scoring (Easy, Average, Difficult):

Correct: 5, 10pts.

Wrong: no score

No Answer: 3 pts.

Most of the times, no answer kami, ang hihirap ng tanong kasi, puro "scientific name" na hindi namin napapag-aralan. Playing safe as to say.

At ganoon, nabigo kaming makapasok sa top 3 schools, in short, we lost. But it's okay, at least our score was -11 pts. :(

At least nakapunta kami UP :D

February 14, 2008: Valentine's Day, pero hindi ako nakipag-date! Date ito ng finals ng "Impromptu Speech Contest" namin sa school. Nakapasok ako sa elimination nung November 29, 2007, ranked 1st :D . Kabadong-kabado ako nung time na iyon, kasi 2nd Year palang ako, 13 y/o, may kalaban na 16 y/o (4th year) at pilot section pa.

Sa year level, ang kasama kong kabatch na friends ko rin ay sina Ate Mariz R. Ponti at Frances Anne G. Brecia. Magagaling silang lahat siyempre kaya sila nakapasok kaya kinakabahan ako nung oras na iyon.

Ako ay 4th na magsispeech, after ni Ate Riz. I remember na ang question ko ay:

"PACUCOA accredited CCC Level 1. For you as a student of CCC, what are the changes you would like to see for us to be granted Level 2?"

Hindi po exact yung question basta may idea siyang ganun. Buti nalang di ako namental block, tinulungan rin ako ni Ate Arielle Alejandro (Editor-in-chief namin sa Ginintuang Uhay) nang kaunti, at nai-apply ko naman.

Then after the last speakers, awarding na, and with God's grace, I ranked 3rd our of the 11 speakers (yehey!) may trophy kasi.

* 2nd si Kuya Michael Atienza (3rd year)

* 1st si Ate Arielle Alejandro (4th year)

February 20, 2008: A very special day, 'cause it's my birthday! Sa taong ito, ako ay isa nang ganap na adolescent, 14 years old.

March 2008: I forgot the date of our Recognition Day, but I shouldn't forget it but I still forgot it (ang gulo :D) 'cause that was the day that I first experienced to suffer from chickenpox (bulutong)! Kaya pala ako matamlay nung marching na sa event at mainit ay dahil symptoms na iyon ng bulutong: fever and weakening of body.

Pagkatapos ng event, umuwi kami kaagad, at nakita ng mom ko na may red spots ako sa binti, at kanyang conclusion ay bulutong. Huhuhu...:(

I suffered for almost 2 weeks, buti nalang bakasyon na. Naranasan kong hindi maligo for 14 days pero naligo parin ako gamit ang.... colantro. Hay....

Naalala ko, pinandidirihan ko ang aking balat sa sobrang dami ng spots, ang ambok lahat, ayoko nang i-remember. Basta, suffer ako nun.

March - April something 2008: First time kong ma-addict sa isang Asianovela galing Taiwan, yun ang Hanazakarino Kimitachihe (Hana Kimi), na naging dahilan ng aking pagbili ng DVD sa sobrang fan ng show. Naging fan club member din ako ni Wu Chun at Ella Chen.

April 19-24, 2008: 6 days ng aming BOC seminar para maging Student Catechists. KAMI = III - St. Albert the Great. Ito ay ang first time kong pumasok sa summer vacation. 9 hours per day, hay... Buti may focus pa akong makinig doon, at for some time, kami ni Juzelle, classmate and best friend ko, nagka-countdown.

April 2008: I can't remember the date pero nang dumating pinsan kong si Ate Shayne Rinon upang magbakasyon sa Angono Rizal, may pasalubong siya: Krispy Kreme doughntuts flavored Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate at Hershey's Kookies and Kreme. First time kong makakain sa ganung kamahal na doughnut, P38 per doughnut! Sulit naman kasi napakasarap lalo na yung Dark Chocolate, first doughnut ko sa KK ever. Hindi ko natype yung Kookies and Kreme, nakakasuka, pero kailangang kainin.

Nakaranas din ako ng parang hindi perfect na "alignment" ng aking left jaw na pag ako'y nag-oopen mouth, umuuga siya. I'm still feeling it right now.

May 2008: Buong month, ngunit paputol-putol, first time kong magturo ng Catechesis at sa mga bata. Nahati ang III - St. Albert the Great sa mga groups, at ang grupo namin nina Ate Riz, Czarina Eustaquio, Roemer Timbre, Melissa Gutierrez, MM Javiniar, Sharmaine Florante at Kuya Joed Abad ay nadestino sa chapel sa Mayflower (Greenland, Cainta Rizal). Doon kami ay nagturo ng mga topic about Jesus and moral values.

Makumpleto ko rin ang SpongeBob DVDs, from "Anchor's Away" up to "Whale of a Birthday"!

May 10, 2008: Ang Dolores clan ay nagpunta sa Laguna upang magbakasyon at magswimming. Nakalimutan ko na yung pangalan ng resthouse, kung saan kami nag-overnight at nagbabad sa tubig. Ang sarap dun, promise :D Visit http://padj.multiply.com/ for the pics.

June 2008: Naging, of course, Third Year High School student ako. :D

Na-elect din akong class President ng III - St. Albert the Great, in short, first ever president ako ng III - St. Albert the Great :D

*3rd Year Life so far: Sa period na ito, first time kong magpunta sa iba't-ibang bahay upang magpractice or anything related for the project. Ang mga napuntahan ko ng mga bahay ay kina:

Lance (once), Juzelle (4x), Liza (2x), Ludivinia (once), Kuya Joed (labas, once), Ate Sharms (twice), Jessa & Jessica (outside, once), Raisa (3x), Ate Camille (once - napakaganda! :D), MM (outside; once)

July 2008: First time kong magsuffer sa isang "sakit" na umabot hanggang December 5, 2008, sumasakit lagi ang left thigh ko pag umuupo. Buti wala na ngayon.

Bumili rin ako ng aking 3rd pair of glasses, whose grado is: 150+, 50+

August 8, 2008: 888 - The day when I officially opened the 5th season of my own version of

"Deal or No Deal", starting at my 373rd episode.

September 2008: I joined the "Spanglers" club, YouTube and signed up for Blogger!

October 16, 2008: Hiniram ko kay Clarence Philip Santos, classmate and friend ko, ang installer ng Mystery Case Files: 4-in-1, dahilan kung bakit ako nakapaglaro nang complete at walang limit! Tagal ko na ring pinangarap na malaro iyon. Ang mga nakasama ay "Huntsville" (Case # 8 na ako as of now), "Madame Fate" (finished), "Prime Suspects" (finished) at "Ravenhearst" (finished). Thanks to Clarence!

November 2008: In one week (during fiesta break), nanuod ako ng sangkatutak na horror/ slasher films, those were listed and their posters were in my post, "Red Letter Day".

November 30, 2008: Time when I bought my 2nd Nokia Cellphone, Nokia 5310 Xpress Music. Ang Nokia N70 ko ay hiningi ng mom ko at yung 5310, reward for being an achiever hehe :D

December 2008: Halos buong month, naglaro lang ako ng MCF (Mystery Case Files), tinapos ko na yung tatlo, "Huntsville" nalang. Good thing, top agent ako sa "Madame Fate" 7th, "Ravenhearst", 6th at "Prime Suspects", 5th.

December 1, 2008: I started collecting Coke smile caps to obtain Coke smile glasses.

December 5-6, 2008: In my post, "Red Letter Day", days of sleepless pleasure, almost 24 hours of no sleep dahil sa Youth Camp sa Antipolo na "walang tulugan".

December 10-11, 2008: Retreat again in Angono Rizal (Loyola Retreat House). Second time kong magretreat of course na overnight.

December 19, 2008: Christmas Party ng St. Albert the Great! Hirap maging host.

December 22, 2008: Date when we visited Mrs. Vergie Mendoza's funeral. Yun ang first time kong makapunta sa Antipolo City at sa isang funeral at nakakita ng isang corpse ng tao.

* Year 2008 din ang first year ko na may mamatayan akong mga naging teacher: Mrs. Mendoza and Mrs. Lineses.

December 25, 2008: We celebrated Christmas sa Mandaluyong City, Dolores Reunion. Doon, nakatanggap ako ng napakagandang gift ni Ate Shayne na SpongeBob Alarm Clock, galing DV. Pati na rin SpongeBob plush toy from mommy. Masaya kaya lang na-bored ako, walang YM. :D

- At sa wakas, nakumpleto ko rin ang Coke smile glasses! May excess na 2 glasses.

* 2 red, 2 yellow, 1 green, 1 purple & 1 orange.

December 27-28, 2008: Umuwi kami sa Luisiana, Laguna upang magbakasyon at magrelax at umattend ng Raflores Reunion (Paskuhan). Masaya, ang napamaskuhan ko ay P4, 130. :D Masayang bumalik doon, sariwa ang hangin, pero umuulan lagi, kasi nasa mountains na. Halos 2 taon na kaming hindi umuuwi run kaya kami bumalik dun.

December 29, 2008: First time kong gumawa ng commercial, spoof: Coca-Cola na naging "Tiktik", project in Arts.

December 29-30, 2008: Ang dalawang araw na ito ay napakamemorable 'cause first times kong umuwi ng 8-9 ng gabi dahil sa project. Halos mag"transform" na ang mom ko sa sobrang "galit" sa pagiging gabi na kung umuwi.

* Pumunta kami ng grupo namin kina Ate Cam, at nakilala si SAM.

December 31, 2008: I am typing this post. Later at midnight, tatalon ako para mas tumangkad pa. Nakumpleto na rin namin yung 12 round fruits para swerte raw. Welcome 2009!

* Hay... Ang daming nangyari sa akin ngayong 2008. May suffering at blessings din. At least, fruitful ang year na ito at buo pa rin family namin. Hay... 2009 naman, ano kaya ang mga mangyayari sa akin. Abangan nalang... :D

The Road Not Taken

"The Road Not Taken"

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And, sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other side, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though, as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

in leaves no step had trodden back.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet, knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference

This poem is very beautiful for me. It tells about a "traveller", a person who looks for a greener pasture as he made his way in the yellow woods, wherein there are two roads in different directions.

Some lines have very meaningful significance. They are written in simple English but they have deeper meaning that will truely inspire the readers.

Two roads diverged - symbolizes two options in life. These may refer to our choices when we are going to decide what kind of life are we going to partake in. The roads in the poem are very much different from one another:

* One road is grassy, meaning it has the features of abundance, enough harvest and rich vegetation. The road that many would choose for it is rich in let's just say, the "daily needs of life" are provided.

* The other road is the opposite of the road above. It is lifeless, less grassy, less abundant and has poor vegetation.

A yellow wood - "autumn" season features trees with yellow leaves. This symbolize the few years of a person's life as the leaves continue to fall one by one, it resembles to our life which in every moment it decreases.

No step had trodden back - symbolizes our final decision/s, in which in every step or decision that we make, we cannot turn back on it or we cannot change it anymore since the consequences are already coming.

The road less traveled by - the road that the persona took. It is the one that is less grassy, less abundant and has poor vegetation. This is the "risky" road.

The poem actually tells us that whatever decision we make in our life, we cannot change it anymore. Even if we take the risky decision, we must always keep in mind that it is always in the matter of our process of how will we be able to go to the end of the road (goal). Process may change.

Red-Letter Day

It's been a quite long period of time that I am not dispatching posts in my blog.

There had been numerous events that occurred in my ongoing life from the past 39 days. Most of them were very memorable to me because of certain reasons.

November 24, the giving of our report cards and in every giving of our cards there's the announcement of the rankings in our class. Last First Grading Period, with modesty aside, I ranked 2nd and in the Second Grading, I remained in that position with an average of... secret. Okay, humbly speaking, 96.45% :D Mixed emotions trounced me: happiness and about 11% of distress, well the reasons are just too personal.

The few remaining days of November was our "break", the time for our relaxation due to it's Cainta's fiesta (Dec.1). Well I took the chance of let's just say "celebrating" this "break". I watched a huge collection of horror and slasher movies, for me to relieve "STRESS" :)

My computer hours increased (from regular 2 1/2 hours to 4 hours). I spent most of my time chatting (YM) with my friends, some advance reading on our lessons, playing games and became an addict to "Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate, Ravenhearst and Prime Suspects". The game made me insane and dizzy in finding those imprudent objects!!! But a cup of hot chocolate with so soft marshmallows reduce my stress in the game.

More and more events happened. Before November ended, my parents gave me a brand new celular phone, unit Nokia 5310 Xpress Music, my most aspired phone model! They chose the black theme of the phone and I taught myself on how to hold it because its only about "mm" thin, it's like a toy in my hand and it seems to slide away from my hand!

November ended and December came, the Christmas season. I am fond of having countdowns especially Christmas because I am excited for the coming of Christ. As the year comes to close, I met the busiest schedules of my entire life this month.

December 2, the finishing touch of our project (Jesus in the Manger) in Technology and Livelihood Education was made. We were so proud of our work which it was made of recycled materials. Some teachers even praised for its beauty but some....

December 5

Anyway, the hardest activity I've done was when I was in the "Saint Paul Youth Camp" in St. Paul College in Pasig City. To fully understand my tiring fate, I still had classes from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Me, Pauline and Celine departed at 4:00pm.

When we get there, thousands of participants from St Paul Publishing Magazines, especially from Youngster. The Kenosis team was able to socialize really well. The camp was all about St. Paul, since it's his Jubilee year. There were singing, dancing and preaches from priests and nuns. It was fun, but tiring because the camp ran from 5:00pm to 6:00am (of Dec. 6) and guess what, I thought that the catch phrase of the camp was: "Walang Tulugan", like Kuya Germs in which we were not informed about. During the camp, I really appreciated the best efforts of our CL teacher, Ms. Brequillo, as I saw her really sleepy (she attended most of the retreats of our batch) so I guess she really needs a complete rest.

As we had our amazing experience in the camp, we returned to CCC at 7:00am. We had classes AGAIN (it's a Saturday) because we had our intramurals that time. But to God's mercy, we were excused of course, we were overfatigue and needed to rest. As I was home, I ate a little and slept at 8:00am.

* TOTAL TIME (NO REST): 25 hours of no sleep. A record in my life!!!

December 10-11: Days passed and after the camp, another overnight event comes in: Our retreat. We went to Loyola Retreat House in my hometown, Angono Rizal. We enjoyed the event, as our class reconciled and found "new selves". Anger was removed and unity was made present, thanks to our beloved adviser Ms. Peligaria. It was an emotional retreat, in addition to our confession but in our last day, blissful atmosphere was present, as we took pictures as our remembrance for we will not return again to the Retreat house.

* O I almost forgot, December 9, my most awaited day, the season finale of The Amazing Race 13. As I watch, my body trembled with excitement and edginess while I was eating a huge can of "Chips Ahoy!". With all my prayers, the result came out really astonishing as I jumped for joy because my favorite team, Nick and Starr Spangler won the race!

This month also, I have a goal: To collect all the 5 Coke smile glasses! They attracted me very much because of their dazzling colors! I sacrifice my diet to drink Coca-Cola products to obtain 35 coke smiley caps to have all 5. (1 glass=7 smile caps) So far, I have 4 (red, green, yellow and the purple (which is not yet claimed) and I don't have the orange glass YET. Hopefully, before the company run out of stock or the promo stops, I'll be able to get that orange glass.

I have a question, "Is it bad for me, a 14 year old boy to watch "Banana Split"? Well, since last October, I started watching the said sexy comedy show after MMK. And speaking of MMK, I really loved the "Sanggol" and the "Lason" episodes of the drama show. These made me cry, well because I felt the stories of those episodes. The scenes were very dramatic and I loved them both!

And one more thing, the reason I write this longest post of mine is because we had no telephone for 2 weeks! No talking, no internet, no fun... But at least it came back. As I type this post, I am happy of all the things and the "new ones" I encountered in the past 39 days. I am now enjoying the velvet comfort of my white stuff in our home, since I am a teenager who loves "white" things.

* I covered my classroom armchair with white cartolina, I have a white trash can, all my towels are white, all my polo shirts/ clothes are white, white bathroom towel, white soap, white drink (milk), white pillows and blanket and others as I prefer white is the symbol of cleanliness, which I am fond of.

Well, from those I typed, the events taught me various lessons, including patience. We know what we say:

"Patience is the best of qualities; he who possesses it possesses all things."

Hours of Darkness

Most of the times, I don't fall to sleep very quickly, except if I'm really tired from a trip or retreat or just any out-of-town event. I have been subjected to insomnia with no apparent reason. Maybe it's just my body that is quite responsive and senses the events that occur at night. Speaking, for little finer points, I sleep with my comforter (thick blanket) but my feet are laid outside the blanket to feel the electric fan's, somewhat air. You might probably wonder, what's the use of the comforter? I do not know, its already been my behavior since I was a child.

Some nights are very sleepless for me, even in cases without homework, I still do some of my tasks in my ECA (Extra-Curricular Activites) such as in Ginintuang Uhay (my school organ) and in Youngster Magazine wherein I have to write 4 articles and answer some questions to be featured in the said publications or just any school-related work in ECA. I was very busy and while I work, my eyes nearly dropped out of my sockets.

Everytime I make onto my bed, I lie on my side with a soft pillow that's like a cloud on my head. I open the lights outside, because I'm afraid of the dark honestly, I'm not that kind of a plucky person.

While on the bed, I make, somewhat recaps of occurrences for the day or even reminiscing special events or so. I do not emulate other people do like counting sheeps and others. This can take up to 1 hour or so if I am not that worn-out and I also sense the sounds, the wind/air and look around the house because I am timid every night; there might be apparitions, I hear crackling sounds, I see lights outside (I don't know why but I'm sure it doesn't come from the lights of other houses or cars) and I feel the cool and sometimes cold breeze which makes the curtains move and "float". Maybe these are the effects of horror movie-watching and too much suerstitious. And, without realizing, I fall asleep and images and events start to form in my mind (DREAMS).

My dreams, often are very fictional and some are very scary. Like I am being chased by pyschokillers from movies, thieves and being inside a haunted house. My good dreams include my "future" and passing the exams and some sort. Sometimes, I see my "favorite stars" in my dreams and I even spend time with them. :) - very impossible you may think!

And as I enjoy my dreams or be terrified with it, a voice would be heard or a warm water hits my face, and I don't realize, I'm awake! Very shocking everytime this happens.

For me, dreams are very interesting and I want to know why dreams form. As the hours of darkness come, they just "take shape" in my mind. And I don't believe that what I dream is impossible, some but not all.

My Top 100 Movies

I assume that every person has watched a movie or we should say movies. I, myself am a movie fanatic and I collect original CDs and DVDs. I deem that I have watched 200+ movies in my 14 years in living in this world. Here is a list of my top 100 movies I liked.

1. The Passion of Christ
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
3. Titanic
4. Final Destination 3
5. Final Destination 2
6. Eight Below
7.The Sound of Music
8. Saw II
9. Saw III
10. Saw IV
11. Anaconda
12. Air Force One
13. Chocolate (Thailand film)
14. Prom Night (2008 film)
15. Aliens
16. Alien
17. Baby's Day Out
18. Jaws
19. Jaws 2
20. Beethoven
21. Beethoven's 2nd
22. White Chicks
23. Little Man
24. Big Stan
25. The Benchwarmers
26. Edward Scissorhands
27. Nick of Time
28. The Parent Trap
29. Romeo and Juliet (1960's film)
30. Cloverfield
31. Richie Rich
32. A Very Special Love
33. Shutter
34. Untraceable
35. 50 First Dates
36. Saw III
37. Click (Adam Sandler film)
38. Saw IV
39. Beethoven's 3rd
40. Rogue
41. Amadeus
42. Mercury Rising
43. Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
44. Just My Luck
45. Herbie: Fully Loaded
46. Home Alone 3
47. Home Alone 2
48. Home Alone
49. Sleepy Hollow
50. Dr. Dolittle
51. Haunted Mansion
52. Finding Nemo
53. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
54. Scary Movie 3
55. Big Momma's House
56. Big Momma's House 2
57. Rogue
58. Open Water
59. Fluke
60. Ella Enchanted
61. Alien Vs. Predator
62. Slither
63. The Host
64. Enteng Kabisote 2
65. Shaolin Soccer
66. The Haunting
67. Flubber
68. Flight Plan
69. Panic Room
70. Phone Booth
71. The Longest Yard
72. Lilo & Stitch
73. So Close
74. Grease
75. Dark Water
76. Honey, I Shrunk The Kids
77. Honey, I Grew Up The Kid
78. The Mask of Zorro
79. The Exorcism of Emily Rose
80. Forrest Gump
81. The Terminal
82. Red Eye
83. Cursed
84. The Lion King
85. 102 Dalmatians
86. The Lady and the Tramp
87. Cars
88. The Bicentennial Man
89. Gremlins
90. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
91. Ice Castles
92. Ghost
93. Poseidon
94. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
95. Simone
96. Twister
97. Are We There Yet?
98. The Waterboy
99. Somewhere in Time
100. Call Me Claus

Students Turn Recitalists

October 8, 2008: The day when we performed our project in MAPEH, which was to stage a theatrical production of the life of our beloved section, Saint Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus).
Our class was divided into four groups, each will perform a short play (which could last for 25-35 minutes). I am included in Group 1, which our preparation for it was not that "sombre", we just took pleasure in it, for us to have stronger bonds, as groupmates and friends. We had about 2-2 1/2 days of "practice" and we were not satisfied of what we did and we even had qualms that we will have an appalling performance the next day.

And the day and time finally came. We made our way to the Audio Visual Room 1 on the second floor, where we're about to perform our plays. Everyone had dressed themselves the best costumes. My roles were actually the teacher of St. Albert the Great when he was a child to a high school student and be the overall sound director.

We were the first group, meaning we will perform first. I was on the area where the sound systems were found and I started the background music with Ms. Mariz Ponti as our connoisseur narrator.

Mariz began narrating all about St. Albert and after that, our play started. Here is the list of our scenes:
Scene 1: The birth of St. Albert the Great
Scene 2: The parents let their lad to study in the University of Padua.
Sub-scene 1: Albert's uncle sent him to "UP".
Scene 3-5: Albert showed his intelligence in Math, Philosophy, Alchemy, Botany and many others. He liked Aristotle and taught the Book of Sentences.
Scene 6-13: Albert graduated and taught Thomas Aquinas, facing problems and his death and beatification.

After our play, the cast and characters were introduced. Here are the cast and characters:
Patrick Juacalla: Albert's teacher/ Blessed Jordan of Saxony (also the sound director)
Joed Abad & Lakan Gaspar: St. Albert the Great (young and mature)
Mariz Ponti: Narrator
Sharmaine Florante: Mother of St. Albert
Clarence Santos: St. Albert's father
Frances Brecia: Midwife, Siger de Brebant
Edexa Mabalot: Midwife
Andrej Gatchalian: Albert's Uncle
Zeejay Lobo: Peter of Tarantasia
Jessa Naquimen: Pope Gregory XV, Mama Mary

Our play was a great success, for us. Our teacher even told us or gave a comment that our play can be "sold", which I think is positive. I even let myself to act which Im not best at but still teamwork and cooperation are the keys to success.

An Unforgettable Birthday Bash!

October 3rd, 2008: Our section (III - St. Albert the Great) finally unleashed our surprise for our beloved adviser, Ms. Myra Peligaria. Her birthday is originally October 4, the following day, but we decided to celebrate it on Friday, on the day before the "big day" because it's only "half-day" and October 4th is a Saturday, meaning we have no classes.

It was a fine day, and as the president of the class, I have to get to school before 6 am. The party will start at 7:00am and as soon as our adviser arrives. But we changed the plans, some of my us were on the gate to halt our adviser for her not to go to the room YET. As we entered our room, we had a rush on setting up all the decorations and the food needed for the party. We put on the "crepe papers" for our "banderitas", the foods were placed on the "Teacher's table" which we planned for 2 weeks. Wondering what's on the menu? Here's the list of our foods, including the beverages:

* Hotdogs on sticks with marshmallows
* Softdrinks: Coca-cola & Sprite (2 bottles each)
* Pancit Malabon (worth P500 from Mrs. Buenavente)
* 45 pcs. Mister Donuts (from Lance, Choco Butternut and Choco Glazed)
* Baked Macaroni (from Edexa)
* Barbecue
* Mocha Chiffon cake (from Ate Riz)
and a whole lot more....

I forgot the other foods that we even got our money from our class fund and contributions. But its all worth it!
A party wouldn't be a party without music. From Chyrill Iporac, we had an extreme collection of music discs which really heated up the room. When we finished everything, from the foods to the "curtains" to cover the windows of our room, we were ready.We turned off the lights. Then, some of my classmates rushed out of the room to blindfold our adviser. And there she was, eyes closed as she entered the room, unknowing what's in store for her. And as she removed the blindfold, we greeted her "Happy Birthday" with a birthday song as the background music. We sang it together. Our adviser was really flattered and surprised. It was followed by the singing of her favorite songs: "Way Back Into Love" and "Because You Loved Me". During those events, the boys of the class, including me of course, handed her one by one, red roses and our gift for her: A portrait of III - St. Albert the Great. Then, it was followed by the boys' sweet dance with her, kind of a "prom night" style. Our SPS Coordinator and Mrs. Del Rosario saw this and told me to write an article about this event for our School Newspaper: Ginintuang Uhay! Even Mrs. Maranan came to take some pictures for the papers.

8:00am, the dances were over but "our" dance came next. Our group in our P.E. project (Aerobics) danced "LOW" by Flo Rida and T-Pain which we considered it as our best dance (Score: 96/100). We performed it and everyone became hysterical for.... my exhibition. Never mind that, at least its over.

Then, for several moments, we proceeded to our games: Hep Hep Hooray and others. We didn't notice that the celebrant was gone! We found out she'sin another section, teaching. You might be probably wondering why we had the whole day, we asked permission to our teachers and they all agreed. We danced to several songs, had games and I even won "Hep Hep Hooray". Then, the much-awaited time of the day came, "eating time"!

As we eat, several teachers came into our room. As some left, we delivered foods to them in the faculty. The remaining dishes, the pancit and the baked macaroni came a little late and we shared it to the teachers.

That day was really fun. We only not celebrated a special day for our adviser but we even got a day to relax and have some fun. It was really memorable and it's only once in a lifetime opportunity. All we ever wanted is for our adviser to be happy for her birthday that she'll never forget.

I'm a Bookworm Supreme!

September 20, 2008: I surfed the internet using my mobile phone, looking for new themes, sounds and games. As I scan, I had finally found my most favorite word game which I last played two years ago. Courtesy of PopCap Games, its "Bookworm", a puzzle and word game in the same time. I finally found it in mobile and it is downloadable! I can enjoy it without limits and I can play anywhere!

This game is educational and a pastime for me. The objective is to form words using 3 tiles or more. When you form a 5-letter word, a green tile will appear (will make your score x2). When you form a 6-letter word, a gold tile will appear (score x4). If you form 7-letter word, a sapphire tile will appear (score x6) and 8-letter word will make a diamond tile (x8).

I spent most of the day (9/20 - Saturday) playing these addictive game. So far as of now, as I type this post, I had three trials and attempts. And as of now, here is my status:

* Bonnets - my longest word (7 tiles)
* I made the green, gold, sapphire and diamond tiles appear.
* My current score: 1500000+
* Current level is Level 51.

I'm really hoping I can make it to Level 100 and so on. I am not resuming yet but I'll continue as soon as I have time.

"Untraceable" Diversion

September 20, 2008, the day finally came since I borrowed the DVD of the movie entitled "Untraceable" from my classmate, Sharmaine when she told the story of the said movie which made me probing about it.

At first, its quite confusing, first a kitten tortured and killed. I even felt pathetic about the poor animal. As the movie proceeds, I finally understood it and it was indeed an action-packed thriller film! It was very good and for me, it had a resemblance to "Saw" film series, having detective and police work and victims placed onto some kind of traps, but not likely like "Saw". I really love films like those.

September 21, 2008, today it's time to fulfill my curiosity about the website: http://www.killwithme.com/ which was mentioned and even typed in the film. I already tried typing it for the past two months, but I am nervous whenever I see the "skull". But I realized, based on several blogs in the internet, it's just a game.

Currently, when I am typing this post, I am already trying it out. Kind of a "detective" work against the serial killer himself. For those who are reading this blog, why don't you try the site, you might see "victims" during the game. It's like I'm in a "cat-and-mouse" situation right now. Go ahead!

Unparalleled Baking Experience

Last September 15, this year was one of the most significant and memorable days of my life because that was the day I learn and try to bake cookies.

Our T.L.E. (Technology and Livelihood Education) class is originally our first period-subject only lasting for an hour, but it got extended from 7:15am to 10:30am in the said day because we will experience how to bake using tools and equipment inside the T.L.E. laboratory.

Our class was grouped into five groups and I, in our group was the only "boy", while the rest were girls. We planned to make our recipe: "Chocolate Candy Cookies" that we got from a recipe book and also in the back of our flour. Of course, we have prepared the essential ingredients which were:

3 eggs
All-purpose flour (instead of Self-raising flour)
Alternative for chocolate chips (Hershey's Kissables)
Dari Creme butter (300 g)
Sugar and Brown Sugar

We began with our baking process. Using an immense mixing bowl, we combined the softened 185 g butter (which we found hard in converting from milliliters to grams, we even used our Chemistry index card), flour, three eggs and beat them. According to my groupmate Edexa, she had "solar hands" and I helped her in doing the mixing. We even experienced how to use an electric mixer, which we had fun utilizing it. When we found our mixture creamy and smooth, we put on our "twist", our Hershey's kissables. After mixing for a while, we got some of our mixture and poured some to molders and some into a big casserole to bake our "Gigantic Chocolate Candy Cookie". We were relaxed while doing it and finally, we put them inside the rusty oven! After several minutes, we had our finished products. Almost 16 petit fours and our crusty gigantic cookie. We had our presentation and our adviser told us to choose a teacher that will taste, judge and grade our cookies. We chose Mrs. Dolores Amalia, our Social Studies teacher which she gave us a perfect score. According to different "tasters" which include more teachers and students, we had the "Best cookies" ever. We were flattered with the results.

And that was our first-time experience in baking. We will never forget that especially me, for having our first application of baking and getting good comments from "my" first baked product.

Nothing Beats Fulfilment

It's been four weeks of teaching Catechism to young ones in San Juan Elementary School as part of our school's program. From these four weeks, there were feelings I cannot articulate.

Me and my partner, Lance Dela Cruz were assigned in a Grade 2 class, section IV. As we enter the classroom, unexpectedly, we were greeted by happy faces with warm smiles that touched our hearts, even for the first time. We oriented them and introduced ourselves to them. And in the second week, we were captured by them.

Everytime I teach those kids, I am really happy for myself because I am able to teach not just about God and Jesus Christ, but the values I want them to develop and apply in their lives and when they do, of course they may remember me as their teacher for those good values I am teaching them. But I am surprised because it already occured. I saw one of the kids we are teaching helping her classmate to pick up the papers dropped and also throwing simple trash to the trash can, in which even in little, simple deeds, I am flattered.

There are second thoughts in my mind if I will take the course of Education for Graders (I - III) because I told myself that earning money is also good to be able to help my family, but I guess, or as I can say, nothing can beat the fulfilment I feel whenever I experience teaching. This also manifests me whenever I see the happy faces of the kids when they learn and we are having games and action songs. I really want to see them always smiling and always joyful.

I also feel privileged when they just see me afar from their room, they will call my name as "Kuya Patz" and immediately, a wide smile will form on my face. And in addition to this also, if I will say goodbye to them after teaching, they will wave their hands to me and making "apir" or "high-5" in English culture.

With these I've mentioned, as for a conclusion, even for just four weeks, I feel that I already accomplished something and that is to make kids smile and learn good values.

The Amazing Racers

Last Friday, September 12 this year, as we made our way to the school we were about to teach for Catechesis program of our school, my classmates and I thought of a pursuit to entertain ourselves. Pretend and to imagine ourselves as "The Amazing Racers".

My partner in teaching, Lance made up our own team namely: Patrick and Lance (Friends/Catechists). Our competitors were our other classmates namely: Joed and Sharmaine (Classmates/Catechists) and Edward and Melissa (same caption). With our large and heavy backpacks on our backs, we raced from our school, CCC, to San Juan Elementary School as our pit stop. Not only 3 teams were involved but since we're 41, one team was composed of 3. Meaning 20 teams raced to the pit stop!

Me and Lance ran with all our might and used our remaining leg strength. Some were closing by our track and we were challenged by a "team" in front of us: Edward and Melissa in the lead! We really did "career" ourselves to be real racers and our spirit told us that that was the original "Amazing Race". We ran pass other teams, being in 2nd place, and that was the time we saw the leading "team". We ran and ran and tried to find shortcuts to the school. But we failed. Edward and Melissa finished 1st with me and Lance in 2nd with Joed and Sharmaine.

This "Amazing Race" leisure we thought of will still continue up to the last Friday of the school year. Our standings for the past weeks were 6th, 3rd and the recent standing, 2nd place. One more and we will experience a "$1 Million race of a lifetime".