POETS night

music : norah jones' "what did you say?"

just got back from payday friday pub outing w/ my co-teachers. tres musketeras were in full attendance. met new people from my school. an art teacher, another english teacher and a sub who want to be a full time teacher. i had a good time. i opened my big mouth again and quipped that i don't like a certain colleague because he's too loud and i think he as ADD, i later found out that B, one of the guys who we were drinking with was actually a close friend of ADD teacher. oh well, blame it on 2 tall glasses of blue moon.

poets night by the way stands for Piss On Everything, Tomorrow's Saturday. nobody pissed on anything because we three had 2 drinks each so we were pretty much just buzzed. S was hysterical and can be such a potty mouth. K of course was her usual genial, composed and cool self. the two filled me in on office gossip. i'm not sure i liked what i found out.

anyway, tomorrow i go back for the HSPA review session.

i just want to crawl to bed after a long hot shower.

have a great weekend!

torn, a boring afternoon, and a new friend, prospect rackets

background music : hollaback girl by gwen stefani

the highschoolers at iskul bukol had half a day today. good for them. the teachers? well we had to stay the whole day for professional development crap.

i dislike these things. sometimes we get good workshops though, but most of the time? it's a waste of our time. teachers get to experience how it is to be students for a change. we sit on our asses for a few hours listening to some experts prattle on an on about how we can teach better, ladidadidah. another thing i dislike about such time consuming workshops is i get to witness how some of my well meaning colleagues can get really annoying and well, overachievers.

i usually position myself in the farthest table, preferably on the corner of a table near the exit because i have to pee all the time. this afternoon i sat with the ed box and english teachers. good thing S came well armed with reproducible word puzzles so we were engaged, pretending to take notes on the seminar.

so after the two hour ordeal, we were set free with new strategies to bring into the classroom. good luck.

the only consolation i had on today's workshop is i got to entertain my group mates with my commentaries on the workshop. S, another english teacher was amused and amazed at how "bad" i am. she said she always thought i was this meek little thing smiling and gliding my way along the hallways of iskul bukol. i gave her a hearty chuckle. moi? meek? that's precious.

this is S's first year in teaching.she is disheartened by the system, the kids, by her own inexperience. i told her the first year is always the worst. it only gets better. after a few more minutes we said our goodbyes and we left off w/ a feeling that we both made a new friend in each other. but wait there's more, there's a third musketeer in the picture, K. she teaches the same kids that i teach. she's very nice. very positive and very pretty. patient and always encouraging. we said we should go out for drinks tomorrow, since it payday friday. maybe we will.

in other news, i just landed myself a part time job as a lecturer/reviewer for the language arts component of the High School Proficiency Assessment. my parder , the math teacher who teaches next door, and i are going to try our best to prep some kids for the test every saturday, form 9-12. what did i get myself into?

in some other news, R from the technology dept asked me if i would consider teaching basic technology applications to adult non native english speakers. me teach technology?! hold your horses tonto, it's just basic email, web surfing and word application how to stuff. so if the budget pushes through, i might have another work two nights a week teaching mostly parents how to make an email account, surf the web, chat and what not.

whew. and i still tutor richard and olivia. not that i'm complaining.
yet.

bahala na si batman. joke. salamat po at may trabaho ako.

sicko

ayan, ganyan ang nangyayari sa taong gustong mag cut sa trabaho. i filed an ansence today because i think i need a mental health day. and guess what watson, i think i really am coming down with something.

punyemet na ito oo. and i thought i'll be gallivanting in the mall and do all my errands today.


gusto ko ng lugaw na may maraming luya, kalamansi at patis.

of wheels and cycles

tomorrow, i go back to work after a restful week off. tomorrow, incidentally marks one year of when my life and world just came tumbling down last year. it started with my california trip, and things were never the same again.

yesterday Z (yes christina, i heard yah) and i went to a relationship seminar at times square church. it was a very promising and inspiring seminar which would benefit a lot of couples ans singles alike. i'm glad i went there.

i also cooked my first pasta dish in loooong time. i made a simple tuna-capers-anchovy tomato based sauce. z liked it, i did too. it was such a refreshing feeling to see such an appreciative face after preparing a simple enough dish. ang sarap ng feeling na may nag sasabi ng "wow! this is so nice" o di ba, nakalimutan ko na ang ganong feeling. usually it was my friends candy and norboert who would be my special guests for such meals, but now that they are on the other side of the country... i just might feed the atlantic city posse some pasta if i get bored.

moonshine has told me of peter walsh's book about living richly with less stuff and again, this is a win from moonshine. i am so psyched to purge my apartment, i am thinking of giving the term spring cleaning its real meaning. dut du-ruh-rhat... irona mode si inday


z finally figured out the reason behind his sleepiness here in my place. he said my place is poorly lit. when he found out i had 15 watt light bulbs he gave me his usual smile and roll of the eyes that said "i can't believe it." and so today at walgreens we got those energy saver bulbs and my dining area/living area just came to life. and i am awake at 12:30 in the morning.

march is just around the corner, a few more weeks and its our bahamas getaway.. screee!!!! i have approximately 4 weeks to wait before its warm enough to run again. career-in ba talaga ang prep sa beach bum getaway.

on more serious things. i just word from my mom who is in sydney right now helping out with my late aunt's family. she sounded quite sad, which is normal considering our loss. it's a good thing she has a great sense of humor. i got to speak to my 2 year old cousin. when i asked her where her mom is she said "she's in heaven." it seems quite surreal for me still. i am glad and blessed to have spoken to her before she passed. i am glad we were able to clear things between us.

i will say goodbye to my weekend and long week breaks with z as he begins his new job, i'll take this joffin time to restructure my home, organize my apartment, read my books, work out and visit old friends whom i have lost in touch for almost 6 years. talk my ears off the phone with family and friends. ladidadida.

cheers to a fruitful and pleasant week ahead!

winter bummer

palagi na lang. kung kelan bakasyon, saka may snow day. so here i am, enjoying the final weekday of my winter recess while my bruce is burried in almost 9 inches of snow.

c and i made it back to b'field late monday evening. bilib din ako sa taong ito, i've never met anyone who sleeps as much as he does. kulang na lang mag tantrum ako't magtatalon sa kama para lang gumising ang hitad. buti na lang cute ang mokong, but oh well, guess where he is right now and what he's doing?

Zzzzzz again of course.

hemingway, we spent tuesday in brooklyn. visited this cozy and dimly lit polish pub in greenpoint. it was my first time to visit brooklyn. it was cold that day, but the tripe soup and the beef goulash hit the spot just right. we also visited a couple of polish bookstores and bakeries, as well as a couple of polish supermarkets.

yesterday, i went to the county court to inquire about our divorce proceedings. mukhang madali lang pala. sana naman.

wednesday to today we spent here at home, just relaxing and watching dvds, sleep, eat,watch dvds. i finally saw pulp fiction this morning. can you imagine? 14 years after its realease nagyon ko lang siya napanoood. pano kasi halos lahat ng kakilala ko napanood na yun, and though i tried watching it on my own, di ko nagawa dahil hindi siya masaya panooring mag-isa.


with C this morning, it was enjoyable. i just noticed i can get annoying when watching a movie. i tend to get bored easily and tend to ask questions about the movie. bless c and his sleepy ass who was patient enough and answered my questions with a sigh. sigh.

my friend aneta who is also polish gave me a call today. i can't wait to see her and her boys again. it's been 6 years since we saw each other last. excited!!!

i'm gonna try to wake up sleepyhead one more time before i blast MIA on the speakers to wake him up, tee-hee. we still have 4 dvds to watch.

sha-na-na

it's 10 am and i'm about as antsy as anything to get amoveon the road.C is still id dream land. i wan to hop on bruce and head back home. but what's the hurry,it's my week off. better take things easy. if only the weather would let up.

2 things. one happy, one sad. my friend kaye got married. my aunt luz lost her battle to cancer.

open up the sun and let the sunshine in....

my bruce : the little mazda that could

music : born to be wild

this picture was taken by chocnut on the first day of december, 2007. the first snowstorm. i dunno why i was smiling, but i posted this picture because this is how bruce looks like buried in snow.

this afternoon proved to be the worst bad driving day for me yet. i had to pick up O and R from their school -- which was nesltled on a hill. great.

so bruce and i crawled our way up. we passed by 2 lexus sedans, 1 mercedes SUV and a BMW sedan. You can just imagine my feelings as bruce and i trudged our way up the hill to pck up R and O. i got there soon enough but we have a couple more inclines to overcome. the traffic aides have advised me to turn around. and go where, watson? nuh-uh. i'm about 1/4 of a mile from their house, i'm not turning back now.
and so with the pep squad led by myself, richard and olivia we coaxed and cheered on my bruce as we inched our way past two inclines.

bruce : i think i can, i think i can

the traffic aides and onlookers were shaking their heads at first, but when we made it, i heard their hurrahs for my bruce.
my bruce may not be a luxury vehicle, but it's my own little engine that could.

trying get out of this funk

music : AC mix "sway" by bic runga

ah what a week it has been! i had parent-teacher conferences wednesday evening, and an observation with the boss lady on thursday. my kids are their usual hyper selves and i was, until yesterday a big ball of blah.

bless my moonshine for her heart. she can always tell me things in the nicest, most gentle of ways. when i want to beat myself up, i talk to her and i feel calm, collected and happy. i believe this is one of many unique things about her. thanks moonshine. because of your pep talk, i am inspired to make my whole apartment my very own post it board. tee-hee now i can put all my pens, markers and post its to good use.

i saw X today to discuss some important details of the big D. of course i felt a wee bit anxious at this meeting. how is one supposed to feel in seeing an ex-housemate and ex-spouse? but it was brief and good. no tears, no smart-ass comebacks. i suppose my mom (again) was right -- it gets easier.


V day is coming up. not that it really matters. i have not been a big romantic, moreso this year i suppose. this could've been my parents' 32nd wedding anniversary had they stuck together, but oh well. i'll be busy up to my neck with work this week. for one, i'll be playing surrogate mom to R and O with their parents away for 10 days. i know it'll be tiring, but it would be a refreshing break to spend time with my two cuties and just enjoy polite, witty conversations while they try to finish their homework.

i saw four movies the past two days. across the universe was the best i've seen. i saw good luck chuck, romancing the bride and wildhogs. just to pass idle time.

idle time begone is my new mantra. with moonshine's pep talk to fuel me, i have planned a full day tomorrow. bruce is spruced up for a drive to target and a visit to my favorite korean supermarket.

i've been missing C also, but with work i guess i'll see him the end of next week. (hooray winter break!!!) thank goodness for skype, it gets a little better. with our opposing work schedules, we usually catch each other in the early mornings. it's always a treat for me to wake up at 4 am with an offline message from him.


okay enough mush before i barf.

workout sessions have been good so far. 5 sessions this week, not bad. i'm going for 6 out of 6 next week. my nosy students have remarked that i must have a boyfriend because i've been unusually cheerful the past two weeks. i told them it's just exercise -- the endorphin kick is beneficial for me as much as for them. who wants to go to a class with a cranky teacher anyway?

i look forward to a busy but hopefully a productive week ahead. have a blessed one yourself dear reader.

cycles

it's that time again when i am feeling okay, even happy and then i wake up all of a sudden crying my eyes out. luckily, my mom is there to put me back in line and tell me it's just PMS. i guess i shouldn't beat myself up so much. after all, it can get pretty tiring to smile, giggle and laugh all the time.

i've been teaching my kids for a month now. it is tough and more exhausting than regular ed class. if i'm PMS-ing now, imagine my kids going through their own kind of PMS in their own individual cycles. it's all good, i tell myself. i can always choose to give up or fight. you know which route i'd take.

i'm up for my routine observation on thursday. for some reason i'm still waiting for the adrenaline to kick in, noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

i'm waiting for jane and durga and bitchslap me back into OC shape. i've been taking things too lightly the past few months. sometimes i do miss the OC jop, she'll come around sooner or later, hopefully in the next 24 hours.

in other news, my high school barkada here in the US and in one in england are planning an april beach bum getaway. all i have to do is pay and book my flight to florida where the girls and i will board a cruise ship to take us to the bahamas. i'm very excited at this trip. it has been a long time since we had an all girls holiday. we are all in agreement to get in shape for this trip. 10 lbs by the end of april? i hope so.

in prep for this, i went back to curves. i would've preferred to go to a higher impact fitness routine, but my afternoon sched can be crazy and unpredictable, so curves seemed to be the best option for me, until it gets warmer and i can go jogging and walking again. it's only been workout session # 5 so far, but i'm liking the fact that i start my day with a pretty good workout. if only they can do something about the music. i'm close to shooting myself in the head if i have to workout one more time to "i will survive" and the soundtrack and from "grease".

i had an encounter with what i suspected were two czech guys in school today. i just confirmed their identity with c. these two were un installing the steel sliding doors near the gym. i was intrigued by the language that they spoke because they sounded so much like c and bd. i was going towards their direction and when i passed by them i heard one of them said something and they both laughed. i recognized a similar word that c taught me in czech. and true enough when i spoke to him, he confirmed that the two were indeed his kababayan.

and what is the magic czech word? c told me perdlka means butt, but in a subtle not so bastos/direct way. perdl is more direct.

hhmmm.

pwet nila.