the polish connection

background music : paperweight by schuyler fisk

i just got back an hour ago from a day with aneta and her family. this is a way overdue reunion.
aneta is my first friend here in the US. she was the head teacher of the classroom where i first worked in. my first job here was as a teacher assistant. it was nerve-wrecking for me. FOB and all. aneta struck me right away. she is gorgeous and very tall. very graceful. she looked like a model to me. but her easy smile and warmth won me over.

you see, i have this silly,pre-conceived notion about pretty mestiza/white girls. i thought they are all suplada. i guess this is brought along by my deep rooted insecurity being called negrita as a child. but you know what virginia, i have close friends who are mestiza and white, and they are not suplada at all. case 1 : lulubelle aka yanna aka eva aka lubs. case 2: fanny. case 3: moonshine charly.

hemingway, so back to aneta, i found out that she and i had a lot of things in common than i thought. though she was caucasian, she felt she did not belong in that school where we worked. she felt her being polish separated her from the rest of the american staff in the school. she was my first live lesson on american-immigrants dynamics. the two american head teacher biatches did not treat her as an equal. and as for teacher assistants? forget that! aneta was also instrumental to my meeting and working for richard and olivia's parents. she recommended me to jennifer when she was looking for an english tutor for her kids. the rest of course is history.

after six months of working my ass off that school, i left and went to another school, this time as a classroom teacher for toddlers. that was my "mary poppins on acid" gig as moonshine called it.

i lost touch with aneta. she moved to upstate new york. eventually i got my teaching license and started teaching middle school. i moved in my current hometown. i tried calling her old phone number but it was already disconnected. i thought of her every once in a while, wondering if she was still in NY ir if she moved to another state.

fast forward to 2008, in one of our getting to know you conversations, i told Z that my first friend in america is actually one of his peeps. he asked me what happened to her, and somehow "i don't know" was just not good enough.

thank goodness for google. i traced where jacek was working, ecstatic at the fact that they moved back to jersey.i made a bold and crazy phone call to his office and left a message with his receptionist. that same night i got a call from aneta. the 45 minute call was not enough to catch up on almost 5 years of lost time.

and so today it finally happened. i met her at a strip mall near her place. she dropped off her two boys to polish school and we hung out at their home. after lunch, jacek came home from his clinic and joined us. jacek, a wine enthusiast as well as an excellent pediatrician was only too happy to talk about wine with me.

we picked up the boys from polish school. then after the boys had their lunch, we went for a leisurely walk around aneta's neighborhood to talk some more.


before heading home, jacek gave me a bottle of good red wine and a listing of another recommendation. before he deposited me to where bruce was parked, we dropped by a liquor store overlooking lake budd and we both got a bottle of tokaji, a hungarian king of wines and wine for kings.

lush. don't worry i did not drink a drop.

next month we intend to see each other again, this time with nancy, the other third to our troika. nancy was also a teacher assistant in aneta's class. she is hysterical. she is a trip, that one. and she is another immigrant, a true blue dominican. together we form united colors of benetton.

take a look at my lunch courtesy of aneta
on the left is golabki (polish stuffed cabbage) on the right is fresh french baguette topped with butter and smoked salmon. yuuuummmm.

march madness....

my ass.

background music: cigarettes and chocolate milk by rufus wainwright

i'm pissed. can't you tell? it's a friday afternoon and nobody wants to go out with me. what a loser.

but i'm not really pissed about that, i'm pissed about my observation.
rather, my observation that never was. my principal got stuck in traffic so he was not able to make to my class. it sucks, yeah? major. like hoover vacuum sucks.
okay, i really can't blame him. it was not his fault, but working in a special ed class, it really takes a lot of effort to plan a lesson. the worst part is, i was told that he will just "pop in" anytime between next and the week after next in one of my classes. great. i might as well put on a banner that says "welcome to the jungle."

and oh, my taxes are still undone.

and oh, my laundry is still unwashed.

and the monster book is still sitting on its fugly ass.

and oh, Xman wants to get together this weekend to discuss the big D.

i just want to eat 10 sticks of isaw right now.

seriously.

or maybe a big fat slice or steaming puto binan.

okay, enough whining.

i went to the middle school this morning to have face time with my former principal. i heard that one of the senior staff has turned in her resignation so I went there to see if i can have my old job back.

technically my former principal's hands are tied with certain issues and is unsure if he can call the shots for next school year because he might be be transferred to my current school. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

honestly, i want to go back to my old school.

i want my game back.

but that's a whole other post.

meanwhile i am very happy to discover hulu since i am one of the few americans who do not have tv service. i am so excited to note that they have heroes in their website. i missed that show.

but wait there's more... there's also astroboy... scree!!!!

okay, i'm going to take a shower now and be a good girl.

and eat a big fat pint of haagen daz green tea ice cream.

yeah baby.

Pre- observation jitters

ay naku badinggerzi talaga. what's a girl to do in the morning of her observation?

be a fabulous nervous wreck of course.

i still have to make a model of sample reading material.

btw, my lesson is about "active reading strategies for better understanding" o diba sandamakmak na ipot. but wait gustong gusto yan ng mga chairmen of the board of ed.

hemingway, nakalatag na rin ang aking oufit. stern english teacher daw ang drama ko. nyar.
ang make-up -- super natural. i mean, very natural. supernatural, baka tumakbo yung prinsipal ko kapag nakita nya fez ko.

wish me luck.

'til tuesday

background music : "wind it up" by gwen stefani


i should be in panic mode right now.

i still have not done my taxes.
i have an observation on thursday and still no lesson plan. i tried to be inspired by lounging in the shower, but my skin got all pruny and still no bright idea....

i just got the monster book of "nj's self help guide to divorce" it is massive. i think about 200 pages. makes me think if this book will change the way i feel about reading in general.

i have about less than $10 in my wallet until friday.

and i am still smiling.

what is wrong with me?

nothing. because i realize that if i panic, it will not make things any better.

no cash? okay then, no dunkin donuts coffee until friday. this is why i have a personal coffee maker, for days like these. no quizno's salad either... i just bought some fresh produce from my last $20 yesterday. pantry is stocked? check. this will actually be good for me. i'll see how i'll fare without spending.

scared? nah.

so i wake at 3 something today. chatted with a few friends. and in a while i will work out. i'm positive that by 7 am i would have a few options for my lesson.

and by 3 pm, the school day will be over.

by 5 pm i would start my taxes while waiting for my laundry to finish.

and by 7 pm i will start reading at least the first chapter of the monster book.

it's all good. jane says this is all do-able.

noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

a new shopping experience

it seems encoded in a woman's DNA is the natural predisposition to groom oneself. most women have a unique personal style, a look if you will. therefore when they select pieces of clothing and accessories, more often than not, they all blend in to conform to this "look." i know i am one of those women. i tend to gravitate towards shapes and color that i already have in my closet. i can say the same about my shoes. my coworkers and moonshine already use the term joffin shoes when they see a pair that they think i wold most probably wear.

but what happens your body changes?

i tried on certain cuts and lengths that i would normally would not even try on when i was heavier. color wise i have also tried some hues that i would not usually buy.

fast forward to 2008, in day 2 of my holyweek holiday with Z, we went out "window" shopping.
first we hit the outlet malls, i got a great deal on white pants an a white sweater from j crew. then we went to his local ross and found lots of clothes to try on. i was surprised by Z's choices of clothes for me. he chose a few green pieces. even his shoe choices surprised me. normally i would not welcome such suggestions from people, but since he asked me so nicely i can put it n and just try... i did.

and you know what virginia? he has a good eye when it comes to color combinations. i definitely enjoyed shopping with him. he also bought a few shirts for warmer weather. we are both looking forward to wearing our loot in future dates.

* there's also this superb malaysian restaurant 3 blocks away from z's apartment. yum. i had mee goreng for lunch.

too bad i's back to regular programming tomorrow.

hapy easter everyone!

midweek round up

background music : someone like you by shawn colvin
while i was noo-ni-noo-ning during my break at school i have thought of this long winded blog post of the days past. but right now i am exhausted so bullet style tayo ha?

1. watched 3 movies over the weekend : into the wild, why did i get married and august rush. all excellent and entertaining movies. i cried my eyes out as i was watching "why did i get married" it involuntarily summoned emotions and issues i best forget. i can relate to sheila's character. and i do hope that my troy will find me. august rush is a cute movie. i have a crush on jonathan rhys myers now.

2. my mom celebrates her 49th birthday today.

3. celebrated st. patty's day with moonshine, matt and jonah. we had yummy corned beef minus the cabbage. moonshine fed us well. burp.

4. Z visited me tuesday night and just came home an hour ago. and guess who's driving down to visit him today after school? yeah. humor this lovesick biatch. we're still new in the dating game.

5. i am keeping my eye on this fab pair of pink sandals from nine west. i really really like it. if i find it in the mall this weekend, i will get get get it. screeee!

6. i am beginning to show some claws in my classes. zero tolerance to disrespect and abusive language is my mantra now. in my afternoon classes, i have an average of 3 kids.

7. bruce had a sore eye so we spent an hour or two yesterday and had a new headlight bulb installed. had his tires rotated and re-torqued. i think bruce enjoys the long drives we take to and from Z's place. somebody once said that given his sporty make, it's a shame i only averaged about 30 miles a week with bruce. not anymore! with the spring just around the corner, i'm planning to visit L, N and P in MD. woo-hoo!


8. i have my final observation next week. this time it's our principal who will observe me. i'm thinking of bribing my kids 48 lbs of jolly ranchers to be in their best behavior....


9. celery sticks is good with cottage cheese.

10. mott's peach and mango flavored applesauce is a yummy guilt-free dessert.

11. a tall, dedimpled and seemingly quiet and conservative czech boy can crack me up in the most serious and irreverent ways. i think i have met my match in deadpan black humor.

12. i am wearing blue jeans and bright red lipstick to school today. schwing.

pretty good week

before i doze off into the weekend....

1. my friend c lent me her cellphone. my samsung died on me. i have to bury it w/ the rest of my friends' phone numbers. gah.

2. my cousin kat will graduate as the valedictorian of st. scho this year. beauty and brains, this cuz of mine. la salle and ateneo granted her full scholarship. way to go. mana sa mommy!

3. my aunt grace celebrates her 51st birthday today.

4. got my new parpol cellphone today. can't decide whether to get yoda, optimus prime or the ramones as my ring tone. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo. poll anyone?

5. after a month of working out an average of 3x /week at curves, i could not dodge the dreaded measurement day. i didn't want to know my weight because i thought i gained. but oh by george, N our kooky receptionist laughed off my fear. according to her tape measure and trusty weighing scale.... i lost 3.5 lbs and another 5 inches. yey! thank goodness the inches that came off did not come from my girls (tee-hee).

6. in light of my sheer luck at losing weight, i made Z promise not give in when i crave for tiramisu every time i visit him. he told me he'll buy me baby carrots instead. how sweat. what am i., the easter bunny?

7. speaking of the easter bunny, i was at the mall with my friend cleo when we saw the easter bunny go down the escalator. i quickly remembered moonshine and how i wished she was there so together we can crack up and yell "YOU KNOW WHAT?! THERE IS NO EASTER BUNNY!!!" mallrats. that kevin smith man, he's a classic.

8. today is the last day of the second trimester grading period. 3 1/2 months more of school. sigh.

9. went out to dinner w/ new bunch of friends at the high school. the ratio? 3 english teachers to two math teachers over italian dinner? fantastic.

10. one of my kids came to a serendipitous conclusion that from now on i should be called mulan. when i frowned at him after the whole class laughed and agreed he looked at me with a straight face and asked, "you choose ms. a, would you rather be mulan or pocahontas?"
nyemet na mga bata 'to oo.

11. one of my kids also told me that i am not supposed to wear red lipstick. he says it distracts him. i told him to go gouge his eyes out. of course he doesn't know what gouge means.


12. when one of my kids decide to pull the race card on me and complain about how they don't understand my english, i told him that "i speak english, you speak american," that is why he can not understand me. ya digg?

13. that after a grueling week of not trying to pull my hair off, a nice stroll at the mall with a fellow window shopper is very very therapeutic.

14. it pays to have a friend go in with you to bloomingdales. it saves you from having that pretty woman moment when the snotty sales lady looked down on julia.

15. i bought a fabulous blue top for a penny. i swear. the very friendly saleslady at bloomies could not believe it herself when she saw the price at the register. after scanning the item two times (original pricwe $69, then w/ a 40%) the blouse came out to be only a penny. score!!!!

like walking out of the house w/o lipstick

this was exactly how i felt when i left to AC yesterday after school. why? did i leave my lipstick? heck no! i always have a least two tubes in my kikay bag at all times, but you know what i mean.

my cell phone died on me. so i was incommunicado for the duration of the ride to AC with the nasty weather on the backdrop. i was so nervous, my knuckles were white as i held on to bruce's steering wheel for dear life.

oh snap -- here's another dangerous dependency- the cellphone. since when have i been so attached to it? do i really need it?

i think eversince i started driving i've become dependent on my cell phone. i just feel safer knowing that i have a means to communicate to someone should something happen. more than once i thought, before he cellphone,how did people manage? quite fine.


and so durga is one the road,cellphone less. the roads suck not only because it was raining, but also because of the traffic. joffin of course, just wanted to pee at the next pit stop and jane is rolling her eyes in the backseat. it's a good thing i made a new AC play list on my dependable Zen micro mp3 player. if not for good music, i would not know how i'd make it to AC.

3 hours and 45 minutes later i parked in front of Z's apartment. since i have no cellphone to tell him i'm already downstairs and since their building does not have a working doorbell, i had to scurry to a local pub to use their payphone.

a payphone?! uso pa pala yun!

yes virginia, a payphone.

i met a hobbit in the pub but since i've been trying to be good i just smiled a the fella and thanked him for directing me to the pay phone. unfortunately, the blasted payphone was out of order.

naman. naman.

i was cold,wet, hungry and very irritable.

good thing Z was checking up on my arrival every 15 minutes.

ahhh, a welcome smile.

very good indeed.

and so today we are on a mission to look for replacement cellphone.

On the road again

bruce and i will take another trip to Z's place for the weekend. since tomorrow's forecast is rather gloomy and dangerous on the road, bruce and i are taking off right after school. i should be at the gym right now, but i haven't packed last night. what to bring? what not to bring? noo-ni-noo-ni-noo. have a great weekend everyone!

friendship marathon

PJ, my high school girlfriend sent me beautiful and inspiring ecard by max lucado, and it inspired to reconnect with my friends.well, a few of them anyway.

i did a lot of catching up with friends from the philippines yesterday. i should stock up on phone cards again. i know it is not so cheap to call the PI, but i love hearing the sound of their voices and their resonating laughter, plus i like to talk -- with full voice projection cherva.


stateside i got to chat with chocnut early yesterday. he is very excited to take photos with his new camera.
called up L, my college housemate. she hopes to visit the west coast in late march. she also hopes to swing by my coast for a brief visit. it's a long shot, but it would be awesome if we can see each other and i can at least give her a quick spin in the city. I called up T , my sis from comartsoc. then sis R was on a yahoo window, i called her up too. my very dear friend J and i caught up via YM, that was also very nice. her daughter, my niece A is going to be a freshman in high school come june. we may be separated by distance and time, but when we connect, it's as if we were never separated.
last evening i had the opportunity to speak with G, my ex brother-in-law's ex wife. my co "outlaw" it was great to speak with her. our phone conversation was punctuated with giggles, screams of delight, and a promise to stay close friends and sisters even outside of the family we got married into. i wish her all the best.

i went to bed almost 1 am, but i felt very happy. in my evening prayers i tried my best to include all of my dear friends and their loved ones. in passing i thought of those who fell off along the way. i suppose there are people who come in your life and stay, and those who just pass by. i forgot which friend or aunt said this, but she said something like, "there are friends for seasons and there are friends for life" i'm very blessed to have such wonderful friends who have stood the test of distance and time.

next week is another round of keeping in touch with friends near and far.