MARIANG KALABASA

  screee!!!!   i am gonna watch the smashing pumpkins in november!!!!   yey!  yey!  yey!  this is first concert of the year.  i'll be going with Z's housemate who's a rocker type dude so i won't lok  like a sorry sap all by my lonesome there.

  rock-rockan na 'to!!!!

gnarly

something rells me this whole online class is.

my university is not playing.

snap.

part of the overachiever in me (yes, that's jane) wants to undo all the mistakes in my past attempts at grad school. i want to do well. very well. i told bipolar burr and i psyched about going back to school.

and s, at 4 am, i opened up Max (that's my new powerbook's name) and we set down to work. i viewed 17 mini video clips this morning, i took an intro assessment.

easy peasy so far.

when my third period class left, i logged on to check if my professor has posted assignments.

yep. she did.

first week's assignment : 80 pages worth of reading.

gah.

noo-ni-noo-ni-noo.

sunday in the big (wet) apple

i met up with former student dave.  he's on his vacation, and bless his heart, he found time to meet up with his old high school teacher.  that would be me.

dave is one of my beloved first batch of students, way back in 1997.  who would've thought 11 years later he and i would catch up in times square nyc?  ain't it grand?

dave is now  a nurse, a grad of hunter college.  did i mention he's very good looking, sweet and such a gentleman?  

he and went down to soho from times square.  we visited uniqlo. i got me some tights and some nice thermal tops.  uniqlo is the best place to get good quality clothing at a reasonable price.  their men's wear is very much to my liking.  i better bring Z  here or his buddy BD.  i'm sure they would like this place.  dave,  a sharp dresser,  made a couple of purchases in the store as well.  he has good taste, i must say.  

after hanging out in a neighborhood park, we headed back to my hood to eat some good old artery clogging filipino food.  

after taking a few pictures, we said goodbye and hope we will meet again.

oli, david, rinelle, brian... kelan tayo magkikita-kita?  anyone else game?

birthday

and just like that. another year has passed. it's your birthday once again, dad.
i know you peek in my blog every now and then. may this year bring you peace, love and happiness. i miss you and i love you.

tight

my schedule is awesome. i get the two difficult classes in the first two hours of school, and it's just a sweet ride from there. true, i know it's really stressful no matter what, but at least i can face the rest of the day looking forward to my three other classes.

my sophomores, who are a funny bunch, but can really test the patience of saints, have a tendency to rip each other apart. unfortunately, a thin wall separates my room from the other room. the next class can hear me and my kids LOUD and CLEAR.

incidentally, some of the kids next door are my freshmen students.

great.

this morning, B asked me if i was tired. i thought she asked me if i was tight. tight means, if i've had it up to my neck and i'm millimeters away from being furious.

me: oh i thought you asked if i was tight.
B : (laughing) miss, you know what "tight" means.
me : yeah i know, it means i'm angry.
B : what you be knowing these words by black people for?
me : i might was well, i hang out with all of you all day anyway, might as well know your language.
B : you funny, miss.
me : you have no idea.


and so halfway into class, after repeatedly imploring my kids to stay on task. i put my arms on my waist and yelled


"I'M TIGHT NOW!"


silence.


"and you all better believe it"

i gave them homework and they laughed at my face. they said i'm funny.

goodness me, i didn't know i'd be a comic teaching them kidz.

hmph.

the fat ass awakes

i just logged back in my online fitness journal. weeks of guiltless eating of pansit, turon, rice and ulam... are now biting me back on my fat ass.

it's time to get serious with getting back in shape.

i'm actually going to the gym after this post.

apparently, the cuckoo club at my local curves all went AWOL about the same time i stopped going in the summer. and now we're back in full force.

incidentally, my feeling over achiever self was dismayed when the computer records show that i've only had 69 registered workout sessions. gah! and the other chicks in the gym bravely sport 200- 300-500- and even an 800 workout shirts.

well, hooray for workout # 70 for today. i know there's a glitch because we have to scan our handy dandy bar code id tags and i normally don't because it's too early, yadayadayada.

anyway...

tomorrow is back to school night.

but before that is today.

and slim say's he's gonna visit.

tee-hee.

happy happy joy joy.

okay, time to go to the gym.

a student made me cry

blasted journal writing prompt. it's a good thing i wore my water proof mascara today.

i try to improve my kids' writing skills by making them write short periods of time everyday. and at least twice a week, i ask them to respond to a journal writing prompt.

yesterday, i asked them to write at least 10 sentences on the topic "I love hanging out with _______ "

while sophomores made it seem like they were having all their teeth pulled. my freshmen were more receptive.

i have a slim and shorty in my class. instead of a couple, these two are tight best friends, more like brothers. slim and shorty both have a bit of a speech defect, but for some reason, they understand each other perfectly. they both serve as translators for each other.

and yes, i have both of them in the same class.

anyway, so shorty has been writing intently on his journal, and took a few minutes longer to finish his work. when he finished, he handed me his journal and told me to read it. so i did. "read it out loud," he said. i was surprised. normally they don't want to share journal entries.

i cleared my throat and read...

"...me and my girl made a promise to each other that we will be there for each other no matter what. we both hope and pray that some day we will marry and have our own family, but for now we just want to be together. i love hanging out with my girl because she makes me feel so happy and important."

the two female girls in that class were also moved by his entry. i looked at him and said. "shorty, why you do dat? you be making me cry now, that ain't funny." we all burst out laughing.

but i did cry. you see, (i know this will sound corny) most of the kids i have in my classes come from tough homes, mostly single parent families and most of the time, they are seen as trouble makers or "retards" in their other classes. my kids may take more time to learn what the other kids are studying, but they can learn. and they can be as soft and mushy as any "well behaved" regular ed young lady or gentleman.

sure i can tell shorty that this is all puppy love and you know "better not get your girl pregnant lest you wanna be someone's baby daddy" but i am not jaded like that. i just patted him on the shoulder and said "that was an awesome journal entry, shorty, i am happy that you and your girl have dreams together."

with that he gave me a sheepish grin. he was hugged by his girl classmates and slim and another guy classmate shook on it.

this is my family, and i sure am thankful to have these kids with me.