HS Life - Chapter Six "It's over, October!"

Okay, today is June 3 2009 and I just opened my friendster account awhile ago and I just found out that I lost my journal notebook.

Well, my journal notebook is my number one source of information about the things that happened in my whole First Year High School. It was an assignment and also a journey. My English teacher, Ma’am Nikki, assigned us to jot down notes about the experiences we have encountered everyday. Well, it’s really important. Without it, I might discontinue writing about my HS Life.

But don’t you worry, reader… I have my brain left. My brain is the number one source of the things that happened throughout my entire life. Well, I’ma tell the story that happened last October… but don’t expect me to state it real clear like what I did in my older posts. Lemme start it now:

I’m using my brain - obviously I’ll be not that accurate, okay? It’s the first day of October, the birthday of my brother. He’s quietly sleeping while I’m eagerly thinking of a gift.

Okay, let’s talk about school. I just woke up and still thinking of a present. I’m really tired thinking of it since last evening. I jumped out of bed and decided to think of it later on for I may be late for my first class.

It’s already 6:30 a.m. and I’m still here, inside the bathroom, gently taking a bath. ‘I wonder what our lesson will be today. Am I gonna survive it?’ popped out of my mind, suddenly. I looked at the time (which can be seen on my phone) and then hurried up. I lathered my body, then washed it. After that, I continued my journey throughout the day.

I arrived at school at 7:15 or so… fortunately, I’m not late. We started classes and I started to get bored. I don’t usually get bored during classes because I’m a ‘listener’. I daydreamed for awhile… I was thinking of a very sexy daydream. Suddenly, my heart pumped very loudly. I discovered that I’m having something… I’m not gonna say the actual word but all I can say is that it is something boys usually have when having sexual thoughts.

After awhile, classes were ended. I still has nothing in my head. I roamed around the school and also the outside to locate a gift for my bro. Although, he’s my worst-enemy-slash-best-friend, I’m really eager to buy a present. Time passed by - it’s 4:50 p.m. and unluckily, I still don’t have anything.

‘Wait’….’What the heck!!!’ - I discovered that I don’t have money. Well, I still have 20 pesos (roughly .50 cents) but that’s not enough to buy a present.

Since I don’t have enough money… and it’s really getting late, I decided to go home via… walking!! My school service already left. It’s already 5:24 p.m. and here I am walking. I decided to rest for a while.

After a long hiking, I finally reached the tricycle station in which I can use my money left for public transportation until home. I went home without anything. I slept for a while.

‘Holy $#!T’ is the word I used when I found out that my phone’s lost. I can’t remember anything except sitting in 2 places which I suspect the places where I possibly dropped it. Goodbye phone!

Until now, I haven’t got my phone back. It’s an N70… It’s okay but till now, I ain’t no got any phone… (Poor Me!) But at least I got my own laptop! (Yeah! Baby)

HS Life - Chapter Five "Remember September"

Okay, today’s the 1st day of June - the opening of classes… but only in other schools. My school, Marist, is gonna open 15th this month which means that I only have 14 days left to tell my story in First Year High School. Well, that’s life - as a new life starts (my 2nd year in HS), a life comes to an end (my 1st year in HS including the ’short’ vacation).

As I’ve said awhile ago, there’s no much time left to tell all of you the last part of my 1st HS Life. To shorten it (a.k.a. to cut the story short), I have decided to make the last few chapters in this archive month by month, e.g. September - March. Well, some of this plans may change… But as long as I can remember, I have established a very hard goal - and that is to accomplish my goals! Yeah, remembering things is not that hard especially if you have considered most of them ‘precious’: Remember September…

September 10, 2008

Today is the tenth day of September - my day. It’s my birthday. Well, no one in the school really knew that it was my day… no one - even the teachers… My first plan is to let them know without obviously saying it… Okay, so I bought this dozen of donuts and put it in the teacher’s table inside our room in which I expect my adviser will sit.

The bell rang and it’s go-back-to-your-sit time. I waited so long for Ma’am Shellah (our adviser) to come. She was 3 minutes late but luckily, nobody ever noticed the donuts on the table except for her [and for some few observers]. When she saw these donuts, she was surprised. She quickly looked at me and got the message. She silently came to my sit and whispered “Happy Birthday!!!”

Yeah, that was awesome. It’s like mission accomplished. At the end of the day , a total of 56 people greeted me. I never planned to count these people but they were included in my special people list in where I can remember people who can I really count on.

- some parts taken from journal

- revised for personal purposes

HS Life - Chapter Four "Winning in August"

It’s been a long vacation and it’s really hard to update my blog but hopefully, I am updating it now. I’ll cite my experience during our FIRST WIN in a dance competition in the whole school year:

August 2008

It’s the third week of August 2008 - the Language week (Linggo ng Wika) celebration… Okay, we have prepared a dance for the competition to be held at the HS Covered Court and I hope we will win…

The song we used is a remix of native Filipino dances and modern Japanese-theme dance (o2 Jam’s OST)… We used different repetitive steps to make the dance even more presentable… We also used some native moves to fit it to the theme of the celebration…

Our costume: We were naked - we did wear a swimming trunks (above the knees) and made a sash out of crepe paper (Darn, that was the hardest thing!)… But before wearing those, we covered our body with oil!!!

At the end of the day, we placed third… not bad for we only practiced for a week… What’s important is the experience, right?

- taken from my journal notebook

- revised for personal reasons

- dated: August 22 (Fri)

HS Life - Chapter Three "The Teachers in Year Seven"

Today is the last day of March – the 13^th day of vacation. I already miss school, honestly. I miss being a student especially being a freshman. I also miss my classmates, friends, teachers, and the school spirit. I eagerly know that it is highly unusual for a student to miss school. It is, indeed, a very rare case for people to miss his/her studies – but I don’t care. : )

I’m going to talk about the teachers in Year Seven… I hope that you, reader, will like it!!!

Ma’am Shellah Marie Cruz – Science/Homeroom Adviser

FIRST IMPRESSION: When I first met this teacher, she was looking at us seriously. She was a very small teacher (peace) but I think she’s very witty. She’s our Science teacher and will be our 2^nd parent or guardian because of her being our adviser. She greeted us with a smile today (1^st day of school) and I hope her smile won’t just be fading… J

VERDICT: Ma’am Shellah or widely known as SMC by the HS students is a very brave, witty Science teacher. She did her job – to take care of us and hone our skills as well. She’s always there whenever we experience problems.

She’s a great dance instructor. We won in all dancing competitions because of her. FYI, she’s the moderator of the HS Dance club. She even invited her friend-slash-dance instructor, Cla, to come over each time we have dance competitions. She’s there in every competition cheering “Go, Saint Peter!”… And after every competition, she always shares her smile and her line, “Nice one, guys!” That’s what she always tells us – win or lose.

She is a very good Science teacher – she cared for us always that she cancelled 2 quizzes and made those gifts. She even passed failing students… (Shush!!!)… She is a very good science teacher. She’s the one that can be asked any scientific question – she’s there to answer it.

She is a very loving, understanding, and caring Homeroom Adviser. She’s there in all of our difficulties. She’s there in all problems. She’s there every time. She’s there when we had our problems regarding money, bullying, fights, and almost everything – she’s always there. She cared for us throughout the year. She made us the best homeroom – our homeroom stands out and can be heard in all events throughout the year – sports, academics, extra-curricular activities, and competitions. There’s nothing I can say but ‘SMC is the best!!!’

Ma’am Dominique Michelle Asuncion – English

FIRST IMPRESSION: I remember very clearly that when this teacher came inside the four walls of Saint Peter she was smiling and her smile isn’t just an ordinary smile. Her smile can be seen in her eyes. I guess this teacher will be the ‘peacemaker’ of our homeroom.

VERDICT: DMA or widely known as Ma’am Asuncion or Ms. Asuncion by the HS students is a very joyful, bright English teacher. She also did her job – to hone our skills and make us feel special. She’s very thoughtful and supportive – she’s always cheering whenever we have competitions. She even said that she always put her bet on us when there’s a competition.

She’s very supportive. We won the eMVP’s Over-all (also known as the English Most Valuable Proficient speakers) because of her. She’s always there cheering in every competition, she always shares her smile.

She is a very good English teacher – she may be the most emotional teacher in the whole faculty but I say she’s the most wonderful one. She never hurt us in a very ugly manner. She always smiles and I’m glad that she survived the first year of teaching!!!

Ma’am Siony Fernandez – Filipino/Music

FIRST IMPRESSION: She is a very strict teacher – that’s all I can say… I don’t know but that is my first impression…

VERDICT: Ma’am Siony or widely known as Mrs. Fernandez by the HS students is a very enthusiastic, musical Filipino teacher. She didn’t fail her job – to hone our musical skills and awaken our love for music and for our country. I’m right – she’s strict but only when you are strict. She’s a very lovable teacher. She’s unforgettable.

She’s great in teaching Music. She awakened our musicality and made all of the students love the harmony and the beat of music. Music is Life!!!

She is a very good Filipino teacher – she can teach. She can imprint in our minds the lesson she’s talking about, like a tattoo. Well, that’s all I can say.

Ma’am Mercado – Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies)

FIRST IMPRESSION: She went in our room looking very serious… I hope that she won’t be strict… But at the end of our first meeting, she gave us her goodbye with a bonus smile… This teacher is very mysterious.

VERDICT: Mrs. Mercado or widely known as Ma’am Mer by the HS students is a very intelligent, thoughtful, and wide-minded Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) teacher. I’m completely wrong with my first impression… She’s very serious but she has a very large sense of humor. She’s one of the teachers I won’t ever forget. She loves our country and she teaches us, students, to love them more and more. Everything she does has a reason. She’s the most practical teacher I’ve ever seen.

She’s a goddess in teaching Araling Panilipunan (Social Studies). She made us feel her love for our own country and opened our eyes on what’s happening inside and outside the country. She tells her opinion and judges us evenly. She’s not biased – she’s just practical.

Mr. Francis Santos – Religious Education

FIRST IMPRESSION: He was the second teacher to come inside the room of Saint Peter. He was always laughing and smiling. I think he’ll be the funniest teacher in my first year of High School. I hope that he won’t break our hearts knowing that he is a Religion teacher. Well, it’s just my first impression!!!

VERDICT: Mr. Santos or widely known as Sir Frap by the HS students is a very funny, enjoyable, and cheerful Religion teacher. He is one of the most enjoyable teachers of Year Seven. He’s most likely to be remembered because of his love of God and the color GREEN which represents cleanliness. He is one best teacher you won’t ever forget!!!

He can be the next living Saint. He always preaches us about God especially the Old Testament part of the bible. He taught us how the Israelites conquered everything and how they turned away and turned back again to God. It doesn’t matter what religion you are, what matters is your strong faith and your continuous support and love for your master.

Mr. Hubalde – Physical Education

FIRST IMPRESSION: Oh, yes… Here comes the expected most strict teacher of the School Year: Mr. Hubalde. He looks very tough and strict but is he strict at all? I don’t know… What I know is he’ll be a good teacher throughout the year… Well, nothing’s permanent – everything changes.

VERDICT: Mr. Hubalde or widely known as ‘The Big Show’ by the HS students is a very determined, masculine, and great Physical Education teacher. He taught us the difference of right and wrong. He, surely, looks real tough but honestly, he isn’t… He’s just an adventurous and extraordinary man!!!

He’s best in teaching Physical Education. He always guides us throughout the school year – physically and mentally. He told us to enjoy the most enjoyable subject of all subjects but also reminded us to never forget that studies must come first before fun. I say he’s one of the best P.E. teachers I’ve ever met… Two thumbs up to you, sir!

Mr. Jeffrey Gayda – Computer/Technology

FIRST IMPRESSION: Honestly, he’s been our computer teacher since grade school and it starts to make me bored and unhappy. But I don’t know if he’ll be more serious now that he’s our teacher in High school… Will he change?

VERDICT: Mr. Jeffrey or widely known as Mr. Gayda/Sir Gayda by the HS students is a very quiet, simple, and modest Computer/Technology teacher. He taught us the different components, benefits, and advantages of computer. He almost taught us all about it!!!

He’s a great teacher in Computer/Technology. He never became outrageous in our Computer classes. He’s just quiet (except when teaching). He quickly manages to put in our brains different definitions and terms regarding his subject. He didn’t change since grade school. What changed was his attitude and strictness. It’s okay and I still give this teacher a roller coaster of applause!!!

Mrs. Marites Magleo – Home Economics

FIRST IMPRESSION: I don’t know what to say but this teacher scares me… She’s strict… Well, first impression doesn’t count, right? I hope not.

VERDICT: Mrs. Marites Magleo or widely known as Mrs. Magleo by the HS students is a very talkative [but meaningful], practical [but reasonable], and strict Home Economics teacher. She taught us the different benefits and advantages we’ll get out of H.E. She maybe strict but she’s one of the kind teachers in Year Seven…

She’s very good in teaching Home Economics. She is very talkative but all of the things she says are very meaningful and somehow important. She’s a very lovable teacher and one of them whom you can’t forget… J

Mrs. Catalan – Home Economics/Entrepreneurship

FIRST IMPRESSION: Hmmm… I don’t know what to say but this teacher seems to be very mysterious…

VERDICT: Mrs. Catalan or simply known as Ma’am Catalan by the HS students is a very bright, resourceful, and gentle Entrepreneurship teacher. I can’t say anything but she’s mysterious but always smiling….

She did a good job in teaching Entrepreneurship. Till now, she’s still mysterious for me. She’s sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning. I don’t really know a lot about her. L

Mrs. NY Yator – Mathematics/Algebra

FIRST IMPRESSION: She’s okay… I like Math but the first day seems odd… I don’t know but I can’t feel the vibe… She’s good but not what I expected… I hope I can still excel in Math… Well, it’s in our hands…

VERDICT: Mrs. NY or simply known as Ma’am Yator by the HS students is a very witty, cheerful, and enjoyable Mathematics/Algebra teacher. More and more students complain about her teaching skills but I don’t feel anything wrong…I think she can actually teach but not as good as a professional one. You can’t blame her because Math is a very difficult subject to teach…

She did well in teaching Mathematics. I’m honestly surprised that she survived teaching hopeless students. She may not be the best Math teacher but at least she can teach and manage her students. I’m very proud that I had a teacher like her in my HS Life… I actually don’t regret anything!!! JJJ

-some parts of this entry (FIRST IMPRESSION) are from my journal notebook

-some parts are revised to meet quality standards

-although revised, this entry was still written by me, Paolo Nalica

-THANKS FOR READING… May God bless you, reader

HS Life - Chapter Two “Fried-day”

It’s really over… As I said in my first post, I’m not a freshman anymore… I may have been busy throughout the school year and it may have been a long time ago but I can still remember it all.

I am now going to tell you the nice events that happened to me last July 4, 2008.

July 4, 2008 (Friday)

I’m asking you, reader, to read this whole article of my entry today. This day is so special that this entry might be the most wonderful of them all. My day started with excitement. Will it end in the same way too? Find out.

I was so excited this day because I made a very “special” letter to my substitute Filipino subject teacher, Ms. Rizzle Abad. Ms. Abad is a short, dark, chubby teacher. This letter waves goodbye to her since it’s her last day here in Saint Peter (my section). I waited for a very long time for our Filipino class to start. The subject’s schedule for Friday was the sixth. Time passed by and the 5^th subject was already done.

My excitement grew more and more but all of those disappeared. A new face shocked us all. It’s our new teacher. She was also short, brown, chubby, and was like 40 years old. I was fascinated but loneliness killed my happiness. I wasn’t expecting that she, our new teacher named Mrs. Siony Fernandez, will be showing up instead of Ms. Rizzle. Frustration aroused me. But that didn’t stop me from giving this letter to her. After dismissal (1:00), I successfully gave it to her. Today’s dismissal was earlier than usual.

Meeting my new teacher was not that easy. It’s not because of her traits but because it’s so sad to lose a very special teacher. Even though we’ve only met for 12 days, I quickly admired her because she’s so smart and unique in regards her fluent usage to both languages – English and Filipino.

Anyway, our new teacher was not that bad (Am I being judgmental?) or in short – she’s just an average teacher. I’m looking forward… I’m hoping that, in the future, I may still be able to like her and relate to her teachings and lessons.

After giving Ms. Abad the letter, it was announced that we will have a meeting. It was unusual for me to have meetings since I’m not a member of any committee. I didn’t want to miss any meetings with my adviser so I attended the meeting. It started gracefully and ended as it is. Ma’am Shellah, my adviser, announced to the officers and the committees that I’ll be surely included to the group. I was flattered and I felt like Jose P. Laurel. He was the president of the Philippines at the time of the Japanese era. I felt like him because like me, he was neither elected nor chosen by the people but chosen by the Japanese.

We were dismissed at exactly 1:49 PM (13:49). I went to the waiting area and waited for my school service patiently. It’s already 2:33 PM (14:33) and there’s still no sign of my school service. I still waited until 3:16 PM (15:16), patiently. I lost my patience when the clock showed me 4:00 PM (16:00)… No one but me sat in the waiting area. I have no choice but to seek help.

There came my very thin, dark, classmate Alexis Ramos – skating. His house was just in front of our school. I asked help and he offered their telephone. I declined and decided to walk home. I really got tired from the way home. The sun is still up even if the time is already 5:15 (17:15). Well, it’s a long story… What’s important is I went home safely. I really got tired and exhausted from the way home. That’s the reason why I entitled this entry “Fried-day”. I went home exhausted but happy. J

-this entry (Fried-day) was from my journal notebook

-this version was revised so that some personal information might not be exposed in this blog

Thanks for reading this entry!!!

HS Life - Chapter One “The Origin”

It’s over… I’m not a freshman anymore… I may have been busy throughout the school year.
It may have been a long time ago but I can still remember it all.
Okay, I am going to tell you the 1st day of the 1st year of my High School Life.
FIRST DAY
I was very enthusiastic to go to Marist because it’s the 1st time that I’ll use black pants. Praise the Lord for I’m not wearing khaki anymore. Okay, I can’t actually remember why but the first day of classes was Tuesday and not Monday. When I went to school, I was very proud of myself (now that I’m an HS student) although I had so many problems after my graduation (just after the graduation ceremony, I got a fever of 38.2… That fever lasted for 2 weeks and even reached 40.3!!! After the 2 week fever {March 15 – 29}, I got hospitalized because of an unknown disease. It lasted for 6 days. It may be a short time but it was like HELL. Did you know that my dextrose barely lasted for each day because they can’t find any vein on me? They changed my dextrose everyday that in that 6 days, it was changed for like 20 times… Did you also know that I didn’t sleep for 3 days straight? I can’t… Then after being hospitalized, I got constipated for a week… {March 31 – April 8} Whew, Can you enjoy the summer in that situation?).
Okay, going back to the first day, I got lost finding my room. I knew my section was Saint Peter but I didn’t know that it was located on the 3rd floor. When I got in my room, I was saddened because my fellow Dapiteñans (my section before) were only few and my best friends were not there.
I patiently waited for the first teacher to come. Then a dark, chubby, long-haired girl entered the room. I thought she was my Homeroom teacher. But that was before she flashed a Manila paper to us. It said: Science/HR = Mrs. Shellah Cruz… She explained that she was the HE teacher and her name is Marites Magleo. She’ll only meet us once per week. She told us the requirements like pencils, erasers, coloring materials, and katsa. Then after an hour of teaching, a fair-skinned, chubby, short-haired man with glasses entered the room. He told us that every time he’ll enter the room, we should say “Good Morning Sir Francis, It’s nice to see you again!”Hearing that statement, obviously, informed us that his name was Francis. I looked at my thin, green notebook wherein I copied the notes of Mrs. Marites. It says: Religious Educ. = Mr. Francis Santos. Like what happened before, he also stated the requirements and needs throughout the year. All of them were the same except that he included a sketch pad. Well, I was puzzled… drawing in Religion?
After an hour (a total of 2 hours) of listening, I had my recess. I remember the first thing I said was “Oh, God… Is this the canteen? Why are the prices too high? The prices were so unreasonable. The first thing I bought was a Mango shake (P 20.00). Then I went back to the room. At last, I met my HR adviser. She was short-haired, dark, and smallJ but gorgeous. But her voice was powerful. She organized us and welcomed us in HS. I was fascinated in meeting my HR adviser.
Homeroom lasted for 45 minutes, approximately. Then a cute, beautiful, tall, chinita-like woman entered the room of Saint Peter – smiling. That was like unusual but I like it. She said in a tiny voice, “Hello, Saint Peter. Good Morning… my name is Dominique Asuncion and I’ll be your English teacher for the whole school year.” I became more excited and of course, energetic… I thought she’s interesting. I hope she’ll be a great teacher in her entire teaching life.
Time passed by, I had my lunch – siomai (P 31.00) and a Nestea green tea (P 23.00). Then Filipino (Ma’am Siony Fernandez) and Math (Ma’am NY Yator) came. No offense but it was so lame. I ♥ Math but I didn’t like the first day. The last subject, though, was interesting. It was Science. Then, there came the Memorare. Darn, it was a long tough day!!!
-this entry (First Day) was from my journal notebook.

THANKS for READING… Good Day…