2006 March — Noel <3 Via

Happy 18th Birthday Fran!

Tonight we had a lovely dinner for Fran’s 18th Birthday, along with co-celebrant Franco who just graduated from High School. Congrats to you both!

Here are the pictures.

My First Class Tomorrow

as teacher Via to grades 3-7. Wish me luck!!! :)
* * *

We’re off to celebrate my sister’s 18th birthday tonight! Time fliesss. Is she really 18 already?

Green is Go!

green_s.gif

Can you tell that I’ve limited time? Hehehe!

Victoria, your true color is Green!

You’re green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum

Smoke Emission Test My Foot

A smoke emission test is required for anyone who needs to renew their car registration. There are hundreds of certified smoke emission test centers nationwide. I had to do mine this morning.

So I drove into one of these centers. The smoke test machines looked like a medium sized box with 6 red LED displays displaying number or letters. There were funky contraptions attached to it that was supposed to measure my car’s smoke. But actually it didn’t.

One guy came up to me and said, “O, paki start na yung makina.” (Please start your engine) I replied, “Ah eh, umaandar na yan.”(Its already running) Then, silence. “Pahingi nalang po ng xerox ng certificate ng kotse.”(Give me a copy of your car registration please) I unknowingly gave the car registration of the other car instead. I paid Php300 and receive a PASSED smoke emission test certificate.

I didn’t even know I was being tested. The guy had just printed out numbers from a machine which wasn’t anywhere near my car. I noticed that the name was not mine but my mother-in-law’s. So I had it replaced and gave the right car registration. (They didn’t even notice it had the wrong make and model!) When I saw my name, I thought everything was in order so I left.

When I read the test again, I noticed that they didn’t bother to change the license plate. AAARGH! So I have to go back again tomorrow..

Possibilities

In the calling card game I tried with Trish yesterday, the card that spoke to me best was bringing out possibilities. This was an exercise in self-awareness/analysis where one is asked to divide the cards with different descriptions on them, into 3 piles: the always me, sometimes me and not at all me. You are then asked to pitch the last pile of cards and move cards over from the sometimes me pile to the always me pile. The final step is to choose the top 5 cards that speak to you until you are left with one card. It’s kind of a cool exercise.

Strangely today, I received a quote in my inbox that read: “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.” How uncanny is that? :)

Beautiful Couple

Last Friday, March 17 at 4 in the afternoon, our two good friends Amer and Kath tied the knot! The bride serenaded her groom with her crystal clear voice and he had stars in his eyes. They both did! :) What a sweet couple these two make. It was an honor being part of your celebration guys! Here’s some pics with the new Mr. and Mrs. Abaca!

bride Kath & groom Amer_2.jpg

with blushing bride.jpg

I’m an Attentive Visionary

What are you? Find out here. Thanks Leh for this fun quiz! :)

I’m an Attentive Visionary

What are you? Find out here. Thanks Leh for this fun quiz! :)

Playing Dress Up

doll.jpg

This is the new anime-me. Hehehe! Thanks Toni for this.

While we’re on the cuteness front, do check this out

Death by Stopwatch and Unexplained Cement Wall Collapse

Yesterday was my first day back at school- well, not quite. One of the side projects I am starting is teaching this summer with this training company.

Our first stop promoting the summer enrichment workshops was Lourdes School. So Betty and I met very early yesterday (7:30am!) to begin our class visits. We did this up to 4:00 in the afternoon. My goodness, a room of hormonally charged boys can really be quite a handful! I lost my temper once (ok twice) saying in exasperation: “You don’t have ANY idea? You’re the FUTURE GENERATION!”

Aside from fielding pick-up attempts by high-schoolers (I prefer not to elaborate), some tips on first-time teachers/trainers assigned on campus:

1. Check before you sit.
I hiked myself up to ease my aching back and feet for just a few seconds, when my concrete support began to sway. Thank goodness I didn’t lose any teeth. My poor buddy Betty tried her best to smother her giggles just in time for us to be greeted by a priest, complete with brown cassock.

2. Remove stopwatch from around your neck before going home.
Betty’s was still around her neck and managed to hook itself on an armchair. This had to have hurt when she tried to leave said chair.

3. Always have a buddy who is calm but brings along her sense of humor. Thanks Betty! It was a fun day. :)