About A Teacher

There was once a teacher, she was relatively new, it was her first year of teaching and she found out that a student cheated on one of her exams. She came walking into the classroom with a very disappointed face and a stack of bluebooks in her arms.

"Class, I found out that one of you have been cheating. Please do not do that again."

I felt pity for her. Maybe because she looked so young and naive. But then she continued talking, which basically turned me off.

"Sa tingin niyo hindi ko malalaman? Kaya nga ako ang teacher niyo eh, kasi mas matalino ako sa inyo."

Now THAT is uncalled for. I don't think she should have said that to a roomful of UP students who may not be as good as her in the subject that she was teaching but they're probably better than her in a lot of other things.

I used to really like her, but after that remark, I sort of changed my mind.

NOT THAT I ENCOURAGE CHEATING -- I DON'T. Just so we're clear: Cheating is bad. Cheaters go to hell. Okay?

I found that remark a little insulting. Okay so maybe it struck a chord and hurt my pride. But still she shouldn't have said that.

Recently, I heard she got herself in some sort of shameful mess. At least, shameful for a teacher.

And upon checking, my friends in that class are doing relatively fine. And just so we're clear again, we weren't the ones who cheated.

So, allow me to gloat. From one of the members of THAT class who she easily judged as intellectually less than her, who's smarter now?

Spot the Difference

I blame High School Musical for the rise to fame of these jumpshots. But as we love joining the bandwagon, we did our first jumpshot three years ago, the morning after my 25th birthday. Our not-yet-landscaped lawn and relatively smaller bakeshop can be observed in the background.

Three years later, we decided to re-create than jumpshot. It is noticeable, aside from the additional pounds, that the background has changed a lot, too. And we had to spread out. Hahaha!

Eat. Pray. Love.

Yesterday, I went on a date with one of my BFFs, Abby.

We were supposed to have lunch in LB but I thought maybe we could go bit further. So we ended up watching a movie at ATC. We discovered that going on a movie date is fun -- especially if you arrive before 12 noon.

We discovered that ATC (and probably other malls too) are packed with middle-aged to retirement age people at this time. Making it less rowdy and very ambient for relaxing. But as we both have appointments elsewhere by 4 pm, we just had a quick junk food lunch while watching Eat Pray Love -- which we both liked so much.

I 'grew up' in the other side of Metro Manila -- that being Quezon City. Which translates to me almost never go to ATC before, despite it being an hour's drive away. I would rather go to SM North EDSA (currently the biggest mall in the Philippines -- no, it's not the Mall of Asia) or quite recently, TriNoMa (the name still sounds like a disease). It's only recently that I have explored the 'nearer' options -- Festival Mall, MOA and ATC, since my North EDSA is so out of the way.

But as I have been relocated from UP Naming Mahal to an obscure corner of Manila, I knew I had to keep my mall options open -- being a mall brat and all. And this sembreak is all about exploring.

Abby and I both have our mornings free -- yes the same time those senior citizen would drop by the malls. And no, we are not complaining. And inspired by the movie, we promised to go on adventures alone -- or together alone. Does that make sense?

Our first stop will be Singapore in the summer.

Our next stop for this sem break is a gastronomic adventure at Nuvali. Crisostomo, here we come!!

In Love with Love

Many years ago, a friend and dormmate from college introduced me to the idea of "being in love with being in love". I told him of my unreciprocated feelings for a high school classmate and how I was still hurting at that time. He told me that I'm not really in love with him. I was in love with the idea that I was in love with him. And after much thought, I agreed with him. After I have let go of the idea, I was able to love again, and that time, my feelings were returned. Though that relationship didn't last, at least at that point, I can confidently say I was in love with a person, and not with an idea.

A few weeks ago, my otherwise peaceful relationship with my current was ruffled and rocked to the core.

I had a late-night conversation with an old acquaintance and she disclosed a not-so-secret news that made me think about many, many things.

She asked me about a certain boy and if we were a couple at some point in the past.

I told her, no, we were never a couple. We did go out a few times. I got to meet his parents. He got to meet mine. But that's just about it. And I told her that even then, I never thought he entertained the idea that we would ever be an item.

She told me I was wrong.

He was open to that idea. But he waited to fall in love with me. And he did fall in love, but not with me. So the idea was scrapped and we went into the 'friend zone'. That is where we are until now.

Until now.

After that conversation, I began to think about the things that happened since then. I had sleepless nights and blank moments. I kept thinking about us over and over. I was having second thoughts on my relationship with my boyfriend when it hit me. I remembered that conversation that I had with my dormmate more than a decade ago.

"You're not in love with him, Noah. You are just in love with being in love with him."

Then I thought, yes. That is precisely what is happening. Because I love the fact that if we did become an item, we would have a wonderful love story. We will both be doctors. We even have the same taste in many things. It would indeed be a nice story. But that's just that. A story. Nothing more.

Two weeks later and back to reality. I decided to channel all my attention to the boy who I know loves me, even if he has very conservative ways of showing it. And after my doubts in our relationship, I also realized that it strengthened it even more. That despite our many differences in personality and ways, we are still very much in love, not with an idea, but with each other.

photos credits: deviantart.com and desicomments.com

Dear Universe Wish List

Dear Universe,

I holler onto you now. This is my Christmas wishlist. I don't really care if they come as gifts or you give me the financial capability to buy it, as long as they come. The last time I hollered, you didn't give everything but you gave me more.

Thank you for the Master Cardio instead of the Master Classic.

Thank you for the boyfriend instead of just the Rose Quartz.

Thank you for many bags, instead of just one.

Thank you for the LOTR set. Loved it.

You didn't give me the Ipaq leather case but you gave me new phones.

Thanks for the running shoes. Ayoko na ng Nike. Madaling masira.

So this year, these are the stuff I want to have. Walang deadline. Hindi nagmamadali.

1. Nyx Goddess Make-up Box.

I have golden morena skin. And as most people don't know, I am also a closet kikay. So yes. I love make-up. And I want that box.

2. CL Privatita in Black.

This one's pretty expensive. I shall not say more. (sigh)

3. Nikon D90

I've been wanting to buy this for months now. Or years. Please find your way to me.

4. Toric Contact Lenses

Not that I hate my glasses, but I sometimes want to show-off my nice eyes. My mom said they're beautiful, but she's my mom. I think they're pretty. And I sometimes, I want the world to see them without my glasses in the way.

5. New Eyeglasses

I think I need to adjust the grades of my glasses as well as its astigmatism. And I want new bronze titanium frames. Not necessarily Prada. :)

A Rainy Weekend and a Pile of Transcripts

It's what we would call "the calm after the storm". Meaning, the peaceful transition between classes to exam week. Unlike what i used to do last year, I decided to head south and study here in Mom's house this weekend. I don't know if it's a very wise decision as until now, all I do is sleep whenever I get my hands on one of our insanely big medical books.

It is now that I realize the reason why I would keep the computer open all night while studying. Because only fifteen minutes into reading, my eyelids would drop and I'm off to Neverland once again.

I forced myself out of my mom's super comfortable bed and back into my bodega of a room. Actually, my bed's more comfortable but as my room has turned into some sort of storage place, half of it is full of knick knacks and what-have-yous.

With close to ten chapters to read for Pharmacology as well as another four in Pathology, I can't really afford to lose any more precious awake time. So instead of camping in Mom's bedroom, I'm camping here in mine instead. See you all after the exams!! :)