Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Kaarawan ni Bonifacio

Kahapon, bago matapos ang klase, hinikayat ang mga mag-aaral na basahin ang mga aralin tungkol sa Himagsikang Pilipino, hindi lang dahil kasama ito sa Mahabang Pagsusulit, kundi dahil sa ito "ang isa sa mga pinakamaganda at pinakamaipagmamalaking yugto sa ating kasaysayan."

Nawa'y mabatid nila ang papel ni Gat Andres Bonifacio sa kalayaang kanila ngayong tinatamasa.

On Being A Student's Favorite

On her twitter, a student tagged me as her favorite teacher. Though not the first time, I still maintain the same response:

hannahgana06 Athena
CL reflection paper!!!!! "Who is your best/favorite teacher?" tinatanong pa ba yan.... @sir_mao!!!

sir_mao Mark Rovillos
@hannahgana06 hehehe... but it doesn't end there... the next and most impt questions is WHY? thanks, athena!

Though it is humbling to be identified as a student's favorite teacher, what would be most satisfying and essential is when the student can easily and substantially explain why albeit the unreasonable strictness and poker-faced countenance.

Monday, November 7, 2011

My Yearbook Write-Up

I was able to access my UP Webmail account after two years bringing up old files and papers I've written during my undergraduate years. As I was going through my folders and old files, I stopped at one particular email -- one sent by my ex of almost five years. It is my supposed write up for our college yearbook. I asked him to write it on the cover of one of my Starbucks planners (which I stashed somewhere after the break up), so I wasn't able to post it here because I just don't feel like typing it myself. This is the first time that I'm letting the INTERNET world read this, probably the only way it can be "published" since my yearbook has not yet, and I guess, will never ever see the light of day.


In my wildest dreams, you always play the hero. In my darkest hour of night, you rescue me, you save my life.

In the course of our lives, we come to a point where we feel inconsolable and alone. We struggle against intangible demons, to grapple for sanity amidst the chaos in our existence. It is such rarity that someone can pull another off the claws of this hell unscathed. But even short of a miracle to make this person feel wanted and cared for. A miracle... a dream come true… these are what this singularly selfless person personified for me. A gifted and motivated soul; one can see in his eyes the fire to accomplish beyond what is expected of him. Indeed, accomplish and succeed he has done in his life. Mau is a friend, confidante, brother, and teacher to many. They love him with unquestioning fervor because they know he will fight their wars with them, if not for them. Fearless and strong-minded, he is never afraid to articulate whatever his thoughts are. Mau has a strong groundwork for his ideologies which will be instrumental to his success in all his forthcoming endeavors. All those who love him have nothing but praises and pride in all his current and future triumphs that we are so sure he will achieve.

Aristotle said it best… love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. I’m so fortunate to have my soul completed by one such as Mau.

~Your Sandman

Monday, June 27, 2011

On the Passage of Time

Went to UP and got hold of Kule (after almost a year!) and behold I came across this passage in the front page to remind me, yet again, of what I have been pondering all this time.

‎"The time in between, the now, is an interval spent on thinking about where I am headed, if indeed I want to get somewhere. It is marked by random thoughts on the passage of time, and why, always, I do not feel as if time has moved at all." [Mercado, Kule 2011]

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Gusto Kong Um-attend ng Confe!

Habang binabasa ko ang mga abstrak para sa Kumperensyang Rizal bukas, lalo akong nanlulumo sa pagkakatong mapapalampas upang higit na makilala si Rizal sa iba't ibang konteksto. Ito marahil ang isa sa mga disbentahe ng overload.

BAWAL LUMIBAN. Kawawa ang mga estudyante...pati na ang mga sub.

Hintayin ko na lang marahil ang nakalimbag na conference papers. Saklap! Minsan lang mag-150 si Rizal! Ano ba?!

Friday, February 25, 2011

On Long Weekends and Stress-free Days

The long weekend is making me realize how much i miss the simple things: waking up early yet not rushing to work; butter on hot pan de sal; ordinary house coffee; having breakfast on the kitchen counter; laid back music in the background; and the whole idea of not thinking about work. Nice. Perfect.

The stress of the PAASCU resurvey visit was indeed physically exhausting and psychologically draining! It's just February yet I already felt like I have used up all my energy for the school year. Now I'm enjoying the simple things. Stress-free things. Things that make me realize that I am in fact human. Hahaha... funny.

Will go out biking later... time to feel the wind on my face again. (yeah, that one, too!)