Flash Back: The Annual Play Letter (A Parody)
Had you gone to a Catholic School when you were in Grade School, you’d know what an Annual Play event is. It’s an income-generating-slash-fund-raising project them nuns come up with for us to participate in. Poor children. Pitiful parents. The letter below more than sums up my sentiments on the matter. To complete your reading experience, since the letter is after all from the 80s, please pardon the courier font.
September 25, 1987
Our Dear Parents:
We are pleased to inform you that your children, Fritz Karl and Zhan Kirby, were handpicked from a student body of 1,500 to participate in the most anticipated Annual Play fund raising event of the school. As Sisters of Charity, we task ourselves with the humble duty to alleviate the hardships suffered by our underprivileged brethren by helping but a handful of them in the most that we can. That, and we are renovating a wing of the Nursery and Kindergarten section of the school to serve as the new Cloister complete with a new Chapel for the Sisters and the students, but primarily for the Sisters. [...]
[...] This year, it has been decided by the [sic] ungenious Sisters that we hold the Annual Play earlier. A Christmas program. We will be doing Kids’ Praise. Don’t dare ask, “again?!” because we have purchased a brand new cassette tape, the Kids’ Praise! Christmas: Psalty’s Christmas Calamity showcasing the most awesome Christmas songs medley in the known Christmas songs playlist of the 80s! The show will still revolve around our favorite characters Psalty, Psaltina, and those lovely, lovely Booklets: Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm.
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
Orginal entry post : Click here!
Bata pa lang ako, nagtataka na ako kung bakit madaming mga tao sa paligid ko ang naguusap sa mga salitang hindi ko naman maintindihan. Noon, sa pagkakatanda ko, ay tinatakot pa ako ng aking ina na yung “babaeng kakaiba magsalita” ay yung mga kumukuha sa mga batang malilikot, salbahe at hindi umuuwi ng maaga.
Dahil dito, lumaki akong may takot sa kung sino mang marunong magsalita ng ibang lenggwahe maliban sa Tagalong at Ingles. Naalala ko pa nung mga panahong tinataguan at iniiyakan ko yung kapitbahay namin na sinasakyan naman ang kwento ng aking ina. Nang nag-umpisa akong mag-aral ng elementarya at natutunan ko kung ano ang tama sa mali at tunay sa likhang-isip, nalaman ko din sa wakas ang mga salitang iyon ay kabilang sa madaming wika sa ating bansa. Nakakagulat lamang dahil imbis na matuwa o mamangha ay ikinainis ko pa iyon, marahil dala ng panlolokong ginawa sa akin.
How To Write A Better Post
Last week, I tackled some tips on how to organize your blog contests. This week, I wanted to write a short article on how to make a good post.
Let’s start by identifying the elements of a good post. The first and most important would be the relevance of your post. Second, and equally important, is the composition length. You should be able to strike a balance between “Not too short” and “not too long”.
Traffic Can Be a Good Thing
That image pretty much sums up what I feel every time I get stuck in traffic. That happens every day on my way to work and on my way back home. See, I work somewhere in Pasig City, and I live in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna. More than one hour is the average time it takes for me to drive from one city to the other without heavy traffic. When the rehabilitation of the Alabang viaduct and some parts of the South Luzon Expressway started, a day without heavy traffic became a thing of myth and legends. I can bitch about it and curse it like it slaughtered my friends (all four of them), but I’m not gonna do that.Continue reading ‘Traffic Can Be a Good Thing’
Just a few hours before Shari’s B-Day
Shrieks were flooding our house with some occasional thuds and bursts of loud laughter after coming out of our restroom.
“Teka, ‘wag niyo pong pisatin. Kawawa naman”. (Please, don’t squish that poor thingie.)
Look at it. Cute, isn’t it?
Now mom, cackling loudly as ever, seemed to enjoy her beasty, nasty feast on the poor little creature between her delicate, yet meaty fingers.
Yes, I know. Lizards don’t eat orchids. Just making fun of that little lizard.
“Ang cute naman sa malapitan…” (So cute up close), dazzled upon a closer look at its little scales which appeared more like hairless fleshy skin from far away.
Mom is really good at catching those critters during her childhood years. ‘Til college, mom added, as she cited her experience with the rats she caught barely with her own hands. “At naka-dress pa ako nun, ah” (And I was all dressed up that time), she told me.
Read more on ES2PIDO | Estudyanteng Pinoy Dormitorian
Fishbowl Mystery at the Promenade Sunday Mass
I heard mass today at the Promenade after a couple of months of hearing Sunday mass elsewhere. I was seated at an aisle seat just before the table where they put the offerings. After the offertory, I was intrigued by a fishbowl placed on top of the table. It had strips of paper in it. I thought that they must be prayer petitions.
Solve the fishbowl mystery here.
Cafe Bola
If you have heard of CIBO and Pepato and love eating at these places, then Cafe Bola is right up your alley. It is also co-owned by famous chef Margarita Fores. I had a chance to see her in our company’s International Woman’s Day celebration. She was part of a group of Filipina women who were achievers in their own right.
I used to be a regular at CIBO but I haven’t had a chance to go back there in the last 9 months. Has it really been 9 months since this blog has been up and running? That is indeed too long to not visit one of my favorite restaurants.
Katimauan para king sariling Amanu!
Para king Bulan ning Amanu, yayampang ke ining makuyad kung kauatasan e pemagatan kung MÁNUKLUAN. Para ya ini karing anggang Kapampangan a kayanakan a mengaparusan king iskuela iniang gagamitan de ing sarili rang Amanu king kilub ning silid-aralan.
[For the Language Month, I present this short poem the title of which is SQUATTER. This I dedicate to all the Kapampangan children who got punished at school for speaking their own language inside the classroom.]
Kailangan da nang abalu ring anggang Pilipinu king meto yatu na e kailangan ing paten ta ra ring aliuang amanu keti Pilipinas ban mung mikamasikan a bangsa.
[It's high time that all Filipinos around the world know that we don't have to kill our linguistic diversity in the Philippines just to uphold a strong nation.]
Misasanmetung king pamimialiua!
[Unity in diversity!]
MÁNUKLUAN
[Squatter]
neng Jason Paul Laxamana
Oyta i Ginang Nacionalista
Ngana king ulaga ning salita
“Ang `di ma-al ang sariling wika
Masa-ol pa sa malansang isda”
Ita kanu’ng amanu nang Pepe
Inia mag-Filipinu king bale
Sibuknan, oneng dipan-ning-alti!
E pa rin asalikut ing gege
[There goes Mrs. Nacionalista
She stated regarding the importance of language,
"Ang `di ma-al ang sariling wika
Masa-ol pa sa malansang isda"
That's what Rizal said, she asserted
So we should speak Filipino (Tagalog) at home
I tried, but God-damn-it!
I can't hide my native accent]
Maruja Sunday Specials #7
Pagmamalasakit sa FX
Para makapunta ng Ortigas para magtrabaho, sumasakay ako ng FX dahil mas mabilis ito sa MRT. Besides, limang mintong walkaru lang from the office ang hintuan sa FX kumpara naman sa 48 years kung manggagaling sa MRT ang byuti kets.
Usually sa likuran akets sumasakay dahil ‘yun na lang ang bakante kapag nasa terminal na kets. Kaya lang, ‘yun din ang pinakamasikip at pinakamainit na bahagi ng FX (maramot kasi sa aircon ang mga nasa gitna).
Kaya kapag nagkaroon ng oportunidad na maka-ride kets sa harapan ng FX, eh di go agad ang lola niyo. Natural, nandoon ang pinakamalakas na aircon eh. Kahit medyo masikip, ina-adjust ko na lang ang aking mga wonderful legs para hindi tumama sa kambyo.
Noong Martes, nakasakay uli ako sa harapan ng FX papuntang Ortigas, katabi ang isa namang makyongkad na mhin at ang driver. Dating gawi, pinipilit na iwasan ng aking palo-palo legs ang kambyo.
Kalagitnaan ng biyahe, kumoda ang driver. “Sa susunod nga kapag sasakay kayo, hatiin niyo ang katawan niyo. Nahihirapan akong kumambyo.”
Nagalit ako sa kanyang insulto. Lumabas ang aking Inner Joshua.
Rehydrating with Pedialyte
More than once I have heard of newsbits on tv or on the radio talk about children dying because of dehydration. Most often our kids are put at risk when they are hit by extremely high fever, vomiting or diarrhea that may be caused by a viral infection.
When kids experience frequent vomiting and diarrhea, most of the time they refuse to eat or even drink milk… maybe because they feel sick or mostly they feel that whatever they take will just as easily come out again. My eldest is the most stubborn of my kids. It is very difficult to make him eat or drink anything when he is sick – and that includes water. So I get triple times scared everytime he has an episode of vomiting. My doctor always advises to keep my kid rehydrated with Pedialyte.
