Midterms

I was computing my class' midterm grades yesterday and I was dismayed by the performance of some of my students. My father-in-law consoled me by saying that the midterm grade is only a gauge on how the student is performing and does not really count to the final grade. Nevertheless, just the thought of failing someone makes my stomach turn. I was a student once and I know how difficult a failing grade can be to take in.

My friends who are also professors added that I don't have to feel sorry for the student if she is not exerting effort to learn. I was reminded that learning is a two-way street. I teach and my pupils study. One even said that the teacher's anthem is: "I did my best, but I guess your best was not good enough...there's no easy way to break somebody's heart." (Thank you Mr. Cortez)

I just really hope that I can become an effective teacher. I really want my students to learn from me and I hope I can impart the lesson without too much difficulty.

Thanks to http://disorientedtheology.files.wordpress.com for the pic.

Gastroenteritis

Gosh, I can't believe I'm afflicted again with the same illness that I got same time last year (missed it by a few days).

Last year, I was able to eat (or drink) something from a nearby restaurant which gave me gastroenteritis. This year, I'm still trying to figure out what I ate (or drank) which has caused this again. I only went to two restaurants yesterday so it could be either of the two.

I can't afford to go on leave this week as it's my last week at work before I move to my new employer. I really do hope the meds will work soon.

DFA Experience

This month has been really interesting for me as I experienced both sides of our government. The efficient and inefficient sides.

I recently had to get an NBI clearance for new employment. Sad to say, that was the worst experience I had with regards to our government and it irks me no end that I pay tax money just to get crappy service. Anyway, I don’t want to go into that further as I don’t want to rehash the hell I went through just to get that yellow paper that will enable me to move to a different company.

I was at the DFA earlier to have my passport renewed as it’s due to expire January 2013. I opted to renew as early as now as I’m not sure if I’ll have time throughout the year to fix this.

I scheduled for an appointment early this month and got a 3PM schedule as today is my son’s birthday and I’m on leave. He had a small party in school earlier and I left around quarter to 1. I made good time and was at DFA at 130PM which was 1 ½ hours before my appointment.

When I got inside, I was made to sit with my other co-3PM appointees. We were made to wait on benches underneath a tent outside the building. It was rather comfortable and I had my book with me to keep me entertained. Around 3PM, we were asked to follow the 230PM appointees inside the building where there’s another line going to the counter screeners to check your documents. Again, that was fast and I was able to reach the counter at around 330PM.

After that, I went to the 2nd floor to pay the passport fees. Again, line was very short.

After paying, I was directed to get a number to wait in line for the picture and fingerprint capture. When I got my number, I was surprised to see that there were 300 people more waiting ahead of me. I then settled down to wait. I was delighted to see how fast the numbers were being called though probably because they had more than 50 counters open. I estimated that they could process 10 people per minute (or more). That’s not bad. True enough, my number came up 30-45 minutes later.

If you look at it, I was actually done in an hour and a half. I just came in early for my appointment. If that’s considered a long wait for other people, it’s a big improvement over my NBI clearance experience which was very excruciating and frustrating.

By the way, for those wearing contact lenses, make sure you either don’t use them during your picture taking or bring contact lens solution and case with you. The DFA staff only noticed it after I was done. She asked me to remove my contact lens as it’s not my correct eye color. Unfortunately, I did not bring any solution or even a contact lens case with me. I was forced to remove it after they thankfully provided me a case where I can put it in. In lieu of the solution, we used water. Good thing I was still able to put them back on after the picture taking. I had no choice as my eye grade is 5.00 and I’m driving.

I then paid for delivery and was out of the building by 430PM.

That’s it, basically. By the way, they still have a different line for those with children and senior citizens and another queue for those scheduled through travel agencies.

Game of Thrones

I noted in my 2011 recap that I have started watching Game of Thrones sometime that year. However, I realized that I haven't made a post dedicated to that wonderful TV mini-series that made me read the dreadfully long but deliriously wonderful books.



I admit, the first time I saw a glimpse of the TV show, I recoiled from all the nudity and violence. But when I saw the trailer on HBO featuring the prologue which gave us an impression how the series really look like, I was hooked. The above is actually the opening credits of the show and it's just so awesome!

I love Sean Bean as Ned Stark. I don't care if he gets typecasted in historical/medieval/soldier roles (Lord of the Rings, Troy, Percy Jackson and now this) but he's just so effective. There's something about his face and performance that brings you back to the old ages where kings ruled.

The series made me search out the books and reading the novel while watching the show showed me are more in depth look on the wonderful world of Westeros and the intrigues played by the different lord and ladies of the realm. I'm a sucker for medieval stories as I grew up reading stories about knights and ladies and my favourite book ever is Jude Deveraux's "Knight in Shining Armor". When I was in third year high school, I got a perfect score in our World History quiz focusing on the medieval period. That's how much I'm into it.

My husband got me ebooks of all five existing books (2 are still yet to be released) which I downloaded into my Nook. I couldn't put the book down and hated it when I have to charge my device to be able to continue reading (that's maybe the drawback to shifting to electronic books. I have to plug it in when the battery runs out of juice).

The Game of Thrones mini-series is based on George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books. The first of which is A Game of Thrones (GOT, 1996)--where the show started. Next is a Clash of Kings (ACOK, 1999), then A Storm of Swords (ASOS, 2000), followed by A Feast for Crows (AFFC, 2005). The fifth book which was released last year was A Dance With Dragons (ADWD, 2011). Two books have yet to be issued which are The Winds of Winter (TWOW) and A Dream of Spring (ADOS). As the books are quite long, the show only focused on certain parts of the first novel. I just read out the parts to fill in the holes.

However, when I got to the second book, ACOK really dragged at first. It was just in the middle of the book which I was forced to read while waiting in line the half day to get my NBI clearance, that the action really started. I literally could not put my nook down and was hooked at what's going to happen next. I grieved for those who died and applauded when my favourite characters won their battles.

I'm already on the 3rd book and I'm still engrossed. I dread finishing the fifth book as it will be a long wait before the sixth and seventh book will be released. I surely hope Martin finishes the 6th book soon and I really pray he'll still be alive to finish the 7th one. Actually, he's only 64 but he looks old in his pictures (must be the beard).

Sesason 2 of GOT will start on April which is three months away. I can't wait to immerse myself in their fascinating world afain.

In the meantime, here's a teaser trailer for the next season.

Personal Strategic Vision

During my Strategic Management class two years ago, our teacher, Prof. Elfren Cruz, required us to make our own Personal Strategic Vision. This is to ensure that we understand how a corporate vision really works.

I was able to craft one and looking at it now that two years have passed, I could say that it still holds true. It's still idealistic but at least it's the ideals that I really strive for.

CORE IDEOLOGY

Core Purpose
My core purpose is to make most of the talents that I have been given to be able to fully give justice in all the roles I play in my life.

Core Values
I am a woman who is a wife, amother, a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin, a student/teacher, a colleague, a subordinate, a supervisor, a neighbor and a friend, In order to play all these roles to the best of my abilities, I consider the following as values that would help me achieve by core purpose:

Generosity - I believe in giving until it hurts and without expecting anything in return. By giving, I do not mean just meeting financial needs but giving my time, my effort and my self.

Respect - I believe that there is good in all of us and it is because of that belief that enables me to respect people, even in the most trying times.

Responsible - I believe in being responsible for my own actions and words. I believe in my capabilities of making decisions and in knowing that I would have to live with the choices that I make.

Compassionate - I believe in being considerate of others. I believe in putting myself in the other persons' shoes to understand where they are coming from.

Trust - I believe that everyone is capable of good or being able to accomplish their assigned tasks.

Humility - I believe that I am not perfect and should never think that I am above others. I believe that there is still a lot of things that I need to improve or work on and this keeps me going in my goal in reaching my full potential.

ENVISIONED FUTURE

Big Hair Audacious Goals (BHAGs)

Become a person who is instrumental in the success of people, activities and businesses.

Vivid Description

I will go to sleep at night knowing that I have done my best to keep my family safe and sound...My husband and I will raise a family of well-rounded individuals, rearing them to be God-fearing and responsible adults...I will do the best of my abilities to raise our children to be professionals and who will use their time and talents to help others who are in need, without being asked to...Fifty years from now, we'll be able to hold reunions with family and friends and seeing all of them happy and content with their lives...Fifty years from now and even beyond retirement, I hope to still be able to help people and to continue on giving and playing the roles that I've been given until the end of my days.

Louder

My officemate is a staunch defender of Charice and she really loves the little belter so much. She would tell us that Charice is very talented and would make us listen to her songs. Because of my colleague, I've also taken to searching for Charice videos in youtube whenever I find that I have the time to spare. Talent like hers is really something that the world should take note of.

This is her new single and it's really catchy. I hope it'll go up the charts.

Good Life

I'm claiming this as my theme song for 2012.

Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life

Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life

God Wants You to Know

While struggling to make a major decision last month, I came upon this FB app, "God Wants You to Know. It's basically an app that generates random "messages from God." Out of curiosity, I clicked on it to see what would be my random message and what came out I copy/pasted below. It was just so apt and helped me make up my mind.

On this day, God wants you to know
... that it's time you stopped hiding from life, and said yes to the adventure of being alive. Enough of the routine already. Go on, have an adventure, - do what you always wanted deep within your heart. Do what brings you alive, and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

On February 6, I will begin a new chapter in my life because of this decision.

More to come...

2012 Personal Projects

My Personal Projects are actually New Year Resolutions but I don't call them that as it's so passe. Besides, "New Year Resolutions" sound so doubtful so I started calling them "Personal Projects".

So far, I've had a good accomplishment rate. Last 2010,I accomplished 6/10 and for 2011, it was 8/10. Hopefully this year, I can do better.

Before I list down my 2012 projects, here's a rundown of how my 2011 went:

2011 Personal Projects

1. DECLUTTER! - Started January last year and was moderately successful. I was able to throw away a LOT of stuff and sold my 500+ of my book collection (which is basically 3/4 of what I have).

2. Be more physically active (walk/cardio at least 3x/week)- I did this and was able to run my short term goal of 20 minutes. I had to stop though when I thought I was pregnant. I plan to get back on the treadmill by this month.

3.Cook/bake at least 1x/month - Was only able to do this for 2 months but stopped

4. Find a new hobby by end of Quarter 1 - Can teaching be considered a hobby? If it is, I missed my target by 3 quarters but I still managed to find one before the end of the year.

5. Be pregnant by Quarter 3 - I cried over this one. But I believe that God has other plans for us. Besides, we already have Basti. If he's meant to be an only child then we accept it with grace.

6. Meet with "old" friends at least 1x/month - Not once a month but at least I was able to meet with a LOT of old friends this year--especially this Christmas. I've lost track of how many reunions I've attended.

7. Try a new restaurant at least 1x/month - Not really that successful. My dinner-mate when on a "tipid" mode so there goes our restaurant tripping

8. Visit my mom and sister in the US by Q2 - highly successful. It was my most memorable and best vacation so far.

9. Celebrate Basti's second birthday party - We didn't actually have a party. We just ate out and celebrated his birthday privately.

10. Celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary - We just had dinner at Mona Lisa Restaurant here at Alabang.

And here's my 2012 Personal Project List:
1. Limit myself to one dessert/sugary snack per day
2. Run 20 minutes on the treadmill
3. Run my first 3K race
4. Limit myself to 1/2 rice per meal with no rice for dinner
5. Visit all my doctors for a check-up (OB-Gyne, Endo, Cardio, Optha)
6. Survive my first year of teaching
7. Celebrate Basti's 3rd birthday
8. Celebrate 5th wedding anniversary
9. Visit another city in the country
10. Visit another country in Asia

First Day = Epic Fail

I've been looking forward to this day since December. Today was the first day I met with my students.

Since I am a professor that replaced a teacher who had to go on leave in the middle of the term, I came in just a session before midterms. I also had to handle a subject that I've never heard of in my life. Looking at the syllabus, it looks like a hodgepodge of different subjects that I had. So I just reviewed the powerpoint and mentally prepared how I will approach the lecture.

When I came to class this morning, we had no laptop or projector and for some reason, none can be found for our class. That was when everything just fell apart. I could not conduct a lecture without the powerpoint and no pep talk can make me do otherwise. Even if the students have a copy of the lecture, I still can't bring myself to discuss the slides as my mind also went blank. I think I ended up spouting gibberish and I'm praying that they forgot everything that I said because thinking about it now, I said a lot of confusing stuff.

There's no lecture for the next couple of weeks as it will be midterms next week and group research after that. I'm just so disappointed with myself and hopefully, I can get out of this funk and be more prepared next time. My students deserve to have a professor who can deliver a decent lecture and I hope I can live up to expectations.