This photo is a sneak peek of what happened in school today. We’ve been active participants during the recognition rites, baccalaureate mass, class picture taking and graduation rehearsal. It’s definitely tiring yet fun day. Anyway, in general, the place was filled with an extraordinary level of craziness, because it’s two more days before our much-anticipated graduation! :)
(Yuchengco: February 10, 2009)This building has been a witness to a number of events that increased the awareness of not only the students, but of other people as well (in the field of politics, arts, literature, business and the like). The auditorium in the seventh floor is the “Araneta Coliseum” or the "CCP" (Cultural Center of the Philippines) of this prestigious university. If you, by any chance, get to perform on its stage, you are indeed lucky. :)
By the way, I'm going back to school tomorrow! We'll be having our academic attire fitting (the toga), class picture taking and recognition rites in the morning, and baccalaureate mass and graduation rehearsals in the afternoon until evening (9pm to be exact). It's going to be a long day but I don't mind. As a matter of fact, my friends, myself and our other common friends in our department are planning to have a mini-pictorial during our free time. It would be fun, I'm sure! I can also imagine that tomorrow will be like our first day of school, without the first day jitters.
Taft, here we come! :p
Look what I found while surfing the internet two nights ago!
Isn’t she pretty? She was born on the 28th day of March 1986. When she was eleven years old, she studied at a private Roman Catholic school somewhere in Manhattan. During her highschool years, she played the lead roles, Adelaide and Philia, from the plays Guys and Dolls and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum respectively. At the age of seventeen, she enrolled at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she learned more about music. Here, she was able to improve her songwriting skills as well.
In 2008, she became one of the successful artists in the field of music. Her music influences include David Bowie, Queen, Madonna and the late Michael Jackson. She fondly calls her fans, “Little Monsters”.
Friends, her name is Stefani Germanotta. Or should I say was.
Does the name ring a bell? Not yet? :p
She won as the Best New Artist in 2009’s MTV Video Music Awards. She also won the Best Dance Recording Award and the Rising Star Award. Recently, she collaborated with Beyonce and their song, “Telephone”, became a hit. Her new music video/song, Alejandro, is in the Top 10 of Billboard Hot 100.
Are you ready? Brace yourselves.
She is none other than THE Lady Gaga. :)
P.S. I was so surprised when I saw this photo. I can’t believe that it was her (if I remember it right, she was 17 years old here) before she started wearing eye-catching clothes. She’s so pretty! :p
Reference: Wikipedia, Billboard.com, Modern-pop-music-suite101.com
Hermione, Harry and Ron are all grown-up! I’m looking forward to watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. But it also makes me sad because we have to finally say good-bye to people whom we learned to love and hate. :(
On the brighter side, I’ve read that the Harry Potter theme park is opening soon (Spring 2010). I will really save a lot of money so I could visit the wizarding world in the future. The people behind this brilliant idea are making my dream to explore the corridors of Hogwarts and the busy streets of Hogsmeade come true. :)
P.S. I visited this site and it features the wizarding world. If you are fond of Harry Potter, you might want to see it too. http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/ :)
My TREDONE professor said that you are not a La Sallian if you don’t know Jenny. Since I was a frosh then, I didn’t have any idea who Jenny was. I asked some of my classmates about this person. I was surprised when I learned that Jenny was a beggar in Taft Avenue who befriended the students from La Salle and CSB. And he’s not just a beggar; He wore “Havaianas”.
He was like a student from La Salle because he knew everything about what’s going on inside the institution. He knew the schedule of the classes and of the UAAP games. He also helped some of the students who were crossing the streets. And I was one of them. This was the only closest encounter I had with Jenny because I didn't have a chance to talk to him, unlike the other students, during my entire college life.
Last night, a blockmate of mine tweeted that he already passed away. I was in school last Monday and for some weird reason, I didn’t see him. Oh Jenny.
Well, if this is true, Taft Avenue will never be the same, Jenny. You are the one who gives life to this busy street. Thank you. We will definitely miss you.
Wow, this is my first time to post a photo of a guy (aside from my father, brother, cousin and friend of course) in my blog. Friends, this is James Reid. He is from Australia and he is currently living inside Big Brother’s house. I admire him because he is such a talented person. He plays the guitar and he can sing. And just recently, I discovered that he can dance. Haay, I wish I were seventeen again. Haha! :D
(photo I found from his page on Facebook)
“Cambridge is a blessing in disguise.” These were the exact words that I said to my aunt when Teacher Blue, the directress from this preschool, sent me a message three weeks ago. I got excited as soon as I received her message and I replied immediately. She asked me to prepare an activity about homes, and it should be developmentally appropriate for three year old children. She also told me that I would have a storytelling session with them. I spent the whole night making a lesson plan and I even created an instructional material to make it more interactive and fun for them. I looked for my of copy of Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and read it for the nth time and practiced infront of the mirror. As far as my memory was concerned, I slept at around 4 in the morning.
I considered it as a blessing in disguise because that was the time when I felt that I won’t get a job by June. The Little Apprentice, the other preschool where I applied, told me that I can’t be their lead teacher because of my soft voice. They don’t think that I could be an assistant teacher either since they already have one. But I’m still welcome to have my second demo-teaching. I took a one week break and tried to look for other preschools. After my one week break, I decided to contact the preschool’s administrator to tell her that I’m ready for another round of demo-teaching. Unfortunately, on that day, something went wrong with my phone. I lost everything—- my treasured messages, photos and the numbers of my friends, former classmates and groupmates, etc. I sent her an email instead but she didn’t answered it. And as usual, I prayed to God to make everything okay. And He did. A day after my phone “died”, I convinced my father and aunt to buy me a new one. It was a Monday, a week after the elections, and I was playing the Sims 3 when my new phone vibrated. To my surprise, it was a message from Teacher Blue and I jumped (literally) and danced like nobody was there. Finally, I got a call from my “dream preschool”. Had I not insisted on buying a new phone, I wouldn’t be able to know that Cambridge is interested to see my “teaching skills”.
It is my dream to work at Cambridge in Alabang. As a matter of fact, I can see myself working there and spending time with the children. The preschool is unique because unlike the others, it has an open-environment—- the classroom has no walls; instead, there are fences that separate each classroom. When Teacher Blue asked me about their setting, I said, “I was surprised because even if the children in the classroom where I had my demo shouted and laughed during their play time, the others who are inside their own “rooms” didn’t mind them. I noticed that they’re completely focused on what they were doing and they didn’t go outside to see what is happening.”
I was told that the children loved and enjoyed my activity. The teachers, on the other hand, liked it. They were happy with my performance and with the outcome of my interview. I was one of the lucky two teachers (out of three who had their demo) who was sent to Makati, where their main office is located. The head of operations (not the HR department) conducted the interview. Teacher Jane (the one who interviewed) will be the one to choose between the two of us. And whoever she chooses will be interviewed by the head of their HR department and then the president.
A while ago, Teacher Blue sent me another message. Since last weekend, I’ve been waiting for a message from her. And I didn’t expect it:
“Hi T.Dana! With the recent developments, it seems that we won’t have to hire a new teacher. A teacher from Cambridge Makati requested to transfer in our Centre. Anyway, thanks for sharing your talent with us. I’m sure that any school would be lucky to have you. We’ll keep your CV in our active file. Good luck and follow your dream! God bless!”
I didn’t expect the message to be like this. I was expecting the worst because the other teacher already has a seven year teaching experience. I was expecting that this teacher will get accepted and not me. I was wrong. I decided not to delete the message because I find it touching, for some reason. In addition, it will serve as a reminder for me to give my 100% in everything that I do.
This experience has made me realize that being soft-spoken and mahinhin are not a hindrance to fulfill my dream. I may have these characteristics but I can prove to others that I am more than meets the eye. :D That inside this facade is a strong young woman who is inspired and willing to share what she has learned to little children. Like what I said to Teacher Jane during the interview, “…Siguro po ngayon I’m still a caterpillar but once I enter the real setting, I would become a butterfly”.
I didn’t get my dream job but it’s okay. At least I tried and took the risk. I feel sad in a way but maybe, God has something better in store for me. This isn’t the end. This is only the beginning of a new chapter of my life.
Having said these, Cambridge will always have a special place in my heart. :)
P.S. Teacher Blue, I will not disappoint you. Thank you for believing in me. :)