Separation Anxiety Part 2

I spent the past several days offline as a result of a virus that infected my precious laptop (whom I've unoriginally nicknamed "Lappy Toppy"). I survived on five-minute internet doses by begging for mercy from my siblings, who graciously let me use theirs.

I've had an eventful week!

I went to an all-expenses-paid overnight seminar in Tagaytay City for English teachers, and experienced two days of independence (which was both exhilirating and eye-opening).

I watched the Philippine Opera Company's production of MASTER CLASS, starring Cherie Gil as Maria Callas (For pictures, go to THIS page).

I met up with a friend and had a marathon four-hour catching-up session over coffee.

I read an extremely heartwarming book, Josh Grogan's "Marley & Me" (which was made into a movie already, I understand), in one sitting, and developed a bad cold as a result of the sob-fest that followed.

I panelled for two voice recitals as well as for the voice exams.

A friend told me that I'm living a full life, and indeed, I am. :)

Separate blog entries will follow, reflecting on a couple of the past week's experiences. But for now, I just want to share my joy at having my beloved Lappy Toppy back to normal (yeeees, she's A OK!), and share my excitement at the sem break that is to come starting Saturday.

Here is my sem-break to-read pile:

* Plato and a Platypus Walk Into A Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

* Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

* How I Believe by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

* The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy

* Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell

* Music, The Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination by Robert Jourdain

* Ahead of All Parting: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainier Maria Rilke

* The Essential Kierkegaard by Howard and Edna Hong

That's not including the German and French diction textbooks I need to peruse (wait, make that, cram into my brain) to prepare for the 2nd sem of Diction class. *gasp*

Aaaaaaaa sem break... It's so near... I can TASTE it.... (The irony of life... kung kelan ako naging teacher, saka umikli ang sem break)

A Walking Contradiction

What Gabriela Means

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality. You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

 

 

 

 

Hmmm my little profile seems to have contradicting parts. :)

What's YOUR name's hidden meaning?

Ten Little Pimples

That's what I have growing in my chin area, as a memento from the hell week that was. (I would like to thank Maxwell House 3-in-1 coffee for helping me get through the week...)

I used to think that I was majorly stressed out as an undergrad. Ha! How wrong I was. I wouldn't say that I've completely gotten the hang of juggling work with studying for my MA, but at least I survived the first sem. :) I hope that the second sem will be easier.

My voice box, too, had to undergo major adjustments as a result of talking non-stop for an average of 4-5 hours a day... something I never had to do in my life, before I started teaching. Often, I'd arrive in UP CMu with my voice too tired from talking, so I would illustrate certain musical effects to my voice students by singing one octave lower. I'd be too vocally tired to even vocalize.

But when all is said and done, I don't want to give up teaching in the classroom. :) I'm learning so much. I had to exchange my high school English class for the Asian Civilization (AP) class for the 2nd quarter, and I'm having the time of my life reading history books and discussing the events that shaped Asian history. It's like taking History as another course in college.

However, a dangerous thing about teaching is the temptation for hubris. When you're in a position of absolute power day in and day out, sometimes it can get to you.

That's why I'm really grateful for the chance to BE the student once again, during my MA classes. Being put into a subservient position, as a break from the dictatorship position of the teacher in the classroom, is a welcome and much-needed paradigm shift.

Two weeks to go before sem break. Awoo!

~ ~ ~

Something I read from the peyups multiply page:

"Ang Pag-aaral sa 'Big Three' maikukumpara sa pag-aaral mag-swimming:

Sa La Salle, aalalayan ka mula simula hanggang matuto kang lumangoy.
Kahit marunong ka na aalalayan ka pa rin.

Sa Ateneo, aalalayan ka sa simula hanggang matuto kang lumangoy. Kapag marunong
kana, papabayaan ka nang mag-isa.

Sa UP, itutulak ka sa tubig, papabayaan kang malunod hanggang matuto kang lumangoy."

-Roderico de Armas (Math 17)

A Couple of Recital Plugs

Happiness is getting to finish all the papers required for the most terrible of subjects one day in advance (all that remains is for me to get around printing them, easy-peasy!).

Happiness is resting secure in the knowledge that the dreaded finals for the aforementioned "most terrible of subjects" is OPEN-NOTES (Though there are some who would hyperventilate at this, thinking that it certainly means an exam of the hardest calibre).

Happiness is having a couple of minutes free to type a quick blog post in the middle of the week.

So! Today I sat in the panel for the special voice exams (for the recitalists this sem). Regular voice exams are scheduled next week, the list was posted in the Voice Dept. bulletin board this morning.

It was my first time to do so, and it was... an eye-opening experience. Let's leave it at that. :)

It was more tiring than I expected, but I really enjoyed myself especially when I watched Zuri Valbuena's recital audition.

Calling all Sir Eudy fans! Sir Eudenice Palaruan (yup, the one and only Sir Eudy) will be performing as Dulcamara in Donizetti's opera, L'ELISIR D'AMORE. He stole the limelight for me, I'm afraid. What a superb actor/singer Sir Eudy is!

Sir Eudy and a wonderful cast of singers will be performing for one night only at the SOLAIR Auditorium, UP Diliman, on Oct.14, Tuesday next week, 8:00 PM.

These great singers include sopranos Anna Migallos and Maricris Joaquin, baritones Noel Azcona and Eudenice Palaruan, the UP Concert Chorus, and will be conducted by Camille Lopez-Molina (who is a diva soprano herself, as well as an accomplished accompanist... in short, an all-around musician). :)

Oh and did I say that Sir Eudy Palaruan will be singing in the opera?

Hahaha it was the highlight of my day. Just recalling it makes me grin broadly.

Tenor Eric Ferrer will be having his graduation recital on the same day, it is a production of "LA TRAVIATA" (for production photos, please go to this page). It will be at 7:00 PM, at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium in CMu, UP Diliman. Soprano Alegria Ferrer will be performing, along with several other excellent singers.

If only I could halve myself in two, so I can attend both recitals. :)

Whether you choose the comedic opera or the tragic one, I assure you, you will be in for a musical/visual treat.

'Tis recital season once again, and oh! Ain't it grand! :)

Vita Brevis

"Life is so short!" I read this phrase many times while reading Jostein Gaardner's novel in between cramming sessions for work/ MA. I read Augustine's Confessions about the same time last year, and reading Gaardner's companion novel (purportedly a letter to Augustine from his concubine, Floria) was like reading the Bishop of Hippo's autobiography again, only this time, through more critical eyes.

While I am trying my best to live up to my Christian/Catholic beliefs, I still do not concur with the extreme views that some fellow Christians seem to hold on to. I do not mean any offense against them, I am merely voicing out my own personal beliefs when I say that while I acknowledge that True Joy cannot be found here on earth, I do not believe that it is a sin to find happiness in things like spending quality time with one's family (never mind if it entails watching a movie with some violent scenes... something that would be frowned upon by a few). Balance, I think, is the key. While we must take care not to mistake the good for what is best, we do not sin by taking pleasure in worshipping God by appreciating His Creations. Despising this life, the one He has given us... isn't it a sin of ingratitude?

Floria, the book's narrator, said it best: "We should not try to live as something other than what we are. Would that not be to mock God? We are human beings, Aurel. We must first live, and then -- yes, then we can philosophize." (Context: Augustine loved this women deeply, and even had a son with her, but he left her because he believed that loving this woman was threatening to take over his love for God, and therefore damning his soul)

Augustine was a great man, yet at the end of it all, he was just... a man, frail and weak like the rest of us. In his weakness, he blamed his beloved for his shortcomings... unrightfully so.

~ ~ ~

"Life is so short!" I had a greater appreciation of this in the past week, when I attended the birthday celebration of our beloved arnis teacher, Sir Bot Jocano. I still remember his birthday LAST year, and the speed with which time seemed to pass was a blink of an eye.

A year later, our little organization has grown. Some old members left, but new ones have replaced them. I was happy to have the chance to meet the newbies, and even got to see old familiar faces. I foresee great things for this merry band of stick-toting academics/artists... wonderful people, all.

"Life is so short!"

Never mind that my to-do list is a mile long. I grabbed the chance to have dinner with a couple of friends Thursday evening, after work.

"Life is so short!" It is too short to waste time getting stressed over a finals exam that I have not the time to sufficiently prepare for. (Aside: By some twist of fate, I had no choice but to enroll in the hardest subject for my MA... Ed 202, Statistics for Teachers. I only found out that this was "THE" terror subject a couple of weeks ago. No wonder I've been mentally pummelled, it seems, all throughout this past sem!)

Life is too short to waste time ranting about the fact that I had to spend Saturday afternoon cramming MA papers that are due next week, instead of going to the CCP to watch "La Boheme." (I'll make up for it by watching POC's THE MASTER CLASS instead)

Life is too short, and each experience is precious, each day is a gift. May we all embrace Life, its joys and tribulations, its trials and torments, its beauty and its brevity, with the gratitude and wonder of a little child opening his present on Christmas Day.

(Speaking of Christmas, it's just around the corner!!!! And so is the sem break!!!!! *cartwheel* )

DZFE Classical Live

http://www.dzfe.febc.ph/classicallive/
98.7 DZFE's blog, where the latest classical music events in Metro Manila are posted :)

After-Work Dinner

With Christian, Nicole, Richard, and my clone at Red Ribbon (love their choco mousse!!!)

Nothing like dinner with friends to make post-work stress go away :)