The Birthday Bucket List

On the third of June, I'll be turning two-wenty-two. Natutuwa ako sa number na 'to kasi nauulit ang number 2.

Naisip ko tuloy ang overflowing GRACE ni God na pagkalooban ako ng madaming-madaming  SECOND CHANCES.



First of all, I wanna thank the Lord for the life He has added to my years and the years He is adding to my life.



And to make this birthday extra-special and memorable, I thought of creating a bucket list, or simply must-dos before Thursday midnight ends. I heard of this idea from a friend of a friend. I like the idea, so I'm duplicating it.



Here is the partial-official LIST.



1. Smile at 22 random people.

2. Give a hug to 22 people I personally know.

3. Give a high-five to 22 random persons.

4. Leave 22 one-peso coins in 22 different places.

5. Read 22 children's books in the net through  the International Children's Digital Library.

6. Do 22 push-ups.





That would be all for now. Aww! Sana magawa ko 'tong mga 'to.



Anyway, I want to share the famous poem Casey at the Bat which was published in June 3, 1888. Exactly a hundred years, before I was born.



Nahanap ko din ang ilang malalaking June 3 events.

Bud and Lucky.

i guess it's no accident that i read two books consecutively that are very similar in many aspects. and i didn't plan to read them in such sequence.





last month, i perused Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. It talks about a boy who escaped from his foster parents to look for his father. This month of May, I was able to find  The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron and finished it in two days, enjoying every page of it. The story circles on  a girl named Lucky, obviously, who is also an "orphan" in some ways because his father left her to his ex-girlfriend after Lucky's mother died.



anyway, i am just amused after finding so many similarities between the two books.



They are both for children. 

The lead characters are , i think, 10 years old.

They (main characters) both lammed/ escaped.

They (main characters) both have a survival bag/kit.

They (main characters) both found out that they are loved at the end of the story.



Both books won the Newbery Medal. Bud in 2001 and Lucky in 2007.

So, should I say that there's some formula behind every good story?

Di na Ako Uu-LET

The long wait is over. My worries popped like bubbles when I had seen my name in the list of new teachers released by PRC.



Thank you Lord for this early birthday gift. I may have not made it to the top 10, but my friends , many of them, copped the spots. And that made me happier. And my school also performed at its best with a hundred percent passing rate in both levels.



There is enough reason for me to celebrate :)

The Power of Lucky

As a book-bunter who traverse the jam-packed world of Booksale Booksale and other second-hand bookshops, I rarely get hold of Newbery  books  that were given award in  the last ten years.



Usually, the Newbery books in my collection are the winners of the award during the twentieth century period (90s down to 30s). No, they are not the first edition of the book so they don't smell as old as their age.



Some of the Newbery (medal and honor) books I have are the following:



2001 The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

2000 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

1996 The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

1994 The Giver by Lois Lowry

1991 The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

1990 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

1984 Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
1982 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

1981 Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

1978 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

1977 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

1977 Abel's Island by William Steig

1971 Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars

1971 Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell

1970 Sounder by William H. Armstrong

1968 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

1963 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

1962 The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

1953 Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

1952 Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

1948 The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois

1945 The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

1941 Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

1936 Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink



Wow. I never thought that I have more Newbery books than I've imagined. The ones in red are those that I have read.



What motivates me to collect such books?

Simply because of the fact that they are Newbery award-winning books. They are regarded by the American Library Association as the best children's books published in the US in a particular period of time. The prestige of the award attracts me to crave for the books. And I have faith in the committee which chooses the recipients of the award.



And earlier today, I chanced upon a recent winner of the award while I was rummaging for books in Booksale-SM Fairview. I knew it was a Newbery book even if the award logo wasn't on the cover. It feels like heaven when I laid my hands on it. I got more flabbergasted when I saw the price tag--P45.00. "Am I in a dream?"



2007 Newbery Medal Winner: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illus. by Matt Phelan



I rushed to the counter and purchased the book. Baka may iba pang makakita.

Waiting is...

Whoooh!

I was hoping that the PRC would be posting the April 2010 result today. It's been almost a month of sudden palpitation when thoughts of the exam result would cross my mind.



My LET-directed life is still hanging by a thread. I still don't know if the careless mistake that I made has totally ruined my LET result. I was in a haste when we were told to detach the answer sheets. The proctor instructed us to detach only the last page, what I did was the superlative--all three pages.



A co-Reading major confessed that she also made the same exact mistake a year ago. (Reading majors think alike just like great thinkers.) And lo and behold, she surpassed the test. I hope my fate goes with hers. And I do have faith that God would give the desires of my heart.



So, here comes another week of letting-my-thoughts-meander feats just to avoid the anxiety of waiting for the exam result.



"Father into Thy hands I commend the exam's result".

POTS Number 1

Running in circles

Green, blue, orange lights

Fledglings twitter, bats monger.



Where are thee going?

Two...three laps and counting

Thump. Thump. Thy heart's beating.



Shouting cicadas drowning thy fears

Endless pavements choking dreams

Stuck and mosquito-bitten.

Pasok sa Banga!

Dumating na ang araw na pinakahihintay mo. Magagamit mo na ang kapangyarihang ibinibigay ng isang demokratikong pamahalaan. Matapos ang ilang buwan ng kalituhan at pag-aagam-agam, magkakasukatan na.



Aminin mo man at hindi, kabado ka. Paano kung iluwa ng makina ang balota mo? Paano kung hindi gumana ang powers mo na baguhin ang takbo ng kasaysayan sa pamamagitan ng isang piraso ng papel ?Paano kung may ibang umangkin ng pangalan mo ? Paano kung hindi mo mahanap ang precinct mo (na dati akala mo ay precint, as in presinto) ?



Kahit na nakinig ka nang mabuti sa voter's education sa telebisyon at radyo. (Nakabisado mo na nga yata ang kanta ng Sexbomb mula intro hanggang extro with matching giling), dinadaga pa rin ang dibdib mo. Pero sa loob mo, inaalo mo ang sarili mo at pinapayuhang maging kalmado. First time mo e, normal lang ang ganyang pakiramdam.



Kaya gumising ka nang maaga, thirty minutes bago sumapit ang alas-siyete. Naglakad ka dahil naniniwala ka sa kapangyarihan ng ehersisyo. Nagsuot ng pulang polo (bilang suporta sa ihahalal mong pangulo). Nagbaon ng panyo at payong (na sobrang nakatulong habang pumipila.



Habang papalapit ka sa pamantasang pinagdarausan ng eleksyon, bumulong ka ng isang taimtim na panalangin para sa bansa ( na minsan mo lang ginagawa). Nakasalubong mo rin sa daan ang iba't ibang mukha ng mga kandidato, at sinabihan mo silang, "Sana 'wag kang  magtatangkang mandaya". Sana rin ay narinig ka nila kahit pa mga plastik at papel lang sila.



Nabuwisit ka sa mga taong namimigay ng sample ballot. Bawal na ýon 'di ba? Pero di ka man lang naglakas-loob na sawayin sila. Sabi mo lang, "Mayroon na ako niyan" kahit ang totoo kodigo lang ang gawa mo. Pero may punto ko, dagdag basura lang kasi ýong ipanamimigay nila. At saka di ka naman bumoboto nang straight, at informed vote ang ika-cast mo.



No'ng papasok ka na sa silid na hinanap mo ng kulang-kulang ten minutes, namukhaan mo ang isang guro sa paaralang pinasukan mo no'ng high school, kabilang siya sa BEI. Tinawag ka pa niya. Jefferson. Kahit 'di naman talaga ýon ang pangalan mo. Bigla kang nag-daydream. "I wish, I wish with all my heart, sana may special treatment ako kagaya ni ___________". Ambisyoso!



After almost 5 minutes, natapos ka rin sa pagshi-shade. Naglub-dub-lub-dub ang puso mo nang makita na tumagos ang marker sa likod ng balota mo. Pero di ka nagpahalata na kinabahan ka. Tumayo ka na at nakalimutang dalhin ang pseudo-ballot secrecy folder papunta sa PCOS machine. Sinubuan ang makinang hayok sa boto at crinoss mo ang mga daliri mo.



Matapos ang mga limang segundo siguro, kinausap ka ng piping makina.



"Congratulations! Your vote has been registered."



Dinumihan mo ang kanang hinlalaki at ipinunas sa malinis na papel at nagpa-kyutiks ka sa isang nail specialist na isang impressionist. Kinapos ka sa budget so isang daliri lang ang nadumihan nakulayan.



Paglabas mo, marami na'ng customer ang naghihintay na magpakyutiks din. Tiningnan Tinitigan mo sila, at sabi ng isip mo, "Next time, gumising kayo nang maaga. Pero ok lang ýon, hanggang alas-siyete pa naman pila."



Haaay...ang sarap bumoto.

Teachers

Some teachers are made to do big things. Some are created to do greater things.

-J.R. Capuyan, May 2010

On Being a VJ

Volunteer Jerson (VJ) is back.



After almost two years of dormancy as a volunteer (for various causes), I finally had the enough conviction (and time motivation) to reincarnate the dying passion for volunteerism in me.



No, I wasn't apathetic about everything that is happening in our country. I read the news ( Philippine Daily Inquirer almost every Sunday); watch Unang Hirit, 24 Oras and/or News on Q ( our idiot box projects a good reception of GMA 7 and not those of the other networks'); listen to Rockedradio in NU 107.5 every Thursday night (thanks to my CD-R King MP3) and immerse in intellectual banters with my co-teachers.



But I guess those things aren't enough to show that I care for my country. It's like the adage," Faith without action is dead."



I miss my Alitaptap storytelling days and I-Clic teaching stints.



When I was still an undergraduate, I promised to Oble that I would serve the country who "sent"me to school.

That I am not an in grata.



Ha-ha.



Look at where I am right now. Count the number of things I've done to help a fellow Filipino.

Nah, 'tis better to count the stars when you wake up. There's hope that you'll find a couple or two.



Redemption.



Today, I joined a group of San Joseños in conducting a FREE College Admission Test Review which would end on June 5. The review is open to all high school students (yeah, not just to incoming seniors) living in San Jose del Monte. There are about 150 participants--coming from different public and private schools in our city.



Guess what subject I volunteered to teach.

English. Tama! (ala-Ai Ai intonation)



It feels so great to be a part of a worthy cause. Life becomes more worth-living. This experience taught me the value of giving without expecting anything in return.







(photo courtesy of google map)