Andrea doesn’t hail from a family of teachers, but their generation is taking a path towards it. Because you see, andrea has been teaching for about 3 years now in the same school as I am, and her sister too is just about to tuck 3 year of teaching experience under her own belt at Novaliches. Actually, it seems that their generation is taking a path not just towards teaching, but more specifically towards teaching here in Antipolo, because her sister is considering moving here as well. Yes, she’s planning to teach in hedcen just like me and andrea.

If I heard right, she said something about wanting to handle a smaller number of students and to wanting to lessen her paper load. Personally, I think she just wants to spread her wings, test how she flies, and try something new. All are fine reasons, i think.

Anyway,  whatever it is, the reason doesn’t matter. She’s teaching here and that’s what matters most. I just hope she adjusts well and grows to love everything about the place, because she’s going to be the new addition to the family - hedcen’s and ours as well!

Welcome Tita! Welcome Teacher Arlene!

I’ve been going more and more frequently to the gas station lately, not for gas refills but for air. You see, the red car’s left front tire has been deflating faster and faster, even though there seems to be nothing wrong with (at least that’s what it seems like from the outside). I mean, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with it because it’s not even a year old yet.

Anyway, it was not until later this afternoon that andrea and I finally decided to have it checked for holes at the nearest vulcanizing shop. And it’s a good thing we did. Because by the time we got there, the tire was almost completely flat. Apparently, a small nail was lodged in between the threads of the tire which allowing the air to leak out. It must have been there for almost a week already going in deeper and deeper every time the car is used because the interval between each tire-pumping seems to be increasing.

It was small enough to not be seen by untrained eyes even at close inspection. In fact, if it wasn’t for the bubbles produced by the air leaking out of the tire, even the attendant wouldn’t have noticed it too. I told andrea we were lucky to have brought it to the shop immediately, otherwise I couldn’t imagine what kind of hell we’d have to go through if it gave out in the garage.

Anyway, the attendant pulled out the nail, stuck some rubber plaster inside the tire, pressed it against the inside and then started pumping air back into the tire.  After 30 minutes, the tire was fixed and we were back on the road ready to go back home.

Once again, the red car survived another would-be accident and managed to add a new entry to its long list of interesting experiences. It’s just another scar now to the road veteran lancer of ours.

Lately, I’ve been finding it more and more difficult to concentrate on tasks. I can’t even finish a single one because I keep on jumping from one task to another. I’m not sure why.

Perhaps it’s because we’re nearing the end of the school year and there’s still too much I have to accomplish - grades, papers, letters, etc. (And that’s just on the technical side). Or perhaps as an adviser, I feel like there’s a ton of things I am leaving hanging in my class - individuals that I’d like to help and talk to but can’t anymore for lack of time; lessons that I think still needs to be drilled in, practical or otherwise; and so much more. I don’t know for sure. All I know is that I’ve been restless.

If someone could help me figure out why I’d really appreciate it.

When we moved in to the house last August, it was already set. We didn’t have to fix anything anymore. In fact, the most that we did was to move our furnitures here and there and that was it. Aling Myrna left the house to us all done and ready. She even left behind the sofa and the curtains so that we didn’t have to buy anymore. For that, we are so thankful.

But it’s been almost half a year already and we haven’t changed anything at all. From the things that Aling Myrna left us, all we’ve replaced are the seat covers. The same curtains still adorn the glass windows and sliding doors of the house. And that is something we’re not entirely proud of.

As a matter of fact, we’ve considered changing more than the curtains many times already. We’ve talked about getting modern window treatments for the house, and even wall decors. You see, andrea and I were inspired after coming across several curtain designs in the net. In particular, ContempoCurtains.com featured really homey-looking ones that we think would be really great in the house. It even showcases modern wall accessories as well as nice-looking pillow cases.

The curtain designs really had us hooked. We’ll try to get some for our windows in the future but for the mean time, I guess we just have to make do with the old curtains. Oh well!

After school, andrea and I went to Shopwise to buy some groceries for the week. We were already at the counter when I realized that there was a kid in front of our cart that was staring at me. I recognized him as one of the students at the school where I work. But since, I also knew that he’s not in any of my classes, it took me a while to recall his name - Franco.

The same incident already happened to me several times before, with just minor differences in details. Sometimes, I remember their names. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes, there’s more than one. Sometimes, they don’t even see me anymore. I guess this is the price for living close to your workplace - work doesn’t really stop when the bell sounds.
The same students you meet inside the school, you also meet outside. So even if you try to leave your title within the gates of the campus, your students always carry them back to you when you cross paths. Hi sir, I’d usually here from them.

Although I like what I do - teaching, that is, sometimes when I go out for groceries or malling, I also seek refuge from it. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to just be your plain old self every once and a while? Not a sir, not a teacher, just me.

Don’t take it the wrong way. I like the acknowledgment, the greeting, the respect and everything, but sometimes I’d also like a break from it. When we go out, that’s what I look forward to. But living so close to where you’re known as a sir, where you’re often greeted and acknowledged, it’s a little bit more difficult.

Oh well, I guess no one can have it all.

After 3 weeks of preparations, my advisees are already working on finishing their projects for the science expo. But after solving their problems with plastic molds and casts, they now face problems with metal parts and accessories.

One of them, for example, needs a metal frame for the handle of a new mop. Another, requires metal bars for the frame of a wheelchair, while another group needs to fashion special metal frames for sunglasses. Demand for metal parts and accessories is slowly rising. And to make things more complicated, it’s not just simple metal parts that are being sought after, but specialized, custom-built metal parts. Where can we find that?

How do we look for a stainless steel supplier that, more or less, caters to various customers - even as small as my advisees? Fortunately, just like in the plastic materials, the internet can provide us with answers. You see, there are companies that offer metal products and customizing services online, just like Petro Wire and Steel.

Not only do they provide all sorts of steel materials, but they also offer custom fabrication for various types of devices, which is perfect for science inventions like what my advisees are currently working on. Talk about convenience!

One of the best things about preparing for a presentation in school is going through all the different types of music that you can use as background - even the ones that you’ve already forgotten.

Why? Because there’s something very nostalgic about going through tracks that you haven’t heard for years. Somehow it brings back memories of a carefree life and a time when worries consisted mainly of studies and entertainment - reminding me of how it feels like to be a child again. It’s very refreshing. And it’s even more so when you have other people in the room in the same generation as you.

You see, just a while ago, I heard a colleague playing new age girl by dead eye dick,  always by erasure and Urban dub’s miss pakipot on the computer in succession. She said it was for the graduation ceremony. I couldn’t help but drum my fingers and sing along to the music playing in the background. These were all tracks that hit mainstream when I was way back in high school, when we were still back in high school apparently. The speakers were on full volume. Everyone in the teachers’ computer laboratory was cheering. We were soundly having a blast.

I guess this is what it means by having fun while working! Hehe!