Lost in the game...

I dreamt I joined a game the rule of which I did not know — a game which, I later found out, was designed to get me — and idiot as I was, I was participating in it willingly… gingerly.

I thought everything was so unfair. But I told myself it was ok; some people could really be so mean. But what I found to be unacceptable was that I was given a partner who vowed to protect me — and he did so by telling me to take care — but deciding against telling me what exactly to watch out for... until it was too late.

Then I woke up, and found the sun was already up. I peeped out of my window. Ah, the storm has passed...

Intro to "Our Responses"

Trials and challenges are what define life, and our responses to them are what define who and what we are. We can fight, and in so doing, we may get scathed, but eventually come out triumphant. Or we may lose, and go home licking our wounds; head bowed and shoulders stooped, wondering how the world could have fallen upon us.

But failure may also be a blessing in disguise. With determination strong enough to try to beat the odds one more time, and a heart in the right place, why, we may be able to stage a comeback in the end. And when that happens, the taste of success might even be sweeter than if we had not first tasted the bitterness of defeat.

For defeat never tasted sweet nor smelled good. It is so bitter that it can send a lot of people wallowing in despair. But still, its bad taste can wane with time; even the darkness of the night surrenders to the light of the sun — when it’s time.

Sooner or later, acceptance will come to our hearts — acceptance of the things that are beyond us, of the things that we cannot change. Then we will begin to see light again. We will dare hope again. And who knows, we may again be able to meet our share of trials and challenges head on, and come home scathed, but with a glitter of triumph in our eyes and a trace of smile upon our lips.


/My introduction to my reading program which I entitled, “Our Responses,” a book-type collection of poems, narratives, short stories, and plays consisting of four chapters. Each chapter consists of 2 poems, 2 narratives, 2 short stories, and 2 plays falling under a certain theme. At the end of every selection in the first chapter is a lesson plan, which includes grammar lessons, teaching strategies and comprehension and discussion questions, among others. The selections were taken from various sources: magazines, local and foreign books and the internet. I’ve read more than 200 articles in the past three months, and chose only 28 for inclusion in the project. The other four materials are mine, all unpublished.

The selection of the materials I included in my reading program is based on how I think we respond to the adversities that come our way. I am of the opinion that there are two ways we respond to trials and challenges: either fight or give in. If we fight, we may either win or lose. But if we choose to give in, we will definitely lose. And having lost, we may wallow in misery forever, or we may eventually come to accept what had been dealt us, and ultimately feel strong enough to give it a try one more time.

Chapter one of the project talks of triumph; chapter two talks of succumbing; chapter three talks of acceptance, and chapter four talks of bouncing back from our loss.

The project is one of the requirements in one of my subjects. I am now in the final stages of the project. I think I'd be able to finish it this week — I should, because I'm on the verge of going crazy. I mean, crazier that usual...

Learning to splash! (almost too late)

I think I may now add a new hobby to my rather short list — swimming.

You figured it right. I used not to swim; or rather, I used not to know how to swim. And that explains why I am (was) not easily tempted by the sight of pools and beaches to strip down to my swim suit. (Come to think of it, I don’t even own a single piece of swimsuit! That may change soon. Haha!)

I had not really thought of learning how to swim. But our brief excursion to Laguna last weekend (Chie, Manong Ricco, Ellen, Jing, Ryan and myself) included swimming in the itinerary. And Chie, a very good swimmer (she swims so well and loves the waters so much that we call her Sirena), was annoyingly persuasive that she got Ellen, also a non-swimmer, and me into the pool. And still not happy with our gliding nor impressed with my try-hard "ballet"-on-water performance, she persuaded us to learn how to swim properly (not like Manong Ricco and Ryan who can swim but can’t really swim, if you know what I mean). She was so persuasive, and deep within me I had also wished I could swim, so I relented. So did Ellen.

I had had several close calls during beach outings in my much-younger days, that’s why I was not so keen to learn to swim. Plus, I’ve always feared I’d simply frustrate my trainer, because I had thought I had low aptitude in the kinesthetic department. But apparently, I had underestimated myself too much. Two one-hour sessions (first was in Laguna, and second was at the Hyatt Casino and Hotel last night) and I learned! I can’t help being pleased with myself. How can I not? I’m twenty-eight years old and I just learned how to swim. Kaloka, di ba? Now, I sort of feel I’ve missed out on some things. Like swimming.

I was so excited last night that getting an apartment with a pool had crossed my mind, but finances are low, so that’s already out of the question. But then, I sometimes get invitations from hotels to try out their facilities and, according to Chie, we can use our boss’ membership in one or two of the hotels nearby, so may be I’ll be able to have more practice. Of course, another option is our (the gang) plan to have outings at least once a month, preferably after every mag issue. This we had thought of doing, when we realized during our excursion that a one-day outing can de-stress us effectively.

So there are a lot of avenues for practice there. But first, I'll have to see if I can show off my “swimming prowess” in Palawan (I’ll be there on the 13th through 18th). I’m sure Celestine will be shocked at what she’ll see.

Hah!

Metamorphosis

Butterfly becomes me...



/Photo taken at the Hill Spa, Laguna.