the shenanigans of eenamorata

Registration offically ends today (if I am not mistaken or if they did not move it yet) and the 'being official' of things starts today also. This semester, my workload consists of 3 lecture and 5 laboratory classes per week, i have lost count of the actual number of manuscript advisees i said yes to... and i also lost count to the number of advisees i said no to. There are also administrative and technical pro bono work on the side. My desk is an evidence of the workload that is starting to pile up to its normal messy state. Receiving my first hard bound manuscript as an adviser today was a pleasant breather from the semi-exhausting 2:30-4:00 pm class. Though I was successful at keeping them all awake for the whole duration, it is really extra effort [on the teacher] to facilitate and incorporate "fun" activities with technical lectures. But I guess it was well worth it. They did stay awake, they were paying attention and they were enthusiastically responding t...

In my six semesters of teaching, I have been consistent with my first day of class routine of expectation checks and random questions. And due to the sheer creativity of my students, I constantly encounter out of this world questions. However, the question: "why did you choose to be a teacher?" sort of shocked me today because apparently, I didn't have a ready answer. Bakit nga ba? I was recently reminded that I wanted to become a college professor when I was still in college. Pero it was just one of those silly things that you say when you are young because a teacher was really good at what he/she did and you simply wanted to become like him/her. It was not something that I really dreamed of becoming as a child and it still doesn't answer the question.. why did I choose to be a teacher... Bakit nga ba? This profession is among the first jobs I applied into. It was not the first job that hired me because I turned down a job offer before this one hired me. I st...

This is my third post in 5 months. I am hoping to write more in the next few weeks as the crazy teacher week is slowly coming to a close. These photos show what have been my workplace in the office and at home for the past few days. I have been burrying my head with the hardest and boring-est part of teaching. But it is almost over and vacation is drawing near!  I have also been successful at releasing final standings, and this was how my facebook newsfeed looked like 2 minutes after posting the standing of one of my subjects in the official website. I also gave them bonus points for anyone who would join the fun run, I posted their photos on facebook so that they could write their names and student numbers on it. But, I guess its not just them who were happy about seeing their faces on the internet. I find the photo below funny and touching all at the same time. At least I was able to help show their parents what their college kids looked like already. It...

Just dumping a few words... I have been writing less and less these past few months, mainly because I was busy, I was trying to be careful with what I write (apparently because I learned that some of my students find it worthwhile to read this blog) and I was am really a bit of a wreck.So, before I try to do anything else futile today (at 1542H) I guess I'd better write pour out my thoughts or whatever you call them--the mess inside my head. Teaching is still the main event of my day-to-day life. I was able to squeeze in a trip to Bacolod and Ilocos last August. My solo trip to Bacolod was quite an adventure. I was able to trace my roots, find a long lost friend, rekindle close friendships, acquire ALOT of unsolicited wedding advice (which was really fun-- even if I don't need it at the moment) and i almost got myself killed searching for an adventure. The trip to Ilocos was quite the opposite of Bacolod. I was with a group of students and colleagues, the env...

Dear Students, The news about the increasing deaths by suicide because of academics among your age group is saddening and alarming. As a teacher my mind set is to give you the grades and the policies that you deserve. So it is important that I be as objective as possible at my evaluation techniques and calculations. In the first place, you are the ones responsible for what you get at the end of the semester. You have the whole semester to build it up. I am just supposed to facilitate your learning during that period, compile your work, evaluate it and compute the final output. Grades are supposed to be a measure of how well you have learned or performed at a certain subject. I have observed that many of you, though not all, easily give up once you encounter things that you have no solutions to. This is manifested by: forgetting that your exams are scheduled on certain dates; submitting your papers too early because you do not know the solutions to your exams and laboratory ...

These are my almost-year-end reflections about teaching at UPLB-- again. It is almost six-months since I started teaching--AGAIN; enough has been said on the unplanned comeback and the emotional hitches that came with it. So far, life has been good, better even, since the blitzkrieg return from the industry. The being better of most of it is mainly because of changed perspectives and realizations that have only been realized after the emotional roller coaster of being back (hehe). The year long journey at my X-company was life-changing; in good and bad ways. Good ways because I did learn a lot from the experience, and I was surprised that I already have a lot to say about what I was teaching. It definitely made me more confident about my subjects and the applications of it. I gained this conviction (if that is the appropriate term) that what I am talking about is true, most of it... I hope. Furthermore, its nice to be able to contribute something to the betterment of the educat...

All the basic stuff one needs on a field trip.. (crossing fingers that I didn't forget anything) teachers can be excited on field trips too...  took too much time to pack my stuff. might've over analyzed things. 1. a carry on bag with a camera, wallet, umbrella, chocolate (in case of emergencies chocolates are good to satisfy hunger and supply the needed energy), phones, tissue,and mints 2. Medicine. anti cough tablets, visine, vitamin C, antihistamines and seretide (anti asthma thing) 2. Toiletries/ maintenance: soap, deo lotion, conditioner, shampoo, alcohol, cotton buds, facial wash, feminine wash etc. etc. etc 3. clothes for 3 days and two nights 4. chargers 5. again. the point and shoot camera (important) 6. a book. one hundred years of solitude  just in case i get lonely and OP because i'm already a teacher and i'm supposed to be mature (SUCKS BIG TIME) and part of my job is to take care of the students or something like that lalala...

I am now teaching about the different majors of our degree program to my Introduction to Electrical Engineering class. One of the main objectives of the course is to teach these freshmen kids the differences between the three majors to eventually help them choose their course majors when they reach their junior year. Apart from the usual lecture of definitions and examples, I was also trying to teach them to visualize and look forward to themselves after four years by writing it in paper, sharing it in groups and sharing the collective answers in class. An elderly boss once told me about Stephen Covey’s teaching. He said that I should always begin with the end in mind. So, that is what I was trying to do to my class; in the hopes that the activity that I was requiring would eventually inspire them to endure the challenges and struggles that they would encounter along the way. I was very honest, in terms of the current mortality statistics of our course; I even told them that if...

Its been a month of teacher-ing, letting go and moving on and as always, the Lord has been very good and faithful despite of my stubbornness, iniquities and whatevers, He never fails to show me how wrong I was and how right He is. And as always, He knows his way around me. I am amazed at how He's able to adjust with His strategies in dealing with me. If His way before was tears, this time it is the subtle humor of everyday surprises that leaves me in awe of Him. (should be writing something more about it soon or in multiply maybe). SO! I am in full teacher-ing mode for the past month. After trying to get a glimpse of how the fidgety minds of my students work, lulling up from school because the waters flooded the sun for awhile... I am now up for some serious teacher-ing business. These days, I busy myself with a lot of doodling and writing around. There's been a lot of X-es, circles, negatives and red marks. I also try to look serious by making my work station look ...

from John Piper's desiring God website ( see here ) or read on: Four years ago a teenager in our church wrote to me for advice about life in general, and identity in particular. Here is what I wrote, with a big dose of autobiography for illustration. Dear ________, My experience of coming out of an introverted, insecure, guilty, lustful, self-absorbed adolescent life was more like the emergence of a frog from a tadpole than a butterfly from a larva. Larvae disappear into their cocoons and privately experience some inexplicable transformation with no one watching (it is probably quite messy in there) and then the cocoon comes off and everyone says oooo, ahhh, beautiful. It did not happen like that for me. Frogs are born teeny-weeny, fish-like, slimy, back-water-dwellers. They are not on display at Sea World. They might be in some ritzy hotel's swimming pool if the place has been abandoned for 20 years and there's only a foot of green water in the deep end. But...

It's almost two weeks since I officially started this new shenanigan called teaching... I am more or less re-adjusting alright to it... I am actually having fun so far. For the first meetings of each class, I went back to my original routine of getting their personal information (for emergencies and contacting purposes), their expectations with the subject and a random question for me. The following are some of the questions that caught my attention... some of which I wasn't even able to answer... I'll try to answer them here. To be honest... I do not know. Kasi I'm still NBIL (bago kong version ng NBSB... Never Been In Love.. Oha!!!), so I guess when you have butterflies in your stomach? :) Dear student, I hope you asked the erased question instead, it'll be so much easier to answer. First question. Easy to answer. WALA. Second question. Hard. Why? (sighs) Why? (sighs) Why? (sighs) hahahahaha!!! Creative question.. in fairness.. I like Pizza ...

So, I am finally making it official... I'm back at UPLB for a one year contract. It still feels dreadful (minsan lang), especially during moments when I am alone and when I have no one to talk to (which is palagi these days), kasi my plans did not materialize and because I am still beating myself up for the decisions that lead me to this situation. Pero its not dreadful naman talaga, its just that I still have some personal and spiritual (if you know what i mean) issues to settle with and I am still getting used to the niceness of living and working at UPLB. I did realize, however, that I have missed out on a lot of things when I got in the 7-4 Monday to Saturday work format. Now that work allows more flexibility with regards to spending time and all that, I will be doing more of the following: sleep write read cook ride a tren to Bicol (be cool in Bicol) ride the bus to Bohol go back to Mindanao hang out on coffee shops walk my dogs take care of my self cultivate ...

May 16 2011 first day of work in this crazy industry called construction I am thankful that I got into this profession and that I got into this company exactly a year ago. It has been an enriching experience; there might be heartaches and heartbreaks on the side... But the happy things exceed all of it.  I've gained a lot of new friends, experienced a lot of new things, gained a lot of new insights, gained weight and I've been very happy in general. This year was an adventure that I'm glad I didn't miss.