My Socially Constructed Reality

Today is my daughter's FIRST COMMUNION held at her school -- AUF-IS. I just realized one thing during the ceremony: my daughter was so eager to partake of the "body of Christ." The priest, Fr. Tok, said that the parents should "keep the fire burning." It means that parents should nurture that eagerness, instead of killing it so that the child would never forget the real meaning of communion during mass. And so that the child would make it a habit to go to mass to receive the body of Christ. Well, it's been months since we last attended mass. I lost interest in bringing my kids in the church when a nun from this school said in one of our department meetings that kids are "not supposed to be brought to church." Dapat daw iwan na lang sa bahay ang kids because they don't even understand what the people are doing in the church. What kind of nun would say that? Actually, it used to be a Sunday ritual for our family to attend mass first before stroll...

RJ (Bruce Willis' voice) realized thru Verne (Gary Shandling) and his family that the real gateway to good life is FAMILY . OVER THE HEDGE is a terrific animated film that the whole family will love. Check out its website here . pix fr www.movies.yahoo.com .

INTRO: i may have run out of songs to sing i may have run out of words to say but all that i want you to know is what i feel for you: i love you as endless as forever our love will stay together you're all i need to be with forevermore there are times when i just want to look at your face with the stars in the night there are times when i just want to feel your embrace in the cold night i just cant believe that you are mine now chorus: you were just a dream that i once knew i never thought i would be right for you i just cant compare you with anything in this world you're all i need to be with forevermore all those years ive longed to hold you in my arms i've been dreaming of you every night, i've been watching all the stars that fall down wishing you would be mine i just cant believe that you are mine now chorus time and again there are these changes that we cannot end as sure as time keeps going on and on my love for you will be forevermore wishing you would be mine i...

Yap, yap, yap! VIRNIEL stands for Vir ginia and Da niel. And today is our 8th anniversary as husband & wife! Maybe it's time for a rewind: Sept. 25, 1994 : Dan became my boyfriend (I was only 16 years old (turning 17) and he was 18 then). He's been my bf for four years although ours was more of a long-distance relationship. I was studying in Baguio and he was studying in Manila. But hey! It must be true that "absence makes the heart grow fonder." Thanks to JRS Express and LBC -- they bridged the distance between us. And of course, thanks to the phone booth at Baguio Convention Center. During those times that cell phones were not yet commonly used, I kept a lot of coins and used them for calling thru the public phone . Our relationship led to marriage despite distance. Well, it was all because we trusted each other and we treasured every moment we spent together as a couple. Nov. 26, 1998 : The marriage took place. I think this is the most important part of my li...

I don't understand why I haven't received the mail I have been waiting for since last week. The mail will just come from the neighbor province -- Tarlac -- but it hasn't reached me till now. Waiting just makes me sick and tired of the mailing system here in the Philippines. I've confirmed from the Internet that the letter (document) I am waiting for has been processed. But I was advised by a colleague to wait for two to four weeks. S H I T ! Grabe na 'to.

I was called a NUISANCE INQUIRER. I was called a LIAR. And the person who called me as such is a pastor. He is a pastor who makes a business out of education. He hires teachers who don't even have Bachelor's degree. He hires teachers who could not even speak in straight English, and if they do, they commit so many grammatical errors. His teachers' salaries are lower than the minimum wage. He orders his teachers to photocopy an entire book on Language and demands students to pay for them. He claimed he asked permission from the author or publisher abroad but I won't believe that there is an author/publisher who would allow a school principal from this country to photocopy his entire book year after year, thereby not gaining any payment/royalty from such publication. I believe that photocopying books for students' use every year is a clear infringement of the copyright law. So who is the liar? I bet, it isn't me. He called me a nuisance inquirer after I went to hi...

MANNY PACQUIAO HAS PROVEN WHO THE REAL BOXING CHAMP IS! pix from: www.toprank.com

CHARLES STEFFI VEI

An alcoholic son wrote a letter...Beer dad, Gin na ako iinom ulit, Whisky kelan. Tanduay mo yan,tiTequilan ko na talaga, pRhumis po! Your San, Miguel.

"Say cookies!"

Take a look at the new criteria for merit award application here in our school: Innovation in one's Core Function 15 pts. Research and Publication 10 Personal and Professional Dev't 20 Involvement in community dev't services 10 Collaboration and teamwork 10 Performance evaluation 25 Attendance 5 Compliance to college/unit req't 5 Hmmm... Isa lang ibig sabihin nito... We should not spend so much time preparing for our teaching because it's only a quarter of the evaluation at the end of the semester. Kaya lang, di naman yata pwede na bawasan ang effort for class teaching para lang ma-meet yung iba pang requirements namin as faculty members. Of course, if the students feel that we are not giving our best because of any reason, it is our name that is at stake, and not just the school's reputation. It's easy to comply with all the requirements in this university but the problem is that we don't have enough time. Imagine, a full-time faculty has 7 three-hour c...

I don't understand what kind of Philippine Idol the judges are searching for. And I am not sure if the Filipino people have any idea what kind of Phil. idol is worth their cell phone loads. The judges think that Mau should not be as fat as she is now if she wants the Filipinos to consider her an idol. The judges say that Pow has to change her singing style, and even her image and dressing style, if she doesn't want to be voted off. What about Ken? He doesn't have the looks and the style and he can't boast of an excellent voice and flexible personality. But he survives each week. The remaining male contestants sound as if they are singing at a town fiesta. I don't know what else to say. I just thought it is a lot better to watch PBA games than Philippine Idol. Anyway, I am not impressed with the Phil. Idol contestants. I think some contestants at Pinoy Pop Superstar have more "star" appeal than the Idol contenders.

I'm glad that the issue on the attitude of public servants in this country was opened after it was reported that the presidential daughter, Luli Arroyo, " questioned an immigration officer who had allowed a foreigner to jump the line of passengers waiting to be checked in at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport " ( http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=30102 ). On the day that was reported on TV, the media also informed the public that if they have complaints regarding the attitude of the staff/employees at government offices, they could text at ***********. The following day, lots of text messages reached the Civil Service Commission office. As expected, maraming nagreklamo about the attitude of government employees. Totoo naman na napakasungit at napakabagal kumilos ng mga tao sa ilang opisina ng gobyerno. Minsan nga, kahit ang daming nakapila, nagagawa pang magdaldalan ng mga empleyado habang nakatayo ang mga tao. Kahit...

I got my wallet back... I couldn't believe it. Somebody took my wallet from my bag last Saturday (I suspect it happened last Saturday). That somebody left the wallet, with all the IDs and ATM cards, at the bathroom water tank. So when I got it back, it's still wet. The janitress told me this morning that one maintenance staff saw it last Saturday. I was advised to get it from the guards' office at the front gate. I couldn't think of anyone who will do that but a student who was enrolling last Saturday. I was here in the office from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. for enrollment of students. I don't remember bringing my wallet somewhere so I was sure that that somebody deliberately took the wallet from my bag which was in on my table. I've been careless... At least, I got the cards and IDs back. Good thing I don't bring much money (and I never bring cell phones in school, my drawers have no lock) because, well, I've learned my lesson-- this is actually t...

Another Philosophy class (Asian Philo) is over. I am saying this not because I have wanted the class to end. That is not true. In fact, attending Philosophy classes is one of the things I look forward to every Saturday. Our Philosophy classroom is a place where I get to THINK & REFLECT . With so many things to do in school from Monday to Friday, the only time I feel free to examine the kind of life I am living is when I attend my Philosophy class. And the good thing about it is that, I do the reflection and at the same time, I get to interact with my classmates who all make sense. Anyway, Sir Archie (our professor) mentioned that the ABILITY TO REFLECT is one thing that is unique about a person . This makes us different from animals who don't do reflection at all. They just act according to instinct or to what they get used to. But the question is, "Does it (reflection) make sense?" Could we actually make a difference by taking 15 units of Philosophy classes? Could...

Cha ( on the right ): Was it Mama's birthday today? Stef (on the left ): I think Mommy has just turned 22... Vei (center ) : If it were my birthday today, I'm sure James will be here beside me. So, I don't think this cake belongs to me... [Where could James be?]

Brownies with lots of chocolates, especially baked by my sis!

For the first time in my entire life, food, particularly chef salad and pork stew, tasted so bland. I didn’t even want to drink water, not a single drop of it, at least for several hours that night. Until the following day, my appetite has not visited me. It was because I had mixed feelings that night of June 27. It was a night I didn’t expect to come. I left the school early that afternoon. I swiped out at our attendance monitoring machine at four instead of at 5:30 p.m. I went home early because my family and I wanted to go to my sister and mom’s house in Balibago. We were anticipating a family dinner so my sister cooked spaghetti and my mom prepared pork stew. While cooking spaghetti, my sis even prepared chef salad for me. I requested for it and because she could not say no to me, I had what I wanted. I haven’t finished half of the serving of my favorite chef salad when I heard my son crying at my back. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t get a chance to see what exactly happened...

[ Picture-taking after test-taking last October 14. ]

Meet my college buddy -- my classmate at UP and dormmate at St. Francis Dorm in Baguio City. CATHY is a record-holder. She sent the longest personal e-mail. She's indeed a Journalism grad, and a writer by heart :-) She's currently in Europe, pursuing a Master's degree (sosyal!)

Spider-man cake from VEI & JAMES This is part 2 of Charlie's birthday. We already celebrated his birthday last October 4 (his real birthday) but the cake which was ordered last Oct. 4 was delivered yesterday. :-) Charles is loyal to SPIDER-MAN. He loves Spider-man more than any other super heroes.

My baby is approximately 28 weeks on my tummy. My expected delivery date is on the end of December. Having a 28-week-old baby in my womb makes everything a lot different. My baby's constant movements deprive me of a good night sleep. I have to wake up and go to the CR several times at night so in the morning, I still feel like not waking up at all. It also has become difficult to find the perfect position for sleeping, and the endless movements on my tummy just wake me up in the middle of the night. Actually, the third trimester of pregnancy gives me ambivalent feelings. First, I feel like I want this term to end-- I could not wait for the 9th month because of so many discomforts. At the same time, I feel like I don't want the 9th month to come because I am so afraid of labor pains. Really. For me, nothing could be more painful than the labor pains which last for several hours. pix courtesy of WebMD Inc. Check out its site.

It's not easy to find TRUE LOVE. And it's not always easy to be someone like your TRUE LOVE. An amulet became a way for NITA and KENAI to realize that they are meant for each other. Of course, Koda also realized how much Kenai learned to love him as a little brother -- Check out reviews and photos at this site .

My kids love playing video games. Charles plays Need for Speed Underground, Spider-man 2, and other games available at nickjr.com or cartoonnetwork.com. Stef plays SIMS 2 and other online games (Total Girl, Power Puff girls, etc). I never deprive them of the chance to have fun in front of the PC but I make sure that I limit their computer use. An hour (a day) for each of them is enough, usually. You may read selected articles about video game addiction at this site . By the way, it is also interesting to note that children also learn through video game playing.

Typhoon MILENYO batters Metro Manila and other parts of the country but we still managed to spend the day at SM Clark. Classes were suspended due to strong winds and heavy rains brought about by Milenyo.

Chicken Fingers Bangus belly kare-kare Bagoong rice, sisig, french fries, seafood chopsuey, crispy pata