This coming school year, Stef will be in high school. Now, as a parent, one of my big concerns is finding the best high school for her -- at least within our area. Definitely, Stef would be out of AUF. After scouting on some high schools, I realized AUF-IS is too expensive for its quality. Ok lang sanang mahal kung mataas ang quality in terms of instruction, but AUF seems to me a money-making university. I was able to compare, for example, graduation fees: sa public school, Php300; sa Holy Angel University, Php1,900; sa AUF, Php 3,975. Nung tiningnan ko yung breakdown ng grad'n fee nina Stef, nagulat ako dahil Php 975 ang bayad sa graduation pic -- 1 copy of 8 1/2 X 11 at 6 wallet-size photos, two shots lang. Then, ang Yearbook, Php 2,000. Sa HAU, Php 130 lang ang grad pic at Php400 ang Yearbook. It's so surprising how expensive it is at AUF. Ngayon ko lang na-compare dahil ngayon lang ako nag-try mag-scout ng fees in other schools.
Kahit si Charles, my son, will be transferring to another school, so basically, we'd all say goodbye to AUF.
This coming school year, mag-aaral na rin si Danie -- Prep. Excited na akong mag-aral si Danie, cause she likes writing and she likes mingling with other kids.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last March, I already resigned sa ILI as part-time ESL instructor. I started there in 2007. Tumagal din ng more than 4 years. I got three reasons for finally giving that up. Una, super busy ako sa full-time job ko -- many times, hindi pa tapos ang work ko at 6 p.m. at kailangan extend ng work till late night. Ikalawa, paiba-iba ang rate ko -- tumataas, bumababa. Ayoko sana ng ganun-- it must be consistent, at dapat di bumababa dahil di ko naman binabawasan ang quality pag binawasan rate per hour -- hehe... Ikatlo, I guess, hindi ko na ganun kailangan ang pagtuturo pa ng extra. Dati kasi, need ko extra work di lang dahil sa kita, kundi dahil wala na akong fulfillment sa AUF, at talagang I was then desperately looking for a job where I can redeem my self-worth -- something I could no longer get from AUF back then. Doon kasi, masyadong busy ang univ. sa kaiisip kung paano sila kikita, kaya di na mapansin ang mga bagay na ikaka-improve ng students, lalo na kung di nila pagkakakitaan. Now that I am no longer in AUF, I feel much more fulfilled, so I'd be fine without ILI -- pwede na give up. It already served its purpose... And I am very thankful to Professor Lee and to Joowon, of course, for letting me stay for years. Teaching at ILI had taught me a lot of things, and it had given me a sense of academic freedom I haven't had in AUF. That is why I am always thankful I found ILI.
------------------------------------------------
Ngayon naman, kumusta ang bago kong trabaho? Well, relatively, bago pa rin akong maituturing, kasi lampas 6 months pa lang. But the truth is, 6 months is like 6 years because in such a short time, I have learned so many things ---
My current job is home-based, so since October 2010, I've said goodbye to the hassles of leaving the house to work: di na namamasahe, walang uniform, di kailangan magpalipat-lipat ng building, di kailangan gumising nang maaga para di ma-late, di kailangan ng makeup, etc.
Maraming advantages ang home-based job, esp.sa tulad ko na may mga anak :-). I get to be with my kids and still earn a living. Pero siyempre, the nature of my job requires me to concentrate. I can't do baby-sitting while doing my job. So, many times, physically, I'm at home, pero my kids know that when it's time for me to work, bawal akong istorbohin, unless urgent and important. Pag kaharap ko na laptop ko, alam na nila, walang maingay, etc.
Siguro one disadvantage of working from home is that minsan, yung family time becomes work time pa rin -- unike kung outside the house ang work, pagdating sa bahay, family time na... Ngayon, medyo malabo sa mga anak ko kung family time ba or work time pa rin? Though, dati naman, nag-uuwi rin ako ng work sa bahay, gumagawa ng lessons,nagche-check ng papers, etc. pero I normally did those things when kids were already in bed.
Ngayon, my eldest daughter thinks that my current job is a lot harder than my previous job sa university. Sabi nya minsan, "Ma, mas mahirap work mo ngayon, no?" Sabi ko naman, technically, hindi naman mas mahirap. Then I realized, she must have said that dahil nakikita nya na tutok ako sa laptop sa work, unlike before, di naman nila nakikita what exactly I was doing sa university. Pagdating ko sa bahay, work was done. They didn't see me actually working. Ngayon,kita nila, so akala nila a lot harder.
In my case, I don't consider my current job "a lot harder" dahil alam ko naman ginagawa ko at gusto ko naman nature of the work -- what else, but writing/copyreading. I consider it "more challenging" and "more rewarding." At the end of the day, kahit madalas pagod, ok lang dahil ang importante, natapos ang araw na may na-contribute sa company.
Comments