Thank you

There are so many stuff to blog but without a doubt, THANK YOUs should be first put through.

Thank you to my everdearest family.

Thank you mom and dad for your love and support. I am so blessed to have you and for being so supportive of all the decisions that I have made. Up to this day, I do not regret going back to Davao and taking up law knowing that you were so supportive of my decision. Thank you because you have given me the freedom to decide and the freedom what to do with my time. I truly appreciate it that you just let me be - reading, transcribing, going out sometimes, watching TV, studying, eating and sleeping (hehe)

Thank you to my siblings Jennifer, Johanna, Jessica and Jeremy. Thank you for respecting my privacy in the sense that you would do everything just so that you would not disturb me while I read or transcribe. And this means, passing through the other door ;)

Thank you to our kasambahay Tata and Maricel ;)

Thank you to my everdearest relatives (aunts, uncles and cousins), both from the Sarona and Matela clan. Thank you for wherever you may be - Davao, other parts of the Philippines, other countries - I can feel your love and support. Thank you to Cadavas, Mercado and Jensen families ;)

Thank you for my neighbors in Ecoland.

Thank you to my PWC friends because through all these years, we still have each other. Special thanks goes out to my ever supportive berks Elaine, Maan, Paula, Farinah, Jinky, Bajo and Lyn. I am so proud of how we have stood the test of times and for your never-ending support and prayers. I am also extending my warmest thanks to your family, especially to the Samson family.

Thank you as well to my AdDU college friends, not just my classmates but orgmates as well. Despite of all our "kabuangs", I am happy that we have stayed in touch.

Thank you to Jan and Aning for not just being college friends, not just being my former housemates, not just being my former officemates but for being friends that I will forever keep.

Thank you to Maia, Leng, Che, Jessa, Ella, Michelle and Tin for being supportive housemates.

Thank you to my former officemates at Accenture. While I was sad that we parted ways, I am happy because all of you were supportive of my decision to study law. Thank you to my "Say A Little Prayer" February 11 2002 start group, PNS team, WS Team, Ross Team, CML Team and the rest of RETEK team. Thank you too to the DB group. I am extending my thanks not just to my Pinoy officemates but the expats and the clients I have met along the way. Thank you so much for the opportunities you have given me. My experience has contributed to my study ethic, as in!

Thank you to Kalaag and the wonderful things we enjoyed together. A special thank you goes out to the Pilot Julie up in heaven as well as to Atty. Shalu. I have so much to thank Shalu because as I was to enter law school, she was about to take the bar. And I have to kept in my heart her most precious advice - "mag-tinabangay mo". And I guess, my law school life has been an epitome of such advice.

Thank you to my 1st Year SR classmates. You don't know how much I treasure each and everyone of you and how grateful I am that you were my first year classmates. Adjusting to my new life was easier with you guys around. Thank you for the send-off and for being my prayer warriors. Thanks to my panyeras from this batch - Felai, Alia and Blithe .. I am so proud of you ;) Some may have taken different paths while others are continuing with their journey at law school. Rest assured that I am still here for you.

Thank you as well to my 2nd Year SR and 3rd Year Manresa classmates. I enjoy the times with you guys, especially during Conflicts! Thank you for being so supportive with the class digests as well as to those who helped out in transcribing. It not only helped me but other s as well.

Thank you so much to my 4th Year Manresa batchmates! Thank you for the camaraderie and for making my last year in law school easier to bear. Thank you for being cooperative with the class digests and the transcriptions as well. Just the same, I know that we are still here for each other whatever the future may bring. My prayers will continue for each and everyone.

Thank you to Lakas Atenista - both the foundation members and resident members. Thank you for the warm wishes and the super support that I was so ever proud during the bar exams. Thank you so much and rest assured that I will continue to be a part of this great organization ;)

Thank you for everyone who were present for the bar ops, special thanks to Mara and Judy and the LA members who were there. Thank you for your effort and expense just to be with us. Your Ondoy experience was not for naught because your presence during that weekend nevertheless sustained us for the last Sunday.

Thank you for the DOTA boys for the notes and even going to the extent to deliver it to Palisades. You guys know how much that helped us. I am so proud of you as well ;)

Thank you to Allan for coming to my life just at the right time. I am so proud of you and I am really happy for both us. We'll continue to pray for us and for our families as well .. love you ;)

Thank you to Team Palisades and all the memories. It was not just "kabuangs" and "pictorials" because the results show how we prepared for this. I am so proud of you Noche, Michael and Julius as well as Teen, Popong and Ogie. Typhoon Ondoy was easier to bear with you guys around. Thank you so much for making sure I was ok despite being so feverish during Saturday before the last day of exams. I will never forget the medicines, gatorade, vicks, skyflakes, flowers, hot water with alcohol! Thank you Noche for the headquarters, to Julius for the temporary hideout and to Dodong Mike for the Cooking Showdown. I will never forget all the fun and serious stuff that we did! Thank you too for our food sponsors, especially the Tan family and Shena and all those who delivered the food. Yahoo!

Thank you to for the Bisita Iglesia Buddies. I am pretty sure that helped us a lot in hurdling the bar exams ;)

Thank you too for Dean Inigo, Lolo and Lola .. alam ko mas malakas ako sa langit dahil sa inyo ;)

Thank you to the people at SBG for allowing me to teach during the second sem. I am ever so grateful with the experience and hopes that I will continue to teach .. hehe.

Thank you too to Ma'am Corpuz ;)

Thank you to my everdearest students who surely kept my worries away for being studious and makulit and the same time. Thank you so much because I know that you have prayed for me as well kahit nagkapuliki na kayo sa Accounting ;)

Thank you to each everyone who sent text messages, e-mails and messages in Facebook. Thank you for being my prayer warriors!

And to you LORD, I dedicate all of these because without you, I am nothing. I am super blessed and I will continue to live my life worthy of everything you have bestowed upon me. Thank you for the gift of wisdom, grace, patience, strength, courage, love and confidence that has truly helped me to be me. Thank you for the gift of persons - those persons I have mentioned above - for bringing them into my life. I pray that you continue to bless each and everyone of them.

Thank you LORD for bearing with us with our constant prayers and I hope for your continued blessing!

To GOD be the glory!!

Amen!

The Reader

Since last October, I already read 6 books (excluding those necessary readings for my teaching .. hehe). After taking the bar, one of the must-do things that I planned was to go back readings novels. Here's a rundown of those books:

THE CONCRETE BLONDE (Michael Connelly)

Justice is a Concrete Blonde because she doesn't speak and she is blind.

I started reading Michael Connelly when I was working. I saw in one of our ex-pats bookshelf Connelly's novels and I got interested because they were all suspense-thrillers.

When I was in Manila, I saw this book in a Book Sale and bought it.

What interests me about suspense novels is the guessing game. It took some time for me to guess who the killer is but the novel was a good read nevertheless.

WHILE MY PRETTY ONE SLEEPS (Mary Higgins Clark)

Another mystery murder. I think I started reading Mary Higgins Clark when I was in college for the same reason that her books are suspense-thrillers. But with her, it has a feminine touch, ergo, there is will always be a blooming love on the horizon.

I can't remember how many novels of her I have read but I still don't get bored with her stories, even if I am able to guess earlier than expected who is the killer. But the suspense is still with me just the same.

LOVES MUSIC, LOVES TO DANCE (Mary Higgins Clark)

And yes, of course, another thriller. Mary Higgins Clark's novels generally involve women of beauty and substance. And that's the same thing with this one. Same thrill, but I still relish the joy of reading it.

JUST BEFORE SUNSET (Stephen King)

The last time I really enjoyed reading Stephen King's works was when I was in college reading "The Shining". And yes, enjoy is definitely the right word.

I am not really a big Stephen King fan nor am I fond of short stories. But this book was given to my brother as a gift and I thought of going over it.

THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM (Paulo Coelho)

Coelho always writes thought-provoking stories. And sometimes, it is too much for me .. hehe.

This one is quite deep but I somehow got the message. The story deals with good and evil. It made me think that indeed, we all have our good and evil side. But for those people who know evil but does not allow it to consume them, the difference lies in the power of control.

The thing with Coelho is that he all has these quotes that really makes you stop and ponder and I am sharing with you some quotes that struck a chord with me.

"It is always far easier to have faith in your own goodness
than to confront others and fight for your rights..."

"It isn't the desire to abide by the law that makes everyone behave as society requires, but the fear of punishment. It is always easier to hear an insult and not retaliate than have the courage to fight back against someone stronger than yourself; we can always say we're not hurt by the stones others throw at us, and it's only at night
- when we're alone and our wife or our husband or our school friend is asleep -
that we can silently grieve over our own cowardice."

"Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed."

OUTLIERS (Malcolm Gladwell)

I so love this book! A non-fiction but definitely, a favorite! As I was reading this one, I had so many "aha!" moments and it made me appreciate success in a wholly different perspective. Some practice or beliefs I have had before were reinforced. Some new thoughts were introduced. A very great read indeed! I am looking forward to read his other works as well.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good."

"Those three things - autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward - are, most people will agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It's whether our work fulfills us."

"Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That's it.
And what's more, the people at the very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder."

"To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages today that determine success--the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history--with a society that provides opportunities for all."

"In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours."

"Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning."

Faith

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”

7Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”

8The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.(Matthew 8:5-13)

-oOo-

21Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”(Matthew 21:21-22)

-oOo0

25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:25-34)

1, 2, 3 ...

1234 Plain White T's

1-2-1-2-3-4
Give me more loving than I’ve ever had
Make me feel better when I’m feeling sad
Tell me I’m special even though I know I’m not

Make me feel good when I hurt so bad
Barely getting mad
I’m so glad I found you
I love being around you
You make it easy
Its as easy as 1-2-1-2-3-4

There’s only one thing
To Do
Three words
For you
(I love you) I love you

There’s only one way to say
Those three words
That’s what I’ll do
(I love you) I love you

Give me more loving from the very start
Piece me back together when I fall apart
Tell me things you never even tell your closest friends
Make me feel good when I hurt so bad

You’re the best that I’ve had
And I’m so glad I found you
I love being around you
You make it easy
It’s easy as 1-2-1-2-3-4

There’s only one thing
To Do
Three words
For you
(I love you) I love you

There’s only one way to say
Those three words
That’s what I’ll do
(I love you) I love you
(I love you) I love you

You make it easy
It’s easy as 1 2 1 2 3 4
There’s only one thing
To Do
Three words
For you
(I love you) I love you

There’s only one way to say
Those three words
That’s what I’ll do
(I love you) I love you
(I love you) I love you
1-2-3-4
I love you
(I love you) I love you

Unang Hirit!

-oOo-

Student: Ma'am, naa miy farewell party. Adto ka ma'am.

Teacher: Aw, ngano man mag-farewell man ka ? Magkita pa man ta pagkasunod take nimo ani na subject di ba?

-oOo-

Student: Ma'am, asa ka nakapuyo?

Teacher: Sa among balay.

Student: Ma'am ui ...

-oOo-

Student: Ma'am, magsummer ka? (Obviously referring if I will hold summer classes)

Teacher: Aw, siyempre .. alangan kamo lang mag-summer. Mag-beach pud ko ui!

-oOo-

Teacher notices that one of her students is using his earphones.

Teacher: Mr. D, remove your earphones.

Student D: Ma'am, low batt naman to.

Teacher: Aw, sinong mas mukhang ewan sa atin? Ikaw ang nagagamit ng earphone tapos low batt na pala ang MP3 player.

-oOo-

Teacher was explaining to the class but suddenly hears a loud voice.

Teacher: What was that?

Student who made the noise: Wala man ma'am.

Teacher: Liars go to hell .. (obviously inspired by a former classmate, hehe)

-oOo-

Teacher: Class, you had 2 sets of quiz. Same questions but different order

Student K: Lagi ma'am, nakita man namin.

Teacher: At inamin mo din talaga na nagtingin ka sa papel ng iba.

-oOo-

Mark my words ...

As far as I can remember, I have never made any unnecessary markings on my test papers.

That's why I am bothered why students have to make such markings, considering that it will not help their grades anyway. Maybe they just want to release their anxiety .. I don't know.

Just see for yourself .... (my remarks are in red ink!)

(Law) Iskul Bukol

Ever since I took the bar exam, I have never set foot at D building even thought I am at AdDU every weekday .. that is until today.

My dad asked me to look for the SCRA number of a case I mentioned to him, as lectured to us. But all I have was the date and I figured I could get the GR No. from the net. But not the SCRA. And since I was already at school, I volunteered that I would get the SCRA number from the law library.

And so, I went to the D building through the back door and I saw Ma'am Gina and we exchanged "kumustas". I went to the 5th floor reminiscing (char lang!) my law school days as I passed by the rooms in the 4th floor. For my first year second sem, we were one of the only 2 classes which occupied the 4th floor. Wala na ako nagdaan dun sa hallways na mas mataas ang probability na marami akong makasalubong .. hehe.

And by virtue of being a part-time teacher and wearing my ID at that, I was able to enter the law lib and accomplish my goal. Of course, I saw a few familiar faces and exchanged hellos. Most of the students already had their classes.

I cannot really fully explain why I try to be away from the law school building. I think it has more to do that I am still waiting for the bar results and I feel that I still don't deserve to be back within law school territory .. hehe. But I don't mind seeing law school people. Actually, I get excited seeing them and exchanging stories (and sometimes we do share bad news, tsk .. tsk)

I think all I want to express is the feeling of being "back" in law school.

It was surreal but nice and it made me reminisce of my law school days which I so miss .. as in!