A Book of Classes - Part 1

I am currently sorting my photo collection. Ever since I got into photography which I started with my ever reliable point and shoot camera, I have never erased a single photo from my storage buddies.

It’s time. I have reached the full storage capacity of my desktop, laptop, USBs, SDs and even the external drive. No other way to document new happenings but to let go of old ones.

I opted to creating photo grids to save space and still keep important memories. I couldn't let go of the photos of my training classes. I have been teaching and training for the most part of my life. Teaching is a passion and I cannot define that any other way. Teaching also gives me twice as many friends. 

I started creating photo grids of all my former training classes. The class names you will see are just terms of endearment I've decided to call them. The reasons for each name is a secret only my classes and I share. I also hope that this entry kicks off my new segment about sharing the teacher side of me. Soon...

Here's Part 1 (10 classes). All photos are from Year 2006 to present. This is in no particular order  - 

"Every truth has four corners; as a teacher, I give you one corner, and it is for you to find the other three." - Confucius

Attraversiamo 2012: 5th Leg - Destination Zambales

 

June 9-10, 2012

After our road trip to a surfing site in La Union last year, we found ourselves wanting to visit other surfing sites. 

 

No, I am not a surfer. How I wish I am. I have always expressed how water is my Waterloo. I have a GI-normous respect for vast bodies of water. This respect translated into fear which prevented me from learning how to swim despite my attempts to learn and my friends’ attempts to teach me. 

I wakeboarded once and I actually enjoyed it and hopes that I get to do it again. What made it so frustrating are two things: One, I don’t know how to swim. Two, I am only 5 ft tall and even with a life vest on I panic when my feet feels nothing but water despite mental notes of ‘don’t panic’ and ‘you will not sink because you have a life vest on’. These mental notes don’t seem to work when I’m submerged in water.

And oh, I snorkeled too using the courage I found from the beauty of the underwater and the incredible patience of my instructor. 

In most water adventures, I get to manage the fear. In some, I am cautious. I choose my battles, I say. Surfing is not for me. I guess it’s too late to learn it when I can’t even swim. However, it is for Ten, a great friend. She is the reason we have made and have been making plans of visiting a lot of surfing sites. The rest of us? …are mere supporters and spectators. Didn’t it ever cross my mind to learn it? It did and still does. It, in fact, never fails to send shivers up my spine. But like I said, I choose my battles. 

We went to Crystal Beach Resort. We were not really concerned too much about the accommodation. We just wanted to explore the surfing possibilities for Ten. From the moment we got off the car, we could hear the strong waves of the ocean from afar like a whistling sound. It is soothing and scary at the same time. It gives you a calming feeling saying it’s time to relax and free your mind but it also tells you not to mess with it as it can eat you alive. 

When the morning came, we headed as fast as we can to the beach front. I was speechless, aghast at the strong and merciless waves of the South China Sea. Even the professional surfers have stopped for a while waiting for the waves to be a little bit more manageable for their students. I also noticed that anyone who gets to the beach front for the first time can’t help but stare at the raging waves.

 

Before going back to the beach, we decided to have breakfast. Although the resort offers free buffet breakfast, we decided to get ahead and go around the city to look for a place to eat. Read about this food trip adventure here.

After two breakfasts, we headed to the beach and enjoyed the water while Ten closes her surfing lesson deal. It was a little bit hard to negotiate because the surf intructors all want to watch the Pacquiao fight and the Miami-OK game. Everyone wants to be glued to the fights.

The rest of us played and made friends with the waves on the coastline. We were careful not to go too far. Most of us ended up with small bruises on our legs because of the stones carried by the waves.We were laughing and swimming and talking and staring at the waves and laughing and swimming and talking and staring at the waves.

Edited from photos grabbed from Jem.

Edited from photos grabbed from Jem.

It was a great feeling to enjoy the least the sea could offer us at that moment. We were grateful and satisfied. In fact, we want more. See you in Baler!

NOT MINE: Foundations

Image not mine.

This was taken from the June 24^th entry of my daily devotional book “Our Daily Journey” This was written by Mike Wittmer.

A nearly finished 13-story apartment building in Shanghai toppled over like a lone domino pushed by an invisible hand. An engineer on-site said, "When we arrived on the scene, we were very shook up. In my 46 years of work, I've never seen or heard such a thing."  When they investigated, the engineers discovered that excavators had undermined the building when they dug out dirt for an underground parking garage. Even the sturdiest of buildings needs a foundation in order to stand.

So it is with us. We may build an impressive ministry for God, but we never grow so tall that we can afford to neglect our foundation. With that said, our foundations are:

• Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11) - It's good to seve in church, care for the poor, and follow doctrinal discussions. But knowing and loving Jesus is our first call.
• The Word of God (Ephesians 2:20) - It's good to read Christian books, attend Christian concerts, and download sermons from our favorite preachers, but none of these should replace our diligent study of God's Word.
• Obedience - Jesus said that a wise man builds his house upon a rock when he "listens to my teaching and follows it" (Matthew 7:24). It's good to know the Word of God, but if we ignore His will and do what we want we're foolishly building our lives on sand.

The higher we grow, the deeper we must go. The wider we branch out, trying new ministries and attempting great things for God, the more importantly our foundation becomes. Don't coast on your reputation or past success. Your life will crash if you ever stop loving Jesus and obeying His word. 

35: Let Go of Some

Café by the Ruins

Baguio City, PH

June 15, 2012

Project: Food and Thoughts No. 35

It was my plan to include Café by the Ruins in Tagaytay City on my Food and Thoughts blog segment. When Mei (my colleague) told me that there’s one in Baguio and that she can bring us there for lunch, I did not hesitate. We were sent to Baguio to attend a strategic planning related to work. But it should not be a reason to just work; there’s always time to play.

We ordered the following:

Ruins Coffee @ P80-

Filtered w/ cardamom, topped with whipped cream, moscovado sugar & cinnamon powder.

Shrimp & Mango Curry @ P280-

Prawns in coconut milk curry, served w/ 7 condiments: hardboiled egg, grated coconut, fried onions, chili, chutney, papadums and peanuts. Served with rice.

Baguio Bagnet @ P300-

A typical Ilocano meal: double fried pork belly tenderized in lard, then re-fried toa crip. Condiments are Padas, bagoong and tomato relish accompanied w/ Dinengdeng soup.

The Olympia’s Fresh Lumpia @ P180-

Juliened vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, string beans, camote, onions etc. Sauteed w/ garlic & tofu, wrapped in crepe, w/ sauce & chopped peanuts.

Pandan Chicken @ P280-

Fried chicken & turmeric wrapped in pandan leaf served with sweet-sour chili sauce.

Beef Ribs Sinigang @ P300-
Falling off bones tender beef broth soured with tamarind fruit. Taro, vegetables and chili complete the ensemble.

It is always nice to be given a chance to travel and develop oneself professionally.  This isn't the first time SITEL has given me this opportunity. 

I almost did not make it to this trip. It may sound arrogant to say I pushed back at first. Let me explain. 

Training, the department I belong to, is a crucial part in any outsourcing business. With the growing demands of the outsourcing companies, having back-to-back classes is a normal scenario.  It is also a good scenario because it means we have jobs. It was this and a lot of other things that got me a little bit worried leaving for a trip. 

Am glad I changed my mind because I learned a lot. On top of it all, I learned that sometimes when we are confronted with a lot of issues that hinder the growth of the team we belong to, the solution doesn't always come from solving the problems at hand but coming up with something that will prevent the same problems in the future. There are unsolved problems that you need to let go and suffer the consequences of in order to keep your team running like a well-oiled machine even in the future. You win some, you lose some.

It was in this trip that I learned to let go of some, find out the source of the problems and address it to protect the future of the team I have learned to treat like a family. 

 L-R Andrew, Dennis (my boss), Earl, Panjee & Mei

_ E  N  D  _

Cafe by the Ruins, Baguio

Location: 23 Chuntug St. 

HOOP: Mon - Sun 7AM - 9PM

Facebook: Click this link.

Email: cafebytheruins@gmail.com

34: With my Boots On

D’J Warld Specialty House

Zambales, PH

June 10, 2012
Project: Food and Thoughts 34

We just finished our outreach project in Aeta Children’s Home, which I am going to talk about on another entry. Ten, a good friend of mine, was so nice to offer his car to help accommodate 6 more participants for the said activity. She paid for the gas expenses. It was a good save for the club. I will talk about the whole trip on a different entry too.

Although the resort we stayed in offers free breakfast we still opted to stroll the sleeping streets of the town and looked for a best place to dine in. We've gone far, really far; only to find out we can find one near we were. 

We went to D'J Warld Specialty House conveniently located near the City Hall. With the hot pandesal we bought on our way, we ordered their specialty Beef Mami. It took them some time to prepare it. We were even throwing jokes to each other on why it's taking them too long to serve it. We were rowdy, hungry and impatient until they served it. We were quiet enjoying the hot beef soup on a cold morning. The beef was so tender and the serving is big. It goes very well with our hot pandesal with cheese. The soup was so tasty. We stared at each other and was silent for a moment. Then, loudly praised how good it was. It was worth the wait. 

@ P55-

When we're almost done and the sky is starting to show its light to welcome the day, we saw a very old man comfortably seated on a rocking chair enjoying his newspaper and,what could be, coffee. 

We started making up stories. He is probably enjoying his retirement benefits now and does this everyday - coffee+newspaper every morning in his terrace with a good view of the rising sun and the feel of the cold morning breeze. 

I loudly asked, "I wonder what I'd do when I get that old." It's either I made the rest wonder with me, or wonder for themselves or wonder about how weird I was asking that question. I answered my own question. I said, "I want to die with my boots on!" 

I meant it. 

When I retire and reach my dying age, I pray to God that he still gives me the strength to do what I love to do. I can retire from work but I don't ever want to stop living. I want to dance, travel, write, laugh and love God until my dying days. And most of all, I want to die with my Project Tenfold Circle boots on and see God's awesomeness as I wear it.

With Jem & Ten (not on photo)

33: ǝpısdn uʍop

Pan de Amerikana

May 30, 2012

Project: Food and Thoughts No. 33

Ever since I saw Pan de Amerikana in Katipunan, I knew I couldn’t let it not be a part of this food trip segment. I also thought it could be a good treat for my friend Bryce who gave me my new domain as a gift. (See this link)

We went there after our evening shift to have breakfast and taste their 1950’s Pandesal.

It has an amazingly bizarre structure from the outside which seems to attract anyone passing by like a magnet. 

The moment you're in, you won't be disappointed as you will see the same ǝpısdn uʍop theme.

We ordered the following:

Pandesal Sandwich Sardines @ P25-

Fresh Calamansi Juice @ P25-

Pandesal Sandwich Tuna @ P25-

Pandesal Sandwich Corned Beef @ P25-

 Tapa with Rice and Egg @ P55-

 Omelet  Mushroom Cheese with Rice & Egg @ P55-

Brewed Coffee @ P20-

Hot Chocolate @ P30-

Red Iced Tea @ P15-

The place is very relaxing - the sound of the waterfall, the very high ceiling which allowed fresh air to get in and the totally different view it gives you. It's almost like being in a different world. Is the world really a better place when it's ǝpısdn uʍop? Makes you wonder! 

Photo taken by Bryce.

This ǝpısdn uʍop ambiance reminds me how life can be the same sometimes. It can be a total opposite of how we envisioned it to be. We don't get what we initially aimed for, or worse, we get the total opposite. In a case like this, how do we respond? Do we respond with remorse? Do we spend the rest of out lives nursing our regrets? Do we sell out and settle? Or do we turn things around for the good and work on it to be better?

Sometimes we just need to change our mindset and the way we look at things to be able to see the beauty and the good.

Maybe sometimes, we just have to turn the ǝpısdn uʍop ǝpısdn uʍop to see what we want to see.