Eulogy for a Great Mentor

Last Friday was the last day of school for 2008, and the students were really excited about the coming Christmas break. It is a two-week rest from the grueling homework and activities in school, and many can't wait but be a couch potato for the whole holiday.

While the rest of us were having a pretty good time celebrating Christmas with our students, our English coordinator, Teacher Lily Brigoli died of heart failure in the hospital last December 19, 2008. She died at the age of 64. The news came as a shock to us because we thought she was on her way to recovery. She called the school two days earlier to report that she was coming home from the Philippine Heart Center on Friday. We actually planned to visit her and see how she was doing, but when Friday came, little did we know that her lifeless body was the only one coming home. We stopped momentarily in our merriment and feasting to grieve over who we have lost. Teacher Lily was not just our English Coordinator. She was also our mother, our friend, our mentor. All of us in the English department shed tears in memory of her goodness. And all of us can't help but feel saddened by the tragedy that has befallen upon us. I could only bow my head and close my eyes and remember how she has been good to us. She has always been there to give us great advice about teaching and other practical things. She has always been mild-mannered, soft-spoken and understanding. I have never felt antagonized by her authority, instead, I feel grateful for having such a kind mentor. Truly, Teacher Lily will be missed by us to those whose lives she has touched. With her death, I am suddenly reminded about how this kind of tragedy can happen to us at any time. I became suddenly aware of how fleeting life can be and how we should always be prepared when Death comes to us. A day before Teacher Lily died, she joked about her death and she said that she was ready to face her Creator. She added that Death can come to her at any time because she was ready. I guess this was some sort of uncanny premonition. A day after, she suddenly had a stroke and a few weeks after, she said goodbye to us. This reminds us that we should be careful about what we utter out loud, because not only the Lord Jesus hears our prayer, but other principalities as well. There is a saying: "Be careful what you wish for." Can one really know when he or she is about to die? Can we somehow sense Death's coming and subconsciously send out signals that the time is about to come? I think Teacher Lily might have sensed it coming and she made sure that we won't grieve too much about her death. Days before she died, death has been a topic of our casual conversation. She said that when she dies, she doesn't want to see anybody crying. She wants us to celebrate her life and not mourn her death. Teacher Lily passed away during the time of merriment. Oh, the irony of such event! We can't help but be sad about her passing away, but we also wanted to follow her request. So even with the unfortunate circumstance of her leaving us, we knew that she would have wanted us to enjoy the festivities. Even if it felt weird to enjoy the party, knowing that someone close to us died, we continued on. That night, when we had our faculty Christmas party, we dedicated the moment to her. By enjoying the party, we were granting her her last request. We didn't prepare elaborate eulogies. But deep in our hearts, she was truly missed.

To Teacher Lily, may you be happy wherever you are.

100% Natural

My husband is a gym instructor and a bodybuilder. But unlike other bodybuilders who likes to have muscles the easy way, my hubby took a long time to acquire his and it required great discipline on his part. I am a witness of his hard work and abstinence. For almost two months, he has learned how to deny himself of yummy human food and he ate "rabbit" food instead. Sweet potatoes, bananas, oats and whey are part of his diet, and rigorous training became part of his routine. He jogs everyday at 4:30 in the morning. He does 500 sit-ups to develop his abs. He lifts weights larger than his own body mass, and he does extensive cardio work-out to burn calories. All those hard work paid off when he joined Mr. Los Banos 2008 last Saturday (December 13, 2008). At the end of the contest, he was resigned to the fact that he had already lost. His opponents were really big, and they were taking steroids so he was no match for them. But then, at the awarding ceremony, his number was called (#27), and what do you know, he won 5th place! I am mighty proud of him. This only shows that a 100% natural bodybuilder like him can beat steroid-induced ones. I hope that with his victory, he could inspire others to use natural methods in bodybuilding. No need for expensive supplements and steroids. You only need to have discipline. And the good news is, it is free.

Celebrity-Jinx

I now officially call myself the Celebrity Jinx. I have so far liked few celebrities, and now, most of them are dead. Yes. D-E-A-D. Passed away. Have gone to the afterlife. Need I say more? However, I think I may have only jinxed local celebrities, because the foreign celebrities that I love are still alive (i.e. Robert Downey Jr., Patrick Dempsey, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger) Oh shoot! I just remembered that Heath Ledger died at the age of 28 last January 22, 2008 due to accidental overdose of prescription medication. There goes my theory about me jinxing only local celebrities! Anyway . . .

Among the local artists that I really really liked are Rico Yan, Gerard Fainsan (of the Universal Motion Dancers) and Marky Cielo. I liked them to the point of being delusional. There was a time when I obssessed over Rico Yan and intended to marry him (even if he doesn't know me). I tried to look for Gerard Fainsan's number in the yellow pages when I was in college. I stayed up past midnight to see if Marky Cielo would win Starstruck Batch 3. I spent some of my precious time admiring these young artists. I watched their films and TV series, bought their CD's and read about them in magazines. Little did I know, that my admiration would only turn to disappointment by their untimely deaths.

Gerard Fainsan, a member of the Universal Motion Dancers, died in 1997 due to asthma attack. Rico Yan (March 14, 1975-March 29, 2002) died of cardiac arrest due to acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Marky Cielo (May 12, 1988 - December 7, 2008), unexpectedly died in his sleep. All of them died at the height of their career. Life doesn't seem fair, does it?

Right now, I am still a little sad for Marky Cielo's death. His role as Billy Lobregat in LaLola is the last time I'm going to see him on TV. His death has given me a wake up call: I will never ever obssess over celebrities anymore. Whether I'm a jinx or not, it really doesn't matter. Life is too short to spend so much time obsessing over things that decay. I should make better use of my time and pay more attention to those who are near me, rather than the TV.

But if I am an overly superstitious person, I would believe that I am somehow responsible for these deaths and that I should be banned from liking celebrities. If Ryan Agoncillo (another actor that I really really like) dies an untimely death, like from a freak accident of some sort, I swear I would never watch TV again.

Absolutely Positive

I watched Twilight last weekend and about three things I was absolutely positive: First, Rob Pattinson doesn't really wash his hair. Watching the movie has allowed me to scrutinize whether the rumor was true. Indeed it was. Rob's hair seemed to me like it was so messy and sticky, but since he was playing the role of Edward Cullen, he could pull off the "greasy" look and make it look cool. If he would be asked what is the #1 anti-dandruff shampoo, he would probably shrug and say, "Uhm, I really don't know." It was quite a disappointment to not see massive flakes of dandruff on his sleeves. I was kind of expecting to see specks of white on his black shirt. Well, there is such a thing as video-editing. Maybe the special effects people just passed the flakes of dandruff into snow. I think I remember that there was a scene where it snowed in Forks. Maybe that wasn't really snow. Maybe it was Rob's . . . (nevermind) Second, Rob Pattinson does not really justify Stephenie Meyer's description of Edward Cullen, but, personally, I think he aced the role and he managed to capture the hearts of Twilight fanatics. There was this part when Bella asks Jessica and Angela who the Cullens were, and when Edward enters, the people in the cinema silently gave out a little groupie scream: "Eeeeeeeeeeeeee." I could only roll my eyes and counter with my own disgusted remark: "Eeeeeeeeeewwwwwww." If they only knew that Rob Pattinson doesn't wash his hair (because according to him, the hair washes itself), they might have reacted differently. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably smitten with . . . Jacob Black (Take note: Jacob Black, not Taylor Lautner) Alright, even from the start, I wasn't really for Edward. Even if the actor playing Jacob doesn't even come close to the Jacob that I had in mind (I would still rather have Steven Strait), when he (Jacob Black as Taylor Lautner) first appeared with Billy Black at the time Bella moved to Forks, I blushed like crazy! I couldn't help but smile. I dunno! Maybe because Taylor Lautner was playing the role of a Quileute American Native. And considering that he has Native ancestry, I was smitten. Everytime the movie shows Jacob, I feel my cheeks flush. It is psychotic, I know. But there is something about American Natives that drives me nuts. So, to sum it up, Rob Pattinson is a great artist and a good-looking actor except he doesn't wash his hair, and Taylor Lautner really looks like an American Native and I am smitten by him! If only Rob Pattinson was Irish, I would love him too, even if he doesn't know the world's anti-dandruff shampoo.

Dimlight: A Twilight Parody

I just watched Twilight the other day, and I am still thinking of what to actually say. Watching it has actually rendered me speechless. I am at a loss for words and that really doesn't happen often because I live for words. Anyway, I was surfing through the net, researching whether there would be a sequel to Twilight. I found out that the director is planning to direct New Moon soon. I am so excited. But another thing that I found was this funny clip called Dimlight. So, while my movie review of Twilight is still in the works, I hope you enjoy this parody made by people who had lots of free time.

Waiting for Twilight

First of all, I want to watch Twilight, mainly because I am a sucker for love stories. I have watched film adaptations of love stories that I like (i.e. A Walk To Remember, Stardust, The Notebook, etc.,) and I have never left the cinema disappointed. I figured that I might go crazy over the Twilight movie adaptation because I loved the book so much. . . . . . Which reminds me of my second reason . . . I want to watch Twilight so I could compare the characters to my own preconceived notion of how they look like in my head when I read the book. I want to see if the characters the director picked were enough to justify the characters in my already Twilight-programmed brain. Months before the anticipated movie, I have prepped myself to several trailers, and several TV interviews of the characters who play the lead role. Another reason why I want to watch Twilight is to confirm whether Rob Pattinson doesn't wash his hair. Maybe by watching the movie, I could see flakes of dandruff on his sleeves that the special effects team and the movie editors failed to erase in post-production. (See the video for an actual interview about Rob admitting that he doesn't wash his hair. Ugh! Gross!) The most important reason why I want to watch Twilight is to see for myself if the movie critics were right in giving it lower than the average rating compared to the rufus the Twilight fans have been making. Based on 148 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes as of November 29, 2008, the film has received an overall approval rating of 43%, with a weighted average score of 5.3/10.In describing the critical consensus, it stated: "Having lost much of its bite transitioning to the big screen, Twilight will please its devoted fans, but do little for the uninitiated." I have read that Twilight was a box office hit! Thanks to the millions of fans who eagerly anticipated and supported the movie. Twilight grossed over $7 million in ticket sales from midnight showings alone on November 21, 2008.The film is third overall on online ticket service Fandango's list of top advance ticket sales, outranked only by Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and The Dark Knight. It grossed $35.7 million on its opening day, the biggest opening day gross for a non-sequel and non-summer movie. For its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, Twilight accumulated $69.6 million from 3,419 theaters at an average of $20,368 per theater. As of December 2, 2008, the film has received $143,670,148 worldwide. So far, I still have no idea how the movie would affect me. I would still have to wait two days more before my best friend and I watch it in the big screen. The reviews that I have heard from people that I know who have actually seen the movie were quite varied. Some say that it was just an "ok" movie. Some said that it was awesome. However, I think I am inclined to believe that it was just mediocre based on the reviews I have read. Anyway, I still have to see it for myself. So far, the soundtrack is great. At least, the soundtrack wasn't a disappointment. Listening to it makes me anticipate the movie more. I just hope that in two days, I wouldn't leave the cinema feeling that I have just been suckered to watch the most pathetic film ever. I hope that through the on-screen charisma of either Edward or Jacob (American Natives rule!!!), I would feel that watching Twilight was worth the money. But for now, I could only wait . . .

Forecast Based on Common Sense

I am not a psychic nor do I wish to be one. Before, I used to make predictions to people, but unlike other psychics, I have no spiritual guide. That would be way too creepy. I am usually guided by my own instinct and my common sense. It is a form of deception, I know, but there is such a thing as self-fulfilling prophecy and ofcourse I trust the notion that: people would only like to believe what they want to believe. So basically, what I told people were things that I thought was believable. I told them what they wanted to hear. My friend Wren celebrated her 31st birthday today. She invited me and our other friends and we ate in this fastfood chain in a local mall. After two or maybe three hours of girl-bonding, Wren ended the event with her forecast on lucky colors for the year 2009. She told me that earth colors would be very much suitable for me next year. I really don't know what to say about that. Colors don't really matter to me anymore because I am restricted to follow certain color-coding crap because of our uniform at work. Even if I do take her advice, I can only use those earth colors at home or during weekends. So, with her forecast on lucky colors, I also projected my fearless forecast on each one of them. This time, I didn't use common sense, nor instinct. I just blurted out words that came in my head. And I didn't care whether they wanted to hear what I wanted to say or not. Anyway, it was for fun . . . and they forced me into doing it so they really can't blame me or get mad at me even. Here are the ones I made: To Wren: You are going to be a Math teacher next year. (Currently, she is a Chemistry teacher) And since you're going to be a Math teacher, you will have to work late. And by the time you become a Math teacher, you will find the love of your life who is also a Math teacher. Wren thought that my forecast was so improbable. She said that I just wanted to tease her to a Math teacher I knew. Wren was always good-natured. She just laughed out loud and didn't take it seriously. To Amberle: You are going to have an unexpected surprise. But the surprise is not going to happen close to home, rather, it will be out of town. It will either be a pleasant or unpleasant surprise, whichever way you view it. You are going to think about me when this happens, and say, gee . . . Rhosel's right! About work . . . well, you will still hate your officemates, and nothing will change. Amberle was livid. She said I was just stating the obvious and not actually making a forecast. Honestly, I don't know what she was so angry about. Maybe because the "boyfriend" subject thingy was a touchy subject. Maybe she thought that the unexpected surprise was something unpleasant - like maybe breaking up with her, or a surprise marriage proposal. Oh gad, no! To Chill: You are going to find a new job. Salary wise, it is much less than you expect. Also, it is not as prestigious as your current title. But you are going to love it. You are going to find a scholarship abroad, except it is not the one that you wish for. God has better plans. And while studying, you will find that other half that has been designed for you. Only Chill was pleased with my forecast. I told you: People would only want to believe what they want to believe. So the celebration ended with Wren smiling. I was glad she didn't find my forecast horrendous. My bestfriend, Amberle, however, was irritated. Chill was pleased. Best thing about forecasts is that you can never rely on them. They are always subject to change. However, people tend to believe in omens, and things similar to future predictions because they hate uncertainty. Well, first of all, life is uncertain. So there is no use for horoscopes, numerologies, and tea leaves. I think that the most important thing is that we should live in the present and let the future worry about itself. Common sense dictates that we make our own future. We just have to live life so we could get the things that it has to offer. We can't just sit and believe for life to happen. We make it happen. With that, would you care to have your tea leaves read? No charge, I promise. Would you like me to give you a fearless forecast? How about your horoscope? No? Ah well. So that only means that my career as a psychic has come to an end. I have no future with psychic predictions. But you have a future to make with or without these predictions. Make it happen. Now.

Tactless

Tact is not my strongest virtue. My bestfriend can attest to that. But I don't intentionally mean to be rude. Sometimes, I just don't think about what I say. It comes out from me with all honesty that I regret saying things afterwards. It is also impossible for me to just sit down and shut up. I try to be tactful, and it entails a lot of patience and self-control on my part. But when I don't get to say what I need to say, it feels that I have been deprived of a very vital thing in order to survive: and that is to exhale.

A Fist Fight Over Turkeys

Everybody is fussing over Thanksgiving Day, that is, if you're in America. Apparently, this national holiday has made most people extra busy preparing for the said event. Thanksgiving, if I may add, is very much anticipated, unless ofcourse if you're a turkey. I, personally, don't know how turkey tastes like. Yes. Pathetic, I know. But you have to realize that I live in a country where Thanksgiving Day isn't relevant. We have what we call Fiesta (celebrated in honor of a patron saint), and instead of big birds roasted and served on top of the table, we butcher pigs instead and roast them over live coals (mmmmmm... yum yum). So going back to the topic of turkeys, I couldn't imagine how supermarkets would be like, just a day before Thanksgiving Day. It would probably be crazy. One thing I learned about shopping, NEVER EVER DO IT THE LAST MINUTE!!! I asked a friend of mine if turkeys in their country aren't endangered yet. With all the people serving turkey on Thanksgiving, I could only imagine mass annihilation of these poor big birds and their probable extinction. He laughed at me and said that turkeys were ridiculously abundant so I don't have to worry about him shopping for it just the day before. I was surprised that he wasn't worried about last minute shopping. I then had this absurd idea of him getting into a fist fight in the supermarket over who gets the last turkey. I told him about this and I guess I made him laugh out loud. He called me crazy, maybe out of endearment. I suddenly remembered one particular episode of FRIENDS where Monica puts a turkey on her head. It was such a hilarious clip, I just had to share it. So maybe turkeys are abundant after all. If Monica could afford to ruin a turkey on Thanksgiving Day by putting it on her head as an apologetic gesture, then maybe serving turkey is really not that important compared to having your loved one by your side during a special occassion such as today (Thanksgiving, ofcourse). One thing I learned about holidays is that whatever food you serve, whether it be turkey or fish, it still is more meaningful if you celebrate life with those you love. I'm sort of frustrated because we don't have Thanksgiving Day here in the Philippines. Maybe I just miss my friends and I can't wait for the next holiday to celebrate with them. It is indeed ridiculous to engage in a fist fight over the last turkey in the supermarket. Personally, I don't believe that fist fights are the best way to settle arguments, but if I were to get into a fight to defend a friend who just grabbed the last turkey, I would do so without reservations. Because no amount of turkey in the world could ever replace a friend.

Requiem

Genre: Gothic-Thriller Archetypes: The Vigilante, The Dark Lord Plotline: Transformation, Escape Keywords: Body Painting, Church Marcus has lived most of his life in hiding. He has never stayed in the same place once nor has he used a real name to establish his identity. It has been so long since he used his name Marcus. Different people have known him by different aliases, but no one knows what kind of person Marcus is - what kind of job Marcus does. For years, Marcus has served no absolute master except his own obsession to rid the earth of all scum. He does this quickly, stealthily - with or without a price. For every man that dies in his hand, he leaves a sign; a Japanese Henna tattoo on the forehead of the victim translated as REQUIEM. No one has been able to trace the perpetrator of the killings. Always, he has left top investigators befuddled. Killing has been so ordinary for him that slowly, he was being transformed into a monster - hollow and unfeeling. He hated this void he felt deep within. He knew he needed redemption. A kind of redemption that would transform him into something new. He wanted to live a normal a life. It has been 15 years . . . Marcus went to a place where he has made himself an anathema. The Roman Catholic Church. He has been raised Catholic by his devout parents. They have sent him to a seminary so he could be a priest. And there, at the age of fifteen, he learned the meaning of rage. Marcus closed his eyes, trying so hard to erase the memory from his head, but he could remember every detail of abuse. His mentor has abused him in such a way that he could hear even the church walls scream in protest with the sickness of it. Marcus was so enraged that his vision darkened and he could only remember himself hitting his mentor with a marble candelabra on the head. He remember the exhilirating feeling of seeing red, of smelling red. He didn't feel afraid. As if, by spilling his first blood, a new door has been opened to him - his new calling. He has long excommunicated himself from the church. He felt that no amount of blood of the Savior could wash away his guiltlessness. He knew that his soul was already doomed, yet here he was, in this so-called place of God, waiting for an absolution that would not come. He knew he was supposed to agonize over what he was about to do next. But he could not let himself feel remorseful nor repentant. The Dark Lord is rising. He has to move fast. This would be his last assignment and after this, he could retire. Oh yes! The Dark Lord was very well protected. Nobody knew what kind of evil monster this Dark Lord was. He was cunning, deceitful; but he was also an old man - frail, fragile. He just needed to be meters away from this monster, and the world will be free from this Dark Lord, and the Darker Lord behind him. He could imagine it now. Hundreds, or maybe thousands of people, mourning for their personified Lamb. What they don't know is that the man lying before them is indeed the spawn of the Apocalyptic Antichrist, and the shadow that died with him is the greater evil still. Marcus could now taste the sweetness of blood at the tip of his tongue. His final assignment would be his greatest ever. There is no room for failure, no room for second chances. It is either now - or it would be too late. He left the church with a new kind of rage that now roils in his blood. For hundreds of years, the world has been deceived. It was now time to open their eyes in shock. It was the age of transformation. So many people have been marionettes of this Dark Lord. It was time for an uprising. And with the Dark Lord's death, people will never be deprived of heaven again. He has waited for this day. The Requiem. He got the things he needed and placed it inconspicuously in a guitar case he was carrying. Today, he was known as Antonio, a travelling musician, who just got to town to witness the grand procession of a self declared god. Antonio will just be in the town square playing music. Thousands of people will be out to see the procession, and the Dark Lord will pompously parade in front of his puppets, in robes of purple, while the other, in robes of black. Antonio knew that he needed to be swift. One wrong move, and he himself would send the whole earth to its doom. He knew he wasn't just going to kill one - he also has to kill the other - the substance and the shadow. To do that, he needed two kinds of weapons. One forged by machinery and the other by an older magic that was lost and forgotten. Minutes passed by and his anticipation has made his hands tremble with excitement. He was trained to do this. He would not fail. He musn't. The crowd started to thicken and the cavalcade of abominations about to begin. Antonio positioned himself to a place where people won't notice him. He has been trained to shoot even out of range so he need not be near his prey. The procession seemed eternal, but finally, the highlight arrived. The Dark Lord walked through the crowd, and the people gave him reverence. He was a living deity among them. To touch him would seem like blasphemy, because his self-proclaimed infallibility has equated him to be the Son of the Most High. Antonio squinted his eyes in disgust mixed with stern concentration. The Dark Lord paraded, unprotected, without bullet-proof vests. Perhaps he knew that no one would dare touch him now. Years ago, there was one who tried to eliminate his predecessor. The perpetrator almost succeeded, but his predecessor lived and the vigilante was brought to justice. Today, no one would dare. Now, with a dark force behind him, he knew that he was very well protected. The Dark Lord was oblivious of Antonio, lurking in the distance. Antonio was well prepared for this. Before this task, he has visited a Native mystic from his ancestry. Now, with the intensified spirits of brave warriors shielding him, even the Darker Lord would not be able to sense his presence. Antonio looked at the Dark Lord from where he was standing. It was time. He pulled the trigger with one sure motion. The bullet buried itself on the Dark Lord's forehead, a convenience that Antonio tried to make sure of. Now he didn't need to paint his victim's forehead with REQUIEM. Then, there were screams everywhere. Amidst the confusion, the Dark Lord lay dead. But there was another, a Darker Lord still. Antonio's spirit eye could see the shadow move closer to him. The Darker Lord has sensed his presence. Quickly, he pulled the trigger again. This time, the bullet was infused with magic of long ago. The bullet pierced through the shadow. Shattering it to pieces. A shrill cry was heard -deafening - like that of a thousand banshees. Everyone was disoriented. Louder screams were heard. Nobody pursued Antonio. He blended in with the rest of the crowd. No need to flee and feel guilty. He has done the world a favor. The Dark Lord was dead. The Darker Lord gone with him. Now his job was done. Once again, he became Marcus. Marcus retreated in a corner where screams and cries were less heard. It was time to retire from this self-imposed job he has created for himself. To die is sweet escape. He smiled inwardly at himself for a job well done. Today was the day of transformation. Today was a good day to escape. With that last thought, the spirits of the brave beckoned him to come with them. Marcus put the gun against his head and . . . bled.