Sem Break Day One

You have no idea how liberating it feels when I can strut around the house in the morning and see people get ready for work while I sit around and do nothing. Haha. The perks of sem break.

So, first official day of sem break was spent watching a local movie - A Secret Affair. And I swear, almost everyone who was in the cinema when we watched were senior citizens. Seriously haha. 

If I would be asked to describe the movie in word, it would be CONFUSED. A whole lot of the movie was confused. I was confused. It was very confusing! Why the hell did Anne's character ran away the night before her wedding? Why the hell did Derek and Andi's character did it in a construction site (seriously, eeww yun ha.)? Why the hell are they so damn rich? Why is Tim Yap there? Why do they keep on talking in English?! Di ba sila marunong mag-tagalog?? Pang-Oscars ba to? WHY IS JACKLYN JOSE'S LIPSTICK FUCHSIA PINK?!?

To watch a movie and have multitude of questions unanswered is not very satisfying. Mahirap mag-concentrate. I guess the biggest, and most confusing part of the movie was, trying to decide whether it's a drama or comedy. Sadly, the movie failed in both genres. It tried to pull off a No Other Woman with the plot and the script, but it also did things that I would see in a Nickelodeon teen series. Talking Facebook and Twitter pages? Uh, ICarly lang?

The movie had some good and redeeming qualities in fairness. I liked the caladryl part. "Para sa kati mo!" 

And bakit parang hindi ako sanay makita si  Jacklyn Jose na mayaman ang role? Para sakin siya pa rin si Nay Magda hahaha.

I also liked the glass symbolism. I just don't know if the writers explicitly put it or ako lang ang naka-isip nun ('cause I'm literary like that. Lol). Anton (Derek) and Sam (Andi) had a mahalay scene in Anton's condo, on top of the glass dining table. And their romp left a small crack on the corner. Rafi (Anne) noticed it, and said something to this effect "Dapat mapalitan na 'to. Malas ang basag na glass sa bahay." (she said it in conyo talk, of course). Then, in that very awkward confrontation scene, Sam told Rafi why the glass has basag on it. And in very dramatic sloooow mooow, Rafi made sira the glass with this metal fruit bowl. 

See, the glass represents the relationship between Anton and Rafi. Then Sam symbolizes the basag on the glass. So no matter how Anton and Rafi fix their relationship, there will always be basag on it. So she made sira na lang the glass to free herself from the basag. 

I know. I should be a movie critic or something. Hahaha. I guess this is the effect of taking up literary criticism classes before. I-analyze ba?!

xo,

KC

I wonder when will the next movie come out?! (I did not make this!)

That Elusive Red Lipstick and Other Beauty Woes

I love browsing through beauty and fashion blogs as much as I love reading teacher stuff blogs. Hence, I feel so inspired to RANT about my beauty woes haha!

I'm not much of a make-up person and most of the make-up that I have are given for free, so I end up having no choice but to use them kasi sayang naman. Though I must admit that my make-up skills have improved over the years, thanks to countless hours of reading magazines and beauty and fashion blogs (for pleasure and inspiration haha!). But I'm no make-up enthusiast as well...how I wish haha!

One of my most favorite look is the pale face and red lips look. The one Anne Curtis can pull of very effortlessly. I'm no Anne Curtis, but I often see the look on other girls. Therefore, my hunt for that perfect shade of red began. Since I am very kuripot, and not used to buying lipstick, I searched for that perfect shade of red in my...mom's make-up stash! There I found VMV Lipstick in Feather Boa. It has a matte finish has that old Hollywood red to it.I immediately fell in love and stole it from the drawer, which by the way she has not noticed ever since. My only problem with this is that due to my limited make-up skills, I just can't seem to put it on smoothly and evenly. I always end up looking like a clown :( And it has a FLAT edge. Most of the lipsticks that I use have that curved end, but this has a very flat edge that makes it 1000x hard for me to pull off.

I feel so inggit whenever I read through these blogs when I see them all made up and wearing nice clothes. Sadly, most teachers have very limited options fashion and beauty-wise. One, we have to wear uniforms. Lucky for you if you go to work in your casual clothes, so don't ever complain about the dress code! I keep on asking myself "Bakit yung nagtatrabaho sa bangko, kahit naka-uniform, and ganda?" because it's true. For me, however, I look, well, like a plain teacher. So, for my next SY's resolution -- NO MORE UNIFORM! Two, we barely have time to put on decent make-up. And when I say decent make-up, I mean, from foundation, down to mascara. In my case, I have to wake-up waaay early, then eat breakfast, then off to class! No time for anything kikay. But I guess the attempt will be futile anyways. We are kinda EXPECTED to look like that.

So to end this post, keep in mind that behind a plain and simple teacher, is a girl who just wants to have time to put on that red lipstick and some mascara.




xo,
KC

Bookworm Post

So far I've been blogging about teaching, but not so much on the reading aspect. It's a shame, really, since the name of this blog is READ, teach, blog. That's why, this is my long overdue -- Bookworm Post!

I'm currently reading Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterso. I stumbled upon this book during one of my many library getaways (whenever I'm feeling sleepy in the faculty room, I go to my happy place hihi). I was supposed to borrow Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen after watching the last parts of the movie version on HBO. But apparently, someone beat me to it. So, for my library sojourn not to be wasted, I decided to look around and see what I can borrow. And then I saw Jacob... I looked at the cover (which is great, in a vague and thought-provoking way), read the summary, and was convinced that it will be good read. And besides, no one else had borrowed it. I get some sort of satisfaction when my name is the first one on the borrower's card.

Jacob Have I Loved is the story of Sara Louise and her hatred and anguish against her seemingly perfect twin sister, Caroline. Set in the Pre-WWII and many years after it in a tiny island off of Chesapeake Bay (which I never heard of, so I have to Google it), it shows how Sara Louise or 'Wheeze' as her sister nicknamed her, dealt with having a perfect sister. Caroline is delicate and charming, while Wheeze is the exact opposite, crabbing and catching oysters with the men in the island.

I like most parts of the book, especially when Wheeze had to deal with her feelings with the Captain, an elderly recluse of the island. But what I like the most is how Paterson made you feel exactly how Wheeze felt as you read her thoughts. It's like you're going through the events with her as it is happening.

It's a great book -- BUT! I haven't finished reading it yet haha. I'm already on the last chapters and I am determined to finish it tonight...because I borrowed a new book :))

I've been wanting to read The Royal Diaries ever since I saw the girls reading it. I know, it's a little teeny-bopper but I think it's really cool to read historical fiction. Yes, I am a geek. Why didn't they publish this when I was ten years old?! Anyway, I borrowed the one about Queen Victoria. It seems interesting. It has pictures and facts at the end of the novel. I'll probably read it over the sem break (happy dance...).

xo,

KC

A Teachers' Day Post

To all my former teachers, to my friends from college who eventually went on to pursue this career, to my co-teachers, to my relatives who are also teachers,  and to all the teachers everywhere, happy teachers' day :)

Back in college, people would get surprised when I tell them that I'm taking up Education. And I secretly felt a little happy about the shocked expression on their faces. Why? Because I was able to break a stereotype. That not all teachers are old and boring. That not all teachers are horrible, strict, and uptight. I was able to win a tiny battle for teachers all over the world. One notion proved wrong, one mind became enlightened.

When I was working for a BPO company, people would always ask me why I wanted to be a teacher. There's no money in teaching. Teachers become matandang dalaga. Teachers have zero social life. I would just smile and say, "Teachers are almost never unemployed. What about you?". Again, another small victory for me. Yes, it's true. There's never a teacher millionaire. Or a teacher CEO. And yes, there are many teachers who end up old maids, probably because they really don't have much of a wild social life. But why is that? Because teachers are dedicated. No matter how many times they have thrown the towel and waved the white flag, they never seem to just quit. We can't just go AWOL. Even resigning is hard to do.

Now that I have been a teacher for three years (accomplishment!), I realized that there must be some truth to  those stereotypes. Maybe because teachers are simple human beings. We don't crave for fancy things everyday. Fashion is sacrificed for the sake of comfort (If you have seen our uniforms, you would understand). We get sweaty, tired, haggard-looking, and yet we are the happy. We share our triumphs, our inis, our stress, our kapalpakan. We celebrate small things. A student with dyslexia finished her spelling words. Nobody cried in class today. The students were quiet during the test. That one girl who never eats finally ate pizza. The shy one now has a buddy to eat lunch with. And the bully finally learned to make at least one friend. 

Once someone asked me, "Do you think you are in the right profession?". Before I answered, I asked myself, "Where would I be if I'm not a teacher?". But I couldn't come up with an answer. It's not that my head went blank. I just couldn't decide. That's when I realized that I may just be on the right track simply because I'm not looking for anything else. Then I smiled at her, and said yes.

Hello October!

I can't believe it's October! One -ber month down hihi. It's been awhile since I last posted, I've been very busy with work (since when are teachers not busy with work?).

Anyway, what greeted me this morning was...a letter from a mom. Not the good kind of letter. More of a I'm-complaining-you-suck kind of letter.

First I told myself that I won't rant about it here. So I won't. Instead of ranting, I'll just smile and say...Nobody cares. There's really nothing that I can do about it. If that's her opinion, then so be it. Though she had a lot of nerve to tell me her two cents worth, I just wished she looked at her own child first. I wish she would have reflected on her "problem" first before writing me letter and cc'd my boss. I really feel that she has a problem with me personally. But then again, Nobody cares. 

So here's a word of advice to parents. Before you text, call, write, or set an appointment with your child's teacher, think first. Is it really a problem or is it just a problem that you're having because of a number of circumstances? Teachers nowadays don't just give homeworks or projects for no reason at all. And, don't expect us to respond to your call ASAP. You're not the only parent and your child is not the only student in the school. 

I hate to start my October this way. But sh*t happens. Deal with it. And remember...Nobody cares. Chill. It's not the end of the world, mother!

xo,

KC