Substitute Tutor and Salary

I was supposed to make this blog yesterday evening but I didn't have internet connection. So...

I accepted a job as a substitute tutor on December 19 and 20, since I had nothing to do yet. It's to teach English to Korean kids. It's a challenging task for me since it's my first time to be a tutor and I find it hard to teach someone or to explain a concept or something like that to a person. The first day was a reaaaally long day for me. There are 6 students and 6 tutors. The system is that in the first hour, teacher A will tutor student A, then after the time's up, teacher A will tutor student B, and so on... In short, each tutor will get to teach all 6 students or rather, they do a cycle pattern or something. The schedule is 8:30-9:30||9:40-10:40||10:50-11:50||1:00-2:00||2:10-3:10||3:20-4:20... Since I was just a substitute, and I was given a short notice, I was not given the chance to prepare myself or to get to see the material that I was going to teach. So, I just did a quick scan on their books right on the spot. Each student had a different level in their English proficiency, so I also had to adjust to every student I handled (and they easily get bored.. ToT). Luckily though, I can still remember my past English lessons, not accurately, but at least in essence. The hard part was how to relay and make them understand the underlying rules in every grammar, sentence structures and right pronunciation in English (since it has A LOT of rules). How am I supposed to effectively and efficiently explain to them about English when I use English to talk to them? Language barrier. My dilemma in those two days was whether they had learned something from me or none at all. It's really a frustrating feeling when all my effort to teach was just futile. But I know I did my best, so I just hope that they did learn something from me, even just a little bit.

The tutors receive their week's pay every Friday. I received mine on December 21 (end of the world, eh??). It was my first time to receive a salary or pay. It was just a small amount since I only tutored for a total of 12 hours. But, it was a refreshing feeling when I got to hold the envelope containing my self-earned income. It's like my hard work and effort had been paid off (duh??? 'cause it's a compensation for the job XD). It's like I was holding a very precious treasure that I don't want to waste. It's really true when people say it's easy to spend money that is not ours (*ehem*parents*ehem*), but it's very hard to even spend a peso/penny of the money we worked hard to earn. (But I already spent a quarter of it... I had no choice.. ToT )

Right now, I am looking forward to receiving my first salary on a regular work. I know it will be a different feeling since I will be waiting for at least a month to receive it; which also means---it's a month worth of hard work!!! But before I get to experience that, I should first apply for a job. (I will really be in full force in January 2013!! Hopefully... Yes, I should be! No choice. Meh. **tehehe**)

Christmas and Wishlist

Hey hey heeeey!! Guess what??? It's only 6 days before Christmas!!! O.O

Yes, I surprised myself that I was effinly surprised when a friend (somewhere in our conversation) mentioned it's already Christmas next week~~ **dingdong!**

I find it awkward that I don't feel the season of Christmas at all. I think it's because I am just staying at home the whole time (blame unemployment! ToT). Unlike before when I was still going to school wherein friends, classmates, and the school become busy preparing for the yuletide season; there is nothing left to remind or make me feel the merry mode of Christmastime. Also, in my neighborhood, there are only few who put Christmas decorations, and they rarely turn on the decorative lights during nighttime, so the area still looks like a typical night view. Lastly, my family doesn't really follow Christmas traditions that Filipino families usually practice; like Simbang Gabi, Noche Buena, carolling, Christmas parties, and exchanging of gifts.

But now, since I'm reminded of the fast approaching Christmas day, I just want to share to you some of the things that I want to have. It's not really as a gift for Christmas. But, who knows? Maybe someone might find this blog and might consider giving me at least one of these as a gift. **whishful thinking**

1. External Hard Drive
I have always wanted to have an external hard drive ever since... I forgot... Anyway, it's really useful for having a backup for important files, just in case my laptop will suddenly die. Also, it makes me to have a larger space in my laptop since I can just save pictures and videos in it. Lastly, I can download all the animes and movies I want to watch and just save them all in it and just watch them anytime and anywhere (as long as there is a PC or laptop).

2. New laptop
I have been using my laptop for more than 3 years now. (Is this an achievement? O.o) Since it has become really old and really overworked (and I think I'm a bad owner ToT),  it has been making a weird noise that I have to turn it off and on again just to silence the noise (I think the noise is made by the fan, due to accumulated dust and dirt. Ooops.)

3. DVD Player
I really want to have my own DVD player. My family NEVER bought a DVD player...ever! This is why I have always been deprived of watching (western) movies and series. I only watch movies and series online, which is somewhat painstaking because I still have to wait for the video buffer and all. And, if the internet connection suddenly disappears, it would be a great disappointment and frustration.

4. Electric Oven
I want to have an electric oven because I want to learn how to bake. We have a gas range at home. It is what my mother uses for baking cakes and cupcakes. I am afraid to use it because my mother told me that she has to be careful in opening the oven because the flame might suddenly get big or something.

5. Trip to Japan Ticket (or any place in Asia or... trip around Asia!!)
It has always been my dream to go to Japan (if lucky, to tour Asia~). Reasons? I'm an anime lover. I'm inclined to learning languages (specifically Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese). I want to see and discover more about Asian culture, traditions, festivals, and the like because they are so beautiful and colorful. Lastly, I want to go sightseeing and food-devouring!

6. Domo-kun Stuff Toy (or any domo-kun stuff)
I like domo-kun. Enough said. XD

7. Cute Hat
You know? The kind of hat that looks like a plushie or a stuff toy? Yes, I really, really, reaaaally want to have one. ToT

8. Novels/Books
I like to read. Unluckily, I don't have all the money to buy all the books I want. That is why I just settle for PDF copies. But it's really different to have a book. You know... The feeling of flipping the pages, of seeing the thickness of the book and how far I have gone reading, and of actually holding a real book! It really breaks my heart every single time I go inside a bookstore and see all those books I CAN'T BUY.



So, that's it! (I guess...) I feel I have a lot of things I want to have, but I only remember these at the moment. I'll just add things on my wishlist by the time I remember those I have forgotten to include~ *teehee*

Stuck in traffic 101

We all love being stuck in traffic after a long day--NOT!!! Since we love it that much, we do our best to avoid it, like knowing the rush hours and such. But what we love the most is the untimely heavy traffic! (due to temporary closed roads, parades, etc.) ...and yes, I'm being sarcastic here. Who loves heavy traffic???!

Heavy traffic makes us grumpy. After a tiring day, it just gets on our nerves to be stuck in traffic. What more for commuters who still have to go through a survival-to-the fittest-thing just to get a ride?

Can we do something about being stuck in traffic? NOPE. Unless we go out of the house earlier. But what if we finish our classes or our office hours ends just in time during rush hours? Yeah, that really is a problem. What we can do something about is to lessen the aftereffects of traffic--grumpiness and bad mood.

Here are things that we can do or must at least have in our bags or with us to be ready in this road dilemma:

1. Food and water. We easily get irritated when we are hungry, right? So before we go out of the house or leave school or the workplace, we should at least grab something to eat. An alternative would be having candies and chocolates ready for muchin' anytime...anywhere. Of course, carrying bottled water will do.

2. Music. If the (public) transportation you are riding has a sound system, you would not have a problem. You can just stare on the road and feel the beat or the melody of the song (imagining yourself in a music video). But you can always just carry the earphones of your cellphone or iPods or mp3s just in case.

3. Company. If you have a family member or a friend stuck in traffic with you, it won't be an oh-so-grumpy moment. Having someone you know during such situations is comforting in itself. (But if you are with your crush or someone special... **wink, wink** more traffic, please??)

4. Inspiration. Heavy traffic?? Pffft. Put those daydream cap on and before you even realize it, you have arrived at your destination! XD


Basically, it is my list on how I survive being stuck in traffic without ruining my day. How about you?

Rurouni Kenshin

I am an anime fan. I can't declare myself as an otaku because my obsession and addiction to anime is not that extreme (sadly...). Anyway, when I first saw the trailer of Rurouni Kenshin: Live Action (RK:LA) in March 2012, I became excited and hopeful that it would be shown in the Philippine cinemas (after being shown in Japan last August 2012). But months passed, I forgot about it. Then one day, I read a post in facebook about the RK:LA--something like the person missed the chance of watching it. I became sad because I thought I also missed my chance! I had no idea it was already showing here in the city where I live in. But I was wrong! (muhahaha!) I received a group message from a friend that she had just watched the RK:LA and I discovered from her that it is still showing until December 18, 2012! I was so happy and I became desperate to watch it today (because I have an agenda tomorrow). And to make the story short, after a looong day (blame it to traffic), I was able to watch RK:LA!!!

The movie was really worth the expense...and traffic...and effort...and everything! It was not a crappy live action at all! It had been YEARS since I last saw the anime Rurouni Kenshin on TV; but as far as I could remember, the characters in the anime were portrayed well by the actors of the live action. I can't put everything into detail since I cannot accurately remember all the scenes in the anime. Of course, I expected there would be omissions and changes in the live action, but it was fine for a 2-hour long movie. Aside from the actors, the fight scenes were amazing. I am not fond of gory films but it was okay for me. The stunts were not exaggerated, and the sword fights were breathtaking. The mood in the live action was more serious than in the anime but there were still touches of humor in one scene to another. Overall, the live action did justice to the anime (it did not ruin the anime at all!). 

To all Rurouni Kenshin fanatics out there, this is a must watch movie! **rainbow tears**



TRAILER:

Here is a soundtrack of the movie.

Rurouni Kenshin Original Soundtrack [Live Action]

"You cannot love someone you do not know." or can you?

Out of nowhere, I remembered answering a question of a friend. I think it was for her philosophy class. I searched the message in FB. It was dated March 10, 2011. Here it is (copy-paste):

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critique paper: "you cannot love someone you do not know"

ma love man japun nmo ang someone you do not [fully] know.. haha XD di baya jud nato ma fully know tanan.. maski ato parents, super kaila ba diay ta nla? like, kung unsa sila sauna adtong ka age pa sila nato, unless chika au mo.. haha XD pero still, love man nato sila..  and.. kung sa boy-girl relationship pud.. ah.. dba murag after mo ma in a relationship, naa pa man mo daghan things ma discover about each other..? maski ang mga bad sides nla.. pero ma learn nato og accept maski ang nega traits nla since love man nato ang kato na preson.. aw.. hahaha XD something like that..

Rough translation:

You can still love someone you do not [fully] know. We can never fully get to know everyone. Even our parents, do we really know them? Like, what kind of people they were when they were our age? Unless, we are open to each other. But still, we love them. And, in a boy-girl relationship, right after we are "in" a relationship, we still have a lot of things yet to discover about each other, right? Even their bad sides, we learn to accept all those negative traits since we love the person. Something like that.

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To make my point clearer, we can love someone we do not know. It's part of human nature. We were made out of love, we are made to love. It's the love we have for people that makes us accept for what, who, why, how they are. We are no psychics. It's just love playing its role. :)

First Time Blogger

A while ago, I was just doing my usual internet routine: checking my facebook account to see if there are new notifications, to view my news feed, and to play sorority life (the only game I still play there... yeah, aside from mousehunt, which I check every now and then); going to youtube to see recent uploads from people I subscribed to; and just visiting some random sites like plurk, 9gag, tumblr, etc... I was just scrolling and clicking and reading and all when I suddenly felt there is nothing much left to do in the internet. It has just become a habit to go here and there, just searching for random things that would just come in mind. So out of my random line of thought, I decided to make a blog site, page, account--whatever... And... ta-da! Here it is! My first ever blog site... and my first ever blog (yes, this crappy thing you are patiently reading at the moment **say cheese** ...can this be considered a blog???)

Anyway, the truth is, I just ran out of things to do in the internet and I recalled the conversation I had with my friends yesterday. One of them decided to make blogs again because she had recently seen her old blog site which made her reminisce the old times (I think...). And the other one started blogging (again?) because he has been recently employed (good for him! ToT) and the company blocked facebook, which gave him no choice to get rid of boredom but to blog. So it made me think that it is a great idea to make a blog, too!

I believe that making blogs has advantages. First, it makes me have something else to do aside from facebook-ing (and it's more productive and worthwhile!...while I'm still unemployed ToT reality hurts!). Next, it gives me a means of expressing and putting into words random thoughts and rants and blabs in mind (though I have a quite unorganized manner of expressing ideas and thoughts.. if you SEE what I mean.). And lastly, I can warm up my rusty mind and refresh my communication skills (grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, etc...). It's been quite a looong while since I made essays and stuffs. The last decent written piece I made was waaay back in high school. So... Please excuse my incoherent way of writing.

That's all for my first blog-ever! (Yes, in my 22 years of existence!) Until next time~ (free writing FTW! Too lazy to edit.)