SOMETIMES WORK can be boring. Sometimes we have to do something out of the ordinary to break the monotony. Sometimes, it really has to be different that you don’t know what reactions you’d get after doing it.

I don’t crack jokes in the classroom. That would be the last thing I would do, given my inadeptness in throwing punch lines. Joking is made extra difficult by my strict demeanor. People would always expect me to speak of serious stuff. So, my jokes always get unlikely responses.

It's an uphill climb for me right now. But I gotta keep going.

RECENTLY, MY boss frequently mentions crisis-management.  Now I can foresee a lot of belt tightening this year. It’s about time to do some strategic planning.

The Crisis

We know that times are rough. I’m sort of a breadwinner now. In addition to that, I am also enrolled in a graduate school program, which of course, requires me to spend a few more bucks on transportation and food allowance while in school. So, after the payday, only a very small portion of my salary is left for myself.  I don’t even have anything left to save.

AFTER TEACHING for over a year, I have realized that one of the most important tasks of a teacher is assessment. During our annual performance evaluation, I have always emphasized that I need more training on developing and using authentic assessment techniques as well as interpreting results and utilizing them in planning future learning activities.

About a month ago, I was sent to a Professional Development Program at the University of the Philippines-National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP-NISMED) for a training on the Backward Design Process in creating Unit Plans with focus on enduring understanding.

YouthVote with Ces Drilon in GenSan

I HAD to wake up before four o’clock this morning to be one of the first registrants of Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo, Ako ang Simula in General Santos City. That was a commitment I made as part of the Ayala Young Leaders Alliance, which is a partner of Youth Vote Philippines.

Even back in college, I have been part of our voters registration campaign and voters education program in South Cotabato. We worked with LGUs and encouraged the youth to register and to become intelligent voters.

I HAD an affair with Ladol Beach last summer. With my cellphone camera, I attempted to capture its natural beauty.

I’ve only been able to upload the pictures today so I posted them right away on my photo blog.

Ladol teems with life

Get to know Ladol on Digital Detours.

SCRAP HR 1109. Let Arroyo finish her term in 2010.

I’m not a lawyer. I have not studied the Philippine Constitution in depth, either. I cannot talk about the constitutionality of the constituent assembly but I believe that the House Resolution that paves the way for the Constituent Assembly is nothing but the administration’s show of strength as it holds the loyalty of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives. How else could they take advantage of the number of congressmen on their side than to use it to spur Charter Change that may extend Arroyo’s term?

MOST PEOPLE I know think that I am living a monastic life. They would tell me that I’ll get old too soon, thinking that my life revolves around work and home only. Some even think I’m a nerd. But they are wrong.

Even when I was a high school student, I would always visit my classmate, Honey. We would sit by her wide window and talk about the future, and sometimes, just about anything. I also had a sort of a gang back in high school and we’ll turn the classroom into a music hall.