I GREW up believing that I had the strictest father in the world. I had always been afraid of him because of the stories I have heard about how he imposed discipline to my older siblings.

But my father had never inflicted pain on me. No, not a bit.

I had very few memories with my father for the reason that, for the most part, we didn’t live under one roof. Raising a family of fourteen surely wasn’t easy. So, to make ends meet, he had to spend most of his time looking after our farm and our smith shop, which were our primary source of living. And since I had thirteen other siblings, I didn’t have a father-and-son-going-fishing moments with him, if you know what I mean.

A FEW moments ago, I had a brief conversation with one of our  graduates who is now a college freshman. Apparently, he said something that made me want to write this blog post.

Let me begin by saying, this kid was one of  those students who had helped even out the pavement to the guidance office. Not that he’s a troublemaker, teachers just keep an eye on students. Had he been enrolled in a bigger school, where his erratic behavior would have escaped the teachers’ attention, he should have been a hopeless case.

IN CELEBRATION of GandaEverSoMuch.com’s first blogoversary in August, blogger Orman Manansala is giving away prizes every week to lucky participants.

His first contest is the This-Is-Not-Just-For-Bloggers Contest, which, as the name suggests, is not a blog writing contest. It is open for those who have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, and other social networking site.

GandaEverSoMuch.com is probably one of the most influential blogs this year. The blog contains a collection of funny and sometimes emo posts about the author’s colorful life. You won’t get disappointed each time you visit the blog because you would always read something new as the author updates his blog everyday, whether he’s happy or sad, his posts won’t fail to make you smile.

TIME FLIES so fast. Tomorrow, my fourth school year at Alabel National Science High School will officially start. The first year students when I joined the faculty are now in their senior year. That also means I am three years older now. I don’t want to get older but I can’t do anything about that. What I can work on, instead, is how I can be productive this year.

What are the changes that will take place this year?

First, I was not assigned as a class adviser. Is that good news? I don’t think so.

LETTING GO of someone you love so deeply is probably the most painful decision to make, especially when you did all it takes just to keep her. But it is better to let go of her before she starts lying to you simply because she finds more happiness with another guy. They say, the measure of real love is when you become selfless and give up your own happiness just so that the one you love gets her own.

THE CHALLENGE with writing this post is how to narrate in a few words a series of fantastic adventures that took place in a weekend everybody wished to have never ended, and great moments spent with people I hoped to have had more time to share with each other. The First Mindanao Food Appreciation Tour and SoCCSKSarGen Summer Safari, which gathered bloggers from Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, Kidapawan City in General Santos City to meet the bloggers in the SoCCSKSarGen area and visit places of interest here, have been filled with exciting adventures and memories that will forever be cherished.

THE SUMMER break is about to end. I have almost given up on my hope that this year’s break could match the fun I had last year. But moments with fellow bloggers in Southern Mindanao have spiced up my would-have-been boring summer. And yes, just before the rainy season begins, my fellow bloggers in SoCCSKSarGen, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro will make sure that, again, I could say I had one great summer this year.

Tomorrow ( er, that’s later today I forgot it’s a few minutes after midnight already) at 8PM, bloggers will converge at Piyesta KTV Bar in Robinson’s Place GenSan for the SoCCSKSarGen Grand Eyeball. Here’s the poster designed by Rabsky: