Cae's Domestic Tour Sept. 18-20, 2011
Cebu-Bohol
When it comes to writing stories from life's natural everyday situations, no one does it better than The Good Girl. Now she is telling all...touching, true-to-life, heartwarming tales that tell the world about her life, love, and lessons learned, with her usual delightful brand of humor and drama. Follow me @therealgoodgirl (Twitter) @talesofthegoodgirl (Instagram)
Showing posts with label ustcthm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ustcthm. Show all posts
Sunday, October 9, 2011
I think Caitlin looks like her mom, am I right or what? (Album 2)
Cae's Domestic Tour Sept. 18-20, 2011
Cebu-Bohol
I think Caitlin looks like her mom, am I right or what?
Cae's domestic tour (Sept 18-20, 2011)
Cebu-Bohol
Monday, July 4, 2011
My Daughter the “Dormer”
A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart. ~Author Unknown
(Of course, there’s no such word. By “dormer,” I'm referring to a dorm resident, or a person staying / living in a dormitory.)
I remember when our eldest sibling, Ate, entered college (FEU) and my parents decided she would stay in my aunt’s apartment in Galas, QC. She has always been my roommate and although we were 4 years apart, we were close to each other. We didn’t have a landline then, and for the first few nights and weeks, I would call her up using a payphone in the nearest sari-sari store, and end up crying and missing her so.
And then it was my turn. Part of my parents’ plan (that’s why they chose UST over UPLB) was for me to stay with my sister. So that they won’t have to travel all the way from Los Baños to QC each time they would make us hatid. It was more convenient and they felt more comfortable with the set-up, knowing we were together.
I didn’t realize that at that time, I was giving them a heartache or that I was breaking their heart. To me, it was the most practical thing to do. I knew myself, I could take care of myself, I was capable of doing household chores, and I knew how to commute. But for parents, those could never be enough, I learned. I am learning that now.
My daughter is now living in a dorm. It’s a new dormitory, a street away from UST. It’s a four-person room, but currently she is sharing it with Shae, her schoolmate since Grade One and a fellow CTHM sophomore. We wouldn’t have allowed her if it she weren’t with Shae (and Shae’s parents maintain the same stance). Shae’s mom and I have been acquaintances since the girls' grade school days, when we would both stay in the parents’ waiting area in Colegio San Agustin – Biñan. Yes, that’s how far we go back.
Cae is independent, and she is used to sleep-overs. My aunts would take turns borrowing her from us when she was two or three. She is a smart kid, but I must say, we are very protective of her. All through her grade school and high school life, she was hatid-sundo by a trusted tricycle service. She wasn’t allowed to commute and if she did take public transpo, we were uber panicky and worried. When she studied at UST, that was the only time she commuted big-time. And we were proud of her learning how to ride the MRT or LRT and even the PNR on her own. When she started feeling the pains and challenges of commuting from our place to UST and vice versa, she complained and suggested dorm-living. But I guess we weren’t ready then. We asked her to try it out for the rest of her freshman year and then who knows, things might change. And they did.
With the 2-hour travel time, plus traffic, plus rains and floods, she was such a pity coming home wet with muddy shoes, kinakaladkad ang sarili while walking, plastado na sa gabi, and with a body brace at that. She asked that we revisit the idea of dorm-living and this time, we were cooperative. She prepared a PowerPoint presentation, with a matrix of pros and cons, even if that was just a formality. At the back of our minds, we knew we were giving in.
It is a big change. For seventeen years, she was just in the next room. But I guess, we have to go with the flow. Alex is stricter though, laying down the rules - No this, no that. Do this, do that. There were so many reminders. And it’s more expensive. Yet we are somehow comforted that she can enjoy a few more winks (she usually wakes up at 4am). She can even take a shower after her Monday AM PE class and put on her brace comfortably. Her last class ends at 7pm and she can still be “home” early. When it rains, she doesn’t have to take on the downpour, fight it out with other commuters, and take the risk of getting sick and yes, ruining her shoes.
I hope she’ll be fine. I know she’ll be ok. Because I am missing her already.
(Of course, there’s no such word. By “dormer,” I'm referring to a dorm resident, or a person staying / living in a dormitory.)
I remember when our eldest sibling, Ate, entered college (FEU) and my parents decided she would stay in my aunt’s apartment in Galas, QC. She has always been my roommate and although we were 4 years apart, we were close to each other. We didn’t have a landline then, and for the first few nights and weeks, I would call her up using a payphone in the nearest sari-sari store, and end up crying and missing her so.
And then it was my turn. Part of my parents’ plan (that’s why they chose UST over UPLB) was for me to stay with my sister. So that they won’t have to travel all the way from Los Baños to QC each time they would make us hatid. It was more convenient and they felt more comfortable with the set-up, knowing we were together.
I didn’t realize that at that time, I was giving them a heartache or that I was breaking their heart. To me, it was the most practical thing to do. I knew myself, I could take care of myself, I was capable of doing household chores, and I knew how to commute. But for parents, those could never be enough, I learned. I am learning that now.
My daughter is now living in a dorm. It’s a new dormitory, a street away from UST. It’s a four-person room, but currently she is sharing it with Shae, her schoolmate since Grade One and a fellow CTHM sophomore. We wouldn’t have allowed her if it she weren’t with Shae (and Shae’s parents maintain the same stance). Shae’s mom and I have been acquaintances since the girls' grade school days, when we would both stay in the parents’ waiting area in Colegio San Agustin – Biñan. Yes, that’s how far we go back.
Cae is independent, and she is used to sleep-overs. My aunts would take turns borrowing her from us when she was two or three. She is a smart kid, but I must say, we are very protective of her. All through her grade school and high school life, she was hatid-sundo by a trusted tricycle service. She wasn’t allowed to commute and if she did take public transpo, we were uber panicky and worried. When she studied at UST, that was the only time she commuted big-time. And we were proud of her learning how to ride the MRT or LRT and even the PNR on her own. When she started feeling the pains and challenges of commuting from our place to UST and vice versa, she complained and suggested dorm-living. But I guess we weren’t ready then. We asked her to try it out for the rest of her freshman year and then who knows, things might change. And they did.
With the 2-hour travel time, plus traffic, plus rains and floods, she was such a pity coming home wet with muddy shoes, kinakaladkad ang sarili while walking, plastado na sa gabi, and with a body brace at that. She asked that we revisit the idea of dorm-living and this time, we were cooperative. She prepared a PowerPoint presentation, with a matrix of pros and cons, even if that was just a formality. At the back of our minds, we knew we were giving in.
It is a big change. For seventeen years, she was just in the next room. But I guess, we have to go with the flow. Alex is stricter though, laying down the rules - No this, no that. Do this, do that. There were so many reminders. And it’s more expensive. Yet we are somehow comforted that she can enjoy a few more winks (she usually wakes up at 4am). She can even take a shower after her Monday AM PE class and put on her brace comfortably. Her last class ends at 7pm and she can still be “home” early. When it rains, she doesn’t have to take on the downpour, fight it out with other commuters, and take the risk of getting sick and yes, ruining her shoes.
I hope she’ll be fine. I know she’ll be ok. Because I am missing her already.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Thursday, July 1, 2010
To Love Again
AKO'Y ISANG TOMASINOby Gerardo M. de Leon
Vocal: Sam Velarde
Piano: Darryl Paloay
Verse 1
Nalagpasan mo ang mga pagsubok
Di mabilang na mga bagyo
Kahit ilang baha man ang danasin
Kasaysayan mo'y hindi kayang anurin
Verse 2
Ang 'yong sahig, dingding, mga pintuan
Saksi sa yong dakilang nakaraan
Tinamnan ng tama puso't isipan
Mga bayaning sa silong mo ay nanahan
Chorus
Nag-iisa ka lang
Pinagpalang Pamantasan
Apat na siglo nang nagtuturo
sa kabataan
Pagmamahal sa Diyos,
Karunungang may dangal
Ako'y nagagalak matawag na
Isang Tomasino!
Verse 3
Ang ngalan mo'y hindi nadudungisan
Ilan mang siglo pa ang magdaan
Dahil ika'y Kanyang iniingatan
Tunay kang binasbasang paaralan
Chorus
Nag-iisa ka lang
Pinagpalang Pamantasan
Apat na siglo nang nagtuturo
sa kabataan
Pagmamahal sa Diyos,
Karunungang may dangal
Ako'y nagagalak matawag na
Isang Tomasino!
Coda
Nagsisilbi sa kapwa
Naglilingkod sa bayan
Nagmamahal sa Diyos
May karunungan, may dangal
Ako'y nagagalak
Ako'y isang Tomasino!
Just this afternoon, I attended the orientation for Freshmen Travel Management students and parents of UST-CTHM. I actually went out of my way to be there. I was telling Alex, “May makakapunta kaya dito?” as it was held on a weekday and at one o’ clock in the afternoon.
Surprisingly the auditorium was jam-packed. I couldn’t help but burst with pride when Rev. Fr. Romulo Rodriguez O.P., JCD, the Regent, asked if anyone of us graduated from UST. I think there were only 3 or 4 of us who stood up. Even though it was a different college, it still felt like a homecoming to me. Most of the administrators and faculty members were Thomasians like me.
Never mind if it was a two-hour trip from San Pedro. I was glad to be there. When they played the UST Quadricentennial Song and the UST Hymn one after the other, I was almost teary-eyed. As I introduced myself to the College Secretary, Atty. Gezzez Giezi G. Granado (a UST BS Tourism graduate who claims he initially wanted to be a flight attendant but took up Law instead) and to Mr. Fredeswindo Medina, the Chairperson of the Travel Management Program, I told them, “Nabubuhay po ang Thomasian spirit ko.”
No eklavu, no chorva. It is true. On our way home, I was happily narrating to Alex the almost-four hour experience inside the Albertus Magnus Bldg. (that’s Educ building to the “older” Thomasians) auditorium. Now I understand why some parents prefer to enroll their children to their alma mater. It’s really like coming home, walang mapagsidlan ng tuwa, pagmamalaki, at pagmamahal. Lalo na siguro kung nag-AB si Cae.
Napakasarap maging Tomasino. I love you USTe.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
My Girl’s Gonna’ Growl Soon
Just this afternoon, I got a text from my good friend Len that Cae passed her interview and made it to the UST College of Tourism and Hospitality Management (UST-CTHM). After a quick prayer, I texted Alex and Cae and my sisters the good news (thanks so much, Lenski!).
Yes, Cae will be a Thomasian - just like us.
Contrary to what others might think (or accuse us), Alex and I did not impose our alma mater on Cae. When she was not manifesting any inclination to AB, our beloved course, we did not insist on UST. Cae was the one who chose her course and university, although it was I who suggested that she also try her luck at UP, wala lang. Initially, she was setting her sight on DLSU-Taft (my youngest sister’s alma mater), but changed her mind when she set foot on USTe. I don’t remember who said it, if it was Alex or her, but indeed, mas bagay ang USTe sa kanya, at sa personality niya.
Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was written in the stars. Maybe home is really where the heart is.
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