It's the thought that counts. (:

Informal Theme # 10
Blog # 10

At last! Holidays are here. This is what I think everyone has been waiting for. The time to enjoy, the time to relax and the time to bond with the whole family, this is vacation. Students, workers and most of the people love breaks, of course, who doesn’t? I can feel my body trembling with exhilaration when hearing vacations. My 2010 Christmas vacation is just simple but it is so memorable.

December 18, Christmas vacation had started. My classmates and I were so happy chatting on facebook, talking about our plans for the vacation. My family and I went to church on Christmas day and after church, we ate together. We spent the rest of the day at the house of my auntie. Everything went simple, gift-giving, eating, and thanks-giving. Me, I spent some of my time with my dearest friends. We just eat and eat and eat! Although it’s simple, all of us were happy that day.

For me, my Christmas vacation is simply amazing. It’s amazing because although we didn’t go somewhere far or we didn’t go out of town; I felt the happiness in me. I felt complete spending all of the days with my family and friends. Everyday there are plans, new plans, some plans were pursued, and some were not. I remember one day my friends and I went to a mall to watch a movie. We spent half of the day at the mall, walking around, taking pictures, and buying some things. We were so happy that time that we forgot the time! We went home late but we’re not scolded because they know that we can handle it.

Of course, I cannot forget the projects at school. I’m doing it every time the plans were not pursued! Haha. I’m spending my time doing it in my bedroom. This is my most hated part of the vacation! :P Because sometimes I feel lazy to do my tasks! But, although I hate doing projects at vacation, I still need to finish it. Even though it’s not obvious, I love school (sometimes) haha!

I’m always strolling somewhere with my friends during the vacation. We’re always eating which made me so fat already! My friends and I really love eating and strolling. We don’t have much money to go somewhere far but we’re still enjoying because we’re doing everything with a smile on our faces. We always have joke times and drama times. No one is letting others down. We always help each other.

Christmas vacation has ended and I learned and discovered new things. In totality, my Christmas vacation was awesome! It’s awesome but it’s simple. :] New Year is coming and I’m gonna have a new year’s resolution! Wie!! Happy New Year!! :D 

Good Times. :]

Informal Theme # 9
Blog # 9

Christmas party is an integral part of the celebration of Christmas. We usually do this at home, school, parks, and others. For me, school Christmas party is so cool. It’s not just the time that there are no exams, quizzes and classes in the room, but it’s actually the last day of the year in school! Yay! I can feel the excitement all over my body whenever I can here parties. This is the day to spend with my classmates and friends in the campus. I’ll see them next year already so every second should be worthy!

Last December 17, we had our school Christmas party. All of the people in the campus are wearing a big smile on their faces and I can feel that they’re so excited for the party. All of us are in our cool outfits. We also brought our costumes for the party after lunch. I brought my cowgirl costume but my adviser told me to use the Virgin Mary costume, so I became the Virgin Mary and Joseph was Emman. In the morning, we had our year level party. There are lots of games and it’s by section. We won on one game and we’re so happy! I enjoyed it although I wasn’t able to join any of the games. After the games, we ate in each of our rooms. In our section, we had our exchange gift while eating. We are all so pleased with the gifts we had received. Everyone enjoyed eating while listening to the music.

In the afternoon, we had the school level party. Each section walked on the court showing off their costumes. My costume was Virgin Mary. After showing the costumes, each section had a presentation. Our section sang and then danced. Although we’re not prepared, it was beautiful because we’re united! :] After the presentations, I thought there’ll be games because they said so but there’s none. I felt that some students got disappointed like me. I’ve been waiting for the games that I thought I’ll enjoy but there’s none. So, the students just partied there in the middle of the court. My classmates and I went there to dance and enjoy. We took pictures of us there as a remembrance. I enjoyed that day and I think everyone did.

At last, the party was done. Everyone has smile on their faces. Merry Christmas to everyone! But remember; don’t forget the reason why we are celebrating this. Don’t forget about Him, the creator. Thank Him for everything He has done to us. :] 

"Isang Panaginip na Fili"

Informal Theme # 8
  Blog # 8

“Isang Panaginip na Fili” is like an imaginary scenario. Pepe Rizal is in Paris and the year is 1891. He’s trying to finish his “El Filibusterismo”. Tunying Ibanez, a rakish illustrado who is too busy having a good time to even know who his roommate is. As Rizal tries to finish the novel, Tunying is drawn into the plot and begins to act out the character of Simoun, the evil jeweler plotting to throw society into chaos.
         

We watched the play, “Isang Panaginip na Fili”, at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City last December 12, 2010. The play was good. The voice quality of the performers is good, loud enough to be heard in the whole theater. They delivered their lines very well. You can see that they have really mastered their scripts. The performers showed a great showmanship. They have portrayed the characters they are playing very well. The lines were clear; the moves are good and full of emotions. The play touched the hearts of the audiences.

         

The director, Floy Quintos, played a very big role in the making of the play. He put the appropriate person to each of the characters. Each performer was really prepared and they really know what they are doing. I can say that they have internalized their lines before showing it. Their emotions made the play more amazing.

The production of the play was really nice. The stage was appropriately decorated. They put the right designs in each scene of the play. The lightings made it more interesting. In every scene, there’s a change in lights. The props were properly prepared too. The make-ups and clothes if the performers were fitted to the characters each one is performing. The sounds also made the play more entertaining. The sound is shifting every time the scene and emotion is changing. The singing voice of the performers adds also to the good quality of their sound. In totality, the play amazed me. Two thumbs up! 

Stunned by you. :)

Informal Theme #7
Blog #7

      

          Ibong Adarna is a popular folktale in the Philippines. It is a very beautiful bird which possesses magical powers. Its songs have healing powers that cause anyone who hears it to fall into a deep sleep and its feces can turn things to stone. The story was about the King of Berbania, Fernando, become ill. Hearing Ibong Adarna sing was the only thing that can cure the King. The King had 3 sons, Pedro, Diego, and Juan. He loves Juan so much because Juan was his favorite. Don Pedro tried to find Ibong Adarna but he failed to do it. Don Diego followed his brother, Don Pedro, and thinks that he’ll be able to find Ibong Adaran, but, like his brother, he failed. The third one who tried was the youngest son, Don Juan. He found the Ibong Adarna and was able to get it with the help of an ermitanyo. When he heard it sing, he used the things that the ermitanyo have given him.

          We watched the play of Ibong Adarna at Trece Martirez gymnasium last December 3. I can say that the actors and actresses have really mastered their scripts and speeches. They have delivered it very well. They were also able to portray the characters they are playing properly. The shifting of the scenes is very nice and clean. The play doesn’t compose of dialogues only, they have dances and songs which made it more interesting to watch. The voices of the performers, with the help of the microphones, were loud enough to be heard in the gymnasium.

          Their production was amazing. Their designs were appropriate in each scene. The props they have used were all good. The play became more entertaining because of the music they have used. They have musicians which plays lively. It adds to the entertaining factor of the play. The costumes they have used were appropriate to each of the character they are portraying. The make-ups of the performers were also good that it can be seen in the whole gymnasium. For me, the play was incredible! All of us really enjoyed watching it. (: 

Don't Leave High School Without...

Informal Theme # 6
Blog # 6 

            Buying something you’ve been saving for! Be the master of your own finances by putting aside some cash weekly for a big purchase at the end of the school year! Think of something you’re really dying to buy then use the money you have saved to buy that stuff you want. Set a realistic minimum amount you can save every week from your allowance. You can also tell your parents about your plan, who knows, maybe your discipline might actually earn something and your parents may help you, they might volunteer to finance a percentage of your expenses. After saving, go and reap the rewards of your hard work and get your goal!

            Preserving your memories! In the old days, folks had time capsules and scrapbooks to preserve all the events that take place over a year. Times are more high tech now and there are dozens of ways to make sure every school year goes down the history books right! Try to take videos of your happy and funny moments you have spent with your friends. You can upload it somewhere like YouTube or make a compilation of those videos. Then, try to watch it with your friends. It’s like reminiscing the past. That would be awesome!

            Being a risk taker! Even good girls go bad every once in a while. Just because you’re taught to follow the rules, that doesn’t mean you can’t try your hands at playing hooky even just once! After all, high school wouldn’t be a complete experience without this quintessential rite of passage. But remember, don’t take things too far of course, you might fall to something awful! Just try to do something like sneaky and creepy, but not too much. Try it once, it might be cool! 

Wake Up Right!

Informal Theme # 5
Blog # 5

Sleeping is the best kind of rest anyone could do. We feel a bit dizzy when we got no sleep. We are required to sleep at least 8 hours a day. In every task that we are going to do, we should be that active or our minds are already set so we could think well.  After sleeping, it’s time to wake up, of course! So, let’s wake up right!

The key to waking up on the right side of the bed is getting to sleep properly. It’s not just about laying down the bed and closing your eyes. Good sleep will result to a high quality rest. These are some tips on how to wake up right!

The first one is to be consistent in the time of waking up. Waking up the same time every morning even on weekends will help your body adjust. You’ll be use to it. You can set also the mood of your sleeping. If your senses are stimulated right before bedtime, chances are your sleep will be shallow. Try to switch off the lights, relax, and try to listen to some music like lullabies at least thirty minutes before hitting the sack. In the middle of our sleeping time, sometimes we experience bathroom breaks. Don’t sacrifice your water intake, but try to pace things so you’re not waking up every few minutes just to pee.  You should use your bed just for sleeping and not with other stuffs. When you use your bed just for your sleep, your brain associates it with rest right away, upping the chances that you’ll get a good night‘s sleep.

The last thing should all remember before sleeping is not to worry. Constantly worrying about being an insomniac is sure to affect the quality of your sleep. If you’re still wide awake after 15 minutes of going to bed, get up for a while and do something else. Go back to bed once you feel sleepy or tired.

Following these tips can make your sleeping time better. Feel good and wake up right! (: 

The Divine Comedy

Informal Theme # 4
Blog # 4

The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri. It is composed of 14, 233 lines and it is divided into three canticas: Inferno, Purgaotio, and Paradiso, each consisting of 33 cantos. Inferno means hell, Purgatorio means purgatory, and Paradiso means heaven. At a deeper level, it represents allegorically the soul’s journey towards God. The poem tells Dante’s journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante’s ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. Dante was part of the Guelphs, White Guelphs, who in general favored the Papacy over the Holy Roman Emperor. In Hell and Purgatory, Dante shares in the sin and the penitence respectively. The last word in each of the three parts of the Divine Comedy is stelle, “stars”.

Divine Comedy has a great impact to me. It affects me so much. It’s like I’m afraid to commit mistakes for the reason that I might go to hell and experience those bloody punishments. I’m watching every action I’ll do and quickly asking for forgiveness if I have done something wrong. I’m always praying to God, not to wish, but to thank Him in everything He’s doing and giving to me.  This Divine Comedy inspires me a lot, to do good to other people, to help them and share all my blessings to them. We all don’t know what would be our afterlife. We don’t know where we will go. We don’t know what will happen to us after death. So, better do your best in everything because you’ll not know when God will get your life back. Do good things to other people if you want them to do the same.