First---Meeting and Impression - A Poem from my Collection

First---Meeting and Impression

An opinion,
A comment or how you call it.
It was made
When I saw you.
The moment was perfect.
Even if it was the first.
Your eyes gave
An impression I was hoping
To be real.
The beauty you possess
Your eyes could tell it all.
No matter how I try
To just stop looking
You make me look again.
I was startled
When our eyes met
It was so sudden.
I was out of words.
But then, you made
That feeling fade
With just a smile
From your innocent face.
I can see the simplicity
The happiness that was
Within you who was there
I tried to call your name
But I started to sweat
I tried to hide it
Good thing I had a handkerchief.
Then you came nearer to me
And said something
"You're Sim, right?"
I did not know what to do.
Or, was I just shocked.
I said, "Yes, I am."
And that's how it all began.

Car Race - A Poem from my Collection

Car Race

The line was straight
Engines were hot
Racers in suits
Ready for the start.

The gunshot sounded
Echoed in each ear
The mark of the beginning
Of a race for fame.

Wheels screeching, loud and smooth
Smoke belching at every curve
Turning right, then,
Turning left.

With the crowd screaming
With heartbeats felt
No second is wasted
By both viewers and racers.

The lead racer waved
People were watching with awe
It gave the crowd
The scene they expected.

The second racer tried to overtake
A move that really made
The crowd wild
Like they never did.

The third did something
That changed the course of the race
He crashed on the side
The viewers were sad.

The race was coming to an end
With only two almost
Tail by tail
Head to head.

The last lap has finally
Come with perspiration
Until one among the racers
Emerged as he won.

The winner was announced
Guess who?
First was the first
Second was the second.

Demo...Demonstration or Demolition?

just this week, i was able to experience so many things, i'm not really sure i should be happy with all of them. i guess, i must be happy with one of them.
our group succeeded in our group demonstration. it's a good thing we were the first group to present. we did not anymore have any conflict with the time.
it just makes me sad to remember the demonstration of the group who had theirs last thursday. they did their demo within thirty minutes. i think it was even shorter than thirty. we had ours for almost an hour, we even went a little beyond one hour.
malas sa group kay na-limit ilang time kay gipugos sila ni sir nga mob-on ilang demo. mura nuon og demolition of their demo ang nahitabo. sayang.

How Fast Things Were Last Week - Days 7 and 8

When i woke up on that morning, i realized that this was the last day when the entire group will be together. how sad.
i knew that this day will be sort of sad because others will leave ahead of us. how sad again.
when i rose from my bed, i tried to look for my things and tried to fix some of them so that i will be able to minimize the things to be fixed and arranged prior to my leaving. i looked for the copies of the selections, the other things including my laundry, and others and arranged all of them in my bed so that i can save much time later. Glenn was also doing the same thing.
we were told the day before that for this day, we will be having a fellowship in the ECOPARK of the University of St. La Salle. i was excited for that fellowship because i would have not been a part of that if i did not change my mind. my first plan was to leave at 2 a.m. of the same day. but, Glenn told me and i totally agreed with him that if i will not join in the fellowship, then i have not fully completed my stay together with the fellows. so, it was a good decision of staying until the next day, which was Sunday.
we still had our breakfast at the same time, 7 a.m. when i went into the hall, i saw the other fellows and they were talking about the earthquake that struck BK the other night. i was not able to relate to what they were saying because we, the ones who stayed at the dining hall that night, were not able to feel it. hmmmmm.
i was glad that Rhodge went to the hall minutes after i came in. we both can talk about the things that our group did that night. we shared how the others got drunk. hehe
i saw Gino from the conference hall and he also went into the dining hall minutes after. we had a very nice breakfast, yet, it was our last one. the atmosphere has changed. i guess that was because we knew that there were already others who will be leaving.
after breakfast, we all went back to our respective rooms to prepare for the fellowship. but, we had enough time to prepare so we made some chatting along the corridors of BK.
after minutes of chatting, our attention was called by one of the facilitators, telling us that we are about to leave for ECOPARK. however, the others were not yet out of their rooms, so we knocked on their doors to find out whether they were coming or not. i'm particularly talking about Arbeen and Gian. they did not go to the dining hall for breakfast so we were curious if they would come or not. after many times of knocking, they opened up their door and they made a confirmation that they would come. so, we were already set for the tour.
we rode on a white van owned by the school. all sixteen fellows made it inside the van even if it was a little small to accommodate all of us but we had managed. it's just so unfortunate for some who had an uncomfortable position in the van. they could have decided to go the facilitator's car, but they refused and decided to stay with us. that's the consequence, i guess.
we traveled for almost thirty minutes or more. we saw lots and lots of sugar cane along the way. left and right, sugar cane was everywhere.
we reached our destination at last. we got out of the van and felt very happy to be in a very nice place as such. the view was amazing. like, totally amazing. the only problem was that, it was really hot. like, very hot. yet, there were people who can afford to take a swim in the swimming pool, since the park has a pool, both for kids and adults. i admire those who had the perseverance to bear the heat of the sun. it was really hot that time.
our facilitator told us that there will be someone who would give us a tour around the place. we will be walking around the park, from one spot going to the next.
after disembarking from the van and making some preparations, we moved from the building where we were supposed to eat. we found some hammocks in the nearby trees. everyone raced to have a place in those hammocks. i reached to one and the feeling was good. it's been so long since i was able to sit in one of those since the time my father bought one for us when i was still young. it reminded me of my childhood days...char(drama)
after spending some time in those hammocks, we moved to another place. it was a building actually. the building contained some informative materials. there were images of different animals and some other things that can be found in a forest. amazing! the experience was amazing!
after the building, we went to the most worth-while area of the park...the playground.
we felt like we were kids(actually, i was still a kid-child at that time because i was still 18) because we tried almost everything in that playground. it was fun. and there was this bridge where we took some pictures of us. the bridge(hanging) was supposed to carry not more that 7 or 8 adults, but we exceeded. haha
after spending a few minutes in the bridge, we went down and went to other areas of the playground. the view-place was great indeed.
there were those who played in the swing. Rhodge and Alyza really did have a great time in the swing. hehe
after staying in the playground for quite a while, we were told to go back to the same area where we will be having our lunch. and so, we did.
when we reached the place, we had some snacks courtesy of La Salle. the delicacies given to us were all Bacolod specialties. and everything tasted good, especially the piaya. (piaya addict)
there were also others who decided to have a swim in the pool. they were preparing themselves while the rest of us were talking among each other. while talking, we were also eating some snacks. too bad for those who were swimming. they had only a few of their share because we ate most of them. hehe
we had lunch earlier. at the same time, we had it even if those who decided to swim were not yet done swimming.
we had a good lunch. roasted pork belly, i think. basta, masarap na masarap ang pagkain.
i was with Gian in another table and we had fun talking about the ladies that were passing by. we even made a joke that we will just wait for the kids who were swimming in the kids area when they will grow up. imagine how long it will take. hmmmm. (stupid idea of Sim and Gian)
after spending some time for lunch, i stood up and placed my paper plate in the trash bin and washed my hands.
i took a rest for a short while. and, i stayed with my co-fellows who were chatting about different things. then, they suddenly went to a topic that i never expected to be brought up at that time.
Gian even gave, or should i say, showed Glenn something that definitely caught Glenn's attention. even Paul was attracted to that something. we were just making fun of the two and the rests who participated. Gian was the real reason for that. if he had not shown those, then, it would had never been raised as a major issue within the fellows. hahaha
minutes later, those who were in the pool came back. they took their lunch after washing up.
we continued on our discussions until it was time for us to go back to University of St. La Salle for our tour in their museum. and so, we fixed some things and went our way back to La Salle.


(to be continued...)

How Fast Things Were Last Week - Day 6

This day gave us all a sort of relief because it will be the last day of our sessions. there was only one work to be discussed this day.
i woke up a little late because we had a good time the night before. we drank so much and we got "sabog".
after waking up, i went to the bathroom to freshen myself up. after taking a bath, i went to the dining hall. this time, me and my roommate, Glenn, went together to the hall.
we had breakfast together with the other fellows. the panelists were also there.
after having a very nice breakfast, we all went back to our respective rooms. i guess we did the same thing. take a little rest before going to the conference hall for the final session of the week.
after having another time for resting, i stood on my feet and prepared myself for the last work to be discussed.
it's a good thing that the collection had a translation. it was a great help for all of us.
we went to the conference hall and saw the other fellows also preparing for the last session.
we were so excited for it was the last collection. hehe
the discussion started and we were so eager to listen to the comments from the panelists and from the fellows.
at the end, the author was revealed. it was very much obvious who was the author because he was the only one left whose identity has not been revealed yet.
then he also made some comments of his own work. i knew it. the same thing that he did on wednesday when he got drank(?) last tuesday night. he can make comments after having a dose of some liquor. hehe. nice one, Elsed.
after the session, we all gave ourselves a round of applause for a job well done. we made it all. we had a great time as well. we were so happy.
before having a break, we were told about the culminating activity that wil follow after our lunch.
we, the fellows, sort of looked at each other because we have not yet finalized our plan about the thing that we were supposed to do.
we had our snacks, and at the same time, we, the fellows, had a short meeting about the program.
after the short break, we had a workshop synthesis.
each fellow was given the chance to say something about the experiences, the comments, and anything that he/she would like to express. each fellow had his/her own thing.
as for myself, i simply expressed my greatest appreciation for being a part of the workshop even if it was still my first time write something(poems) and even submit them as entries for a workshop. i was happy when i said those. everyone was happy at the end. it was also something from the workshop that i would definitely remember forever.
after the enjoyable workshop synthesis, we took our lunch. ahw, hindi pa pala. nagmeet ulit kami ng group namin. kaming mga fellows to finalize everything.
we still had thirty minutes(i remember it right this time) before our eating our lunch.we met and planned things thoroughly. i guess it was a thorough plan. we had a funny time planning. it was full of laughter because Paul and I told them what we had noticed about the panelists. they even accused us both of just taking notes of the panelists habits and mannerisms during the entire week. we can't help but notice them, in mine and paul's case.
after planning, we had lunch.
the food was still good. we still never ran out of water because the water man(guardian) would never leave his eyes from our glasses. amazing!
after lunch, we continued planning. at almost quarter to two, we started with the culminating program.
we were first to present our presentation and i gave an overview of what will the fellows do. for sure, the panelists had an idea of what will the presentation of the fellows be after they heard the words that i said.
and so, the impersonation started.
everyone was laughing. and our goal was to make the panelists laugh and enjoy. and in that part, i guess, we succeeded. (applause)
Rhodge impersonated Sir John.
Alyza impersonated Dr. Elsie.
Shane impersonated Dr. Dinah.
Arbeen impersonated Ma'am Bevz.
Gian impersonated Dr. Tan.
Jordan impersonated Dr. DM.
all the actors were good, includind some who we decided to be fellows still during the impersonation. their task was to give the most negative comments about the works(the result of the rengga made at the cakehouse).
it was really fun. i, myself, was laughing the entire time while looking at the fellows trying to impersonate the panelists, especially Rhodge. he was a lot like Sir John. as a result, we had made our own AguaBendita of the workshop.. the two of them. hehehe
after our successful inpersonation, the panelists also had their turn. they were giving special awards to the fellows based on how things turned out during the entire week.
there were lots of awards.
i was awarded with the Johnson's and Johnson's Child at Heart Award. maybe, this is because of my poem Pamulbos, Doy!. hmmmmmpf...hehehhe
we had a great time.
after that, we were told that we will be having a tour around some spots in Bacolod, particularly in The Ruins.
after the activity, we went back to our rooms and left our things. we had ourselves ready for the tour.
minutes later, we were told that we can already leave and so we did.
and so, we rode on the bus that would help us reach our destinations.
it was a thirty-minute ride, i guess. then we reached the Ruins. the view was really amazing. as Ma'am Bevs would say it, "Awesome!".
some fellows took lots and lots of pictures.
we enjoyed our few moments of stay in the place.
we also had a tour in the place. we had a curator who had a sense of humor. he made six jokes that included his life and the life of the owner of the house. we really fell for his jokes. we can't help it.
after a few minutes, we were told that we should get going to our next destination, one that is still to be seen outside the city of Bacolod. we went to Silay.
we again traveled for more or less thirty minutes.
and finally we arrived at Bahay Negresen. i think that was the name of the place.
it was an ancestral house. a very nice one. most of the things inside were antique, while others are donated by rich people as part of the collection in that house. amazing!
upon arrival, we were told that the big group will be divided into little groups wince there are three curators for this trip inside the house. and so, we divided ourselves into three, or i think, it was only into two.
there are many in our group. we had a male curator who was good in using the English language. i did not really pay much attention at first to the way he speaks English. i thought that i might just be hearing too much stuff, thus, making his English good. however, after a few minutes, i realized that it was for real. he was good at it.
i was not able to stop myself and so i asked him as to how he became so good with the language. i even asked him if he was from Bacolod or was he studying in another country. to my surprise, he told me that he was a native of Bacolod. i was shocked. i did not believe it at first. imagine? but then, it came into my mind, he might have been good at it because it has been his job from the very first place. he has been a curator all along, so he must master the use of the English language.
we toured around the house, from the first floor, to the second floor and even to the basement and to the shop.
everything was amazing.
others took some pictures while we took the time to pose for them. hehe
after the tour, we went to the Negros Showroom, the place where the most fabulous products of Negros are placed for the public to buy and be interested in. we bought some things; food for me, piaya and some cookies. after that, we took a group picture inside the store.
we then went on our way to the Chicken House(Hauz).
we were given a treat by the organizers to the Bacolod Inasal, something we should taste before going back to our own places in the Philippines.
we had dinner in the same food house. the dinner was also great. was eating, we were at the same time planning on how we can make our last night more memorable, in other words, another tagay session and that we should all get totally sabog. like sabog na sabog.
after dinner, we were told that we can go anywhere we would want.
we decided to have a videoke anywhere, and so we asked for the nearest videoke house. we were told by one of the teachers that the bus driver will bring us to that place and then he can drop us there. it did happen.
however, when we reached the place, all the rooms were full, and the bus was already gone because the other fellows decided to just go back to BK to take a rest. we were forced to walk the streets of Bacolod, looking for another videoke house. to our dismay, we found none.
and so, we decided to go back to BK as well to call it a night. but, another unexpected thing happened.
while riding on the bus, the group suddenly planned to just buy a liquor outside the campus and secreatly bring in inside the dining hall where we will have the drinking session. i sort of agreed to that plan.
we reached our destination and jordan, gian and roselle were the ones who bought the necessary things for the special session.
i, together with other fellows, went back to our rooms. i took a bath to get rid of the dusts(char) in my body. hehe
after taking a bath, i noticed that Glenn was already falling asleep. he was not anymore interested to join the session. i don't know why.
after taking a bath, i went to teh dining hall to see if the others were also there. i found Noel outside the hall, having a Call Center duty(night shift). he was talking to someone in his phone. wonder who that was.
as i got inside the hall, i saw Gian and Roselle with two plastic bags. the first one had drinks and the other had cubes of ice.
then we played a card game. 1-2-3 Pass. the game was very interesting because i did not yet lose. and had not yet drank anything because the consequence of losing is drinking a glass of the Bar, with Pepsi as the chaser.
Roselle, Gian, Jordan, Rhodge and Alyza, who came minutes after, were the only ones who were drinking and drinking and i had fun looking at them drink. ahehehe
not until Roselle forced me to drink, i was able to drink. and it marked the downfall of Sim. i lost the next game.
Gian was making fun of me. he moved his hand slowly and i did not think that he already won. as a result, i was the last one who had his hand on the table. grrrrrrrr.
and so we continued with the game. drink-play-drink-play. that's how it was.
moments later, Gino came down to the hall and joined us. he was really good in placing pressure to the other players, especially to me, because he has the tendency to scream, as if he was going to lose the game, and eventually, he lost from time to time. there was even a moment when an earthquake was felt by the other fellows in the second floor. we did not notice it because we had so much fun and so we were able to ignore what was happening with our environment. "weird"
then they went to another card game. Pusoy-Dos, as they call it.
i tried to play it but i really did not have a full grasp of the game. so, i lost. again, i was able to drink, but this time with Tanduay. how harsh of them to make me drink Tanduay even if i was the youngest among the group during that night.
minutes later, we decided to call it a night and we went to our rooms. we stood on our feet and went on our way.
we said our good nights to each other and went inside our rooms.
i went immediately to bed and went fast asleep.
this day was April 30, 2010.
How fast things were last week.

How Fast Things Were Last Week - Day 5

i woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning. i did not know why. i went back to sleep. for the seond time, i woke up at an earlier time, 4 am. grabeh!!!!
when i woke up at that time, my heart was beating very fast. maybe because, i knew from the very start that i will really receive the worst comments from the panelists. but, i made a pact with myself. i will accept their comments, however harsh they are. after all, i am still a first time writer.
i took a bath at six in the morning. just imagine what i did for the two hours. of course, i still went back to sleep. i woke up before six.
after taking a bath, i did not yet go to the dining hall to take my breakfast. i stayed in the room, looked at myself in the mirror. for quite a while, i did that. after realizing that i am back to the real world, i went downstairs to take my breakfast.
i ate a lot. i made it sure that my stomach is very much full if i were to have myself "katayed" by the panelists and the fellows.
i went back to my room to get the things that i would be needing for that day.
i was a little tensed.
when i went into the conference hall, Paul tried to put much pressure on me. he kept on reminding me that it's really the day that my works will be "katayed". lol
when the discussion started, i was able to keep myself calm.
i was happy that after all that has been said, the panelists liked my idea in "Kasakit sa Posporo".
all i needed to do was to revise it and submit it to the panelists for another set of comments. Ma'am Gen even gave me assignment which i thought at first was a joke. but, she really meant that. so, right now, i am still trying to revise the poems that i submitted for the workshop.
after discussing my work, i was relieved.
after revealing my identity, even though it was very much obvious who was the author of those poems, i was given the chance to speak for the collection that i submitted. they had fun listening to me, i guess, because they were laughing while i was explaining my side about the way i wrote those poems. i also had fun sharing it to them.
we had a short break. SNACKS.
after the break, the next work was discussed.
honestly, i was not able to pay much attention to the discussion because all the while i was thinking about the works that i submitted.
when the morning ended, i was happy. (happy mode)
i kept saying to myself that i really made it through the entire morning without being wild. /lol/
we had our lunch after the morning's discussion.
after lunch, i went to my room to give myself enough time to take some rest.
after the resting period, i prepared myself for the afternoon sessions because we are about to face the two lengthiest works submitted for the workshop.
i tried to read the one with the most number of pages. but i decided to stop upon reaching the fourth page. as i scanned through the pages, i found out that there was a second story composed of only 14-15 pages, so i decided to read that one instead.
when i went back to the conference hall, i was still reading the second story entitled "Topheth No More". i liked the story.
after discussing the first one, we went to the second set of short stories. the main star was Gingging. we had lots of fun talking about that story. at the end, we had a great time during that day.
before we had dinner, we were told that the following day, we will be having a culminating program to be participated by all the panelists and the fellows. we were also excited for that day.
while having our dinner, someone proposed another tagay session since we had only two days left before the end of the workshop. i suppose everyone made a positive response at that time.
But, Dr. Tan made a more appealing proposal. we will first go to Calea(i'm not sure of the spelling) Cakehouse, spend some time in there, then go to the tagay session.
as expected, everybody responded positively.
after dinner, we prepared ourselves for the fun.
we rode on a public vehicle going to the cakehouse.
upon arrival, we arranged ourselves at the tables that we connected. we somehow occupied a larger space in the cakehouse, which somehow made the other people look at us. we were like stars. after all, we were together with Rowan ATkinson(Gino), Tiger Woods(Noel), and Enchong Dee(Arbeen).
we had a great time in the cake house. i would definitely remember that time for the rest of my life.
we talked and talked.
a rengga(not sure of the spelling) was made. the poem and short story will be used for the culminating program that we will be participating into the next day.
we somehow managed to make a plan on what will we do for the following day.
after spending almost an hour or more in the cakehouse, we decided to leave after paying for the food that we ate.
we then went to the tagayan place. this time, Dr. Tan was still with us. he was such a nice person. he even ordered something for himself. he was totally with us during the entire evening.
when we arrived at the place, the owner seemed to have remembered us, and even welcomed us again into his den.
we ordered much, drank much because Gian and Jordan were so eager to drink more. we also wanted to give Rhodge a headache by giving more to drink. and he totally gave in, i guess.lol
we ended at beyond midnight. imagine how much we drank. ahehehehe
some of us were totally "sabog" during that session. but, we had again a great time spent with each other. it's definitely something i will miss from this group.
while going back to the house, we bought some food from the same convenient store.
after buying, we went inside the campus, then to BK.
we went immediately to our rooms, where, i guess, everybody decided to call it a day.
i still had the nerve to take a bath at midnight. it was cold, but i need to freshen myself before going to bed.
after taking a bath, i crawled to my bed and then went asleep.
this day was April 29, 2010.
How fast things were last week.

How Fast Things Were Last Week - Day 4

After having ourselves a little "wasak" the other night, i still managed to wake up early. i don't know why. maybe because i was just used to waking up early. i woke up at beyond six. still early, i guess.
i woke up and did not yet take a bath. my roommate was also awake by this time.
i went to the dining hall, hoping that breakfast was already served. i was not disappointed by this time. it was already there. i walked inside the hall, as if nothing happened that night.
minutes later, the other fellows followed. some of them were with me when we had a drinking session the other night, especially Rhodge. ahaha
i asked Rhodge and all he could say was "Boysit ka!", but he said this in a very gentle voice, as if he was not mad at all. such nice guy!
after having breakfast, i went back to my room and took a bath. imagine how i looked like when i went to the dining hall. hehehe.lol
after taking a bath, i tried to read again the works that were to be discussed for that day.
after reading them, i decided to go to the conference hall. i seemed very much prepared for the upcoming sessions.
the session started and i tried to keep up with the discussion given by the panelists and the fellows. i was glad when the first session ended and we took a break. there was again a served snacks for us. (happy mode)
after the break, the second session took place.
another work was discussed.
after an hour or less of discussion and after revealing the identity of the author, we were given the time to take our lunch. again, the food was great. their food has always been so great since the start of the workshop. my stomach was always happy.
my roommate went out to by some souvenirs, but they went back earlier than expected. i forgot the reason why.
at 2 o'clock, our session resumed.
there were now two sets of works to be deliberated. compared to the past two days, there was only one work or collection in the afternoon. this day marked the beginning of a very tiresome afternoon for both the fellows and the panelists.
we discussed the first. had a short break for snacks, then went on with the second one.
after the afternoon sessions, we were told that there will be a Rizal presentation in the school's theater. it was to be presented by the school's theater group.
after eating dinner at 6 or 6:60 in the evening, we were told to prepare for the presentation.
we went there, but not all of us.
the presentation was good. i had goosebumps while watching it not because i got scared but because i was so impressed with the entire presentation. i was again happy.
after watching, we went back to BK. we met the others outside BK because they were planning to have another session outside BK. however, it was drizzling. it got heavier from time to time.
so, the group decided to postpone the plan.
everybody went back the house, a little frustrated.
i went back also to our room. i took a bath.
i decided to read the next set of collection, which included mine.
i also decided to sleep early because i was hoping to prepare myself for the "katayan" the next day.
i slept at almost 10:30 pm.
This day was April 28, 2010.
How fast things were last week.