The opportunity I was given was great. To participate in the 8th IJSO is a true blessing and I thank Him for giving me that chance. This year’s IJSO was held in Durban, South Africa. It was a rather interesting place, and the trip no doubt was not only a fun and memorable experience but also a learning experience.

To be away from home for 13 days in a country miles away without family was a first for me. But it was really fun. The exams were no doubt stressful, but the overall trip with the numerous excursions were cool. We did have some bitter moments (and some is definitely an understatement), but we ended up getting over it anyway.

The trip of course enhanced our science learning experience first of all. We made a lot of mistakes, that’s a fact. But what’s important in the end is that we learn from them. The IJSO was a challenge. It made us think. Now, after seeing our mistakes (and being bitter over them for quite a long time), we look back and make corresponding “notes to selfs”– reminders not to commit these mistakes again. I guess the IJSO was also useful in the sense that it gave us an idea on how we were doing in our learning of the sciences– not only us contestants, but also the school in general. It showed us our strengths; it showed us our weaknesses. Now we know where to improve and how to improve.

Aside from the science learning, the experience of meeting new people from all over the world was pretty cool. I won’t deny that the Philippines, during the 12-day program was one of the antisocial countries, but in the end (thanks to the frisbee), we ended up meeting teens from all over the world, and actually talking to them. I guess one fact I observed is that even with the varying languages we spoke, all of us are the same. There is this spirit within us that is somehow present in all of us, and this spirit allows us to relate to one another quite quickly and comfortably, despite only talking to each other for a few minutes.

The learning doesn’t stop here however. We learned practical life lessons during the trip. Let’s just say these are the lessons only experiences can teach you. You can’t learn them if you don’t experience them. And these are one of the most valuable lessons in life, which at times, are the most essential.

I want to write more about the trip, but for some reason most of the experiences are too wonderful to even put into words.  I guess that’s just how it all works out.  Reading this post will not even describe half of the whole experience.

So it was a pretty interesting 13 days, don’t you think?

For some reason I wanted to share it.  So here it is

Hindi natin talaga inaasahan

Na tayong dalawa’y maging magkaibigan

Nakatutuwang minsan-minsa’y pagmasdan

Kung pa’no tayo laging nagtutulungan

Ito’y parang isang bihirang bulaklak

Sa mga bato-bato’y tumubo bigla

Ating pagkakaibigan ay namulaklak

Dahil sa binhi na marahang pinunla

Paghihirap—tayo ay nakararanas

Ihip ng hangin kahapon, ngayon, bukas

At kahit kung gaano pa ‘to kalakas

Nananatili—pagkakaibigang wagas

Palakasin ang isa’t isa, tayo ay natuto

“’Kaw pa, gawaing iya’y kayang kaya mo!”

Walang katumbas, pagkakaibigang ito

‘To sana’y tumagal pa, ‘yan ang hiling ko

I had fun making this.  I hope you liked it.

For some reason it’s like this year is a lot different from the previous years.  I guess it’s because in first year we spend so much time adjusting to the new environment, to the new people, the new schedule, that we tend to neglect the more meaningful things which happen in life.  In second year we can’t seem to move on and leave first year behind, and the load is just so heavy that our life revolves around schoolwork, food, and sleep, if one can manage to do the latter.

In third year, the load’s not that heavy, though it’s more difficult compared to previous years.  We’ve adjusted to our environment, and we don’t mind meeting new people (at least for me).  We’re more open to others.  Though our schedule sucks, we still seem to be able to find free time once in a while.  Though we have very little free time, we are able to squeeze in so much in so little time, something we haven’t done in the previous years.  More importantly, for me, this year I got to reflect on life so much more.  I realized lots of things, things which I should’ve realized years back.  I got to look at life and see that life is so much more exciting than it seemed to be.  I seemed to have a new perspective, and I looked forward to every single day.  I was ready for new challenges, new experiences, new memories-to-be.  Even if the day gave me bad experiences and stressful challenges which were too difficult, I always seemed to end the day saying that I was happy and that today was a good and productive day.

I credit my happiness and fulfillment to a few things.

First of all, Sodium 2013 has contributed a lot to my happiness <3.  Sure, we don’t get along sometimes, but all in all Sodium is great.  Each person in Sodium is different.  Each has a different personality; one can easily see that.  But together we have so much fun.  It’s like each person in Sodium helps you in one way or another, like each person in Sodium is there for you in at least one point in your life.  One will make you laugh (as in every second of the day).  One will annoy you (in a funny way).  One (actually more than one) is hyper.  One is a shoulder to cry on.  One is always there for you.  One is a bully.  One is a joker.  One always gets you pissed.  One is always emo.  One can’t seem to shut up.  One is really quiet.  One teaches you things.  One will make your day.  I could go on all day and name every Sodium person in this way.  Each member of Sodium makes a distinctive mark in your life that you will remember and treasure.  <3

I believe the other reason why I feel more fulfilled is because I feel closer to God lately.  He seems to speak to me more clearly, and I can see Him working in my life every single day.  His Word speaks to me every night, and His Spirit works in me every minute of the day.  I feel filled, and this filling makes me happy.  I realize His continuous shower of blessings, His continuing presence, and most importantly His unfailing love.  Every day I realize more and more what He has done for me, and how unworthy I am.  It’s so cool to have a heavenly Father out there, or perhaps the better term would be right here, since He’s always there for you.  He teaches and corrects you in love.  He helps you realize your mistakes and tells you to change.  He watches over you.  His love is enough.  And I can’t deny that Sodium is truly a blessing.

I honestly hope and pray that everyone in Sodium feels the same way.

To the citizens of Hongkong and People’s Republic of China:
 
You hate the Filipino people for the hostage fiasco that unfortunate incident that went out of control at the end. This was a hostage situation that was under control and which netted 7 Chinese tourists to be released upon the efforts of our policemen.
 
You appear and sound sanctimonious and have even stepped upon our sovereignty. You have continued to demand our apology, the moon and the heavens, even after we already sent you our sincerest apologies from the very first day after it happened.  How many more apologies do we have to send to satisfy you?
 
You hate the Filipino people as if we wanted this unfortunate incident to happen. First and foremost, we offer our condolences to the families of the 8 that were killed in this incident. Secondly, we are sorry for the bungled handling of this hostage taking. It was unfortunate, it was an accident, we never planned it that way. Is it fair to blame a whole nation for a situation that was never planned?

Let me ask you this question, “Should we hate you also for the lead poisoning caused by the paint you used in your baby furniture and toys for the children in the Philippines  in particular and the world in general?
Should we hate you also for the use of cardboard in the “siopao” that you sell to tourists? Should we hate you also for the  melamine contamination wherein not 8, but hundreds, maybe even thousands have suffered and some even died?
 
Or, let us talk of Filipino casualties. A few years ago, 3 Filipino tourists, all surnamed Madrigal, a family of 5 were walking on Tienemen Square and Beijing . One Chinese stabbed the father and two of his children, killing all three. Were you even sorry for what this one Chinese did? Did the Filipino people even demand that China apologize for this unfortunate incident. This was PRE-MEDITATED MURDER.
 
Just as the use of lead, cardboard, melamine was pre-meditated – used because they were cheaper materials, in order to generate PROFITS for the Chinese businessman. Did you pay damages the same way you are demanding damages from the Filipino nation and people.
 
Where was the anger of the Chinese and Hongkong people? Did you even apologize to the world? My God in the case of melanine, you even kept this information from the world, until you were exposed for what you are!!!

Enough! We symphatize but don’t blame the Filipino people, don’t blame the entire nation for what happened!
 
So you want to send our OFWs home, that take care of your children? They play an important part in your lives. Both spouses are able to work, earn money because of the tender loving care being heaped on your children by Filipino maids and yayas/amahs. While you pay our OFWs for the work they do, you earn more for the love and care they bestow on your children. Go ahead, send our OFWs home. Let us see how that will affect your family incomes.
 
How is this unbecoming act of yours going to bring the dead people back to life and heal the wounds that have opened?
 
Enough!

I feel more relaxed right now, knowing I have 4 days of rest (Thursday-Sunday).  Though we’re still packed with tons of homeworks, projects, and other stressful things, four consecutive days at home is still a lot better than nothing.  And because of these four days….I can post!

Now that I’m actually typing, I don’t know what to write about.  That’s another reason why I’ve not been posting lately– I don’t know what to post.  My life’s been really stressful, busy, and packed lately I guess I haven’t been able to reflect on the things happening in life recently.  That’s sad.  D:

So this is basically my first post for August, my first post for the 2nd quarter, and my first post for the whole school year.  I thought of posting how the 2nd year life was, but I considered it kind of cliche, since a number of my posts last year have been about the pisay life… which reminds me…..SIGAW!  No, I’m not asking you to shout.  Sigaw is a song-making contest in Pisay, and our group, Sevenly, joined last year, which made us want and ache to join again this year.

I suddenly remembered Sigaw because I was talking about Pisay life, and I remembered our song.  It’s an awesome song, although we haven’t started practicing much.  It’s really hard to fit meetings in a schedule such as 2nd year’s.

Since the contest’s not yet done, I can’t really post our song here. D:  So that’ll add to the suspense for now. :>  I really hope God allows us to win this school year.  The song they asked us to make was about the Pisay core values namely Patriotism, Integrity, Service, Academic Excellence, and Youth Leadership.  We took quite a while to start off making the song; hopefully everything goes well in the end.

I also miss Sir Joey’s posts in his blog.  They’re honestly good reads. (http://aslancross.wordpress.com)

I can’t say anything more right now.  This is just a plain flatliner. -_- I hope I’ll post something more meaningful in the near future.

It was shocking, sad, unexpected.  I am very grateful I can even type this post right now.  I’m glad I can walk, I can think, I’m alive.  I”m glad my dad is too.  And my dad has more reason to be thankful than me.

It was supposed to be a regular working day for my dad, and I was supposed to go with him unless I wanted to stay home.  Today I decided to stay home.  I woke up pretty late (around 11:30 am) and my dad was rushing to go to work, so I didn’t bother rushing.   I chose to spend the day at home. 

Around 30 mins. later, I received a call on my cellphone.  It was my dad.  I thought it would just be a regular call.  Maybe he would just ask me a favor, or maybe he would just ask how I was.  But no.  It was a lot worse.

The phone line was really bad, I couldn’t understand him.  After a few seconds I finally understood what he was trying to tell me.  “I’m in the middle of an accident.  My car’s a total wreck.  A big, big truck hit me,”  he said.  When I put down the phone I didn’t know what to think.  Instinctively, I talked to God.  Though some might think it weird, recently I have begun to talk openly with God.  I always felt his presence, and I knew he was listening.  He was my best Friend, and he acted as a Dad, too. 

I tried to imagine the scene in my mind.  I imagined an ordinary delivery truck, hitting my dad’s car, maybe on the side, or maybe at the back.  Either way, I imagined, (since I usually sit in front or at the back), I would be badly injured.  If by God’s grace I did not get injured, the trauma would haunt me for the rest of my life.  However, my imagination was far — very far — from what really happened.  Reality certainly shocks.

The accident happened at around 12:00 noon.  I expected him to come home very late, but not as late as he actually did.  He came home at 9:00 pm.  As soon as he had settled down, I asked him what happened.  Here is his story.

My dad was on NLEX, and it was traffic.  In front of him there was a tanker of gasoline.  At his back there was a 10-wheeler truck.  At the back of this gigantic truck was a large trailer.  The trailer apparently was traveling at a very high speed.  It hit the 10-wheeler truck, which swerved to its left.  Despite the 10-wheeler’s size, the trailer still had some more force to hit my dad’s car.  The impact was so great, my dad eventually hit the tanker in front of him.   There were supposed to be 2 more cars at my dad’s back, but they eventually left that lane.   This was a good thing or the 10-wheeler would not have been able to swerve.  Had that happened he would have hit my dad and my dad would’ve hit the tanker so hard it could’ve exploded.  And he could’ve died.  Due to the impact the driver of the trailer did die.  It was a horrible nightmare.

My dad was at death’s door.  He told me he considers this his third life, since this is his 2nd near death experience. (His first experience was also a car accident in Quezon Circle).  He told me he could feel death coming.  Though we will be with God in heaven when we die, the feeling of death still lingered during the experience.  I also was at death’s door, though my dad had a worse experience.  I was supposed to go with my dad.  I was supposed to die.  I was supposed to get– at least — badly injured or disabled.  I was supposed to end my life or the joy of it today.  I already consider this my 2nd life. 

Here are some pics of the accident.  Note that these pictures do not show the impact so much.  It looks a lot worse in reality.

God is good.  He gave us another chance.  He took care of us, He helped us.  My dad doesn’t have any injuries so far, but hopefully he won’t have any.  Though human instinct kept telling me to worry the whole day, I could feel the Holy Spirit telling me not to.  He kept telling me that there was no need to worry, that He was in control.  Now I want to worry again, since some new injuries might come out.  But I keep remembering that I just have to trust in Him, and the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me not to worry.  Truly my dad’s survival and having no injuries was a real miracle.

Ironically, I won’t be talking about summer here. It’s about one of the books I”m currently reading this summer. ( Whoops…so maybe it does have something to do with summer )

I’m currently reading the book Relationships 101 by John Maxwell.  Now, thanks to our green minded society today, you readers might be thinking that I’m reading about bf-gf relationships. So not true.  -_-

We have to admit, we all have relationships with people, animals, and things (when we’re crazy).  But in this post I’m going to focus on relationships with other people. 

It is a must for us to have relationships with others, since we can not live alone.  That proves to show that there are definitely things which have to be done through teamwork, which is always a problem or an issue.  I personally do not know how to develop relationships, and I certainly am not very fond of group works.  It is not because I hate people, but it is because I do not know how to work well with people.  In the end, I hate it because we either end up not doing the job well, or we get the job done but I bossed them around.  For those reading who are victims of this I’m apologizing right now if I haven’t apologized before.  Either way, the relationships are not developed.  I only work well with people I am already very close with, who I hang out with.  And I have to admit, sometimes we still end up clashing together. 

This book has given me new insights, and with God’s help I pray I’ll be able to apply it this school year, and maybe improve my relations.  I am typically shy, so this is going to be a challenge.  I am writing this, in fact, so that I may remember it more, and so that whoever reads this may also find it helpful.

To sum up what I have read so far, developing relationships seems to boil down to three simple things: (1) believing in others; (2) caring for others; (3) not being self-centered.  However, these things, when needed in life, are often not that simple.  I always tend to think of the response of others to the way I treat them.  If it’s a positive response then great.  But the thing that keeps poking me is the negative response.  Though my intentions are good, not everybody will think so.  However, as I read, I come to think that I should not be thinking about the reaction, because if I want to develop better relationships, then it has to start with me.  And besides, I’ll never know until I try.

Here is a quote from this awesome book.  It’s called the “Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership”.  After I read this I knew what to do.  You can never control others, but you can control yourself.  And whatever the reaction, what matters is what you did, and your intention of doing it.

——————————————————-

The Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered– love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives– do good anyway.

If you’re successful, you’ll win false friends and true enemies– succeed anyway.

The good you do today will perhaps be forgotten tomorrow– do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable– be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest man with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest man with the smallest mind– think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only hot dogs– fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight– build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you help them– help them anyway.

Give the world the best that you have and you will get kicked in the teeth– give the world the best that you have anyway.

If better is possible, then good is not enough.

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I guess that’s the end of it.  I hope you enjoyed it.  There are lots more wonderful quotes in this book but this post seems to be long enough. I’ll just post another article full of these quotes. Thanks for reading guys

Anyway, this post is about our class play, Masterpiece.   Unfortunately (and honestly), the play did not turn out has great as we had hoped for it to be.  It did not give that much impact.  It kind of hurt, since we had put a lot of effort into this the whole year. 

However, it is no doubt that our play was a very unique play, because we had a song in it — an original one — written by Clare and Ysabel.  It was really a great one.  Here are the lyrics:

Dreams may be fragments of our memories

Coming back to us when we’re alone

Who dare say we can’t follow what we want for tomorrow?

Our dreams will lead us there someday

For every time we dream

We can reach our goals

And every time we wish,

A star appears before us all to light our way

Dreams are meant to be followed

Not to be kept away

Through trials and denials we will find a way

For dreams will lead us through this day (3x)

——————

We loved this song.  It was really great.  It was so original.  And it fit our play very well. 

 To sum up our play quickly, it was about an out-of-tune retarded bard/muse who performed for the queen, who was sent to a dungeon to rot and die.    While she was all alone in the dungeon, she wrote the song above.  Her brother, who was a soldier in the palace, helped her escape.  They were caught by the palace guards and an epic fight occurred.  Her brother was killed in the fight, and the bard/muse killed herself too, since she “did not deserve this sacrifice”.  Soon the royal bard saw them disposing the bodies, and he saw a paper fall out.  This was the piece which the bard/muse had written.  It was so awesome that he played it for the queen and told her that the retard wrote it.  The queen decided to play it in the upcoming ball and to honor the retard for her work.  Our main message was to not give up on your dreams, and this song was our finale song.

But, as I said a while ago, our play did not turn out very well.  Everyone did not feel so happy.  The song’s meaning did not seem so great all of a sudden.  But I remembered something: Sir Joey’s farewell message.  It was about all things working out, because Someone out there has a greater plan for us.  Someone out there knows what’s going on.  Somehow it seemed that the song suddenly had a new meaning.  And we (at least I) would not have seen this meaning if our play had turned out to be the best. 

“Through trials and denials we will find a way”, said the song.  This play, was no doubt a trial for Sapphire 2013.  It was difficult, and for it to end up a not that successful, painful.  Yet the song’s own lyrics answers all our pains.  “We will find a way.”  Why should we give up? Yes, the bard/muse got hurt.  She was insulted openly.  Punished.  Yet she did not give up.  She was able to write this incredible song which, even though she died, was known throughout the country.  She found a way.  And if it was not because of her failure, she might have not been able to write a song as wonderful as the one she wrote. 

“A star appears before us all to light our way”.  In the play, this “star” was somehow represented by her brother, who found a way to escape.  However, here, in reality, through our trials, denials, who is there to guide us?  Remember, we get these failures, trials, and get angry and sad.  But that Someone knows better, and He is that star. 

I may be saying too much here, but it is a blog, right?   Anyway, I just didn’t like the look of others in Sapphire after the play, when all were too depressed and sad and unapproachable.  I was sad for a while, but then I realized what I had just written in the above paragraphs. 

Our play is entitled Masterpiece. What we did might not be considered a masterpiece to others, but we can be sure it did turn out to be a masterpiece because we got something out of it, and Someone out there is shaping each of our lives to be a very unique Masterpiece.

———————————————————————————————-

Nakakuha ka na ba ng grado na basura?

Nagsunog ka na ba ng kilay hanggang umaga?

Yan ang tanong namin, 2.5 nga ba ang passing?

Naisip mo na ba ba’t nag-aaral ka pa?

Todo effort tayo ba’t walang nagbabago?

At mas mabuti pa nga kung natutulog tayo!

Pisay Life ang tunay na mahirap

Pisay Life ang tunay na puro pasakit

Pisay Life ang may kakayahan na malimutan ang sariling pangalan!

Ang buhay Pisay ang magtatapos ng ating….

Kasiyahan

———————————————————————————————-

Humorous. A plain flatliner.  Enjoy. 

Edit: Please do not think negatively.  Though Pisay may bring us tortures and pressures beyond our capability(exagg), Pisay Life has been one of the happiest times in my life.  This is simply referring to the tons and loads of work they give us compared to others….  this is just for fun….

So as a substitute, I shall now talk about………The Lamp Post! 

What is “The Lamp Post”? This lamp post I am referring to is not the common lamp post we see everyday on the road.  This is a poem written by G. K. Chesterton.  And it was not just an ordinary poem.  It was great.  Incredible.  Full of Meaning.  Extremely Deep. 

As much as I like this poem now, I cannot forget how much I despised it before.  It was the selection Sir Joey included in the English Periodical Exam for the Third Quarter, and I was panicking just as I was reading it.  It was the first time I actually used the non-effective method of shotgun-ing my answers in multiple choice.  For my ever so curious readers, here is the poem below:

The Lamp Post by G. K. Chesterton

Laugh your best, O blazoned forests,
Me ye shall not shift or shame
With your beauty: here among you
Man hath set his spear of flame.

Lamp to lamp we send the signal,
For our lord goes forth to war;
Since a voice, ere stars were builded,
Bade him colonise a star.

Laugh ye, cruel as the morning,
Deck your heads with fruit and flower,
Though our souls be sick with pity,
Yet our hands are hard with power.

We have read your evil stories,
We have heard the tiny yell
Through the voiceless conflagration
Of your green and shining hell.

And when men, with fires and shouting,
Break your old tyrannic pales;
And where ruled a single spider
Laugh and weep a million tales.

This shall be your best of boasting:
That some poet, poor of spine.
Full and sated with our wisdom,
Full and fiery with our wine,

Shall steal out and make a treaty
With the grasses and the showers,
Rail against the grey town-mother,
Fawn upon the scornful flowers;

Rest his head among the roses,
Where a quiet song-bird sounds,
And no sword made sharp for traitors,
Hack him into meat for hounds.

Deep, huh?  Just sharing .  Anyway, just indulge yourselves in the awesomely difficult vocabulary and composition of the poem, and admire the aesthetic style of writing of G. K. Chesterton, as you wait for my next post which will definitely be a lot lighter and humorous than this.

——————————————————————————————-

So, put aside your thoughts from the poem first.  YMSAT Week is fast approaching! (Jan 25-29) Yay! I thought of this to be a relaxing, lazy event for us, and I thought it would focus more on the students coming from other schools.  Thankfully, we Pisay students are very much involved in the YMSAT activities.

Though the schedule has not yet been finalized, our list of activities has already been made clear to us, which made us realize how busy we would actually be even now until the end of the YMSAT.  So let’s see……

First we have the Kite Flying Event, which will last one whole day.  Second, we have an activity as a batch for half a day.  We also have our exhibit of pictures of astronomical bodies.  Others have a tech prep exhibit to take care of.  We also are encouraged to make a special project for the YMSAT, which we are definitely planning to do.  Aside from this, we have to look at the other exhibits of the upper years and make a report on one of them.  There will also be a math inter-class competition which would be so much fun to watch!  Aside from all this, we have to sign up for a particular activity, whether physics, chemistry, or biology based.  Many of us also plan to sign up for YMSAT help for clean up.   Saving the best for last, we will be having a stargazing night on the Friday of the YMSAT! It will be an overnight event–isn’t that cool?!

So, just wait for my next posts…hopefully I will return once more as soon as possible.  I will try my best, hopefully, just like during the intrams, to post something everyday of the YMSAT.

)