Will upload the movie reviews next time. I had three of those. :D

.:Sigh...:.

It was a Waveback Wednesday last Wednesday, and I just found it a bit dismaying that I couldn't play certain slow songs that I wanted to play, such as “Hiding Inside Myself” and “In My Life”. Oh, well. Gia had a zinger yesterday which did get to me... heh.

“Why don't you play good songs?”

Ouch. I like those songs... heh.

In any case, Keiko was there, and chatting with the listeners proved to be very amusing. Moreover, in addition to Chinese New Year and Ash Wednesday, it was also Mandaluyong Day yesterday, so it was quite interesting in that respect. Nonetheless, there really isn't much to talk about when it comes to what happened yesterday...

.:Ismoot?:.

According to Ray, my co-T.A. in the department and my classmate in Levinas, I was being extremely smooth last night.

So I walked into class, and Adrian and Ray were shaking my hand because apparently, TJ said I “made a breakthrough” with someone last week. I laughed it off, then just sat in the room.

I was still a bit smarting from being described as “old” in Medieval Philosophy, though. When they asked, “What is Marcelle?”, some people answered that “Marcelle is old”. Ouch. And then Dr. Miroy chuckled and said, “What does that make me?”

Dr. Miroy used that as a springboard to talk about what is essential about Marcelle, and being old or tall is not the essence, as Marcelle was only “old” in reference to the sophomores, but the senior who was ribbing Marcelle about being “old” was actually older than Marcelle was… sweet justice.

Anyways, back to the real story…

I had a hankering for yema, so I went to the rolling canteen to get one more. I thought about it, and got an extra one for Ces, as she was awfully nice conversation recently.

So I go to her, and I tell her, “Advanced happy Single Awareness Day. Flowers are so passé.”

We chuckle about it, and Levinas class begins. The sugar rush gives me an inexplicable spurt of ideas that just made our teacher look at me quizzically. My odd acts were compounded when I realized that there was no balut in the rolling canteen.

Anyways, after the class ended, while we were walking and Ray, TJ, and Adrian were ribbing me about it, Dr. Garcia gets himself involved in the conversation and wonders about “Marcelle L’amour”. I mutter to him that the object of the discussion is right behind us, and I joked that maybe I’m better off giving flowers to one of my students instead, knowing full well that the Dean heard me all too well.

All the while, Ray was telling me I was being smooth. I told the three guys to go grab a smoke and tell me when they’re done, so I spent the time to bond a bit with Ces again. It was interesting, really. She’s a person who likes reading books, I’m more of an audiovisual person, although I do read. I found out that Dione and Wilfred were together, but even more amusing was when I told her about the horrible first impression I gave Dione when I hitched with her and out of habit, rode in the back seat. Major boo-boo. Heh.

In any case, Ces noticed that Ray and company were taking too long to get a smoke, and it was getting quite amusing at that point. Nonetheless, we really had an interesting bonding session, and I left her when the guys started honking the horn for me to go to them already.

I SMS’d her afterwards for the nice conversation that made my otherwise wretched day. Ray commented how smooth that was, too, and when I told them about certain things I could do if I wanted to, they realized I practically wrote the book on smoothness, but just refuse to carry the moves out.

We had an interesting dinner for the most part, as TJ was talking about having his third eye opened, though. The food was pretty good, and they realized how deep my fascination for the oriental ran when I really told them that if possible, I’d want to set myself up to be able to teach Chinese Philosophy. That’s when we got to talking about how the moment you institutionalize Eastern thinking, you destroy its essence. It was a long discussion about martial arts and the like.

Something about that Shaolin monk story got to me, though… I’ll tell it to you if you remind me to tell you next time I meet you. :D

.:Coincidence? And More Ismootness:.

I was in the LRT-2 this morning, rushing to get to school. In front of me was a cute Chinese girl, and I correctly guessed she was Atenean, given her bag, and the book she was reading.

So the moment we started walking to the tricycle station, I struck up a conversation with her. Turns out her name was Anne, and she was a junior student who is taking up Chemistry but will double-degree in something else. She was in ICA in high school, which I guessed when she mentioned that she can debate.

After I told her that I used to be a debater and still want to go back next schoolyear, she asked me if I knew any undergrads. Then…

Do you know Cecille Lao?

Boom. Apparently, the very person I was bonding with last night is Anne’s kabarkada. Heh. Interesting way to start the day, neh?

.:GTO Revisited:.

I was re-watching the last few episodes of the Great Teacher Onizuka animated series, and I really felt quite a rush of emotions during the arc with Uehara and Yoshikawa having their romance develop so slowly but surely, and how the whole Aizawa Miyabi arc turned out when Eikichi Onizuka finally won her over after everything.

One thing the Director of Forest Academy said in that mini-marathon I had really struck me. Teachers are indeed Seikokusha: teachers entered into a vocation. To be a teacher is a calling. Inasmuch as I do joke around often about wanting to use teaching as “hunting grounds” for myself, I realize I probably don't have enough gall to even attempt something like that.

Besides, what really got me into teaching to begin with was the sheer pleasure I got from knowing how much I could help, as that's precisely what I did for my classmates as an undergrad when I helped some of them review for oral exams. The fact that GTO managed to help his students despite the way he is really gives me hope. Heh.

It’s funny, because there I was, during our little break in Levinas class, and a girl says hi to me. Apparently, she still remembers me as Mr. Bulaong’s substitute teacher that one time. A few moments later, a friend of mine walks up to me and tells me that her roommate had my answers to Mr. Bulaong’s thesis statements in her computer, and I end up wondering how these people found out about it, considering I really only told my batchmates about it. It’s becoming an amusing kind of urban legend… heh.

Teaching is indeed a vocation. There is quite no other way for me to sum it up. On a personal note, I do have far greater respect for grade school and high school teachers than college teachers, though. I don't think I can ever do what these people do, considering the sheer pressure of the job itself.

Seikokusha. That word has a nice ring to it.