Wexistence

It’s Monday morning and I’m harassed and on the way to work I managed to tear my left contact lens and rip my stockings while stuck in traffic on the Skyway. But thankfully I just have to wait thirty more minutes before the mall opens and I can replace them both, and grab a chai latte from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on my way back to the office.

Slightly tangential upate: On my way to the optical shop I ran into EJ Afzelius, a college blockmate whom I hadn’t seen in ages. “EJ, you look so…” I wanted to say “grown up” but instead I said “dignified.” In college he always looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. Today he was wearing a tie and pressed slacks and he was carrying a briefcase. Man, has it really been that long? Are we really that old?

We exchanged the usual pleasantries, how are you, what do you do now. Upon finding out that I’m in educational reform, EJ exclaimed, “That was your term paper!” It took me a while to remember what he was talking about. For an English class in second year we wrote term papers which we presented in class. EJ said my presentation really made an impression on him, and it was nice to see that I’d come full circle. Funny, the things people remember about you.

Public school teachers and their bastos ice-breakers.

The first time I facilitated a workshop for public school teachers, I asked a volunteer to lead the ice-breaker/energizer. She totally caught me off guard by leading the group in a song filled with sexual innuendos accompanied by very suggestive actions.

Since then, I’ve been wary of these ice-breakers. They’re hilarious and I personally don’t mind, but it does become embarrassing when we have guests who would not appreciate the crass humor. At the Makabayan Seminar last summer, I asked Joseph Raymond to lead ice-breaker to ensure that there would be no funny business, because Dr. Yvette Camacho (Assistant Dean of the University, Opus Dei Numerary) was observing.

Much to my horror, Joseph handed the mic over to a volunteer. She began by asking the group for three adjectives. They tossed out “malaki,” “matigas” and “malambot.” You can see where this is going. Thankfully, Dr. Camacho had stepped out of the room so she wasn’t there to witness this: