Marking My First Day at MCC-CAST

I graduated six years ago and got my license four years ago. I've been teaching Koreans and Chinese online and offline around Ortigas. I've learned a lot through exposure to their culture. I enjoyed hassle free job without any paper works to bring home. I've got cool co-workers and the company has good management as well but I still longed for the fulfilment of my profession... in a formal school setting.

A year ago, I started to plan my career path. I applied in a public school and got a chance to be a substitute English teacher for grade 7 students. Another offer came few months later but I rejected it due to some conflicts. This year I tried my luck again unfortunately, I'm still clueless when I will be called. For sure God has his reasons whatever it is... nobody can tell.

One call changed everything! Ms. Cathy (MMC-CAST HR Manager) called me last Saturday and scheduled an interview and a demo teaching Monday this week. Luckily, I passed and got an offer for a part time post. It was not an easy decision because I have to consider the school location; traveling from Pasig to Manila is no joke. Another factor is their level; from high school to college will surely be different. Lastly is inferiority complex towards the faculty members. All of these worries were set aside when I decided to take the offer. 

Today marked my first day as college instructor. I'm handling students from college of business administration, psychology, radio technology, pharmacy and nursing. I survived my first day and hopefully the whole semester. I know God has his reasons for bringing me to MMC-CAST and whatever it is... it’s for me to find out.

Feel free to leave comments, suggestions and reaction about this post. 

~thetskie here~ 

#LondonStyle in Manila: The Costa Coffee Invasion

Today is Eidul Fitr an important celebration for Filipino Muslims and for non-Muslim Filipinos they may choose to spend the day with their family and friends so I chose the latter before going to work (Yes! I have work today because we follow Korean holiday). My buddy for today is Karla Mae "KM" for short. We actually planned to visit Costa Coffee last Saturday but things didn't go in favor of us and I'm glad we had one great chance today. (thanks for the photos Gayer KM)

Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by the Costa family as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Acquired by Whitbread in 1995, it has since grown to over 2,861 stores across 30 countries. The business has 1,755 UK restaurants, over 3,500 Costa Express vending facilities and a further 1,106 outlets overseas. It is the second largest coffeehouse chain in the world behind Starbucks and the largest in the United Kingdom. 

Luckily, they finally arrived here in Manila! Costa Coffee's first branch is located in Citywalk 1, Eastwood Mall, Quezon City, Philippines.

Café Bar

We ordered their mouth melting London cheesecake (P150.00) together with Strawberry Pavlova (P160.00) for me and Double Chocolate Cookie Mocha (P150.00) for KM. 

What do you expect from holiday? There are people in and out of the coffee shop. Glad I found a seat at the second floor where their England flag inspired couch is located. A cozy place for business and group meetings! I just hope they have bigger place to accommodate all their customers.

The red telephone box, a telephone kiosk for a public telephone was a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom and they have it here! London trip completed!!! 

Overall, we had a great London experience! I will surely go back for the famous Flat white coffee. If you're around the area don't miss the chance to visit Costa Coffee!

Feel free to leave comments, suggestions and reaction about this post. 

~thetskie here~ 

 

MARINDUQUE: Enticing Town Churches

As Catholic Country, it was not surprising to have chapels in every baranggay same in Marinduque, but what made this trip ohh so special was... the visit in most of their town's enticing churches.

Each church has its own unique feature. It comprises history, rich culture and showcase talents of Marinduqueños based on details made by bare hands. Some were renovated but others were preserved magnificently. Just like how I got mesmerized and blessed by simply visiting the place, I hope you guys will have a chance to see for yourself.

Altar

Boac Church

The wall speaks of its age.

St. Joseph Parish, Gasan

Altar

Holy Cross Parish, Sta. Cruz

Altar

St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish, Torrijos

 

 

I was not able to visit all the town churches but it will surely be in my list the next time I visit my parents' hometown. This ends my travel post about Marinduque. I hope you guys were able to enjoy reading my blog. Until the next trip! I'm leaving you all a great quote to reflect on... "There's a reason for closed doors, unanswered prayers, and blocked roads. If your plans don't work out it's because God has better one's for you".

Feel free to leave comments, suggestions and reaction about this post. 

~thetskie here~ 

MARINDUQUE: Poctoy White Beach

Time is very precious to me because I only got few holidays to enjoy. Days before my visit, I read blogs about Marinduque and made a list of must visit places so once I got there I could enjoy my much awaited vacation. I came across to a not so popular place that even my aunt and uncle haven't visited yet (Are they serious? they've been to different beaches but they forgot to visit the Boracay of Marinduque?) Poctoy White Beach!

And you know what surprised me the most? The P30.00 entrance fee and P200.00 cottage rate! This is really the most affordable white beach that I've ever been to. And since I'm still an MA student I got P5.00 discount and yay! no need to present my ID. 

It was my father's first time to visit the place so without hesitations we had our first picture here at Poctoy White Beach. Lovely background wasn't it? White sand + blue clear water = feels like in Bora!!!

 

 

 

The beautiful oh so shy Mt. Malindig hiding with the clouds. Notice that there were only few swimmers around the place so it means only few were able to discover this heaven. Thanked God it wasn't polluted at all.

Say hi to Pearlyn my cousin cum companion during my round Marinduque trip. So what are you waiting for??? la la love me like you do... Opps Fifty Shades of Grey hang-over... Come and discover the heart of the Philippines where culture and scenic views lies humbly.

Feel free to leave comments, suggestions and reaction about this post.

~thetskie here~

 

MARINDUQUE: Malbog Sulfuric Spring

I thought it's already summer? but it was so cold there that my father got an asthma attacked (thanked God it was not so serious). I prepared being stuck at home because my father cannot drive me to the beautiful spots I searched even before the trip. Luckily, my oh so kind uncle cannot take to see my bored face at home (can I get a crown for being the drama queen?) via motorcycle I had some road trip. Enjoy!

What I love about the province~clear and spacious road though it was literally rocky.

I took a selfie while riding the motorcycle. (buwis camera to!)

The beautiful Mt. Malindig.

Clear sky + green surrounding all the way to Malbog Sulfuric Spring.

It doesn't have the grandest gate and tarpaulin, doesn't smell as good as it is and doesn't have decent shower room but this is a MUST visit resort in the province of Marinduque. It was February when I went there and the place was peaceful with few visitors. My uncle told me that during Holy Week this place can be as crowded as it is, that you have to make a reservation. 

The water flows going to a big swimming pool where people with skin problems stay deep within. I've searched more about Marinduque and found their blog site with complete details about the therapeutic benefits of this hot spring. Check this out!

Look at the crystal clear water! Of course I didn't let go of the chance to swim there though the smell of sulfur got stuck in my nose then, I decided to bring home one liter of water from the resort.

And true enough, I was able to prove its effectiveness (somehow) when our pet dog got skin problem that it almost got bald some part of its body we just used the sulfuric water from the resort couple of times and it got better. My aunt decided to do the same thing with their pet luckily its skin got better. However, we still didn't use it for human skin problem (hopefully we won't have to use it).

Feel free to leave comments, suggestions and reaction about this post. 


~thetskie here~

MARINDUQUE: Day 1

I may not be born there but I'm a certified Marinduqueña! simply because both of my parents were born and lived almost half of their lives there. According to my not so trusted memory I've been there twice; first when my grandmother was the "hermana" and second when I was in second year high school so after twelve years, my feet finally landed again to our hometown.

Geographically, Marinduque is the center of the Philippines also known for being the its "heart" because the province is heart-shaped. The province is divided into 6 municipalities having Boac as its capital.

 (Heart of the Pearl of the Orient)

One of the perks of working as an ESL Instructor for Koreans is having long holidays and this year 2015 as early as February we were blessed to have three days (Wednesday-Friday) plus weekends with a total of five lakwatsa day for me! With too much excitement, my father and I traveled after my working hour.

We arrived at JAC Liner Cubao at 1:30 am and started traveling to Lucena Port by 2:00 am. I enjoyed the ride though my father was a bit pissed because the bus picked up passengers all the way so instead of boarding on time we missed the 4:00 am trip and waited for the next trip at 10:00 am. (Patience is a virtue was truly applied)

Touched down Balanacan Port at 12:30, more than two hours travel time but it wasn't scary as I imagined because of the calm sea. I got mesmerized by the clear water and nice view. To complete the more than 6 hours travel time we directly rode a jeep going to Libtangin and a tricycle ride to Purok 6, Tapuyan Gasan Marinduque where my uncle's family resides. 

After few hours of resting we went to Gasan Church to hear the mass because its Ash Wednesday, the first day of lenten season where ashes are ceremonially placed on Christians' head. Unfortunately the place was quiet and there was no sign that mass will be held. I took advantage of the situation by entering the church and got stuck on how it was artistically created. 

Sunset at Gasan View Park was totally amazing! Got moved as the dark clouds conquer the white ones, the color faded little by little as innocent kids played non-stop. A good scene to call it a day!

~thetskie here~

May 29, 2014

COLORFUL SUMMER with COLOR BLAST FUN RUN! 

Fun run are now being popular in the Philippines and there's a schedule every month sponsored by different companies in benefit of different institutions or organization. Just last month I joined a super colorful fun run together with Lianah, Gina, Karen Michelle, Angel and Jef. 

Colorblast Run to Color Lives was a run for a cause and PGH Medical Foundation was the beneficiary. Runners received drifit, race bib and water gun loaded with different colors for only P450.00 for the 3.5K run. It was held in UP Academic Oval and we arrived forty five minutes early than the said time.

Here's our picture before the run. We were still fresh, excited and ready to run as fast as we can! (It was our first time to join fun run and as they say nothing beats the first time! LOLS!!!)

And this was how my drifit looked like after the run. Can you imagine how well I enjoyed running and shooting other participants? It was a blast though I got tired because it was 3.5K. After event we directly head home to take a rest and plan the next run. Aren't we excited? Yes we are!!! I love the drifit, race bib and water gun but I'm dying to have a finisher's medal.

So what are you guys waiting for? Try a new way to bond with your team, co-workers, family and friends. It's just like hitting two birds in one stone; helping others and making yourself fit and healthy! Til next run!!!

~thetskie here~