http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/lung
Huwebes, Disyembre 20, 2007
Christmas at XS '07
I featured here the 4G and 4F classes along with MRX pictures and 3G, 4H and 3H class members. These are my presenf and past classes sans the Advanced and 3B.
Miyerkules, Disyembre 12, 2007
The Church Does Not Sleep; It Cannot Afford to Do So
I copied this editorial from today's Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The Shepherd Finds His Voice
“OUR SALVATION DEPENDS ON HOW WE treat the poor.” Thus declared Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, addressing the crowd that gathered at the Ateneo de Manila University campus last Wednesday to welcome the Sumilao farmers. He was referring to Matthew 25, where Jesus makes it clear that on Judgment Day we will be held accountable for what we have done to the poor: “For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.... Amen, I say to you, what you did not for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment.”
The Sumilao farmers have walked some 1,700 kilometers from Bukidnon in search of their own salvation. They were beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program who were awarded their land titles in 1995. But the following year the land titles were cancelled. By a sleight of hand which the cardinal called “magic, magic,” the owner of the land applied for land conversion, and then Executive Secretary Ruben Torres overturned the ruling of the Department of Agrarian Reform and the mandate of the agrarian reform law.
When the Sumilao farmers went on hunger strike in 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos, like Solomon, offered a “win-win” solution, awarding 100 hectares to the farmers and the remaining 44 hectares for land-use conversion. But the Supreme Court found this invalid on technical grounds, saying that Torres’ order had become final and so the time to challenge it had lapsed.
It has been 10 years since the Sumilao farmers went on strike. The landowner’s promise of converting and developing the land into agro-industrial use, which became their alibi to escape CARP and which Torres foolishly bought, has not materialized, exposing it for what it was: a ploy to circumvent the law.
There is a new owner San Miguel Corp., which is now rushing to build a piggery in the area. “Pinagpalit kami sa.mga baboy (We were replaced by hogs),” says one Sumilao farmer.
The farmers have appealed their case to the DAR, which seems to be taking its sweet time on their case. In the meantime, to dramatize their plight, the Sumilao farmers made their long march, perhaps to freedom and justice. “Hindi dapat kami naglalakad, dapat nagtatanim lang kami ng makakain ng bansa (We shouldn’t be walking but planting to feed the nation),” says another Sumilao farmer.
Cardinal Rosales was at the gates of the Ateneo to welcome them on a short stopover. Upon seeing him, a woman farmer ran toward their former pastor and melted in his arms, “Bishop!”
During their long march, critics have tried to discredit the identity of the farmers, saying they were puppets of some activist groups. But the cardinal, who was bishop of Bukidnon for 11 years before transferring to
“Tilt the law in favor of the poor,” said the cardinal. Reading from his letter to President Macapagal-Arroyo, which he asked the farmers to personally give to her, he said that he didn’t want to get into the details of their case with the President, except to say that he knew the farmers and that there is one thing that he is certain of: int his country the rich are always favored over the poor. He ended his homily with an appeal: Give back the land to the Sumilao farmers!”
Cardinal Rosales has so far stayed clear of politics. He has been criticized for doing so. But the mind of the cardinal is clear when it comes to the poor. His Pondo ng Pinoy, a financing scheme social projects, demonstrates his love for poor. His pronouncement last Wednesday is clarion call that in matters like the Sumilao case, he will not go silent, for, as he says, our very salvation depends on this.
The Prince of the Church has spoken. Will President of the Republic heed his voice?
Commentary
Nono Alfonso, SJ
John J. Carroll Institue on Church and Social Issues
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Lunes, Disyembre 10, 2007
On Classroom Observations
I really do not understand why some teachers fear and dislike being observed by their supervisor.
I remember this particular teacher in the institution where I worked just before Xavier. She was new to the profession and in the eyes of her supervisors (I was one of them) she needed a lot of coaching which can be done only after observing her in the classroom. She was absolutely against the whole process and was even hospitalized as a consequence of her fear. Eventually, she accused us her supervisors of harrassment because of the observations.
I feel that I am able to add something more to my teaching skills after each and every feedback giving and evaluation that stem from the classroom observation. The reason for this attitude is my acknowledgement that I am not an education major. As such, I can benefit from the skills and experience of those who are in charge of me for there is so much room to grow. And my growth can happen only if I am able to realize where my weaknesses are as a teacher.
An example of this is exactly my experience this year in Xavier. I have been a teacher for a total of eight years now but I have been teaching different subjects in different academic levels in four different schools. Each of the subject asks for a particular style of teaching as each academic level and school demand a particular manner of discourse. For example, Philippine History in High School in the Ateneo can easily be taught using graphic organizers. This style is hard to use in a college in Nueva Ecija because of the five-month time constraint, among other reasons.
I do not know how much longer I will be staying with the school but I know that I am a more effective teacher of literature after this year. I will have these skills with me no matter where I choose to teach. This is not to say that I welcome with open arms the idea that I am going to be observed. My heart would still skip a beat everytime I notice somebody sneaking in the back of my classroom. I, however, have been able to see beyond this momentary discomfort.
I hope I do not soon eat my own words.
Sabado, Disyembre 8, 2007
Lunes, Disyembre 3, 2007
Linggo, Disyembre 2, 2007
Our House and Our selves
I have adopted Mike Cuepo's motto: If you have a camera, point it on yourself. I have been dubbed as "vain" because of these shots. But these pixs are important to me because it shows me, my family, our house, apartment and the community's chapel in the present. Naya, at 10 years is reading Harry Potter and recited a poem she composed herself. Aysha, I just found out is fond of drawing. Jason and Rhoda are living happily in UAE.
4G and St. Francis Xavier's Feast Day
I used the camera that I borrowed from my mom to shoot pictures of 4G today. This class has me for their temporary class adviser. They are, as a class impressively bright but at times woefully childlike.
DMII Installation of Officers: Kapt. Pepe
My Mother is the regent for the year. I hope that their group becomes more dynamic through her. My two nieces performed intermission numbers.
Miyerkules, Nobyembre 21, 2007
"Stonehenges All Around Us" by Craig Childs
I like the last paragraph of this piece.
ARCHEOLOGISTS recently discovered what appears to be the other half of Stonehenge, illuminating what they believe is a much larger Neolithic complex than has long been envisioned. What is coming to the surface seems strangely familiar. Looking closely at Stonehenge and other Neolithic sites, we find the formative patterns of our modern world.
Step out of your house and you might notice your street is fixed on a cardinal grid: north, south, east, west. This pattern defines many American and European cities, as well as Neolithic sites such as Anyang in China and the Mexican city of Teotihuacan.
Step out of your house and you might notice your street is fixed on a cardinal grid: north, south, east, west. This pattern defines many American and European cities, as well as Neolithic sites such as Anyang in China and the Mexican city of Teotihuacan.
The new discovery, two miles from Stonehenge itself, is an elaborate residential compound now being excavated. It is a site where the builders of Stonehenge may have lived and where pilgrims may have stayed while attending feasts and ceremonies. Fascinating tidbits have been unearthed: a timber version of Stonehenge, evidence of different kinds of occupations in the 4,600-year-old village and a processional "road" leading to the nearby Avon River. These finds add to the picture of an enigmatic Neolithic religion, in which stone-paved roads are aligned with celestial features and great circles frame the rising and setting sun at key times of the year.
This all has an uncanny resemblance to Neolithic sites in different parts of the world. The Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, dating back several hundred years, is a complex celestial calendar, its 28 spokes of aligned stones pointing to risings and settings of the sun and various stars. This medicine wheel, in turn, is similar to the Nonakado Stone Circle of Japan, from the 1st millennium BC, where standing stones mark important, calendrical events on the horizon.
My friend and colleague, Kim Malville, recently discovered an Egyptian Stonehenge in the Sahara dating back more than 6,000 years. Malville believes that it acted as both a calendar and a temple for people living along the edge of an ancient lake, and it is the oldest known megalithic site in the world.
My personal favorite Stonehenge look-alike — at least in concept — is in northern New Mexico, where in the 11th century, the Chaco culture built hundreds of miles of processional "roads." Rather than rings of giant standing stones, the Chacoans erected enormous masonry temples known as great houses. Many of these great houses are aligned to view celestial events through portals and windows.
Looking at the way ancient people assembled themselves, archeologists see cults and primitive, celestial religions. But how primitive were these people's beliefs, and how different from them are we?
I once ambled around the Colorado Capitol in Denver with a compass and notebook in hand. I had come to a modern landmark to apply the same questions we had been asking at ancient sites. I found that every aspect of the building's neoclassical architecture has alignments you see at many Neolithic ceremonial centers. Every bench is symmetrically arranged around the cruciform building, which is, in turn, set to cardinal directions. It lies within an array of other government buildings and open processionals, each holding to the same cardinal patterns.
At the Chaco site, certain ruins were found swept clean, while nearby buildings were loaded with trash. The same thing was just unearthed near Stonehenge: some buildings littered with broken pottery and discarded bones — what archeologists believe to be the leavings of feasts and pilgrimage — and others remarkably clean.
Julian Thomas of the University of Manchester commented that these clean rooms near Stonehenge may have belonged to special people, chiefs or priests. He also suggested that they were possibly shrines and cult centers.
That day in Denver, tens of thousands of people were gathered in an open area at the foot of the Capitol for some kind of weekend fair. The atmosphere boomed with music and smelled of food cooking in numerous tents. What was I seeing? Pilgrims, feasts and cult centers? Were the meticulously kept buildings erected for priests and chiefs?
The same kind of architecture can be seen in Washington, where countless astronomical alignments are constructed into the Capitol and its surrounding buildings and monuments. Most recently, Gerald Ford joined a long line of presidents whose bodies have lain in state inside the majestic, symmetrical Rotunda. Will future archeologists imagine the worship of ancient leaders whose bodies were kept within circular chambers before burial?
So often we see ourselves as a lonely, cultural pinnacle, superior beyond all comparison. But if recent excavations at Stonehenge offer anything, they put our era in perspective, reminding us of an unbroken lineage shared across continents and cultures. We are simply an extension of an ancient age, living now in the next lost civilization.
This all has an uncanny resemblance to Neolithic sites in different parts of the world. The Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, dating back several hundred years, is a complex celestial calendar, its 28 spokes of aligned stones pointing to risings and settings of the sun and various stars. This medicine wheel, in turn, is similar to the Nonakado Stone Circle of Japan, from the 1st millennium BC, where standing stones mark important, calendrical events on the horizon.
My friend and colleague, Kim Malville, recently discovered an Egyptian Stonehenge in the Sahara dating back more than 6,000 years. Malville believes that it acted as both a calendar and a temple for people living along the edge of an ancient lake, and it is the oldest known megalithic site in the world.
My personal favorite Stonehenge look-alike — at least in concept — is in northern New Mexico, where in the 11th century, the Chaco culture built hundreds of miles of processional "roads." Rather than rings of giant standing stones, the Chacoans erected enormous masonry temples known as great houses. Many of these great houses are aligned to view celestial events through portals and windows.
Looking at the way ancient people assembled themselves, archeologists see cults and primitive, celestial religions. But how primitive were these people's beliefs, and how different from them are we?
I once ambled around the Colorado Capitol in Denver with a compass and notebook in hand. I had come to a modern landmark to apply the same questions we had been asking at ancient sites. I found that every aspect of the building's neoclassical architecture has alignments you see at many Neolithic ceremonial centers. Every bench is symmetrically arranged around the cruciform building, which is, in turn, set to cardinal directions. It lies within an array of other government buildings and open processionals, each holding to the same cardinal patterns.
At the Chaco site, certain ruins were found swept clean, while nearby buildings were loaded with trash. The same thing was just unearthed near Stonehenge: some buildings littered with broken pottery and discarded bones — what archeologists believe to be the leavings of feasts and pilgrimage — and others remarkably clean.
Julian Thomas of the University of Manchester commented that these clean rooms near Stonehenge may have belonged to special people, chiefs or priests. He also suggested that they were possibly shrines and cult centers.
That day in Denver, tens of thousands of people were gathered in an open area at the foot of the Capitol for some kind of weekend fair. The atmosphere boomed with music and smelled of food cooking in numerous tents. What was I seeing? Pilgrims, feasts and cult centers? Were the meticulously kept buildings erected for priests and chiefs?
The same kind of architecture can be seen in Washington, where countless astronomical alignments are constructed into the Capitol and its surrounding buildings and monuments. Most recently, Gerald Ford joined a long line of presidents whose bodies have lain in state inside the majestic, symmetrical Rotunda. Will future archeologists imagine the worship of ancient leaders whose bodies were kept within circular chambers before burial?
So often we see ourselves as a lonely, cultural pinnacle, superior beyond all comparison. But if recent excavations at Stonehenge offer anything, they put our era in perspective, reminding us of an unbroken lineage shared across continents and cultures. We are simply an extension of an ancient age, living now in the next lost civilization.
Miyerkules, Nobyembre 14, 2007
Lunes, Nobyembre 12, 2007
Debate Team
The following is an editted and hopefully a longer version of my reply to Mr. Andrew Pinlac's entry in Mr. Brian Marana's blog:
"Sorry Andrew, but Mr. Marana is the moderator of the Xavier Debating Team. Their coach is Kip of the Ateneo Debate Society.
Much credit has to be given to Kip.
I was with the guys last February at a minor tournament at the Ateneo High School and again last Saturday (in a much bigger national event hosted by the Ateneo de Manila University.) I saw a tremendous improvement in the skills of the whole debating team: in diction, analysis of the issues, synthesis and incorporation of their lessons in the speeches, rebuttals, clarity of thinking, and organization of ideas. All of them are also quick on the draw; they can answer the points hurled at them by desperate opponents in a wink of an eye and without blinking.
And because they are also humorous, witty, well-mannered (unlike the contingent from another all boys' school, I can't help but compare because they were irritatingly boisterous!) and gentlemanly, it is no wonder that they are chick-magnets. I saw not a few girls videotaping the boys surreptiously and some even asked that their pictures be taken with them!
I see in all this as a start of a tradition of excellence in the debate club. This means that Peterson and Evan are not flukes (in the good sense of that word, if it has any) for Kenneth, Gavin, Philip and Carlo are there, as well as Vito Borromeo.
Kenneth Reyes, who is beginning to mirror the logic of Evan Chen was the group's "rising star" last year and undoubtedly, they have Vito this year, whose charm while he stands before the podium is beginning to match his brother's appeal. Philip has begun to take on the fire of his kuya Peterson Poon.
More than the skills, however, I saw the group becoming a community of friends and brothers. They rejoice in each other's triumphs, which is overwhelmingly many by now, and agonize in each other's defeats. They are concerned if one is missing or being left out and has no ride home. They are magnanimous in their victories. These might be the contribution of Mr. Marana -- I do not know. Not that it matters who gets the credit for what. What is more important is the end result, is it not?
All in all, I take pride in being a teacher of some of these boys and that our school is capable of producing and forming such individuals."
Miyerkules, Nobyembre 7, 2007
Josefino.net
http://josefino.net
My second home for 12 years. It is described by Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ as "ang duyan ng magigiting." I discovered this site through a fellow Josefino and now co-teacher, regent Leo Ocampo. Browsing through this site brought back so many memories and through the words contained in it reinforce my understanding of who I am now. I invite my students who are considering the priestly ministry as a way of responding to God's love to browse through the site.
My second home for 12 years. It is described by Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ as "ang duyan ng magigiting." I discovered this site through a fellow Josefino and now co-teacher, regent Leo Ocampo. Browsing through this site brought back so many memories and through the words contained in it reinforce my understanding of who I am now. I invite my students who are considering the priestly ministry as a way of responding to God's love to browse through the site.
Lunes, Nobyembre 5, 2007
Calumpit, Bulacan!
At this point, tapos na ang CS pero hindi pa rin makapag-enjoy nang husto dahil sa QT. Buhay-guro at buhay-binata? HINDI COMPATIBLE!
Martes, Oktubre 23, 2007
Friday Night at Tagaytay
I was wondering all night: did I have any right to go and spend a night out in cold Tagaytay? While tons and tons of papers are waiting for me? And the answer was and is: Yes! It was a night with colleagues who have become friends and bonded into a family and nothing should get in the way of that.
Bigkas: Poetry Reading at Xavier
For the first time, I publicly read my poems. Two of them. And so the closet poet is out! I am happy. However, the pressure to write more poems is on. This last is something I can do without.
Sabado, Oktubre 20, 2007
On Friendship
A few days ago, someone emailed this to me and I decided to publish it here (although I am one of those who rather experience friendship rather than talk about it) because recent events around me forced me to think about this matter not necessarily for myself (for I am secure with the few relationships I have) but for others who are being offered the hand of friendship and are tempted to accept it because they are thinking that they have been abandoned and somewhat betrayed by real friends.
FAKE FRIENDS/REAL FRIENDS
FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Are the reason you have no food.
FAKE FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. & Mrs.
REAL FRIENDS: Call your parents Dad & Mom.
FAKE FRIENDS: Bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong
R EAL FRIENDS: Would sit next to you saying 'Dawg ... we screwed up... but that was fun!'
FAKE FRIENDS: never seen you cry
REAL FRIENDS: cry with you
FAKE FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back
REAL FRIENDS: keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours
FAKE FRIENDS: know a few things about you
REAL FRIENDS: Could write a book about you with direct quotes from you
FAKE FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing
REAL FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds butt that left you
FAKE FRIENDS: Would knock on your front door
REAL FRIENDS: Walk right in and say 'I'M HOME!'
FAKE FRIENDS: Are for awhile
REAL FRIENDS: Are for life
FAKE FRIENDS: will talk bad to the person who talks bad about you.
REAL FRIENDS: Will knock the person out that talked bad about you
FAKE FRIENDS: Would ignore this
REAL FRIENDS: Will send this to all their real friends and hope to get it back!
If you were killed today, I'm sorry I wouldn't be able to come to you funeral, because I'd be in jail for killing the person who did it.
Real friends would want to let you know that they love you to death & think you are **AMAZING**
Linggo, Oktubre 7, 2007
suggestive doodles
It's a girl who sent me this. They really are suggestive SO I hope you watch this as the adults that you are...
Lunes, Oktubre 1, 2007
Biyernes, Setyembre 28, 2007
Appreciated!
I just had a taste of teacher appreciation the Xavier way! It is unique, exciting, and, I can say, a real feast to the senses. 
We were dubbed "HEROES" and were treated the entire morning that way. I first saw Gabby, being the "spy" at the first floor lobby, reporting my and Mr. Young's arrival. The two of us (by then wearing blue capes) then entered the elevator/telephone booth (complete with faces of "adoring Xavier fans"). I remember Lamberto Datu being a "villain" and me, at the cajolement of Leigh Wong, having "to punch" him on the face. After that was the bat cave creatively adorned with cartolina bats 
and paper stalactites. I was given the power of transformation and my hand print was "encrypted" on a computer data base. I have been "identified."
In my 4G mentoring class, I was asked to guess "stone" and "bigfoot," do a charade for, of all super heroes, Nacho Libre. My mentoring group was great in the games, but Bro, Ang's was simply unbeatable.
Midmorning was the students' program. I felt so proud when my students Leonard, Michael, Phim, Martin, Nico, Jerick, Hanz, Mark among others performed either a dance, a song, or skit on stage. My favorite dance group "Dance X" performed. Their transformers move was inventive and effective. Diego de Ocampo then called me his "hero."
My acting career debuted under the directorship of Gino Chua. Many were congratulating me for being the "best actor" 
on a series of video footages. Thanks Gino and be the next Lino Brocka of the Philippines (but first hurdle and pass Filipino 4!)
Come lunch time, it was my taste buds that received a super hero treatment: as in for "the Flash's" appetite.
The students like Martin de Hoya, Jann Sy, and Diego again served us food and drinks.
I was the recipient to a number of letters from my students and here I want to share and remember as well, a few of them (if I find the time [again!
], I'll encode all the letters):
"Hey Cher! I know we can be rowdy at times... sorry for that. But behind that we greatly appreciate your hard work. Thanks cher for your patience and hard work! Happy Appreciation Day!" -Angelo Santos 4G
"Kamusta na 'Cher? Happy Appreciation Day. Today's the day where we celebrate having you for our teacher. We thank you for these wonderful quarters! Haha. Can't wait for the next." -Carlos Santos
"Hi Sir! Salamat sa lahat ng mga itinuro mo sa amin tungkol sa El Filibusterismo. Naghihirap man kaming mag-unawa, salamat sa pagtiyaga sa amin. Sana po ipagpatuloy mo ang iyong paraan ng pagturo. Ingat ka palagi at best wishes galing sa akin at galing sa 4G." Signed, Enzo Mijares
"Hi, Cher! Super thank you sa lahat! I commend u for your great improvements. Super mas okay ka na! Sana higher than 85 na bigay mo sa akin. Joke. Cher excited na ako sa DULA natin sana manalo kami. Joke. Haha. Cher, thank you for all your concern and dedication to your teaching! LA LUNA!" - Rod Lascano
"Mr. Hernando. Happy Appreciation Day! Thank you for being a good Filipino teacher. Thank you for teaching well and being fair in class. I hope you can keep up the good work." Your student Ronald Sioco
"Happy Appreciation Day! Sir, hindi ako magaling sa pagsasalita at pagsusulat sa Filipino. Pasensya na po. Salamat sa pagtuturo sa amin. Salamat po sa mga bagong "insights" tungkol sa panitikan. Natutuwa ako palagi kung "lumalabas" sa paaralan ang mga discussions. Thanks for making the lectures as informative as possible. Thanks for helping with debate once in a while. I hope, if we get a suitable topic, that we can have a good discussion or informal debate in class if we get the opportunity. It would be a great way to get to understand and know how we think. Thanks!" - Evan Chen
"Salamat sa pagkakaroon ng pasensya para sa 4G. Dhil sa 'yo nagiging mas madali mag-aral ng El Fili." -Bryce King
"Happy Appreciation Day! I wanna thank you for not being a typical high school teacher. 1st quarter has been an experience for me especially in your class. Honestly, I didn't expect you to be my teacher. Your name has appeared since last year as a CLE teacher so I do have a background info about you. I also didn't like your teaching techniques because they weren't really working. At the end of the 1st quarter, I was able to appreciate your work more. I thank you for your passion especially about the situation of our country. I thank you for the intelligent humor you share in class, which I am amused of. But most of all, I thank you for your personal effort in trying to change for us. If I remember correctly, you told my mom that "natatakot akong I'll fall short of their (Fil. Ad.) expectations: mahihiya ako sa kanilang talino." I really am grateful that you've made Filipino more meaningful and significant." - Martin Fausto H4A "P.S. Thank you po for not subtracting my points for grammar errors."
"Mister Jules! Happy Appreciation Day! Cher, thanx sa lahat! Haha... Sorry sa pagiging magulo ko sa class... promise... magpapakabait na ako... T.Y uli sa lahat... God bless!" Ang iyong bukod tanging estudyante, Reggie
"Cher, thx for the message you made for our retreat. Ipinapakita lang nito na mayroon kang pakialam sa amin. Maraming salamat." Happy A-Day. - Rayniell 4F
"Binagsak Mo Ako! joke! Always, trying naman this Qtr. Just want you to know that you deserve to stay in XS. Sobrang inspired [ako] sa mga tinuturo mo and you're always there to help us and give advice to us. Tnx lng talaga." -Dog
"Mr. Hernando! Happy Appreciation Day! Aaminin ko cher na hindi talaga warm yung reaction ko nung malaman kong ikaw teacher ko. Pero lahat yan nagbago na ngayon. I'm really thankful na ikwa guro namin for a fact na talagang naa-appreciate ko lahat ng effort mo sa class. Nung bulletin board, na-touch ako na nag-stay ka pa. Thanks for everything talaga. Pinahahalagahan ko po lahat. Andito lang ako pag kailangan mo ng kausap o kakampi... TC! God bless! -TongFu Lin
"Mr. Hernando. Ang galing niyo pong guro. Sana manatili po kayo rito ng mas matagal. Cool na cool mo talaga. Kant-ism, Deism, angas mo talaga. Happy A-Day. Galing mong umarte." - Kenn Tong
"Noong nakaraang taon cher, inakala ko na ika'y isang istrikto at walang "humor" na guro... it seems that I was mistaken, haha. Thank you sa mga jokes mo sa class cher. You really make it entertaining. Thank you rin cher sa pagpipigil mo sa klase. Siguro minsan naiinis ka na sa min pero tinitiis mo pa rin na di magalit. Thanks for that cher. Naaalala ko pa nung kinausap mo ako sa may AVR tungkol [topic]. Salamat dahil noong panahong iyon naramdaman ko rin na pinapansin din pala ako. Thank you cher. Happy Appreciation Day! (PS: Pabayaan mo na kung konyo cher. Haha.) - Lawrence Gatmaitan
"Salamat, salamat cher! Dahil sa dakilang pagtuturo niyo ng El Filibusterismo sa akin at sa mga kamag-aral ko, natuto kaming huwag babuyin ang karunungan (ayon kay P. Fernandez. Hehehe!) at bigyang halaga ito. Tinuruan niyo kami ng panghabang buhay na mga liksyon at prinsipyo na higit naming magagamit pagkatapos ng pag-aaral. Happy Appreciation Day! -Mike Yap
"G. Hernando! Ang dami na nating pinagdaan ah! And to think you haven't even had one full year of experience in this school yet! Ibang klase rin kayo eh! Not everyone can go through hell and back with students like us in just 10 months here. And, hey! We're still alive, right? I guess ganyan talaga tayong "masasamang damo"--matagal mamatay. Laging lumalaban eh! Salamat po sa lahat ng life lessons at mga karanasang sabay nating hinarap at sinagupa. Not all teachers can claim to have taken Stanly Sy to the limit. But guess what, I have to admit, you are one of them. Thanks for, somehow, still brining out the best in me, whether we're reading the bible or El Fili, studying CLE or Filipino. (Oh, and thanks for teaching me the..... Haha, remember?)" - Stanly Sy H3B 2006-2007 H4B 2007-2008
"Cher, Happy A-Day! Enjoy kayo diyan at salamat sa lahat." - Angelo Ty
"Kamusta 'Cher, Nakakaiba ka talaga cher. Yung mga jokes mo at kalokohan sa klase numero uno. Iba talaga! Thank you pala cher na tinulungan mo ako ng sobra-sobra. Akala ko nga cher hindi na nga ako papasa eh pero dahil sa tulong ninyo mataas pa ang nakuha ko sa expect ko na grado. Sana cher magkakilala pa tao sa paraan ng mga lessons at sana continue lang ung maganda ninyong paraang magturo. Salamat Cher!!! Happy A-Day! -Matthew Tan H4G
Cher! Thanks sa pagtuturo ng Filipino sa amin! Salamat din sa iyong malalim na pagtuturo at "pag-aanalyze" ng El Fili! Happy Appreciation Day! Happy A-Day! -Dexter Falcon H4G
"Thanks for being patient with 4G even if we are a bit noisy. Thanks also for teaching us el fili and making it easier a bit. Good luck in your book thing! Happy A-Day! -Benjamin Tiu H4G
"Chewba... Mr. Hernando! Pinanood ko ang Star wars 4,5,6 kagabi at napansin ko na malayo ang hawig mo kay Chewbacca. Sapagkat, mas gwapo siya! Artista pa! Wokokoko. Anyway! Salamat sa iyong pagtuturo! Ako'y natulungan mong maging bihasa na mambabasa ng El Filibusterismo! Sana'y maging maligaya ka sa araw na ito na nilaan para sa inyong mga guro! Happy A-Day" - Stone
"Sorry na lang kung medyo magulo yung class, galing mo pa rin magturo! Hirap ng Fili. -From: Ricky Mamonluk
"Happy Appreciation Day! Salamat sa pagiging pasyensyoso sa klase namin. Marami na kaming natutunan sa mga karagdagang impormasyong ipinamamahagi niyo sa klase. Sana'y ipagpatuloy mo pa ng pagtuturo sa amin ng maayos. Nagpapasalamat ako na ikaw ang naging guro namin sa huling taon ko sa Xavier. Salamat ulit! XS Ultimate Frisbee Na! - Beal Asuncion High 4G
"Sup? Thanks for being a good assistant class adviser and Filipino teacher. Marami kaming natutunang mga bagay sa El Fili. Salamat keep up the good work. - Christopher
"Ginoong Hernando! Maligayang Aprreciation Day! Salamat sa pagtuo sa 4G kung ano talaga ang nilalaman ng nobelang El Fili. Kita mo naman cher hanggang Jollibee, nagbabasa ako!!! Wahaha cgee cher ngatz! -Jerome Hong
The Xavier teachers are enjoined not to receive gifts from the students for whatever occasion, but everything that I got today goes beyond all the gifts that a teacher can wish for in this world. What can I give in return but a promise to try to excel in this field and pray that God will bless all my students past and present, all the schools I worked for, and all my co-teachers and lifelong friends.
Back to work...
Lunes, Setyembre 24, 2007
lion king musical
I let go of the chance of catching a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II because of the possibility that I will not be allowed into the Princess of Wales Theater for being late. It was in 2002 and my original purpose in being in downtown Toronto that chilly October evening was actually to watch Lion King the Musical and not to see the Queen.
I knew that she was visiting Canada in the same month that I would be there, but I did not expect that the train station that I chose to exit from that night would be in the same place that they would be holding some sort of gala presentation for her. I saw the press, the crowd, her limousine and all but they all became just a blur; the King was more important than her.
Through this video, catch a glimpse of the magic that I witnessed five years ago...
Lunes, Setyembre 10, 2007
Monica Seles Tribute 2007
She's one of the reasons why I love Tennis although I did not learn how to play it. We were born on the same year: 1973. And I hated Steffi Graf's nose. Pardon the song, but I think it is appropriately used in this lovely tribute to the woman and her talent especially in the light of the tragedy that stopped her reign over women's Tennis in the 1990s.
Miyerkules, Agosto 22, 2007
Pillars of the Earth
| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Books |
| Genre: | Literature & Fiction |
| Author: | Ken Follett |
In paper back, it was a thousand page long and the task of reading it seemed insurmountable so not unlike the building fo the cathedral of kingsbridge which is the central focus of the novel.
Thanks to typhoon Egay, to the government's predilection for holidays, and the two day weekend which is one of the perks of being a teacher, I got myself a total of five days to finish the entire thing under a leaking roof and amidst hundreds of papers to check.
When I went back to work last Tuesday, I immediately informed Christian that I had finished reading the novel. Judging from the way he looked, I think he felt happy and proud that I agree with him.
Reading the novel was an adventure. It was meeting new heroes in the person of Philip the Prior of Kingsbridge, who is religious in every sense of the word, but very human, Tom the builder and Ellen who in her eccentricity was judged a witch, Aliena and her love Jack.
Philip is not like any religious protagonists I encountered in the past. He struggled against his pride and against antagonists who are also working within the Church. He experienced fear, doubts, and uncertainties, and yes even temptations of the fleshy kind. He emerged in triumph at the end of all his struggles but there was no false pride in him for he got truly bruised in all his fights.
While plowing through the novel, I remember with gratitude my Medieval History teacher at the Ateneo, Fr. Bartolomew Lahiff, SJ for instructing us about gothic churches for that knowledge assisted me in making sense of the church building and in appreciating the struggle against gravity that medieval mason-builders had to face.
The novels had numerous twists and Ken Follett's genius in tying up all the loose ends was amazing.
Biyernes, Agosto 10, 2007
Ma___Pa_Kettle_Math.wmv
When the left and right hemispheres of the brain collide... What might happen when a literature teacher teaches Math...
Biyernes, Hulyo 27, 2007
I'm Back
I haven't viewed my multiply site for like a million years. Work, lots of work is the reason. Anyway, since I have no time to write a movie review or enter a blog about my latest (mis)adventure, let me just share several photos I lifted from an email... It's called Pinoy Transformers... Meet Starice Cream, Barricart, Bumblejeep, Frenzikdad, Megatrike and Optibus Prime. I wonder why a majority of them are Decepticons?
Miyerkules, Hunyo 20, 2007
PAASCU Meeting
| Start: | Jun 27, '07 2:30p |
| Location: | Xavier School |
DXhibit
| Start: | Jun 22, '07 6:30p |
| Location: | Rafael Cortina Sports Center, Xavier School |
Martes, Hunyo 19, 2007
In Your Face AnPin
I brought this really old tennis racket to our school in order to fulfill one lifelong dream: to learn how to play tennis.
This particular racket has been with the Family since 1983. My Dad bought it in Saudi Arabia the first time he was there in the mid-80s. Although I was very young back then (10 yrs. old) I was already watching tennis on TV. I saw black and white images of McEnroe, Borg, Lendl, Navratilova, Evert-Lloyd play their hearts out for the game. And so with these as idols, I dreamt of playing tennis. However, the dream became, just that, a dream. I realized, even before I began to hold the racket that tennis was an expensive sports to go into.
I let the dream pass me by... Graf, Sampras, Agassi, Rafter... I played tennis as video games... Seles, Hingis, Roddick... I longed for tennis on cellphones... Williams, 
Henin, Nadal, Federer... until yesterday.
Andrew, Mark, and especially Aids were instrumental in my finally playing a real tennis match, albeit a mere one set game. Also, these three assisted me in winning my very first tennis battle; Aids as teammate and coach; the other two as opponents and therefore the losers.
My, my. I think I drew first blood there and initiated a lifelong rivaly on our school's Tennis court.
Well, as they say, let the game begin...
Lunes, Hunyo 18, 2007
I am In
Wowow. One of the perks that comes with being a 'cher is the fact that one keeps "up to date" with the latest in whatever is "in." To know the world of my students means, in part, to learn the current trend in fashion, terms, gadgets, topics, and what nots. It implies that one has to be, somehow, forever young. I do not wonder therefore when people express surprise when I reveal them my real age. I have gotten used to their "But you look as if you are in your late 20s!" (The latest is from a fellow newbie and one of my multiply contacts.) I am not at all flattered because that is the truth! Hahaha! Also, one as "old" as I has the joy of learning new things from my younger colleagues.
Just like this new School Year, I am feeling very excited as a teacher. For one, I am learning how to use a Mac and all the gadgets that one needs in order to survive a classroom that is equipped with the relatively newest in teaching 
technology. (Long sentence, sorry.)
In my previous school, I have learned to use the LCD projector. So I am not anymore overwhelmed at all by this thing. I know what "keystone" is for, for example. But the Mac laptop still poses a wee bit of a problem. It looks so delicate. And it is not mine to destroy.
Also, there is this laser pointer than 
can transform into something that can remotely run one's powerpoint presentation. 
Eventually, too, I will have to learn how to use an opaque projector. Not the ones that are as big as a stereo component and just as heavy but the newer, sleeker ones.
Multiply too is a new thing. I am becoming addicted... Much more than friendster... As evidence, I am still in our workroom (7:20 pm) perfecting this darn blog.
Lastly, there is ELF. This is a computer program that assists a 'cher in assessing the teaching-learning process. My current DC was kind enough to demonstrate how to use it in an actual classroom setting. After watching him, I said to myself, "well, I can do that." So, tomorrow, I will be forced to be the one administering the test to my two other classes.
Yeah, may the Force be with me...
Martes, Hunyo 12, 2007
Fil Dept at Los Banos and Tagaytay
Huling hirit sa tag-init. Nangitim, nagkaladyaan, nabundat, nagsisihan, nagkatakutan, at higit sa lahat nasiyahan. Salamat sa bago kong kagawaran sa isang karanasang di rin malilimutan. Salamat din kay Perps para sa mga larawang ito.
Martes, Hunyo 5, 2007
Lunes, Hunyo 4, 2007
Intramuros Under the Midday Sun Part 2
The adventure continues...
(3) Puerta Real. This is the gate nearest Luneta Park. Impressions: Wow. Reason: I remembered the MTRCB sanctioning Lolit Solis for using that word before Real. I don't want to be sanctioned either so I won't retype it. Aside from Lolit Solis, I was amazed by the huge and massive walls of this Baluarte which was, if my memory (of the markers I read there, not of the actual events for I was but a potentia at that point of history) serves me right, destroyed during the 2nd World War and rebuilt in the 1980s. The interior of this outer line of defense had been converted into a garden. With the advent of the rainy season just a few days ago, the whole place look fresh and alive (pardon the diction).
(4) Western Walls. Instead of going straight to Fort Santiago by way of the Antonio Luna St. I decided to turn left and traverse the street between the Muros and the back of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, which, by the way, was the original site of the Colegio de San Jose. My goal was the San Ignacio Church ruins and the site of the first Ateneo de Manila. I was, however, sidetracked by another garden. I went into it and discovered the walls that form its western limits. I was intrigued by this arc over what appeared and actually turned out to be stairs that led to another Baluarte. This one was bigger than the first and was jutting out like a knife because of its pointed edge into what might have been, during the Spanish times the shores of Manila Bay.
I hesitated to climb the ramparts of the walls for doing so might burn me crisp for it was a bit past 11 o'clock. But, at this point the whole experience has, in my mind become an adventure. I did not like to let go of the chance to ogle from out of the top edge of the walls at the rich folks playing golf and do another thing besides: Let all my pretensions to fair skin go and allow my imagination to take me to when the British were bombing this side of the walls in 1762, breaching them and successfully conquering the city.
(5) It was the walls that I used in going to the San Ignacio Church ruins. On my way there I saw a group PNP cadets in training. They were being driven to submissiveness by a loud mouthed pot bellied official.
The Jesuit Church was described as unique in the Orient, a gem, a few historians stated. As to what the uniqueness was ascribed to, I did not care to know. Its ruins, however, do not reflect this at all. They were unimpressive. While there, I offered a silent wish that this gem, if ever it was a gem, be rebuilt someday if not by the Jesuits then by the Ateneans when less urgent things in society occupy them.
The bells of the Manila Cathedral then started to ring. I suddenly remembered the #1 item of my plan B. I might catch a mass or something that resembles it and so off I go to the edifice which was the source of that head splitting noise. It was 11:30 AM.
During the mass, my feet were so tired and my leg muscles so painful that I surreptitiously removed my shoes.
Linggo, Hunyo 3, 2007
Intramuros Under the Midday Sun Part 1
I give a relatively narrow definition to the term "adventure"; it means trying out something new. Using this meaning, I can describe my trip to Intramuros, yesterday, Sunday as an adventure.
I have been to Intramuros quite a number of times: for educational trips, for weddings, as a tourist, and even as a bum. What is so different this time was my goal: the Noli Me Tangere based paintings of Leonardo Cruz(?), and the means I took in getting to that goal. The second of the two formed the adventure part.
Preliminaries, the anxieties: The Noli Me Tangere paintings were being shown at the Fort Santiago. Where exactly in that place, I don't know. They might be in the dungeons or at the Rizal Shrine, a more logical possibility. The main question, however, was "Is there an access to the paintings on a Sunday?" If the answer to the question is a "NO" then I wasted a @#!* lot sa time. To stop this from happening, I decided on two things:
(1) fulfill my Sunday obligation as a Catholic in Intramuros,
(2) see the other parts of Intramuros, particularly the Muros part (walls, for all of you who are too young to undergo the required six units of Spanish in college) which I have not thoroughly explored in my previous visits.
Another thing that bothered me was how to get there. There are two ways: One that I am used to: the Cubao jeepney way. It will take me right to the street leading to Fort Santiago. Problem: This will involve three rides and therefore, too expensive and because I will be so near my goal, I might feel too lazy to accomplish #2 of Plan B above. The second is through a lone bus ride that will bring me to SM Manila. From there I can walk my way to Intramuros. A favorable choice because it involved less money and I will be forced to exercise.
I decided to leave my place at 9:30 AM. I wanted to be at SM Manila at 10 o'clock, in time to its opening so I can pay our electric bill. This proved to be quite a wrong decision which repercussions hit me literally right on the head just 2 hours and 30 minutes later.
I was in SM at around 10:15. I paid the bill and had a quick wee wee in a c.r. my finding of which involved a mini adventure. And the second part ensued: Walk, walk, walk, walk, and more walk.
(1) the Underpass. Impressions: broken tiles, slimy floor and walls. At least there is nary a smell of human waste.
(2) Sidewalk of the road between golf course and the City Hall, and National Museum. Impressions: humid, very humid, dizzyingly humid. I felt saddened by the state of the Gomburza statue. I also felt some fear because for the first time in my life I saw adults sniffing rugby. Kids + Rugby = acceptable. Adults + rugby = a BIG NO. A number of times, I was tempted to hail a jeepney that I reckon would take me inside Intramuros. Fear vs. stinginess. Stinginess won.
The adventure continues in just a few ...
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