'Tis I-R-V-I-N

I'm certain that this happened before Grade I because our classroom was at the Gabaldon. But what confuses me, some of our batchmates went the same class which had playing-feeding set-up. Does "Grade Kakan" sound familiar to you? Anyways, I got pissed off with our teacher for calling me "Erwin" as if she did not know how to pronounce my name properly. My mum transferred me to Maam Aven's class (I do not know the name of the building) when I stopped going to that class.

the little brother i never had

october, 1989

in 1989, at age 42, my mother still had a pregnancy. i myself, being conceived at a late mothering age of 35, the pregnancy was expected to be risky. as my mother and i was preparing to school, her water bag broke. my mother wet her skirt and urine started to drip on the floor. i was shocked and worried given the limited knowledge i had that time. my mother still managed to send me to go ahead and told me that she was alright.

i, coming into my senses that my mother was in trouble, began crying the first moment i sat on my chair upon reaching school. mrs. labay comforted me and asked what happened and i tearfully retold what i witnessed that morning. probably, she already had an idea that my mother suffered a miscarriage.

i returned home with the hilot already finished(tia dora) assisting my mother. what i saw was a fistful lump of flesh and blood contained in a bottle. the hilot estimated that it was a four- to five-month old boy fetus.

unknowingly at that time, the name rex which she intended to give her supposedly "third child" translates to the same meaning as to my name. both names mean king, rex is of latin origin while ryan is of gaelic.

miss brunette

i first came to know janette m. (she was from a different section in grade ii) firstly, because we were kidding then our classmate elson b. of sta. teresita (sta. teregogon, as mario would jokingly call it) that he had a crush on her. and secondly, she was the only girl i knew who was a brunette. her hair then was long, curly, and, expected of a brunette, reddish to brown in color.

she is my god-sister because her father is my godfather through the sacrament of confirmation. now, she has kids and she already cut her hair short and her hair already lost its reddish color.

another fact, because she was my god-sister, i had never difficulty inviting her to become my partner in the first and only ball i joined in high school in adnu, the military victory ball. i would always be indebted to her because of that fact. thanks, miss brunette.

miss a-vhoo-key-doh

during a class recitation, maam requintina asked us some examples of fruits. vanessa sanchez, gave the best answer based on how she pronounced it, "a-vhoo-key-doh". it never fails to draw a smile on my face whenever i remember it and everytime i see her.

united nation's day (grade vi)

i remember we flew the flag of the united states during this year. another year of few recollections, i need some refreshing.

united nations' day (grade v)

i flew the same flag i had when i was in grade i which was denmark. again, i have few recollections about this year, probably a chat with my former classmates is going to refresh me of them.

united nations' (grade iv)

i had my mother as my teacher in grade iv, and she had rizal as the class section name, so it was expected that her flag was the flag of the philippines. i was too shy to become the class escort when she invited me. i actually had a picture of our class with our class muse and escort.

facts:

muse: (i'm sure to remember it once i saw the picture, i'll have it scanned and paste it here)
escort: eric asanza
flag: philippines

united nations' day (grade iii)

it is a bit odd, i do not remember anything vividly about united nations' from grade iii eagle. but we had the same problem like the one i had in grade ii and as mentioned by filipinayzd of not being able to copy the coat of arms of a country our class represented, which was then spain.

united nations' day (grade ii)

i really had difficulty creating the coat of arms of mexico's flag, so as far as i can remember i only settled to having the tricolor flag without the coat of arms.

facts:

muse: mayeth gados
escort: paul gerona
flag: mexico

united nations' day (grade i)

i never marched with my first ever united nation's parade with grade i camia, for I got a gash on my elbow when i crashed on the talipapa's pavement on my way to class on a hot afternoon. as i speak,that pavement is in front of the sayson's eatery. i never went home immediately fearing that my parents would scold and even spank me for being too careless. while the students assembled on the ball ground, i hid behind the square-like structure between maam sabio's and maam aven's room. nonetheless, i still went home and good thing my parents never scold me.

i witnessed my very first united nation's day on our two-storey house's window while they passed by and i felt comfortable not because i was not able to went with them but the sensation of alcohol being applied over my gashed elbow.

some facts:

muse: maria linda c. (from poro)
escort: alfred labay (the first one that came into my mind, not really sure)
class flag: denmark

United Nation's Day

Speaking of United Nations' Day, these are my recollections about this annual school activity, which is usually held on the 24th of October.

In Grade I (Rose), I had to buy new art paper again because we had to switch country. Another class had chosen Singapore before us. Our new flag, South Korean, do not have the color red but blue, pink (yes, not red) and black (which was provided by our class adviser).

Vanessa Sanchez was our muse then with Jake Esmeralda being the escort. It was supposed to be me but maam when asked me if I had a costume to wear, my answer was "Pwede po an barong?" Jake used "idtong ginamit [nya] pagtoton". :p

We did not have to buy the materials for our Hungarian flag in Grade II (Pili). Our teacher prepared the flags (sticks included) then sold them to us. AFAIK, it was smaller and colored paper-made which made our flag unique. :D

We could not copy the coat of arms of Spain, in Grade III (Eagle). So, we just wrote "SPAIN" on the yellow stripe of our flags. :)

France was our flag in Grade IV (Mabini). And Denmark, I guess, in Grade V (Red). What I remember, I wrapped the stick of my flag with masking tape which maddened my parents. : I cannot recall our flag in Grade VI (Apple).

Miss Austria's boobs

It was United Nation's Day and my mum was assisting her class muse Miss Austria, who happened to be Rommel's elder sister. Mum mistakenly wrote "Australia" in the sash consequently she had to redo the lettering. It annoyed the muse. Everyone was ready for the parade but the Grade V-Yellow class. As I was removing the extra silver dusts (so I could use them later on) from the pink sash of the impatient Miss, I unconsciously pressed the soft spot of her with my fingers.

Manila City

Metro Manila only had 4 cities back in Grade VI: Quezon, Kaloocan, Pasay, and Manila. During the class recitation in HEKASI, our teacher asked: "Ano ang mga syudad sa Metro Manila?" Being a geography buff, without hesitation, I raised and answered with conviction. The funny part was maam's response: "Quezon City, Kaloocan City, Pasay City. May Manila City man?!"

pastor jeffrey's sermons I

"magkakaigwa ning rapture, end of days"

"ang impiyerno garo yan superhighway pero ang langit garo yan basog"

love teams and love hates

love teams
1. champ loves rechyl
2. jeffrey loves connie
3. mario loves marilyn
4. tang tang loves willy?
5. segundo loves connie?


love hates
1. ryan a. vs nora
2. eric a. vs nora
3. segundo vs. connie

irvin vs mario debate I

arin ang mas maorag na barangay baras o dinaga?

irvin: may plaza, simbahan, asin munisipyo
mario: may mariners, may bulangan, nagaagi ang mga taga dinaga kung mapanaga sa baras

Baras and Dinaga rivalry

It all began in a comment made by yours truly on the urban situation in Baras. My comment was misinterpreted or taken malicously. I only said, "Paghunà ko sa Baras garo ciudad-ciudad, umá palan an likód kaiyan."

green floor wax

nowadays, everyone is talking green, that is, green cars, green jobs, green fuel technology, but when i was in grade I, our class already had an alternative to the candle wax we used to polish the floor.

when i was in grade I, during mondays, i would pluck palomaria leaves in our yard to serve as floor wax, everytime my turn as a class sweeper during mondays.

school info

school name: canaman central school
year founded: 1903 (correct me, irvin if this is right)
prominent structures (during our time): gabaldon building, marcos-type classrooms, the playground
address: dinaga, canaman
size: around 2 or 3 hectares?

grade I class info

class section: camia
teacher: mrs. labay
class neighbors: rose (crescini) and gumamela (aven)
u.n. flag: denmark
class president: your's truly (hahaha)

friends i first came close with

1. alfred labay and the other labay, i forgot his name
2. glenn alcantara

first day of school

june, 1989

i was left alone in my room, with my mother accompanying me for the first time in mrs. labay's room.

the whole class was outside attending the flag raising ceremony while i waited for them sitting on an arm chair shy and anxious of the coming days. first day school jitters, so they say.

on board to nostalgia

the year was 1989, when i first took those baby steps climbing up the spiral staircase of education. hop on!

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