Seven

Today is independence day and ironically, for me it marks my last free day! Free from papers to check, classes to teach and lessons to plan.  I can't really complain because I have been in this profession for almost 7 years, right? Must be something I like to do, if not, love.

I guess I'm pretty much prepared for Day 1: my lesson plan is ready, my Keynote presentation is all set... ;) I hope my students are likewise looking forward to meeting me!

So how did I spend the last day of 'freedom'?

1) Errands: went to the mall to pay bills (thank God for payment centers), buy some groceries and went on a side trip to Payless! Good thing I did since they were having a one-day-only sale: buy 2, get 1 free.  Not bad, huh? So mom, Liam and I got one pair each. Elmo sandals for Liam, black Comfort Plus flats for me and sandals for mom, also from Comfort Plus.  I loveeee Comfort Plus! So comfortable (duh) and affordable (ie My flats only cost Php 645).

2) Home-cooked Lunch: since our cook was away for close to 3 weeks, I missed having real home-cooked meals! Our labandera did the best she could while the cook was away, but it was simply no match.  Hehe.  I had a huge lunch since I've been trying my best to avoid dinner since last week.

3) Gym with the boys: I killed myself at Spinning Class last night so I didn't work out today anymore.  Instead, I took Liam to the play in the studio area of the gym while daddy did his thing.  He loved the huge space and the floor to ceiling mirror! :p

4) Jollibee ;) Took Liam to Jollibee so he could have some fries.  Unhealthy, I know.  But so far it's one of the few things he eats and doesn't end up throwing up :( I have yet to consult the pedia regarding this.  Oh, he also had some ice cream ;)

So, I suppose it's a pretty productive day.  Now downloading the Beta version of ios7 for iPhone 4s.  Because I'm impatient like that!

My 5th Batch: Phoenix '14

Out of all the academic years, I think this year went by the fastest! It was probably because I was 24/7 busy with something teaching/running/family-related.

Since this batch was in their first year, my good friend Jen has always raved about them (Phoenix '14).  After she handled the batch in their freshman year, she told me, "Abangan mo sila! Sobrang okay na batch!" And when she was eventually assigned to teach H3, she genuinely looked forward to having them again as students.

Of course we all know that didn't go as planned because, well, God had other plans.  So I became their third year teacher instead.  Well, it was a great year.  Like each school year, I meet a wonderful mix of students: some crazy, some straight, some really smart kids, some street smart ones, some smart Alec's, some witty students, some hard-headed ones, some awkward kids, some great athletes, some hyper kids, great writers, awesome talents...and the list goes on.

Inasmuch as I would have also wanted to be a stay-at-home mom to be with my months-old baby, my heart also somewhat belonged in the classroom where I could be with the students and do my share in helping them live a better faith life.  I'm glad to say that sacrificing time with my son to continue being a teacher was worth it.  I say this from the bottom of my heart - I sincerely enjoyed every single day with the batch and would do it all over again if I have to.

If you are reading this, Phoenix, Ms. Beli was right, you girls were worth the wait.  Thank you for the many classroom memories we all made, thank you for bearing with me when I had to limp because of some running injury, for listening to my stories and experiences (as if naman you could 'turn off' your hearing sense), for accepting me in spite of my weirdness (and my long ummmm's), for writing all those heartfelt reflection papers, for cheering for me whenever you'd see me run around ICA, for sharing your lives with me and listening to me share mine with you :) Most importantly, for inspiring me every single day to be a better me - a better mom so that my kid/s will grow up to be as smart and talented as you girls are, to run better and eat healthy so I could encourage you to do the same and to teach in the best possible way because you deserve no less.

Here's a special shout out to III-Mercy the only class that made an effort to actually write thank you notes to their teachers.  Much, much, much appreciated <3

To me, teaching is not just a job.  It's an opportunity for me to change the world in my own little way... because I believe that to make a difference, you simply have to go beyond yourself and give love to others.  Everything I have done this year (yes, even the scolding, lecturing and giving of SBFs), I have done out of love.  If you recall Randy Pausch and his Last Lecture, he says, "Your critics are the ones telling you they still love you and care.  Worry when you do something badly and nobody bothers to tell you."

Thank You Phoenix/Batch 2014 for a school year to remember.  God bless you <3

Much love,
Mrs. Guce

Back in the Grind

As you can see on top of this page, I wrote,

"Run, teach, change nappies - welcome to my world."

I'd say my life is segmented into those three aspects although I do admit, I almost always talk about running :p Last week Thursday, after 18 days of being off school, I finally had to go back to work.  It was a painful HELLO to all the papers I had to check and documents I had to prepare.  We had two days (Thursday and Friday) to prepare, ergo, no students yet.  Yesterday, Monday, it was the students' turn to feel the back-to-school pains.  I remember as a student I hated the Sunday night feeling when the reality of going back to school on a Monday kicks in.

Anyway, so I met the kids again and although I was longing to be at home, making silly faces to make Liam laugh, it only took me 5 minutes to get back into the groove of teaching - and to remind me all over again why I do what I do.  Within minutes of being around the girls, I instantly felt happy to be back and forgot all feelings of dread.    No, I work not for the money, after all, no one teaches to become rich! But the fulfillment that no other profession gives....and knowing that even in a teeny tiny way, I help change the world.

Some would question me for choosing to be a working mom, having to divide my time between papers to check, lessons to plan and being a mom.  More so adding running and training for a full marathon to that! But I cannot over emphasize how all these three aspects make me who I am and a better me at that.

I am so grateful to have students who make my time away from my son worth it :)

What what?

What happened? Has it really been almost 2 months since my last blog entry?! Again, what happened? Well, school/work/Liam/going back to running happened.  And I can't complain.  I know that the busier I am, the more productive I am, too! :-) So this should be a good thing.

Updates on my 3-dimensional life:

On Running...
I am very proud to say that I have gone back to consistently running! I am back to running with A.  Although my progress seems to be quite slow, I am still very happy to say that yes, there is progress! We run every Wednesdays and this week, I was able to finish 7kms! Happy happy.  Next week seems quite daunting, though, as we aim to finish 9kms.  Of course, this is all in preparation for the Adidas KOTR Run which I signed up for:

Note: I registered for 10kms only, as CA thinks (and so do I!) that I'm still not ready for 16.8 :-) 

Photo from Adidas KOTR website.

So apart from this run, I also bravely registered for The Bull Runner's Dream Marathon happening in February 24, 2013! If you know me well, I have always wanted to run a marathon simply because I want that feeling of accomplishment I will get after crossing a 42-km-run's finish line.  Here's my welcome kit: 

Of course, CA will be helping me train for this ;) Two weeks ago, while running, he was talking about how, at the rate I'm going, I should just run with his wife (Lani).  I had to encourage him by saying, "Uyy don't give up on me! I'll get there again!" Parang baliktad, ako yung nag cheer on sa coach ko, hahaha! Anyway, it's all good.  I know it's harder to train this time since I haven't been running for over a year (sayang, I was halfway there with that Goldilocks 2012 half-marathon) plus, I gained so much weight so I'm heavier now, harder to run.  So it takes extra effort now, but I'm up for it.  After all, apart from that marathon dream, there's a lot of weight I still need to shed off!

On Liam & Family Life:
It's been a great almost-5 months with Liam.  He turns 5 months this coming week! How fast! Time really does go unnoticed, pretty soon, I'll be attending his grade school graduation.  HAH, fast forward much? Here's his most recent photo:

Here's the little one, after a 5:00 AM poo session ;) 

It's 6:30 AM now and he's back in his crib, sleeping. 

Ahh, married life is not a bed of roses, that's for sure.  It's a constant, everyday, learning experience.  Each day, I learn about my husband and his likes/dislikes - I've known him for seven years now and there are still so many things I don't know about him! As a mother, I started out with ZERO experience but I survived, thanks to my mom, mommy-friends and of course, Mr. Google (I find myself Googling almost everything like, "how to burp baby" or "how to sleep train" and many more).  I'm sure it will be a life long learning experience and I'm not complaining because as I discover more about parenting and homemaking, I also learn more about myself.

On teaching:
This year, I am very, very grateful to be blessed with wonderful students.  I can honestly say that I enjoy all 7 sections that I'm handling this year.  As I have said before, although teaching + being a first-time parent is never an easy combination (to add to this, training for a marathon), I find these 3 preoccupations of mine, that I strive hard to juggle, teach me so much.  Did that make sense? What I mean to say is that, teaching helps me become a better mom and vice versa.  Then, to get a break from both, I run - and as I run, I learn so much about myself and how much I can do physically, if I set my mind and heart to it - again, self-discovery and self-improvement.

***

Today's a Saturday and as a teacher, I've always looked forward to Saturdays as days when I can sleep in (having to wake up at 5:30 AM from Mondays through Fridays).  Since Liam though, sleeping in has been a foreign concept.  I know I have a nanny around but leaving him to the nanny, when I'm at home anyway, just feels so unsettling to me.  Nevertheless, I'm determined to have a busy and productive weekend:

Saturday:
7-8AM, run in the gym (cancelled or postponed to later time due to heavy rains - it's been raining since 12MN, I think?)
10AM, accompany mom to downtown to do some errands
1PM, leave for husband's basketball game - watching it with the little one!
6PM, go to the mall to get sister-in-law's birthday gift
9PM, watch a movie (last full show ;)

Sunday:
9AM, go to mass
10AM, go to the gym (if no work out today)
12NN, family lunch out
2PM, visit my dear best friend who's scheduled to have her cesarean section done 7AM, Sunday)
4PM, try to go to a friend's child's first birthday party

Edit edit: My best friend's waterbag just broke! So, looks like I'll have to squeeze in the hospital visit today! :) Wheee baby baby! :)

Of course, the nights are reserved for doing school work! :p

***

Ahh, life is good.  Thank You, Lord for a busy and productive life! :)

2012-2013

I can hardly believe that I'm already on my 6th year of teaching! Four more years and I'll already be awarded for 10 years of service! Some days, it feels so fast and on some, it feels super slow.  Today was fast, though.  I met 3 of my 7 classes and I guess I can say the meetings awhile ago made me look forward to the rest of the school year.  This is the first time I'll have this one-of-a-kind load so I'm anxious about how I will finish all the work.  This year, I'll be handling 7 sections, will also be an adviser and club moderator.  That's 3 units more than what I've been having the past years.  On top of this, I'll also have to squeeze in pumping sessions in my oh-so-busy schedule.

Updates

Has it really been over a month already??! I seriously cannot believe I haven't blogged since early June.    What happened? WORK happened.  Try juggling work, pumping milk, losing weight, doing my best being a hands-on mom and workouts! So, updates on what I've been busy with...

On Work
Another school year has started and I cannot be thankful enough I have work.  On some days, I think, I should have insisted on being a stay-at-home mom for at least Liam's first year.  But most days, I'm grateful for being able to be a mom not only to my little boy but to about 200 teenage girls as well.  This year, my load is quite unusual, I've always had 6 sections, 1 club and 1 advisory class but this year... I have 7 classes, that is, the whole batch.  You might think, what's another section? But boy, does it make a HUGE difference.  While my tired and pessimistic self will rant endlessly about the situation, my optimistic self shines through and tell me, another section is another challenge, another role, another chance to make a difference.  So, that's how I shall see things.  My advisory class, III Goodness, is a good class.  So far, so good.  Although I go home everyday with aching feet and strained vocal chords... really, I love what I do so it's all good.

Fall In Love...

...stay in love and it will decide everything <3 I've always loved this quote from Fr. Pedro Arrupe and today, during the Easter Vigil, I saw this guy wearing a statement shirt that had the same line on it.  I fell in love with the quote all over again.  Here's the entire text:

"Nothing is more practical than finding God that is,
than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings,
what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart and what amazes you with great joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything."

I think there's nothing like a mass at the Gesu to renew and restrengthen my faith.  After all, so many memories fill my heart when I'm in this beautiful church.

One of them would be this:

Of course, I also got engaged in the same church, where H and I used to serve during college masses back in the ligaw stage.  Each time I'm in the Gesu, my life sort of gets re-anchored.  I remember all over again my purpose in life - service.  To God through my family and my work.  I remember all over again that life does not revolve around me and that I have a far greater purpose than simply just having a good life - I make sure others have that chance too, my students and the less fortunate.

2011-2012

Running down the many ways this year has been eventful, to say the least:

1) I had to re-learn Salvation History and figure out how to teach it.
2) I entered the school year at a very irregular time (Second Quarter)
3) I lost a very dear friend, Jen :(
4) I no longer walked around the corridors as Ms. Ng but as Mrs. Guce
5) I experienced teaching in the fourth floor - with baby in tow
6) Oh, for the first time EVER, I didn't have a fair booth! :) hehehe

I think that although I complained a lot about this year (my colleagues know this well), I can sincerely say that yes, I am still grateful for all that I have experienced this year.  It has been a life-changing experience, having to teach high school freshmen and has really prepared me well for motherhood, if I may say so.  This year I learned to be persistent and to never give up on people who matter.  I learned also that sometimes, you just have to accept that not all goals are met in the specific time you'd like them to meet.  I learned that as a teacher, your worth can never be measured in the classroom, sometimes the success of a teacher takes years to be seen and discovered.  Like I told my kids (advisory class), I may not have changed you but I hope I at least planted the seed for that transformation.

Last year, I learned that "love makes what is difficult, easy".  This year, more than anything else, I learned that giving up is only for the weak.  The strong never give up, even if things seem hopeful.  Love never gives up :)

Here's to ending the school year right, and starting another year in 2 months! :) My sixth year of teaching will be awesome - I can feel it already.  Will not only be a mother to the girls, but to my little boy Liam - who turns 35 weeks in my huge belly today! :)

Back to Work!

Reasons why I look forward to going back to work:

1) H has gone back to work so there's no one to bug here at home.
2) No other way to get to April (due month) than to get through the remaining months of the year!
3) I actually miss being around the kiddos :P
4) Miss the teachers, too!

And as an additional pick-me-up for tomorrow...

Love what you do... :)

Pedring

Afternoon classes were suspended yesterday, Monday, due to heavy rains care of Typhoon Pedring.  Today, classes were also cancelled from Nursery all the way to College since Metro Manila is apparently under Signal No. 2 (down to #1 this afternoon).

This may call for extra time to work on school-related stuff, but, no.  I took it as time to bond with one of my countless half-read books.  Today it was One Day by David Nicholls.  I'm more than halfway through the book and I'm having a difficult time putting it down (well, save for this time when I decided to blog about it, hehe)!

And, oh! Say hello to our new baby! This is probably the last "baby" before the real baby ;) Guilt-free because we know this will help us welcome Baby Guce well ;)

Olympus EPL-2 

I'm no photographer, but I'm loving this camera already! I remember the last camera I bought was care of my dad and he bought it for my college graduation in 2007! Whoa, 4 years ago! It still serves us well but I must admit, nothing like that white beauty up there! My younger brother, Charles, now uses the old camera:

**

Okay, that's it.  Will wait for the 7:00 PM news to see if there are advisories on tomorrow's resumption of classes.  If classes will resume, will probably bury myself in school work tonight.  Otherwise, looks like I'll be able to finish a before the day ends! ;) 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

Today marks my 5th teacher's day in ICA, or, ever.  I'd have to say, that this year was probably the "driest" I've experienced.  For the first time, I was fuming mad on teacher's day because of students' behavior.  For the first time, instead of saying thanks (well I did, naman.) to the kids for their song number, I spent more time talking about how much more they had to improve on, yada yada.  There goes Mrs. Guce again, I'm sure a lot of girls thought that.  Who cares.  

Out of all the jobs there are out there, I think being a teacher is the most difficult to separate from personal life.  I've said this before and I still feel the same way - teaching is a 24-hour job.  I'm in school from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM but when I'm not, I must conduct myself properly and wear decent clothes (which is not really a problem, FYI).  When I'm at home, I check papers, plan lessons and create my Keynote presentations (painstakingly fixing font sizes, colors, layouts and animations).  When it happens to be a year wherein my advisory class is a tough one (it's becoming more often, thank You Lord), I think of them before I sleep, when I wake up and even when I'm in the shower - I think of what I can do to help them be their best.

With all that being said, I think I'll go now and write my resignation letter.  As a matter of fact, I attempted to resign twice already (SY 2009-2010 and SY 2010-2011) but something JUST. KEEPS. ME. COMING. BACK.  Sometimes I think, bakit ko ba pinapahirapan sarili ko dito? My husband makes enough (I didn't say a lot but enough) for us to survive simply anyway.

...

Uh-oh.  Bakit nga ba.  HAHA.  *thinking*

...

I guess for me, it's not enough to live my life for family and friends.  I'd like to say that I was able to live for someone else that I'm not related to, that on normal circumstances, I couldn't care less about.  I want to live my life knowing that I've used it well and that I did all that I could to 'make a difference'.

I don't know if I actually do, but I think it counts to at least try.

This year, I think God was trying to teach me this: To serve the Lord even (more) when it's difficult and even when I don't think it counts.  In His own sweet time, He will show me that my efforts were not in vain.  After all, serving others is serving God...and there is no "getting tired" in serving God. :)

Happy teacher's day to my fellow ICA teachers! Tomorrow is another day to "try" ;)

Again?

So, classes this afternoon were cancelled again! To be very honest, I don't find it amusing anymore - especially since it's pretty sunny outside! It's periodical exam week next week and I need all the periods I can get.  Ugh.  Whyyy.  Then again, I'd rather "waste" an afternoon than actually have all the rains pour down.  In as much as a cold afternoon under the sheets is tempting, I can't help but worry about those who are homeless when it rains.

See?

**

I hope the rains don't come and that students just use this afternoon productively.  Speaking of productivity...what I plan to do from now until about 11PM...

- Check 2 sets of quizzes

- Read my book, Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed

- Work on my Keynote for the class review

Quite ambitious, eh? We'll see how much I can manage.  Will get to work now, while hubby is not yet home to bug talk to me ;)