A Mom and More

With the tough times, Christmas is becoming less like the Christmases we used to have when we were younger.  We read, hear and even speak about the need to brace ourselves for harder times to come.  However, being cash-strapped and too busy making a living are not valid excuses for not keeping in touch with friends this Christmas.

A phone call, a text message, an email or even an old-fashioned Hallmark greeting card (conveying sincere feelings as below which we couldn’t really say directly) can help keep the glow of our friendships burning bright through the years without creating a big hole in our pockets,  purses, or bank accounts.

Do you know that the hand
You first offered me in friendship
Is still what steadies me
When I am shaken,
Still what inspires me when I have doubts?
Do you know how often
Your patience and advice
Help me find perspectives
I haven’t seen, confidence I’ve lost?
Do you know that I’ve shared with you secrets
No one else will ever know,
Laughed about so many silly things
That few could ever understand?
Do you know that I cannot imagine
My life without you in it,
Without your support to boost me,
And your strength to inspire me?
Of course you do –
You know all this,
Good friends just know.

I have been blessed with true, old and tested friends who continue to share their lives (and secrets) with me, believe in me, encourage me, and love me as I am.  Yes, we’ve talked for hours earlier this week before the phone lines get congested as Christmas approaches.  And it felt sooo good:  recollecting younger days, chuckling over funny times, and even shedding tears for unfulfilled dreams and expectations.  It felt so Christmas-y knowing that somewhere, some friend will always be there to lift me up, give me hope and boost my strength to carry on (in these cashless days).

Merry Christmas web friend!  You’ve kept me writing by reading on.

At the crack of dawn last 13 December 2008, I had a different U.P. Oblation experience and it made waking up at 4 a.m. worth it.  It was not the typical APO oblation run I saw at Palma Hall last year where masked men ran around bare, giving roses to lucky ladies.  It was not as jam-packed and public as the traditional oblation run which even girls and gurrls from nearby colleges patronized.   It was a rare photo experience for local and international media and cameramen.  It was a solemn symbolic rite of offering of oneself of (almost) 100 men to their alma mater’s 100th year.

Volunteer UP students, alumni, faculty and staff wore flesh-colored flimsy trunks (making them look naked) with fig leaves over their private parts.  Some more daring men, however, opted to do away with their trunks for this once in a lifetime event.  I admired the men who volunteered for this photoshoot, heedless of the after math of showing off their well trimmed abs and firms butts, fats and flabs or ribs and bones for the world to see.

It was an awesome sight to see these men lined side by side, as a brigade of ready soldiers, in the green field of the U.P. amphitheater.    I sighed as I marveled at the 100 live oblation models (in unison, as if they rehearsed for a long time) raising their arms slowly, until they formed an arc; tilting their heads back simultaneously to face the sky – as the U.P. oblation statue at Quezon Hall.  What a picture perfect moment!   My husband took some video while my daughter clicked some interesting shots which I borrowed to show here.  I savored the moments and wished that the 100 oblations who modeled for the photo shoot could go back to their own colleges and work stations with renewed enthusiasm to work for the U.P. ideals of leadership, excellence and service for the country.

If there will be a 101 U.P. oblations photo shoot next year, would you allow youre husband, boyfriend, son or brother join?  Why not?

Photo Credits to my daughter:  Aleli in Wonderland

See more of her U. P. 100 Oblation photos:

http://aleligaddiroselo.multiply.com/photos/album/150/Hail_U.P._Oblation_outtakes

http://aleligaddiroselo.multiply.com/photos/album/149/Hail_U.P._Oblation

Related post: U. P. 2007 Oblation Run – from the eyes of a mom

My daughter Aei just reminded me about a different U.P. Oblation affair which we must see at the crack of dawn on 13 December 2008.   She says it would be great to watch and see this once-in-a-lifetime photoshoot of 100 real life oblations minus the masks and the running. Would this weekend’s experience change my perception and frustration about oblation runs which I blogged about at around this same time last year?

“Just like thousands of UP Alumni, I still value the Oblation as the main symbol of what the University of the Philippines stands for, fights for and delivers to the nation; the chosen rallying point for protests and social action; the enduring model of academic freedom, an inspiration for service and nationalism; my lifetime link to UP.

However, the 2007 Oblation Run I witnessed was just a show of bold and daring, nude men with flowers, balloons and streamers – not far from commercial TV identification plugs or intermissions to a long play. I did not see their bravery in standing up for their causes; they were speed walking, almost running, ashamed of their nakedness.”

Here’s a repost from Aei’s blog on the details of this event.

A hundred male University of the Philippines alumni, students, faculty, and staff will pay tribute to the UP icon, the Oblation, via a unique photo shoot on December 13, 2008 at the crack of dawn. The “100 Oblations” event will be one of the closing activities of the UP Centennial celebrations.

Called “Hail! U.P. Oblation”, the historical and visual gathering is estimated to take place at 6 a.m. at the UP Diliman Amphitheater behind Quezon Hall where the original Oblation monument stands. The event will be covered by foreign and local media organizations and professional photographers. The best photographs from Hail UP Oblation are being planned to be featured in a future UP Centennial coffee table book.

All are invited to witness this once-in-a-lifetime human ensemble and photo expedition as one of the final events of UP’s one hundred years of service to the country. Unlike the men of the Oblation Run, the 100 Oblation models will be wearing specially designed trunks with stylized fig leaves.

After the photo shoot event, “UP Para sa Bayan”, a public service fair offering free medical, dental, legal, veterinary, health promotions. education workshops, as well as traditional and non-traditional amenities, will take place at 7 a.m. The entire University Avenue and the UP Academic Oval will be filled with 100 tents offering various services to the public for a day.

Both Hail UP Oblation and UP Para sa Bayan are organized by the UP Alumni Association special committees.

With 100 unmasked oblation models bravely posing for the world to see in print, this U. P. Centennial oblation affair would truly be a weekender to look forward to.  I hope that, this time, the chosen models can appropriately (artistically) depict the message of the oblation as it applies to the current times, that photographers find the best angles to preserve this centennial bash and that viewers may see beyond the nudity the very reason why the U. P. Oblation remains a unifying monument for a community in search for freedom.

Would you sacrifice waking up early on a weekend to witness this event?  Yes?  See you there.

Related blog posts:

Hail! U. P. Oblation

U.P. Oblation Run 2007 – from the eyes of a mom

When I least expected it, I got what I’ve long been waiting for.  My friend Wee texted:  We passed! at 10:34 p.m. 16th November 2008.  I  prayed and felt that I would pass.  But, only after seeing my name on the list of successful examinees at Inquirer.net did I believe I really made it.

For me,  passing the LET marks the opening of a new door, a wider path, and hopefully, a more meaningful future as a mom to “more children” in my golden years.

To all successful examinees, especially my friends Ariel (Top 7 for secondary teachers), Esmie, Jane, Mel, Tintin, Wee, and Winnie –  Congratulations!  May we be able to contribute, in our own way, our share in making a life better, a future hopeful and a world brighter — because we care enough to teach and share in the best way we can.

If you want to check LET results, you may click on these links for:  elementary school teachers and secondary school teachers.

Related blog post: http://amomandmore.com/personal/my-random-thoughts-while-awaiting-the-results-of-the-september-2008-let-licensure-examination-for-teachers/