Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts

Monday, October 22, 2012

CSA's Cheering Competition: Then & Now

What's all the fuss on CSA's Cheering Competition? I'm not exactly sure as to how the cheering competition all began. What I know is, since I started studying in CSA, it's among those much awaited events in High School which students look forward to and start preparing for, months before the huge day. Actually, we also had the same event in Grade School, there were 2 categories: 1st to 3rd grade students fall under one category and 4th to 7th grade students belong to another. Although this wasn't held annually. I remember our batch had our Cheering experience elementary style, during 3rd grade and 5th grade respectively. The only difference was, we didn't care much about the Cheering Competition back in Grade school, since it was our teachers who made the cheers, taught the actions and conceptualized the entire event. While in High School, it was us, the students who were in charge of everything - from making the cheers up to designing the shirts, etc.

Here are throwback photos circa 2006, the last cheering competition I participated at:)
We stayed hours after classes just to have these finished. I used to be active back then, so I joined the Pep Squad Committee. We were the ones who thought of actions and taught them to the batch during practices. All Committees stayed after class hours even after the batch practices were through, and so we decided to help the Props Committee:)
This was the night before the Cheering Competition. Everyone who wanted to help out was asked to wear a red shirt (Red is the Seniors' color), so this is us, praying that we emerge as winners. One thing I've noticed about our batch, we had the naughtiest and most hard headed boys. Name as many incidents involving behavioral reports - our batch has it. haha! But when it comes to things which involve the entire batch, more often than not, almost everyone cooperates. I think it is safe to say that we were very united as a batch during our days.

This is on the day of the Cheering itself. Once you've scrolled down through the rest of this page, you will notice a huge significant change with our gymnasium!


We enjoyed and gave our best:) Unfortunately we tragically lost to the Juniors. It was a big deal for us of course! We couldn't accept that we lost. We were very heart broken. haha But days or weeks after, we eventually got over it. The defeat just made the batch more united and stronger than ever:) Funny thing is, the day after the competition, we were in a "It's-us-against-the-world" state (I'd put it in that way). The high school seniors' corridors were bleeding red. All the girls wore red head bands & ribbons, the guys managed to put something red in their uniforms too. Then we had our own version of a "riot," or a "pep talk"but it was more of a speech during lunch at one of the big areas at the Canteen. All of the seniors gathered around and at one point we chanted a cheer? (take note, we were wearing something bright red. Scary. haha). 

Looking back, I realized we were such dramatic creatures. But come on, we were in high school, drama is common & acceptable, moreover, I now see it as a good story to tell. It was our story. :)
NOW, On to the PRESENT...

Each batch votes on a theme which embodies their batch and their color (specifically). The theme plays a vital role because this is where everything will evolve - from the cheers and yells, to the shirts, to the mascots, costumes, etc. During our time, our freshmen days had a summer theme; our sophomore days had a rock theme; then we had "Treskantadia," and "Agilang Senyores." 


Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Phantom of the Opera

No words can explain how superb this broad way show is. It was definitely a privilege to be able to witness Andrew Lloyd Webber's magnificent masterpiece, The Phantom of the Opera, live in Manila!

To be honest, I am not fond of broad way musical shows but The Phantom is an exception. As soon as the advertisements reached the social networking sites that this will be showing in Manila, of course, I couldn't let it pass. Unfortunately, upon seeing the ticket prices, they were a bit costly. So, even if I wanted to see this I wasn't sure anymore if I could, thus I suppressed the idea of watching. But, I guess God wanted me to do otherwise!:) Magically, we were able to gain access to the best deal you could ever have, premium orchestra center seats at a very affordable rate. The promo spread like fire that all allotted tickets for 2 days, were gone in less than 30 mins. With this being said, we were absolutely meant to see The Phantom:) 

Everything was excellently executed. Their costumes are one of a kind - having world class quality (I know it's an international show, but still, I'm amazed!). I have only shared the same amusement on costumes & the stage when we watched Cirque Du Soleil - however, The Phantom's costumes were more intricate and sophisticated. The stage was simply magical. The photos below show my favorite scenes. I am tempted to take photos of the entire production, but of course, due to copyright and whatnot, taking pictures was strictly prohibited. Thus, below are photos from Ticket World's Facebook page.

Only Phantom of the Opera can pull this off! Turning an ordinary looking stage into a body of water! In this case, a lake / river. I kept on thinking how the boat moved because it moved so smoothly that it appeared to be really floating. Plus, see those candles at the back? There were candles everywhere which just appeared from nowhere. This was definitely a stunner in terms of stage transformation. 
Here's another one! Imagine a plain stage suddenly turned to a mansion with a huge ancient classical staircase. Everything seemed so real. As if you were brought back in time, decades ago! Below is how the stage looked like:) 
DISCLAIMER: Copyright of all the photos above belong to Ticket World Manila
Kindly check this web page for the exact photos Ticket World Manila - The Phantom of the Opera


The show lasted for about 2 hours and 30+ minutes, with a 20 minute interval. But it seemed so short! Probably it's because we enjoyed the entire show too much:) The entire cast was also amazing, their voices were just WOW. Also, the music was performed by a live orchestra who also did a fantastic job.

After watching, we decided to meet up with Sam, one of my friends back in high school, who at the same time works with Phantom of the Opera and informed us about the special promo. (Thanks Sam!) Through her, we then learned that it was Ticket World Manila which brought this broad way here in the Philippines and made the show possible. Isn't that the coolest thing? haha, So, click on the links above to purchase tickets! It's really worth watching. Sam said that so far, all the shows ended with a standing ovation, the one we watched, also ended with a standing ovation. I don't see any reason why people won't. :)

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Zahra's Epic Relik Birthday Celebration

Happiest Birthday to one of the greatest friends I have, Zahra!:) It's always fun celebrating her birthday because I get to see my high school best friends whom I barely see due to busy schedules & whatnot:) For this year's celebration, she opted to have it at Relik Tapas Bar & Lounge which is a really good venue for intimate drinking sessions with good friends. Thumbs up for Relik! 
From L-R: Charles, Vianne, Me, Zahra, Tracy, Guillan, Meg, Grace. Almost complete!:) Aya was able to make it at a later time, although we missed Trisha, Mafie and April :(
My love for them are beyond words:) We just felt the need to take a lot of photos since we barely are complete during gatherings & celebrations.
Happy 23rd Birthday to our "Princess in Pink with the tiara" who looks like she's 7, thus the number of candles. Haha! Kidding!:*
It was nice seeing her college & marketing friends!:) Cheers to your birthday, woman!
"We don't even have to try coz it's always a good time!"



With Grace & Aya this time! I barely see them girls also! Very glad to see you!!:)
 I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE... Someone DID IT AGAIN. hahahaha!




It was definitely an epic night to remember! Had an amazing time, Z! Merci! ;-) We should have more of THIS often (Even though we're more of the laid back & chill ladies. haha!)
Whenever we have late night outs, Tracy & I usually stay at our 2nd home, literally, Vianne's place! haha:) Thanks for always letting us crash, Vi! We should really leave some of our clothes at your place;-) 
September 1, 2012

7th High Vibe

Finally, I'm back to blogging!:) I became quite busy over the past few days and I'm just glad and really grateful that I've been too tired to even bother opening my laptop and surf the internet.

Anyway, last August 31, 2012, some fraternities from the faculty of Medicine hosted a crazy and fabulous party at 7th High, entitled, "Vibe." At first, I was ambivalent to join this event for some personal reasons but then comes my "Minsan Lang Naman" attitude plus it's a good time to see some of my college & high school friends alike, so I gave in and I've decided to come and join the fun:)

Before attending the party, I went to St. Luke's Global to visit Leo's mother who thankfully has recovered already. After which, we had a quick dinner at Nihonbashi Tei Japanese Restaurant with Leo's cousins who just flew in from Singapore. I wasn't able to take photos of the food anymore, but the food was really delicious! They served authentic Japanese meals which were filling and again, tasteful!

After having dinner, off we went to 7th High. Met up with my good old college friend, Dane for my ticket and later on saw Vianne ad Tracy as well then Paulo and a lot of familiar faces. 
Now, with my "kaladkarin" ladies! (Haha). Meet Vianne in white and Tracy in black & white:) Had a real good time partying with them! They're also my sleep over buddies. hihi
Of course we just had to take photos as we were waiting for a few more friends:) It was impossible to have a conversation inside though due to the very loud music and the place was simply jam packed!

Here's are photos (top & bottom) of me and my classmates from college for 3 years!:) Way to go, future doctors!:)
Also bumped into Shine, whom I shared the same school in high school, who's also a good friend from college. Good luck with Medicine, Half Sister so proud of you!:)


After our photo sessions, we shoved our way to the front most of 7th High to seek for space and to dance the night away. We got ourselves Jagger shots and found ourselves singing and dancing to the beat until our feet couldn't handle it anymore. It was fun but it's really hard to move around with such high heeled shoes. To my dismay, I still couldn't see my friends whom I was looking for almost the entire evening! There wasn't signal inside the bar either, that's why I couldn't text nor call them. Good thing, when we decided to finally go out and rest, that's also when I was able to finally see them!:)

Since we were through with dancing, we decided to transfer to a different venue where we could talk, sit down and have chit chat (This is us, being old. haha!) Jamba Juice it is! I don't exactly enjoy Jamba but after finishing my Banana Berry, I have never have felt more refreshed. haha! It was really hot inside 7th High that you'd barely feel the air conditioner plus I really hate smelling like cigarette smoke after staying inside a bar.  Nonetheless, it was a night to remember.
I wish I could've spent more time talking with my college ladies, but we decided to call it a night and here's a last group shot before bidding goodbye :) Indeed, it was a fun  & crazy night but it was an amazing way of ending the month of August!:)

August 31, 2012

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Learning Basic Life Support & First Aid, the Red Cross Way

I finally decided to take the Basic Life Support Training (BLS) which I should have done a year ago, since it's a skill we nurses should be aware of in cases of emergencies. My said training just got delayed because I worked immediately after taking the Nursing Licensure Examinations (Board Exams), and most of the training sessions offered are held in the far & chaotic North (Quezon City, etc). So, when I learned that there's actually a Red Cross branch in Paranaque, I immediately took the earliest training schedule, which was just this past week. Moreover, they had the cheapest fee of Php 1,500 - inclusive of a 6-day training, the training kit (Red Cross envelope, a shirt, 2 hand books, a triangular bandage, pen, gloves, alcohol, cotton, face shields) & off course the certificates & the Red Cross membership card.
It was difficult getting hold of the schedule since it was rescheduled twice already, plus the weather the past week was just bad, that I remember going there twice, just to find out that it was moved sometime else. This was inconvenient because of the inconsistency when it came to scheduling (walk in trainees were not required to pre-register) because I made it a point to call their office right before going there. Other than this, the entire training experience was good & legit!
The first day of our training was last July 31, 2012 (Tuesday) - Normally they conduct trainings Mondays to Saturday, but due to the bad weather, ours was pushed to Tuesday thru Sunday. I got the BLS & SFAT (Standard first aid training) package, which lasts for 2 days & 4 days respectively. As we had our lecture, that's how I learned more about Red Cross & the voluntary help they offer to anyone in need of help. Also, I'd like to commend the fact that they're not after the money, unlike other training institutions who even request for down payments. I don't remember anyone from Red Cross who approached us to collect payments. In fact, when I got there, the hand books were already prepared in out seats. The instructors began their lecture. During our break, that's when we voluntarily approached them to pay the training fee - this was something new for me:)

Moreover, I salute the instructors who taught us as if they were paid to do so. (Everyone in Red Cross from the instructors to the staff, are literally volunteers - without salary). The handbooks were discussed properly in detail. We started at around 8:30 AM and ended usually at exactly 5:00PM, daily. Practical exams / Return demos were serious, where in you'd have to repeat the process if you can't deliver properly. This was what I was after - LEARNING the right way. :)



The BLS training covered Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, giving Rescue Breathing. The First Aid Training covered bandaging techniques, splinting, basic carries / transfers, etc. They are well equipped with mannequins for CPR, which even had light indicators. They would know if you're doing it the wrong way, or if the chest thrusts were not done in a rhythmic pattern. It was also my first time to actually give rescue breaths into a mannequin! And the chest really rose if you do it correctly. Amazing!;-) (We were given BLS before, but we only practiced the CPR part of it.)

We even had to go to Red Cross last Sunday just to complete the 6-day training course. Even though it was a Sunday, our instructors made it a point to be there on time and supervise us, as we took the written examination. To be able to be certified, you must pass the skills portion (75%) & the examination portion (25%), passing rate for both is 75% :) Glad to have passed their training! And also, I enjoyed my overall experience at Red Cross Paranaque:) I was able to meet new people, learn a lot of things, and gain inspiration through the Red Cross volunteers - Yes, people who just like to be of help to others without expecting anything in return DO EXIST! 

Certificates are to be released after 1-2 months, along with the ID, but temporary certificates can be issued:)

If you're from down South like me, I recommend Red Cross Paranaque for their legit training. Contact details are as follows:

  • 8208 Dr. A Santos Ave. Sucat Paranaque, that's beside Cable Link, 2nd fl of the East West Bank.
  • 836-4790
  • Red Cross Facebook Page (outdated though, still better to call them)

Only requirement they ask for is a MEDICAL CERTIFICATE indicating that you're FIT TO TRAIN