It was my one year anniversary at the old Blue and Gold yesterday, July 1. I should have written this yesterday too, and I did. I even had this tabulas window open, but then I fell asleep.

I guess that's the best way to describe it, Xavier School puts me to sleep.

Because I was dead tired.

It has been a tiring one year, I can't believe how some of our veteran teachers could continue doing so, like Ate Precy and Mrs. O. Mrs. O especially, how can she be so bubbly all the time?

Let's see, how did things go a year ago?

June 23, 2004 - I applied to Xavier School. It was Wednesday and stupid me, it was dismissal time. I had no choice except to fill out the form at the TRC and leave.

June 24, 2004 - San Juan Day. My parents told me that there should be no work in XS because it was San Juan Day. I agreed, slowed down and after thirty minutes, I decided I should still go. XS calls me regarding my interview (by that time I was already late). I explained myself and scrambled through EDSA traffic to what would be a long day. I took a few tests, had one interview, then met Ms. Aims. After which, she brought me to HS where I met my friend Jose (who was already teaching Pinoy at that time) and then Aids, who seemed vaguely familiar. Aids gave me a copy of the textbook and instructed me to teach Concrete and Abstract nouns.

They wanted me to have my demo class the following day, but...

June 24, 2004 - was my demo class for Ateneo High School. Note, Ateneo had delayed my demo due to a mix-up and a meeting before. By June 24, Friday morning I still didn't know what time my demo class would be. They called sometime in the morning telling me that it was a special schedule due to the Mass of the Holy Spirit, so my demo would have to be postponed to Monday.

I was at this point flabbergasted because here was another delay, so I told them I couldn't because I already scheduled a demo with XS for Monday. They asked if I could just forego that in favor of Ateneo. I said I couldn't, quite simply because it wouldn't be right. And at that point I simply didn't want to.

Around lunch time, Ateneo calls me again saying my demo could push through that afternoon and if I could make it. Finally, I thought, and agreed to do so.

My demo went rather well, the boys were receptive and quite smart. I had to give an Introduction to Romanticism in the context of Dead Poets Society. I was definitely challenged by the idea of teaching it and was rather pleased.

The English Department Chair talked to me after for a debriefing of sorts. She told me that they already wanted another teacher, some former department chair of an exclusive all-girls school.

OUCH!

I thought, why bother put me through all that? I wasn't exactly begging to be hired.

However she said that they did like me better, so that they'd want me to go on a series of interviews on Monday. I said I couldn't because of my demo in XS. She wasn't happy with my decision but she accepted it nonetheless.

Later that night, my friend and I mulled over the idea of me actually teaching....

June 28, 2004 - My demo class with 3-I. I had to teach Concrete and Abstract nouns. Boy, was that a mess. Among other things, the class had barely an idea of what a noun is, apart from the conventional definition that states "nouns are name words".

I didn't know what to do, again flabbergasted. I didn't have enough time to finish my lesson, but suddenly Ateneo HS was looking pretty good.

XS made me undergo the panel interview and there I was struck by a familiar face, Tita Jane Natividad! I hadn't seen her in 10 years not since we had our reunion. She was one of our faculty chaperones when we went to England back in 1994, and now she's the principal!

The panel was a lot nicer that I expected. I actually ended up asking questions myself (something that they should have read as potentially dangerous, lol). After that was a battery of psych tests which lasted for three hours. I was supposed to have my interview with Fr. Johnny Go, but he wasn't available. Little did I know that by being scheduled a final interview means that I was already accepted.


June 29, 2004 - I had to undergo what should have been the Ateneo HS equivalent of the panel interview, but this time I had to run to their offices individually. However, I couldn't be interviewed by a couple because one wasn't there and the other couldn't see me without my letter of intent. I should come back the following day (or was it two days later since there were no classes the following day) with the requirements.

At that point, I didn't which one I should choose. Yabang 'no? Thinking I'll be accepted by both! However that was a reality I had to consider what if I was accepted by both? Do I go to my alma mater or to something different and potentially scary (i.e. the students I don't know).

Points for consideration

A. Students (Ateneo has a clear advantage here, I know what the students are like)
B. Campus (Again, Ateneo, however XS has PCs in every classroom)
C. Faculty (Xavier, My friends, Alem and Jose -and as I was about to find out, Bro Jhaw as well- were all in XS)
D. Salary (unclear, Xavier has a clearer compensation program and I hear it's higher, Ateneo wouldn't even discuss salary yet)
E. Boss (Xavier, Ms. Aims definitely!)

Later that day, I met Fr. Go and he told me that the only thing stopping him from hiring me was that I was still considering Ateneo. I reassured him that if I was accepted, I would commit myself to Xavier School.

And I did.


July 1, 2004- My first day as a member of the Xavier School High School faculty.

If you must wonder about something, do so know and please tell me why one must insist on picking up a rock only to hit yourself with it?

I have never been a big fan of Atlantis Productions, but I always find myself lining up for their plays anyway.

It's because director Bobby Garcia has all the right connections to produce all the famous plays and musicals.

As far as I was concerned, it began with RENT. While I didn't particularly like the production, I was a huge follower of the play itself. So much so that even after being burned, I saw Atlantis Production's two succeeding productions of RENT (which were definitely better).

Now it's Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast as it is is theatrical fluff. It's not meant to be taken seriously, which is a shame considering that made such an excellent film. It does however as a special place in my heart because it was the first play I ever saw on Broadway (actually, as it is, it's the only play I actually saw on Broadway! The other plays I saw were in Chicago, San Francisco, LA, Las Vegas and London).

This puts me in a unique position as I sat into my cushy (expensive) seat at the Meralco Theater yesterday afternoon. I was not expecting too much from it largely because the material isn't exactly brilliant (my apologies Linda Woolverton) and the director isn't particuarly good as he is well-connected (sorry, Bobby Garcia, I am however thankful for all the plays you've brought here). On the other hand, I couldn't help but expect the show to approximately measure up to the Broadway production somehow. I thought since Atlantis seems to have the budget to bring it here, might as well bring it in style.

Sad to say, Beauty and the Beast Manila is an unfocused mess.

As soon as I sat in my seat, I was dumbfounded by the set. It was composed of one major castle-looking backdrop and four tall walls (two on each side of the stage) which looked like the hall of portraits/staircases in the Harry Potter movies. There were five screens (one small one for each of the four portrait walls and one large one at the back) each of which displayed a unique fairy tale moment, namely Snow White, Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella among others. It is worth nothing that none of these images were taken from Disney (granted that there is no Disney Hansel and Gretel movie).

This is the first mixed signal of the afternoon, was this a Disney musical? Why couldn't they use the images from the Disney movies? Of course I knew the answer in my head (yes it was the Disney musical and using the images from Disney would be too expensive), but it sent the very clear message that this play didn't know what it wanted to be.

The stage design suggested that they will be portraying things that are unstageable, given the limitations of logistics or budget, on screen. And I was right.

Gone are the awesome opening transformations of the beggar into an enchantress and the young prince into a beast, the so-so wolf attack and the actual onstage fireworks.

I definitely appreciate the effort, as I too was considering the possibility of using computer images onstage. However such techniques are best used for minimalist, stylized designs. Beauty and the Beast is definitely not a minimalist play, it is an opulent production filled with costumes dripping with glamour and dazzling onstage special effects. This production of Beauty and the Beast is not opulent nor is it minimalist, the result is not an innovation that incorporates the best of both worlds, but rather a cluttered compromise.

The impersonal screens have no place in a musical as elegant as Beauty and the Beast. Their cold, unmoving glow distracts the audience from the different aspects of the production and kills the warmth of what could have been a visual feast. It did not help that the images displayed were inconsistently drawn that varied from the stylzied to the comic book realistic depictions of the events and sceneries of the play. Clearly, there was no underlying visual thesis that unified these images that I could not shake the feeling that the production would have been greatly improved if they were not included at all.

The mixed-signals do not stop there, given the walls are unmovable (most probably due to the screens), every scene contained those portrait-covered walls, even those that didn't need themm. The relative grandness of the venue and the sets did not prepare the audience to use their imagination for certain scenes. It was pretty hard to believe that Belle was in an improvished provincial town with those semi-ornate walls and huge video screens being constantly in view.

More scene changes would have been appreciated and more levels. Not that there was a lack of space. I was very frustrated when the giant screen in the middle was hoisted up during the climax to reveal the rooftop of the palace! Why didn't they use that before? They could have used that to enhance the blocking of some of the earlier scenes, Be Our Guest in particular. That big showstopper number was ruined by all the action being crammed downstage center. The sudden explosion of confetti over the audience was quite a surprise and brought out an genuine smile out of me, but it distracted the most of the people as we went about picking the silver paper ribbons off the seats and off each other. It was definitely a cute distraction, but a distraction nonetheless. Ultimately, it was just another manifestation of the show's failure to focus on what was really important.

All was not lost, there were a lot of things that I liked (and loved) as well.

Unlike the other members of the audience, I was quite happy to have Karel as our Belle instead of KC. I was afraid that with the so-so reviews of KC's performance would influence my opinion of the show. Not knowing anything about Karel definitely helped in my assesment of her performance.

Karel's a real beauty and her voice is definitely 100% Belle. She may not have the regality of KC but never fails vocally. The only minuses to her performance is the way she rushes through her lines, but that's not just her fault. The entire cast is guilty of this. They never seem to pause to set up a clincher nor do they stop to savor its effect. Karel was just going with the flow, while we do not forget that she is the focus of the show, she never really owns it as much as she could have. I however find it excusable.

Jett Pangan does not fare as well as her co-star. He simply lacks the presence to be the Beast. Stature is one problem (the largish lapel and the longish tail of his coat did not help his cause), but his inconsistency in his voice just ruins it. Sometime he just nails the voice of the Beast with just the right amount of rumble and roar, but the next moment he's back to being just Jett Pangan in an impressive costume. He also moves very clumsily from one end to another (he's also slightly guilty of this as Papa Ge in Once on this Island, but that was an infinitely more successful performance), but I'm tempted to lay the blame on the direction (which relies to much on the "stand and sing downstage center" convention). Jett Pangan has seen better days, but this isn't enough to tarnish his good record.

The supporting cast was excellent, particularly Cathy Azanza (did I spell her name right?) as the vavavoom feather-duster Babette and Loy Martinez (did I spell his name right?) as Cogsworth. They hit all the right marks, hammed things up properly and their accents, even if slightly overdone, worked brilliantly. Jonard Yanzon seemed to be trying to be more subtle with his accent could have been hammed it up some more (Hey you're playing Lumiere! He's not too subtle a character anyway!) but was quite good anyway. Pinky Marquez deserved all the praise she received, but Chip just scared me. Robbie Guevarra was in tiptop form as Lefou, taking every necessary punch and fall (I did however feel that he was under utilized in the Maison de Lunes number). Calvin Millado as Gaston is a lot better than reviews give him credit for. Sure he hammed up the role, that's fine by me, but that WIG! It looks like a cat died on his head!

The rest of the cast, the chorus were quite good. Their voices blended beautifully and they populated the stage adequately. The expected chorus showstopper Be Out Guest felt flat, partly due to the limitations of the stage cluttered with screens but also because it succeeded what I believe is the best surprise and best number of the show, Gaston. Yes, the villain song receives my vote for the best number. The song is still remarkably funny after all these years and this version added a little something to it, largely due to the exhuberance of the cast as led by Calvin Millado and Robbie Guevarra who have mastered Gaston's swagger and Lefou's stagger respectively. While this was a larger dance number with a bit more acrobatics on Broadway, whatever they added to this production (I can't quite put my finger on it) certainly owned it. There was a touch of self-aware humor and careless abandon in the blocking and choreography (and the antler chandelier helped set the mood quite a bit). Shame that no other number quite compares to it.

However, I think it was the orchestra that delivered the most consistent performance of the show. The sound was rich, full and detailed. You do not get much closer to the movie's soundtrack than this. The only hitch was that numerous times during the show, the music overwhelmed the voices of the performers.

At the end of all things, it had all the right elements for it to have been an excellent production but things failed to come together and we were left with is a noble effort that served its purpose, but nothing more.

For those who are curious, I wouldn't say don't watch it. Please do, it's not as bad as I make it sound. I'm just such a nit-picker.

Fantastic Four is hardly...fantastic.

Not exactly the wittiest thing to say, but it had to be said.

It's a silly movie that takes it too seriously. Too many "cuz it's a kool filmz" scenes, (mainly stunts by Johnny Storm). I know that he's an arrogant prick, but this movie doesn't even treat it well apart from the formulaic, fireworks and ad placement laced treatment. Plot had no real payoff. One must ask what this movie was trying to prove.

Was it trying to be fun, brainless movie? Then why give us the realistic "please take me seriously" visual treatment? If they had wanted a good, fun, brainless movie they should have camped it up. If they had wanted a thought-provoking flick, they could have done away with all the kooky jokes, but then that would have been Fantastic Four. Utterly pointless movie.

I'm not even going to discuss the changes they made to the characters (I like the Thing though). I already wasted too much time and words on this film. Too bad that the Incredibles came first, but then again if your movie is to be deemed better only if an animated movie, inspired by similar source material, didn't exist, then that's really sad.

DO NOT WATCH IT! If you're curious, just wait until someone else buys the DVD and borrow it.

I was in "line" at National Bookstore Quezon Avenue at around 6:40 a.m. yesterday (a lot later than when I "lined up" for Order of the Pheonix two years ago) to procure my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

While I have actually finished the book, I'm putting off my comments on it until tomorrow. One this book has really drained me. This is not a happy book. I know I said that about Order of the Phoenix, but this is even less of a joyride.

I never really got the opportunity to see the effect of Harry Potter on students until this week. When Order of the Phoenix came out, I was still in college. While people then were crazy about Potter, it wasn't the same as seeing children and teenagers walking around with their copies.

Xaverians are not exactly big readers, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a few of them with copies. In fact not even after an hour the book was released, a student interrupted my reading just to show me that he too has a copy.

Some students (and teachers) do think I'm pretty nutty for liking Potter. After all, I do seem to be some sort of a literary snob. Snob or not, I love my Potter. This latest book, Half-Blood Prince is easily one of the best books of the series. It's pacing is excellent and it gives you the familiar feeling of everything fitting into each other like a giant jigsaw puzzle (something that I last felt in Goblet of Fire and Prisoner of Azkaban). In addition to this it has finally explained "problems" I had with Chamber of Secrets.

Even if I was spoiled by this one creep on the IMDB boards (_____kills_______ in Book 6!!!), I was still surprised. Still Cedric's death was the biggest Potter shocker for me.

Best of Potter

1. Goblet of Fire
2. (tie) Prisoner of Azkaban/Half-Blood Prince
3. Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone
4. Chamber of Secrets/Order of the Phoenix

Warning: May be Repetitively Redundant!

Broadened Horizons

First, I finally have DSL! It took about five years for me to get around to applying for one (and a three week wait after actually applying, but it's finally here! I've hooked it up to an Airport Express and now we're enjoying 768 kilobits per second (with an actual download speed of 100+ kilobytes per second).

Nintendo Fumbles Again

The Revolution hasn't even been properly revealed yet (specs? controller?) and Nintendo is embarassing itself again. I'm a Nintendo fan, but I'm getting tired. While it will not necessarily kills the system, the lack of Resident Evil 5 is not a comforting sign.

Warning, beyond this point are some possible spoilers for Half-Blood Prince

Bloodied Again

I'm currently reading Half-Blood Prince a second time. I really love this book, there's no question about it. Note to self: I must read Books 1 to 5 again as well. But for now, I'm settling on watching "Sorcerer's Stone" on DVD. Addendum to Note to Self: Buy hardbound copies of Books 1 and 2. Hopefully Scholastic will re-release Sorcerer's Stone as Philosopher's Stone with Mary GrandPre artwork. So far it's just wishful thinking but if they'll ever get around to it, I reckon it'll be after Book 7 is released.

Stupid Potterheads

On a related note, many Harry Potter fans are stupid! They are exceedingly arrogant and spoiled rotten. Of course I'm talking about those Harry-Hermione shippers. I don't really speak-up about these things, but seriously! Declaring hatred for Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and JK Rowling herself simply because Hermione and Ron (and Harry and Ginny) got together is just outrageous! So many Potter fans obsess about too many pointless details that they often miss the point of the series itself (Note: refer to the "Prisoner of Azkaban" movie). It's one thing to dislike the movie because it is really objectively flawed and another thing to dislike it because it didn't have every scene you wanted.

Why do I have the right to rant like this? It's because I know what it's like to not like a movie for removing scenes. When the first movie came out, I loved it (or rather coerced myself to love it). However it left this gnawing feeling inside of me, like there was something missing. I then blamed the missing scenes. Eventually I realized that it wasn't the missing scenes that made the movie decifient, it was the fact that it wasn't as elegantly (or competently) made as it could have been. Now as I watch it (which I'm actually doing at this very moment) I see a flawed movie. Do I hate it? Of course not! It persists as a fond memory.


Regarding Tom Marvolo Riddle

The recent issue of Entertainment Weekly has revealed a picture of Dan Racliffe at the Graveyard during the climax of "Goblet of Fire". The picture, which can be viewed here, shows him infront of the grave of the Riddles (a.k.a. Voldemort's dad and grandparents). If I had seen this picture last week I wouldn't have been bothered, but seeing that this bit of info has been released post Half-Blood Prince, we all know that Tom Marvolo Riddle is NOT the name of Voldemort's father. We only assumed this to be true before because in Chamber of Secrets, he expresses disgust at being named after his "filthy" Muggle father. However we all discover in Half-Blood Prince that Marvolo is the name of his maternal grandfather.

We can't really blame the filmmakers for assuming that to be true, but in a post-HBP world, it is a glaring error. One must ask if Heyman and Newell will change this error even now that Goblet is in post-production.

If they don't, it will be quite sad that we have already spotted a glaring blooper months before the movie is released.

I have long believed that I invest too much in my job. Oh excuse me, my vocation. I wouldn't invest this much in a regular job.

This week I just realized how much I had invested in my students last year, the former 3I now 4G and the former 1A & 1E - now spread out throughout eight sections.

Last Wednesday, with Eric in France and Loida with her class, I was asked to substitute for 4G. I had never volunteered to sub for them before because I wasn't part of the Hi4 team. Although it wasn't really a secret that I wanted to, I didn't step up because I didn't want to draw attention to myself.

I had hoped that it would be a surprise to them that I would be substituting that day, but apparently they knew ahead of time. Stepping into their classroom, I was struck by the strange and the familiar. Their new classroom was long and narrow and they all looked the same, but distinctly older. While I wouldn't venture as far as carelessly throwing around the word "mature", but they were definitely headed in that direction, although quite not there yet.

The Examen that period was oddly long and I spent my time looking at each and everyone of them, from Abigan to Jert. I did miss Brent, but he's better off away from the fools in 4G. The same fools who'd wrestle in class, have gas canisters explode between their thighs and leave hastily scribbled notes on my windshield, would continue with similar antics.

I almost, well, became -er- affected when I stood there again in front of those boys, excuse me, guys. If you had told me a year ago that I would look at these guys and will remember predominantly happy memories, I would have laughed at your face.

And yet there I was last Wednesday, as Examen ended, feeling like I never left 3I and oddly feeling like I just arrived home in 4G.

I never thought I could ever be so foolish.

-------------------------

Today was the Confirmation for most of my former H1 students. Unfortunately I had graduate school today with Dr. Caluag from 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m., which meant that I could not attend. I missed the Confirmation of 3I earlier this year under similar circumstances, so I swore at the very least that I would pass by this time.

I was only able to drop by the Confimation of ABCD (I had to leave early so I couldn't pass by EFGH's Confirmation ) at around 10 a.m. earlier. I had already missed 2A's but I was able to catch Guido and Aldo and then after them the entire 2D, particularly Stephen Tin (because he was so frickin' tall) and Bardo Wu (because he was last).

Again it felt odd to watch these boys be confirmed. These were clearly not the same boys I met a year ago. They're taller, more assured and confident. I looked over them from the back of the MPC, hidden in the sea of parents, ninongs, ninangs and relatives. I watched over them fondly and with a very proud heart. I did however feel a bit guilty because I walked out on my brother's own Confirmation because I didn't agree with the bishops' homily.

I also feel guilty for missing EFGH's Confirmation, but I did greet some of them as they scurried about preparing themselves for their 3 p.m. RSVP date with God.

I feel old.

This is a long overdue entry. I've been brooding over the possibility of actually writing it and it took a week before I actually got to do so.

A week ago to the day, 1B had their overnight recollection (called Climb high or something like that). Nida, whose birthday is today by the way (happy birthday!), asked me if I could stay with the boys in her place. I agreed to do so, only to regret it a bit once I actually got there.

The boys were staying in just one big room and it was just insane in there. Boys jumping. Boys talking. Boys running. Boys eating. Boys pillow-fighting. Boys shouting. Part of me wanted to text Nida and ask her to come back.

I'm glad I stayed though, I got to know some of the Bboys who're not in my class, namely ChrisP, Orense among others (Trevor, JP, Timothy I already knew). I also got to properly say good-bye to Julliard who's changing schools. The food was great but not nearly as good as the company. The only downside is that I didn't really get the opportunity to just hang out with them.

I really want to write some more, but I'm quite sleepy. For now I'll just stick to the highlights, "Bohemian Rhapsody", Patrick Teng's Speech, Gregory's Chocnut, The Scary Voice in the Shower , Just Post It, the Bisayan Clap and I could just go on.

It reminded me in a way of my own recollection in high school (it wasn't overnight). I tried really hard to remember it but the only things I remember are (the then) Bro. Arnel Aquino, S.J. and some coloring-letter-writing activity.

But I like those boys, so far. I'm just cautious because I've down this road before and I've only been disappointed. I can only hope that these guys are as genuine 1E or 3I last year.

One of the Bboys, I don't know who, wrote me this message (to paraphrase) One of the best old-fashioned teachers I've [he's] seen in a long time

He called me "old-fashioned". I like that.