Singing big

I haven’t been to the choir since Manami left and that was 3 weeks ago. I’m kind of missing it. Since joining the choir November of last year, we’ve been attending practices almost every week and sang at their Christmas concert two weeks after joining the choir. The choir is called the Jubilee Gospel Choir, which is organized by a Christian church but is basically a community choir in Bradford. This is a picture of us singing at last year’s Christmas concert. It was a black/red-themed concert, so we had to wear something black with a splash of red.

Here’s Maria, our lovely choir coach and conductor from Liverpool. :)

And this is me, passionately singing a song. :)

Imagine how we had to learn and memorize the lyrics of more than 10 songs in two weeks, considering that the choir was the least of my priorities back then since it was just a form of relaxation for us to channel academic stress into something productive. Obviously, we weren’t able to learn all the songs so we just hummed, smiled, and pretended we were singing in some parts. :) That’s one good thing about singing in a choir, moreso in a laid-back one like our choir. Mostly it’s just about having fun singing in a group. At 9-ish in the evening, we always walk home with big smiles on our faces after the practice.

Mojito's Tale

27 May 2011

I’ll do the storytelling next time ;)

Reflection on being a mentor

(A few months ago in a training session as a student ambassador)

I’ve done academic tutoring, but I’ve never done mentoring before. So I felt that I learned a lot from the mentoring exercise. Following the mentoring session, my mentee was asked by the coordinator regarding our discussion. Basically, the questions were about how well I carried out the conversation in a mentoring manner. According to my mentee, I was able to put her at ease at the start and the meeting had a positive feeling to it because her first impression of me was friendly and approachable. And by asking some personal questions about family and interests, I was able to build a rapport with her and led her to open up about issues relating to her goals, plans on progression and achievement. I also made sure that I listen to everything that she’s saying and that I respond to her through my gestures like nodding. But when she raised issues related to some difficulties and barriers that hinder her to pursuing with HE like financial problems and peer pressure, I gave her some insights and possibilities that she might want to consider in order to address such difficulties. In support, I was able to share some personal experiences with her that could possibly talk her into really thinking about these possibilities.

On the other hand, some of the areas that I need to improve on as a mentor, as pointed out by my coordinator, is my confidence and ability to make conclusions at the end of the session. Honestly, I had a difficulty dealing with the specific details of the problem of the mentee, which involved the UK educational system, because I wasn’t familiar with the system. So personally, I think I would have to at least familiarize myself with the system.

Based from my own experiences, I believe that a mentor can meaningfully have a great impact on another person’s life. And for an effective mentoring, it is important to devote one’s time and energy to build a relationship with the mentee. A good mentor must be fair, open-minded, an active listener, patient, encouraging, and committed. At times, a mentor might need to set aside some interests to focus on the interests of the mentee.

Reflection on being a mentee

(A few months ago in a training session as a student ambassador)

I find it easier playing the role of the mentee in the session rather than playing the mentor, because all I did was rant about things and bring up certain problematic issues. Another reason was that maybe I could relate more to the situations of a mentee because I also had that questions and issues when I was at that stage in my life where I have to make tough decisions for my future.

For the mentee’s part, I think that it was really important that my mentor put me at ease at the start during our first meeting. Because young people at that age are most probably anxious about talking to someone about certain concerns. It would be normal for them to hold back at first. And sometimes, they might get intimidated by a mentor. For a mentee, a positive feeling of the meeting might be crucial, considering the fact that first impressions are important in predicting the flow of the relationship. As a mentee, I found it easier to open up with my mentor because she was really outgoing and nice. She shared a lot of ideas, thoughts, and experiences about the issues that I brought up, which quite convinced me to consider pursuing HE. In the end, I found the mentor to be an effective one.

Being a mentee, I realised that mentees could make the most of the mentoring relationship if they themselves are interested in developing their skills towards achieving a certain goal, which in this case is pursuing HE, and if they are able to take responsibility of these developments as well. It is important for them to be able to set goals and eventually work towards them. They must be open-minded, just as a mentor should be open-minded. They should learn how to accept constructive criticisms and willing to take on challenges, being positive about change and growth.

Cine Pirates

Some guys at work dressed up as pirates for the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ release. I’m too boring to dress up. :p But if I find a fancy dress tomorrow then I MIGHT do dress up as well. Sounds fun, but I probably won’t. :D
(photo by John Daniel)

Prof Devt: Volunteering Op

Prof Devt: Volunteering Op

Uni Culture: Explore the World

Uni Culture: Explore the World

Make peace, not war

KG, you're busted! But that's alright...let’s make peace, not war.

This is after we called it a night at Global Cafe, where name tags are a must. :) Global Cafe is basically part of a Christian organisation (see, see, I'm now unconsciously spelling in British English...tsk) in Bradford that hosts various activities every Friday for International students. They basically organize events that cater to international students such as Spanish night, Japanese night, Egyptian night, British night, etc. or sometimes a Friday night can be as simple as a coffee-and-chat night. This is where I met most of my first friends (and some eventually became my closest friends) in Bradford. It's absolutely a nice place to spend your end of the week and start your weekend, where you get to chat with people from all over the world and learn a couple of things about different cultures.

Cine gal

Cap, check. Red shirt, check. Name badge, check. Smile, check. Donned in my proletarian outfit, looking proud and happy. I’m a happy person :) And...I'm off to work!

Cracked nail and brain explosion

Overslept. More or less, I had about 13 hours of sleep last night. That’s to make up for my sleepless night the day before. Had to rush for my violin class so I merely slipped into my flip-flops and forgot that today is a lab day. Good luck to my feet! Well, starting yesterday everyday would be more or less a lab day except for weekends.


On the way to class, I noticed my cracked index fingernail. Wuhuhu, thanks to violin, which I’m loving, come what may. As soon as I make my first step inside the College of Music building, I can already feel the music! C’mon! Hearing the sounds coming from various instruments while walking along the hallway and corridors, wow, really puts me in high spirits. That’s why I always look forward to Tuesdays because of my violin class. Now, just how great is that? Save for the hassle of carrying my instrument in a jeepney. Still, just the same, no big deal for the hassle. 30 minutes of playtime is just awesome, getting better by the minute.


Enough of my cracked nail. The first two days of my future job was a blast! I say future job because it’d not be official til Thursday. Tomorrow’s Maria’s last day. Hopefully, I can make it through the hang-ups and eventually get the hang of it. Haven’t really felt the boss, though. I only met her once and she will not be visible at work til tomorrow. Oh, shoot! Which means…when she get back on Thursday, which is my official first day at work, I’d finally “see” her! And…she’ll finally have the chance to ambush interview me! Brrrrr…goosebumps! Back to my first two days, I was really overwhelmed by the responsibilities of my position. Information overload was the name of the game. In between Maria’s discussion of things, I find myself either spacing out or almost passing out. I was exhausted to death that for almost 8 hours a day for 3 days I was being told of this and that and these and those. Yeah sure, there are some of those things I already know of, but still there are more things that I need to familiarize myself with. That makes me think twice about doing this job. Yet another aversion to newness attack. Good luck!

Am I in my grade school years?!

Really feels like in grade school, yes, my German class, especially today. I can't take it that I had to write on our textbook, "Ang pointless ng tinuturo, pang-kinder". Who wants to be complimented when you're actually being praised for answering a question like Euro 4.69 + 0.(something)? Oh c'mon, give the kids a break. I just have to endure it til the end. Nevertheless, learning German is still interesting. It's what I'm there for anyway. So why bother with the grade school stuff. Treat it as part of the fun!

Money talks after grad

My first paycheck for the first 9 days of work. It's not much, keri lang. :)

U.P. @ 100 finds its way to me

Finally, finally!! I got them by "accident" when I had a three-day training (or was it a part-time job?) at Ate Hydie's travel agency. Actually, they really saved these two for me. Weeee! Buti na lang di ko binili yung binebenta ng school na worth Php1,000 (1,500 na yata ngayon) for four UNCUT 100-peso bills. Huh, who cares if the ones they're selling are uncut? Meron naman palang nagci-circulate sa public! Sorry naman...I know, fund-raising it is for U.P. nating mahal (...at MAHAL na ring mag-aral sa U.P. these days)!

I survived!

October 5, 2007


Haggard talaga ang araw na 'to for me. Imagine?! Kahpon, natulog ako ng 2pm-6pm. Tapos from 6pm(04Oct)-4:40am(05OCt) eh nagmarathon ako ng pagre-review ng chem 145 at chem 125, take home exam sa PI 100, at thesis! Whoah! By 4:30 am, tapos ko naman ang thesis proposal at PI 100 paper. Pero di pa ako aral na aral sa dalawa kong exams. Pero umidlip muna ako til 6am.


Nasa school na ako ng 7am at dun ko na lang tinuloy ang pag-aaral ng chem 125. After ng exam 10:30, tinuloy ko ang pag-aaral sa chem 145 exam for 11:30. Ang hirap ng exam sa 145 kahit multiple choice kasi uber objective at di ako nakaaral. SANA MA-EXEMPT AKO SA DALAWA!


After ng exams, 1pm, sa PH 1205 naman ako para gumawa ng 125 lab special project at i-finalize ang collaborated papers namin nina Joel at Kristel sa PI 100. Tapos nagpa-print, then pumasok sa PI 100. Tapos at 4pm bumalik sa PH 1205 para sa chem 125 project. At dahil magagaling naman ang groupmates kong sina Carlo, Ace, at Jebs, eh almost tapos na ang project pagdating ko dun. Pagkatapos nun, nag-demo na kami ng ginawa naming water-level indicator kay Sir Lim. Eto pa nga yun o!


Yung black device ang gawa namin, di kasali yung pinagpapatungan. Yun yung experimenter. Ang cute noh? Akalain mo yun? Nakagawa kami ng electronic device! So ok na. Pero di pa dun nagtatapos. Pinuntahan ko pa si Kristel ng 5pm sa FC kasi may play sila sa Theatre class niya.


At last! 6pm nakarating na ko sa bahay at TULOG!