This Week's Scoop: January 24 - 30, 2010

     This week, nothing much happened in our English 2 class. Ma'am Lynnie did not come to our class last Tuesday. Maybe because she did not know that the ROTC tactical inspection was moved to a much later date.

   On Thursday, we began discussing the APA citation system that we were going to use when writing our term paper's bibliography. Ma'am Lynnie also discussed the common mistakes students do during the bibliography writing process. I already copied the APA citation system from Ma'am Lynnie's blog a few weeks back so I have an idea on how the APA system format.I hope that it will come in handy someday.

   But even though I had lot of things to do this week, I still found time to participate in the regional convention of our society, the Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants. Since MSU-IIT was the host of the event, all of us were required to attend the said convention. Since I was an usher, I had a lot of things to do. We were in charge of greeting the different participating schools, faculty, judges and guest speakers, maintaining order between the different schools and awarding the trophies to the winning schools. Let's just say that I was awake for more that 24 hours. Plus, I had to wear formal clothes even to Timoga, where the night program was held. But even though I was exhausted, it was all worth it because I got to meet different people from Region X and CARAGA and I also got close to the elder accountancy students.

Reaction Essay: A Mother's Love: Is it Sometimes too much?

      On January 18, 2010, Jason Aguilar-Ivler was, the suspected murderer of Renato Ebarle Jr., was hunted down in his mother's house by the NBI. In the confrontation that ensued, Ivler was pinned down and badly injured. While he is recovering in the hospital, the media now turned its attention to Ivler's mother, Marlene Aguilar-Pollard. Her comments about her son and his arrest seem to depict herself as a confused woman who is desperately trying to save her son.

     One of her comments after her son's capture was that her son has done nothing wrong. I want to believe her because everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but Jason's actions during the NBI raid can surely make me question his innocence.
     In another interview, she accused the NBI of violating Jason's human rights while they where arresting him. But, I think that it was her son who violated human rights. Isn't murder already a violation of human rights? For me, the police were only somewhat brutal to Jason because they regarded him as highly dangerous because of his experience as a former US marine.
     In her latest statement, she appealed to the United States embassy for help. It's a legitimate appeal, but I don't think there is anything the United States can do about it. Jason Ivler, has committed murder and caused injury to Philippine NBI operatives. It is therefore only logical that the Philippine government has the right to judge jason and even imprison him if he is found guilty of the charges pressed against him.
     These three are just a few of Marlene's comments when being interviewed by the media, and there may be more to come. But they do teach us one thing: We should not let our emotions cloud our judgment towards others. A mother disciplines her children when they lie, cheat or exhibit bad behavior. Will she not also discipline her children when they commit something more nefarious such as murder?

      

This Week's Scoop

     Last Tuesday, we began discussing on how to write an essay. Our discussion included the basic essay structure, the kinds of paragraphs in an essay and how to expand a paragraph into a longer composition. As part of our discussion, we were tasked to write a reaction paper on an issue. I'm not exactly good when it comes to reaction papers but I will try to do my best. Also, it could be useful when we are going to write our term paper.

     On our next meeting, ma'am was not present because she had to go to Marawi, so she assigned some psychology students to collect our assignments and she also let them conduct their survey which was all about online gaming. I don't play online games that much so I was not required to take the survey. Plus, I don't belong to any game guild, sorority or society, so I wouldn't have the slightest clue what the survey will be talking about.

As Another Week Goes by

     This week has been a very busy week for our English 2 class. Last Tuesday, we presented the title and thesis statement of our proposed term paper. My paper is titled : Effects of Violations of Accountancy Professional Ethics on the Performance of Business Entities. It's a little hard to swallow, but, at least, I have a topic that is worth writing about. Our teacher approved my topic but I had to restate my thesis statement because she said that there was something wrong with it.

     On our second meeting, we took our prelim exam in Eng2. It was not so hard, nut it was not also easy. In the fourth part of the test, we were tasked to write a composition including its thesis statement and outline. When I reached that part, there was only about 15 minutes left, so i had to frantically come up with a topic. Fortunately, I managed to finished writing before the proctor announced that it was time. 

     So now I am currently searching for references for my term paper. I only have four, so I need six more to complete the requirement.

       Until next time...

The Grandeur that is Mimbalut (Descrpitive Writing: Remembrance

     It was like a dream. I remember that it was cold and the sky was gray. It was still midday, though the sky made it look like it was almost dusk. I was seated comfortably at the back of a pick-up truck together with my relatives. We were feeling the cool breeze as it passed through our faces. We were waiting to arrive at one of Iligan's many waterfalls: Mimbalot falls.

    When we arrived, I could already hear the sound of the water crashing against the rocks, and I became excited. After I got out of the truck, I headed straightly to the small pathway that led to the foot of the waterfalls. It was not an easy task, for the pathway was slippery and there were lots of huge rocks that were difficult to pass through. We came nearer and nearer and suddenly there it was. An immense column of water greeted us. It was so majestic that I was taken aback for a split second. I dipped my feet at the water and shivered as the freezing molecules rushed to my feet. It was then that I reassured myself that I was not dreaming. It was for real. Though the sound of the falling water as it collided with the rocks at the bottom was deafening and chaotic, I simply smiled. I realized that through chaos, one can see true beauty.

     After gazing at the falls for an hour, I decided to look for other wonderful sights at the vicinity. The water coming from the waterfalls flowed to a place a few meters away, where they accumulated to form a shallow pool. What seemed odd about the pool was that concrete tables and chairs were placed at the very center of the pool. I could even feel the current of the water when I was sitting there.

     To the left of the pool stood two massive, stone columns and a third one placed on top of the first two. I was utterly amazed when I saw the columns, for I knew that it took a great feat to put the structure in place.

     After passing the giant stones, I was surprised to see another waterfall. I saw two waterfalls in one day! What a treat! This waterfall was much smaller and narrower than the first one, but it is interesting to note that at the foot of the waterfall was an entrance to a cave. I wanted to explore the cave, but I did not bring any extra clothing with me in case I got wet and the water surrounding the waterfall was covered in some sort of slimy, floating substance. So I just had to satisfy myself by taking a picture of the falls with my cellphone.

    After that, I spent an hour and a half going back and forth the two waterfalls until my aunt said that it was time to leave. And so I hastily went back to the pick-up truck. As we were beginning to leave, I took one last glimpse at the magnificent Mimbalot waterfalls. I was exhausted yet satisfied by what I had seen that day. And I know that when I grow old, memories of places such as Mimbalot falls will make me realize how lucky I am to have seen something like it.

     

This Week's Scoop: January 5-9, 2010

     At what seems to have been ages , our Christmas break was over and we were finally back in school. In our English 2 class, we met thrice this week rather than the usual twice a week. We met on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday! This was because we did not meet on what was supposed to have been our last meeting for 2009. As a result, our teacher decided to hold a make-up session on Saturday.

     This week, we discussed about fragments and run-on sentences and how to avoid creating these when writing. it was such a nice topic since we all learned a little more about proper English grammar and punctuation. I for one learned one use of the semicolon. It was used to separate two independent clauses to prevent the formation of a run

-on sentence. I never knew what a semicolon was for, so now I know of one reason for using it in constructing a sentence.

     We were also tasked to submit our topic for our term paper. I thought long and hard as to what my topic was about so I hope it does not get rejected.

    During our make-up class last Saturday, we were asked to group into twos for our activities and because it seemed that ma'am did not have enough copies of our lessons for everyone. My partner was Molly, a BSEd-Physics student. So it seems that I did not just learn new things at English2; I also made new friends.

    

All Things Wet and Slippery

     Hello 2010! It's now the start of a new year and a whole new adventure awaits for me. After waiting for the final stroke of midnight and amusing myself at the colorful display of fireworks in the sky,I finally retired to my bedroom for a well-deserved slumber. Little did I know what will happen next.

        I awoke at about 8 o'clock the next morning and found my aunts, uncles and cousins already waiting outside our house. I had almost forgotten that we were going to Timoga today. I frantically got dressed and ate breakfast then hopped onto my aunt's pick-up truck.

     At the pool resort, the water was so cold that I hesitated for a moment to enter the pool. That was until my uncle pushed me and fell into the freezing waters. It got even colder when it started raining very hard. At midday, we were all shivering that we decided it was time to leave the resort.

     However, since it was still early, we decided to take a short trip t Mimbalut Falls before going home. The view there was breathtaking and spectacular. We explored the surroundings of the falls where we encountered a huge stone gateway that pretty much resembles the ones in the famous Stonehenge. We stayed there until 3 o'clock. Then it was time to go home and our little adventure ended.

     The events of my life during the first day of the year 2010 were such a wonderful start of the year for me that I am now ready to take on whatever the future holds in store.