Unbounded

Acosta, K. A., Kho, M. G., & Rosales, M. S. (2004). Jologs Perception Scale. Psychological Measurement Laboratory 1. De La Salle University.

[Appendix A: Questionnaire]

Edad:
Kasarian:

Sa mga sumusunod na bilang, bilugan ang inyong sagot na naayon sa inyong pananaw tungkol sa pagkajologs ng lalaki. Ang iskala ay makakatulong sa inyong pagtugon ng mas naangkop na kasagutan.

LS – Lubos na Sumasang-ayon
S – Sumasang-ayon
N – Neutral
DS – Di - Sumasang-ayon
LD – Lubos na Di – Sumasang-ayon

A. Panlabas na anyo

Ang lalaki ay jologs kapag…

LS S N DS LD 1. May buhok na sobrang makintab at matigas dahil sa hair gel.
LS S N DS LD 2. Naka-hair dye o naka-highlights ang buhok
LS S N DS LD 3. May istik ng sigarilyo sa ibabaw ng tenga.
LS S N DS LD 4. Maraming piercings sa katawan.
LS S N DS LD 5. Maraming burloloy o “accessories” sa katawan tulad ng kwintas at sing-sing.
LS S N DS LD 6. May nakakabit na tanikala o chain sa bulsa.
LS S N DS LD 7. Maraming tattoo sa katawan.
LS S N DS LD 8. Nakamaong na pants na butas – butas.
LS S N DS LD 9. Nakafitted na shirt kahit na sobrang payat.
LS S N DS LD 10. Hip-hop ang porma na tipong kita na ang underwear.
LS S N DS LD 11. Nagsusuot ng malalaking pants tulad ng elephant pants.
LS S N DS LD 12. Nakasando lang kapag lumalabas ng bahay.
LS S N DS LD 13. Nagsusuot ng malalaki o barkong sapatos.
LS S N DS LD 14. Pumoporma ng wala sa panahon tulad ng pagsusuot ng shades kahit malilim.
LS S N DS LD 15. Naka-porontong o “baggy shorts”.
LS S N DS LD 16. Nagsusuot ng mga t-shirt na matitingkad ang kulay tulad ng neon.
LS S N DS LD 17. Dinesenyo ang buhok sa pamamagitan ng pag-aahit nito.
LS S N DS LD 18. May nakapalupot na bimpo sa leeg.
LS S N DS LD 19. Nagsusuot ng mga t-shirts na sadyang ginupit.
LS S N DS LD 20. Naglalagay ng barya sa loob ng tenga.

B. Pag-uugali

Ang lalaki ay jologs kapag…

LS S N DS LD 1. Ngumingiti na parang manyakis sa mga babaeng hindi naman nila kilala.
LS S N DS LD 2. Nanghihipo ng pasimple sa mga babaeng hindi nila kilala.
LS S N DS LD 3. Sinisipulan ang mga babaeng dumadaan.
LS S N DS LD 4. Kumikindat sa mga babaeng hindi nila kilala.
LS S N DS LD 5. Pilit na nakikipagkilala sa mga babae sa mga hindi naaayon na lugar.
LS S N DS LD 6. Papansin at matagal tumitig sa mga babaeng hindi nila kilala.
LS S N DS LD 7. Siga kung kumilos at magsalita sa harap ng maraming tao.
LS S N DS LD 8. Sunod ng sunod sa mga babaeng hindi nila kilala kahit ayaw naman ng mga babae
LS S N DS LD 9. Bastos kung magsalita sa mga pampublikong lugar
LS S N DS LD 10. Umiihi kahit saan kahit alam namang bawal.
LS S N DS LD 11. Dumudura sa kung saang – saang lugar tulad ng kalye.
LS S N DS LD 12. Idinidikit ang bubble gum sa dingding o ilalim ng mesa.
LS S N DS LD 13. Isinusulat ang kanyang numero ng telepono sa likod ng upuan ng bus.
LS S N DS LD 14. Nagsusulat sa pader.
LS S N DS LD 15. Nagkokomento ng malakas sa sinehan.
LS S N DS LD 16. Nagkakamot ng mga bahaging hindi dapat kamutin sa pampublikong lugar.
LS S N DS LD 17. Sumisinga ng malakas sa pampublikong lugar.
LS S N DS LD 18. Nagtatanggal ng dumi sa ilong sa harap ng publiko.
LS S N DS LD 19. Nagtatanggal ng pang-taas na saplot sa pampublikong lugar.
LS S N DS LD 20. Bahagyang nagtatanggal ng sapatos sa pampublikong lugar.

Hello again boys and girls.

Remember our pee-wee days when we all had our own little share of hardass math teachers who petrified us stiff by their complete lack of empathy and humor?

Well, back in the days where wringing a misguided student’s collar was still an acceptable behavioral correction tool (Damn, I should’ve sued when one of my crone teachers did that to me), they would remind us that “Oh little children, you see, mathematics can be useful. It’s practical. You’d get to use it in real life”. Yup, I’m sure you’ve heard of it, and no doubt threw those words of wisdom out the window.

I’m here to tell you that it’s all true. Math really can save your life, and here’s a short story to tell you why.

About a year or two ago, my friends and I convened to celebrate fermented barley. It was one of those nights where we lived like the Romans (minus the gluttony, lead poisoning, and orgy. It was a night of good clean ethanol consumption). In an illustration of how boys can be boys, one friend of mine chugged half a bottle of bubblegum lambanog (fermented coconut wine with a bubblegum flavor) and half a bottle of Absolut Blackcurrant. Needless to say, the bloke was knocked out cold for the night, and we had to nurse him because he was shivering uncontrollably, with the occasional unconscious vomiting...

Let’s pause for a moment to talk about blood alcohol content.

When a person has about one to three drinks, his blood alcohol content would be about 0.02 - 0.03%. This equates to noticeable cognitive changes, and euphoria. With about five drinks, your BAC would be around 0.15% - 0.20%. By that much, you’d be in a state of stupor. With twelve drinks, your BAC would spike to about 0.30% - 0.40%. This equates to loss of consciousness to comatose. And finally, with twenty-four drinks in one hour, your BAC would be around 0.50%... You’d be dead by now.

Now back to my friend. Bubblegum lambanog and Vodka are both 80 proof, and one shot would be equivalent to one “drink”. He consumed about a liter of 40% alcohol combined. My guess is that his blood alcohol content was definitely in between 0.30% 0.35%.

My friend woke up the following day with a terrible hangover, and was completely puzzled why he wasn’t wearing his shirt and why the heck did he slept at the bathtub.

So boys and girls, if you are able to meticulously count the calories in your chocolate decadent cake, I’m sure you’d be able to compute your possible blood alcohol content before you take a shot of Jose Cuervo. It can save your life.

"I want to tell you a story. I'm going to ask you all to close your eyes while I tell you the story. I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to yourselves. Go ahead. Close your eyes, please...

This is a story about a little girl walking home from the grocery store one sunny afternoon. I want you to picture this little girl. Suddenly a truck races up. Two men jump out and grab her. They drag her into a nearby field and they tie her up and they rip her clothes from her body. Now they climb on. First one, then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure with a vicious thrust in a fog of drunken breath and sweat. And when they're done, after they've killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance for her to have children, to have life beyond her own, they decide to use her for target practice.

They start throwing full beer cans at her. They throw them so hard that it tears the flesh all the way to her bones. Then they urinate on her.

Now comes the hanging. They have a rope. They tie a noose. Imagine the noose going tight around her neck and with a sudden blinding jerk she's pulled into the air and her feet and legs go kicking. They don't find the ground. The hanging branch isn't strong enough. It snaps and she falls back to the earth. So they pick her up, throw her in the back of the truck and drive out to Foggy Creek Bridge. Pitch her over the edge. And she drops some thirty feet down to the creek bottom below. Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood, left to die. Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl.

Now imagine she's white."

-Jake Brigance
A Time to Kill

[link]

For sale: Brick from Jubilee Wall.

Have you ever thought to yourself how great it would be if one had a piece of history like let's say, a section of the Berlin Wall, or a slab from the Great Wall of China? Wouldn't that be just dandy? A perfect conversation piece, right?

But I assure you, you would not be able to get one of those even after a hundred years. Might as well wait for fifty and have your own tombstone.

Well here's the next best thing.

Presenting, an authentic red brick taken (stolen) from the facade of Jubilee Christian Academy.

Stolen months ago from the facade along 3rd street and Dona Hemady, the brick measures 6 inches(l) by 3 inches(w) by 2.5 inches(h). It weighs a couple of pounds, no more than two dead chickens. 100% oven baked to achieve the crimson hue, that red bricks are known for. Ideal for cabinet display, and equally useful as a paperweight or as a bludgeoning weapon. Comes without packaging when purchased.

Perfect gift for that die hard Jubilean or to your pesky mother-in-law.

"Yup, it's the real deal alright!" -assures Mang Tony, the magtataho who saw the pilfering.

"100% authentic!" -exclaims Mang Ramon, the fishball vendor at the other corner of the street who also saw the pilfering.

If you call now, we'll even include the authentic dirt and mold from the brick. See the dead little critters from the brick crevices!

So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to this one of a kind treasure right now!

My my, this is turning out to be colorful discussion, no?

Everything started when Jim wrote this to the groups:

hey! what this? a non-forwarded message??? what is the world coming to???

Remember the days when posting a yahoo groups message was the norm? I might have had beeper 150 too, but I don't remember as much

Anyway anyway anyway, what brings me here is to announce our plans to have a bookdrive.

I know.
I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking "who are you?"

well, i'm jim, your high school batchmate!

Now you're thinking "what the hell do you want, mr someone who hasnt kept in touch with me"

Well, because it has been brought to my attention that jubilee's library has no books (well they have, just not enough to be actually called a library), we decided to have a bookdrive in order to raise books so that our younger brothers can have something to read aside from the old crappy encyclopedias we used to read before.

But before we suggest this fantabulous idea to the jubilee admin office, we felt that its important to get support from you guys first because we want to make it a batch thing.

That's right, we're all batchmates... ahhhh i can see you're all starting to remember now, a minute from now we'll all be singing "thank you, friend"

well, reply one and all and let me knw if this cause is important enough for you guys so i can decide if i want to go home or not (yes, im actually not in the philippines right now).

Or talk to Glenn and Wilson or go to the 13 blog, where laughter and
happiness abound.

if you want to get in touch with me... my email and ym is true_love5484@yahoo.com .... say hello, flirt with me a little if you want..

anyway, thats it for me...

y'all take care... i miss you all

except for you stevenson, i dont miss you at all hee

Chika responded positively, so did Jirbie, although we suspect that her affirmation was about the flirting thing.

Erwin then retorted with this profound statement:

No offense to anyone... but i came to realize the evils of Jubilee...

And posted another one which went:

I realized that what I said a while ago is not Ok... so here is an alternate and in my point of view better and a more helpful and beneficial suggestion to your idea, Jim. .

I think that Jubilee has more than enough and they can support themselves IF they WANT to. I think the more worthy to give help to are the public schools. Try going to any public school, look at the poor kids. I think it would be more helpful if we help these people. They are the ones who really need our help. I'm sure they will
appreciate whatever we can give, even old text books and encyclopedia will definitely and surely help them.

What do you think?

Mariane also voiced her opinion:

Hey peeps. Bigla ako napareply....

Anyways, as much as I think the earlier suggestion was really cool,
I would have to agree with Erwin that if Jubilee really wanted to upgrade
the library, it could, and that if we would really want to help,
that public schools might have a greater need. Hehehe, just a thought.
Anyways, it's a fabulous idea to do this to help other people

And as expected, Jim responded with:

Oh no! my evil plan to corrupt young minds with the gift of better literature has been foiled!

Everyone got surprised when Eug posted his sound arguments (kudos!):

might as well reply hehe...

As much as i like erwin's alternative suggestion..i would want to stick with the
idea of further enhacing JCA's library..for the following reasons:

1.) If we are to start this bookdrive..let's not be too ambitious in trying to start it off on a school that we totally have no influence on..at least sa Jubilee..kahit konti naman cguro meron tayo d b?

2.) It's true that JCA may have the capability to support itself..but having been there we should know that they lack the initiative to do something about the problems of the library..maybe our actions would be something that would appeal to the senses of the admin to do something about its problems

3.) Lastly, a lot of us will be very busy after some time..some because of work..others because of something else..(by the way congrats to those who just graduated last march) so why don't we just spare ourselves a little less time in looking for other school's problems when we have one right in front of us.

That's all for now, take care everyone and God bless

Now comes Necisto's reply. Classy. It went:

better give to unfortunate people. Most of the jubilee people are well of anyways. Come to think of it, how many Jubilee students go there to do research? I'll
just support the poor kids cramping into a small classroom.

Sab followed with an obscure reply:

The Center for Peace Education in Miriam College just posted a message that Students from Patikur, Sulu are in need of reference materials. Well, from my view point, it would really be "better" if we could help public schools instead.
I believe that raising funds for the library of Jubilee is the responsibility of the School and the JCAPA.

Sabb

From Stip:

is stibog a member of this yahoo group? hehe di ata... baka walang
nakaalala mag invite... buti nga si jim naalala nya eh... hehehehe
naalala lang nya... pero d nya naalala iiinvite... hehe or baka
nainvite den... d ko alam.. hehehe

Jim finally got fed up with all the irrational alternatives:

okay, this is just silly now. If you think that public schools need books, no one's disagreeing. if you prefer giving to public schools, then thats fine too.
however y'all are missing this

we're talking about our alma mater. this isnt just a case of choosing whether to give to a middle class kid or to a really poor kid, because in that line of thought, then jubilee would never get anything.. ever. someone will always need more than jubileans will, but that doesnt mean we cant give back to our school. i hear that's what people who graduated there do.

so if you want to do something charitable, then cool, lets do that too.. but what i was saying was to do something for our school... but then again, im not even in the freakin country, so what the hell do i know

I then started to explain our initiatives. I chose not to be too vocal about it first:

Hello.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted something, seeing as being candidly vocal about telling the truth equates to public persecution. Nevertheless…

My friend, my friend, please explain to us the idea behind the necessity of doing this proposed bookdrive project instead for the poor, because a paragraph of word salad wouldn’t be enough of an argument to justify a batch-wide project. Be reminded that we are talking about making a batch project that will be specific, practical, and sustainable.

Providing those deprived kids the learning resources is such a novel idea, I really do think so. I really do. But it’s too broad of a project for the batch to manage. Why not address a need that we could easily reach? So I agree with Eug and Jim. We never really appreciated our library because we never had good books to begin with.

Now what about the thing on responsibility? It’s as much of a responsibility for the school and to the parents association as for concerned alumni. I’m afraid that sounds utilitarian, devoid of human empathy. I wouldn’t just leave jubilee behind after she cared for me for oh so long.

We are consulting the different sectors of the school community, like the students, the teachers, the head honchos, the parents, and of course, us.

-Glenn

And the mother of all replies, and from a business managment savant no less:

"planning is key babe, planning is key..."

Jeco replied, in three parts, taking the matter to the preparation phase:

kunin na muna natin yung mga required books nila, i'm sure people will back this project up if we give them something more specific i.e. quantities, and categories of books that they need. Can somebody over in Manila do this? si Ms. Singan naman madali lang kausapin e. Then we can offer this up to our batchmates and our contacts and just post the list of requirements para may pang-check tayo.

Anson Tan, the alumni association president (for the past X number of years) is here in Canada, kasama ko sa simbahan (WHAT THE FUCK???!!! SI JECO NAGSISIMBA???!!!!) anyway i'll talk to him on Sunday about this para mas legitimate and mas marami tayong maitutulong.

-----

The thing with jubilee now isn't indigenous to our school alone, it's the lack of money and the lack of teachers because of the low salary, they really have bad teachers ngayon hehehe. The whole CE department left including pastor Sia hehehe. Si Paul lang naiwan, that's a sign of something bad na e no? Christian Education teachers leaving a Christian school and society to look for work in Muslim country hehehehe. Religion doesn't pay unless it's coupled with violence hahahaha.

Anyway I do encourage fresh grads to try teaching there kasi kailangan nila ng decent na teachers (ang dali sabihin e no?) When i get back yun yung una kong balak gawin, although governemnt policy disallows part-time teachers, i heard na the case can be altered when it comes to jubilee with a little negotiation (godfather style sana para mas masaya).

-----

sorry ang daming messages na, as for helping the poor, honestly guys, those acts of benevolence might be better if we really could commit to the project, otherwise masasayang lang. If we really "REALLY" want to help then let's warm-up with something we can plan, execute, monitor, and evaluate with ease before we undertake some other altruistic act. So i think the Jubilee thing works well as a good first step. let's get the list muna ng kailangan na books then let's see how we perform, after such then tingnan natin kung kaya ba natin tong gawing sustainable.

So game? we really need somebody to go to jubilee and get an initial needs analysis muna.

Cha followed with her affirmation:

All of us know that the number of times we entered the Jubilee library can be counted with our fingers and for the diligent ones, their toes included... and we CANNOT deny the fact that there IS a scarcity of books in the library due to well, probably the non-need of the high school students to look into books since well, there was the internet to turn to every time we cram our research papers...

But 4 years in college has taught me (all of us, i must assume) that the need to look into books as references for papers and projects just so the professor can take it as legitimate... A book drive for jubilee could actually be beneficial as even if the new building boasts of new facilities like speech labs and science labs (that they actually use) the library oh, the educational resource center pala... remains small and bare. I agree that the people in our school don't read much but this book drive might give the students a push towards the right direction. Going to college before discovering that libraries really exist isn't something that we can be proud of.. so why don't we start helping them now? by providing the students with more books and more options for their readings, we might actually grow a number of readers...

The project within jubilee may seems small and irrelevant after all, as some may say and point out, the JCAPA has the money and the means to expand it. The problem here is that it's not their priority. And we might as well make it ours...

For the alternative suggestion that we should just do the book drive for a public school, its not a bad idea. But I agree with the people who say that this is something quite large and for the meantime unmanageable for us. Let's take a look at it this way, if we donate our books to them, we cannot even make sure if the people actually have the capacity to read and make use of the things that we are going to donate. Not to go against the public school system, but there are a lot of students there who do not know how to read even if they are in high school, the books then we are going to donate will simply go to waste...

Maybe someday, if we have more means we can create a learn-to-read program for them instead of just giving them books in the hope that they might learn to read and get a job at the nearby call center...

-Cha-

Also Karaine:

hey..!! nabuhay si karaine! heheeh

anywys. it has come to my senses..i have been out of our batch's circle for a million years now.. haha

nice to hear from all of you.. and replying to jim's suggestion..! its a brilliant idea! it really is.. well, i have noticed that problem when i visited jubilee for the past few years na umuuwi ako sa christmas time.. the library is just bare(haha! yes, i went into the library when i visited!).. well, it needed some books.. really.. so i think what you guys are planning is excellent.. as much as i want to help, im overseas.. but maybe i can.. and id be happy to!

kayalang, food for thought, medyo broad nga ung project na to! and i think its not so much the idea of having more books in the library..its actually getting the students used to the fact that research is needed in doing assignments and referencing and stuff.. (unlike how i did it before.. literally print stuff from online encyclopedias..!!) so we hav to not only donate books but kind of hav to work with teachers in the school.. i mean, this may also improve skills of students specially in english and all.. coz i got news.. legit source.. that jubilee had a high
percentage of first year ateneo students not passing the college english level..

thats my thought..hehe update me on whats happening.. miss you all!!! looking forward to reunion!heheh

karaine

As of post time, the last thread ended with Wil's summary:

Well said Charissa. When Glenn and I first thought of doing something for the library after visiting Jubilee (the Dona Hemady branch), we never saw it as a charity case. As much as I would like to help the needy, its also about time that put our acts together and do something for our school (This coming from somebody who has a
massive messianic complex). Thats when we talked to the other members of the 13 about it namely Jimson, Jeco and Eugene. We saw it as an opportunity to correct a deficiency in our alma mater's system, not as something to just plainly do while bored and get as many books as we can and dump it to jubilee. Ginawa naman natin basurahan ang jubilee kapag ganon. Also, its so pathetic for us to do nothing to
correct a deficiency, especially now that we have the power and resources to actually do it.

While many of you showed doubts on to why jubilee can't produce a better educational resource center (doubts aren't necessarily a bad thing though), how many of us know the real score about Jubilee's finances? Or better yet, how many of us know how much Jubilee's tuition is this coming school year without asking your shobe/shoti/mommy that are still connected to Jubilee? I'm sure Dr. Coyukiat and Ms. Singian aren't blind to the situation of the library. There must be a reason.

Now many of you also ask, why the library? As said earlier by Glenn, Jeco and Cha, its a feasible idea. Plain and simple. Better than suggestions from other people that we interact with jubilee kids. Also, as all of you may know now, learning doesn't stop in the four corners of our classroom. There's a wealth of knowledge hidden
beyond classrooom discussions and textbook reading. This is what a good library can afford to its visitors. It is also our dream that this be the start of a culture of reading and critical scholarship amongst our young brothers and sisters in jubilee. Only a fool would deny children the opportunity to read a good book. We are inviting
you to be part of this dream.

Isn't it also a great idea that the first thing the batch did after getting their degrees from reputable universities is to create a bookdrive? How many batches can claim they did that for their alma mater? Btw, it would make a perfect gift for Jubilee since it is her 40th birthday. Now that is a good plan, "babe" heeeeheee.

Wil and I decided to revisit Jubilee today after my unproductive morning of waiting incessantly for nothing in Fully Booked, Gateway. So much for manipulative serendipity.

As we arrived, we noticed that security got tighter. We had to have a purpose of visiting just to enter the campus, so we told the officer in charge (whatever happened to Georgette?) that we came to see Mrs. Yan. The OIC however directed us to Mrs. De Guzman. WTF.

Anyway, we took the opportunity to chat with the teachers and the staff. Some, we looked forward talking to, and some, ummm.. let’s just say that we enjoyed the company nonetheless.

Mrs. Raymundo, our grade one Filipino teacher, now holds an executive position. I reminded her of the time when she used to punish me every day at lunch by letting me squat. This wasn’t an exaggeration.

Ms. Ordinario, whom Jim, Dodong and I met again in February, is still the same. Again I teased her about wanting to teach Statistics (she taught us Geometry and Stat in our sophomore and junior year), and Wilson reminded her that “didn’t _______ used to have a massive crush on you?”. Nice retort.

I miss Mrs. Solinap. You remember her. She’s our petite and perky AP teacher who used to carry her maiden name Pajarito before she got married. I can fondly remember the time when I used an itty bitty notepad as the notebook for her subject just to spite her. I later went home that day with a sore right ear (by the way, did you know that Pajarita in Spanish means little bird?).

Heh. Moving on, we also got to chat with Mrs. Sofia Chua (Lin Lao Shi). She’s thinking about stopping teaching in two years because her daughter’s nearing highschool.

Mrs. Nancy Clemena also passed by, and we got to chat with her too.

Oh, you may think that it’s a picturesque moment, no? Yes, but not quite. When everyone in the room realized that I was a Psychology graduate, I suddenly became the darling of the discussion as they were desperately looking for a school guidance counselor pala. Damnit.

As if the moment was not awkward enough, Mrs. Sally Coyukiat (our Executive Directress, the head honcho for you non-Jubileans reading this) peeped in the office and joined the discussion. Everyone then told her that I was a Psychology major and she candidly persuaded me to apply too.

…!#$ Save me Mrs. Yan!

Mrs. De Guzman and pretty much everyone else didn’t allow us to explore the campus at first (apparently because of security issues), but have they forgotten that we were the golden batch? That we were the LAW? So when Mrs. Coyukiat came into the administrative office and personally suggested that we should take a look around the campus, I wasn’t able to hide my smirk. We then explored the campus like little boys in a toy store.

I felt like I was back in time. Back in the time where we had healthy class section rivalries, where Pollux would dominate the freshmen year, Hibiscus in the sophomore year (however they cheated to win so the prestige really belongs to Mimosa), Nickel for the junior year, and Galileo for our senior year, with Pascal trailing not far behind.

Who could forget those inspiring teachers? I’m sure everyone could still remember the science mantras that the late Mrs. Ramos taught to us.

Not a lot of people know this, but Wilson and I have a deep respect for the late Donia Gonzales. Not many of you know her. She was a secretary. We used to chat with her whenever we needed documents to Xerox, and connived with her everytime I was late to arrive in school.

Jubilee also had its share of uninspiring teachers.

Enter Mr. Ramos. Our third year math teacher who only cared about Friday madness and the first row of students.

Wil, Stip, Lea, Bev and I were seated at the very back at that time and we got so pissed by his selective attention. We then tried this one experiment where we’d raise our hands for the remainder of the class and point our bad fingers at him just to see if he would notice us. He didn’t. He was too busy letting ____ kiss his scrawny ass.

Finally, who could ever forget the puppy loves? The crushes, the heartaches, the sexual tensions in a love triangle, and your eye sparkling moments? C’mon, we all had at least one.

We then found Mrs.Yan and got to chat with her. She’s still the same Mrs. Yan that I know, still witty, still articulate, still my idol.

Wil and I also snuck around the closed chapel and its cloisters. The renovations that they made to the chapel are breathtaking.

But what got our attention was the deteriorating state of our library. The Charlie Brown kiddie encyclopedias that we used as references, circa early nineties were still there! Not to mention the complete 1992 edition of Collier’s Encyclopedia. Numerous other TEXTBOOKS were on the shelves.

We never appreciated the library because we never had good books to begin with. Wouldn't it be nice if we'd initiate a batch-wide bookdrive to address the problem?

So much has changed since we graduated highschool four years ago. Some teachers moved on, some passed on. Some structures were raised, some razed. But even after all the changes, one thing still remains and still remains true, that our roots belong to jubilee.

Always remember that every red colored grade, every SDR record, every peck on the cheek, and every moment of joy that we experienced in highschool is a mark. It will whisper and we will then hear the laughs that we had in our memories. We will remember that, at the end of our every endeavor is a celebration of our making. Our roots.

I personally consider my little visit today as a little gift for myself, to remind me of living.

My patience for insolent assholes ran out on June 2, 2006, when Wilson and I went to the ADMU gym to watch the Shakey’s V-League semi-final match between DLSU and SSC.

In what was supposed to be just a routine clash between the two schools (where La Salle would dominate the opposing team in the end), something else happened, something that the TV cameras could not and would not be able to capture: The rude heckling fans.

Here’s a blow by blow gonzo account of what happened.

Wilson and I sat at the upperbox, at the very front that day, so near to the courtside seats that we could literally jump down to get ourselves better seats of the match (in truth, of the volleybelles). We then waited for the first game to end – the first semi-final match between AdU and Lyceum. Adamson won, three sets to one, I think.

Then came La Salle. The team whose pristine win-loss record serves as the league benchmark. What kind loyal alumni supporter would I be if I did not cheer for my team? So cheered we did, calling the players by their first name as if we were friends.

The game started. San Sebastian drew first and second blood by embarrassing LaSalle, 2 sets to none. We cheered harder.

Wil and I then noticed (actually Wil noticed it) that there’s this one particular ill bred gay fan (Yes, it’s the same guy who made a fiasco in the PBA when he made a scene with Kris Aquino, and it’s the very same guy who always buys patron seats in UAAP games, and would then wave his AdU jersey, banner, or umbrella) who keeps on trash talking and bad fingering the players. He even had the nerve to turn to us and made boorish remarks every time San Sebastian scored. Oh, so now you’re provoking us eh?

Tsk tsk, such poor behavior. I’m afraid that wouldn’t do. He had to be taught a lesson.

Wilson and I decided that we had to make a fool out of him. To instigate a scene. So, swallowing our pride to prove our point, we started trading trash talks with him.

“But in a moment of unity between Ateneans and La Sallians, other DLSU fans were encouraged by our trash-talking and would later make sure that fag ass would be made fun of every time DLSU scored a point. Dozens of La Sallians, including us of course, pointed their fingers at the fag-ass and screamed the worst curse words the toddlers watching along with their parents must have ever heard. Scores of children instantly losing their innocence over a senseless game” (I’m quoting a paragraph from Wil’s post on the same incident).

Before the final set started, one La Sallian fan got fed up so much that he actually went to confront him. Trash talks were traded and of course, the coup de gras, the La Sallian threw a haymaker to the heckler square on the jaw. Sweet.

I personally volunteered to video and here’s the link [link] (stored in Wil’s multiply account).

When it was almost imminent that DLSU would win the match, the heckler stood beside the league security guards (they’re not going to help you) and he eventually left the gym before the final spike was counted in. It was for his own good as waiting for the game to end would equate to suicide for everyone had the unifying urge to beat him up.

They say that it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. He lost his dignity that night.

There is a lesson to be learned from all of this. When push comes to shove, you have to be able to put where your mouth is. Let this be a testament for all you hecklers out there. When you’re rude, have the volleyballs to back it up.

BUTI NGA!

So let us raise our glasses and toast this crowning moment of human evolution: the decadent dance of moral immorality and the inability to exist in any form of harmony. We took our crystal chalice and beat ourselves to a bloody pulp in a gem-encrusted brawl. Sure, it was stupid, but we all had fun, right? All in the name of poetic justice.

In the end, who really won? Was it Wilson and me for instigating the mess? Was it DLSU who managed a come from behind victory, and a convincing one no less? All the other fans who cheered with us? The guy who punched him?

No. Me. Because I finally saw ADMU volleybelle Bello (she dons jersey # 6) in personal. Teeheehee.

[originally from our group blog at [link] ]

My my. To think that all this time, we have been consuming our holy grail improperly. For shame, for shame.

I found a couple of articles on the net on the proper way of serving the drink ("So that's why a friend of mine was shocked when I told her that we were consuming it straight off"). Anyway, let's give the 'ol 89.9%(179.8 proof!) a touch of class and a sense of appreciation the next time we give it a go, okay?

How to Serve Absinthe (Some parts taken from absinthex.com):

There are two popular methods for serving absinthe, both require the use of an absinthe spoon (a large spoon with open slots in it, allowing liquid to pass through), ...although a large fork can work just as well.

Method One: Louching

Step 1: Pour a measure of absinthe into a tall vessel (heheh vander).
Step 2: Place a slotted absinthe spoon (or fork) over the glass and place a sugar cube on it (the lozenge-shaped French cubes work best).
Step 3: Slowly pour 4 to 5 parts of iced water over the sugar and let it drip into the glass. The absinthe will turn from emerald green to a milky white.
Step 4: Sip slowly and imagine yourself in a Belle Epoque Parisian cafe.

Method Two: Flame method

Step 1: Take a reasonably sized spoonful of sugar, or sugar cube and briefly dunk it in your glass of absinthe.
Step 2: Light absinthe laced sugar on fire and hold over glass, the burning alcohol will melt the sugar into the glass.
Step 3: When the fire gets low, stir the remaining sugar into the absinthe and drink.
Step 4: Enjoy!

Korsakoff's Syndrome and liver cirrhosis, here we come!