Deutschunterricht

„Unterricht ist wie Langstreckenschwimmen. Man hat manchmal
den Kopf über Wasser, manchmal hat man den Kopf unter Wasser,"
according to one example in our German class today. So true for me.

Sometimes, the lessons in German are easy. But other times,
I feel overwhelmed, and way, way over my head.

Our teacher showed us a sample of the oral part of the
Zertifikat Deutsch examination today. As of this time, I don't think
I can take and pass it this year. Vielleicht, nächsten Jahr :) Or I
simply have to study harder. Immersion, I think is the best way. But
how, I don't know.

sayong
01-20-07 11:55pm

getting home

This is the fourth consecutive Saturday that I've been to
Makati. And the first time that I commute home. It has been more
than 10 years since I worked in Makati Business Club and a lot of
changes happened since then, including routes and mode of
transportation. In short, I'm still finding my way around Makati.

To get home, I was supposed to get a bus ride from Rustan's
Makati to Boni Ave. From there, I would have crossed a flyover and
took a jeepney going to Quiapo or Stop & Shop. Then, I would have
gotten off Stop & Shop to ride a Bacood jeepney. Three rides that
would have taken me an hour to get home.

Just as well that I asked a guard in Rustan's if there were
any FX taxis that would pass Nagtahan Bridge. He directed me to the
station beside Landmark. The FX taxis to Nagtahan are located between
Anson's Supermarket and the parking area across Landmark. The fare
was 35 pesos, which was paid to the driver before one hopped in. We
waited for about ten minutes for the FX to fill up. But it only took
about 15 minutes to get to Rotonda/Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. via EDSA and
Quirino Avenue. From Rotonda, I took a Bacood jeepney (the fare is 7
pesos). Two shorter and more comfortable rides, even if a little more
expensive than the other alternative.

But like a child, I feel glad with my little success in
finding an alternate route back home.

This reminds me of the time (December 20, 2006) I went to
the Supreme Court to return the shawl I borrowed from a classmate
working there. I also had to ask for directions to get there. My
classmate was quite apologetic that I had to go through that trouble.
I told her that it was a learning experience. It was the first time
that I got inside an office in the Supreme Court. And like with
almost every first time, I observed everything with relish and filed
in mind for future reference :)

sayong
01-20-07 11:50pm

keeping awake

LOCO OVER SUDOKU

Instead of doing my assignment for my class in German
tomorrow, I've been solving previous Sudokus in Manila Bulletin.

I got interested in Sudoku only last Wednesday. And since
then, I've been hooked :) As my officemate Em already answers the
Sudoku in Philippine Daily Inquirer, I solve the ones in Manila
Bulletin.

RESURRECTION

One more thing that has been keeping me busy and awake until
2-3 am this week was watching the Korean series, Resurrection. It
starred Eom Tae Woong, who played the character of Xander in Sassy
Girl Chun Hyang and Han Ji-min, who
was a nurse friend of Jang Geum in Jewel in the Palace.

I've just finished watching the last (24th) CD today. The
story and actors were really good. And it's a pity that it wasn't
shown on TV here. Below is a synopsis from spcnet.tv. For the full
review, go to http://www.spcnet.tv/reviews/review.php?rID=1179.

sayong
01-19-07 11:55pm

====================
Resurrection Synopsis

Yoo Kang Hyeok and Yoo Shin Hyeok are the twin sons of a
police officer, Yoo Gun Ha, and his wife, Kim Yi Hwa. Whilst on his
way to investigating a case, Yoo Gun Ha found that the older of his
twin sons, Kang Hyeok, was in the back seat. They met at an accident
which killed Gun Ha but Kang Hyeok managed to get out of the car.
Injured, bleeding and not remembering anything prior to the accident,
Kang Hyeok was adopted (with great reluctance, initially) by gambler
Suh Jae So, who has a daughter of his own, of about the same age. Kang
Hyeok could not remember anything, not even his own name and hence was
given the name of Suh Ha Eun, the reverse of Jae So's daughter's name,
Suh Eun Ha. The two became very close and have always known that they
love each other beyond the platonic.

Despite their less than comfortable circumstances, Suh Ha
Eun grows up to be a happy, cheerful and optimistic person, buoyed by
Eun Ha's constant love and support.

Fast forward 20 years and Suh Ha Eun is now a police
officer. The end of the world as Ha Eun knows it began with the
apparent suicide of an underworld figure, Im Dae Sik. Ha Eun and his
superior officer in the Serious Crime Unit, Kyung Ki Do, do not
believe that it was a suicide and because Im Dae Sik is a name the
latter remember from a 20-year old case involving his own senior, an
officer whom he had a lot of affection and respect for, Yoo Gun Ha. At
that particular juncture he does not know that Ha Eun is actually one
of the twin sons of Gun Ha and neither did Ha Eun know that his
immediate superior is a junior of his late father.

In the meantime, a well-connected underworld figure, Choi
Dong Chan (played with gleeful villainy by Kim Kyu Chul) got wind of
the investigation and he put pressure on the police chief to terminate
the investigation and close the file as another suicide case. Choi
Dong Chan (CDC) is worried because Im Dae Sik is connected to him and
he does not want to be implicated if the investigation goes any
deeper. However, the two persisted. CDC succeeded in framing Ha Eun on
trumped-up drug and corruption charges. Because the 'proof' seems
iron-clad and knowing that the Chief of Police is in the pockets of
CDC, Ha Eun decided to go on the run, and prove his innocence on his
own. In the meantime, Ki Do managed to put the pieces together and
realized that Im Dae Sik is indeed tied up to the 20-year old case and
that Hae Eun is actually the elder twin son of his senior. On his way
to meet Ha Eun to impart the news, he was knifed by CDC's man and was
seriously injured. Before he slumped into a coma, he told Hae Eun that
his real name is Yoo Kang Hyeok.

Suh Hae Eun by now is aware of his history and managed to
trace that Yoo Shin Hyeok is his younger brother. He found out that
his mother has remarried and has a daughter. Shin Hyeok is now the
vice President of Buling Corporation, working with their step father,
President Lee Jung Kil. Through a series of manoeuvres, they arranged
to meet in the town of Kangling, at a spot only they and Officer Kim
Su Cheol know. Officer Kim was forced to betray Hae Eun's location
when CDC and his cohorts threatened to kill his mother and family
should he disagree. This betrayal resulted in the death of Shin Yeok,
whom they thought was Hae Eun/Kang Hyeok, not knowing that the two
have made contact and were meeting up. The death of Shin Hyeok after
such a brief reunion was extremely devastating to Hae Eun and in the
aftermath of the tragedy, decided on a plot of revenge which
necessitated him assuming the identity of his dead twin brother and
returning to the family and the company as Yoo Shin Hyeok. He tried to
find out as much as possible about the life of Shin Hyeok by breaking
in into his computer, and reading into his database of the people
surrounding him and also his diary.

Okay, at this point you have to suspend disbelief a little
that Hae Eun can actually fool so many people, including his own
mother, by passing himself as Shin Yeok. He has never met Shin Yeok
before this, and does not even know what the man was like. Shin Hyeok
was apparently cold, dispassionate and not a very popular person. Hae
Eun is almost the exact opposite. The major bulk of the story focuses
on how and what Hae Eun does in executing his revenge on those he
believed were responsible for the death of his father and brother.

Hae Eun identified Senator Lee Tae Joon and also president
of J&C Corp, President Jung, as the sponsors and protectors of CDC.
Senator Lee is actually the father of Lee Gang Ju, a crime reporter to
be betrothed to Shin Hyeok. She was against the betrothal but Shin
Hyeok had liked her. Lee Gang Ju is a pretty, bright and persistent
reporter who coincidentally got involved in investigating the death of
Im Dae Sik.

Senator Lee and President Jung are friends but their
friendship is based more on convenience and sponsorship, on the
marriage of politics and business, rather than on genuine liking for
each other. President Jung is garrulous and short-tempered whereas
Senator Lee is calm, cool-headed but no less unscrupulous.

One of the first things Hae Eun did as Shin Hyeok was
terminate the betrothal, much to the disappointments of both parents.

President Jung's son, Jung Jin Woo, is the Vice President of
his company. J&C and Buling are business rivals of sorts even though
it is acknowledged that J&C is the bigger and more powerful of the
two. Jung Jin Woo and Yoo Shin Hyeok have always regarded themselves
as adversaries.

Eun Ha had, in the meantime, secured a job with Buling Corp
and was shocked to meet Shin Hyeok, the spitting image of the man she
loved and was mourning deeply for, Ha Eun. She had enormous difficulty
in reconciling her dead love with this man whose image and mannerisms
constantly reminded her of him. Ha Eun was not able to hide himself
very well either whenever he faces Eun Ha, and almost gave himself
away several times. Over the course of time, he inadvertently left
many clues here and there that left question marks on the people he
loves including Eun Ha, his mother, his good friend Officer Kim, his
personal secretary and eventually his step father.

Through his newfound power and position, Ha Eun sets his
planned vendetta in motion. He recruited a multi-skilled and
multi-talented and popcorn munching private eye Chang Hong Myeong to
do most of the investigative work as well as setting up sting
operations to unhinge both the Senator and President Jung. Both of
them managed to locate Senator Lee's illegitimate son, Park Ki Soo,
who makes a living as a con man. In the sting, Park Ki Soo pretends to
be a Korean-American (named Steven Lee), an investor in an off-shore
oil exploration off the coast of China, luring the Senator to feed on
President Jung's greed to invest into the operation. Using the funds,
both Ha Eun and Chang HM engineered the takeover of the Star Hotel
which President Jung has earmarked to CDC, into the hands of his wife,
to whom he had earlier promised control. The whole idea was to drive
cracks in the alliance of the two men and also to use their own funds
to to destroy themselves.

In all these, people who are closest to Ha Eun became
gradually wise of his true identity, even Lee Tae Joon who is now
developing feelings for him. In putting the pieces together, Ha Eun
and his assistant have always suspected there is a third character in
the whole grand plot that led to the demise of his father and brother
but was not able to identify the person. It was extremely devastating
to Hae Eun when he finally discovered that the person is very close to
home.

one good day

I like this Saturday. As I listen to the Acclamation CD of
the Philippine Madrigal Singers, I reflect on how productive and
peaceful this day has been.

There was no frenzy, no hurry at all. For those who know
what hectic and busy means, this is called a lazy day.

And thus my day began late. I was late for the first day of
my class in German 7 at the Goethe Institut. I underestimated the
time it would take me to get to Makati. Last week, it took me less
than thirty minutes to get there by taxi. But it's really different
when one commutes. I had several short rides. First, I took a
jeepney to the edge of Bacood, which borders Pasig River (or San Juan
River, I can't remember which). Anyway, I then rode a banca to get to
Punta. From Punta, I took another jeepney to St. Francis Church.
From there, a tricycle brought me to Kalayaan where there are jeepneys
going to Ayala, Makati. I got off H.V. dela Costa St. and walked to
Adamson Centre, where Goethe Institut now resides.

The impression I got from the new classmates in Goethe
Institut is that they were very good. I admire the way they spoke
German and their seemingly instantaneous responses in German.

Jed, a teacher in U.P., was always quick to answer. But
what really impressed me was the voice of the student named Red. Wow!
His voice was simply cool, very well-modulated This is the first
time I met a person who perfectly belongs to the broadcast industry
(and I had Mass Communication as an undergraduate course, at that);
not the irritating of voice of Mike Enriquez and other high-pitched
broadcasters. He sounded like one of the characters in the EuroLingua
Deutsch CD whenever he spoke.

Enough or I might sound like his spokesperson :)

After class, Frau Fe, Bebot, Jackie and Tranqs went to a
nearby Starbucks.

After our chitchat, I met with my mother and nephew Timboy
at Greenbelt 3 for grocery shopping. Although we often shop at
Landmark, today is the first time we shopped at its Supermarket. I
found its bagger-boys to be quick in giving a hand; and gave us a very
nice shopping experience.

I also found out that I've already lost three pounds since
last week. Not bad from only ten minutes of exercise a day.

So, it has been a good day, all and all.

"Let There Be Praise", sang Philippine Madrigal Singers in
Acclamation. This is one of the 2006 Christmas gifts I received that
I really like. It's the first time I heard "Let There Be Praise"and I
like it very much. It's reminiscent of Enya's Book of Days but
livelier and more to my taste.

Let there be praise for such a good day :)

sayong
01-13-07

speaking French

- Bonjour. Comment vous appelez vous?
* Je m'appelle Sayong, et vous?
- _____. Enchante.
* Moi aussi.
- Aurevoir.

My French class at the DFA started tonight. And boy, if I
were not tired!

My officemate Em told me that for this term, the teacher in
French is the only foreign national. Forewarned, I tried to arrive on
time. When I stepped off the elevator at the fifth floor about 5
minutes to 5pm, I guessed rightly that it was my teacher pacing the
floor.

She started teaching around 5:15pm and dismissed the class
just before 8pm.

I don't think she would have taken a break if Ms. Nona
didn't request to talk to the class. She informed us that the teacher
refused to have the course-book photocopied, so we would have to buy
the set at a discounted price. It is still expensive though.

The lesson was enjoyable though it is still hard to
pronounce and distinguish among the diphthongs. I believe that this
will make learning French very difficult for me.

But structure-wise, I don't think it would be too hard at
this point to study both French and German.

I enrolled for German 7 at the Goethe Institut in Makati
last Saturday with my classmates at the DFA: Tranqs, Bebot, Jackie and
Leah. For this term, the course costs 3,600 pesos and the book, 950
pesos.

sayong
01-10-07 11:30pm

Sukob

My older sister called yesterday as we were on our way home from
Makati to ask if we could come for her church wedding on May. My
immediate reaction was I couldn't for I have classes. And tonight,
how could she do it to me? We'd be "sukob" if I get married this
year. Of course, it's just wishful thinking on my part :)

sayong
01-07-07 12:55pm

Quiapo Day

This is not the time to go to Quiapo. The Feast of the Black Nazarene
is on January 9 and yet, Quiapo is already jam-packed.

I went to Quiapo to buy medicines for my mother in Mercury Drug.

Then, I visited Quiapo Church as I usually do whenever I go to Quiapo.
But going inside the church was not as easy as other Fridays (Quiapo
Day). The guides are a lot of help to an otherwise problematical
navigation in and out of the church.

I doubt if one could fall if one was pushed. There wasn't enough
space. I just let myself be carried by the throng out of the church
and out of Plaza Miranda.

I noticed that many renovation projects for the Quiapo Day at Plaza
Miranda and Lacson Underpass, such as putting new tiles and paints are
not yet completed.

In R. Hidalgo, many jeepneys avoided heavy traffic by not turning at
Barbosa Street for their return trips.

sayong
01-05-07

fit in 2007

For the first time in about four years, I played my Billy Blank’s Tae-Bo video.

And in just 10 minutes, I was sweating so much.

I got my motivation to exercise after a talk with an officemate, with whom I happened to ride the same jeepney with tonight. Though we live quite near each other in Bacood, we rarely meet each other.

She told me that she and two other officemates meet about three times a week to exercise. During weekdays, they join those doing aerobics in Luneta. On Sundays, they exercise at CCP. She said that they used to walk from PMS to CCP, which is about five kilometers.

I’ve done longer than that in my stronger days :) One time, I rode my bicycle from Bacood to CCP, with my cousin as passenger. And after joining those doing aerobics in CCP, we also rode the same bike home. That was 20 kilometers, I think. In another time, I walked from CCP to Mendiola with an ex-boyfriend.

But since my operation in November 2005, and especially since I took Ladogal for my endometriosis, I noticed a decrease in my stamina. Perhaps, it’s a combination of all the medicine’s side effects, non-exercise and weight gain. And I really gained a lot of weight.

Anyway, I told my officemate that I would like to join them. But before that, I said that I’d first do a little exercise myself so that I could keep up with them.

And to think that this morning, other officemates and I were talking about the imminent opening of our office’gym. I told them that I don’t really need to go to the gym because I already have a lot of exercise materials at home that I very rarely use, including an exercise mat, crunch ball, tummy trimmer, twister plate and dumbbells.

Perhaps, I was just being given a lot of reminders today to exercise and finally get into shape.

sayong
01-03-06 11:55pm

better late

Today is the first day of work in 2007 and I was late.

Over breakfast, my mother told me that my cousin Jonie would return
the amplifier and speakers he borrowed from my cousin in Violago
Parkwoods this morning.

I thought that it would be good to send the excess food last Media
Noche (New Year midnight meal) to my cousins living there. Instead of
taking a bath immediately after breakfast, my mother and I packed ham,
cakes and fruits for my cousins.

As I arrived late at the office, I went home late.

It turned out beneficial for two Canadian tourists who I came across
with at the corner of Concepcion Aguila St. and Mendiola. They were
father and son with a Filipina friend guiding them. The young
Canadian said that he has been in the Philippines for two months while
his father has just arrived here. But it seemed that all the young
Canadian has seen so far was Ortigas. To rectify it, they've been all
over Manila the whole day to check different mosques and churches.
But the Filipina friend said she was not familiar with Manila as she
lives in Pasig. When I told her that a friend lives in Manggahan and
another in Karangalan Village, she said that she wasn't also familiar
with these places as she has just moved to Pasig. Anyway, I came
across them while the young Canadian was checking a map of Metro
Manila and the street sign (C. Aguila). They were looking for the
Golden Mosque.

I told them that it was in Quiapo. They've been to Quiapo Church and
Binondo area earlier and missed it. I told them to take a jeepney to
Quiapo (which is a lot easier, after all the walk they've done) but
they intended to walk. After a lot of explaining, I walked them
(which was going back for me) to the corner of C. Aguila and Legarda
Streets and gave them the new directions. I hope that they finally
saw it.

After all these, I felt good. I am glad to be of help.

sayong
01-02-07 10:40pm