Traveling on a budget with legs as my gears

May 13, 2018: Oyasumi & Trek 2 @ Scrapyard, Rizal en route to Daranak Falls

Almost six months in to the new year and yet I have not granted a single wish on the list I created (Read: 2017 Wishlist). However, there's a lot of changes in my life since, which are not as bike-centered or bike-related as I would like. I'm more into makeup now than I am into buying bike parts. I no longer have perfect vision and, instead, have astigmatism 100; that sucks! I also gained 20lbs from reckless eating and not riding as much as I used to. Now, I am having a really hard time shedding it off. I'm even considering going pescetarian again but I have a poor man's salary−it would be perpetually impossible for me to maintain such a lifestyle choice. I'm still a teacher but not for swimming anymore. I work at local school and handle a fun mix of kids, mostly those with special needs. Some other life updates while we're at it include me participating in a wrestling show (GENESIS) as Starling last March 17 at Valkyrie in BGC, Taguig.

Starling vs Silent D

Like fb.com/StarlingPH for more photos

Follow twitter.com/StarlingPH for more photos

Photos by Akio Sen T. Escano

We got featured in several articles after the show. Some are even featuring on a GMA show to be aired on May 26. It was good while it lasted but my heart isn't really into wrestling; I don't like most parts that aren't all about training. The sweat, the challenge, the camaraderie... that's just what I was in for. I always knew the money would not follow−at least, not right away−even when the CEO of the wrestling promotion I am in was persistent in promising ridiculous figures. And after CEO Brian (not his real surname) Finigan made a fool out of the wrestlers, forcing our good coach, Chilly Willy's, hand to make an exit, I'm not really sure if I still want to continue... but who knows? Right now, I want to focus on my day job because it's an enjoyable and purposeful journey to embark on despite the financial constraints that it entails.

Another life update is, I am finally in a relationship 😮😮😮 yes, I know! Shocking! I might have mentioned him here before; I'm not sure, but he's been a long time friend who stupidly fell in love with me and all of my horrors. I don't even know why. 😅 We bike together sometimes. Sometimes I also bike to his turf.

I recorded a whole vlog about it one time:

That's all I want to do with my life now, what I have always wanted to do−bike to places I wanna visit with people I wanna be with. So when it comes to goals, I guess nothing has really changed. I still want to bike to be happy. I just no longer have to do it alone. Upgraditis is not much of a disease that consumes me either, as my interests have stretched outside cycling and fitness. But nevertheless, still...

BIKE IS LIFE ( AMONG OTHER THINGS )

When making wish lists, my first instinct is to opt for all the extravagant stuff that one can imagine but I realized, I should consider making this list as close to reality as possible--with products that are locally available--for me to be able to gift to myself (eventually) because, let's face it... nobody else will.
1. A poncho. Something light to put on and/or carry: big enough to fit when you have a backpack on, long enough to cover your ass from the mud splatter, and durable enough not to get ripped after the first use.

Something like this but longer...

December 26, 2016: on the way to Mt. Samat in Bataan

2. A footpump. To pump my tires with at home. I also used to have one but it wore out over time.

3. A 3L hydrobag. Big enough but not too big; something I can use for both long rides and commute.

4. Exustar SS503 (with muti-release cleats). Although my Shimano M064 still serves its purpose, how it looks doesn't secure me of how long it's still gonna last especially when used on rainy days. I've been fantasizing for a pair of Exustar SS503 since knowing of its availability here in the Philippines, because you can install cleats and use it on a rainy ride! Also perfect for bike+swimming / bike+dragonboat training (if I was attending).

(https://pedalpowerphilippines.com/2017/01/09/initial-impressions-on-exustar-ss503-cycling-sandals/)

5. SVCK IT! drawstring bag. For when I don't really need to bring a hydrobag. Plus, it's cute.
6. A loopbar. Ultimately, I just want it so I can then attach a loopbar bag and have easy access on snacks while riding. And, of course, there will be more bars for me to handle / grip on. Lol ok

7. Thor toolbox. It's a toolbox in the figure of Thor's hammer, need I say more?

8. A bike roller!!!!!! Availability of bike rollers here is such a bitch and its price got tripled from my first inquiry--PHP3000 to PHP9000 real quick. Contrary to most people's probable impression of how I live my life, I do not really bike all the time (although I want to!). I only bike when I *have* to be somewhere. That's why I think I *need* a bike roller so I can bike while I'm at home watching tv or if rides get canceled because of the weather.

9. A smart watch. I don't have a watch for more than a year now. So if I'm going to have one, I want it to be a smart watch. I'm not exactly tech-savvy; I don't care for most gadgets, I only want a smart watch so recording activities on Strava would be more of a breeze. Aside from the app being too taxing on your phone's battery, it doesn't always work and, sometimes, even records inaccurately. I don't know what compels me to think the same inconveniences won't exist in a smart watch. I guess, I just want one.

LASTLY!!! [NOT IN PHOTO] I WISH FOR...
10. A bike buddy. I've been solo riding forever. I'm so tired of being alone, to be honest.  I just wish for someone who share my general principles and is on the same page as me in terms of why bike--I bike because I hate having to shell out money for gas or fare just to be stuck in traffic. I bike because I want to maximize what money I still have on important things, like food. I bike because it's easier to control your travel time--no matter the distance--by adjusting your own speed. I bike because I want to eat whatever I want without the worry of going back to a life of necklessness. I bike because going to places I literally sweated for makes me appreciate the motherland. I bike because no matter how fast I pedal, the world in my eyes doesn't seem so fast-paced as I think it is in everyone else's--I get to see more. I don't even need a group that's already established; my heart isn't at being the strongest in this sport (anymore). I only need one person to help me bring out the best experience in why bike and try to change, if not completely abolish, the errors we'd likely encounter on the road. Someone I can make a better world with, one destination at a time. (So much for making this list ~close to reality~)

I wanna start off by saying I have absolutely no pictures from the Batch 4 graduation and I'm gonna get more into that later. Right now, as I promised in my previous post, I will first talk about how I cured the athlete's foot I noticed I got on May 23, 2017.

[WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT]

As you can see, the in-between of my left pinky toe is quite a disturbing sight. I couldn't help but overly worry about it so I started Googling like crazy and saw a home remedy that was quite doable: putting raw garlic! After taking a bath and scrubbing it silly, I started crushing garlic to release its juices, then I plastic-wrapped my whole foot with the garlic in between the affected area. I could feel it sting right away and in my head the fungus was starting to be killed. But because I was obsessing, I couldn't help but constantly check on it, practically breaking my toe off. The next morning when I still saw the athlete's foot intact, I turned to my mom for remedy.
She recommended the 2% w/w anti-bacterial topical ointment (MUPIROCIN - FOSKINA) I had left from when I was treating my stab wounds and it worked like a charm! After a couple of days, even when I continued to get wet because the duty calls for it, the skin of the affected area peeled off.

Mother knows best, after all.

At times when I'm not in the pool, I generously put baking soda on it to dry it as well as fight off the fungi's potential spreading. I never want to get athlete's foot again, so this is definitely a lesson well-learned. I'm more wary now of lending footwear and walking around public areas barefooted (although that's highly unlikely of me).

Thursday, May 25, 2017. First day of Batch 4. Aliyah, one of my students from Batch 3 re-enrolled and his dad requested me to still be her teacher from yesterday's graduation. I was handling her and another re-enrollee from last year when Coach Madel took Aliyah out of my class and gave her to Nikko. I could understand that it's only logical because Nikko is a great advanced lesson teacher, I just got pissed because she was already in my class and then suddenly she gets pulled out. I kept my smile nonetheless because I didn't want to ruin the kid that I got's first day. I was adjusting well, we both were, when after half an hour, Coach Madel switched my student with Nikko so Aliyah can be with me again. It felt ridiculous to keep interrupting the class, and what's annoying about it is that we got switched not because Coach Madel was honoring Aliyah's dad's request, but because Nikko requested it. There goes Coach Madel's tendency to favor other teachers again. I was so angry and disappointed at what just happened but I couldn't show it because I'm in the middle of the class. I also felt made fun of when the switch happened because (as I mentioned before, I'm still a bit shaky in teaching the Jammer 2 program, which is what Aliyah's course was) Nikko found Aliyah to have a hard time doing the butterfly kicks properly that's why he didn't want to continue having Aliyah as a student, and he was laughing with Coach Madel while making "good luck" faces indirectly to me because they know that I got pissed at them pulling Aliyah out of my class and now she's back, but with a newfound difficulty so "good luck"--that's what their laughter meant to me. One great thing I honed in my life as a swim teacher is how to keep things cool and collected ALL THE TIME. No matter how angry or sad I am, I don't let it take over my day's mission.

Friday, May 26, 2017. Coach Madel had to run errands so she wasn't around. Nikko was the acting head coach for the first half of the day and, actually, the day was nice. I've been looking forward to Saturday because of the Novice Swim Meet; I really want to see the kids in training apply themselves. Although there's no guarantee whether our attendance will be paid or not, I still wanted to come. Before the day ended, the operations supervisor, Coach Ecko, told me that I was going to be transferred to Elizabeth Seton School Main for the rest of my contract by Monday because of the decline of enrollees at Elizabeth Seton School Imus. I understand that I'm more needed at ESSM because of the student demand there but I'm dreading the idea of having to adjust to a new venue again. My first experience there being quite awful adds up to the non-excitement but I'm still hoping for the best and open for things to make a turn-around.

Novice Swim Meet @ Philippine Columbian Association in Quirino

Saturday, May 27, 2017. I drove to PCA with Rich, Nikko, and Fatima early in the morning. We got there at roughly 6AM, then Nikko went on his way to taking care of the student entries for the swim meet while Rich, Fatima, and I lounged around not knowing how the whole day will go because we just invited ourselves to come and are not actually part of the program.

Niño and his medals

The morning program was so relaxed because we only had Niño as our entry. He was first place in back stroke--that was the only swim when he didn't hover over his opponent to check on them. When he finished, he exclaimed, "First place. I told you I was good at back stroke." We all laughed in celebration. He could've also gotten first place in freestyle had he followed the plan to breathe every four strokes only but he finished second anyway. The important thing too is to just have fun.

When the afternoon program came and the student entries flushed, things got a bit hectic. We worked the event even if we absolutely had no assurance if we'll get paid for it or not. The ESSI and ESSM entries got joined together in one camp as the sky confusedly poured and scorched alternately. I tried to ease the stress by going on an uncharacteristic money-spending spree.

I got a Speedo - Endurance swimsuit at the Speedo booth where items were supposedly sold at a huge discount, but when I first went over to look, the prices were still at an all-time high.

I took a second look and luckily found gold with the price of a beautiful stone. Hours passed and I noticed the booth just behind Speedo where active wear apparel were being sold. I got a ton of items which are actually just like the other gym clothes I have in my wardrobe but I'm very financially illiterate like that when it comes to sudden catches-of-the-eye, which is the main reason I rarely bring cash so...

Expenses for today's haul
PHP572 - Speedo - Endurance swimsuit
PHP150 - Coolwear top (pink)
PHP200 - Coolwear skirt (black)
[the following are not in photo]
PHP150 - Coolwear top (white)
PHP150 - Coolwear top (green)
PHP200 - Coolwear criss-cross top (pink)
PHP350 - Champion shirt (gray)
PHP200 - Coolwear halter top (lavender)
TOTAL: PHP1972


I got the Coolwear lavender halter top for my mom and the rest are for me. The white Coolwear top would've easily been my favorite had I not forced to get the size small because I thought it'd be ~fitting~ even when I am so obviously a medium to large build. Oh, well... a girl can dream. I love everything that I got, though! Some things that others found surprising for me to pick were the skirt and the pink criss-cross Coolwear top. Little do most people know, I am actually a closet kikay/princess and I have yet to come out. 😉😉😉

Monday, May 29, 2017. First day at ESSM and I was late for three minutes. I took too long locking my bike and detaching its accessories. I really hate that I have to park outside. Not only does this crippling worry of my bike getting stolen won't leave, it's also really time-consuming to have to detach then re-attach things.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017. I made a new friend in a new co-teacher, Angelica. I found out that she's a legitimate teacher so I got interested to know her. Apparently, she's also just been newly assigned to ESSM. What brought us together is our same sentiment about the atmosphere at ESSM and how unwelcoming it feels to be there. I handled an adult in the afternoon because she missed her original morning schedule, but I supposedly don't have any student at 3-4PM and is just a shadow to Coach Alvin. I did some review of the previous lesson then proceeded with back stroke. Coach Alvin, a coach/senior swim teacher at ESSM, was just in the lane beside me. He looked over my class, then told me off by saying, "Mali yan. Hindi ganyan mag-back stroke." (That's wrong. That's not how back stroke is done.) I was so appalled and humiliated to be told off in front of a student like that. I responded, "Ito 'yung turo ni Coach Madel [sa ESSI]." (This is what Coach Madel taught me.) Coach Alvin spoke again, "Mali nga 'yan, kasi may bago na. Maniwala ka sa'kin kaka-attend ko lang ng seminar." (That's wrong because there's already a new method. Believe me, I just came from a [coaching] seminar.) He then realized the interruption he just caused and instructed me to continue on with the lesson. After the class, I was gonna confront him about the way he told me off and how he should not have done so in front of a student, but he beat me to it by apologizing right off the bat and then explaining to me the new back stroke method of teaching.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017. I'm handling VIP students at 4-5PM but they're just filling in their remaining classes and are not actually part of Batch 4. I had quite a hard time because this is the hour when the swim squad trains, so the pool space is a bit limited. It's their last day today, thank goodness. Admittedly, they weren't my favorite to teach just because their pickup is slow--you have to tell them the instructions twice because they can't get it the first time, although they're very promising swimmers.
Thursday, June 1, 2017. Because my VIP students are done with their classes, I didn't have students again so I was tasked to shadow Angelica. I felt myself overshadowing her when she showed weakness handling five kids, but my intention was to save her from looking defeated. I remember the feeling I got when Fatima had done the exact same thing shadowing me in my class at ESSI during Batch 1. Now I understand how you don't actually mean to overshadow... it just happens.

Friday, June 2, 2017. I woke up with my left ear hurting, probably from all the diving and underwater sinking. I left work with both my ears hurting. I couldn't treat it yet because I was staying at my grandma's house which is just a three-minute ride away (=more time to sleep and lounge around).

Saturday, June 3, 2017. Went home after work and was able to treat my ears with anti-inflammatory prescription medicine.
After taking a bath, I dry my ears with a towel and then I drop a few of this on a q-tip. Then, I clean my ears with the wet q-tip. I expected the q-tip to come out as really really yellow, since I haven't cleaned my ears for so long because of the scare of just pushing in the dirt further. When I finished cleaning my left ear first, the q-tip had black, grime-like particles and it smelled like dirty water. My right ear was not as dirty.

Monday, June 5, 2017. This is supposedly my last day already as Coach Ecko made me sign an ~end of fixed term contract~ paper during the Novice Swim Meet but I guess I'm being extended. A part of me is glad to still be needed, another part of me is in dismay because I kinda wanna rest and think about my next career step. I'm thinking of doing off-season work but there are a lot of factors to weigh in. Yes, I love what I do but I have no faith in the company I'm working for. I feel so stretched to my limit as a human and only honored when a good thing I did is recognized by another. Today, a venue head from Sta. Rosa came as a reliever, Coach Jonel. Having no classes in the morning, he was able to just observe us. He told me by lunch, "Grabe, ang galing mo humawak ng Snapper. Alam mo 'yung hindi nag-iiba 'yung energy mo kahit tuloy-tuloy 'yung klase!?" Of course, I appreciate the compliment. But then he tried to credit the way I work to someone else. "Sino venue head mo?" I told him, "Coach Madel." Then, Coach Karla (the head coach who was a bitch to me before) said, "Hindi nga 'yan nagha-handle ng Snapper dun e. Dito lang siya nag-Snapper!" (implying that it is her who made me good at handling Snappers). Coach Jonel replied, "Ahh, ang galing mo pala Coach Karla." How completely annoying. I don't even take credit when my students do good because all the credit goes to them. Just like when you refuse to credit yourself when students don't do so good because, again, it's their work. You're merely a guide in their journey to learn.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017. The Batch 4 graduation was awful to a fault. I felt like the whole program was a waste of time. It's like, they just wanted to get it over with. Seeing the parents' faces seemingly annoyed and disappointed really embarrasses me to be part of something substandard. There's no center command. Even when there was numbering on the students, it was barely followed. The talent showcase was unexplained and disorderly. I miss the graduations that we have at ESSI; they weren't perfect, but they were always something that we work hard for. When I went to give suggestions to a co-head of Coach Karla, Darwin, he told me, "Wala e. Ganyan lang talaga graduation namin dito." Blatant non-recognition for what can be improved. These people are strong examples of who I don't want to be.

I wasn't able to take any pictures or grab any pictures of the graduation from anyone because they also didn't take any. There were no food from parents as well, which is not mandatory anyway but is just odd coming from a venue that poured food in celebration... not just for the teachers but for everyone--graduates, parents, pool boys, guards. Coach Karla treated us to some pancit, barbeque, and pichi-pichi from Amber's though, and of course, I'm thankful for it. Free food are life savers, always.

1/2 Graduation: Ela, Christian, Isa, Denise, Cassie, me, Darren, Audrey, Enzo, Savina, and Gian (excuse my quick editing)

Friday, May 12, 2017. I had low expectations for the first day of Batch 3 based on my experience from the transition of Batch 1 to Batch 2, but I'm pleased to spend the day knowing I still have kids to teach. There's a decline in the number of enrollees this batch, which makes me miss how busy the first batch was despite it feeling hectic. I had really funny students, namely Thomas and Gabe. Thomas made me laugh when he said, "Wow, I can see lots of good things underwater!" while we were doing bubbles and my rashguard kept on going up, revealing my tummy. I asked him, "What do you mean? What kind of good things?" He gave a really sly smile and said, "Nothing, I was just joking." Funny, animated kid. Then came Gabe, who was extremely afraid of getting water splashed into his face. Even keeping it at chest level was a struggle. I tried to make him face the water and he kept yelling, "I ALMOST DROWNEDEAD, I ALMOST DROWNEDEAD!" (He thinks the past tense for drown is drownedead). "You're fine! And there's no such word as drownedead!" I told him, laughing. Everyone in the class was laughing, even him.

Monday. March 15, 2017. I had my first absent last March 13 because it was my Kuya Mak's wedding, which was held in Lopez, Quezon. I hurried back even when our whole family went to the beach because I didn't want to miss work again, but when we arrived at ESSI (Elizabeth Seton School Imus) today, the pool was a disgusting shade of pee. Classes were canceled and Rich and I were sent to different venues.

Kuya Boyet, the pool boy, was not around to help us deal with the problem.

I got transferred to Island Cove.

It took me an hour to get there from ESSI--it was a good ride but the work there is for 12 hours, from 6:30AM-6:30PM. I am not a super human to withstand a long travel time and half the day stay at the venue so I'm happy to do substitute teaching there at a one-time only basis.


I seized the day by trying all of the slides and swimming in all of the pools.

Wednesday, March 17, 2017. I was absent yesterday (Tuesday) because I got a late text that the pool still isn't fixed so I should go to Island Cove still. I didn't wanna come in late just because I was notified late, so I decided to skip work. Supposedly, I was still gonna have duty at Island Cove today but I really can't take a 12-hour shift. I get scared biking alone at the creeping darkness of the pre-sunrise/night. Plus, it's 22 kilometers away; that's 1 hour and 25 minutes of saddle time from home. Multiply it by 2 (to go there and back), I'll spend 10 minutes shy of 3 hours in transportation. 12 hours plus 3 hours is equals to 15 hours. Let's subtract that to the hours of the day: 24 hours minus 15 hours is 9 hours, which is 1 hour shy the amount of time I spend to rest my 5'5", 130lbs body through sleep. How about the hours I need to get ready for work? Let's squeeze that into one and a half hour and the time I need to prepare my food then eat it. I lost count on my math now but do you get what I mean? I suggested to be at ESSM (Elizabeth Seton School Main) instead, which is actually just 7.7kms away, much nearer than ESSI by about 2kms. I didn't like that I didn't have proper parking there and I thought the head coach was such a bitch, but the pool and the kids were very nice.

I had awesome students. Raya was kind of a highlight because she kept hugging me and even gave me a kiss. And she was like, "Be brave, be brave!" while we're swimming even though she was scared. (There was, however, an incident. Raya and her classmate Clay pulled each other down out of panic then drowned for about 5 seconds while I had my back turned against them). I also liked Miggy, he started out very scared to do back float but we ended the class with him being able to do it without me holding him. There's also Tami, who was hesitant to submerge her head in the water. After our class, blowing bubbles became her favorite thing to do. This kind of work is truly rewarding when you see your purpose being served. It makes you feel useful. Kids made me discover that I have been sitting on such huge love and it's just waiting to be given all this time.

Thursday, March 18, 2017. I was really happy to be back at ESSI. Not only do I miss my students, I felt appreciative of Coach Madel after my encounter with a different superior yesterday. Well, only until she started my supposedly appreciative day with something that could've been handled better had she weighed things more equally. Three days out of our own venue, she starts asking how we were now that we're all back. When she got to me, she started accusing me of not greeting the people at ESSM as soon as I arrived. I hate when I'm judged based on stories heard from others, assuming that certain "complaint" came from the ESSM head coach. It wasn't like that. When I arrived, I said hello to everyone; the head coach wasn't there yet and the rest were lounging so they probably didn't notice or care. When I changed to my slippers, next thing I knew they're huddled up and talking amongst themselves. I was waiting for a chance to greet the head coach as soon as I realized who it was from this group of people I've met just now, but they didn't give me a chance--they continued talking amongst themselves as I stood there. After much waiting, there was finally a pause so I approached the head coach and chatted her up about the students I'm gonna handle. I didn't say hello anymore because she's already seen me; that'll just be weird. I just went straight to casual talk. I didn't think that that would be such a big deal? It is indeed hard to be the new girl. I felt so ostracized and wanted to cry but I fought through it for the sake of the children.

Friday, March 19, 2017. Because of the 3-day downtime due to the pool's malfunctioning filtration system, makeup classes were necessary in order to not go out of the scheduled batches. Mary and Lyka came as relievers today to help us deal with the student load. I'm really having fun mixing my students together when they are in for a 2-hour class; the class just becomes more packed! I was looking forward to my 11AM-12NN class where all of my very good students will be mixed with my other very good students from 10AM-11AM, but just about when I was going to make my kids do drills, Coach Madel interrupted it so Lyka can switch classes with me because Lyka doesn't like the class she got and she saw how polite and obedient my students were. I hate when Coach Madel favors other teachers' requests, just because I stay quiet about my [own student] preferences. She even tried to appease me by saying some half-hearted compliments like, "Mas kaya mo kasi yan. I believe in you." I KNOW THAT I CAN, THAT'S NOT THE ARGUMENT HERE (no actual argument took place). THE ISSUE IS YOU FAVORING OTHERS' REQUESTS AND EVEN INTERRUPTING CLASSES FOR IT. I took the other class, nevertheless. I'm learning so much about self-restraint being surrounded by kids because I don't want them to witness how ugly I can become when I'm mad. I chose to put my best foot forward, and as I said in my previous post, I'm learning to just take things as it is. It's not even like I don't like the class I got switched to. It's just like... adobo and sinigang. You like them both but you got adobo when you were told lunch would be sinigang, y'know what I mean?

Saturday, March 20, 2017. Coach Ad and Jayvee came as relievers today.

Monday, March 22, 2017. The graduation is two days away, I am behind on the diving lesson because the makeup classes screwed the days over so I couldn't incorporate it to all my classes yet. That's why I eat up half the hour on diving + swimming, now that everybody's schedules are for only an hour.

Tuesday, March 23, 2017. I noticed that I developed athlete's foot on my left pinky toe, which is a first for me so I started getting worried. Based on my Google (re)search, it is prominent around public showers and swimming pools. Though I suspect that I got this because I let my socks stay on when I got home all sweaty from my fast-paced commute ride, so the fungus had time to nest on my left pinky toe. Good thing that I spotted it right away; it's gone now. I'll talk about it more graphicly and how I cured it on my next post.

Wednesday, March 24, 2017. There were two graduations today. Both of them went okay, having learned from our mistakes from previous batches' graduations.

2/2 Gradution: Gersella, Thomas, Stephanie, Erin, me, Aliyah, and Rzci

When we ended the program with a dive + swim, I was supposed to cut Rzci's swim in half because we have never done a full lap before but he surprised me because he kept pushing forward until he reached the other side of the wall. I guess that one time we had a one-on-one paid off. (When the others' makeup classes were done, he ended up having no more classmates so my entire focus was on him. We did basic freestyle and some back stroke introduction, then proceeded with diving).

If that wasn't satisfying enough, he gave me kisses before leaving... the chocolate kind... mmmmm!

Thank you, Rzci!

Batch 2 started out weak for me, getting my first tardy of four minutes on the first day, followed by eight minutes the next day, and then one minute the day after that. I have been coughing myself silly every night that it's so hard for me to fall asleep in time, so I get up a little bit later than planned. There's this self-imposed one-peso-per-minute rule by Coach Madel: you have to pay one peso for every minute that you go past the 7:30AM call time. I have not paid a single centavo [yet], and to be honest, I have no intentions of paying for anything from the get-go. I don't bring cash with me anyway unless I know there's gonna be something I'd have to bring money for, otherwise, McDonald's coupons are my main form of currency.

Holy Week came after training, so I had a whole week to go back to my old ways (of staying indoors, binge watching tv series, and eating junk: it's a hard cycle to break). Again, my tendency to prepare things at the last minute is just beyond me, but as soon as I get around to doing it, I make sure that it will be done. I thought I had until April 17 to do things because the start of Batch 1 at our venue was not until April 18, but a last minute notification came the night of April 16, so I came to work the next day. I'm officially a swim teacher, with an i.d. and all that. I feel like I got a real-life blue check that verifies my status.

Assigned at Elizabeth Seton School Imus for the rest of the summer, Oyasumi scours not more than 9kms of the road from home. It definitely saves me time because I only bike for less than half an hour, but I truly miss just how familiar and convenient the way to Olivarez College Parañaque was. I miss a lot of things at that venue: the deep and spacious pool, how I can put my bike at our quarter and take pictures of it at the pool side, and how Coach Jon would treat his swim teachers for spanish bread as merienda (I'm sorry I failed to mention this in my previous post). I'm sure I can teach there again, if the universe wills it.


Monday, April 17, 2017. The text said that the shift today was from 8AM to 4PM. I got there at 7:30AM thinking of the 30-minute allowance*. I thought I was already late for the 7:30AM call time, but as it turns out, I'm the only swim teacher who showed. Janine, our venue secretary, was there beating me by four minutes. Coach Madel, our venue head, arrived at 8AM. There were no students yet, I don't even know why we had to come today. I thought I'd have to change into my swimwear and be in the pool as soon as I get there. I picked the wrong day not to wear deodorant. I was on marketing the first half of the shift, but I ended up filing for my payroll account in BPI around where Coach Madel and I were supposed to be giving flyers out at but didn't have the permit to. Then the teller saw from my letter that I'm a swim teacher and got interested in enrolling her daughter. So in essence, I still marketed. I got into the pool second half of the shift to practice my strokes until Kurt, a 10-year-old boy, came for an assessment. The pool just feels weird. Knees weak, arms are heavy, mom's spaghetti (the pool really felt heavy but maybe I'm just fat and I actually had leftover lasagna as my baon from Ate Joy's birthday). Rich and Fatima, my co-teachers, arrived about two hours before it was time to go home; Nikko wasn't around at all. It started raining and I realized that my favorite Tibay Araw-Araw raincoat from Bear Brand was among the things that got stolen from me. ☹ (Read: the hold-up robbery that got me stabbed in the arm on February 8, 2017).

(*Classes are from 8AM-5PM but there's a 30-minute allowance before and after work so our shifts start at 7:30AM-5:30PM. There's a 2-hour break which means that the 10 hours we spend being at the venue is left with 8 hours of work... but!!!!!! 30 minutes of that 2-hour break is supposed to be spent getting ready for the last half of the shift. If you think about it, the 1 hour is your actual unpaid lunch break and the remaining 30 minutes is really a rightful break--usually parted into two: 15 minutes--in a normal work setting).

Tuesday, April 18, 2017. First day of the first batch of swim students here at Elizabeth Seton School and I'm stoked! I had to re-review the lesson plan, thinking I shouldn't be a fuck-up on my first official work day, considering I'm the only newbie there (everyone assigned at Elizabeth Seton School has been a Bert Lozada Swim School employee before). A week of complete bumming out just erases all of what you've practiced, y'know. I started all my classes the same as per the lesson plan, the only difference is its degree and pace depending on the age groups of my class. For my first class, I got a group of four lovely 8-year-old girls who are even classmates at their academy: Yvonne, Cheska, Leanne, and Rachel. I liked most of my classes but at the end of the day, no matter how much I want to apply myself and make the lesson fun and educational, I get cranky. I get cranky because I've been there too long, I've been awake too long, and I'm tired. Imagine how early you'd have to get up to prepare for the day and be on time for work only to render 10 hours of your day there and be compensated for 8. And when you get home, there's barely enough time to do anything so you'll just go straight to bed. I have always thought that a 6-hour a day work is even already too much; 8 hours is working to wither away. The Netherlands have realized it: less time, better work quality, more productivity, healthier people. I believe we can all prosper in that, as an individual and as a union. (I sound like I'm complaining; this really has been one of my life-long beliefs and one of the things I fight for--a better life for everyone not just for one sector, and in essence, a better world).
Wednesday, April 19, 2017. I love my 2-3PM class! I really felt that that’s the kind of teacher I want to be and am applying. When students are very good, it just reflects on me. It makes me want to make them surpass their already excellent work, but it's still gonna feel like we're all just having fun! And we are! As someone who had completed school, I know all the things that's wrong in the system. Even if it's not one person's fault but the system, the people still suffer. In this case, the students. The system fails to identify us as real people, so we dismiss feelings so easily. That's why I make sure that I don't let my kids feel like they're just another student in my class who I can order around because I have authority to do so. As a swim teacher, I recognize that my role isn't to make them tired by doing laps. My role is to instill and hone a skill in them that they would carry for a lifetime. But that can't be achieved if you're too enclosed with what you need to do. You also have to establish an understanding with them by stepping into their shoes.

My 2-3PM class. Thank you Sofia, Ihra, and Mielle. You guys motivate and direct me to be the person I've always wanted to be!

Thursday, April 20, 2017. Today was a good day. I'm learning more how I can cope with the world through my own experiences with others. I'm not always a fun teacher as much as I would like to be, because different people have different reactions and sometimes the fun takes away their focus. My styles may vary but my goal is the same and it will only be achieved if I continuously break through the confines of what I already know/am doing and not dismissing them as absolute, because there might be other methods we all could miss that can be just as effective, if not more. (Watch: Patch Adams film).

Friday, April 21, 2017. I was an hour early today with the plan to do laps, inspired by the school's swim team's rigorous training and gorgeous bods but they had an early morning training so I wasn't able to do what I had planned until lunchtime. I felt like my zero tardiness and early arrivals was getting unnoted/noted incorrectly when Janine decided to fill in her time in and out backlogs right when we were about to get home. Why would you do that now when you could've done that earlier or real-time, then you expect us to remember what time we came and left from all the other days. It's 5:30PM, man. I just wanna go home.

Saturday, April 22, 2017. Yep, there's six days of work in a week. Corporations don't care for our health, they exhaust us and then dispose of us as soon as we're not useful anymore. I love being a swim teacher and I love seeing kids learn, but I need time to refresh. I feel burned out and robbed of life.

Monday, April 24, 2017. In my pursuit to waste no second of the kids' hour, I tend to reprimand those who delay the class (sometimes by taking too long to put their goggles on and repeatedly doing so). But as I learned to be less anxious, I felt the kids being more comfortable with me and more willing to listen.


Tuesday, April 25, 2017. We assessed our students through their progress report cards during lunch. It was supposed to be done on Saturday but nobody did it, and because I was new, I didn't know that you were supposed to do that on the fifth day. The students are classified into age groups and certain abilities. Snapper 1 are little kids aged 3-5 with zero knowledge in swimming and are usually scared to submerge in the water. Snapper 2 are little kids aged 5-7 who enjoy being in the water and are more open to be taught the proper swim. Jammer 1 are kids aged 7-10 who may or may not be afraid of the water but are big enough to be taught the entire lesson plan and they can advance to Jammer 2 once they pass the program. Jammer 2 are basically teenage kids or the kids who passed Jammer 1, but I don't teach the Jammer 2 student classification because they have a different lesson plan that I have yet to be trained for. After assessing students, each of us contributed P100 to make for the kids' graduation for this batch. I don't think the funds should come from our own pockets, but I gave the only bill I had with me anyway. I didn't express my unwillingness to contribute (like Janine did, she really didn't want to contribute), I was nonchalant about it. It's kind of like... peer pressure. I know it's for the kids but why do we have to shoulder the cost? Why doesn't BLSS budget this in? In the afternoon, Cyril, a 6-year-old in my 3-4PM class, threw up his longganisa meal while we were doing a swim and I immediately caught the scent of it. I almost threw up myself but I managed to keep it cool. I asked him why he vomited, but he denied doing so. "Hindi naman po ako sumuka eh." Kid, I could literally see a longganisa chunk floating in the water right now. I asked him to go to the bathroom first in case he vomits again. When I got home, mum invited me over to her house for dinner because one of her friends from Japan was sleeping over; it was the first time I ate dinner after work (I usually go straight to bed). While I was there, I mentioned Cyril's vomiting and expressed my disgust. Then my mom told me I should remain kind no matter what because someone I work with already told my brother (who's also a swim teacher) that I have an attitude problem. I suspect that it was Coach Madel. I also suspect that it was because of last Friday's muddle (I went home not saying anything because I got a little pissed at the delay). I never said anything bad about them even if they have flaws they can easily correct but refuse to address, why would they say such a thing about me.

We packed the candies bought from our P100 contribution for the kids' loot bag come Graduation Day

Wednesday, April 26, 2017. In the middle of my last class for the day, I felt myself becoming sick--my throat's all itchy and I couldn't focus on the lesson because I was feeling nauseous.

Thursday, April 27, 2017. I got some meds on the way to work and temporarily aided my upcoming coughs and colds. I just really need to rest. It was still a great day, though. I really love my kids and I take pride that I get to know them and become someone they feel connected to, as opposed to just someone who commands them to do things because I’m entitled their teacher. Yvonne, Cheska, and Leanne (Rachel dropped out after 3 days) had a class for 2 hours because they weren't going to be around for the graduation tomorrow. I didn't think it was a problem because I know they're gonna blend well with my next class. I confidently told Coach Madel that I can handle it (keyword: confidently). I even introduced them to [my 9:10AM-10:10AM class:] Erinne, Maya, and Angela, and y'know kids, they don’t hate unless it's instilled in their upbringing to be hateful or if they've been done wrong. Everybody was welcoming to one another. I was excited to play a game, but I first wanted to see how they would all swim together and then cut it by two afterwards. But then Coach Madel told Fatima to help me, and then suddenly Fatima was shouting commands and making them count to identify them in numbers. She just makes them swim and then instructs them to do bubbles after finishing a lap; that's not how I do things. I don't want my kids to feel like they're just being ordered around and when I make them do bubbles, I'm always included. That's how we bond and so I can make sure they're doing proper bubbles. She even told me, "Pag-swimmingin mo lang sila ng ganyan para mapagod." The goal is not to tire them out, though. That’s not what their very expensive tuition fee is for. But I couldn't and wouldn't argue because that will show a lack of unity among the teachers and, of course, I don't want the parents to lose confidence or feel like they've wasted their money. So I tried to follow what Fatima was doing until I made it my own. She did have some good methods and techniques that I could learn from, I just didn't like how disconnected it all felt. She refers to them by their count and that's everything I have tried to fight against: for them to be seen as just numbers. After the class, Yvonne's mother approached me and asked if I was still gonna be Yvonne's teacher if she decides to re-enroll. I said yes because that's what I was also told. So she said that she's definitely gonna re-enroll Yvonne. I felt that Yvonne’s mother really liked me because she saw how I handled the first hour of Yvonne, Cheska, and Leanne's class before I was overstepped by Fatima. When we were doing a final assessment on the students' progress report at lunch, Fatima can't even remember her students' names and kept asking who she's assessing. Then I told her, "Bakit kasi hindi mo inaalala mga estudyante mo?" She answered, "Hindi ko talaga tinatangka. Hindi naman kailangan." That's exactly the kind of teacher I hated when I was still in school. The teacher who just tells you what to do, but doesn't even grade your work properly because they can't remember you. But she does remember them in faces so it's only hard for her to recognize if the card doesn't have a picture in it.

Batch 1 Graduation Day: Aqua Code discussion

Friday, April 28, 2017. We had 3 graduations for the day. The first one was quite a mess--it was hard to get the attention of this one big herd of students and make them understand the mechanics of what we were about to do. The giving out of cards to the parents wasn't ideal either because everybody just came out of the pool so there were times that some cards were given out/received wet. It was, however, immediately handled. We huddled and discussed how the next graduation could improve, and with the help of Coach Ronnie (who's a reliever that day), we were able to get the second graduation more organized.

Maya, one of my students, made these for me. She's also taking a cooking class; they were good! 👌

For the second graduation, we started using a whistle to keep the kids aligned. First, we discuss the Aqua Code. We give them their progress report cards and loot bags, then get pictures taken at the tarpaulin. Next, we showcase the talent of the students in the pool by making them do laps then proceed to playing a relay game. We end the program by singing the happy song with a wave at the end. It was so elating!

Carbs on carbs (I love cake so much huhu)

Afterwards, it was time to eat. I picked the wrong day to pack a heavy lunch. I didn't realize there was gonna be sooo much food! Thank you, parents, for bringing them. ☺

My afternoon students! ❤❤❤

We followed ground from the second graduation to the third. It wasn't perfect but it was awesome! I truly enjoyed this batch! Watching the kids progress and reach their milestones makes me proud! I'm impressed with all their performances and I hope I can carry this good start throughout the rest of the summer!

When all the graduations were done with, we--well, they (because I couldn't eat anymore; I was just so full)--proceeded to eating some more of what the parents brought. Then, we had a little open forum. I never speak up at these things unless I know I'm surrounded by people who can understand where I'm coming from, so I didn't air out my previous wonders about who among them might've said that I have an attitude problem, because by what they discuss on a daily basis, they probably talk smack about everyone and I'm really not all that special [of a topic]. Janine let out her frustrations about the hardships in the job, even cried while telling it. I respected her tears by simply listening to her vent out while some of the others were busy packing up food to go. Rich also told her challenges about being a first time swim teacher (if I'm not mistaken) because, although she has been a BLSS employee before, she mainly does administrative work. It wasn't as emotionally-charged as Janine's share but it was just as valid. I brought up my worries about not being confident in handling Jammer 2 for the next batch because some of my Jammer 1 students who passed the program have re-enrolled, so I'm seeking proper training for it. I don't think Coach Madel addressed it very well; she just gave me a sweep-under-the-carpet kind of advice by saying I should go over the latter part of the lesson plan for the first few days and she'll take it from there after. It's too much of a great day to stress that worry so I'm sweeping it under the carpet for now.

I still record my rides on Strava but they're all on private for security purposes. There's the total of what I biked for Batch 1. What I used to bike in a day, I now bike in two weeks 😂

After getting stabbed in February, I felt like my body is just not the same. I tried to do a long ride but it was so excruciating, when I got home, I was so sure I didn't want to bike ever again. Whenever I'm driving and I see someone biking, I used to always get this envious feeling, 'I wish that were me.' I wish that I was biking too instead of being behind the wheel. Now, every time there's an invite to ride, even if it's to a place I've never been to, I decline it because a) I think I'm only being invited out of pity, b) I know I'm just gonna be someone who needs looking after and I can't have that. I'd rather punch myself silly than be someone's responsibility on a ride. The people who are willing to ride according to my downgraded level are people I just settle with anyway. I don't enjoy their company but I ride with them because you can't always choose who comes, rides are usually made in an open invite. And the people I actually enjoy being with are not so excited to level down their rides for me. I definitely don't want to cause them any bother.

I didn't miss biking. Not at all. I was back to my old couch potato self. I eat whenever I do get out of my bedroom and sleep whenever I'm not watching tv. I don't even do so much as a stretch that I'm out of breath when I take the stairs. One time I went swimming at a family get-together, I noticed how normally I could use and tread with my wounded arm without any hint of pain. I started thinking maybe I could replace my lost love (biking) with an old love (swimming). I have always loved swimming anyway.

Four months into unemployment and ten extra pounds incurred from total bumness, I seized an opportunity to be able to swim everyday for the summer and get paid to do it, aiding my two current statuses.

Applying for the job
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
1030. I submitted my resume to Bert Lozada Swim School's south office in Las Piñas. I waited for a while because there were a ton of other people applying so my resume got filed at the bottom.
1130. I was finally called and then I answered a two-question essay type paper.
1215. I was interviewed by the HR Manager.
1245. I was invited to stay for the orientation and advised to have a quick lunch for the mean time.
1300. We discussed the history and foundation of BLSS, Mission and Vision, DOs and DON'Ts, and the submission of requirements. Then, there was a 30-item test about what was discussed.

Requirements in peso
PHP450 - Medical examination at HP Las Piñas
PHP140 - NBI clearance
PHP500 - Admin fee (80-hour training)
PHP100 - Payroll account bank deposit
TOTAL: PHP1190

10-day training
For new employees, 80 hours of training is required to learn and apply the swim school's lesson plan thoroughly, regardless of your knowledge and skills in swimming itself. Even though you paid P500 admin fee, you have to complete the training otherwise you would pay the original training cost outside the BLSS Foundation of $3,500, which I personally think is bullshit. I was late on starting training because there were some delays in submitting required documents, so I was only able to attend one official training day and it was the last one too before the first batch of enrollees commenced their swimming classes. I rendered the remaining 9/10 days of training teaching actual, paying clients (one reason why I think the penalty for non-completion of training is bullshit... what is on paper, said, or promised is not always what is experienced).

Saturday, March 25, 2017 - First day @ La Consolacion College Manila

1/10. I arrived fifty minutes early at the 7:30AM call time. I was first there but other trainees started coming not long after and one of them was even on a folding bike. Coincidentally, her name was also Clarrise. If I had biked too I could've estimated my time of arrival more accurately but I wasn't sure if it was gonna be safe. Mum withdrew her permission to let me borrow the car so I had to take public transportation. I have not commuted in nearly two years straight because I always just bike to places. I hate the idea of having to pay to get to a place when I know full well that my legs can take me there, free of charge!

While waiting for the training committee/coaches, I learned that I didn't have a white card--a card that each trainee has to get signed once the day is over to prove attendance among the many other sheets we had to line up for to log in/out from. I only had a paper form, which I was told by one of the HR people, Ms. Jirlie, will be what I'm going to present. I asked one of the coaches, Coach Rose, if it was okay that I didn't have a white card and she said that it was no problem so I became at ease. After logging in and creating a name plate, we settled in at the pool area killing a good hour of just warming the class up with introduction, recitation, and question & answer. We were divided into four groups and each group had a respective coach. I kept waiting for my name to be called but at the end, Coach Teri, who was administering the training for the day, said "those who were not called will stay in my class." So I stayed where I was.

The two groups' lesson was practical so they got to swim right away while the rest had to sit in an actual class. Coach Teri's class started with a slide labeled "Day 4". Ummm, this is my first day!? I wanted to react, but I let things play out a little longer. I was struggling with the lesson because it was so advanced. Good thing my seatmate, Enzo, provided me with notes so I did okay. I kept yawning though, not because the lesson was boring me but because I had minimal sleep. When it came to discussing the lesson plan, we had to stand up and do the drills on land. I tried to mimic what Enzo and the others were doing but I knew nothing. I kept thinking, When will this be over? I was so miserable, water almost leaked from my eyes. As my misery ensued, I glance over to Coach Johnwyn's class as I still attempt to follow the steps with now very little will to continue, I realized, Hey, his trainees are all those who introduced themselves today as their first. Maybe I should be in that class. I got the attention of Coach Teri to raise my concern, that maybe it was a mistake to include me in the Day 4 class when it was so clearly established that it's my first day, but she said that there was no mistake and that she needed more people in her class. Okaaaaayy.

At 11:30AM, we were sent to lunch.

At 12:30PM, we changed into our swimwear. The class was divided again. I waited for my name to be called (again), but this time, they were done calling names and my name still wasn't called. So I didn't have a group. Apparently, my form was stapled to another person's form. I wasn't being called because I didn't have a white card, which wasn't even my fault. Since Coach Johnwyn was handling those whose first day was today, I got in his class. He applied the first half of the lesson plan to us for three hours; I was surprised to know that some of the first day trainees didn't know how to swim that much, so I enjoyed being the excellent student in his class. We had a race before swim time ended, there was a whole new division again and I got into the winning team under Coach Angie! The PM class was definitely much better than the AM class. We logged out at 6:10PM and a white card was finally provided to me.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - Start of Batch 1 @ Big Strides, Ayala Alabang

My packed lunch, because there are no eateries inside Ayala Alabang 😂

2/10. Situated at the prestigious Ayala Alabang Village in a resident pool for VIP clients under Coach Rose, I was fortunate enough to experience the ambiance of what being in a first world must feel like--dealing with cute, well-bred kids. Because it was only my first day at this new venue and the security is quite high, I decided to take public transport and go there with Coach Rose together with teachers under her. We had an early classroom discussion first to get me reviewed for the lesson plan since I was mistakenly put at the Day 4 training on my first day. Then, it was time for me to shadow April, a co-teacher. I handled my first student, Jessiah, only for assessment and Coach Rose commended me for building trust with him. Jessiah went home telling his mom, "I had so much fun today!" He was formally enrolled the next day.

I was only supposed to assist since it's technically just my first time on a real teaching day (my first day of training at La Consolacion College Manila was solely us trainees and the training committee), but April furtively gave me her other students, basically refusing to take leadership for me to act as her shadow. With parents watching, I couldn't let my now known face under their judging eyes become a potential complaint, so I stepped up and tried to apply the lessons the best I could. I handled three kids in total: Jessiah, Chloe, and Tala. I liked Chloe the most because she was such a good girl. She braves the pool even if she can't reach the floor and swims only as instructed. Kids like her definitely make it easier to contain the class.

I pattern my teaching style from Coach Rose's approach--fun, loving, and playful but still educational. Watching her work is truly admirable. She loves what she does and she's very good at it! On top of that, she's an overall radiant person you'll just wanna be around. The way she handles students is like magic. One minute students cry because they're afraid of the water, but one... two moments with Coach Rose, next thing you know they're jumping into the pool. It was an amazing art to witness.

Thursday-Saturday, March 30-April 1, 2017 @ Big Strides, Ayala Alabang
3/10. Since I'm big on not spending [on transportation], I was finally able to go back to biking to work. I get a gate pass first, then I merrily pedal the wide streets of Ayala Alabang Village. I wanted to record videos of myself biking there but I thought it might be a violation of the village's privacy so I just cherished the moments in my head while it lasted.

I wasn't just shadowing co-teachers now, I'm a teacher already as well. That shouldn't be the case but, oh well, I just look at it as more practice for me to grow for now, and I appease my feelings with the thought that I'm spending my summer swimming for free! Based from experience, whenever I do great, I don't feel rewarded with praise. I feel rewarded with work that shouldn't even be mine. This, I think, is the motivation us millenials have on why we would rather do a substandard job than be used and taken advantage of the skills we can offer when we're not even compensated for our excellence. Not that I'm doing a substandard job as a swim teacher. That would just jeopardize my likeliness to be an effective one, defeating its very purpose. And if you know me, you'll know how intense my feelings are towards imparting knowledge--in this case, a life skill--and how important it is for me that teachers teach with the goal to leave kids well-educated, and not just wait for their hours to be up so you could go home.

March 31, 2017: Oyasumi @ Big Strides, Ayala Alabang

4/10. Teaching comes so easy for me when I see kids share their milestones with a smile. Today I saw how Blue, a 3-year-old baby boy who first started as someone terrified of the water, jump and submerge himself with eagerness in his eyes. Then, he randomly called his mom who was just on her laptop nearby, "Mommy, I love you."

5/10. It's my last day at Big Strides and my remaining five days of training will be conducted at Olivarez College Parañaque. I got to chat with the pool owners' kids, Cathy and Yllana, before leaving and they were both such dolls! I don't feel like I'm wasting time at all when I'm talking to good kids (unlike when I do so with people my age or older, I always regret sharing a moment of my time just to hear their unsubstantiated, uncalled for comments on matters that don't concern them or they don't fully understand).

Monday-Friday, April 3-7, 2017 @ Olivarez College Parañaque

The 25x25-meter pool of Olivarez College Sports Center

6/10. The pool here is evidently much bigger than Big Strides' but the ambiance and overall cleanliness at Big Strides is definitely unmatched, not to mention the people. Parents/guardians here seem to be irate more often than not, and I would be too if I see that my kid is not getting trained the way that I (as a parent) was expecting, considering how expensive the enrollment fee is. I am now training under Coach Jon with Teachers Enzo, Ritchell, Charles, Ronald*, and Nikko*. There's a workload shock but I kept myself collected and took the swim school's mission to heart: "Through our standards and practices, we will define the benchmark of quality in our craft." I don't want to be the kind of teacher I've always hated and questioned when I was still schooling. I want to make the swim class fun and worthwhile. Again, all the bad things in this giant good thing is appeased by me, thinking, at least I get to do longer laps here and practice my diving demos in deep waters (10 feet). Plus, it's so much easier to bike here. I just wish the head coach at this venue was as strong-willed as Coach Rose--driven by passion and not the need for an income.

(*Ronald and Nikko also had training at Big Strides).

April 4, 2017: Oyasumi @ Olivarez College Parañaque

7/10. I wrote down some quick student highlights on my Tumblr account as to not forget how the day went: Joseph, an 8-year-old, had very good kicks but despite being able to swim decently, he was afraid of not being able to touch the pool floor. He was bright, fun to talk to, and can already freestyle and back float. Euan, a 4-year-old baby boy, was so easy to handle because he liked me. He even told me, "Teacher, you're so much fun. Why are you not always my teacher?" when I accompanied him to go wiwi. At first I couldn't get him to kick or swim away from the wall, but then I saw the "abc" printed on his kickboard, I started singing the alphabet song and every letter corresponded a kick. His father was very pleased.


8/10. I taught two adults today: Ma'am Irene, who's preparing for the military, and Ms. Jenny, a Chinese woman who enrolled along with her two kids. I was just talking to Kevin, my FlipTop friend/favorite person, the other day about possibly going on a swim this holy week so I can practice on him, a grown ass nigga. Then, here goes Coach Jon, without proper briefing or setting of expectations, giving me two grown-ups on the spot. It's not like you can refuse or react when the clients are already there, you just do it. You don't want to make the impression that they're being unwantedly passed around. It made me lose a bit of respect for Coach Jon; I felt like I was being sent to battle to bleed and that he didn't care as long as it was not him who was bleeding. I'm not sure if that is a standard, because with Coach Rose, I'm informed who will be in my class and what I should do before the students even come. I'd say I handled myself pretty well, nevertheless. To make sure I'm not wasting time trying to teach Ma'am Irene and Ms. Jenny something they've already gone over with Coach Jon before they were suddenly assigned to me, I ask them what lessons they remember. I applied myself the best I could, pushed to become more at ease, and it was free-flowing from there; I just took that opportunity as a great practice to not be enclosed in teaching only kids. And I learned that, as a teacher, my personality can be diverse. I'm more lesson-focused than fun and animated when handling adults as I tend to be stricter. I also refuse to loosely give out praises such as "good job" when it really isn't--something I also do not condone about Coach Jon (he would sometimes randomly say "good job" to students after he sees them do a swim they were commanded even if it isn't a good job at all, that creates a distorted sense of what a good job really constitutes). Instead, I say, we could use more practice so we should keep on swimming.

9/10. Despite my critical comments towards Coach Jon, I still do respect him as he's been in this scene much longer than I have been and he does display responsibility by always coming to work early. I also think that the goal from the way my training went under him was still achieved. That is, to get used to the workload because SUMMER IS COMING (I was advised to brace myself for the peak season).

"Dear Teachers, Thank you for building my confidence. Love, Euan" ❤❤❤

10/10. Training complete! The students' parents/guardians showed us some love by bringing us food. I think everyone is a sucker for free food, I know I am! There was Jollibee and heaps of homemade pancit! It definitely took a toll on my, finally, improving weight problem. 😂 Normal classes still continued. I was commended on my work on Ma'am Irene, because I was able to make her swim in the deep waters and do proper breast strokes which she'll have to do 8 laps of for the military exam. I don't let it get to my head, though. After all, I'm just doing my job. But it feels pretty good to be recognized. The only bummer, I guess, would be because it's my last day, I wanted to swim more laps but two of the students were late so they got adjusted to a time when we should've already been free to do stuff. I will definitely miss Olivarez College and its glorious pool, but I'm off to my permanent venue for the next batch! 🏊💦