12 hours around Bohol

last saturday, i was absent from my 2 other classes for the first time. which rarely happened.. if it was just any regular saturday school day, i wouldn't be out of class. i was absent because, i went on tour around bohol as a special requirement for our advance earth science class. the whole went like this: i woke up at around 3am and ride a cab to pier 3 after an hour. the ship departed at 6 am. i was so excited even though it was such an ordeal for me being on board on that ship. it swayed from time to time as it was hit by big the waves and caused me nausea. after 2 hours the sand of the island is sparkling with whiteness, and the harbor can already be seen meters away. yehey!! bohol i'm coming! i went off board and ran to the end of the gate where our van is waiting for us.



let's start the journey. my clasmates and i spent 12 hours tracking just to see some of the most spectacular sceneries there. first off, we went to sagbayan peak where it's some kind of a park built on top of the a hill, it has statues of some disney characters like snowhite, donald duck and duffy duck and even a-once hollywood queen manilyn monroe.
overlooking below is a 5 sq meter terrarium where tarsiers are housed. i took some pictures of the very shy primates. they are at bout the size of my knuckles and some slightly bigger than that. one! two! three! there you go! i got a picture of the cutest primate on earth a pride of not only Boholanos but also the Filipino people.




after feeding my hungry tummy, our group went up north, to carmen where the famous chocolate hills is proudly mounting to the world, the wind was so restless playing with my hair and the soothing smell brought inner peace at that time. wow!

breathtaking scene, atlast we arrived at the famous chocolate hills by 11 am. as i climbed up the stairs i felt im walking through the stairs of heaven. reaching the peak is a rewading feeling. there were a lot of tourists; local and international. i took some pictures, zooming and zooming out my little camera phone like a pro.

since the time was so limited, we immediately travel down west and entered a very shady cold place called the manmade forest. it's like a small rainforest of the Philippines. the penetration of the sun's light is almost zero. the people of bohol are really particular with their environment. i can say that they are because unlike any other provinces each of the islanders are very disciplined and very watchful in the preservation of their manmade forest.

the ininerary of our tour does not only stop there, after stopping at a local restaurant for lunch we went straight ahead the cool and calm waters of loboc river.

what were spectacular and interesting there, were the floating restaurants. it's like a small house having party all the time while it cruised the 2 km river back and forth.

after the loboc river, we visited the oldest church there in alburquerque, then drop by at the blood compact shrine of Legaspi and Rajah Soliman.
i did a cholochial pose at Legaspi 's back while i hold his legs.


it was already mid-afternoon and we need to cath up a ship. we only have 5 hour more left and the next stop is about an hour away, the hinagdanan cave. but because traffic is not prevalent in the province we got there on time. it was a small cave found underground . it was called hinagdanan because there were stairs built on its way down, that's where it got it's name. the place was very cold; slightly dark; bat caves were also there; it has a natural swimming pool so inviting. but unfortunately, i don't have any extra clothes with me so was not able to have the oppotunity of splashing into the cold waters of the cave. bohol can only be travelled in one day.

the 12-hour travel is a very amazing experience. i'm looking forward to savor another of this travelling in another location, negros perhaps, is a wonderful place to explore!!!

I, the moaning agent

being in a call center industry, it is our job to sound perky in our calls. I started as a senior representative last april 2007. the job opened alot of opportunities for me to discover talents i have never imagined i have. the first time i was able to listen my voice on a recorded conversation was so gawky. i have a different quality of voice; it's darker than a regular female's voice. it's not modulated, totally far form how i talk with my customers on the phone now.

on my third month, due to some uncontrollable factors, there are times that my calls are long. it's a no-no in our metrics, because that will affect my aht (average handling time). we are only allowed 10 minutes to finish the call to accomodate great number of customers per day. and some of my calls are beyond 10 minutes; our tier 2 people has to listen to us to know what's goin on and to help us solve the problem if it's a complicated issue. and as they listened my talent was unravelled gradually from one tier 2 agent to another.





what talent am talking about? i don't care if its a heck in your ass, but they have found out that i sound so sexy on the phone. i was not so sure how they classified voices but most of the people whom have listened to me would tag me as the "MOANING AGENT". i'm confuse. how would i react? shall i take it as a compliment or a negation? what is sexy and what is not? do i really sound like im moaning on the phone? i have listened to alot of people on the floor and how they talk to their customers is nonetheless the same as how i handle the call everyday.



in one way or another, sexiness in a voice is an ingredient to a very good conversation. but it's not equally important as how did you go about making the caller feel good about the conversation. it's a superficial thing, as a customer service provider, "experience" is most important. because moaning the doesn't help settling the customer's issue but in understanding the situation and by giving a perfect resolution to it.

movie review: the emperor's club

two weeks ago i watched a film with my classmates. it was a very touching movie fit for aspiring teachers and for people who holds idealism as a virtue.





The Emperor's club is an amazing movie that talks about a very idealistic teacher and his struggle to make his student's attitude change. The conflict started when a politician's son became one of his students. Mr. Hundert strongly believe that "A man's character is his fate,". He saw that Sedgewick Bell is exactly opposite to the ideal character that he'd like his students to be. Bell was a very a spoiled son of a senator. Despite his rebellious acts, Mr. Hundert sensed that there is still something good and intelligent about him. He tried to change the student's attitude by motivating him through a contest called, Julius Caesar Contest: The Emperor's Club. Bell showed some improvements on his scores until the last pre-qualifying exam for the Julius Caesar Contest. The final computation showed that Bell is 4th on the list with Martin Blythe preceding him by one rank. However, Mr. Hundert was not objective in making correct judgment about the results. He made Bell on the third place displacing Blythe. The contest happened with Mehta, Sedgewick, and Masoudi on the top three. At the contest the three boys were marvelous in answering every question thrown at them. However in the middle of the contest Mr. Hundert noticed that Bell was acting so strange. He found out that Bell was cheating and had proven it when Bell himself confided to him. And had proven for the second time that he had not change after 25 years when he asked for a rematch giving Mr. Hundert hopes and assurances that he is a well-dignified changed man.







Hundert found himself to be partly blame for Bell's misdeed. Was he right in his decision in favoring Bell than Blythe? Was he wrong? Mr. Hundert had his own good intention in making Bell to be on the top three finalist, however the end does not justify the means. He was deceived by Bell's action thinking that the kid had changed and thought that his influence will have a good effect. But what he discovered is the opposite. For me, He was right in believing that the kid had some intelligence somewhere and just waiting to be given a chance however, he was wrong in anticipating that the intelligence he sensed from the beginning will not be used in the wrong way. Bell was a born-cheater and he will live with it, and will grow with bended principles just like his father. The blood of the forebear will be one way the same blood with its fruits. Again, Mr Hundert was right in giving Bell a chance to prove to his father that he can compete with with anybody in an intellectual intramural. But then, Mr. Hundert was wrong in getting away Blythe's opportunity to be on the top three.

A teacher's responsibility does not only stop to give lectures to students. A teacher molds. A teacher guides yet the learning process depends on how the student respond to it. A teacher is human and thus, commits mistake. But despite the biases and the weaknesses that the teacher may have, a teacher must never give up. One mistake may affect a lot, nevertheless, a teacher should see the other side. Mr. Hundert was guilty of the crime however that mistake does not bear upon the many. Bell is the only black sheep in his class and only comprise a small percent. He should forgive himself and give himself another chance, and as a teacher we will also look into the good things that the many of our students had become.



According to Mary Pickford, “ If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling but the staying down.” Do not be afraid to commit mistakes because after all we are in an imperfect world. Mistakes are lessons in life. Take the reason of the thing into your mind and then look forward. One cannot change the past but one has the power to change the future.

the mysterious cabbage water

this is actually my assignment, i was too tired to make one and so i researched on this in the internet; thanks to the following sites: http://www.middleschoolscience.com/

(http://www.miamisci.org/)

(www.About.com)


Objectives:
• to test household solutions with litmus paper
• to test household solutions using red-cabbage juice indicator
• to classify household substances as acids or bases
• to determine the pH range of red cabbage juice

•
Materials: (per group or station)

• Beaker of Red Cabbage Juice – (CHOP one large red cabbage into small pieces. Note: Blackberries, red onions, or even hibiscus flowers can be used as a substitute. SIMMER the cabbage pieces until the water turns a deep shade of purple. ALLOW the water to cool. REFRIGERATE when not in use.)
• Red and Blue Litmus Paper
• 6 Plastic cups
• Beakers of the following solutions: water, baking soda, vinegar, salt, sugar, lemon juice, soda, etc...
• Plastic spoon
• black marker

Motivation: How can we determine if a solution is an acid or a base?
What is the color of an acid solution when tested with a litmus paper? What about the bases? (assuming that students was already introduced to the topic)

(draw series of idea from students, write their idea on the board).

Can we still get the same result when we use homemade acid-base detector?


Activity: Procedure
1. Label your plastic cups #'s 1-7
2. Choose one solution and pour a small amount into plastic cup #1.
3. Write the name of the solution in your data table.
4. Place a drop of the solution onto red and then blue litmus paper.

Record results

5. Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of red cabbage juice to the cup. Record color change.
6. Determine if the solution is a acid, base or neutral
7. Repeat with solutions #2-7.
8. Clean up. Pour contents into sink and throw out used cups.





Observations:

Plastic Cup # Solution Red Litmus Blue Litmus Red Cabbage
Juice Acid/Base or Neutral
1 Water
2 Baking soda
3 Vinegar
4 Salt
5 Sugar
6 Lemon juice
7 Soda


Follow Questions:
1. Name the acids, name the bases, were there any neutral solutions?
2. What color did the cabbage juice turn to indicate a neutral substance?
3. Why is it important to use both blue and red litmus paper to determine pH?


Assimilation/Discussion:
Red cabbage water is an indicator of pH. Although it can't be used to determine exact pH, it can distinguish between acid (pH of 0 to 6), neutral (pH near 7), and base (pH of 8 to 14).

acid neutral base

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

In this activity:
• If the indicator turns the solution red or pink, the solution is an acid.
• A purple solution indicates that it is neutral, neither an acid nor a base.
• If the indicator turns the solution blue or green, the solution is a base.



Conclusion: ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Assessment:

1: Which of the following statements is true concerning acids and bases?
acids and bases don't react with each other
acids mixed with bases neutralize each other
acids mixed with bases make stronger bases
acids mixed with bases make stronger acids

2: Which is the correct set of acid properties, as described by Boyle:
sour taste, corrosive, change litmus from red to blue
sour taste, corrosive, change litmus from blue to red
sweet taste, slippery, change litmus from blue to red
sour taste, slippery, change litmus from blue to red

3: Neutral solutions have a pH of:
0
7
14

4: Which is true?
pH of less than 7 is basic; pH of more than 7 is acidic
pH of less than 7 is acidic; pH of more than 7 is basic
5: Vinegar, fruit juice, and cola are examples of:
strong acids
weak acids
strong bases
weak bases

Assignment: What happens if two or more of the substances are combined? Once a solution has become green or pink, can you make it purple again?

Answers to the Assessment: 1: acids mixed with bases neutralize each other; 2: sour taste, corrosive, change litmus from blue to red; 3:7; 4: pH of less than 7 is acidic and pH of more than 7 is basic; 5: weak acids