Hey, Sheena!
By Doris Ogdoc
“Hey, Sheena! You checked my paper wrongly! This is “emphasis”. And you marked it as incorrect.”
“ I’m quite sure you wrote, “imphasis”.
Tracy, the class president, sat down and frowned. As if something that belonged to her was stolen. She was the top scorer for the English test. Among the 50 items, she answered 47 correctly.
The next highest scorer only got 38 out of 50. And the rest got middle to lower scores. Her classmates looked at her as if she was a genius. She liked it. She was the princess whom all wanted to bow down to.
Not satisfied, she’d seen a way to escalate her score for another single point.
After their papers had been checked by their fellow classmates, she saw that she almost got the answer! Except that the word was spelled incorrectly. No one could have guessed that the rhymed word for oasis and the synonym for highlighting or stress was emphasis.
She was just nine, a grade three pupil. Emphasis...who would have really known that word? Only Tracy. Yet, she was frustrated enough that she got the spelling wrongly. I deserve to take a point for this, she thought.
What she did was take the eraser of the pencil, erased the pencil written “i” for her misspelled, “imphasis”, and changed it to “e”. And went to Sheena, her test paper’s checker.
After that encounter with Sheena, a few of her adoring classmates started to ask, “What’s the matter, Tracy?” She told them, that, Sheena would not correct that “correct” item of hers.
All eyes went to Sheena with a form of disgust. Tracy simply said, like a forgiving victim, “ Never mind”.
Isabel, a large, toughie of the class took Sheena by the arm and said, “ Why don’t you correct it, Sheena?” Sheena, a bit frightened, tried to defend herself,” I’m sure it was an “i”, not an “e””.
No one would believe Sheena.
She was tall, had a long, kinky hair, had a flat nose, and a thin body structure. Most of all, she had a brain as small as a pea. Among the 46 students, she ranked the 46th.
Ron, the guy who had been crushing Tracy for a long time involved himself and accused Sheena of being jealous of Tracy.
Another girl, Bea, who was Tracy’s best friend, grabbed Sheena’s long hair. Until Sheena sobbed.
Everybody was on her.
Guilty as she was, Tracy got out of the classroom, feeling terrible.
***
After the class ended, the pupils were rushing to go out and play. Some played basketball, others were on the swing, and a lot went to play Patintero.
Tracy had to be home early. She had to do a lot of school stuff. So, she met her dad at the guardian’s waiting area.
“ What is your English score like?”
“ Oh dad, I topped the class!”, Tracy reported jubilantly.
“ Let me see the paper.”, requested her dad.
“ Forty-seven out of fifty?! Couldn’t you do any better than that?! I’m sure there are students who have higher scores than you from the pilot section. You should have made this fifty out of fifty!”
Tracy’s gaze shifted down from his dad’s to the cemented ground. She was fighting back the tears.
“ Tito, no one can be greater than Tracy. The test was difficult, and most of us got 25 and below. You should be proud of her.”
As her eyes were finding for the owner of the voice, she swallowed her saliva as she found out who it was.
It was Sheena.
Tears fell down on Tracy’s face.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Cancer in Christ’s Body
Cancer in Christ’s Body
Controversy: the subtle acceptance of lie
Of seeming wisdom
Of taking offense, denying its existence
Like a tumor
Growing, forming a bump on the skin
Not curing it for the eyes do not see...
Lingers for a time-
The tumor ‘s metastasis
Invades the healthy cells
It penetrates the brain, the blood, the body...
When can you see
Till the bones break
Or immune system fails,
Hampering the breath,
Hammering the muscles,
To its pain...to its struggle
Toward death?
Controversy: the subtle acceptance of lie
Of seeming wisdom
Of taking offense, denying its existence
Like a tumor
Growing, forming a bump on the skin
Not curing it for the eyes do not see...
Lingers for a time-
The tumor ‘s metastasis
Invades the healthy cells
It penetrates the brain, the blood, the body...
When can you see
Till the bones break
Or immune system fails,
Hampering the breath,
Hammering the muscles,
To its pain...to its struggle
Toward death?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Feb 8 Monologue
met with Yana here at JY
to chat and remember
God, give Him honor
love Him more than anything
let her talk about how good
God had been,
that
He had not abandoned her,
ordered her walk...
She asked Him to give her grace
to choose
His decisions for her life.
Sometimes,
felt no good to teach His words
yet
believed that
It was Him who
gave
Him
worked
Him
and only
Him
That
deserved...
***
roamed at JY
did not know it had Wifi.
had planned to go to SM
using Time writing
and thinking
and
again,
thinking
as always
and has always been...
***
so sat at Angelica
with the black, brewed coffee
looked anything noteworthy
on the net and everything else
the coffee now cold
sweeping the bittertaste
on my taste buds
People coming in
Not wanting to let them
see this form of privacy
Yet I guess
felt like an invisible
like I have always been
like I have always been...
***
did not blame them
did not blame myself, either
weird.eccentric.enigmatic.
words I'd remember
people used
to describe me...
felt not different
not special
or anything deserving
be put on pedestal
yet again
yet again
weird.eccentric.enigmatic.
a psychologist friend
He had said
could not stop
himself from saying,
only rare
my kind is rare
"What kind?", I asked.
Said...heroic, brave...
a DNA of someone historic
did not believe him
nothing in me was worthy
to be called heroic
took personality tests
and unexpectedly
my kind of personality
was that of
two to four percent only
in the race of humanity...
***
my battery almost empty
had to sip
the last ounce
of the bitter, cold, black
coffee
to chat and remember
God, give Him honor
love Him more than anything
let her talk about how good
God had been,
that
He had not abandoned her,
ordered her walk...
She asked Him to give her grace
to choose
His decisions for her life.
Sometimes,
felt no good to teach His words
yet
believed that
It was Him who
gave
Him
worked
Him
and only
Him
That
deserved...
***
roamed at JY
did not know it had Wifi.
had planned to go to SM
using Time writing
and thinking
and
again,
thinking
as always
and has always been...
***
so sat at Angelica
with the black, brewed coffee
looked anything noteworthy
on the net and everything else
the coffee now cold
sweeping the bittertaste
on my taste buds
People coming in
Not wanting to let them
see this form of privacy
Yet I guess
felt like an invisible
like I have always been
like I have always been...
***
did not blame them
did not blame myself, either
weird.eccentric.enigmatic.
words I'd remember
people used
to describe me...
felt not different
not special
or anything deserving
be put on pedestal
yet again
yet again
weird.eccentric.enigmatic.
a psychologist friend
He had said
could not stop
himself from saying,
only rare
my kind is rare
"What kind?", I asked.
Said...heroic, brave...
a DNA of someone historic
did not believe him
nothing in me was worthy
to be called heroic
took personality tests
and unexpectedly
my kind of personality
was that of
two to four percent only
in the race of humanity...
***
my battery almost empty
had to sip
the last ounce
of the bitter, cold, black
coffee
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Imaginative Literature
..." as a conspiracy against their mental and emotional peace"
Have you practis'd so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?
-WALT WHITMAN, "Song of Myself"
Have you practis'd so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?
-WALT WHITMAN, "Song of Myself"
Friday, February 5, 2010
Finding IT
The Search
Searching the creative how-to
is special mix of drowning hue,
Squeezing hidden mem’ries of time
Of black and red, and violet-blue.
If I could just dance you or mime,
My body’s use wouldn’t be a crime.
Tis as easy as one-two-three
BUT I struggle to seize the rhyme.
Tis hard, I ask above and plea
to let me meet my destiny,
Of words, of sounds, of irony
My God, my God, bring it to me!
Searching the creative how-to
is special mix of drowning hue,
Squeezing hidden mem’ries of time
Of black and red, and violet-blue.
If I could just dance you or mime,
My body’s use wouldn’t be a crime.
Tis as easy as one-two-three
BUT I struggle to seize the rhyme.
Tis hard, I ask above and plea
to let me meet my destiny,
Of words, of sounds, of irony
My God, my God, bring it to me!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Head at CNN
...just have to have this book marked ( a story a long time ago...yet still something quite inspiring ...)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Quitting Cold Turkey
( I just happened to browse the net and actually read this. I knew about Fieldy becoming a Chrisian from Christian Broadcasting Network. But I never knew details about him, really. I was simply chuckling finding out that he had really been a "sicko" before he became a Christian. hehe.) :
March 13, 2009, Huntingpost.com:
CHICAGO - The members of Korn are about to get a big apology from one of their own -- and you can read it along with them.
Bassist Fieldy has released a book, "Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery and Korn," this week. The book includes letters Fieldy (born Reginald Arvizu) wrote to each band member apologizing for his past bad behavior.
Fieldy said he gave an advance copy to guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer but he has yet to hear his reaction. He said he expects frontman Jonathan Davis to read it as well. He didn't give them the letters privately because he wanted to be open about his sobriety.
Fieldy, 39, struggled with alcohol, drugs and overeating. He would even eat food off other people's used room-service trays -- even trash cans. He also was a womanizer and liked to intimidate anyone, male or female, who disagreed with what he calls "Fieldy's rules."
He quit cold turkey when his father, a born-again Christian, told him his dying wish was for his son to find God. Now he's married with three children and working on a new album with Korn and his side project, Stillwell.
AP: You were kind of a jerk when you were on drugs.
Fieldy: I was as bad as it gets. What I wrote in the book, I was probably worse than that. I couldn't really explain how bad it was. Me trying to kill people wasn't as bad as me tearing people down and making people cry and ripping them apart, because words never heal. That's what I've learned. I'd rather raise my son and tell him, "If you get in a fight with your friend, just punch him. Don't say anything, because the next day he doesn't get over that.'"
AP: How old were you when you became an alcoholic?
Fieldy: About 13 or 14. I was full-blown. Every day we would hide the alcohol, stealing from stores or stealing it from our parents and hiding out in dirt fields and drinking it before school and after school.
AP: What could someone have said to you then to make you stop?
Fieldy: If somebody told me, "Not a good idea," I would've said, "No, it's probably a good idea if you get drunk with me." I would've flipped it around on them. There was no way you could tell me anything. I wasn't listening to any type of reason.
AP: You mention in your book you got your pills from "rock doctors." How did that work?
Fieldy: In the rock 'n roll slang world, they're called rock doctors, or rock docs. They would come out to shows and like to hang backstage. You could get a prescription for anything you want from them. They just want to hang out and party. It's crazy because you can get a prescription to anything. It doesn't even matter what kind of doctor they are
AP: You quit cold turkey -- no rehab, no Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. How did you pull that off?
Fieldy: I talk to people who go to rehab, and they get this AA book that they've got to read everyday -- really thick book. They go through all these 12 steps and do all this and that. It's crazy how everybody can sit and talk about rehab but if I come to say Christ was my rehab, it's not cool to say that. ... For me that's my rehab. That's what happened with me and it's an amazing and powerful thing.
AP: Your former bandmate, Brian "Head" Welch, faced criticism when he decided to follow God and quit drugs. Do you think you will too?
Fieldy: I didn't go and quit anything. I remained who I am, so I don't know if anybody wants to criticize. I'm still me. I made some changes, I didn't go around telling everybody I was ready to make changes, I just remained me. I may get more criticism today in putting this book out than I have. You know, maybe this is my time, but I'm ready to take the criticism and answer anybody's questions.
___
On the Net:
http://www.Korn.com
***Meanwhile...
---In February 2005, Head shocked the music world when he resigned from Korn to re-dedicate his life to Christ and focus on raising his daughter, Jennea, as a single father. The event set off a media frenzy as observers around the world sought out to understand what led this rock star out of the darkness and into the light.
Significantly, and perhaps most importantly, upon his resignation from Korn, Head made clear to the music world that he had not retired from the music and entertainment industry. With his newfound calling, Head is committed to changing the youth of this nation through his music and other entertainment ventures. In this regard, Head penned an autobiography of his life, picked up and released by Harper Collins Publishers in July 2007, entitled, "Save Me From Myself." Head gained further acclaim as a successful author, when the book quickly hit the New York Times Best Seller List (non-fiction). In his memoir, Head talks for the first time about his shocking embrace of God, and the tumultuous decade of drug and alcohol addiction that led him to his faith, where he was completely and instantly healed of his addictions.
http://www.brianheadwelch.net/bio.html
***
more on "Head"'s song:
http://www.myspace.com/brianheadwelch
March 13, 2009, Huntingpost.com:
CHICAGO - The members of Korn are about to get a big apology from one of their own -- and you can read it along with them.
Bassist Fieldy has released a book, "Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery and Korn," this week. The book includes letters Fieldy (born Reginald Arvizu) wrote to each band member apologizing for his past bad behavior.
Fieldy said he gave an advance copy to guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer but he has yet to hear his reaction. He said he expects frontman Jonathan Davis to read it as well. He didn't give them the letters privately because he wanted to be open about his sobriety.
Fieldy, 39, struggled with alcohol, drugs and overeating. He would even eat food off other people's used room-service trays -- even trash cans. He also was a womanizer and liked to intimidate anyone, male or female, who disagreed with what he calls "Fieldy's rules."
He quit cold turkey when his father, a born-again Christian, told him his dying wish was for his son to find God. Now he's married with three children and working on a new album with Korn and his side project, Stillwell.
AP: You were kind of a jerk when you were on drugs.
Fieldy: I was as bad as it gets. What I wrote in the book, I was probably worse than that. I couldn't really explain how bad it was. Me trying to kill people wasn't as bad as me tearing people down and making people cry and ripping them apart, because words never heal. That's what I've learned. I'd rather raise my son and tell him, "If you get in a fight with your friend, just punch him. Don't say anything, because the next day he doesn't get over that.'"
AP: How old were you when you became an alcoholic?
Fieldy: About 13 or 14. I was full-blown. Every day we would hide the alcohol, stealing from stores or stealing it from our parents and hiding out in dirt fields and drinking it before school and after school.
AP: What could someone have said to you then to make you stop?
Fieldy: If somebody told me, "Not a good idea," I would've said, "No, it's probably a good idea if you get drunk with me." I would've flipped it around on them. There was no way you could tell me anything. I wasn't listening to any type of reason.
AP: You mention in your book you got your pills from "rock doctors." How did that work?
Fieldy: In the rock 'n roll slang world, they're called rock doctors, or rock docs. They would come out to shows and like to hang backstage. You could get a prescription for anything you want from them. They just want to hang out and party. It's crazy because you can get a prescription to anything. It doesn't even matter what kind of doctor they are
AP: You quit cold turkey -- no rehab, no Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. How did you pull that off?
Fieldy: I talk to people who go to rehab, and they get this AA book that they've got to read everyday -- really thick book. They go through all these 12 steps and do all this and that. It's crazy how everybody can sit and talk about rehab but if I come to say Christ was my rehab, it's not cool to say that. ... For me that's my rehab. That's what happened with me and it's an amazing and powerful thing.
AP: Your former bandmate, Brian "Head" Welch, faced criticism when he decided to follow God and quit drugs. Do you think you will too?
Fieldy: I didn't go and quit anything. I remained who I am, so I don't know if anybody wants to criticize. I'm still me. I made some changes, I didn't go around telling everybody I was ready to make changes, I just remained me. I may get more criticism today in putting this book out than I have. You know, maybe this is my time, but I'm ready to take the criticism and answer anybody's questions.
___
On the Net:
http://www.Korn.com
***Meanwhile...
---In February 2005, Head shocked the music world when he resigned from Korn to re-dedicate his life to Christ and focus on raising his daughter, Jennea, as a single father. The event set off a media frenzy as observers around the world sought out to understand what led this rock star out of the darkness and into the light.
Significantly, and perhaps most importantly, upon his resignation from Korn, Head made clear to the music world that he had not retired from the music and entertainment industry. With his newfound calling, Head is committed to changing the youth of this nation through his music and other entertainment ventures. In this regard, Head penned an autobiography of his life, picked up and released by Harper Collins Publishers in July 2007, entitled, "Save Me From Myself." Head gained further acclaim as a successful author, when the book quickly hit the New York Times Best Seller List (non-fiction). In his memoir, Head talks for the first time about his shocking embrace of God, and the tumultuous decade of drug and alcohol addiction that led him to his faith, where he was completely and instantly healed of his addictions.
http://www.brianheadwelch.net/bio.html
***
more on "Head"'s song:
http://www.myspace.com/brianheadwelch
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