Attn. Read this paragraph first. This post will be a collection of different thoughts and different emotions. My first post of the year, I want to experience everything I felt and see the types of people I have been last year. This is going to be a pretty long post (to try and make up for the weeks I haven't said anything).
Anyone who knows me knows my parents are pretty strict with their schedules. This can be really annoying due to the fact that they have to drive me everywhere. (I
would take public transportation if they put air-conditioning in jeepneys, kept the riffraff with BO out, and actually went inside private subdivisions. Or if they had some sort of shuttle service for Ledesco homeowners.) It would actually be okay if they didn't make such a big deal with my riding taxis. But nooo... Their precious daughter could be held up, kidnapped, raped and-gasp!- she could lose her apparently even more precious cellphone.
Yes. I do know that occasionally my posts take on a sarcastic, almost whiny, tone of voice which could seem condescending and really annoying to most people. (It makes me really glad the only people who read this will never judge me and will still love me.) Sometimes my posts just seem depressed, bored with life and spiteful of fate which would make people either think I am no fun at all. Other times, my posts seem shallow and empty, just selfish thoughts which give the impression of conceitedness. And then there are the posts which show the few times I showed signs of humanity, when I took off the masks and just showed the insecurities I try so hard, if unconsciously, to hide. I don't know how this would come across to other people but in those posts, I was honest, and I hope when people read it, they understand.
Anyway, back to the previous topic. Quick summary: My parents are strict with time, they have to drive me around, I don't have much chance to actually be anywhere that doesn't coincide with my parents' schedules even if their schedule is just to rest. One day, I managed to get my dad to start fetching me at school at 7 PM. Why? Because I joined the COQC, the program that trains you to become officers for senior year's AFCAT.
Actually, in the first draft, more than half the batch showed up. All you had to do was go to the gym, knock on th door and say "Ma'am/Sir, Cadet/Cadette *name* request permission to enter the room, Sir/Ma'am." You had to do it right, of course but that was it. Then, you joined a flight (your choice of commanding officer) and got oriented. For the time being, we were just supposed to salute and greet all the officers "Ma'am/Sir, good morning/afternoon, Ma'am/Sir" everytime we saw them. I got in trouble here, actually, because I greeted someone who wasn't an officer and ignored someone who was.
Anyway, this was somehow a sieve and about half soon lost interest. By the next form, there were much less applicants. We were mostly taught simple military commands such as Tuluyang Bilang (I learned how to count in Filipino!), Humanay, how to ask permission to speak, etc and the overall rules like, becoming 'at ease' when teachers are around, sitting on only 1/3 of your butt, no colored bras, the necessity of eating 1 1/2 cups of rice per meal(I get away with not doing this, though.), only drinking water, not eating ice cream or anything else deemed "unhealthy", etc.
In the course of the next few weeks, we got DO's (direct orders) which didn't necessarily have to make sense (We stuck to walls, picked up garbage, danced to silly songs and Single Ladies, and spoke in Tagalog.), pumpings, and a notice telling us that we would now be greeting the officers "Ma'am/Sir, good morning/afternoon, Cadette/Cadet*rank**officer's full name including middle initial*Ma'am/Sir".
Background info: Some time last year, after or when Obama had just won the elections, most of the boy dormers formed a group called "Barako Bama" Their logo is two B's back to back, looking like a butterfly. They were really good at greeting since you need a deep voice. (I used to be a soprano now I'm probably contralto.) Their 'leaders' were Philip, Nicolo and JB.
About 2/3 of the Barakos applied for officership. Then, one form, Nicolo quit (along with Glenn). The reason? They joined out of
tripping, they would quit out of
tripping. So all the other Barakos stopped greeting. Even when they hadn't quit yet. They started disrespecting the officers and saying they would only greet and follow the officers who deserved their respect. They said the serious applicants, "gapa-into lng".
To be continued: I should sleep...
