7 - A Trip Filled with Happiness

"Describe an unforgettable experience"

    Every school year, students are always excited for their fieldtrip.  One of the best fieldtrip I had experience was when I was in my third-year high school. It was a happy and great experience. We got to bond with each other together with our teachers. We went to visit San Pablo City in Laguna where the seven lakes are located. It was my first time to visit this place and I was so excited. The trip may be a bit long coming from Manila, but it was really worth it!

     I couldn’t wait to reach school as we were leaving early in the morning. Everybody came early, too. It was from first-year to fourth-year students. There were several busses parked at the gate of our school. When everybody was complete and boarded in our bus, we began to travel. As soon as the bus reached the place, we were off to our first destination, which is to visit the museum. After a few hours, we started to visit the different lakes. The weather then was quite dark when we went to the lake. Everybody was very careful since it becomes a bit slippery when it rains. But who cares, we want to enjoy this kind of experience in our life! Lake Pandin is the best among all the lakes. This is where we stay the longest, experiencing the bamboo rafting. It was a great experience of riding the bamboo raft in the company of my classmates. It was a breathtaking experience riding the balsa, but it was an enjoyable one. We enjoyed seeing the view while sitting on the bamboo raft. The place is very calm and refreshing. The water was cool and relaxing, it’s really perfect!

     The other lakes are Lake Sampaloc, among the seven lakes this is the biggest but also the dirtiest. The Lake Bunot, Lake Kalibato, Lake Palakpakin, Mohikap Lake and Lake Yambo, the twin lake of Lake Pandin. We had a great time throughout the fieldtrip despite the rains that fell from time to time. In addition, we created good memories, explored to new experience and learned new things outside of the classrooms. It was really a great adventure! 

6 - Eat! Eat! Eat!

"What is your favorite restaurant?"

     My family always liked going out to eat, especially when there is a special occasion to celebrate. Everyone has a favorite restaurant that they love to eat at. When I was a child, I still remember that my mom and dad always brought us to their favorite restaurant, now also my favorite, which is the Max’s Restaurant! It is very popular and it became known as “the house that fried chicken built.” This is a perfect place for every family to get together. This restaurant is memorable to my parents because during their wedding, twenty-four years ago, the reception was held at Max’s Restaurant, in Baclaran. That’s why my parents have lots of memories to this restaurant.

     Max’s Restaurant is my favorite restaurant to dine in because it has everything I love. It offers a wide variety of Filipino foods to pick from. For me, the best and delicious food I usually order at Max’s Restaurant is their very famous and well known fried chicken, which everyone loves. It’s sarap to the bones! as their commercial goes.  The taste is unique and no other restaurant has the same flavor. Besides their fried chicken, I also love their chicken sisig. I will recommend you to taste it, it’s the best sisig I’ve ever tasted! These two dishes are my favorite. I’m not saying that other items in the menu are not as great, it’s just that I rarely order anything else when I go to Max’s Restaurant. I’m just happy and satisfied with the fried chicken and the chicken sisig.

     Not only that I like their foods, but the service is also good. The waiters and other staffs are friendly and welcoming that makes me feel relaxed. The restaurant is clean and with warm appearance.  As I have noticed, they take immediate action on a customer request or even complaint. The prices of their foods are reasonable and the foods are served quickly and still hot as opposed to some other restaurants where you will have to wait for a long time for your foods to appear on your table. In short, this is really a nice restaurant to go and to enjoy their delicious meals. So, what are you waiting for? Rush to your nearest Max’s Restaurant today.

5 - Life Goals

"Ten years from today..."

     Who am I ten years from now? What will I become ten years from now? Of course, it is not easy to imagine myself ten years from now. Nobody can predict one’s future and no one exactly can tell what will be our life ten years from now. However, I have come to realize that to get somewhere in life, I have to make dreams and goals in life and determine to fulfill these in the future. Believing that if you dream, you must dream big and make it happen.

     The School has been an important goal in my life. That’s why, my first goal in life is to finish my degree. Having a degree is a step to fulfill your success in life. After I finished college, my main goal was to find a stable job related to my course. Nowadays, and in the near future, Information Technology is very strong and many companies pay much more for skills that are in demand, that’s why I choose this course. I want to be the best asset in the company where I would work and to excel in every project I will be involved.

      One of my dreams is to travel all over the world. I want to see the beauty of the other countries and to meet other people. I want to seek a job abroad, with of course the best salary. If I have saved enough money, I will give my family a comfortable life. I want my family to be happy. They inspire me to reach all my goals in life. I truly believe that I can acquire my goals and dreams by working hard and putting the best effort.  At heart, I still want to settle and work here in our country. There’s no place like home. I still believe that true happiness can be found here in our country, where I was born. After all, life is not about the materials things, but it is all about happiness and to be happy. I know that I can’t do anything alone. I need the guidance of my parents. Believing and trusting in GOD is the most important. GOD has his best plans for my future.       

4 - Confined

"Write about an experience in a hospital"
                                                          

     Being admitted to the hospital is hopefully something we will never have to experience. But there is a point in our lives that we can’t avoid it. Just like me, never in my thought that I would be admitted at the hospital. I was then in my first-year high school, it started with a fever. After a few days, I felt something painful in my neck and in my cheek near my right ear. My mom brought me to the clinic near in our place and the doctor told us that it was a mumps. So I was advice to take a medicine and need to rest. After three days, it was still painful and I felt it was getting worst! I can’t open my mouth anymore. I can’t swallow solid foods and lost my appetite. I only take liquids. Ouch! It’s really painful and I started to cry. My mom was so worried and decided to bring me to San Juan De Dios Hospital in Pasay City. My mom and I went to emergency room. The nurses had conducted the initial evaluation, facilitated my admission and put dextrose on me. On that day I was admitted, Dra. Andong is my attending physician, a pediatrician and also a child neurology. She had advice the nurse to give me a pain reliever to lessen the pain. Next, I was brought to the laboratory room for the x-rays, blood tests, and other laboratory examinations. The one that really scared me was when the nurse took blood on my arms about half of the test tube. I almost wanted to scream. Thanks to my mom for comforting me. When the doctor finished all the laboratories and tests, no other findings are found but only my neck is swollen. My doctor gave me some antibiotics to take. She also advises my mom to put a warm towel to the affected and painful area to reduce the pain and swelling.

     After a week of staying at the hospital, I’m already fine and made a lot of progress. My doctor assured my mom that nothing to worry and we’re advised to be discharged. My mom and I were then so happy. I would like to thank Dra. Andong and the nurses, who provided the medical services I needed for my immediate recovery. I was so fortunate to have been attended by the best medical team. They had been so compassionate and well mannered and had provided me the best possible care that eased my condition during the duration of my confinement.

     Thank you also to my teacher, for being so understanding and took a time to visit me together with my classmates. They brought fruits for me. Most especially to my mom and my two sisters, thank you so much for being so patient. They did not leave me during my hardest time and always on my side. To my dad, even though that he was then in Dubai, he always calls to check if I’m okay. 

3 - Strike

"What is your favorite sport?"

     If you ask me which is my favorite sport? Then let me let you know that my favorite sport is bowling. To inform you about bowling, it is a popular sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a bowling ball along a flat surface in order to knock down the pins. All bowlers are required to wear special bowling shoes. It is also a form of exercise. Sometimes people bowl to relieve stress. But there’s one thing we all agree that bowling is a great way to spend time with your dad and also with your friends. I really enjoyed it because I love the speed, excitement and fun while playing!

     I really love playing bowling since I was in my grade school. My dad started me on it. As I remembered, my dad always brought me every time he plays bowling at SM Megamall and Mall of Asia. At my early age, he taught me to play bowling. My dad really inspires me to love this game. He has a lot of trophy and medals displayed at home for winning the championship in bowling at their company.

     At first, I have missed all my throws and it is always go to the canal. Argh! When will be my first strike! I felt so disappointed! My dad always told me that bowling requires skill and discipline. It is not just about throwing the ball. He told me that I have to know where to stand. I must have to develop a standard approach with which I am comfortable. With my determination to learn, at last! I had my first strike. My dad and I were very happy and excited. Since then, I was forever hooked in playing bowling. Now, I can determine how the pins will play off one another during a spare or split. I can now learn how to identify lane condition. I am now the one asking my dad to play bowling during his day off. We always play bowling at Mall of Asia. Every game is worth 170 pesos, and the bowling shoes is 60 pesos. My bowling ball weight 7 pounds. This is always a bonding moment with my dad. The more I bowl, the better I get. Yes! Another strike, I did it again. I always loved bowling! I just have fun.       

2 - The Chef

"Describe a family member"
   

  Cooking is a loved thing in my family. Every member of the family loves and enjoys eating. Anyway, who is not fond of eating? You can’t have food without a chef. That’s where my dad comes in… He is the chef not only in our family but also to others. He has been a chef for almost twenty- one years. My dad had worked in Oman for four years, in Saudi Arabia for two years and almost ten years in Dubai. Last January 2013, he decided to stay here in our country for good. He is now working as a Chef de Partie at Solaire Resort and Casino located near Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Solaire Resort and Casino is the ultimate integrated resort in the Philippines and one of the world’s greatest as well! He can make Western cuisine, Asian cuisine, Oriental cuisine and Japanese cuisine. He likes cooking so much. He always makes something special in our dining room during his day off. It is really delicious! Anything you want he can make it!

     Being a chef is not an easy career. It is a very tough job. My dad is a very hardworking man. He had to work in the heat of the kitchen for many hours, but I didn’t hear him complaining because I know that cooking is his passion. Actually, he did not study culinary arts, only he have is an experience. No theories, no formula, no recipe, no matter how well written, can take the place of experience.

     He decided to stay here for good. We convinced him to stay here with us. So many years that we’re apart and it was really a sacrifice from all of us. All he wants is all of us his children to go to college and finish our studies. Now that my two older sisters had graduated from college and now they have their own job, my dad was convinced to stay here with us. I promise him that I want to succeed not just for myself but also for him. I want to finish my college for my future and for my family.

     Did you know the person in my life that makes me, my two sisters and my mom smile? That one lucky guy is my dad! He is not only an excellent cook but also he makes time to keep us happy and feeling loved. My dad is funny too especially when he cracked jokes, but sometimes his jokes were corny. That’s why our life is full of joy and laughter when he is around. He is a special dad because he is a cool dad. For me, he is the best father and chef in the world!