I had a lunch meeting yesterday with Dr. Torralba and company. Largely due to my inadvertent revelation in Teachers' Camp that the reason why I approached my marriage with my virginity intact was because I like to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!), Dr. Torralba has invited me to reprise my buffoonery again for a symposium entitled "Loving for a Reason...Loving for a Lifetime (A Symposium on Sex, Love, and Life in Marriage)", which will be held in the University on August 5, 2006.
And yes, I did sing the chorus to Boyzone's catchy signature tune, "Love me for a Reason (Let the Reason be Love)". I was thinking that after admitting to an entire auditorium of teachers and student leaders that I love to KISS, I couldn't embarrass myself more. Of course, I could be wrong. I've noticed that, in life, just as you've figured out that you probably couldn't sink any lower, you surprise yourself by doing so. When Trixie del Rosario shared some humorous true stories about embarrassing moments in teaching, I noted that "That's why I can't bring myself to accept the concept of making something foolproof. If there's one thing I've learned, it's to never underestimate the power of fools."
Anyway, we were encouraged to design our talks to meet the needs of a crowd composed largely of 4th year highschool students, their teachers, and some parents. Ordinarily, addressing a crowd that unwieldy (it's hard to determine whether one should concentrate on the young, the young at heart, or the young once) would be an occasion for dread, but Dr. Torralba's contagious bonhomie helped us to focus our presentations on simply making our respective talks, in the words of the maestro himself, "informal, light, anecdotal, and TO THE POINT."
The meeting was also a welcome opportunity to meet up with old friends, and to take an active role in cultivating new ones. I had a fascinating conversation with MA Hum candidate Steph Sevilla, who very candidly spoke of her plans for wedded bliss, if ever. Her sister's not-so-gentle, but perhaps gently meant reminder that she could possibly go around being called Steph Balingit for the rest of her life led Steph to discover a newfound love for the hyphen: that is, that she could go through life as a happily hyphenated wife. I met the very friendly, and joyfully intense Dawn Dacanay, as well as the husband and wife team of Des and Lina Racho, who are active in EDUCHILD, a parent group that organizes family orientation programs and promotes the continuous exchange of experiences in the field of family education. And as always, the power troika of Ronie Balbieran, Jessica Gallegos, and Jill Padlan kept everyone entertained with their willful sincerity, and good cheer. I'll just leave it up to your imaginations as to who provided which.
The portion of the seminar I'm being asked to contribute to is entitled "Do's and Don'ts...That Make a Lot of Sense (Managing Affections)", where I will be reunited with fellow Mac user Greg Garcia. I had the pleasure of working with both Greg and his wife Lora just a few weeks ago in PASSA NYC in Baguio, and they're wonderfully spirited and engaging speakers. Greg, buddy, I can't wait!
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