It’s the Season to be Enchanted(Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la)

School’s Out, leaves’ filed, weather is colder, the breeze is singin’, and the season is jolly. Now what is a nice way to lavish this joyous season? Receiving gifts and purchasing new stuff would certainly put a smile to ones already happy face but as one song states: “it’s not about the - ka-ching ka-ching, it’s not about the - ba-bling ba-bling”. Just make your world dance, forget about those price tags. Sure, material compliments would deliver joy that would last a year or two but memories would deliver joy for eternity.

Instead of spending this season spending and shopping without really putting enough effort like we used to back in the days, I personally opted into choosing a more interactive way of bonding with the ones I love this festive season. What more can be more exciting and exhilarating than spending time with your family in a theme park where a day spend can bring back the youth of your parents, get the scare out of your siblings, and thrill your pants off having with awesome rides. Of course, there is only one theme park that can be associated with all of these, Enchanted Kingdom at Sta. Rosa, Laguna of course, where if you want to have fun and take half of your life back, a day there is a day well spent.

Though Enchanted Kingdom would be undeniably the most popular theme park in the Philippines, it’s also a double edge sword for them. Being that much popular would bring to many fans onto one location so you could see where I’m going with this right?  An entirely day can be halved and spoiled by just waiting in line for tickets to get in. That was definitely one of the points I deducted from E.K. when considering it the perfect way to spend with my family. But kudos to a friend of mine, like any protagonist would make a comeback when all hope is lost, information that tickets for Enchanted Kingdom are now available on SM malls with SM tickets. Surely though, hearing such news at first could be gibberish and a plain mockery to my gullibility but according to www.smtickets.com, I was able to obtain the information I needed to this new knowledge that I had learned. Enchanted Kingdom Tickets are now really available at SM tickets. Wow, it’s really great that SM tickets now has a lot of partners as they are able to make ticket purchases like this a lot easier and more accessible to consumers. As I inquired on their customer service table on where to transact such deal, they were able to direct me to SM cinemas where the tickets can be purchased minus the hassle of standing in long lines so going to Enchanted Kingdom would just be a breeze since once there, ticket in hand, no time lost, no energy wasted, only hours of dun to dusk. Now, that is really good news to everybody who wants to go to E.K. but hates long lines. Acquisition of tickets through SM ticket will really save you a lot of time and energy for it is fast and more comfortable plus it gives me an idea to purchase some tickets and wrap them up for gifts to my friends where they can enjoy the magic in Enchanted Kingdom with their own family just like me.

And since Enchanted Kingdom is located in such a nice place where in the wind is cool, the air is fresh and the ambiance is relaxing, none of us would be getting fatigued too soon plus with the new way of purchase thanks to SM tickets, I can confidently say that every cent is spent up wisely with E.K. and SM tickets, even after all the rides have been marked by you, the drive home can be a source of more bonding hours or I would just prefer to drive up to Starbucks Tagaytay after and relax with a cup of coffee where the view is overlooking and the ambiance is amazing. Now, Can you now answer what is a nice way to lavish this season? 

ainzley 2011

30 Seconds Just Isn't Enough

"Live for Him, die for Him, for if that is fate, one can't deny", for that is really the reality of life, one second you're full of energy smiling at every young mind you see in the vicinity the next you see yourself smiling beside Him. It may be sad but that  is how life works. One cannot deny the fate which is bestowed upon him.

I remember the time when I first saw this 1963 Volkswagen Beetle in white with the iconic red and blue stripes and the big number fifty-three on its hood and doors which was parked in front of my new school(or rather the back of the school). As a young car enthusiast, I quickly recognized that said car and was amaze at the detail of work and effort put into that car. At that time I had no idea who that car belonged to, but I knew right there and then that the owner of that car had dedication, I thought that its owner was just simply amazing to be able to produce such replica of something so iconic. 

For how that car was an icon to a lot of people, its owner was also an icon to a lot of students in my school. He had a smile like no other, you can;t really tell if it was sarcasm or just pure happiness. He will smile all the up to the end of the class. Even when his angry, you can still definitely see a hint of that grin of his. An expression know throughout the school, Dennis the menace? No, It's Dennis Reyes which coincidentally rhymes which each other. SoCSIT would never be spelled right without that name nor will APC. For only a student, I was not really close to the, may I say foundation of APC-SoCSIT? The father of CSIT to us? or just plain and simple, professor and program director, but like I said he was an icon to the school. Who can ever forget that dreaded initiation of all the freshmen in the SoCSIT department. The 30 seconds of fame(or shame to most of us). It was really every freshmen had to join that event since your grade was on the line but at the end of each shame was a sense of accomplishment, a lesson that would have never been thought in a better way. Maybe for others, that particular initiation was just a plot to make sure there are contestants in that way. But when you really think about it, it is nothing more but to boost your morale as a person and build up your character starting with confidence, a great way to build you up as a future leader. A tradition that must be carried out through the history of the department that he has raised like a child.

He was the first to greet the future computer science and information technology graduates of the school and the last to call their names as they embark on the journey to success. It's just sad that it would never happen again. He encourages students to take what they really want in life that there is nothing wrong in admitting defeat, like what he always says to us, "If you don't like the course, Shift", "If you can't handle the course, Shift" (btw it is pronounced like "Sheeeeffff", haha, although I'm not sure of the exact words but it is something like that). He greet students with a smile every time you she him in the hall or at the parking lot. Who can forget him at the parking lot finishing up a stick of Marlboro. Who didn't see the photo of his younger years on every RAMblings publication or just the one in the lobby of APC. But ultimately, who can really forget him?

The world may have demised Steve Jobs who is arguably the person who had the most impact in technology this last couple of years, also the dead of Dennis Ritchie, the man who may have started it all. But none of them brought me more shocked than the lost of our esteemed program director, Mr. Dennis Reyes. Jobs and Ritchie may have influenced me a lot in terms of their contribution to innovation and technology but Mr. Dennis Reyes influenced my life. He taught me the basics of my career, which path to take on to my career, made my college life difficult through all that defenses we had to go through and some of which he was the panel which proved to be very useful to my career now. He made sure that we were proper and equipped with the right knowledge as we embark to the life in the industry. He gave us hardships that we thought we couldn't overcome. He believed in us that we would succeed. He made us surpass our limitations as a student and go in par with more experience people. He was the influence in all of it. He is one of the four, he is one of the reason why APC is one of the four, He will be always remembered. 

Manilaghia will continue to be part of each "Bug" and "Karmann" we see

Godbless and Prosper in Heaven our esteemed Sir Dennis Reyes

ainzley

2011