Deantastic! » 2010

National Schools Press Conference 2010: The Tagum Invasion

Deantastic — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:53:15 +0000

When I first learned that Tagum City in Davao del Norte had won the rights to host this year’s National Schools Press Conference—the last one I would be eligible to take part in—I wasn’t sure what to feel. To be frank, I wasn’t so sure an NSPC in Mindanao was worth looking forward to. Even though I call the island home, I’m no stranger to its history of violence and unrest, and with the contest being held against the backdrop of a tumultuous political season and the Ampatuan Massacre still fresh in the nation’s mind, not only were I and my fellow participants faced with the prospect of boredom in a city relatively alien to us, we were also followed by the unwelcome fear of violence and danger.

By the time we settled ourselves in our billeting quarters in Tagum, however, the worst of my apprehensions were gone. The Tagum City government, headed by Mayor Rey Uy, took every measure to ensure our security and comfort as we participated in the five-day event, which centers on a timely and relevant theme: the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and the need to achieve them by 2015. The result was a smoothly conducted, well-organized competition that brought out the best in all those who participated, and one that is definitely one for the history books.

Over the next few posts on this blog I will recount my NSPC 2010 experience day by day, from the unusually long opening parade to the kickass sendoff the genial people of Tagum prepared for us. Stay tuned for my account of the National Schools Press Conference 2010 in Tagum City.

To The Girl In The Souvenir Stall

Deantastic — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:03:27 +0000

The 2010 National Schools Press Conference in Tagum City ended yesterday, but I’ve been unable to get you out of my head.

Hi, I’m Dean. I don’t know if you remember, but we “met” in a souvenir stall in Tagum City National High School. I was wearing a red-and-yellow Caraga shirt and an unbelievably stupid face, and you were wearing a simple shirt, a nice pair of shorts, and one of the sweetest smiles I’ve ever seen.

I was waiting for my shirt to get printed and you were looking at the designs they had put on display on one side of the booth. I vaguely remember us stealing sidelong glances at one another, but that could have been just me. At any rate, there I was, standing stupidly, secretly admiring your presence, while you leisurely looked for a shirt design you liked.

Then you made the exclamation that made me squeal on the inside: “Uy, yun oh, cute ‘yun!” (or something to that effect) while pointing to a design. Right after you said that you looked sheepishly at me, giggling to reveal that smile and those dimples that made me melt. I don’t know if you were making pacute or if you’re just that adorable by nature.

All I could say in reply was, “ok lang ‘yan, ate *giggle*.” I barely even got the words to leave my lips, and I highly doubt that you heard what I said. The reply might have been obfuscated by the corny laugh and the one hell of a f—face I said it with.

We didn’t speak any further, and soon you moved to the other end of the stall—whether to look for more shirt designs or to escape from my weirdness, I’m not sure. I wanted to make conversation so I could get your phone number (or at least your name so I could add you up on Facebook). I even moved to your end of the stall, pretending to sift through the piles of shirts on the table while thinking of ways to start talking to you. I wanted to strike up a chat, but you seemed too busy and I was too shy.

Before I cold utter a word, you got the shirt you wanted, haggled all you could, and left the stall and my life as quickly as you came—possibly forever.

I spent the rest of the night thinking about you, about the brief exchange of giggles in the stall, about how I was too shy to say a word, about what would have happened had I been brave enough to try to strike up a conversation. I spent the wee hours of the next morning writing this, forgoing sleep I needed much for the homeward journey I made a few hours later.

I learned many things from my NSPC 2010 experience, the chief of which I learned from you: the window of opportunity can stay open for as briefly as a few seconds, and if that window isn’t seized, many what ifs can come to mind, which is bad since life isn’t supposed to be lived in regret and thinking “what if?”

I know the chances of you reading this are slimmer than Heidi Klum, but I’m a guy who’s grown accustomed to hoping against hope, so here goes:

If you are the girl who stood next to a silly-looking guy in a brightly colored CARAGA shirt in a souvenir stall in Tagum City National High School on the night of February 25, 2010, and if you made a remark to the effect of what was described in the fourth paragraph of this piece, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get in touch via Facebook or by using this page. Please please please. I really want to be friends. =)

With warm regards,

(sgd) Dean.

Post-NSPC 2010

Deantastic — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:15:29 +0000

I’m back in Butuan after participating in the 2010 National Schools Press Conference in Tagum City.

I am pleased to report that I placed fifth in Feature Writing – English Secondary and third in the online writing contest sponsored by the Philippine Online Chronicles. I was also awarded as one of the country’s outstanding campus journalists along with 16 other writers.

A detailed blog post chronicling the prestigious event is in order, of course, but I’m still weary from all the stress and the traveling, so it might take a few days for me to come up with one.

In the meantime, stick around for a short letter I wrote to a girl I, uh, met, while I was in Tagum.

NSPC 2010 in Tagum

Deantastic — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:50:33 +0000

Today, my colleagues and I hopped aboard the early morning bus bound for Tagum, arrived at around 10, spent a couple of hours in NCCC, retreated to our quarters for some much-needed sleep, left later in the afternoon so my colleagues could attend mass, and ate dinner at Chowking. We’re resting up tonight to prepare for the National Schools Press Conference 2010 which commences tomorrow.

Thank goodness the school we’re billeted in has WiFi. It’s not school-wide, but it’s loads better than nothing. I will probably be able to go online a lot more during this year’s NSPC than I did in Naga last year. Stay tuned for constant updates; if you’re looking for results, I’ll try to get them posted here once they’re announced (closing ceremonies are this Thursday, I think).