by virtue of the power vested in me . . .

Hi there! It’s midweek and the games of the 23rd SCUAA officially started yesterday, but it was a rainy start though. And yes, thanks to that power outage, the delegates literally got a warm (or is it hot?) welcome on their second night in the city.

SCUAA 2007 opened last Sunday at the TTMIST Socio-Cultural Center with the Solidarity Night dubbed as Kangay. I hosted the said event and referred to it as the cultural side of SCUAA. It was preceded by a Mass presided by Msgr. Leonardo Guadalquiver. Dr. Socorro Bohol welcomed the guests which included the City Officials led by the Mayor Mel Sarmiento and the Presidents of the participating State Colleges and Universities of Region 8 namely, Naval Institute of Technology, Samar State University, Samar State College of Agriculture and Forestry, Eastern Visayas State University, University of the Eastern Philippines, Palompon Institute of Technology and Visayas State University.

Guests were treated to a sumptuous feast during the dinner cum sugba fest. It opened with a colorful ritual-dance performed by the Sarakiki-Hadang Performers of Calbayog. Guests were later treated to Calbayog songs and dances presented by the Kinetics Dance Company and the Campus Chorus. The cultural show was highlighted with the kuratsa being performed by Dr. Socorro Bohol and Dr. Cesar Sabenicio who were later joined in by the VIPs and guests.

The successful Kangay event was result of the collaboration between Dr. Gabriella Sabenicio of TTMIST and Jonas Lim of CACO. For some pictures of the said event, please check this link: kangay/scuaa 2007.

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You must have noticed the recent TV ADs showing the country’s economic growth. Nice to know that. But why did the price of that breakfast staple a.k.a. pandesal have to go up? On the other hand, food and cosmetic manufacturers are still coming up with products packed in tingi or what they call saver packs. A few years back, there was this article saying that the tingi phenomenon is a manifestation that something is wrong with the economy. But then I heard somewhere that this marketing strategy is being followed by some of our prosperous Asian neighbors. Whatever one is into, I saw the wisdom of tingi lately when I did some grocery shopping with a calculator on hand. And yes, one can save a lot if one is to buy shampoo, gel and some beauty products in those small packs or sachets. So, is there something wrong with the economy? I dunnow, ‘coz in Calbayog the local food joints along with Jollibee and Chowking are still packing ‘em in.

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So, what’s with today’s title? This has to do with my never-ending series about some doctors (not MDs if I may add) in Calbayog who can’t seem to do it right. I’d rather that I discuss about the new (and very interesting) twist on the Harry Potter series: Dumbledore is gay! But that can wait. I’ll deal with Dumbledore next time. For now, let’s have a little bit of this doctorette (now I just gave you a clue as to the size of the doctor).

A bubwit told me that earlier this year, this doctorette was invited as speaker in a school graduation in one of the barangays (carline, now that’s a clue) in the city. So what about it? People get invited to talk in graduations. Now, ang siste is that there was no official or somebody who was supposed to declare the candidates for graduation as graduates. Lo and behold, instead of the principal or maybe some DepeEd official, the doctorette was the one who declared the candidates as graduates. So what’s wrong with that? I’m still trying to see the konek between the doctorette’s school or at least his/her position in school and his/her being able to declare as graduates students from another school the curriculum of which has nothing to do with school from where the doctor comes from. Magulo ba? Do we blame it on the school officials? Or maybe the doctorette did not read the program so as to give suggestions? Or maybe the doctorette just didn’t know the difference. Es la vida.

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Let me leave you with something to smile about this week. Something I got via email (again). It has something to do with airline (cabin) announcements.

All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some (supposedly) real examples that have been heard or reported:

- On a flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

- On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."

- "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."

- "Welcome aboard . . . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised. "

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Have a nice week everyone! Ciao!