The Sweetest Thing

No, this isn't a post about that awesome song by U2 and Bono. Which, by the way, has an equally cool MTV.

This post is about this cake:

It's a sweet concoction with an equally sweet message printed on top. And yes, the message is from our go-to karaoke song by The Turtles.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Sweetest kid

There were packs of pastillas de leche on our dinner table when I came home. These pastillas turned out to be not any ordinary pastillas. They were the handiwork of my adorable nephew, Javier!

They handmade these candies as part of their schoolwork, and they were supposed to sell it. The proceeds will go to their piggy bank, which will be their savings for the school year.

One pack of pastillas - P15.00
Knowing that this is the product of Javier's hard work - Priceless.

(Thank you, Mastercard. Just for the tagline. I bought this using cash.)

Direk to the point

My family surprised me with this cake on my birthday. While we were having dinner at City Buffet, the "Happy Birthday" song started to play and the staff came out with this cake. I was surprised because it was the 3rd time the "Happy Birthday" song was played and the singing group went to 3 other tables, so I thought I was safe.

So I thought. 

Being a Creative Director is sometimes hard to visualize. To my family, my provide is to give direction in making campaigns, so it's pretty much like a regular director. And the trimmings along the side of the cake makes me feel like a star! Harhar.

It was really a wonderful cake from my equally wonderful family. 

"That's a wrap!"

In broadcast production, the entire cast and crew wait in baited breath until the director shouts these 3 words.

. 

"That's a wrap" means that the production has successfully reached its end, everyone in the production staff is happy, and that everyone is confident that they have a great production in their hands.

Today, this is what happened in school. After 4 months of lectures, hands-on demos and shoots, my Audio-Visual Production class showcased their short films. I asked each group to conceptualize, write, shoot and edit a story based on the theme "Relationships in the time of technology," and each one had a different take on the subject.

As the class laughed, swooned and shrieked while watching each film, I couldn't help but feel proud for my students. I've seen how far they've gone and how much they've absorbed about the subject. Their sense of storytelling and grasp of production values were really showcased this afternoon. I couldn't ask for a better set of students for my AVP class.

The future storytellers and directors of the Philippines

Seeing my students succeed is reward enough for teaching. But there are days when I get an extra sweet reward from my students, such as this box that they gave me after class.

They were telling me to handle it with care and take extra precaution in moving the box around. When I opened it, I knew why they were so finicky about it.

Yes, it's a sweet message made of sweet donuts!

It was definitely a great way to wrap up the first semester.

Sweet surprise

Two Fridays ago, I held my last class for the Journalism seniors. On the agenda was finalizing bits and pieces for our final paper which, by the way, is looking awesome.

I made a quick trip downstairs to talk to the Dean's secretary, and when I went back to my room, this box was on top of my desk.



It was a nice box with an Ethnic motif. And I'm in that phase where prints interest me, thus, the box immediately caught my eye.



When I opened it, there was a piece of chocolate inside. Then, one by one, my students placed chocolate bar upon chocolate bar, until the box was filled with sweets.



These sweets weren't regular chocolates and candies. On each one, there was a post-it note with a message from each student. They were messages of thanks and apologies. The messages of thanks were about my mentorship of the class, and the fact that I really lobbied for them to go to HKG. The messages of apologies were for their lack of involvement and effort the past year. With every chocolate and message, I couldn't help but smile.



And of course, the biggest chocolate had the biggest message of all. A message that really solidified the thought that I'm doing the right thing as a professor, and that is helping change the lives of my students in the little ways I can.



What a sweet way to end the Journalism school year.

Sweet and Sugoi

When I got home yesterday, I was told that I received a package. And once they showed it to me, I knew where it came from. I knew primarily because of the familiar EMS envelope - an envelope that I received a couple of times when I was still living in HKG.

Yes, it was an EMS package from Tokyo. Courtesy of Mark, of course.



Once I opened the package, I immediately thought: Sugoi! Because the package contained sweets that I've grown to love during my trips to Japan last 2006 to 2008. Seeing these yummy treats brought me back to the time when I'd fly to Japan and visit Mark in IUJail. These goodies were what we'd frequently buy at Jusco during the weekend.



First, I got 2 packs of Caramel Corn. And may I just say that Caramel Corn is The. Best. Snack. Ever. It's got that rich caramel flavor that just envelops every piece of curl. Once you bite into it, the flavor just explodes! Gosh, I'm just keeping myself from tearing open these packs! (Breathe... Breathe...) Aside from the classic Caramel flavor, he sent me the Cheesecake flavor as well.

And may I just say, the packaging of Caramel Corn is just adorable!



Next up, Kitkat! Or as they say in Japan, Kito-kato. Now, these Kitkats are tres unique. It's a variant that can only be found in Japan.



You'd think it's green tea Kitkat, right? Well, think again.



It's Wasabi Kitkat. Awesomeness! I can't wait to try these chocolates. Mark warned me that it's a bit spicy.

And finally, a sweet smelling lotion. Cherry and Vanilla are two scents I love, so having them in one lotion is just perfect.



Sweet treats. Sweet tooth. Sweet scent. Valentine's Day may have passed, but the sweetness just keeps on coming.