All the planes have been grounded
Ain't the fire inside
Let's all go stand around it
Funny, I've been there
And you've been here
And we ain't had no time to drink that beer..
Travelling everyday from home to Naga City and back never ceases to amaze me. The morning breeze in my face always feels a refreshing touch of nature especially during this time of year. The chilling wind blowing right in my face while running even at a measly 60kph feels really good. The view of Mt. Isarog form its base is a majestic site in the morning.
Today is no exemption; it is even one for the record-at least for me. Fog embraced almost the entire areas at the foot of the Mountain. The fog was so massive in nature that it engulfed Naga City and nearby Pili which temporarily grounded the operation of Cebu Pacific and other carriers.
Clad in my second hand jacket and a china-made visor, the outfit is no match for the extreme morning chill and precipitation brought about by the fog. I was half-soaked when I reached Naga.
I was humming the Sandman song by America in my one hour motorcycle journey while in the middle of seemingly endless great black fog. If not for the deadlines, today indeed is one of the best times to drink a beer. But I’ll save it for tomorrow.
Ain't the years gone by fast
I suppose you have missed them
And I almost forgot to ask
Did you hear of my enlistment?
Among the administrative staff vying for the awards are: Kitin Aujero, the School Registrar; Eduard Cruz and Romeo Mariscal of the Maintenance Group; Glen de Mateo and Joy Monares of Finance and Dante Fajardo Jr., the Network Administrator.
Despite being early at the Integrated Terminal, I was still late to catch majority of Coach Noli Ayo’s presentation about the current sports culture in Bicol. Commuter Vans are normally not at their usual speed standard during Saturdays, I checked-in quarter past nine at the Arrupe Convention Center of Ateneo where the workshop is being held. I was greeted by Don Razon, the coach of STI Naga Basketball Team, who was waiting for me to arrive.
Though some part of his presentation showed players twisting their elbows, feet and a shovel to the face, it was presented to give an impact on the importance of re-hydration and proper conditioning to avoid and or minimize any sports injuries.
The Assistant Coach of the Ateneo Blue Eagles, Coach Sandy Arespacochaga was the third and final resource speaker for the morning. Being a basketball player himself, a Blue Eagle Varsity and an assistant coach for a very long time, Coach Sandy has a lot in his basketball arsenals that he gamely shared with the coaches. His talked centered on how to create a solid basketball program. Basic to complex tips on basketball programs to coaching was part of his agenda.
Five things I learned from him are the Five Things a Champion Basketball Team have. 1. A Champion basketball team shoots more free throws over their opponents. Since it’s a free shot, it is a mortal sin not to have free throws in a single game. 2. A Champion basketball team rebounds better than any of its opponents. Both for defensive and offensive rebounds, champion team never give more rebounding opportunity for their enemies. More rebounds mean more chances for field goals. 3. Shooting more points is not the main concern of a champion teams, it is having a higher field goal percentage that their competitors. 4. Champion teams have fewer turnovers than their competitors. 5. Champion teams don’t give easy basket for their opponents; they have to earn it the hard way.
It was a brilliant effort for Coach Noli Ayo, the Athletics Director of the Ateneo de Naga University, to have invited such high-profile guests to talk about basketball, a sports we Bicolanos love more than ourselves. His effort of uniting Bicolanos in the name of sports is one noble cause that is worth pursuing and sharing. Sports, just like life, is a shared experience collective experience. We need each other to win and survive.
STI Naga has once again risen above the call of service and duty with the conduct of the Faculty Teaching Skills Training. The training which started October 28, 2008 is scheduled to culminate on the 30th of the same month.
The training forms part of the collective - national effort of STI to provide each faculty members with the effective and efficient tools for academic instructions. As an institution, we would like to address the different learning habits of our students and ensure that each student are molded into a better individual ready to take the challenges of the industry.
Spearheaded by the Academic Division of STI, this program had its first batch of training last May 19-23, 2008 at the Province of Rizal. The training was attended by our Academic Supervisor, Melin J. Onio. Being the representative of STI Naga in the Trainor’s Training, she is now tasked with the challenge of echoing all the methodologies she have learned to the rest of the faculty of STI Naga.
Among the participants of this years’ Faculty Teaching Skills Training are Benjo Maraño (IT), Marion Arlante (GE), Dennis Orea (HRS), Jojo Imperial (IT), Pao Silva (IT), Jing Abragan (GE), Carina Magno (GE), Em-Em Estrada (IT), Beth Romero (IT), Richelle Labanta (GE) and Irene Largo (GE).
Coaches from Ateneo Golden Knights Team B, Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Baras and Panganiban, Ateneo High School, Philippine Computer Foundation College, St. Joseph School and STI Naga took turns in promoting the event which is set to open on October 28, 2008 at the Naga City Gymnasium.
The Manuel “Tata” Flores Cup is also being supported by the Naga City Government under the leadership of Mayor Jesse M. Robredo and the Samahang Baskeball ng Pilipinas (SBP).
The game and scoring became even more furious as the two teams traded baskets in the third quarter. Palmiano finally find his stride and scored at will on the inside which kept the Grun Worms afloat in the game. 
In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, Pardiñas took the scoring cudgels for the Phoenix. To add drama and excitement to the closing minutes of the game, 
In the Darts Game, the Stigmas proved to be too much for the opposing teams. Their entry in both division (men and women) swept their respective assignments to win the match.
After consolidating all the wins for each team, the Stigma was the run-away winner for the Over-All-Champion Award having collected the most championships and Runner-ups award in almost all events and division.
The highly charged game in the Women’s Volleyball Division Finals was the longest battle ever fought between the two-teams. Stigma took the first set of the match but the Blazers came back in the second set behind Emmarie Albo’s tenacious returns.
In the third period, the Stigma showed their championship form to handedly beat the Blazers but again the Blazers overcame a 3-point deficit
In the deciding period, Custodio took over and ensured the victory of her team.
Unbeaten in the 2-game elimination round, Grun Worms and Phoenix fortify their finals clash by stopping their respective opponents in the semi-finals. Phoenix frustrated the Blazers 38-30, while Grun trounced the Trojans 47-36 in a game that saw players literally falling one-by-one because of cramps.
Blazers and Trojans will wrestle for the runner-up trophy on Saturday afternoon after the Women’s Volley Finals at the Greenland Covered Court. 
In the individual events, 
In the fight to protect the King and the Queen, Wilfredo Sangalang of Phoenix conquered the kingdom of Mark Anthony Buitre to win the Men’s Chess Kingdom. Over at the Women’s Chess Division, Katherine Sesmundo of Stigma Team overruled Marilou Ramirez of Phoenix to bag the title. 
Precious Dionson of the Grun Team emerged victorious in the Women’s Badminton Division and Kevin Oraca of the Blazers secured the title for the Men’s Badminton challenge. The duo of Kevin Oraca and Josel Valdez of Blazers bagged the Mix Badminton Division trophy.
Men and Women’s Darts will be played simultaneously with the Volley Championship games tomorrow at the Greenland Covered Court.
Earlier in the day, Blue Tooth’s Men Volleyball Team and Stigma’s Women Volleyball Team swept their respective games to gain an outright finals slot carrying with them a twice-to-beat advantage over their opponents.
The Grun’s (Green) Men and Women Volleyball Team held their ground against the Blazer’s furious attacks in the semi-finals but fatigue factor gets into the starters of the team. Grun managed to bring home the 3rd Place Trophy in both divisions.
In other Men’s Volleyball games, the Phoenix defeated the Trojans via game forfeiture in the first game of the day. Blue Tooth survived Stigma in the second game. Grun routed the Phoenix in the third game. Blue overpowered Blazers in the fourth game. Blazer bounced back by beating the Trojans in the fifth game. Stigma trumped the Phoenix in the sixth game. Blue Tooth continued their winning ways by crushing the Grun Team in the seventh game. Blazers scored their second win by overcoming the Stigma and later handedly pounded the Grun Team to earn a Finals slot.
In the Women’s Volley, Blazers opened the tournament with a win by squashing the Blue Tooth. Stigma gained the upper hand in the second game by pulverizing the Grun Team. Blazers scored their second win by routing the Phoenix in the third game. Stigma’s winning ways continued by overpowering the Trojans in the fourth game. Blue Tooth bounced back in the fifth game by over throwing the Trojans. In the sixth game, Grun Team found their rythmn and trounced the Phoenix and set-up a battle with Blue Tooth whom they trashed in the succeeding game. The battle for the final slot was fierce between the Grun Team and the Blazers. A deciding nail biter game was forced by the Grun Team before crumbling in the last canto. 
SSC missed another scoring try when Kris Lucernas bungled two free throws with seven seconds left, setting up Crisostomo for two charity tries which he split.
HRS students came in full-force the whole day excited to witness the presentations and demonstration being done by the invited speakers who are active movers in the local hospitality industry. 
The seminar begun with the School Administrator encouraging the students to initiate more activities of the same nature. He even offered the possibility of having activities outside the school, more so, outside the city. This is being done in the conviction that the most important part of learning happens in the actual immersion of the students in the industry. Real life education is witnessing first hand the workers and processes of the industry.
The first speaker for the day, Ms. Josephine P. Primavera, is an expert in the hospitality and restaurant services industry. She has been with the industry for almost a decade now. She holds the distinction of being one of the accreditors of Hospitality Services Programs in the Region. She talked about the ins and outs of bartending and presented the manpower demand in this field both locally and abroad. 
In the afternoon, two more speakers followed suit. Mabeth Apring, a resident bartender of Lolo’s Bar, and Don Adolfo, now working in Rockwell Makati, flashed their skills in bartending by doing various cocktail mixing and flair bartending exhibitions in front of the students. 
Tom Cruise made bartending looked cool in his movie 1988 "Cocktail" . Now it's time for the real guys, out STI HRS students to take centerstage. Bartending, which includes bottle flipping and juggling glasses is fast emerging as a career choice with the increase in demand for bartenders both here and abroad.
