Yesterday, February 11, 2006, the Our Lord’s Glory Academy (OLGA) held a Family day for it’s students and parents. Ok, what the heck is OLGA? OLGA is the school where my two beautiful daughters - Kei and Vhi - are currently studying. Kei is in first grade while Vhi is in Nursery. So me, my wife Belen, and our two daughters joined the celebration and it was one nice day!The occassion was held at the Quezon City Circle and I have to say that it was a nice choice. Other than being a nice park to play fun games, it’s also a good venue to remember the origins of the Philippine Commonwealth and the it’s first president - Manuel L. Quezon. The entire Family day celebration started at 8:30 in the morning and lasted until around 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
So what transpired?
Me and my family arrived late at 9:30am and the games had already started. We missed the Nursery’s sprinting contest (no regrets as Vhi didn’t want to join anyway). We were able to see other grades though as they ran for the ‘finish line’. Then there came the relay contest (again, my two daughters didn’t want to join - duh) but it was fun watching the kids especially the little ones run across the race field which was a 40-meter (estimate) oval portion of the park. “Sige, takbo!” (Go, run!) were the most popular cheers you will hear.
Next came the fun games for both students and parents - I joined the fun games and had the honor of being the only father to join. Hehehe, yes, it’s the child in me that never grows up. I won’t detail the games we played here as I honestly feel lazy typing all these stuff - :). Teacher Loma, OLGA’s principal also did well in leading the games.
We also toured the the Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum which depicts the life of the former president - Manuel L. Quezon. In the museum we found stuff and stories about the foundation of the Philippine Commonwealth as well as sections of the life of the former president. We saw his hospital bed, photos of his burial, his sword collection, vases, paintings, his clothes, the three empty cartridges of the bullets (large bullets) that were fired in honor of the commonwealth, and lots of other things. It was pretty amazing how such simple things carried my thoughts back in time. Seeing the photos and the objects alone was like being in a time machine. And my wife and the kids? Well, they have other interests inside the museum as they’re not that fond with history. The four of us did have interest on one same thing - the tomb of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon. So after we toured the museum, we went to it’s center which is also the base of the 66-meter tall monument in the middle and viewed the tomb of the president. It was made in black marble as I see it and was elevated to the view of most of us. Near it is a story about the death of the Pres. Quezon but what caught my interest most was the story about the monument itself.
The tower’s height is 66 meters tall which depicts the age of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon when he died. Sitting on top of the tower are three angels symbolizing Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Then there is the base of the tower which is an equilateral triangle representing Birth, Life, and Death. Now I know what it’s all about. When I die, I want a monument erected in my honor with the Latin word “speciosus” inscribed on it.
Now, onto the highlight of the Family Day Celebration. What is it? It’s an all-ou, fully active, heart-pounding cheering competition! Hurrah! The Pre-school students (Nursery, Kinder, and Prep), my daughter Vhi included (yes, she joined this time), broke the ice. Of course, everybody was happy seeing little kids doing stuff like these. Then of course Grades 1 to 6 gave their best as well. Kei, did well in the first grader’s group. In fact all of the students did well but it was most amazing for me to see my two daughters cheering with their pompoms and dumbells.
Ok, let’s continue. We ate lunch, talked with friends, talked more, talked even more, enjoyed the place and alas it was time for everybody to go home. But where is Kei and Vhi? They’re out of sight and the last thing they told me was that they were going to the playground. So I went to the playground but didn’t find them. I texted their mom and asked if they were already back with her and she replied ‘No.’ so I went on with my search. Another round of the playground brought me straight to them playing. Was I relieved? Well, I wasn’t worried at all. I’m the type of person who doesn’t worry much. If however I couldn’t see them after about an hour or two of searching, then I will be worried. I texted my wife again and you bet - she was relieved. Hehehe. So Kei, Vhi, and myself walked back to Belen, got some rest, and decided to go home.
We walked out of the park together with Kei’s teacher - Teacher Ems. On our way out of the park, we saw a group who were doing some fashion model training so we paused for a moment and watched. Then walked again.
After about 500 meters of walking, we took a bus ride. I slept. The kids slept. Belen and Teacher Ems kept on talking. They talked too much I could hear them in my dreams. Teacher Ems got off at SM Fairview while the 4 of us went straight home. I was so tired and sleepy that the only thing I remember when we arrived was the beautiful sight of our bed waiting for me to plunge straight into it.
Below are some photos from the event. It’s arranged in chronological order. Click a thumbnail to enlarge.
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