Maverick Crisostomo (People 2011: Week 3)

Author's note: For 2011, I have decided to write about certain people in my life that have touched me during those times. These people, I may have interacted during that week or not, but surely I have remembered them. This is my response to a call to be always grateful at all times.

Maverick Crisostomo

His Hotness, as everyone knows him. I think it was only last year that his tag as the "hottest person in UPLB" was launched, thanks to our co-faculty who all agree that he indeed is.

Everyday, whenever I go to their faculty room, he would automatically shield his arm and take my punches. It has been the routine, and it would seem to many that he is the most harrassed faculty in the institute. Well... he is. Hehe. But joking aside, that just shows his meekness, which is something that most of us appreciate.

He would just smile and play along even if the biggest "pranks" or trips are done to him. He was once the "Prettiest Instructor in UPLB", thanks to my shameless drive to put him to the top spot in a blitzkrieg campaign that put him to the pinnacle in a matter of less than 72 hours. Now, he is the focus of another campaign to bring back the good old days of him having straight hair. Yes folks, he had straight hair, albeit for a very brief period. If you would like to donate, just go ahead and do so by dropping your share at the PPSP (Piso Para Sa Pagpapastraight) bear in room C-114.

As last notes, if you are wondering how hot he is, well, hot enough to be "serenaded" by student(s), and hot enough to skip events like contests and parades - because attending such happenings would make his group earn not only the highest awards but achieving all of them. Why compete when your the hottest right?

PS. Help me convince him do the wedding of the night for the February Fair. We plan to make him exchange vows to four different brides.

Diana Emlano (People 2011: Week 1)

Author's note: For 2011, I have decided to write about certain people in my life that have touched me during those times. These people, I may have interacted during that week or not, but surely I have remembered them. This is my response to a call to be always grateful at all times.

Diana Emlano (Ms. D)

I met Ms D during our Faculty Follies production. For those who are not from LB, Follies is a yearly show in the university where colleges compete with witty scripts, "shocking" performances, anything goes. Students usually look forward to it to see their professors in scenes that they will never see inside their classrooms.

I remember, Sir Ron (one of the production's directors) and I (I was production manager) had a great problem in finding one of the main characters, the role of "Beera". We needed someone "fashionista", someone "palaban", someone who can really act. It was then that Sir Ron suggested Ms D. Being a veteran of the stage (she appeared in the Icebag series, and many other productions), and being a member of the Department of Humanities faculty teaching Speech Communication classes, we knew she'd be perfect.

And perfect she was. She made "her" colony united on and off stage (here's a link of our college's presentation by the way). She even won the best supporting actress role for her performance. She earned this even when she had difficulty during the middle of our act when she left the stage very shortly and asked water from me. I remember that time. When we were finished and was back at our dressing room, we were puzzled that a stage veteran like her who is used in being at the stage for hours would be tired at the ten minute mark of our act. Of course, we will forget this as we would be overcome by our college's defeat in the final rankings and also, our joy for our jewel, Ms D for winning her award. One week after our performance, together with the rest of the cast and crew, we even had a "victory" party at the night out district near the university.

Fast forward to January 5, 2011, I visited Ms D with Sir Koy at the Philippine General Hospital to donate blood. She was rushed there Jan 3 and it was not clear to me what she needed: RBC, WBC, Hemoglobin. We just rushed there because Sir Ron posted in our production cast and crew's Facebook group page that she was indeed rushed to PGH because of leukemia. The following day, her birthday, the doctors took some bone marrow sample and we are waiting for the results.

For more details regarding Ms D's battle, please visit her support group page in Facebook: Dee Army/ Pink Army. We are praying that it is not leukemia, though the odds are against us. I'm just set aback whenever I see Ms D's smile above and the battle that she's into right now. But I know she can win this, and we are here by her side to back her up.