i'm still alive

Wow. It’s been a while since I last posted an entry. So what’s been keeping me busy?

Piper. Oh we so love her! She’s such a darling. We treat her like a baby. We’re always looking out for her, following her around, playing with her, and waking up early to feed her. It’s really fun just watching her. But well, my father is her favorite. She wags her tail like crazy whenever my father calls her name or comes near her (we try to keep her inside her crate most of the time, as recommended by the veterinarian). And she would instantly lie on her back, so that my father can rub her belly. Oh well. I guess that’s how dogs thank you when you’re the one cleaning up their poop and giving them a bath. Hehehe.

So what else… I worked on Mitzi's new template. I had fun doing that, with all those cute little care bears. I was so worried that I’m not going to be able to come up with a decent layout. I’m glad she liked it. Hehe. I had fun doing it too. I learned something new. Coordinates, baby!

I’m glued to the tv screen more than ever. CSI, MTV, Gilmore Girls, and lotsa lotsa reality shows: Survivor, Amazing Race (I hate Rob and Amber! I hope they don’t win!), Extra Challenge, America’s Next Top Model, Extreme Makeover, The Bachelor, etc. I’m a reality show buff. But not all reality shows. Like, Trading Spouses. I mean, what is that?

*Sigh* I’ve really nothing to write about. Summer vacation and I’ve never even visited any other place than home. Tatay’s in Bacolod right now, again, an all-expense-paid trip by Tita Edna and Tito Philip. He didn’t want to go, but they already bought tickets for him and Tita Geline, so… there. I’d love to go there and have a taste of the real chicken inasal.

Okay. Just a quick update. Have a fun summer, y’all! ;)

welcome home, Piper

Cuteness. :)

habemus papam

My sister and I were really nervous while waiting for the announcement of the new Pope. We were hoping that the new Pope not be black. We are not racists, but we hoped for a non-black because of the predictions that the next Pope would be black, would serve for only a short time, and would be the last Pope because the world's coming to an end. Silly huh? But I guess, seeing what happens with the world now (the war, the tsunami etc.) are enough for scary predictions to... well... scare us. So when it was announced that Cardinal Ratzinger was the new Pope, my sister and I were relieved.

I like Pope John Paul II more. Hehe. But well, thank God for the new Pope.

God bless Pope Benedict XVI! :)

tap-tap goes to school

The length of this entry just shows how excited I am about this.

Today was Tap-Tap’s first day as a pupil. After buying yesterday the supplies he needed for school, he was so excited he was carrying his backpack wherever he went. We were also very excited. Haha. That must be how a mother feels the first time her child enters school.

The class was scheduled to begin at 10am. But at 9:30, Tap-Tap was already dressed, carrying his backpack, and begging us to go bring him to school already. Thirty minutes from the schedule is way too early for him because the school is only a minute walk from his house. If not for the wall that’s going to be built around the school, Tap-Tap can make it to his school in less than 5 seconds. Hehe. The school is right at the back of their house, because the territory used to be my grandmother’s.

So, there were 5 of us who accompanied him: his mommy, his ninang (ehem, that’s me), my sister, my cousin Joyce, and their househelp Sheila. Haha. With us also was my cousin Julie Ann, who decided to enroll her 2-yr-old daughter too just today. I brought the camera with me, and I took so many pictures. The people there must’ve thought I was a parent.

It was cute chaos. The kids were inside the classroom minding their own business (either eating, walking around, playing with their crayons, shouting) while the teacher (I think her name was Anna) was sweating like a pig, trying to call their attention, at the same time, comforting those kids who started crying. Haha. Kudos to the teachers for their patience. Jeez. 30 kids aged 2-4? And of course, what was even cuter was seeing the parents outside the classroom, watching their kids through the windows, and smiling at every move their child makes.

The kids were like dominoes. One move and everyone else follows. One opened his snack, and the others followed. One stood up and the others stood up as well and walked around. Tap-Tap went to the faucet at the back of his classroom and washed his hand, and another kid followed him. Haha. The teacher went to him and told him to sit down and stop playing with the water. So I guess that was sort of his first scolding.


Adie from playing with the faucet, he behaved well because he wasn't crying like the other kids, or going in and out of the classroom. But nearly an hour since the class started, he started complaining because it was too hot inside the classroom. So we had to let him change his clothes, or else he would just walk out and throw a tantrum.


A few minutes later, the teacher was finally able to start an activity. The children were given a piece of paper each and were instructed to trace the lines to form a box, and color the box. The kids took out their crayons from their bags and did their thing, still noisily. When Tap-Tap was done, he excitedly ran towards the teacher and submitted his paper.

About 10 minutes before the class ended, another teacher went in to help control the kids while teacher Anna was checking the papers. The 2nd teacher brought a mat, and with the kids sitting on the floor around her, she taught the kids how to roll and unroll it. It worked well because it was the first time in about 2 hours that the kids were quiet. The teacher asked the kids who wanted to try it. Tap-Tap looked at us and said he wanted to do it, but was too shy to raise his hand. So, we were telling him and signaling to him to raise his hand. I guess the teacher noticed how noisy we were that he finally asked Tap-Tap if he wanted to try doing it, and he said yes. He did pretty well, but I wasn’t able to take a picture of him while doing it because the teacher closed the door. Haha. The teacher must’ve been irritated with us that she told the kids after the activity, in a voice loud enough for all the parents outside to hear, that tomorrow parents were not allowed to go inside the classroom anymore. I don’t like that teacher. Haha. When the class started she was talking to the kids in straight English. Hello? She was talking to a bunch of kids aged 2-4, first time to enter school, all Filipinos. English isn’t the language spoken at their homes. How the hell were the kids supposed to understand her?

And finally, after two hours, and much to Tap-Tap’s relief (he was really complaining about the heat), the children were sent home. Tap-Tap looked like he attended a whole day of school, but he said he liked it, and he’s going back tomorrow. I’m sure tomorrow will be a lot more fun for the children.


I don't want to be a teacher. Not that I have anything against teachers, but I’m just not fit to be one. When I worked at the guidance office of the elementary school of UST, I discovered I was prone to having a favorite. I remembered easily names of kids who scored high in the IQ tests.

But I experienced teaching. During my senior year in highschool. I was a student catechist, and every Tuesday afternoon we would walk our way to the public school a few blocks away from our own school, and teach the children religion for an hour.My friend and I were assigned to one class of 2nd graders. They were too difficult to control that we often resorted to playing games just to get their attention. We played too much that at the end of the year, the kids knew the game songs by heart, but didn’t even memorize half the Hail Mary.

But it was fun: one of my most memorable experiences in highschool. During our last day of teaching, I gave the pupils pencils with some sort of a toy at one end. However, I wans’t able to give it to them personally because I got sick that day. But my partner told me that the kids were so happy upon receiving the pencils. I’d also not forget the time when, a year after that (I was a college freshman already, so I was wearing a different uniform), on the way to some place, we passed by the school and I saw some of my former pupils walking on their way home. I asked my father to stop, and I greeted the kids. They couldn’t remember me at first, but after a while, they finally recognized me as their teacher in religion. That was really a great feeling. :)

*Sigh* I’m studying to be a doctor. I just wish it’s right for me. Hehe.

Wow. This is reeeeeaaaallllly long. Haha. I gotta end this already. Ta-ta for now!

first time

He's going to school! Tomorrow will be his first day.

I'm excited. :)

tulista

Today, Mitzi, Dimple, Avie, Joan (together with Jojo) and I joined the members of the Rotary Club of Plaridel in their “Libreng Tule” program. Mitzi’s father, who’s a doctor, is a member of the club, and last year Mitzi told me about the Libreng Tule where her dad brought her with him so she could watch and assisst a little. So she asked me if I wanted to join the next time, and I said yes because it would be a good learning experience. I haven’t attended any med missions yet, so this was my first time, and I’d say I was pretty excited.

When we arrived, there were already kids in the process of being circumcised. At first we were just watching, observing how the whole thing was done, and at the same time amusing ourselves watching all those boys trying to look cool, but you can see that they’re scared. And then we were distributed by pair to first assist in applying betadine around the area, handing out syringes and anesthesia, and gauzes.

After the first batch of boys were finished, then came the boys who cried like there was no tomorrow. There was even one point when it seemed like all the boys were crying at the same time. Haha. It was rather amusing.

We all had the chance to do the cutting, suturing and knot-tying part. I was lucky, because the boy I had to circumsize wasn’t a scaredy cat, and he was only 9, while his brother who was older than him backed out upon hearing the other boys crying. However, I didn’t dare do the injection of the anesthesia, which by the way, Mitzi has mastered at the end of the program. It was also a good thing that the boy’s penis didn’t bleed that much after I cut the skin, unlike those most boys'. So there, I went to see if I’d be able to do correctly those things taught in Surgery Clinics. Man, my hands are not pasmado, but when I was trying to reach the end of the thread with the forceps during the knot-tying, my hands were shaking. All of our hands were shaking during our turns, except for Avie. Haha. Good thing we didn’t do anything catastrophic to the boys’ penises, and we were pretty much able to do it correctly.

It was fun. Like what Mitzi’s Dad told me, “Iba yung tinuturo sa school, iba pag ginagawa mo na.” We’re planning to join again next year.

So after that, we stayed at Mitzi’s house, chatting and laughing, taking pictures, and watching Mitzi’s Lhasa Apso pup Princess, who was under the influence of Ecstasy. Hehe!

I also drove Dimple home, and I had the chance to see the shih-tzu pups! They were so cuuuuuttteee!!! I got to choose my pup too. Really really cuuuute! Can’t wait till I take her home with me! I'm gonna name her Dizzy. Because when we were watching the pups, my pup hit her head on a plank and then she fell on her back. Hehe. It looked really cute. They looked like a bunch of bouncing furballs.

So, it was a good day. :) About the circumcision, Joan told me that Dr. Yolo was right. “The bigger, the better”. Hehe. Pwede ring “The bigger, the funnier”. ;)

I just found out from my cousin's blog yesterday that my Tito Boy was rushed to the ER because of renal failure. Thankfully, he survived. I don't know if he's still in the ICU, because the post was dated April 4, 2005. I hope he's already out of the ICU and better. Sorry I didn't find out earlier Cha. :(

chicken ala niña

Nicky's upcoming trip to Iloilo at the end of the week reminded me of my plan to search for Chicken Inasal's recipe and to try cooking it this summer. So I searched the internet for the recipe last night, found one article by Heny Sison, and then woke up early this morning (10am.. hehe. my usual waking time these days is past 11am), bought the ingredients and asked my tita to help me with the marinade. The recipe I got didn't have exact measurements because the one who gave it is so good at it already that he does it by feeling and tasting.

So we had to marinate the chicken for an hour, and at 2pm, I started grilling the chickens. Yes, tirik na tirik ang araw nag-iihaw ako. Haha. I ate only a little during lunch, because I wanted to feast on the Chicken Inasal. It was delicious. With garlic rice, wow. Perfect match. Woohooo! I'm so happy I can have Inasal now whenever I want. I'm willing to go through the whole process of marinating and grilling just for that chicken. Love it love it love it.

I asked my tatay to buy chicken again tomorrow. We're going to have Inasal again. Wheee!!!

This is such a big deal for me because I don't know how to cook. Hehe. You can ask Dimple.

I don't want to think about the carcinogens muna...

screwed

I've been crying a lot. I've been super-sensitive lately, and I've ended up arguing with some people. Someone just told me the worst thing that I could ever hear from a friend. I have my share of mistakes, but I still don't think I deserved that. I can't even imagine myself saying that to any of my friends, even to those who have done me wrong. It just hurts so bad.

Damn.

What is wrong with me?

I need to get out of whatever this is I am in right now. I hate the feeling.

john paul ii, i love you

I've never met him, I've never even seen him in person, but his death has brought tears to my eyes. It is amazing how such a person could be overflowing with goodness that you don't need a close personal contact with him to have him affect your life.

Farewell to a good man, the most-loved Pope.

ouchie

"Stone from heaven knows where it will land... yeah, it will land right on top of those who are stupid enough to wait for it to fall on them..."

My lame attempt at writing a story:

Jenny shouted "Tramp!" in the classroom.

Her classmate Kelly came home crying. Her Mom asks why, and she says "Jenny shouted tramp in the room. Mom asks "Did she say your name?" Kelly answers "No."

Mom asks, "Then why are you crying sweetie? Are you a tramp?"

Just an advice: Don't say shit if I didn't step on your foot.

Man. There really are some people who like to piss you off, huh?

Seriously, don't you have anything better to do?

Thinking about those kind of people, I can easily get back at them. I can start controversies, spread rumors about them, and have fun gossiping about their lives, just to get even.

But I won't. That's not me.

I'm not that type of person.

P.S. Thanks to Nicky for some of the words. :)