Jacob and Rachel

You probably don't know Jacob and Rachel. The truth is, neither do I. All I know is that Jacob and Rachel were both welcomed into the Catholic Church last Sunday during our mass at St. Bernadette's. It was a beautiful day to be baptised because the Church was celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family on that day.

They say that the day of our baptism is the one we should celebrate more than our birthdays. It is the day we are truly born. MacGyver and I chose special days for our little angels to be baptised. GI born 10 September 1993 was baptised on the Feast of the Guardian Angels, 02 October. RD who was born 30 December 1997 was baptised on the Feast of the Child Jesus (Sto. Nino) the following year, 17 January 1998. MyGirl was born on 26 January 2001. She was baptised on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, 11 February. (I don't know for sure but I think I was baptised on Father's birthday.)

Going back to Jacob and Rachel.

We usually stay on the side of the church where the tabernacle and the baptismal font are located. However, last Sunday was the first time I'd seen the baptismal font at work. The baptism was incorporated into the mass. The couples and their respective babies, Jacob and Rachel, were asked to stand in front every so often as various rites were performed.

At a certain point, the priest left the two couples in front as he turned on the water at the fountain. To my surprise, when it came time for the babies to be baptised, the priest carried the babies one at a time and immersed them into the water. Yes, they were in their birthday suit.

Both Jacob and Rachel cried as their bodies touched the water. They didn't stay underwater for very long. The priest quickly returned them to their parents and all was well again.

I found the whole ceremony very impressive indeed. Very different from the baptismal rites at the home country which are normally done in a secluded corner of the church with only the immediate family and godparents around.

Now, I wonder what happens during adult baptisms here.

BCP Nightmare

I was standing outside the K-Mart at Castle Towers at 6:55 am last Sunday. It was their first day to open after the Christmas and Boxing Day holiday. It also meant that it was the first day of their post-Christmas sale. Like most stores, there were advertisements online and they had distributed pamphlets several days before Christmas showing which items would be on sale.

I was just after a small non-stick Tefal pan. The flyer said Tefal pans would be 50% off!

I thought that I wouldn't be able to wake up before 7 because I had slept past 2 am that morning determined to get the collation of chapters for a book Mother is working on. When I went to bed, I told myself -- if the pan is for me, the pan is for me.

At 6:30am, MyGirl was pushing against me although she was still asleep. It was nice and cool, and frankly, I needed the extra shut-eye. But MyGirl just kept on pushing so I took that to mean I was supposed to get up. (Go for the Tefal pan. Go for the Tefal pan.)

I dressed up and headed for K-Mart on foot. Castle Towers is a 15 to 20 minute walk from Northern Views. When I got there, there were about twenty or so people scattered by the entrance of K-Mart. A few minutes after 7am, two ladies came out and an announcement was made, "We're sorry for the inconvenience but we are unable to let you inside yet. We are having problems with the power and it is affecting our cash registers."

There was immediate feedback of murmurs, groans and objections from the crowd. One fellow asked if they could let people inside even if the cash registers weren't up yet. All he wanted to do was pick up the item he had come early for and according to him, he didn't mind waiting for an hour at the cash register. His main point was that in 15 minutes, there could be an additional hundred people waiting outside with him.

Unfortunately, the sales lady said that they could not do that because it was their policy not to allow shoppers within the premises if they were not equipped to process the sale. She also mentioned that there was a security issue involved.

As the minutes passed, I overheard conversations being exchanged. Each with their own different opinions about the situation at hand. Someone said, "Of course they can't really let people in, especially if they aren't able to secure the cash in the registers." Another person said, "The lady is just doing her job. He should understand that and give her a break." One lady said, "Well if the power is out then their security alarms might not be working so naturally they can't let people come in."

The K-mart ladies came out again at about 7:15am to repeat their message to the increasing number of shoppers. In spite the announcement and explanation, there was a repeated request to be let in from one of the gentlemen in the crowd who had just arrived. Naturally, the man who had spoken up earlier harped that he had asked that fifteen minutes ago.

I couldn't help but feel bad for these two ladies. Yes, they were only doing their jobs and surely they were doing their best. I am certain that the last thing they had hoped for when they went to work at 6:30 am this morning was to find that they would not be able to power up.

I could somehow relate to them. First it was MM2, then it was OPICS, then Oracle BIEE not to mention those PC-based programs. These were the systems I had to work with while at the Bank. Whenever one is directly involved in systems, there is always that risk that something would go wrong.

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster Recovery have, in the recent years, become more common terms in the Philippine banking community to provide some sort of preparation for potential problems. I can't be sure if the need for this was highlighted as a result of the feared millennium bug or the inability to access the Makati Business District during the Oakwood mutiny in 2003. All I know is that banks have certainly heightened their awareness over the reality of the risks involved and have dedicated time and resources to mitigate these risks. I am also sure that way back in the early 1990's when the employee union went on strike at the Bank (and we had to sleepover at the Bank), we didn't have a manual telling us what we were supposed to do. We just did it!

I would think that manufacturing and other service- and operations-related businesses have years of experience ahead of banks (in the Philippines) in this field. I wondered whether K-Mart and the like have these kinds of contingency planning and disaster scenarios in their operations manuals. I suppose they do.

However, there is nothing like experiencing the problem first-hand. One thing is for sure, when disaster strikes in real life, it is never as simple and straight-forward as it was during the BCP exercise.

Fortunately for the K-Mart personnel, they were able to resolve their problem and open up the stores before 7:30am and I was able to get a new Tefal pan for the house.

Christmas Past

I have always, always spent Christmas at Cebu Avenue. This is the first Christmas I have spent away from home. As you know, we are starting anew and now I have a new place to call home. (Or is it 'Now I have to call a new place home'?)

Although we did have a very good Christmas here, I think my mind will always wander back to the Cebu Avenue living room on Christmas mornings. We would wake everyone up at the wee hours of the morning and check out the gifts under the Christmas tree. As children, we never did the Noche Buena thing so waking up at 5:30am was not a big issue. We wanted to be able to open gifts as early as possible and have enough time to take breakfast before catching the 9 am mass.

We used to have piles of gifts under the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree would be in the corner on a Christmas tree skirt with all our names. (Was I the one who practiced my calligraphy and made outlines of our names on the tree skirt? Did we paint it using the Tri-Chem? I don't remember now.) The tree would have been put up some time early December and decorated with an assortment of Christmas ornament gathered through the years. A star would be placed on the top of the tree and the lights would go around. As gifts were received from godparents, family and friends, these were placed under the tree.

On Christmas Eve, family members would place his/her gifts for the others under the tree before going to sleep on Christmas eve. Imagine ten people giving gifts to nine other people. (RD's math tells me that there would be at least ninety gifts under the tree!). Our gifts would often be simple (hair clips or stickers or the like), practical (T-shirts or books), whimsical (puzzles) or fun (toys or games). If bigger gifts were in the Christmas list, siblings would pitch in and split the cost so that the gift could be bought. The wrapper would range from fancy Betsy Clark (either for or from London Eye) to practical Manila Bulletin (signature Slash-M and J). If it were wrapped "innovatively", in all likelihood, Mindy was the giver of the gift (Snap-Wrap has yet to be patented). We would play the Ray Conniff Christmas CD (I have a copy of the CD with me and perhaps this is the first year I have not played it since it is still in its shipping box) and sing along and "... count our blessings instead of sheep." If it was cold on that particular Christmas morning, we would look for the blue mink blanket (which I believe is with Eldest Sis now).

Someone would be in charge of distributing gifts. Names would be called out and piles of gifts would be formed in the living room. When all the gifts had been distributed, we would wake Father and Mother up (if they were not yet awake) and then we would open our gifts. My memory fails me ... I don't know if we opened gifts one by one or if everybody opened their gifts at the same time. All I know is that by the time Mother called us for breakfast, there was wrapping paper and gifts galore all over the floor.

Breakfast would usually include food we had received as Christmas gifts -- ensaymada, ham, apples, oranges, grapes, etc. If we were lucky, we'd have hot chocolate as part of our meal.

Christmas mass would be the 9am mass at Twin Hearts. After which we would be preparing for Christmas lunch. (Yes, more food.)

Christmas lunch was special because relatives we hardly see during the year would make the effort to drop by and have lunch with us. There was always a lot of food because we are quite a big clan and we never really knew who would come. I think Mother's invitation was never really RSVP. It was more "you know where to find us, if you are free for lunch, come on over."

Father's brother would come with his family, usually bringing extra fruits or dessert. Most of the other visitors were Mother's cousins and their families. Sometimes family friends would find their way to the house and join us. We had a particular aunt who would often come home for Christmas from the US. She was always fun to have around. And prior to one of her sons taking up photography, she would be the one pulling out her camera and calling everyone for a group photo. As things turned digital, she was still holding on to her camera with film and manual focus. (I should ask her to scan our family photos over the years. That would be a sight to see.)

This family gathering has dwindled to fewer relatives in the recent years as more of my generation has gotten married. I suppose many have conflicting lunch obligations, some have moved away, others are probably just too tired from the Christmas Eve activities. Regardless of the number of people, if I know Mother, rain or shine she will prepare Christmas lunch and will welcome those who comes over for Christmas lunch with open arms.

Boxing Day

I went to the bank a couple of weeks back and asked what their schedule was like during the Christmas season. The teller replied that they would be closed on Christmas and Boxing Day.

Boxing Day? What is Boxing Day? I thought cricket was Australia's National Sport.

She said that Boxing Day was the day after Christmas but she couldn't tell me why they called it Boxing Day.

I discovered that Boxing Day is not related to two men hitting each other with gloves inside a ring. It is actually related to 'boxes' as the name of the holiday explicitly states. On the day after Christmas, it was a tradition to give money and other gifts (in boxes) to those who were needy and to those in service positions such as servants, workers, etc. Thus the name - Boxing Day.

Apparently, Boxing Day is not unique to Australia. As with Australia, Boxing Day is a bank and public holiday in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ghana, Switzerland, Germany, Greenland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations with a mainly Christian population.

The 26th of December is the Feast of St. Stephen. It is said that in the early Christian times, metal boxes were placed outside churches on this day to collect special offerings tied to St. Stephen's feast.

In some countries, these two days as treated as one and the same. However, St. Stephen's Day is more of a religious feast day while Boxing Day is more of a secular holiday. In modern times, Boxing Day is more like the start of the post-Christmas monster stock sales when hoards of shoppers line up in the wee hours of the morning to catch the stores as they open.

Boxing Day is a movable holiday in Australia and some other countries. If it happens to fall on a Saturday or a Sunday, the holiday is moved to the next weekday. So for this year, since Christmas falls on Friday, Boxing Day is Saturday and everyone has a four-day weekend!

In Manila, they are also enjoying a four-day weekend since 24 December was declared a holiday. Seems Christmas Day is a good enough excuse to declare a holiday there but I'm not complaining. I'm sure the people there are happy to take a break.

More time to shop. More time to relax. More time to eat. (I don't have to choose which one I like best, right?) If I were to choose ... it would be ... more time to spend with family and friends.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! And a Happy Boxing Day to all, if that is anywhere near a valid greeting.

Platypus, Platypus

One of our classmates from High School offered to take us to Taronga Zoo. She said she would be able to get passes that would allow us free entry to the zoo. With adult entry at A$41 each and child at A$20, free entrance was surely welcome.

We hadn't seen her since our first visit in Autumn so we agreed on getting together before Christmas. She said she'd try to get us tickets. We set our reunion for today.

When the plans for the zoo trip were made, MacGyver had not yet taken his driving test. Since fate has made me the designated driver, we decided that we'd drive to my friend's house then take the train to the city and the ferry to the zoo. (If MacGyver were driving, we might have considered driving all the way to the zoo.)

I took more than a couple of wrong turns on our way to my friend's house but since we had left the house a little earlier, we arrived at her place before 8am as agreed. The train ride and the ferry ride were uneventful. We met up with another batchmate and her family at the zoo, and took the cable car for the sky safari.

My friend told us that the zoo is quite big and that it was possible we would not be able to see everything. I reassured her that the younger kids would be happy to see even just a few animals while the 16-year old would be happier still if he didn't have to join us on our trip to begin with. I told her that we would just take the day as it came and if we were tired walking or if we felt it was getting too late, we would simply head for home.

We arrived a little after 10 am and caught the seal show and the bird show. We went around and saw some more animals before taking a late lunch. After lunch, we asked the kids what other animals they wanted to see. Initially we headed towards the nearby BIG CATS but then decided that we should be getting home soon. Were there any other animals they really, really wanted to check out before we left? As expected, the answer was the PLATYPUS. If it was a toss up between the lions and the platypus, RD and MyGirl preferred to see the platypus.

So off towards the platypus we went.

The platypus was on the opposite end from where we were at the time and the heat of the sun was beating down on us. We followed a couple of misleading signs before we finally found the platypus. At a certain point before we reached our destination, GI commented, "They want to see a platypus? I have 20 cents here. They can just check out my coin."

RD and MyGirl were happy. They were able to see the platypus. GI was ecstatic. This meant we could go home soon. (Yes, such enthusiasm, really.)

Before we left, we asked our friend to take a couple of pictures for us.

Yes, of course we had to pose against all the available platypus for photo purposes.

The platypus seems to be Taronga Zoo's signature animal making the trip to the zoo even more thrilling for the younger kids. (Remember Perry?)

We had a fun day at the zoo. I enjoyed it. I think the others did, too. (Even GI the cynic.)

Better Muffins

I once wrote about muffins and posted the recipe I use. Effective today, I have converted to a new muffin recipe. Actually it is a cupcake recipe.

As I had written previously, I love muffins and these were among the things I really, really wanted to bake. I used to buy French Baker muffins regularly. (They had the best muffin tops!) However whenever I followed muffin recipes found in cookbooks, I could never get the crunch on the muffin tops and the moist texture that French Baker muffins offered.

My muffins always turned out how muffins are expected to be.

Strictly speaking, muffins are not expected to be sweet since they fall under the bread family rather than the cake family. They tend to be dry and the tops are expected to be cracked. In this respect, all my previous muffins passed those specs.

However, all the commercial bakery and cafe muffins (which I love to eat) are moist and sweet and have smooth crunchy tops ... and best of all, they are yummy! I wanted to churn out muffins like those but was never able to do so.

Never ... until this afternoon, that is.

The thing about this recipe is that it has been under my nose all along. It is found in my well-used (bordering on over-used) Maya Kitchen Mix and Match cookbook. I modified it slightly based on how I normally make muffins though. If you want to see the original recipe, it is on page 60 of the first of the Mix and Match cookbook series.

BANANA MUFFINS

(makes 12 muffins)

2 c all purpose flour

1 c sugar

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1 t salt

2/3 c milk combined with

1 t vinegar

1/4 c oil

2 eggs

1 c bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a muffin pan or line with paper cups.

Set aside.

Sift dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Combine milk and vinegar in a measuring cup.

Add oil, then eggs. Beat together.

Stir in bananas.

Pour the wet ingredients (from the measuring cup)

into the dry ingredients (in the bowl).

Mix until just moist. Do not overmix.

Divide batter into 12 muffin holes.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Since this recipe had an extra egg and about 3/4 cup more sugar than my usual muffin batches, they turned our soft and moist, instead of hard and dry. (The original recipe actually called for 1 1/3 c of sugar but I figured my hips could do without that extra 1/3 c of sugar.)

One other thing I love about this recipe is that it enabled me to discover the secret to great muffin tops.

All muffin recipes I have seen require one to fill the muffin pan up to 2/3 full. And all the recipes I've tried yielded exactly enough batter to do just that. I have always known that I would need to have a whole lot of batter to get my muffin tops to crown over my muffins and come up with mushroom-shaped muffins seen in cafes. But this is the first time I have managed to get enough batter to test it. This particular recipe had a little over two cups of wet ingredients such that when I mixed all the ingredients and started filling in the muffin pan, I found myself with a lot more batter to go around.

By the time I distributed all the batter, the muffin cups were full to the brim.

The result? Mushroom shaped muffins with crunchy muffin tops.

Ü Ü Ü

The secret is in the batter!!

Yes, I definitely love this recipe. I am assuming I will be able to repeat this recipe and modify it to have a variety of flavors. It seems that what is commercially known as muffins are simply cupcakes with crusty tops after all.

Duchess of Hazard

The children will probably not appreciate the play of words since they have no idea who the cousins Luke and Bo Duke were nor who Catherine Bach might be. At best, they will see the similarity in colour of the General Lee and the "new" '97 Camry parked in our garage.

(Note the spelling of 'color' has been amended to remind me that I have to be conscious of the subtle differences in how words are spelled Down Under.)

The title is meant to imply that the message post refers to a lady, rather than two roughnecks; and the deliberate deletion of the extra "z" moves one from a County called Hazzard to simply hazard country.

Watch out, people, I'm back on the road!

Not by choice, mind you, but by necessity.

Here in New South Wales, the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) take their work very seriously. It is not easy to get a driver's licence nowadays. There is a Driver Knowledge Test (DKT) one has to pass, then the actual driving test is the next hurdle. If you are at least 16 years of age, you are eligible to take the DKT. If you pass this test, as a 16-year old, you would have to go through three licencing stages before obtaining a full licence.

- Learner licence

- Provisional licence, stage 1

- Provisional licence, stage 2

New drivers would have to have at least 36 months of experience and have passed four tests before finally graduating to a full licence.

For the interim stages leading to a full licence, drivers are given L plates and P plates to post clearly on the front and back of the exterior of the vehicle. Whenever a Learner or a P-plater is driving the car, it is mandatory that the corresponding plates are displayed on the vehicle. There are speed limits corresponding to these plates as indicated on the plates. Learners can drive up to a maximum speed of 80 kph, P1-platers -- 90kph, while P2-platers can go up to 100 kph.

Needless to say, it is illegal to drive without a valid driver's licence. What is also illegal is to drive a vehicle with the wrong plate displayed.

If you happen to be 25 years and above (which I admit I am), there is no minimum time for the learner licence but there is a minimum requirement of 120 hours of driving time including 20 hours of night driving.

Learners are not allowed to drive unless accompanied by a person with a full licence. P1 and P2 drivers can drive on their own as long as they stay within their allowed speed limits. In addition, if you pass your driving test in an automatic vehicle, as a P1 driver, you are not allowed to drive a manual vehicle unless accompanied and supervised by a full licence holder.

So what licence am I holding to enable me to drive here in Australia?

I am still holding on to my Philippine driver's licence which expires on my birthday next year but is only valid for me to use up to the 3rd of January next year. I fall under the category of having a current overseas licence and being a permanent resident visa. Thus I am allowed to drive or ride in NSW on my current overseas licence for a maximum of three months after arriving in Australia.

I was perfectly happy to be riding instead of driving. I knew that sooner or later I would have to drive, but I was hoping it would be later rather than sooner.

However, destiny had other plans for me.

MacGyver took the driver's test today. He got a pretty good score over all since he can really drive well here even if the steering wheel is on what is normally the passenger's side of the car and the car goes on the left side of the road. Unfortunately, he failed to stop in front of the construction guy holding the STOP sign thus resulting in an automatic fail in his driving test.

As a result, his Philippine licence has been 'revoked' since it has been determined that he is "not fit to drive." He has to pass the driver's test before he can drive in Australia without "supervision."

We all know that when God closes the door, He opens a window. The open window is the fact that now I am forced to drive.

I'm fine. The question is will the rest of Castle Hill feel the same?

On Stage

One of the highlights of the Primary School's activities is the concert that is held in December wherein all the children are encouraged to participate. There are two concerts -- Concert A features the Kindergarten to Year 4 students while Concert B has Years 5 and 6. The event is held at the Hills Centre for the Performing Arts which is a popular venue for such events. The Hills Centre Main Auditorium has a big stage and has a seating capacity from 300 to 1500. This means that there is more than enough space for the parents, grandparent, siblings and friends who want to watch the children perform.

Tickets were being sold as early as October. We had barely just set foot on Australia when we were informed that we should buy tickets already. In fact the children hadn't even started at the school when we purchased four tickets each for both of the concerts. All we knew was that (a) there was going to be a concert in December, (b) MyGirl was going to be in Concert A while RD was going to be in Concert B by virtue of their years, and (c) we would make it a family event meaning nobody was to be left at home on concert night.

The tickets were by no means cheap. Upon seeing the ticket cost, RD exclaimed, "Oh! The concert costs more than an adult ticket for the movies!" However, as we watched the children on stage, I knew that it was worth every cent.

The kids started school in mid-October. They caught the last term of the schoolyear. Since the concert was scheduled for December, they were constantly practicing and rehearsing their songs and dance numbers. We heard them singing Rhythm of Life and Around the World. They would also be singing songs assigned to other children like Ease on Down the Road, You Can't Stop the Beat, Born to Hand Jive, You Can't Stop the Beat, Bohemian Rhapsody, Go West, Doe a Deer, Barbie Girl, Get This Party Started, Uh Oh We're In Trouble, Thriller, Boom Boom Pow, Can You Feel It? and I Got a Feeling.

Last week, they brought their costumes home. MyGirl had to wear black leggings. The school provided a black singlet (chemise/sando) and a glittery silver skirt for her to wear. RD had a red satin shirt assigned to him, which he wore with jeans.

When we arrived at the Hills Centre, we saw how equally glittery the other costumes were. It was quite impressive. The effort that went into the whole production was astounding. One could see the excitement in the children's eyes and the pride that went into being a part of the whole event.

Concert A started promptly at 5 pm. MyGirl who is in Year 3 was in the second part of Concert A. The first part had children up to Year 2. We saw their Kindie cousin in the first part. During the second part, we watched as MyGirl performed with her classmates. She seemed to be enjoying herself. She was singing and dancing on stage.

Their concert ended at about 6:15 pm and RD had to be back at the Hills Centre by 7pm. Although we live quite close to the venue, we had decided to pack food and soda so we could have dinner in between concerts. After we had our chicken sandwiches at the parking lot, we headed back to the main hall for RD's concert.

Concert B started at about 7:30 pm. We immediately saw RD as he joined the rest on stage. The children were seated at the steps at the back of the stage during most of the concert where they sang back-up to the other performers. Unlike in Concert A where the children were grouped by class, Concert B numbers were performed by children from different classes. RD told me later that he only knew a couple of the people in the group that performed Rhythm of Life with him.

Both of the children enjoyed performing at the concert and it was quite entertaining. I think it is a good opportunity for the children to discover themselves. These events may very well be the start of something they might otherwise not have tried.

Where There's Smoke

Where there's smoke, there's fire, they say.

I say, where there's smoke, the smoke alarm goes off. And when the smoke alarm goes off, chances are, I am in the kitchen.

Embarrassing as it may be to admit, I have the unique distinction of testing the smoke alarm in two households.

When we were still at my brother-in-law’s place near Kings Road, I was heating up sausages for breakfast one morning. I had done sausages before, both cooking and reheating. The window was closed and the kitchen hood was on as usual. However, for some odd reason, the pan was particularly smoky that particular morning. It was so smoky that I tripped the smoke alarm.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP, the alarm went incessantly.

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law rushed to the kitchen. I turned the gas off and opened the window. Dadoffive opened the sliding door near the dining area leading to the garden while Mumoffive got a blanket and fanned the smoke away from the vicinity of the smoke alarm.

After a while … silence.

My kind sister-in-law was so nice about the whole thing. She calmly stated, “Oh, I’ve been wanting to test that smoke alarm. It’s nice to know that it works.”

Surprisingly, none of the children got out of bed to see what was happening. When they came down for breakfast, they did say that they all heard the alarm go off but nobody paid any attention to it. This reminded me of those fire drills at the office where everyone takes their sweet time getting their things and going down the stairs when the alarm rings during the scheduled drills. In this case, the children didn’t even bother to take their sweet time, they just went right back to Slumberland.

When we moved to Northern Views, one of the things in the checklist was the smoke alarm. I had indicated “NOT TESTED” on the Remarks column since I couldn’t tell if it was working or not and quite frankly, I had no intention of testing it. Little did I know that today was going to be the Smoke Alarm test date.

Smoke alarms are not a common household accessory in Manila. In fact, many of the usual appliances here such as the dishwasher and the kitchen hood are not always present in Philippine households. I was happy that when the smoke alarm in Northern Views went off, I knew what to do.

Some people know that there are days when I say to myself, ‘I want to bake something’ and other days when it would be ‘I need to bake something.’ Baking is therapeutic for me somehow. I like, no, I love to bake. It had been a long time since I have been able to bake anything so I knew that sooner or later, the latter would be coming up. The problem was I only had one cookie sheet that fit the oven in Northern Views. I had forgotten my smaller cookies sheets at Cebu Avenue and most of the ones I had with me were too big for the oven. So I finally decided to pick up the cheapest cookie sheets I could find. I got a couple at K-Mart yesterday so I was good to go.

Well, at least I THOUGHT I was.

I guess it was stupid of me to try out a new recipe when trying out different flour, different butter, different sugar, different vanilla, essentially different ingredients in addition to using a different oven, different pans, etc. I thought that if I followed a local recipe using ingredients purchased from local stores, I would be fine. I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

The cookies were a DISASTER! The minute I opened the oven to check on my first batch of cookies, the smoke alarm went off.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP, my alarm went.

(Yes, the smoke alarm at Northern Views works, too.)

It was doubly embarrassing because the only other person in the house at the time was the Croatian fixing the shower floor upstairs. Naturally, HE didn’t say anything but I’m sure there were thoughts going through his mind as the alarm beeped. Especially because the alarm went off about two or three times more as the other batches of cookies went into and out of the oven.

(So embarrassing!)

The cookies got burnt in spite my lowering the temperature and the baking time. I had to scrape off black bases to get them to look half decent and potentially edible.

Definitely the oven was too hot. Possibly the oven is too small to use both the middle and the lower racks. Perhaps the cookie sheets were too thin. Maybe the home brand ingredients aren’t the best for baking.

I honestly don’t know. All I know is that I am not giving up on baking just because I baked my worst ever batch of cookies and have become the official smoke alarm tester.

Until I am able to figure out what went wrong, I may be stuck with burnt cookies which will probably all end up in my hips. Perhaps this is the reason why Cookie Monster has no waist.

Letting Go

We let RD go off and watch a movie with his friends today. It was the birthday of one of his classmates and he was invited to join the celebration. Even if it was a school night, we allowed him to party. They were scheduled to have pizza at 4:45pm then catch the movie at 6pm. Pick up was set for 8pm.

Our little baby is a big boy already.

The Entertainer

We all know that each child gets half his genes from his father and the other half from his mother. I am SO glad that the kids inherited the musical gene from his father. (No offense to my parents and our genes but we have other strengths.) Perhaps the closest I could contribute to their musical gene pool was the desire-for-music gene, the musical talent gene donor is mainly MacGyver.

MacGyver comes from a family of musicians, not the run of the mill musicians, but honest-to-goodness performing and on-stage musicians and entertainers. Both his parents love music. MIL graduated top of her class at Holy Ghost. She majored in Piano performance, is a dedicated piano teacher and is still active in their church choir. FIL, though an engineer, always loved to sing. Their children, MacGyver included, were all into music even if only one of them opted for Music as a second course in College. Some of them have been on stage performing at one time or another. The credits include a sister who played the piano for Andrea Bocelli's Asian tour as well as several theater productions including Miss Saigon with Lea Salonga, two other sisters who were back-up singers for Martin Nievera in the show Martin After Dark, a brother who won the National Amateur Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) when he was in high school. They were often at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, as children, performing on stage with Imelda Marcos in the audience. MacGyver recalls their uncredited participation in the movie Maynila: Sa Kuko ng Liwanag. Max Jocson, who made the music for the movie, was MacGyver's brother’s NAMCYA trainer and was making the movie at the time. Mr. Jocson did some taping of the siblings singing at Project 7 which he incorporated into the movie somehow. (At least that is what MacGyver remembers.)

I seriously asked MacGyver if being good in music was a prerequisite for our marriage. He teased me that the requirements were either to be an engineer or a musician, and since I had graduated from Engineering, that'd do.

At the onset, none of our children seemed to be inclined towards music. The farthest we had gotten was GI singing "we'll count our blessings instead of sheep" during a Christmas program for FIL and MIL when he was 3. However, as time passed, GI found himself drawn towards playing the guitar, primarily due to 3rd Year Christian Living teacher. We were happy to support this interest. He started off with an acoustic guitar. Then at a certain point, Father gave him an electric guitar when he had seen GI's reaction to a cousin of mine playing the guitar. Given the musical genes in his system, it didn't come as a surprise for us that GI is able to play the guitar so well. Though his initial teacher is his guitarist uncle, GI continues to teach himself new pieces by reading (and writing his own) tabs in the computer.

With GI busy with the guitar, we encouraged RD and MyGirl to find the instrument of their choice. They opted to learn how to play the piano from MIL. Since MacGyver plays the keyboards, we were happy that the children decided to go for the piano. MIL has a baby grand in their house. This is where the children had their lessons. The children went through book after book after book. MIL was ever so patient to teach them how to play.

As the time for us to leave the country approached, MIL made sure that the children had some sort of recital to mark the culmination of their lessons. It was held in the living room at Project 7 and was captured on video by MacGyver. She was quite pleased with the children’s progress. She wasn’t sure whether their interest in the piano would be lost as we moved away. I don’t think that she expected the children to pick up from where she left off.

One of RD's piano pieces was "The Entertainer." When MacGyver told RD that there were several parts to the whole piece and that he'd only mastered the first part, RD was determined to learn the rest of the piece. The first part was all that MIL had been able to teach RD given the time. RD took the initiative to search the internet for the other parts of the piece. Then when we arrived in Australia, RD would listen to the music, read the notes and practice on the keyboards available to him.

'The Entertainer' is a nice entertaining piece that even MyGirl and one of their other cousins decided to learn the simple piece. They all enjoyed playing this piece so much that their older cousins issued a decree banning them from playing it. The penalty must not have been so severe because this didn't stop the kids from playing. And moreover, it didn't stop RD from volunteering in school to play the piece for their week 7 walk-in.

Yes, it is true. RD actually volunteered to play in front of the WHOLE school.

Every Monday, all the children of the school gather in the hall for assembly. As the children enter the hall, they have one or more student perform in front until everyone has entered the hall.

Here we have RD in his first public piano performance.

And his encore. (There were still some students entering the hall so the Assistant Principal asked him to play some more).

Vitamin Deficiency

We bought vitamins soon after we arrived in Australia.

One evening, RD read out the details found in his Vitamin C container.

He read it out loud, "A great tasting chewable form of vitamin C with no artificial sweeteners that's suitable for the whole family," then promptly popped one in his mouth and swallowed the tablet whole.

I let out a cry which made him realize what he'd just done. (RD, chewable means you are supposed to CHEW them.) Oh, well. Que sera, sera.

Several days later, I decided to check out the vitamins which MacGyver had picked up. They were Cenovis ONCE Daily Men's Multi. I read the DIRECTIONS FOR USE. It said, "Adults swallow one capsule daily with morning meal.

On the label, this was immediately followed by the WARNING: When taken in excess of 3000 mcg retinol equivalent (R.E) (10,000U), Vitamin A can cause birth defects. If you are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant, do not take Vitamin A supplements without consulting your doctor or pharmacist.

This must be a warning for men like Thomas Beatie (the transgender man who gave birth twice), or perhaps for women who think that men get their figures from taking men's vitamins.

Off Target

It all started with this baby -- the H20 Vac Turbo.

I had just lost the bid for the Karcher DS5500 vacuum cleaner, remember? But I still wanted a decent vacuum cleaner that used water to collect the dirt. (Gosh, I wish I had bought that Karcher back in Manila!) Anyway, there was a Rainbow vacuum cleaner up for auction on eBay. It was still going at a reasonable price, except that there were 2 more days to go. I had posted some queries to the seller and his replies were enough to make me dream that I could win the bid.

Well, as can be expected, there is an inverse relation between the price of an item up for bid and the the time left to the END DATE. The next thing I knew, the Rainbow vacuum's price had doubled and was out of my budget.

So I googled WATER VACUUM and somehow this led me to that H20 VAC TURBO, which seemed like a possible solution to my vacuum requirements. And hey, it was available at Target!

There is a Target at Castle Towers which is less than five minutes away. This is good.

While I was at the Target site, I chanced upon Corelle dinnerware. Hey, there is a Christmas Sale and the Corelle sets are selling at a discount.

(Yes, I know I sound like one of my son's Facebook message which said, "I'm not easily distract... ooh a cookie!" and this is essentially what happens when I go window shopping at the malls -- my mind races from one thing to another.)

Anyway, I found this set nice but it was $10 more than the other designs and in these difficult times, every penny counts.

OK.

This other set is fine for $29.
It is fancier than the Winter Frost (plain white) ones and they will match our Country Violets set.

I had seen some Winter Frost Corelle plates at K-Mart the other day and hesitated to check the prices. Truth be told, I shouldn't really be shopping for plates. We would survive on the incomplete set I had brought from Makati plus the plates we had gotten through FreeCycle. That is how we have managed for the past two weeks we've been at Northern Views. We use the Corelle for breakfast then we use the other set for dinner. Everything goes into the dishwasher at the end of the day. The other set is heavy and is glass. I was hoping to get more Corelle plates since they are easier to handle.

Oohhh... I was all excited to go to Target the next day. I wanted to check out vacuum cleaners and Corelle sets and more.

True to the female shopping bug, I kept on surfing. I had tabs with eBay, Target, productreview.com.au, google, etc. After a while, I wondered whether the items I was interested in would only be available online. I worried that if I dropped by the store, they would say that the products had a different price or something.

I went back to the Target site. I decided to check the possibilities of buying it online.

SHIPPING & POLICIES. Click.

SHIPPING & DELIVERY INFORMATION. Click.

SHIPPING & DELIVERY ESTIMATES. Click.

Nothing seemed to be helpful. I decided to try a different tactic.

FIND A STORE. Click.

Enter your city and state or ZIP Code to find a Target store.

NSW 2154

Sorry. The information you entered is invalid or incomplete. Please check to make sure you entered the correct address, or try your search again.

OK. That didn't help.

VIEW ALL TARGET STORES. Click.

Great! I got a list of all the 50 states from Alabama to Wyoming (apparently there is no Target store in Vermont, and Hawaii was not among those in the list) and the heading "We have a store near you".

OH NO!!! I'm in the wrong country for this Target site.
Bummer!

So there goes my dream of getting a vacuum cleaner and additional Corelle for the moment.

What is the moral of this story?

a. When you see the vacuum cleaner of your dreams on discount, buy it!

b. If you think you will be using a dishwasher to do your dishes, have more than one set of dishes.

c. Before you get your hopes up by window shopping online, check the site for your country code.

(I honestly can't decide. Maybe it is all of the above.)