Let's Play

This is such a beautiful picture of our oldest and youngest sharing a common interest. Perhaps one day I will get them to play a duet.

Can I make a request?

Ballad for Kay by Acoustic Alchemy

Where's Larry?

In 1983, San Miguel Corporation's calendar featured Filipino cartoonist and illustrator Larry Alcala.  

There was one page per quarter.

 

They were filled with his Slice of Life.  Here are some of them.

Naturally, one would find his signature at the corner of each work.

But what people were really looking for was the the hidden Larry Alcala cleverly drawn as part of the picture.

Do you see him?

Quo Vadis

There are days when you just wish you had a compass on hand.

Sometimes you think you know where you are going but end up getting lost anyway.

 

Yes, a compass would definitely be helpful along the way.

Am feeling kind of lost amidst the flurry of activities and other "stuff."   

There are so many things I have to do and finish plus there are so many things I still have to clean and clear.

Gallery -- Part 10

The Upper Rooms and the Other Shots

Father and Mother had the second floor of our house built after the great typhoon Yoling. When the second floor was built, there were already eight children plus my maternal grandparents, so there were twelve of us all-in-all. We used to have three bedrooms downstairs. With the expansion of the house, we graduated to a spacious six upstairs.

I now realize that prior to having a second floor, I don't know where the ones younger than me slept. My grandparents slept in the room at the end of the hall. I don't know if any of my siblings stayed with them. Perhaps Slash M slept there. He was the unico hijo, and the first and only male grandchild of Lolo and Lola at the time. I know I slept in the middle room, which was the kids' room, with my 3 older sisters. We had two bunk beds in there for the four of us. Finally, my parents slept in the Master's bedroom with (presumably) the rest of the children.

The room assignments for the second floor were clear. Lolo and Lola had a room for themselves. The pink room was for Eldest Sis and Sister Deer. The blue room was for Slash-M. The yellow room was for London Eye and me. The children's room was for Sunshine, Jersey Girl and Mindy. I think their room was beige. Father and Mother had the Master's bedroom which was powder blue.

[The two bunk beds were relocated to the children's room, where Slash M stayed with the younger girls until he decided he was "old enough" to sleep by himself in his (assigned) room. When J and Z were born, they stayed in the Master's bedroom with my parents. ]

Father and Mother knew the importance of education. Integral to the design of the house was the study room. The study room connects all the bedrooms. Father and Mother had tables set up for each of us, complete with drawers, shelves and lamps in the study room.

As with the room assignment, I don't recall how the study room desks were assigned. All I know is that when the dust settled, it was Eldest Sis - Sister Deer - London Eye - Angels4Kids - Slash M on one side. On the other side it was Sunshine - Mindy - Jersey Girl.

[When J and Z were born, they added tables beside Sunshine's and Jersey Girl's so that all ten of us would have our own space.]

Our parents must have thought that we were the cutest kids on the planet because one day they decided to call in the professionals and have our pictures taken. These pictures would be blown up to 15" x 20" and placed prominently in our respective study room spots. Several shots were taken but only one was selected. The selected shots would be the ones we (and every single person who visited our study room) would see from that day onwards.

A couple of weeks back, I came across shots of Sister Deer and Slash M that "didn't make the cut." I have posted them here. The first shot would be the 'immortalized' photo, the next would be 'the other shot.'

Yesterday, I found mine. I distinctly remember that my front teeth were missing. No amount of coaxing would have made me show my teeth for a picture that would be blown up to larger than life.

(What can I say? My lips are sealed.)

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Lots

Yesterday more than ever, I felt that I needed exercise. MacGyver had bought this HUGE siopao from Mandaluyong and we ate most of it on the way home.



"I think I need to exercise because Dad might not hug me anymore," I said out loud.

RD was within earshot so I followed this up with, "What do you think, RD?"

He quickly replied, "Logic-less!"

Ü


This evening, as I drafted this kidbit, I asked GI what he thought about it.

This is what he had to say, "I don't think there is a relationship. Isn't hugging mandatory?"

(That's my boy!)

It's All About Size

Someone reminded me that there was a wealth of wisdom in Sesame Street.  

Do you remember this song?  This is one of my favorites.

Oh everything comes in its own special size
I guess it can be measured by where you put your eyes
It looks big when you're close
And it looks smaller back a bit
That's about the size of it

Oh the big becomes the little
When you see it back a bit
The huge becomes the dinky
Which is just the opposite 
Of the larger that gets smaller
It never seems to fit
That's about the size of it.

That's about the size
It's where you put your eyes
That's about the size of it.

It is a nice song with a catchy tune, interesting lyrics and good animation.  I particularly like it when something seemingly so big is actually very little when viewed from another perspective.  I often remind RD about this fact when he sees a cockroach lurking in the bathroom.    RD is terrified at cockroaches.  He simply refuses to be in the same room as a cockroach.  I wonder how cockroaches feel about my 'little' boy.  

Well, aside from the physical perspective that the song talks about, "That's About the Size" is likewise applicable to the challenges one faces in life.  At times we feel that whatever we are worried about is so important that if we are unable to find a solution to the problem or if things don't go our way, it would be the end of the world.  Oftentimes we think that we have to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.  

I have learned (and am still learning) that it is important to put things into proper perspective.  Over time, it is possible that 'the big becomes the little.'   

 

They say a good gauge of whether something is important or not would be to ask yourself, "Will it matter in five years?"  

If it will still matter in five years, then it does matter.

Train Ride, Anyone?

Today is First Saturday.  I like to visit Our Lady at the Baclaran Church on First Saturdays. I enjoy hearing mass in the morning there.  The people clap their hands right after the mass ends.  Call me shallow but I think that is a wonderful gesture of joy and it is a great expression of appreciation. 

Anyway, getting to and from Baclaran is always more efficient with the MRT or the LRT, or both.  On my way there this morning, I found the LRT ride to be quite efficient.  I was able to sit down for majority of the ride and I actually got to mass on time in spite the rain.  There were not too many people on the train which helped make the ride more pleasant.

On my way home, since the streets were somewhat flooded, I decided to take the LRT to EDSA instead of taking a jeep.  (Yes, I know it was only one stop but I could almost hear MacGyver scolding me if I got sick because my feet got wet from trying to save P5.00 on transport fare.)   When I transferred to ride the MRT at Taft, I was fortunate enough to catch the train as it was letting people who had come from the North off the train.  Taft is likewise the end of the line for the MRT so getting into the train as people were going out gave me the chance to find a seat at the edge.  (That meant one less neighbor to jostle against.)

The train didn't leave for another ten minutes enabling more and more people to pile into the MRT.  I was reminded of a clip which MacGyver had shown me several months ago.  

  

I hope you got to see that.  That was INCREDIBLE ... UNBELIEVABLE ... and quite honestly, that was AWFUL.

I am all for taking the MRT because it is (generally) more efficient, but when the MRT is jam-packed with people, I am glad to have a car.  And after seeing that video, I guess I still have to thank my lucky stars that they don't shovel people into the MRTs in Manila the way they do in Japan.

 

Train ride, anyone?

Funny Website Names

A holiday rentals company in Spain is called Choose Spain. Hopefully the vacation won’t be a painful experience:

www.ChoosesPain.com

A company selling CAD software and Learning CDs was calledViaGrafix - quite innocent until a blue pill hit the market. The company is now called Learn2.
www.ViagraFix.com

TeachersTalk: A community for teachers and student to discuss all areas of teaching… Even how to stalk teachers?
www.TeacherStalk.com

An eBay competitor was considering the name Auctions Hit, but found it to be a shitty name:
www.AuctionShit.com

The kids might look nice in their Childrens’ Wear, but remember:
www.ChildrenSwear.co.uk

IHA Vegas‘ holiday rentals might have a special smell, since:
www.IHaveGas.com

 

‘Who represents‘where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity

www.whorepresents.com

 

Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice.

www.expertsexchange.com

 

Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at

www.penisland.net

 

Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at

www.therapistfinder.com

 

An Italian Power Generator company

www.powergenitalia.com

 

The Mole Station Native Nursery in New South Wales

www.molestationnursery.com

 

Essentiasl tools for pcAnywhere

www.ipanywhere.com

 

The First Cumming Methodist Church

www.cummingfirst.com

 

Art designers

www.speedofart.com

 

Lake Tahoe brochure website at

www.gotahoe.com