Wickedly Good

I wanted to go and see Wicked (the movie).  RD and MyGirl were more than willing to go watch it with me.  Last weekend,  MyGirl checked online and figured that ticket prices on Tuesday are half price.   So it was a date!  

MyGirl asked whether we should go for the reclining seats for an extra $3.  It didn't really matter to me because I was primarily interested in watching the movie. Watching in style was secondary.  In the end, the kids decided that experiencing a movie in reclining seats would be best when tickets are half-price.  Let's do it.  Go reclining seats!

Armed with the decision of the date and the reclining seat, MyGirl began finalising the ticket booking. She called over to her brother and asked if it was ok for them to split my ticket cost.  RD said, "Sure, no problem."   

When the transaction was completed, she said, "You can just Beem me, Kuya."   

"I can pay for my ticket," I offered.  This immediately triggered a duet of "No!" from the kids.  

Oh yeah!  Awesome kids!  Reclining seats!  Free ticket!  We're going to see Wicked!  

We followed the yellow brick road.

As an added note, I was really happy that we were able to see the movie and the fact that we watched on the seventeenth of December was particularly significant.  One year ago, on Sunday 17 Dec, MyGirl was in Melbourne, GI and RD were at home, but I was at the Emergency Room in Westmead with MacGyver. I honestly thought my number was up when I couldn’t move my arms and legs without focusing and thinking.  It was scary! 

I was fortunate enough to watch the Wicked musical with London Eye back in 2018 and I am extremely lucky to have watched the Wicked movie with the kids last Tuesday.  

Zoom In

When RD surprised us with a visit last July, I requested that they pose for this picture. The picture in the frame on the bookshelf is currently the wallpaper on my phone.  

JULY 2023

This is the bookshelf photo found in the white frame.  It was taken at our first rental when GI came over to celebrate his birthday.

SEPT 2018

The 2018 photo was taken to recreate the photo on the bookshelf at the time.  The bookshelf photo in the brown frame was taken at Cebu Avenue when they were still very young.  

This is one of my favourite pictures of the kids.  

Big Ben and Many Shades of Grey

It had been stressful at work so I decided it was time to start another puzzle.

Whenever we are working on puzzles, I try to log off early so that I can get some pieces connected.

We started the puzzle after dinner on the 25th.  That was a Saturday.

We managed to complete the edges and the phone booth before 11PM. 
That left us with a whole lot of grey pieces.

We worked on Big Ben, the other buildings and structures on Sunday and Monday. 
By Tuesday, all that was left were several shades of grey.

RD did most of the clouds. MyGirl came a close second in terms of connecting pieces.  

My contribution was mainly "ooh's" and "aah's" as the puzzle continued to take shape. Apparently the "work on a puzzle to log off early" trick did not work this time. 

Unlike our other puzzles that would get disassembled or packed away, I wanted to frame Big Ben. We took down the other puzzle and set up yet another clock on the wall.

The Dolomites

We started this puzzle on Monday.

I logged off from work "early" to be able to help with the puzzle.

We finished the puzzle on Wednesday.

I only found out what the picture was all about after we had completed it.

The Dolomites are a mountain range located in Italy.

Beautiful!

 

Then and Now

Facebook flashes MEMORIES of pictures or posts people have posted from years back.   We managed to recreate two of these photos.

First one was one of MacGyver and the two younger kids.  The picture came up as a memory in May.  When I posted the 2010 photo on my FB feed, I added the caption was "I want to recreate this picture!"  Luckily the kids and MacGyver were willing to pose and it turned out great.  (RD even changed his clothes to match the original photo.  MyGirl is now holding on to an iPad.)

2010 and 2021

Then June came around and FB flashed a picture of the two of us taken at Hungry Jack's during his birthday ten years ago.  HJ is MacGyver's favourite fast food place.  So HJ is where we ended up this month to celebrate MacGyver's birthday when the restaurants at the nearby mall were jam packed.  

2011 and 2021

Christmas Then and Now

This picture was taken in 2009.  It was our first Christmas here in Australia.

The kids were between 16 and 8.

This was the picture from last year.  

The young adults are now between 27 and 19.

 

You Better Watch Out

In our household, I’m the only one that really needs a watch.  MacGyver has an incredible sense of time (and has never really worn a watch) and the kids seem to have an invisible umbilical cord connected to their phone (so they don’t see the need for a watch).  I have passed on Slash-M’s Swiss Army watch to RD and my trusty Timex to MyGirl so they have something to use when they need watches.  GI was never really keen on wearing watches apparently because he felt they were not left-hand friendly.

Anyway, in December last year, MyGirl sent over a picture of herself taken during the awards night at the High School.  (Congratulations, MyGirl for getting the highest ATAR in your school.  All your hard work paid off.)  I noticed she was wearing a different watch.  She told us later that Nayr had given her the watch for Christmas.  Oooohh!

As Christmas approached, RD indicated that he felt he needed a dress watch.  He had gone to Melbourne earlier that month to attend a conference and had the opportunity to become one of the panel chairs. This required him to moderate the discussion and keep the time because the conference was running on a coordinated schedule.  He used his phone but felt it would be better if he had a watch.  Well, ask and ye shall receive.  He told us that MJ had gotten him a watch as a joint Christmas and birthday gift for him and he would get it the next time they see each other.  Oooohh!

GI, who was once a staunch "I don't like Apple products, I prefer using an Android" had recently shifted to iPhone.  He surprised us even more by arriving before Christmas wearing a new Apple watch.  He said that he finally found a watch that he could wear comfortably on his right hand.  And everyone knows that an Apple Watch deserves an Oooohh!

On Christmas Eve, MacGyver received a FitBit as his Kris Kringle gift.  It's a cool gadget.  Aside from telling the time and tracking the health stats, it gives him alerts and notifications.  In fact, he can even read the whole message on his wrist on the FitBit if he wanted.   Oooohh!

Well, that wrapped up the Christmas season and the new watches... or so I thought.  When RD showed me the watch he got on his birthday, he announced, "It's a hybrid watch."

 

What is a hybrid watch?

RD was happy to show off his new watch.

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary watch that simply gives you the time, possibly the date.  However, upon further inspection, there is more than meets the eye. To begin with, the time is synced to the time in your phone.  It can maintain two time zones, in fact.  RD's watch has three programmable buttons.  The buttons can be customised to work as a remote shutter for one's phone camera, for music control, to track one's progress and more.   What a cool watch!

The concept intrigued me.  I had to find out more about this thing.  I went online and discovered that there are a lot of these types of watches out there.

Yes, I knew there were different kinds of FitBits and smart watches. I see many people wearing different gadgets on their wrists that subliminally announce they are actively monitoring their health.  However, I don't really like the black screen, so this concept of a hybrid watch definitely appealed to me.  I like seeing the hands of time moving around.  (I'm old school that way.)

Anyway, I also discovered that these watches come with a serious price tag.  I was not going to get one just for the sake of getting a new watch.  However, out of the blue, or more likely as a result of these AI programs running in the background of one's searches, a hybrid watch for women displayed on my search window showing a price tag that was more than 50% off the original purchase price due to the additional 40% discount for the Christmas season.   (Now we're talking.  A hybrid watch at that price is something I would consider.)

I don't really like buying things online without physically seeing the product.  (Yes, another old school habit of mine.)  I wanted to see how the watch would look like on my wrist, particularly because the model on sale had a very thin wristband.  

My google search indicated that David Jones was selling the watch I wanted for $250.  (Uh, no, I would not want to spend that much for a new watch, but David Jones did not have to know that.)  I decided I'd go to David Jones during my lunch break. 

In my almost 10 years of working in Sydney, it was the first time I entered the David Jones at the city.   (They didn't have to know that either.)  Well, it is entirely possible that it was obvious I did not know where I was going because I entered the David Jones dedicated for men.  The one for women was in the building on the next block.  (Oops!)

I found the watch section and located the Fossil display.  Unfortunately, the did not have the model I was interested in. The staff suggested I try the Fossil store at QVB.  Fortunately QVB is right across my office building so I dropped by before heading back to work.

The Fossil shop was quite a small store.  They had a rack with a few hybrid watches for women but not the style I wanted.  I tried one on although I knew I would not buy it.  (RRP $299, but it was on sale for $199.  It was cheaper than the David Jones online price for the watch I wanted but still over my budget.)  

My trip to Fossil store was not wasted though because I asked this important question as I tried on the watch, "Will this watch work without connecting it my phone?"  (The lady must have thought I was nuts asking for a smart watch but not wanting to connect it to my phone.  Little did she know my iPhone had been giving me notifications for the past month saying that I had no more memory in my phone, that I had already deleted some seldom used applications, and at one point it did not even allow me to take a picture anymore.)   She smiled and politely replied, "No, you need to connect this to your phone because the watch gets its time from the phone."

Well, that was certainly a deal breaker.  I would have to get my phone cleaned up to make space first before even considering making a smart watch purchase.  Fortunately, Apple support for me comes in the form of MyGirl.  I had been telling her for weeks that I needed her help to get my phone cleaned up.  My attempts to back my phone up were unsuccessful.  Since I am currently using her old iPhone, she knew what needed to be done.   She managed to back up my photos and reclaimed much needed storage space after she deleted a whole batch of them.

Now that I had the phone storage issue sorted out, I could resume my hybrid watch expedition. 

I was wishy-washy about getting a new watch.  Do I need a new watch?  Do I want a new watch?  Did I want the Fossil watch I saw on sale?  Did I want to get another kind of watch?

Well, there is nothing like "Sale ends Monday!" to make one decide if they want to buy something or not.  After checking the website for more than a week, when I logged in on Saturday evening, there was a countdown beside the watch I wanted.  Right there and then, I approached MacGyver and showed him the website. 

"Can you please get his watch for me?  The discount ends in 35 hours."

And just like that, I had a new watch.

The watch arrived on Tuesday night.  RD promptly downloaded the Fossil App and customized my watch.  RD currently has his watch buttons set this way -- music volume control up and down with the top and bottom buttons respectively, and music pause-play for the middle button.  (Go figure.)   He took one look at me and made the decision to customize my watch buttons -- top button monitors my steps and the bottom button will find my phone.  (Yes, my son knows me so well.)  

Having worn my watch for several days, I'm pretty happy I took the plunge.  I am now able to track my steps without having to bring my phone with me wherever I go.  I have discovered that if I sleep early, I am able to get 70% deep sleep.  And now, with the final customization of the watch buttons, I am able to track my water intake. 

So special thanks to MacGyver for getting me the watch, MyGirl for clearing up my phone's storage space, RD for setting up the phone and the app, but most especially to MJ for introducing us to the existence of such a wonderful invention.

Banamana

RD and I were in the kitchen when I saw a super brown banana peel in the bin.





I said, “Thank goodness Dad ate the dying banana... unless you did.”





“I did,” he said, then confessed, “but it wasn’t very good.”





“Oh, thanks for that but you do know that you could have put it in the fridge or the freezer so that it could become...”





I paused and as if on cue he broke out in song to the tune of Mahna Mahna and went,

"Banana bread, do do do do do"

“And maybe...” I said, to which he continued singing,

"Banana muffin, do do do do"

He was on a roll, so I prompted him with, “And finally...”

"Banana shake  do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do"

Needless to say, we had a lot of laughs.

My Three Caballeros

Photographs and Memories

Look what I found!

Off to Makati

We headed to Makati early so that we could visit some relatives before we went our separate ways for lunch.  I was meeting my former boss, MacGyver was meeting one of his KC brothers, and the boys were off on their own adventure (GI wanted to introduce RD to the fish tacos at El Chupacabra).

We went to Aries first but my uncle had been rushed to the hospital the night before so my aunt was not her usual picture ready self.  It was quick hello and goodbye.

We headed over to Libra to say hello to my cousins and my aunt. No picture with my dentist cousin because he was with a patient when we passed by.

  

Then we went to the next village to see my other aunt at Saturn. We could tell she was extremely happy to have visitors.  If we did not have lunch commitments, am sure she would have wanted us to stay longer.

When we finished our rounds, GI commented that he now appreciated the effort we had made by visiting the grandparents every weekend while they were young. (We would make the weekly trip to Quezon City from Makati when we still in the Philippines.)  I think GI could see what a wonderful opportunity these visits were to reconnect, and perhaps he really got to feel the sense of joy our dropping by had brought to our relatives. 

I Do! I Do!

Yes, you do!  You do look good all dressed up.

I wanted to make sure to get a picture of the kids 

after attending a wedding shower at Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club tonight.

Now You See Me, Now You Don't

RD and I are constant companions.  We often take the bus to the city and back during the week. It is not uncommon to see us holding hands as we walk.  If I am lucky, he would join me to the mall on weekends.  Typically, we would pass by the library and the shops to browse before heading to the butcher and the grocery to get our week's supplies. 

There was this one weekend that RD and I went out as normal and while we were at Coles, RD got a message from MyGirl.  Apparently, one of MyGirl's friends had seen us pass by and sent her this Snapchat message.

omg just saw your mum and brother and they were holding hands

my heart  ❤❤

I sent a copy of the Snapchat image to the family and in true 'you gotta love her' fashion, London Eye replied to say that she could not see me in the picture.  

💫 -- that's the dizzy symbol for London Eye

I love you, London Eye!

Twinning

Call me crazy but I really find it so cute when the kids are wearing similar shirts.

When they were younger, I could get away with dressing them up so they would match.  As they grew older, each of them had their personal preferences.  Plus I promised I would not make them wear matching shirts once they were taller than me. (And they really didn't have to wait too long for that to happen.)  So I was thrilled to find these old photos.

I had green shirts that matched the ones the kids are wearing in the last two photos but the question is whether I've got pictures to prove it.  These days, the only chance for matching shirts would be if we all happen to be wearing black, white or grey.

Just Do It ...Correctly!

I got some t-shirts for the boys when I was in Manila a couple of years ago. They've been in storage since then because the boys considered them too sportsy.

When RD and I started our morning runs, I brought out one of the shirts for him. After he wore the shirt several times, I said I thought the bigger one would fit him better.  True enough, it did.  So I ended up with the smaller shirt.

I knew RD was wearing his shirt today so I put mine on and took a selfie with him while he was at his PC.

I looked at the picture and complained, "It's not right!"

"What are you trying to do anyway, Mom?" he asked. 

"I wanted to take a picture of us with matching shirts," I explained, showing him the shirt I was wearing.

"MOM, if you want to show the shirt, you have to stand up.  Here, I'll show you," he said as he positioned us by the stairs and took the shot.

He took a second picture with him leaning over so we could get the shirt logos in the shot.

Adulting

RD has been keen on learning how to be more independent.  He has been helping around the kitchen and doing the laundry.  Recently he mentioned that he would like to learn how to iron clothes, so  the other night I took the opportunity to teach him how to iron shirts.

In all honesty, I find ironing is the most difficult part of the cycle to getting clean clothes.  I mean really, doing the laundry is easy; it's the aftermath that gets you. 

Think about it, you stick a whole load of laundry in the washing machine, add some soap, and press START.  No sweat.  When the final rinse cycle finishes, you pull out the clean clothes and hang them out to dry.  That's a little bit harder because you would have to hang the clothes one at a time but essentially the sun does most of the work. Then comes the hard part, ironing the clothes that need to be ironed ONE by ONE.  

For most of my married life I didn't have to iron.  That's because we had household help in Manila to help with the chores.  When we moved to Australia, naturally I had to re-learn how to iron clothes.  Believe it or not, it was the MacGyver's brother that gave me my refresher course.  We stayed at their place for a month and a half before we found our own rental place and he was the one assigned to iron clothes.  His technique : COLLAR -- SLEEVES -- FRONT -- BACK.

Being the engineer, I needed a mnemonic to remember those steps.  Being a banker, the mnemonic was easy to choose.  CSFB which to a banker translates to CS First Boston.  That's a good code, I can remember that.

I was hoping RD would find that easy to remember as well but somehow it was still a struggle.

MyGirl captured his sentiment in a SnapChat message that evening where she quoted her brother. saying , "why is everything about being an adult so hard???"

There are a lot of different ways of ironing shirts and the link below is just one of them if you don't want your mother calling out after you, "baka habulin ka ng plantsa" ('you might be chased by an iron').

Ironing a Dress Shirt

1
Lay the collar out flat on the ironing board and press. Iron from the points of the collar inward to back of neck. Do the underside of the collar as well. 

2
Press the yoke and shoulders. Position your ironing board inside the shirt and into the arm. If your ironing board does not have a small board to insert into the sleeves, then put the sleeve on top of the ironing board, both sides together flat, and iron. Turn the shirt to iron the backside. Reposition for the opposite shoulder. Then turn the shirt, and do the rear side of the yoke and shoulders 

3
For a long-sleeved shirt, press the cuffs next, similar to the collar instructions. Turn the shirt to press the other side. 

4
Lay one sleeve out flat on the ironing board. Align the sleeve following the bottom seam as guide. Press carefully, moving both layers of fabric flat as the iron glides across front surface of sleeve. Repeat for the other sleeve. Turn the shirt to do the other side of sleeve. Ensure that you pull the iron across the fabric in one direction only, away from where you are holding it down so that the creases are mildly stretched out of the fabric. 

5
Position the body of the shirt on the square end of your ironing board, buttonhole panel first. Press from the bottom tail progressing upward to the collar. Do not allow puckers or folds to press into fabric. Turn the shirt to iron the inside of the body of shirt also. 

6
Move the shirt position to the next body panel, half of the back. Press from the tail progressing upward to the collar. 

7
Move the shirt position to next body panel, the other half of the back. Press as before. 

8
Move shirt position to the last body panel, other half of the front, the button panel. Press as before. 

9
Return pressed shirt to hanger, Button top button and third button.

The Birds and the Bees

RD and I have been trying to get some exercise into our lives so we would typically wake up early and jog around a nearby park.  This morning, it was quite warm and RD was feeling a bit tired, so we decided to walk instead.  Walking enabled us to talk.  

RD has been known to ask question related to the birds and the bees, but this morning, his question was even more intriguing.  "Mom, why do they even call it 'the birds and the bees'?"

I suddenly realised that I have used that term so many times without really knowing where it came from or why it was called such.  RD said the flowers and the bees might have been more appropriate.  After some thought I remembered that "the birds and the bees" came from a song.  I promised RD I'd look it up so that we could get to the bottom of this mystery.

So let me tell you about the birds and the bees...


The Birds and the Bees ... and the Spiders -- 22 August 2008

RD posed an interesting question last night. He asked, "Mom, can a spider give birth on its own?"

I paused to think of the right answer to that question then said, "Of course, sweetheart.  A spider can give birth on its own.  A spider doesn't need a doctor to have a baby, not like people."

"No, Mom,"  he shook his head and started over.  "What I meant was -- can a spider give birth on its own or does it need two spiders to have a baby spider?"

(Ahh ... the plot thickens.)

"Why do you ask?"

"Because yesterday there was only one spider over the sink.  And now, there are two."

"Oh, RD"  I said, "I think that other spider was already there before but you just didn't see it.  You need two spiders to make a baby spider."

You'd think that was the end of that ... but NOOOOO. 

This evening, he comes up to me and reports, "Mom, I think those two spiders are mad and don't want to talk to each other.  It's either that or they are sleeping."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Mom, they are far away from each other and they are not moving."

(This is what I get for allowing spiders to spin their webs over the sink -- a 10-year old relational psychoanalyst for arachnids.)

(Too Early for Comfort) Birds and Bees Conversation – 17 December 2006

RD came up with a question the other morning that threw me off a bit.  He asked, “Mom, is it possible for a baby to come if the mom is not married?”

Hard question.

As always, I answered truthfully. I replied, “Yes, sweetheart.  It’s possible for a baby to come if the mom is not married.” 

“How does it happen, Mom?  Magic?”

I had to smile.  Of course there is magic when a child is born, but I don’t think that is what RD REALLY meant.

I cautiously answered, “For a baby to come, the mom doesn’t HAVE to be married.  But of course it’s better if the mom is married so that she and the dad can take care of the baby.  What is needed, RD is the mom and the dad.”

If I thought everything would end there, I would have been dreaming, right?

True enough, RD asked the hard follow up question.  He asked, “Why?”

“Well … “ I started, “that’s the …”

I got off the hook easy this time because RD ventured to complete my sentence.  He said, “… that’s the proper procedure?”

“Yes, sweetheart, you’re right.  That’s the proper procedure.”

[End of discussion.]

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES 

Let me tell you about the birds, and the bees the flowers and the trees
The moon up above and a thing called love

When I look into your big brown eyes it's very plain to see
That it's time you learned about the facts of life startin' from A to Z 

Let me tell you about the birds, and the bees the flowers and the trees
The moon up above, and a thing called love 

Let me tell you about the birds, and the bees the flowers, and the trees The stars in the sky a girl, and a guy 

The birds, and the bees the flowers, and the treesThe stars in the sky

a girl and a guy ....the birds, and the bees ...

It's a Date!

I introduced RD to this Korean chicken joint.  

He and I went there for dinner on the first Friday of May. 

We met up after office hours before he went off to watch a concert.

It's a Korean place so guess who was in our water bottle?

Song Joong-ki who I recognise from Running Man.  

We could have easily finished off two half orders of chicken.

But I decided to bring some pieces home for MyGirl to taste.

Ravioli Ravioli, Give Me the Formuoli

On Saturdays, I usually ask the kids what meals they want for the week. Usually RD asks for carbonara, lechon kawali, or pot stickers. One particular weekend, he asked for ravioli. I used his ravioli cravings to my advantage by getting him to make them.

He did all the hard parts. He prepared the pasta dough, rolled it out, filled and shaped the ravioli. The only thing I did was mix up the filling and cook the ravioli.

We used this ravioli recipe but I missed the part that said, "makes 48" so the first half of the dough made 12 pieces instead of 24. This meant we had some extra thick ravioli and  some extra filling when we were done.

Needless to say, we had one satisfied diner that evening.

Closing Shop

They are renovating part of the Wynyard Station at the city.

They have closed all the shops including this one.

These pictures were taken in December last year before the local store changed names.