Hands

H A N D S

These are the hands that held us as babies

These hands braided our hair

These are the hands that buttoned our shirts  

These hands bathed us with care.

 

Her arms hugged us tightly

And her hands held us close 

When we were worried or scared

She'd be on her toes.

 

These hands planted flowers

These hands sowed some seeds 

These hands wrote books and manuals 

And filled diaries with her deeds.

 

 These hands are quite tired now

Her body needs rest

Each movement takes effort

Everything is a test.

 

Prayerful hands

Caring hands

Loving hands

My mother's hands.

I love you, Mom!

Growing Up in the Same Asylum

Coming from a family with ten children, I'd like to think I get a free pass in the crazy department.  In other words, it is inevitable to end up a tad crazy if one is growing up with nine other siblings.  I always like to say that there is method in our madness but that is just my way of saying that there is a whole lot of madness in each of us and we'd like to pretend that we know what we are doing.

When we were kids, we always looked forward to Christmas.  When Christmas break started, we would plan out our Christmas program for our parents, schedule it with them, turn on the aircon in the study room if that was the program venue, set the stage and present our creative genius to the two people who would best appreciate our talent.  

One of our notable Christmas programs included a nativity play complete with Joseph and Mary (with a pillow under her shirt) knocking from door to door because there was no room at the inn, until the baby Jesus (a baby doll) arrived. This was followed by our version of the "Eight is Enough" pyramid.  If memory serves me right, we settled for a base with three kids and carried the lightest child safe enough to put on top of the pyramid. We were ambitious but we knew our limits. One year, someone came up with a script and we did a Peanuts segment with Charlie Brown (Eldest Sis, I think), Snoopy (Sister Deer in a big white t-shirt), Lucy (London Eye waving to her queendom), Linus (was it me that draped a security blanket over my shoulder).  You get the picture although I should go through old albums to find some proof of who played who in that Peanuts production number.

If we were lucky, we would be able to organise some sort of Anniversary or Christmas project that we could give to them. It could be as simple as folding several sheets of bond paper into a booklet or as thematic as something shaped into a heart.  Some of these have survived having been kept by Mother, including a lion-shaped book, where each kid was given a lion-shaped piece of paper to fill up with whatever they wanted, tied together by a piece of yarn that served as the lion's tail.  Someone recently discovered Slash-M's version of  O' Henry's The Gift of the Magi. (His version is an absolute classic but that is for another post.)

Anyway, as we have gotten older and gone our separate ways, we still try to gather forces with projects we could give as a gift for a special occasion.  I can't remember all of our projects but I remember that for Sister Deer's 40th birthday, we collated Walk Down Memory Lane for her, we did Countdown to Fifty for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, we had the Slash-M Fifty Project.  We routed a birthday card around the world for Mindy's 50th birthday.  That was planned way in advance.  I got the card which J started with Lego-like strips forming the number "27" (official age) from Sunshine in December 2021.  By that time, it had gone through the siblings in Asia and Europe.  It was more than half a year away from her actual birthday and my job was to mail it to the US.  This particular card arrived on time.  It was hand-delivered by Jersey Girl when they visited Mindy in July.) We did a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY collage which was our parents' screensaver for many years before it got updated in 2008.  This 2008 version got included in the Christmas letter that year.  We managed another family collage for Sister Deer's 50th.  J's brilliance really made this collage special because he managed to convince Sister Deer to join him in a photo holding up her name.  In 2017, a collage of the grandchildren signing the letters HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Mother's birthday got upgraded to include the children becoming a double birthday surprise.  We updated that collage in April 2023 to include the in-laws.  Another project involved collating our Christmas letters into a book which we gave to Mother for her birthday in 2018.  

So each of these projects would start off as a germ of an idea, someone's articulated thought bubble,  often driven by the notion that 'we should do something special for (fill in the blank with the name) because it is (fill in the blank with the occasion).'  You only need  to convince one person to start off the project. Once you are able to get a sibling to agree that it is a good idea and a worthy endeavour, you can call in the reinforcements.  This will lead to more coordinated (covert) discussions, numerous requests and incessant follow-ups if we want to see the project to completion.  

Our latest project was for Sister Deer's 60th birthday. The Search for 60 Starts Now took off in October for her December birthday.

Sister Deer is turning 60 in December.  She will join the ranks of dual citizenship and will be getting discounts she can claim. 

We all know we tend to be forgetful now that we’re all over 30. What more when you are twice that?

So to help remind Sister Deer of her new age and to celebrate her new privileges, please take a selfie against all the 60’s you find between now and November. 

We don’t know yet what the final gift will look like.  I might leave that with the creative ones. But at least we’ll have some material to work with. 

The final gift to Sister Deer came in the form of a blog with over 60 pictures of family members from several continents, countries, and states, posing against the number 60.  We presented this to her in a zoom call before her birthday.   

RD and I were talking about these projects today and he said, "Your family has a certain kind of crazy," to which I replied, "But Auntie Sister Deer liked her blog." 

"Sure Mom, if one crazy person in your family has an idea, of course, another crazy person in the family will appreciate it.  You know, if you all get raised in the same asylum, it's no wonder you all think you are sane."

(Got to love this son of mine.  Although he would rather not think about it or have to admit it, he knows for a fact that he is walking around carrying half of my genes.)

Easter Egg Hunt

I was going around the mall when I noticed a sign advertising an Easter Egg Hunt. 

I scanned the QR code and this is what it said:

Follow the clues to find the eggs. 
Point your phone at the eggs on the floor to bring it to life in AR.

There was a promise of a Lindt Chocolate Bunny if one found all the eggs.

I had followed the clues and found all the golden eggs.  
I took a photo at each of the locations but I could not bring them to life. 

I wanted that chocolate bunny.

This was me as I started the egg hunt on my own.

Here are the pictures I took at each location.

I sent a message to MyGirl and she came over and did the egg hunt with me.  
She was able to bring the eggs to life.  (The clues are in bold blue.)

Start hopping to level 3 where you'll find me close to the Apple egg-sperts. 
We headed for the Apple Store.

Colour me egg-cited, find me where brick lovers create and play on level 2

These beautiful tulips were outside the Lego Store.

Put your egg-sercise shoes on and head to the store famous for their three stripes.

The Addidas store was also on the 2nd floor.

Get cracking, find me outside where the dine-in restaurants are egg-ceptional.

We found these beauties outside.

Egg-cellent de-egg-tive work.  Now hop to the moon and star-bucks to find me on level 1. 

Down we went to the food court near the Starbucks.

She took this picture of us as we completed the egg hunt.

After following the clues and finding all the eggs, we headed to Customer Service to claim our chocolate rabbit.  The lady said the egg hunt was only open to kids 18 years and under.  

What?!  I did not see that in the TERMS AND CONDITIONS.  

So unfair.  I wanted that chocolate bunny!

In the end, all was not lost. I had a fun time with MyGirl.

To Have and To Hold

Before we were married, MacGyver and I bought our wedding rings from Ding Velayo.  I purposely got one that was on the bigger side because I was told that when one has kids, ones fingers tend to get bigger.  (I was also told that one's shoe size increases with every pregnancy but I have my doubts about that because Mother had ten of us and she definitely does not wear size 16 shoes.)  After the kids were born, I wore my wedding ring on my middle finger to avoid it falling off. 

Some years back, I decided I wanted to wear my wedding ring on my ring finger so I got a smaller sized ring to keep my wedding ring safe.  When MacGyver started complaining that his wedding ring was too tight, we got him a matching ring in a bigger size.  We had both rings blessed on our 25th wedding anniversary.

When I got back from Manila this April, MacGyver had lost almost 10 kilos and said that his new ring was falling off.  I brought out his wedding ring and it fit him perfectly again.

So we are back to matching pairs of wedding rings.

 

Tulips For the House

The kids know I love tulips.

When MyGirl was choosing paint by number projects to work on for her school break activity, she included one that had tulips.  

She finished it last 25 Aug. She framed it and we hung it up.

Now we have another good background for pictures.

This was taken to mark Stay@Homecoming 2021.

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

Easter Monday

MacGyver and I had no definite plans for Easter Monday.

GI slept over and would be heading off by the evening.

RD had lunch and dinner plans.

MyGirl had work from 12nn to 3pm.

I wanted to get a family picture before the kids flew the coop.

 

La Perouse

We picked up GI at about 4PM then headed to La Perouse.

It was a beautiful, memorable day. 

Yes it was.  It was yes.

 

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.

 

Precious Commodities

I caught Mother and Slash-M on Skype last Tuesday.  It was the first day of my leave so I was just chilling and trying to get some things done in the kitchen.  

Z and Liana popped into the screen so I called MyGirl over so that we could take a screenshot with our daughters.   When I sent it out to the family, my caption indicated "with our bunso daughters" (bunso  means youngest.)  Z is the youngest of Mother's eight daughters but Liana and MyGirl are unica hijas (only girls).  

Mindy's reaction was that daughters are precious commodities in our family.  It is true, all the girls in MyGirl's generation on our side of the family are unica hijas.  

I hope the cousins are able to form tight bonds with each other or are able to find good 'sisters' among their girlfriends because I don't know how it is to be an unica hija but I am 100% sure that having a good sister is definitely a blessing.

Room With a Zoom

We set an appointment to get together on Father's birthday in May.

Catching everyone at a reasonable time is always a challenge.  

Our two extremes are Arizona and Sydney but the real challenge is making sure that Mother was still awake considering that she wakes up at 3 AM and sleeps at 7PM.   

I was hoping for a 5 AM Arizona / 10PM Sydney schedule which seemed more reasonable for everyone however Mother requested 7PM Manila time because my suggested time translated to 8 PM Manila time which was already past what Mother called her "Shrek time."

Anyway, I sent off this screenshot a few days before our scheduled meeting but mentioned "just add 12 hours."  I usually know whether Sydney is two or three hours ahead of Manila.  At the moment, we are two hours ahead of Manila.

Before 9PM. we started the call using FB messenger.

I thought we were doing ok.  I took this photo and waited for Mother and Sister Deer to join.  

I went upstairs to enable the kids to greet their aunts and uncles but my connection got cut off.

While I was out, Mother and Sister Deer joined the call and I was left out in the cold.

Apparently, FB messenger only allowed eight (8) simultaneous connections.

(Yes, that was my ear in Slash-M's mobile.)

We learned our lesson and set another virtual family gathering for June.  We set it for the 2nd weekend in June.  This time, we would do it in Zoom.  Zoom allows more than eight simultaneous connections.  Perfect for large families such as ours. 

 

By the time June came around, the restrictions on the number of people visiting a household were revised.   Starting 01 June 2020, up to 20 visitors were allowed to visit a household.  That was a whole lot more people that could gather together in a long time. 

 

Family here decided we would get together for our previously regular Saturday dinner.  The last time we'd seen each other was in February.  However since there were more than 20 of us all together, it was arranged such that the adults would meet at one place and the "children" (young adults, really) would gather in another. 

 

So at the designated meeting time, I excused myself to joined the rest of my family for our Zoom call.

One of the major topics for this call was how to wear a surgical mask properly.  (Thank you, Eldest Sis for the online tutorial.)

For the moment, this is what our family picture look like.

It was good to see everyone!

One Day, Two Boys, Three Continents

I am usually able to catch Mother on Skype or FB Messenger with Slash-M and Sunshine on Sunday afternoons however today was special and I was hoping to catch J as well. 

I was happy when J initiated the call.  They had moved the FB Portal downstairs so we could be part of the celebration. 

I don't remember if everyone was already in the call when I joined but I managed to get this screenshot. 

Happy Birthday, Brothers!

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.

I Want To Hold Your Hand

I found this video so cute that I posted it in FB.

Eldest Sis added the comment, "Just like you." 

I replied with this picture which I grabbed from MyGirl.

Over the years, MyGirl has taken so many pictures of me and MacGyver holding hands while walking that she has created a folder to store them.  Naturally, when she saw my FB post, her aunt's comment and the above pictures, she pulled out the big guns and posted four more pictures in reply.  

I replied to her barrage of pictures saying I thought she had proven her point.

Apparently she still had one more up her sleeve.  She posted this one she had taken last July during our vacation.  She said this was the one most relevant to the FB post (because it was taken on the beach).

I thought she had ran out of ammunition but I soon found out that MacGyver and I are easy targets.  

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.

House of Lies

J came for a visit last August.

I had given him our address but forgot that he is not familiar with the address formatting system here when someone lives in a townhouse.   Say we lived at unit #15 of 5 First Street, we would typically write our address as 15/5 First Street.  I had given J our address but did not explicitly tell him our house number.  As luck would have it, he got dropped off several houses down the road and had knocked on someone else's apartment.  Fortunately J is a smart cookie.  He figured he had the wrong address and simply picked up his bags and walked up the road.

When he finally arrived at our doorstep, he was surprised at how much the kids have grown.  The last time he saw them was in 2011 when we all went home to Manila for the 50th wedding anniversary of Father and Mother.  That was almost six years ago and the kids have definitely gotten taller since then.  

J christened our place the "House of Lies" after he discovered (with great disappointment) that the bottle of Bacon Flavoured Chips contained black pepper.   Although he wasn't interested in the Onion Flakes bottle, he was no longer surprised to find rock salt inside that bottle.  Lies!  Nothing but lies!

I tried to make up for that by getting him an honest to goodness bottle of Bacon Chips he could bring home with him.   It must have done the trick because before he left, he declared that I was his favourite sister in this continent.

(Hey, wait a minute, J.  I am your ONLY sister in this continent.)

Finally, something that is 100% true.