Some Ramblings About Rain

I have yet to see someone who loves rainy days.

I know there's got to be rain.  Rain is important.  Crops need the rain.

But I still don't like  rain.  And  I hate the rainy season.

I hate cloudy skies.  They make me feel sad.

In our country, rainy season means flooded streets and heavy traffic.

I often have to postpone or cancel shopping trips, or dates because of strong rains.

I loathe having to walk on puddles.

I hate walking in the rain and having these tiny brown dots (from dirty rain water) on the back of my legs.

(The only time I like walking in the rain is when I share an umbrella with my boyfriend.)


I hate going home alone when it's raining.

For some reason, rain does not at all make me feel safe.

I'm totally scared of typhoons.

Thunder and lightning frighten  me.

Howling winds frighten me twice as much!

Typhoons keep me awake at night, worrying about my friends and loved ones.

I guess the rainy season should have a special place in my heart.  I was born in the middle of a typhoon.  I also gave birth to my son in the middle of one.

But somehow, I cannot find it in my heart to embrace the rainy season.

Honestly, it stresses me a lot!

And the fact that my mom is just as scared as I am does not help at all!

The worst part of it all is that, there are only two seasons in the Philippines--the wet season (that's when there are plenty of rains) and the dry season (January to May)  and I am not specially fond of the April and May because of the scorching heat.

I guess the only season I love is the Christmas season which does not even have anything to do with the weather.

And last year, December was still a rainy month! I hope it would be different this year.

I'm really hoping for clear weather from end of November till December 5.

I'm getting married  on December 2, 2012 and as of now, that's the only thing I could look forward to that would help me bear this year's rainy months.

Lovely Colors

I just love these ! done on Remby.com

Trip to Tagaytay

 I know I was gone for only a day but I really missed my blog!  I guess I am now a certified blog addict huh?

So, here's why I didn't post anything yesterday....Ruel and I were  in Tagaytay the whole day! We had to talk to the parish priest in Lourdes Church about one of our wedding requirements which I was somehow having problems with.

My mom and my son tagged along, wanting to escape the terrible heat in the city. Unfortunately, a lot of city folks were thinking the same thing!  The usually one and a half hour trip to Tagaytay became a
three-hour trip because of the traffic.

Here's what the sky looked like during the drive to Tagaytay

The long trip left us so hungry that by the time we entered Tagaytay, we just had to drop by Ming's Garden for a quick snack.  Ruel and I had already tried their  suman latik .  We liked it a lot so we ordered the same thing.

Ming's Garden, aside from being some sort of a restaurant, sell gardening plants and seedlings of trees.


Some plants around the restaurant.

I really can't be a science teacher because I don't know whether this is a dead butterfly or a dead moth!

I  saw this little gardener inside the ladies' room.  Cute!

And her husband gardener was on the other end of the sink! They were so cute I just had to take their picture!

We didn't stay for a long time because  I wanted to get on with business.  Problem was, their was a wedding at the church and we were told to come back at 4:30 pm because Father was going to officiate two more weddings after the one that was just about to take place! Goodness gracious! It was just 11:00 am!  

It wasn't as if there was nothing to do.  It was the exact opposite. However, we were not there to do these things. We were actually on a budget, given the fact that we were saving all our money for our wedding and our future home.

Well, anyway, because I've always been a sucker for weddings,  I couldn't help but take a peek inside the church and have a quick glimpse of the gowns. The bride's gown was cream, heavily beaded, and lovely!  Sorry, I didn't take a picture, I wish I had but I was thinking whether it would be polite or not....

Here's what caught my eye...lovely chandeliers!  The last time we went there, there was no wedding so they weren't lit, but this time they were and I thought they were absolutely stunning!

Next stop was Villa Ibarra,  This is where we are going to have our wedding reception.  I wanted to show my mom what the venue looked like.

The Villa was quiet and as soon as we got permission to go down to the reception area, I felt so happy!  That was the first time I felt that I had Taal Lake and Taal Volcano all to myself.  We were the only ones in the patio and we had the view all to ourselves!  We didn't have to take turns with tourists in taking pictures of the best view of the lake and volcano.  At that time, I felt I owned the lake and the volcano!  

So, this is the view from the reception area.  We are all praying for good weather.

That's the villa.  My family and I will be staying in one of the suites the night before the wedding.  The reception will be held right where I was standing when I took the picture above.

And the night of the wedding, right after the reception, Ruel and I will be in another suite outside the main villa,  which will give us an almost 365 degree view of the lake and volcano.

Lunch was at Max's.  Ruel and I would usually find a place with a good view of the lake and the volcano every time we are in Tagaytay, but as I have said, this was not our usual Tagaytay "date" trip so Max's was okay.

My naughty son with grandma

He just loves getting this kind of reaction from his grandma!

Happy couple...I love him so!

Lunch took almost 2 hours.  Next stop was Flowers of May where we got a pretty good deal for our entourage and for the church.

We still had an hour to burn before we could talk to the priest so we drove to Sonya's Garden to buy pan de coco.

Sonya's Garden is a bed and breakfast place some 40 minutes away from Lourdes Church.  It's also a favorite venue for weddings and other celebrations.

Flowers of course were all around!

Doesn't this look a lot like a pea shooter?

 There were a lot of vases and pots like these in the property.

 At the bakery at Sonya's

We also bought cookies and crinkles, aside from the pan de coco.

Well...I really don't know what this is called but this little guy and his buddies kept on making noises around the area.

We finished talking to the priest before 6 pm.  But before finally leaving, we dropped by Rowena's to take home some of their yummy goodies.

I prefer Rowena's more than Colette's.  There's a wider selection here.

Vinegar made from pineapple....

Lambanog, a really potent local white wine. It's made from coconut water.

Unlike Colette's, You can sit down and eat inside Rowena's.

They also serve coffee.

And as if, we still didn't have enough food, we still stopped at one of  the fruit stands to buy fruits.

The drive home was longer than the drive in the morning!

Snail Mail Friends

Except for my monthly bills, I seldom get snail mails nowadays.

There was a time, however, when I got at least one snail mail a week, sometimes even two.  They were the highlight of an otherwise boring week.

These letters came from Germany, France, Finland, Spain, Austria, Brazil, Greece, and Switzerland.  They were my windows to a world I knew only in movies and books, written by boys and girls my age who were very much interested to learn more about my world and my life as I was about theirs.

We sent each other stamps and coins from our collection, pictures, postcards, pictures from magazines, Christmas and birthday presents.

There were so many things I learned from our exchanges -- things I probably would not have learned had I not met them.   Somehow, I even learned to guess where a person is from based only on his handwriting and on his last name.

The only one I correspond with today is the one from Germany.  We have been friends for  twenty two years!  Her name is Maike and she and I met in person when we were both 19.  She stayed in our home for three weeks, before moving on to her sort of around-the-world trip after graduating from her A-lever.  She is now my son's godmother and we continue to send each other Christmas gifts.   Our   correspondence now is a mix of  Facebook, email and snail mail.

I have lost touch with the others but I am still hoping I'd stumble on them online.   I still and forever will remember them and love them  as my friends.

This is an example of an address slip that IYS used to send students who requested for penfriends.
It came along with tips on letter writing,-- a great help!

I got my penfriends from IYS (International Youth Service), an organization based in Finland.   My best friend's teacher gave my best friend a registration form and we both signed up to use their service.  IYS, after promoting the exchange of culture and the value of learning new languages closed down in 2008.  The internet has become a venue for people to meet friends around the world  that the number of students who were interested in penfriendship has greatly decreased.

 IYS used to charge only 1 US dollar per address and guaranteed a reply.  If the potential penfriend did not reply to your first letter, all you had to do was to inform IYS and they would send you another address, free of charge.

You'd end up with a penfriend from a country of your own choosing, with a gender of your choice and who shares your interests.  Their system made sure of that.   Once registered, the "member" can even receive surprise penfriends free of charge.

So actually, the cost was nothing compared to all the benefits one would get.  Most of all, it helped build friendships that lasted for life.  I felt really sad when I learned that it had closed down its operations after helping teachers and students for years.  How is my son going to get his own penfriend now?YS
ill be closing down this summer, by 30th June 200e has been
I owe a lot to IYS, and so does a lot of  us who benefited from the service.

Without IYS, I hope there was another way for the young generation to enjoy what we have enjoyed.

Exchanging letters with people of different cultures and backgrounds leads to a better understanding and acceptance of these differences, which could ultimately lead to peace.   Most of all, it is really so much fun!

This post was inspired by the post of  Emma about snail mails.

A Childhood Treasure

I loved Wonder Woman and I loved pretending to be her.  I used to get  discarded photo negatives from my Dad's small photo studio then  I'd put them around my wrists and pretend to be fighting bullets with them.

One day my grandaunt came home from the States and my family asked me to recite a poem for her.  They said she was going to take a picture of me and give it to Wonder Woman.  The gullible four-year-old that I was  believed them and did what they asked.

A month after my grandaunt left for the States, this came for me in the mail!  My grandaunt said, Wonder Woman was very happy with the picture and decided to give me this thermos. ( It actually came with a lunch box which had been misplaced by my parents and was never found again.)   I was so proud I had a thermos from Wonder Woman!  Silly little me!

This is the only thing I have from my childhood, aside from my pictures.

All my dolls were left behind in the house I grew up in.  I had my View Master till I was 14 but a cousin borrowed it and I never got it back.

That's what makes this thermos such a treasure.  It is the only tangible proof of the innocence of my youth.

Do you have a treasure from your childhood?  I'd really love to know.  I hope you can leave your answer on the comment form.  I'll check out your blog.

Best Confession of Love

"I'm the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend..." I think this is one of the best love confessions ever shown in a movie or series.

A closer look at Chloe's letter:

"I want to let you in on a little secret, Clark. I'm not who you think I am. In fact, my disguise is so thin, I'm surprised you haven't seen right through me.

I'm the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend. Sometimes I want to rip off this façade like I did at the Spring Formal, but I can't because you'll get scared and you'll run away again. So I decided that it's better to live with the lie than expose my true feelings. My dad told me there are two types of girls: the ones you grow out of, and the ones you grow into. I really hope I'm the latter. I may not be the one you love today, but I'll let you go 

for now, hoping one day you'll fly back to me. Because I think you're worth the wait."

I watched this Smallville episode years ago and I have just finished watching it again. It still got to me. I'm not a Clark and Chloe fan (I'm a Clark and Lana fan) but somehow unrequited love always touches me in a way I cannot explain.


Thanks to fellow Smallville fan, halfbldprince, for uploading this video on youtube.com

Anybody Out There

    Anybody Out There....well, what can I say about this book...honestly, I started reading it on Mother's Day. I only finished it yesterday. I usually finish a book in two or three days depending on my chores and workload, and on how much I like it. It's different with this book.

    Anybody Out There, a book written by Marian Keyes, is a book about love that's cut too short, how one woman has come to terms to with loss and grief. The first few chapters were quite interesting, made possible by a narrative that alternately showed the past and the present, leaving important details for later. This left me with a lot of questions and had me reading eagerly until I had all my questions answered. Unfortunately, I didn't like the answers. It turned out that the hero in the story was already dead and that the heroine was just in a state of denial all along. Oh! It really broke my heart! Aidan, that's his name, seemed to be the perfect man and the perfect husband to Anna, the heroine. What's worse was that they were just newly married!

     So that's when I stopped reading. The worst part of it all was that I did not have any idea at all that the story was going to turn out this way. I didn't know that the story was about loss. The short text on the back cover of the book did not prepare me for this. All along, I thought that Aidan had a perfectly good excuse for not trying to contact his wife for weeks, and that in the end, they would still end up together.  I actually felt cheated because had I known that the book was about death and moving on, I would have chosen another book.

     So I didn't continue reading for days until the time I got so bored I just had to read something.  I resumed reading, moving from a state of denial to a state of acceptance...so much like Anna's feelings. I was entering the moving on stage, slowly realizing that there could be someone else for her in the future and then suddenly, the book ends with Aidan telling Anna in a dream that she already met the man she was going to fall in love with. And that was that! Anna was seeing two men in the story and I was unsure who Aidan was talking about! I was left hanging!

     The story ended without leaving a tear or smile on my face.   Instead, it left me with a question I think I will never be able to answer. Anna was seeing two men on a regular basis! So who was Aidan talking about?! The book was ok, I guess. Although it would not in any way make it to my favorites, it was an okay book to pass the time away...just skip all the irrelevant email exchanges between Anna and her family members. They're kind of long and didn't have anything to do with the story.

~pic of book cover done on Remby.com~

I Wish

- that there was a law against dog owners who make their dog do number one or number two outside the confines of their own homes

- that the senate would stop hearing cases in aid of legislation and just concentrate on passing legislation

   Sure, I have been thoroughly entertained countless times while watching senate hearings....goodness gracious!    Even the case of Katrina Halili was taken to the senate!  But if the senate continued doing this, then who would do their job?

- that there were more children in school, that public schools had better facilities, that teachers were more equipped and had better lifestyle

   I think that the problem in our educational system lies in the fact that the people in government want our people to stay ignorant.  The politicians want our people to be poorly educated.   If our people were better educated, the politicians would just have to work harder in their respective jobs.  Otherwise, who would vote for them?  The people's ignorance is their key to public office. 

- that I could just ring my things whenever I misplaced them

- that houses could grow floaters when flood water goes waist-high

- that eating chocolates  was healthier

  My son and Ruel just gobble them.  I don't, but I love them just as much.

-that there were more shoes in my size ( I have very, very tiny feet)

- that climate change was reversible

- that I could turn back time, change one thing and then still have all the other things unchanged

- that it was possible to tell dead people that you loved them

  I always regret not having been able to tell my grandparents I loved them.  They died when I was young.

- that plane tickets to Europe were less expensive

- that it was easier to make money

- that I had more money

-that I could travel more, work less, read more, worry less, laugh more, cry less, and spend more time with the people I love

-that there were more romantic comedy movies 

-that people understood that no matter how small or unimportant they thought their job was, what they did or didn't do in relation to their job could affect others in ways they could never imagine

-that teachers had higher salaries and more benefits....Goodness gracious! We deserve them!

- that people in offices, behind counters were much friendlier, much more courteous and smiled more

- that there were no bullies

- that natural calamities only happened in nightmares

- that people cared more for our environment

-that people respected God's creation more

-that we could look young forever

-that people were more tolerant of individual and cultural differences

-that children didn't grow up as  fast as they did

-that there were more sidewalks and that they were wider

-that there was more respect given to teachers

-that Superman really existed

-that I was a better mom

-that more people believed in God

I think this list covers both the possible and the impossible but I wish that the ones that were possible could actually come true.

What I Hate

I know it's weird following your own blog but something definitely went wrong when I tried to click on a follower's name.  I ended up following my own blog and I have absolutely no idea how I can delete my name from the list.  I've tried to but couldn't.

I went to blogger earlier and found it in my native tongue.  I hate it when the web is in my native tongue.  Not that I hate my own language...it's not like that at all.  I love my language! The thing is, things are translated in a funny way and there are things I cannot understand.  Another thing is, when I go online, my mind is on English mode...as in, it automatically does that, and I feel very uncomfortable when I try to navigate my way thru a site when it is in my own language.  The problem is I do not know how to put it back to English. I tried opening blogger in another window but still, it was in Filipino.   I really hate it when this happens.  Anyway, following this line of thinking, I think, I'm going to list down the things I hate.

What I hate:

- long lines

- poor customer service

- sales ladies who follow me around the store

- being asked by a site to type the weird-looking letters and numbers that I see just for them to know I'm not a robot or machine

-worms

- other people's wet hands touching me

- people in the malls who do not stop walking or talking while the national anthem is being played at the start of mall hours

- teachers who keep on walking and checking on the students while the national anthem is being sung
 (I think they are worse than the people in the malls.)

- student officers who imitate the teachers, walking around and checking on other students while the national anthem is being sung

- injustice in whatever form
   Sometimes the poor has a tendency to think that they are the only victims of injustice.  What they don't know is the middle income people usually become victims themselves on account of the poor.

- people who ask for money from politicians

- self-righteous people

- people who smile at me and then talk against me behind my back

- not receiving any increase in salary for three years straight while prices of commodities go up almost every other month

-disrespectful students

- establishments who try to cheat senior citizens out of their benefit

- fast drivers

- jeepney drivers who keep on changing lanes

- ordering something based on what it looks in the menu and then getting something which does not in any way look like the one in the menu

- a hero or a heroine dying in the middle of the story....I hate it when this happens...sometimes I just stop reading altogether, specially if the hero and heroine are madly in love.

- those who never lived in the States but who try to talk with an American accent they just learned from TV

- oily serving spoon

- demonstration teaching

- watching a teacher applicant do her demo teaching

- unscheduled meetings which everyone is required to attend....as if school is the only life I have!

- working on a disorganized desk

- organizing my desk....oh well, I have a hard time with that.

I guess that's all I can think of for now. :)


-

What I Ask of You

Love me with a passion

But be gentle with me.
Wear your heart right on your sleeve
For all the world to see!

Look at me with loving eyes,
Mesmerize me with your smile.
Let me know you wouldn't stay
Only for a while.

Be my friend not just my lover,
Listen when I speak.
Hold my hand and be my strength
In moments when I'm weak.

Keep me close in your embrace
When we go to sleep at night.
Tell me that because you're there
Everything will be just right.

Do not bend or break my spirit,
Gently guide me when I'm wrong.
Don't always let me have my way,
I need you to be firm and strong.

Share your thoughts and dreams with me,
Of your life make me a part.
Share your joys and pains with me,
Let me see what's in your heart.

Tell me that because of me
Your world is such a better place.
Tell me my enchanting smile
Has turned your nights all into days.

Be the one to wipe my tears,
Tenderly kiss my fears away.
Promise me that you'll love me
Forever and a day.

I wrote this for my fiance a long time ago.  Just wanted to share...

17 Again

For lack of a better thing to do last night, I watched a DVD copy of 17 Again.  It was the only movie I had at home which I had not yet watched. I thought it was too much of a  teen stuff for me but I was in for a surprise.

17 Again was about Mike O'Donell (adult: played by Matthew Perry; young: played by Zac Efron), a former high school basketball superstar who missed the opportunity to land a college scholarship when his girlfriend declared that she was pregnant with his child just seconds before the big game.

Mike's life was turning out to be a total disappointment until he was given a chance to be 17 again.  He goes back to high school where he gets to know his kids better.

The movie reminds us how our failures can sometimes make us regret choices we've made or at least, make us appear to feel that way, until we realize that given another chance, we would gladly make the same choice all over again.

I never expected it but I honestly enjoyed the movie.  I had my laugh-out-loud moments and had my sniff-and-cry moments...though it's really very easy to make me cry...but still...

Although the movie stars Zac Efron, I don't think the movie is only for teenagers. It is also for every husband or wife, every dad or mom, who, in one way or another, gave up a dream or sacrificed something, for the sake of that person who mattered most to them.

Free Comic Book Day

My son and I woke up early today so we could be at the mall by the time it opened at 10:00 am. The reason? Fully Booked was giving away free comic books to all its customers. Ruel picked us up at 9:30 and we were at the mall right before it opened. There was already a long line of people outside the bookstore when we got there. Fortunately, the queue moved quite fast. My son fell in line behind me and Ruel also fell in line after parking the car. In the end, we got three different comic books which left my son satisfied, specially because Ruel bought him a hardbound copy of Superman Reign of Doomsday.


 This was the line of people waiting for their free copy.

Ruel, also waiting in line

My son, showing us his comic book

My son's new treasure, a gift  from Tito Ruel

After going around the bookstore, trying sooooo hard not to buy a new novel, I decided the only way I could go home happy was if I could drink milk tea.

I discovered milk tea during a trip to Singapore.  I loved it so much that ever since, I have always been craving for it.  I probably drink milk tea at least once a week now, sometimes even thrice.


                 mine is the one with pearls

           

                                                     
    My son and Ruel read their comic books while they   finished their drink.  I just drank and took pictures.                                    

Our early trip to the mall ended with a quick lunch at KFC.  We then proceeded to my son's school where he practised for a musical show scheduled for tomorrow.  I feel so much like a mom today!

Cute Tops for Summer

I was surfing the net and found these cute tops that were just my style. done on Remby.com

What I Never Leave Home Without

There are things that I always have to have inside  my bag. 

I have to have: 

face powder

lip balm

 two shades of lipstick: red and pink (My Mac lipstick here has gloss on the other end)

blush

pocket-size perfume (the one you see here is Clinique Happy, Ruel's favorite scent on me)

my comb.

Happy

What I Love about Being a Teacher

Some people would probably wonder what I like about my job.  Well, honestly, I can only think of five things:

1.  I get to have a summer break which is usually around one month and a two-week Christmas break.

2.  Knowing that I had made a difference in the life of a child and being appreciated for it.

    Below  is a facebook conversation I had with Adie, one of my former students.  She was under me when she was in the fourth and fifth  grade.  She is now 17 years old and has turned out to be every inch a lady.  I feel pride everytime she would tell me that I am one of those who made her who she is today.

 3. I get to explore my creative side like designing classrooms like this and getting a trophy for it.

4. I get to choreograph dance steps and teach my pupils to dance and sing and act.

      Here are eleven of my 3rd grade pupils singing and dancing You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile from the musical, Annie.

                 

This was a contest and we won first prize. I was so proud of them AND of myself!

5. seeing my students look all grown-up like the four girls I'm with in the photo below

Well, I guess everything has to do with some sort of fulfillment.

Mother's Day Lunch

Today is Mother's Day, my mom's 38th, my 13th, and my sister's first celebration. This year, we just had a simple celebration in a restaurant we have not been to as a family for years.

    Here's my son with my dad. My son is the pizza lover in the family.  He managed to eat six slices of pizza along with the rest of the meal!

This is my mom, looking old with the gray hair and all, but definitely not in any way less loving.

 Here I am with my sister, who, in my opinion,  is not yet showing any sign of her pregnancy, except for a tiny weeny change in the size of her cheeks.

And this is our family, happily celebrating Mother's Day. My sister said I looked more pregnant in this picture than she did.  Oh well, if it makes her happy.  But honestly, it was just my loose blouse.

Mother's Day has made me feel all nostalgic. I couldn't help but remember my early childhood when my whole existence revolved around two males (Dad and my grandfather ) and two females (Mommy and my grandmother).  To the  two females who loved  me first, and who could ever love me in that manner, I love you! To my grandmother, I hope Jesus tells you I love you. Sorry, I wasn't able to tell you that.

Here I am with my mom.   This pic was taken when 

I turned one year old.

This is my grandma, holding me when I was five months old.

To those moms reading this post, happy Mother's Day to you all!