Vegas

Around this time last year, we went to Vegas. It was for a conference, and so, while J was out, I would take the girls for a walk. If it got too hot, we'd stay holed up in the hotel room, and I'd let the girls peek out the window to watch the Bellagio fountains. Apparently, they loved the trip so much, so when we told them we were driving to Vegas on Friday for J and L's bachelor/ette parties, they were only too glad to go.

This morning, D was going on and on about peeking out the window every 30 mins. I couldn't figure out what for. Then she said, "For the fountains! The fountains go on every 30 mins, diba?" Right. It didn't occur to me right away she was talking about that. So I told her, "It depends. If we can get a room with a view of the fountain, ok lang. But then again, we're staying at a different hotel, e." She answered, "Saan? Jasmine?" I was dumbfounded. Jasmine? Then she said, "Diba sa Aladdin tayo dati? Jasmine naman ngayon?"

Barbie

I never had Barbie dolls when I was young. And while I thought I liked them before, I really don't have much fascination for them now. I haven't bought the girls any, but about a couple of years ago, they were given some. And I guess it is still the easy choice of gift for girls; they would receive different kinds of Barbies at least once a year.

When the Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper movie came out, of course, Princess and the Pauper Barbies became available, too. They wanted those dolls because those dolls sing. They thought it was cute. I didn't buy any, and I was not mistaken. They received one for Christmas.

After that, they received an American Idol Barbie after one of our friends found out they liked watching American Idol. The American Idol Barbie came complete with accessories for a "dressing room," change of clothes, the American Idol backdrop, and a stage set-up complete with microphone on a stand.

Here is where they applied their creativity: The American Idol Barbie doesn't sing. So, they dressed the singing Princess, put her on the stage with the mic, and pressed a button. Voila! American Idol Barbie doesn't just stand there anymore. Now she sings!

Lyrics

A few days ago, we saw a teaser of a new game show that's premiering on TV. The show is called Singing Bee, the objective of which is to fill in the blanks in a lyrics of a song. Now, I know there was a similar game show in the Philippines a few years back; I have no idea if that show is still running, but I digress.

Anyway, tonight, there was a similar show on, and since there wasn't anything else to watch, we tuned in. On the commercial break, D, on the way to the kitchen, probably inspired by the show, suddenly said, "Ah-ha-ha-ha..." to which A piped in without pause, "Stayin' alive, stayin' alive."


**********************

A few years back, I used to listen to this radio station that played alternative music in San Jose. Now this station had the habit of playing the same songs over and over, about once every couple of hours or so, so it was possible to hear the same song repeated over the course of the day. D was so familiar with the songs, she would usually sing along with them. Generation gap was practically slapped to me when she sang along with Bowling for Soup's 1985, "Springsteen, McDonald's/Way before Nirvana..." only, it was supposed to be Madonna. I told her the correct lyrics, and she answered, "Who's Madonna?"


**********************

J has all the Parokya ni Edgar songs on a CD in his car. Now A has taken to singing "Sorry Na" when she apologizes. It was funny the first time she did it. Nobody prodded her; in fact, I was ignoring her because I was really mad at her. She just stood next to me and kept on calling out, "Mommy, mommy, sorry. Mommy, sorry." Then before I knew it, she was singing, "Sorry na/Kung nagalit ka/Di naman sinasadya..." Now explain to me how I can stay mad at her.

Amazon.com

This morning, while checking my mails, I was about to delete one of my emails from Amazon.com with "promotional" in the subject line. I thought it was the usual spam mail that regularly comes from them. Good that I read through before deleting:


So, it turns out, I save an additional $5 off my copy, albeit towards another Amazon.com purchase only, but it's not as if there's nothing good to find over there. So, excuse me......I need to go shopping. =)

Pinoy

I love watching movies. Any movie I can get my hands on, I would watch. I go to Blockbuster about twice a week to swap rented DVDs. Regularly. And we regularly watch HBO. And with the advent of TiVo, we don't have to wait up for our favorite series(es?) on TV anymore. So we watch those, too.

Recently, I noticed that some TV series and Hollywood movies have references to the Philippines. J and I have talked about this once and we assume it is because Pinoys have gone global. By this, I am not merely speaking about a few Pinoy actors doing Hollywood films: such as Billy Joe Crawford in the Prequel to the Exorcist (shame that this version was only released straight to video), or Cesar Montano starring next to James Franco in The Great Raid, or Sigaw being adapted into The Echo. More amusing, for me, are those small, trivial references, the type that would catch you off-guard. Those usually surprise me, so much that it would make me want to rewind the movie to hear it again.

Recently, I was watching Let's Go to Prison on DVD while folding clothes. I guess I wasn't paying too close attention that when I heard someone screaming "P^+@%$*%@! Anong kailangan mo?!" from the TV, I was startled. Then I jumped for the remote to play it back and laugh about it for about 20 minutes before letting the film resume. Funny that the subtitle said [screaming in Korean] when it was clearly in Tagalog. And then there was Constantine. At the exorcism scene near the start of the film, the possessed woman was speaking in Tagalog, too. Of course that the Ewoks spoke Tagalog in Return of the Jedi is probably old news. And in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the pirates they ran into were Filipino. (D mentioned just now: In The Cat in the Hat, the crate of the mother of messes is "Made in the Philippines.")

And on TV, there are several moments in Family Guy: Brian's cousin's boyfriend is Filipino. He mentioned in one of the episodes that the boyfriend recently came back from the Philippines, so they had lumpia (funny how they say it: lump-ya) for dinner. In another episode, they described The Rock as "definitely having some Filipino in there." Also, there was a conversation between Quagmire and Brian where Brian mentioned Quagmire just came back from the Philippines. In Scrubs, Dr. Kelso mentioned his son having a Filipino boyfriend. And in The Office, Michael Scott said about Karen Filippelli, "Filippelli.....maybe she's from the Philippines."

True, it may be in part that Filipinos are getting more visible around the globe. Filipinos are everywhere nowadays, and at the same time, foreigners are flocking our beaches after recommendations from Pinoys they have met. But then again, some references in movies and TV, while not exactly being derogatory, aren't uplifting in character either. This, I think, might be accounted for by Pinoy contributors to writing the script. If it is true that it is part of our nature to inject as much of ourselves to things we do as much as we can, then imagine someone writing a script and thinking how he can include Uncle or Aunt or cousin as an extra. It might be as small a part as a beggar, but to be seen on the big screen, that's something. And internationally? Who'd say no? Think Rob Schneider -- his mom played bit parts in several of his films. Isn't that very Pinoy? And of course, there is also the matter of us being able to laugh at ourselves. Although I know a lot of people who are pikon, most of those I get to be around are game at playing laughingstock.

But at the end of the day, I guess it all comes down to being able to tell the world that you've been there -- a message to all Pinoys that there is a fellow countryman somewhere making a mark. In time, I know we'll all have our chance to leave our marks, but until we get there, in our own small ways, we can still show the world how we are Proudly Pinoy.

Harry Potter v.2

Again, this isn't a review, of the movie or the recently released book. I had no intention of doing a review, not even of mentioning it again here, but I got really fascinated with my find today. So, I conceded (with myself) and decided to post pics - just pics - of my copy arriving last Saturday (yep, Amazon is so good, even with the free shipping I signed up for, the book arrived with the mail on Saturday afternoon. Of course, that goes without saying, I spent the weekend reading HP7.) We considered going to one of the book-launch parties, but then again, we won't be getting our copies there, so we'd probably just look odd going home without one.

Anyway, on Saturday, it arrived around lunchtime. We were waiting for the mailman to arrive since I was notified that it would be sent through the mail. Funny thing was that J decided we should go out for a while to have lunch. As soon as we headed out, I saw the mailman parking off the road. We drove back, thinking the mailman would deliver our mail first, but it turned out that he would be delivering mails to houses on the opposite way first. So, we went on, knowing that my copy would be waiting for me when we get home. And it was! Right there on the doorstep. The packaging was amusing, I had to take photos.

Nice huh?

I wasn't supposed to rip it open, but one of my friends have been taunting me for days. They were telling me up until Friday night that deliveries won't come or that there was something in the news that said pre-ordered copies won't come until Tuesday. So, when I got my copy, I gave them a call and ripped the box loud enough to be heard over the phone.

And this was today's find.

The flavors are, I should say, pretty accurate (we're trying them as I am writing). Not that I've tasted earwax or earthworm or grass before. I tried a couple of the bad ones and I ended up spitting them out. I still have a taste of soap in my mouth.

I found it amusing though: Natural & Artificial Flavors. Really? I just hope it's the fruit flavors that are the natural ones. =D

Bittersweet

A few days back, I was ranting about the van. Friday, I got a call from the service department that the car's warranty wouldn't cover the damage since apparently that was "road hazard" and that unless it was a factory defect, it would be a customer-pay issue. Since we were quite busy on Friday and I didn't hear from them until the afternoon, I told them I wouldn't go through the repairs and that I would try calling the corporate offices to plead my case.

However, I mentioned to J that since we brought back the van from service, the air conditioning wouldn't cool at all, as opposed to when we brought it in, it was only the driver's side that was problematic. J assumed they probably drained the refrigerant to check for the leaks and didn't put any of it back. Even if we weren't going to go through with the repairs, they should have put refrigerant in, he said. Sure, it would leak again, but at least, for the time being, we'd be able to use it to go around. So, I called the service department again, this time speaking with another service associate. I told him that we weren't getting the van repaired yet, but if they can, please, get the air conditioning to work even if temporarily. They gave me an appointment for Monday morning. J agreed to drop by the dealership before going to work. I would have dealt with it myself, but we had an appointment with the dentist on Monday morning too, which ironically, made it all the more urgent to have the van running in top condition since both of us would be needing cars.

While we were at the dentist, J gave me a call that he would be leaving the van for service. He was told that while putting refrigerant in would temporarily solve the problem, it would come back again. They agreed though that they would not rely on the previous diagnosis that was given to me.

This morning, as I was off to bring A to school, I got a call. It was the new service associate telling me the van is ready to be picked up and that the cost only came up to labor. I was surprised. Well, it definitely was a lot better; paying for labor costs for the requested service sounds fair enough to me. I asked specifically what they did, and later on he told me they even didn't find any holes in the condenser. So, what would I have paid the $700 for?

Although I was really thankful about that, I couldn't help but feel bad about it, too. I mean, it turned out they needed to do very minimal work on it, so why was it that a $700 repair was suggested? Getting home, I did some googling. It took me to a forum discussing users getting the same answer to their air conditioning concern: that road debris hit and damaged their van's condenser. Turns out, this is a very common problem among users of the same model. There were 2 views on that. The first, that for that to be a pretty common and persistent problem, there must be a design flaw and surely the makers should be taking that into consideration to improving their newer models. That being said, warranty should cover that until such time that they update their designs.

The other view? That it is a service department gimmick. One of the respondents reported that he was given that answer over the phone, without having his car even seen by the service people. Another one complained when given that answer. He asked to see the damage, to which the service associate retaliated and got defensive. Another one said the service associate merely suggested he make a claim with his insurance. With all the reports and complaints that I saw, I won't be surprised if someone starts a class-action lawsuit about that.

Disappointing, I know, but the van has performed so well, we'd still consider getting from the same maker the next time we buy a car. I just hope, by then, they'd have smoothened out this problem. Otherwise, we'd probably have to get those grille covers.

Tagged: Three

MommyChi tagged me, and while I thought some of it are tough to answer, I figured it's quite interesting, too. So, here goes mine:

Three things that scare me:
1. Something happening to J or the kids
2. Getting into a road accident
3. Robbers/Bad people

Three people who make me laugh:
1. A
2. D
3. J

Three things/people I love:
1. J+D+A
2. gadgets
3. joy rides/road trips

Three things I hate:
1. Rats (because I've been bitten by one)
2. Snakes
3. People who are lazier than I am =)

Three things I don’t understand:
1. Sports J watches on TV, and yeah, whatever Fantasy sports they are getting in to
2. Why my brother is an ass
3. Why there is envy in the world

Three things on my desk:
1. laptop
2. blank CDs
3. card reader for my camera

Three things I am doing right now:
1. Writing this
2. Thinking what we'd be having for dinner
3. Downloading something (don't ask what)

Three things I want to do before I die:
1. Secure my daughters' futures
2. Travel cross-country
3. Live to be a 100? (Sorry, wala na ako maisip, e)

Three things I can do:
1. Knit
2. Drive
3. Pull teeth

Three things I can’t do:
1. Bungee jump
2. Create a super computer
3. Be a vegetarian

Three things/people I think you should listen to:
1. One's own parents
2. Children
3. Just/fair criticism

Three things/people you should never listen to:
1. Hearsay
2. Unfounded statements (just don't be too gullible)
3. Unwanted advise

Three things I would like to learn:
1. Forgive unconditionally
2. Be a better person
3. Hold my tongue

Three favorite food:
1. Puto at dinuguan
2. Spaghetti
3. Nilagang baka

Three shows I watched as a kid:
1. Punky Brewster
2. Small Wonder
3. Shaider

I'm tagging the following people:
1. Yette
2. Roselle
3. Jackie

Landslide

It isn't my day today.

A few days ago, J noticed that the van's airconditioning was not cooling evenly. Actually, he noticed it sometime ago. He doesn't usually drive the van so I didn't pay attention to what he said. I thought it was the same as always. However, last weekend, it was really hot so I was trying to adjust the temperature so the interior of the van would cool faster. That was when it became very noticeable. The vent on the driver side was spewing warm air. I kept on turning the temperature down when J said it was already very cold. I was surprised that indeed, his side of the car was already cold, chilly even.

The following day, I called the car dealership to schedule the repair. I was booked for today. I went there early this morning -- I was told that I needed to get the car in early so I can get it back by the end of the day. They promised they would call me to give me updates. Around 2:30 this afternoon, the service associate gave me a call. He told me the condenser was damaged, they have the parts available, although the repairs would take probably until Friday. No biggie. J is away and won't be back until Friday. However, the dealbreaker: warranty wouldn't cover it and it costs a friggin' $700. I told the associate to put the service on hold, I wanted to consult J. It really was too much (duh?!), but given that it was a huge car that we depend on for long drives, there wasn't much space for a compromise. J told me to play hard, but in the end, he was saying to just have it serviced and we'll just find a way to cover for the extra expense. I tried talking with the associate again, he advised me he can lower the price to about $600 and that's it. I said no. I would pass up his offer and maybe get the van serviced some other time. I told him I would come pick the van up before the end of the day. Before I went back for the van, I tried calling one of my acquaintances. He works at another dealership, so I thought he might have a better idea. He agreed that $700 was too much, he advised me to talk with the service manager at the dealership, and maybe, if I can't get it covered by warranty, at least get a good deal on the service and repair.

The associate at my dealership was helpful, sure, but when I asked to speak with the manager, he just told me, it won't be covered by warranty and I should just speak to my insurance agent and hope they'd cover it. But that doesn't make any sense to me. I would still have to pay $500 for participation, and in the long run, jack up my premiums for making a claim. That doesn't sound too good, does it? I insisted to talk with the manager and asked her if she can help me on my dilemma. She got my records out and while she said she could not promise anything, she would try to talk to the corporate office to ask if they can make an exception in covering the repairs. I know she can only do so much, but getting even a 25% discount sounds way better than paying that much for that small repair. I would know the van's fate tomorrow.

And while it wasn't my day today, I hope tomorrow would be better. Heck, I hope this is only a sign of better things to come. As they say, when you're down, there's nowhere to go but up.

Bond, Coupon Bond

Sunday night, J told me he needed to print some documents for the office on legal-sized bond paper. Yep, that's long kokomban to you. So began my search.

Since it was already past 10pm, my chances were limited to 2 nearby grocery stores which close at 1am, and a 24-hour pharmacy/grocery store. After going to the pharmacy and the closer of the 2 grocery stores, I still haven't found any. Sure they had print paper, but it was standard A4. My last stop was a success. They had the legal-sized paper, but they were only available in reams. I was intending to buy only 40-50 sheets. But better than going home empty-handed, I bought one.

When I got home, I told J I found print paper for him. He was surprised when I showed him the whole ream. I said, "Uh, promo. Buy 50, take 450." Haha.

Anyway, when he got his stuff all printed and ready to go, it turned out he needed only 3 sheets. Yep. Just 3. Then he had a brilliant idea. "Bring it back. Tell them you don't want it." Geez. I probably would be able to get away with it, but I said, never mind. I don't want to be doing that again when we need legal-sized paper, given how scarce that size is. So, now I have a ream minus 3 sheets of long kokomban sitting on my desk. I just pray the kids won't discover it there and think I set out paper for their scribbling.

Destiny

I wish it were that kind of destiny. But, no. This kind of Destiny pissed me, I am now questioning the kind of service they have.

A few years ago, no....make it a little over 4 years ago....we left my parents-in-laws' house to rent an apartment of our own. Of course, since we moved out, we requested any services we signed up for to be disconnected shortly after. While we were staying at my in-laws', we subscribed to Destiny Cable for our cable TV services, particularly because that time, they were the only Cable TV service in the area that had Disney Channel included for less than P500. When we moved out, we decided to get SkyCable instead (I can't remember why) instead of requesting the Destiny Cable service transferred to the apartment. My in-laws decided they didn't want to keep the Destiny Cable services, too, so they asked me to have the service terminated since it was in my name, and they got SunCable instead. I can quite clearly recall, when I requested for termination of service, I asked specifically if there were charges in line with that and if I had any unpaid charges that I needed to settle. I was concerned because if I did, my in-laws would receive it and I didn't want them to worry about it. I was told there was none, and I just should make a written request for that, and it would all be good. So, I thought it was.

We left the country around a year after we got that apartment. Last year, we went back to visit. And in between, J would always have business trips back and he would always get a chance to visit his parents at their home. In that time, I never got any correspondence or bills or notices coming from Destiny Cable. So, imagine my annoyance when on his last trip, J handed me 5 envelopes which were waiting for me at in-laws' place. The oldest of the 5 were sent in February 2007, with the others following at monthly intervals. They were all coming from a collection agency hired by Destiny claiming that I had an unpaid balance of P1404.59. They were informing me that since I had never responded to their previous mails since February, they were already suing me for nonpayment and that I can forego the legal proceedings by paying the stated amount as soon as possible. Yes, I know. Common sense says I should just pay up so I need not bother with the trouble of talking to these people, but my principles say otherwise. So yeah, I probably rang up more than P1404.59 in long distance bills, but they aren't getting what isn't rightfully theirs.

I called the collection agency informing them of my dilemma. I wasn't in a fighting mood with them, after all, they are just that - a collection agency. The lady I talked with was very helpful, she just told me that I needed to call Destiny Cable's billing department to straighten this out. She gave me the contact details of the billing department, and told me I just needed to hear from them that they are clearing my name of any outstanding charges, and everything would be ok. If you ask me, though, there was something fishy with our conversation. When she answered the phone, I didn't give her my name right away. I told her I was calling about a notice I received in the mail regarding an unpaid account. Her response? "Ah, yun pong sa Destiny Cable na P1404.59? (Oh, that one with Destiny Cable for P1404.59?)" Yes. Accurate to the centavo. Without getting details such as my name or the account I was calling about. Either they had no other clients that they knew right away that it was me, or it was an elaborate scam that they were doing the same thing to an unknown number of people, or that the lady answering the phone has a very keen ESP she knew I was calling before I did.

Anyway, after I talked with the collection agency, I called Destiny's billing department where the guy put me on hold for a couple of minutes while he claimed he was looking for my account. When he came back, he informed me that I indeed had 2 months' worth of unpaid dues plus termination fees that were uncharged. I told him why that was since I was told that I had no outstanding balance and that I didn't have to pay for termination. He said, "kaya nga po, i-waive na namin yung termination fee kasi sinabi naman sa inyo dati na wala kayong babayaran. (That's why, we're waiving the termination fee because you were told before that you didn't have to pay.)" Still, I told him, why would they charge me with the termination fee if that was a change in their policy that came after the termination request? That's just preposterous! If that was a clause in the contract I signed with them, I would have no issue over that, but if they are going to have it applied to me when obviously it shouldn't, then that is a different story.

I also asked him why it was that in the years between the requested termination in 2003 to the first notice that came in February 2007, there was nothing from Destiny informing me that there was any unpaid balance on my account. It seems really weird that this would just suddenly surface after 4 years. And of course, any receipts or bills that I would have kept for my records while we were still availing of their services have long been gone. I could not, for the life of me, think of any reasonable excuse why I would not receive a bill or a dues notice immediately after we terminated their services if I still had payables with them. Why after 4 years? It doesn't make sense to me. I had to tell him I had no reason to run away from my obligations; they weren't the only ones we got service from, and of all of them, they were the only ones claiming I have dues AFTER 4 YEARS!

I don't know if he is just really slow or whatever, but he wasn't able to do anything to resolve my issue. He just told me that I should make an incident report and that he would have to escalate my concerns to the proper authorities. Then they would attach my report to their billing records so that I wouldn't be bothered with this again. Isn't he in the billing department? So, who are the "proper authorities?" In an extreme effort to be diplomatic, I asked him, "Ok, pwede bang ikaw na gumawa nyan [incident report]? (Ok, so can you do that?)" He answered with, "Opo, (Yes,)" followed by, "bale i-fax nyo na lang po sa akin yung report nyo. (you can just fax your report to me.)"

Oh. My. God.

Goos fraba....

Weekend Warrior

Since summer began, we have noticed there had been quite a number of spiders in different sizes around the house. Most of the time, we just catch them with a bug vacuum and release them in the backyard. Sometimes, though, they move so fast, they just get away before we can even turn to get the bug vac. As far as we know, these spiders around the house are pretty harmless. I question it now since J has been complaining of something bothering him on the inside of his upper arm since Wednesday. It looked like a small insect bite, but what caused the bite, we don't really know. Problem was that this little sting has now turned into a full blown staph infection. Now, J, for some reason, is a good breeding ground for boils. Why that is so, I have no idea; but it wasn't too long ago when he had another one on his torso. This one on his arm was really bad, it swelled more than 4 times it's size overnight. I told him to go see the doctor since it looked like he has to go on antibiotics for it. He went on Thursday and was told by his doctor that she has been dealing with a lot of bad skin infections recently, it probably has something to do with the weather. I agree, too. What with the heat and sweating, there really is a chance that a small wound or scratch can get infected. He asked if there is a possibility that the wound was caused by a spider bite. The doctor said it could be, but that is really of no concern now since they need to be treating the skin infection as it is. He has started taking antibiotics since and slept all day on Friday. The swelling has gone down a little, but the area is still red and the swelling is still quite hard to the touch.

**************


We went to meet up with Karen on Friday. She informed me a while back that they were heading back home today (July 16), and whether they would be able to come back would depend on several factors. Still, it was a reason to go see each other. We just had lunch before walking around to sightsee. It was fun inspite of the heat, plus we saw this:


any fresher and it would be wet cement we'd be taking photos of. =)

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We spent Saturday taking care of a feverish J due to his staph infection. Yup, it got so bad he had on and off fevers late Friday and almost the whole day Saturday. He was all better by Saturday night, except for the swelling still being there. I am thankful, though, the girls had been very good, they didn't mind that we spent the weekend at home.

However, none of that stopped J. He was on a mission -- to watch Transformers, that is. He was away when the movie came out and so, when he felt he was miles better on Sunday, we went out to watch Transformers. And then, when it was still early after the movie ended, we also watched Ratatouille. Both of them were very good, I think. Although A slept through half of the Transformers, I think it was too fast for her to enjoy it, D was all eyes on the screen. The girls really enjoyed Ratatouille and were calling the movie "Rat-patootie." I couldn't quite relate until I saw the exact scene where that was mentioned -- the girls just found it hilarious. Oh, well.

**************


Just now, D had a curious question: "Why is 'together' spelled the same as 'to get her?'" Uh, honey, I don't know.

Harry Potter

Disclaimer: No spoilers here. If you are hoping to read about the movie or even a review about the movie, dream on. I realized not everyone would be seeing it all at the same time, so I just want to be fair. Besides, I do not want anybody to spoil the movie for me if I haven't seen it myself yet.

Back in February, I pre-ordered Harry Potter 7 when Amazon.com announced that it was available for pre-order. A few days ago, I received a notification that I can receive my book on release Saturday if I upgrade my shipping preferences. You see, I opted for free shipping, which, according to Amazon.com estimates, would deliver my book by the 26th. But previous experience with Amazon.com has always been pleasant, with them delivering way ahead of their estimates, so I am taking my chances. Besides, Harry Potter 6 was delivered on release day on free shipping, so I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed. I am considering of going to a midnight release party, just for the heck of it, though....It would be the last Harry Potter book, so I believe it would be a pretty big one.

And tonight, we will be going in line to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I am so excited. I know, this past few weeks, I have probably accumulated almost a day going in line for several other stuff, but this is so exciting. We are getting our stuff ready for the 3 hours we will be spending there. Laptop, charged: check! Cellular PC card: check! Portable DVD player: check! DS and GBA: check! Tickets: check!

Update (9:54pm): Been here an hour already, there were at least 4 queues, and the lines are very long. Apparently, the first in line started camping out at 5pm this afternoon. We got here at 9, and we're probably in the 50's already. Still some 2 hours to go.

Learning

The girls are still in bed. Looking at them got me thinking how different they are even if they look so alike. Don't get me wrong, I am not comparing who is the better child or that one is brighter than the other. On the contrary, it got me thinking how much their learning styles differ, but how effective each styles are to them.

A amazed me a couple of months ago by spelling out her name. We got our refrigerator alphabet magnets out and spelled everyone's name. She played with it some, and the next thing I know, she was spelling everyone's name out. Then she tried writing down our names. It was really amusing. I know that they weren't doing any writing in school -- at least, not the letters -- yet. But there she was, copying the letters spelled out by the fridge magnets. Although she already knows her letters and letter sounds by heart, I found out that she was writing by drawing. She still hasn't mastered or even tried writing her alphabet before, but now, she was writing letters as if they were objects. How I was able to say that? She wrote our names using the same font as the refrigerator magnets. But when prompted to write her name from memory, she used the proper capitalization and wrote her name in lower case letters.

The first few times she was trying to write her name, she'd always get the 'e' backwards. As in flipped, like a mirror image from left to right. All the other letters were done right except for the 'e'. When I tried teaching her the correct 'e', while she did the 'e' right, all the other letters in her name flipped. And she wrote it left to right. That's right, everything would be as if you read it from a mirror. With the 'e' still flipped.

Then just a few weeks ago, she started spelling out our last name. Since our last name was pretty long (8 letters!), she got only as far as the 5th letter. Still, for me, it's an achievement. She's not even 4 yet! But, yeah, we worked on it, and now she can go all the way through. I also asked her to write down the letters as she spelled it, and she did good.

It's probably not too amusing, you may say, but all these (well, except for the last 3 letters of our last name), she learned all by herself. They have an attendance board in school, and to teach familiarity of their names, they look for their names written on a cardboard "fruit" (or what have you, depending on their theme) and move them to a tree by the door. They are not required to memorize or even learn how to spell everything as early as now, but she did.

D, on the other hand, learned to spell her name after she started reading. She started by sounding out the letters to her name then writing it down. After she mastered her first name, she worked on her last name, again, by sounding out the letters. When we'd see a movie, or hear something on the radio, she would oftentimes surprise me by singing or humming the tune we just recently heard. She learns songs fast, and her taste in music is not very contemporary. She still hasn't gotten to the point yet that she'll look for a specific artist, but when I play songs in the car, she'd call my attention to some tracks that she likes. J and I have laughed about how D's mp3 player has songs older than her.

When D was 4, they had writing exercises brought home from school. D would always have a hard time doing it. So I started playing music for her. I was surprised, with the music, she worked faster and neater. Eventually, she'd ask for background music whenever she'd be doing her homework.

But that's not to say that D isn't visually acute, or that A can't learn much from listening; it's just that each of them has their own strengths, their own style they are more adapted to, their own manner of learning that would be more appropriate for them.

Hot Mom

I am not pushing this one, ok? I actually already forgot about it until Tito B mentioned it to me again. He was with J last night, so I think J shared it with him.

A couple of nights ago (or was it last week?), J was away and so the girls slept with me. That night was particularly warm, and so, while we turned the air conditioning on, I usually just set it to turn off very early in the morning. It does get pretty cool in the early mornings, anyway, so that set-up was fine. However, that particular day, it was warmer than usual. I woke up shortly after the preset time and noticed that it was starting to get stifling. I turned the fan on and checked on the girls. Then I pulled A closer to cuddle her while she was sleeping. In her sleep, she said, "Moooom, you're hot." I ignored her, I was thinking she's probably dreaming or something. Then she started pushing me away, saying, "Urong kaaaa, mainiiiit...(Move, it's hot...)"

I know.....when J told Tito B about it, they were probably making fun of me. Hmp! May araw din sila! =)

Geek

Yes, I know I already said once that I am a geek, but what happened today really fascinated me. Indulge me, please, with my amusing story.

Remember a few weeks ago, when I had that issue with my computer and I had to bring it in for repairs? That was the second time. The first time that happened in May, the Genius who assisted me noticed that I modified my chat application's icon. It wasn't anything big that required me to do a lot of hacking on the computer. It was just a plug-in, but still, a cute one at that. I think he mentioned that he was using the same chat app, but he wasn't aware that there was such a plug-in for that. On my computer, it was this:


Pretty cool, no?

Anyway.....today, I was back at the Store with another issue, thankfully, not with my computer this time. The same Genius was there at the tech support department. I was already helped by another tech guy, so I was just waiting while the girls were playing kids' games on the in-store computers. I was looking back and forth at the Genius Bar, waiting for my issue to be resolved. I was surprised when, upon seeing me, the Genius guy waved and smiled. When the device I was waiting for went out, I went over to the Genius Bar to pick it up. Genius guy then speaks to me and asks me about my computer. Then he said, "Oh, I already changed my icon to Yoda, too. It's sooo cool." Then we continued to talk about the sound plug-ins for the application. It actually didn't occur to me how weird we probably sounded until we were back home. Those people around us probably thought I just hang around the Store all day. Haha!

**********

On another story, there was an issue with my recent purchase. Apparently, there was a problem with the battery that wasn't too well-talked about. I wouldn't have thought it was a problem either if I hadn't read forums about it. The batteries weren't fully charging. It would report a full charge on the battery, but upon disconnecting from the power source, it was apparent that it wasn't fully charged. I thought it was a non-issue. All the while, I was thinking that maybe the battery needed several discharge cycles before charging at it's maximum capacity. Then I read about it. Uh-oh. To be sure, I called tech support. For all we know, it might just be a rumor going around. Tech support confirmed it was indeed an issue. They told me to just go ahead and make an exchange. Problem was that all stores are reporting they don't have anything in stock. So I called the nearest store and told them about my plight, and to my surprise, the customer rep was more than helpful. I am aware that I needed to get an appointment for service, so I just wanted to confirm that they have stocks before going ahead with the appointment. I sure don't want to sign up for an appointment only to be told that I cannot be served because they don't have anything to exchange it with. Customer service told me that they are booked full until Tuesday. Then he said I should just go ahead and visit the store before closing and speak with the store manager to have my problem resolved today. So, we did.

When we got there, Store Manager told me that usually, appointments needed to be made for fast service, but he'd try to fit me in. I might just have to wait a little longer. No biggie. Less than half-an-hour later, we were heading out the store with a replacement for the purchase. Another hour and I had all my previous data back, replacement up and running. Things just went so smooth, I didn't feel inconvenienced by it. Even the girls said it was too fast. They were hoping it would take longer so they could still play some more. And best of all, my toy is again brand new!

The Simpsons

Most of you might be aware that the Simpsons movie is coming out soon. I found out this morning that as part of promotions for the movie, some 7-11 branches were "redressed" as Kwik-E-Marts. Yes, the convenience store in Springfield ran by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. Amusing. Upon further research, I found out there were going to be 11 branches in the US that would be participating in this promotion. More exciting was that we lived so close to 2 branches. So, this afternoon, I decided to take the girls to see the Kwik-E-Mart.



Yup. That's Marge, running off with her groceries.


















And Apu, tending over the groceries.


















And, of course, Homer.


















We had Squishees, which were practically Slurpees in promotional cups. They were also selling the cups as souvenirs, although I was a bit disappointed because they were made of paper/wax. They also had Buzz cola, Krusty-O's and pink donuts.


A, happy with her brain-freeze.

Disappointing

I used to believe that people are inherently good. That people are molded into who they are by the environment they were raised in. That there are no bad people, only unpleasant pasts and experiences. Someone changed all that.

He had been into several adulterous relationships, which unfortunately resulted in children. While he is now living together with the mom of 2 of his kids, he refuses to accept a responsibility bigger than feeding them everyday. When the mom suggested they save money for the kids, he retorted with a "Para pag namatay ako, may pera ka? (So that when I die, you'll have money?)" The mom is mandated to stay at home with the kids. She does not have any access to the payroll account. She is not entrusted with any money, even grocery-shopping, he does by himself just so she wouldn't be able to keep the change for her or the kids. She once suggested that they be given a small allowance, in case of emergencies. He replied that she didn't have any right to ask for anything since he is living with them and they eat for free. It was that bad. Recently, this young mom (MS) was complaining. There was somebody else. Again.

I couldn't really say that MS is the victim. She wasn't the only one violated. She had once been the other woman. In hindsight, they were all probably the other woman. Even when he was in his teens, he'd be keeping 3-4 girlfriends at any given time. There was even one incident when one old girlfriend (Na) saw him with a new girlfriend (DA). He introduced the Na to DA as a cousin. Yeah, in Na's face. And they were still together then. In a fit of desperation, Na claimed she was pregnant. This one is a funny story, though. After Na said she was pregnant, there was the interview. As I can recall:

Q: You say you're pregnant, have you done a pregnancy test yet?
Na: Yes.
Q: What did it say?
Na: Negative.
Q: So, did you see a doctor?
Na: Yes.
Q: Did they say you're pregnant?
Na: No. They said I should go back next month so they can see if I got pregnant.

I should say, it was a serious interview, as at that time, it was a big issue with someone claiming pregnancy out of wedlock. But with how that interview went, I was laughing so loud. Partly because Na is a very bad liar/actress, and partly because I couldn't figure out why Na is so desperate over him. He wasn't exactly good-looking and he was an extremely bad dresser. I know, I shouldn't be so superficial. But I also know for a fact that he wasn't even a very good person. So, why?

It didn't make a lot of sense that girlfriends would be fighting over him. There would be phone calls and women screaming hell. But why, when he didn't have very pleasant traits, physical or otherwise? What was worth their trouble?

Then came the baby with DA. It looked like all was good. We thought he'd changed. But after the baby's first birthday came, DA was suddenly threatening a separation. We thought the problem was all with her. She was demanding for a very lavish celebration well out of their capacity, after all. When he wasn't able to deliver, then came the big talks. DA came with her old mother and everything was spread on the table. Apparently, DA believed that he was rich. He claimed to own a franchise to one of the largest gas stations. Plus a couple of computer shops. And a luxury car. And a Harley motorbike. And all this, he kept up all this time. Now, I really don't know if this is all an illusion he believes, but he was consistent with everyone he'd talk with. He'd have excuses, too, as to why he can't show his "properties." It was pretty bad, too. It turns out DA got pregnant because she thought he'd be able to give her the lifestyle of the rich. She only found out the truth after she got pregnant, and by then, it was too late. She just stood by her decision and had the baby with him. But at the baby's birthday, she wanted to show her folks that they were rich -- she did keep up the story, after all. She was also accusing him of having a mistress, which he vehemently denied.

A few months later, we found out she was right. It was also a mystery to us why he didn't even think of pursuing DA. It felt weird. Like he would just say, DA thinks it's over and so it was. It felt like he was relieved that DA was out of the picture and that it wasn't his doing. Like he was excused because he did not ask for it, he just didn't have a choice. But they had a kid, and we felt at least he should fight for his kid. But, no.

Then there was MS. She just appeared out of nowhere, and she was pregnant. Note that this wasn't even 2 months after that big issue with DA. From interviews after, we found that MS, too, believed his stories about his life. She was one of the students in the school he taught in (he said he gave up the teaching job after they moved in together, but I think he might have been fired). She knew he was already living together with someone else, and in one of the school events, she even took care of DA's baby when he brought her with him. I believe, in a way, MS might be interested with the promised lifestyle, too. Though we didn't condone his actions, there wasn't anything much that we can do. We tried talking some morals into him, but he'd only tell us that it's his life and we had no business with it. And then he'd threatened to hit us when we'd intervene.

I really don't care much about MS. She perfectly knew what she was getting into before she went into the relationship. She was aware of how he treated DA when they were still together, so really, the circumstances she is finding herself in now are all consequences of her decisions and actions. What I really couldn't take is how the children are faring. Never mind that MS would be left with any money in case something happens to him. At least the kids would have something, too. Although I do not agree with all the decisions MS has made, I cannot say that she isn't a good mother. I can see she is trying her best, and the kids are very well-mannered and well taken cared of. So I really couldn't see that MS would run with all the money and leave the children behind to fend for themselves.

And now, MS is saying there is another one. She said she wants to leave him but people are saying she should not give him the easy way out. She tried confronting the other woman, asking about the sent text messages found in his cellphone. He claimed that those were from someone who asked to use his cellphone. The other woman claimed to be his operations manager, and threatened that he'd get fired because MS is harassing her. Now, he is harassing MS because he is now playing the "Do you want to get me fired?" bit.

Disappointing, in particular, because we happen to be related. Disappointing because, I know, we were not raised to be that way. I know for a fact that he had it easy when we were young. He was the favorite. He can make the lousiest alibis and my parents wouldn't even question it. When he was in college, my dad found out that he'd been getting his tuition money plus allowance plus additional money he claimed he needed for other fees, school materials and projects, when in fact, he hadn't been enrolled for 2 years already. What happened in those 2 years that he claimed he was going to his classes is beyond me. My dad wasn't able to question him. He ran away. He came back because he ran out of money and received the prodigal son's welcome. My dad didn't ask anything. He just took him back. But then, he became more arrogant. He brought DA, and later on, MS, to live with him in my parents' home without even letting them know what was going on. He was working, but he kept on saying that his pay was late, and so he got an allowance. He would complain that his pay was so little, so even if he has a partner and a child living with him in my parents' home, he didn't contribute to pay the bills. When DA was acting like a queen in my parents' home and there was friction between her and my dad, they just acted like they owned the house and ignored my dad. My dad complained that he felt like he was being thrown out of his own house. I told my dad to kick them out, but that time, he was concerned about the baby. She was his grandchild still.

So was it my dad's fault? That he didn't discipline him well enough? I don't know. It has been going on in my head for a while; I had been thinking if there had been any good in him even when we were little. I can think of nothing. All I can think of is how he had been a jealous, selfish, little brat. I know my dad disciplined us. I know my mom taught us to be good people. Even my sister acknowledges that what he is doing is beyond unacceptable. My dad recently admitted that he tried talking with him. He just became defensive. My dad said that there is no use talking with him anymore. So, now he just lets him be.

I am furious with how he treats women. More so, I am furious with how he treats his own children. He has already become an embarrassment to the family. If only there is a way to sever blood relations, I probably did already a long time ago.

Is there a happy ending to this story? None that I see in the near future. I just hope, when his karma comes, it comes for him. I hope none of his children ever has to suffer from any of it.

Tagged: Kilig

MommyChi tagged me on "What was I thinking when I first met my current partner?" Interesting. Sabi nga ni Rose sa Titanic, "It's been 84 years......" teka lang, nag-r-reminisce pa ako! :)

(Spoiler: Sorry, sobrang baduy nito....)

I was a HS freshman when I met J. I just transferred schools, and since the new school was too far from home, not to mention the difficulty of getting a bus ride everyday along EDSA, I had to go on a school service which serviced areas close to home. J was on the same service, not to mention that the vehicle (it wasn't a bus, but a jeepney at the start, which later on became a nicer, airconditioned vehicle similar to the predecessor of the FXs) was managed by his relatives. The first time I saw him, he was bickering with the driver since apparently, the driver left without him since they were running late and he was still asleep. Funny. Hanggang ngayon, mahirap siya gisingin! They (the service occupants before we got in) weren't exactly bullies, but they somehow had dominance. They can demand for the choice seats in the vehicle even if we got there first, or sometimes, just ignore us altogether. I was able to work my charms, though. They would let me sit where I want to and they were friendly with me. Which was why he thought I would be a good match with one of his friends.

It didn't last long. He was cute (diba, Tin? Hehe), but he kept mostly to himself. I didn't know him any better than when I first met him and it became pointless, so it was goodbye after a while. Then, J gave up on this one girl he was trying to woo for a very long time already. He wasn't really mad about it, but he just decided he wouldn't have any more of what the girl had been giving him. She just had him running around her, but she'd always say she doesn't want to be his girlfriend. I was there with him when he decided to burn everything that would remind him of her. Para kaming mga arsonists!

We were friends, we'd always be telling stories on the way home and we really didn't think it was something. Most of my friends are boys, so it wasn't as if there was anything special about being friends with him, besides, his cousin was my best friend that time. We'd always be bantering or exchanging insults, like I remember him saying one time that when he gets to have kids, he wishes his kids would look like me, so I told him, "Whatever, what's the punchline?" So, I didn't think of anything when one time, he pulled his cousin aside to talk with her. That same night, he said he had something to tell me. He was nervous like he didn't know how to break it, so I helped him along. I thought he was going to tell me that his friend, my ex was already going out with someone. Old news, I said. I already saw them together on the way out of the school, and it was nothing. It was really over. Then he said something else after he made me promise that I wouldn't laugh or get mad. It was surreal. I didn't want to believe, of course. It was a Friday, so, I thought, if it was a joke, I wouldn't find out until after the weekend. It only became real when he called me at home to check on me that Saturday. Doesn't seem too big a deal, but that was so long ago, they didn't have any phones near where they lived. He went out in the rain to go find a phonebooth to give me a call! How's that for serious?

And so, a few days later, amid a lot of talks and concerns that if we didn't work out, it might be a lost friendship, we officially became a couple. We've fought petty fights, we've broken up and gotten back.....and the rest, as they say, is history.


Somehow, I couldn't believe that was THAT long ago. It was nice to look back and remember that.

Now, I am tagging Yette (really, I am curious!), Mhay, Era, and Reigh. Sige naaaaa.......

New Toy Adventure

Friday afternoon, we did go to wait in line for that toy. It was scheduled to start selling at 6pm. Since there was a store nearby, which I was hoping wouldn't have too many people waiting, we set off to go there at around 4. We got there some 10 minutes later, and I was pleased. There wasn't a very long line. There was someone taking names and giving out numbers. We were #45. At 5 minutes to 6pm, we started inching through the distance towards the store. By 7, we were about 8 people away. There were rumors by then that stocks are running out. Add to that the pressure that I was expected to be somewhere else by 8. Uh-oh. Literally, so close and yet so far. 7:20, I got a call from J. His plane already arrived......20 minutes early! I figured between immigration stamping and baggage claim, I probably have another another hour or so. I can get to the airport in half an hour, so I figured, I'd wait my turn and still be there on time. But then, about five minutes after J's call, one buyer went out and they didn't let anyone in. Then the store manager went out to inform everyone that stocks are all out. They would accept pre-orders and have the item/s shipped out in about 3-5 days. One of the people in line checked the website and it said it can ship in 2-4 weeks. Darn. But then again, I figured, it might not be worth the wait if I end up waiting anyways. It might be a shorter wait, but I'd still be waiting. So, I decided to ditch the line, just go to the airport and order from the website once we get home. 2-4 weeks wouldn't be that long, and if I end up getting it somewhere else when it's available, I can always cancel my web order. And so, it was.

Saturday was D's birthday. The plan was that we go to Build-a-Bear, then have dinner at Applebee's. Unfortunately, the closest Build-a-Bear location was some 15 miles away to a mall we don't frequent. But since that was D's request, we didn't mind. We had lunch inside the mall, and walking back to Build-a-Bear, we passed by THE store. I am aware that that mall has THE store in it, but I was thinking, we were going there for D's birthday and there's probably going to be a line anyways. I wasn't going to waste time getting in line for THE toy and having them wait for me. But once we got to the store front, there was a very short line and everyone coming out had THE box. I asked one of the sales assistants if there was still any in stock, he said, there was only about 8 left. Darn. I quickly went in line, and by the time I got to the pay counter, there was only 4. I asked them if they can have my web order cancelled, but they said, I would have to call the online store. No big problem. I asked them if I can return the purchase if I end up not able to cancel the web order. As long as the box is still sealed, I can have a full refund. If I open the box, there would be a restocking fee. I went ahead with the purchase, and once I got out of THE store, I immediately called the online store. I told them I didn't have my web order number with me and I am still outside THE store branch. Thankfully, they facilitated the cancellation. I even asked for them to send me a confirmation email regarding the cancellation.

After the girls had accessorized their dolls, we headed back for home since J's jetlag is starting to set in. While the girls were playing, I was playing, too. I went on with the activation, which, although did not take just 5 minutes (more like an hour), was still a breeze. I was already on the network and merely needed to adjust my plan accordingly, so no problem there.

Although it is not perfect, it still is B-E-A-U-tiful! It has some shortcomings, which frankly, I was wondering if that had been an oversight because one would think is common to find, but then again, it does what it needs to do and more. I still don't feel bad about it being a bit exorbitant, I still think it is worth it. And have I said.....it's so pretty. The few ones who have seen it only had "Wow!" and "Cool!" to say, and one other is willing to forego a gaming console to purchase, too. I am not quite ready to reveal, lest I earn the ire of some (which, come to think of it, I probably deserve for talking in lengths about it.)

But, soon, dears, soon.