Anton: Ang dakilang taga-walis ng Paula Homes

Anton seems to have a penchant for brooms and dust pans.

Check out his funny video

Untitled from razener on Vimeo.

Let me know what you think =)

Iskolar ng Bayan

In celebration of UP's centennial, I am posting excerpts of an article published in the Manila Standard Today. Not sure who the author is. Read this in an email forwarded to me by Carrie.

If you speak to anyone from UP – student, professor, alumnus - you will get no Latin slogans or apologies about how the school teaches values in spite of its outward materialism. This is not a student population that thinks about basketball games or memorizes school songs. This is not a school that chooses one statement to drill into the minds of its students.

This is not, of course, to say that UP does not care about values. It is that UP, in its own inimitable way, believes that values cannot be force-fed. The statue of the naked man that guards the entrance to the campus in Diliman best represents UP's approach to all education and the respect for students that is the center of its educational philosophy. All who come to this university, regardless of origin, bring themselves naked, carrying nothing but their thirst; like the proverbial empty teacup, making an offering of self, waiting to be filled.

Here is a campus where all have the same opportunities to learn. But, also, here is a campus that will give all the same opportunities to fail. There are no guidance counselors who will chase after you because you have been skipping classes. The attitude this university takes is that you must take the initiative – for learning, for seeking help, for realizing you need help. That is not to say that no help exists. But it is help that is not forced upon you.

This is a university rich in both introspection and conversation. On this campus, the student is constantly exposed to people – faculty, administrators, community members, other students – who care deeply and passionately about the world. The conversations are almost never purely cerebral. A single graph can provoke comments about government policy and its effects on people.

As a result, UP is home to a student population that looks at the world and cares. It is easy to see pictures of protesting students and dismiss it as radicalism. But there are few campuses in this country where students go beyond a passing curiosity about what is happening in the world beyond their own lives. There are even fewer universities where students not only care but also actually believe they have a responsibility to make a difference – not in some hazy future – today.

And that, I believe, is what truly forges character. Character is not molded by speeches or long classes in ethics or theology. Character grows from within. It begins by being handed the keys to your own self and being told you are in charge; you now have power over yourself and your own actions – and with that power, you take on responsibilities.

Whoever wrote this, thank you. This is a well-written piece and accurately sums up everything we Iskolars ng Bayan represent.

My weekends are made of these

It was bonding time for me and mo cuishle once again. Hubby was out the whole saturday because of a company sponsored event (their team went to see the Manila Ocean Park) so it was just me and the little one with Mamu and Ema. Oh, Dad was in Laguna too for some male bonding.

Going back. Aside from playing with the little one, I finally got to try the fully automatic washing machine I bought nearly two years ago. Never got to use it since I purchased it because, well, I don't know really. Just never thought of giving it a try. So. Since Ema was playing with Anton, I took the opportunity of trying the seemingly decaying machine. Sayang naman di ba if di ko i try. Yey, it worked. Medyo magastos lang sha sa water and detergent but sulit naman. As in no sweat talaga. And by the time I was done, Anton woke up from his morning nap and viola, back to playing mode na naman ako.

Had a chance to lure the little one into the bed for some snapshots with my phone camera:



And since ang anak ko ay nasa stage ng walang kapaguran, akala ko di na ko mapapahinga. But thanks to Ema and Mamu, I got my much-needed rest and was even able to doze off for a few hours in the afternoon. She and Mamu played with Anton while I tried to get some reading and sleeping done.

Sunday was spent lunching at Galleria to celebrate Tyang Tilling's birthday. In the afternoon, we all trooped to the church and offered mass for Nana's swift recovery from the Big C.

So that's how I spent my weekend. Now I am back at work. Bummer.

Cant' wait!

Since I have had Anton, I have rarely been to the movies. But this one, I cannot pass up.



I am so excited to watch this movie!!! Saw the trailer and I must say, this is Heath Ledger's opus.

Robert Fulghum

Since I already wrote about Erma Bombeck, I think it is but fair to also mention another fave author of mine: Robert Fulghum. Just like mareng Erma, I was introduced to the writings of pareng Robert in highschool. I think it was during my first year in High school when we were first given copies of his famous article "All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kndergarten." And since then I was hooked. Like mareng Erma, I particularly like pareng Robert's humor and wit. And the way he gets life's profound lessons in our daily routine. Aside from his most famous book, I also have copies of "Uh-Oh", "It was on Fire When I lay on it", and "The Rituals of our Lives."

And just like Erma, I also have compiled my favorite Robert Fulghum quotes such as:

- One of life's best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you've got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference. (I always remember this everytime I encounter a challenge. hence, when in a tough situation, I ask myself: Problem or inconveniene? Funny but that simple question always brought clarity to my thoughts.)

- I don't think the thing is to be well known, but being worth knowing.

- To love something and to possess it are two different things.

- I've always thought anyone can make money. Making a life worth living, that's the real test.

- What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? (PGMA, are you reading this?? Hope you are!)

And my all time favorite is his credo:

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge —

That myth is more potent than history.

I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts —

That hope always triumphs over experience —

That laughter is the only cure for grief.

And I believe that love is stronger than death.

Madami pa sha actually magandang lessons but most of these are in narratives. If you like light, inspiration readings, go and grab a copy of any of his books. Believe me, after you read one or two of his anecdotes, you will be sleeping with a smile on your face.

Happy reading!!

Grammar Girl (and Boy)

The thing I love most about this job is the witty banter between members of my team. I have said it once and I will say it again: I have never been more honored to work with a bunch of people who are so intellectually gifted that it sometimes scares the hell out of me.

There's B who is a repository of useless information/trivia. There's M who is a son of a prominent journalist but for some reason (maybe because he is from that school in Taft) is sometimes exceedingly slow when it comes to understanding stuff. There's C who is called The One in our team because of her exceptional writing and editing skills. And of course, there's our Boss R who is just as crazy as the rest of us.

But I digress. Just this morning, B was asking C and me for words he can use to replace "take into account." Our suggestions were "consider" or "factor in". He didn't like both and instead opted to flip his sentence or some other strategy just so he can use "take into account". And then he asked C whether the word "roll out" needed a hyphen. Here is how their conversation went:

B: How do you spell roll out?

C: Depends. Do you want to use it as noun or as a verb? If you use it as a verb, you don't need to use a hypen. If it is a noun, it has to hypenated.

B: But I am using it as an adjective.

C: What do you mean?

B: As in "roll out time"

C: (without batting an eyelash) with a hyphen.

B: But word does not want to accept it.

C: Then Word is wrong. You're better than MS Word.

B: The spelling is not being accepted.

C: Eh sino ba masusunod? Ikaw o machine?

Author's thought: May point nga naman itong si C. Mas mautak nga naman si B kesa kay MS word =)

Anyways, this is just but one example of many grammar discussions we have each day. I must say that it does not only make for an interesting blog story. I actually learn something out of it. Another important discussion we had was about them things we call "em dash" and "en dash." C actually blogged about it here.

So C and B, keep 'em discussions coming. They're downright funny and enlightening at the same time. Love you both for it.

The second oldest profession in the world..

...is motherhood. At least acccording to Erma Bombec, an American humorist who made a living out of writing about the joys and pains of a domesticated life. I first came across her work in high school when our lit teacher gave introduced her writing to us. To this day, I find her works as one of the wittiest, most intelligent writings I have ever come across. I guess it is because, whether you are a mother or not, there is a universal truth in each of her writings.
Here are some of her most memorable, if not downright funny, words of wisdom:

1. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every moment of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

2. There is possibly no guilt in this world to compare with leaving a sick child with a babysitter. The sitter could be Mother Teresa and you would still feel rotten. There is something about having your child throw ( pwede din grow) up without you that is difficult to l ive with.

3. If I had my life to live over again, I would have talked less and listened more.

4. Giving birth is little more than a set of muscular contractions granting passage of a child. Then the mother is born.

5. It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.

6. When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything you gave me."

7. Children make your life important.

8. There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.

9. I love my mother for all the times she said absolutely nothing . . . .for her silence during the times I fell flat on my face, made a lousy judgment, and took a stand that I had to pay dearly for . . . Thinking back on it all, it must have been the most difficult part of mothering she ever had to do: knowing the outcome, yet feeling she had no right to keep me from charting my own path. I thank her for all her virtues, but mostly for never once having said, “I told you so.”

Thoughts

Much has been said about the demands of motherhood and how it is especially difficult to juggle all these, especially if you are a working mom like me. Most days, I have learned to set it aside as something I have to live with. But over the weekend, it has once again been brought to the fore. I won't go into the details of what transpired at home. Suffice to say it made me stop and wonder, do people really understand what working parents go through?

Being away from your baby is not a sign of an irresponsible parent. yeah, sure, there are parents who abandon their kids at the first offer of a gimmick but for fairness sake, let's make a demarcation line between parents who shamelessly go out on social calls and parents who are sacrificing their precious weekend just to earn extra bucks.

If practicality were set aside for one moment, I am sure many of my kind would walk out of their respective offices and decide to spend the rest of their days with their babies. I would. I absolutely wish there were more hours in the day where I could be with Anton and play with him and let him know that Mommy is watching over him. I wish weekends were longer and work days much shorter.

Every time my husband regales me with stories of Anton's newest tricks, I feel guilty and sad that I wasn't there to witness it. It is nothing short of a heartbreak, really.

I just hope someday Anton will realize that it's not about how much time you have with someone, it's how you spend it together.

I have nothing against people who see things differently. I just hope you could cut us some slack every now and then.

London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense

Just because every bit of this article is true, I am re-posting it here:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

So sad but true, yes?

Nana...

... is my surrogate mother in Singapore. Like any mother, she coooked for me and Chie even after a long day's work. She would walk a few blocks, sometimes take the train, just so she could give us our daily ration of food. And when we were sick, she would watch over us until we were well again. She did everything to prevent us from getting homesick, even though sometimes, we knew she was feeling it too.

Last week, doctors found lumps in Nana's breast. Thankfully, they weren't cancerous. Unfortunately, nana had to undergo a mastectomy just the same. Through it all, Chie was by her side. And I wasn't. Not that I wanted it that way. I'm sure she understood that I just couldn't fly to Singapore in a moment's notice.

Anyways, Chie told me yesterday that Nana is recovering well and is actually reverting to her usual, bubbly self. At one point in our conversation, Chie asked me why this had to happen to Nana, of all people. Nana is a good person, Chie said. She didn't deserve this. Chie's questions got me thinking. And not feeling clever, sent her a note which hopefully bears some truth to it.

Bad things happen because they just do. Nana didn't do anything wrong. And truth be told, I don't think she deserved it either. But Nana's faith is strong, as you said, and this event in her life will not change that. She knows in her heart that this is not a test of faith. Think of the good things, Chie. At least, the results were negative of cancer. At least she is not in pain. At least, she had you to hold her hand and take care of her. She may not have a partner but with a niece like you, why else would she need one?

So, Chie, kudos to you for the strenght you have shown Nana. Nana, please get well soon. I will see you when you come home here sa Pinas.

Who is next, Manny?

Shared to me by office seatmate, Carrie. Just too darned funny not to post here.

Due to the overwhelming losses and humiliation the Mexican boxers have suffered under the iron hands of Manny Pacquiao, the Mexican government has sent feelers to Team Pacquiao that they would like Manny to fight ZORRO next. No comment yet from Team Pacquiao.

vs.

So, who are you betting on? =)