Den's Graduation Day

March 28, 2008 - This day is Den's High School graduation day. After 4 years at the University of Santo Tomas High School, she is now finished and free!!! It's also quite nostalgic for me to be attending it seeing as how it was 19 years ago that I stood on that same stage to get my own diploma :)

We all woke up very early because we had to be at the venue (PICC Plenary Hall) by 7am.. Den and her classmates had to be in school by 6am (they'll all be transported by bus to the venue)!!

Anyway, Dana was so excited she even woke up by herself. She was going to wear her new dress and that in itself is a big thing!! Dylan took a longer time to get up (which was understandable) but when we told him he'd get to wear his new Elmo shirt, well he was up and at 'em LOL

Too bad that when we got to the venue, we were told that Dana and Dylan will not be allowed to enter because of the rule that children 7 years old and below are not permitted.. which should not be the case because graduations are family events, aren't they and kids should be allowed to witness it... I can understand the need for order and such but parents will surely keep their kids in line, won't they? at least I would and my kids are well-behaved in public anyway.. but I guess there are some who aren't..

Anyway, Patrick and the kids ended up going to the local fastfood store while waiting for Den and me, so that the kids can while the time away in the playroom. But they also went home earlier because they were getting cranky, and the event still wasn't finished.

I felt sad while the ceremonies were on-going. First because I felt that my mom should have been here to witness it with me. She sure would have loved to see her favorite grandchild graduate. :) Second, I was the only one who was there for Den, although Patrick and the kids were physically there earlier. Her other classmates had as much as 5 people with them, more were even waiting outside. Third, we didn't even have a celebratory lunch for Den because of financial strappings. I did promise her that we will go for whatever she wants when some money comes in :)

After the ceremonies were over, naturally, the picture taking started :) it was chaos there! LOL there was a lot of crying, hugging, meeting parents, meeting boyfriends/girlfriends (surprise, surprise!).. it was a mixture of elation and sadness.. but sure worth remembering :)

For pictures: http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u270/rachel01013/Den%20Graduation/100_1351.jpg

Happy Easter everyone!

Happy Easter to Everyone!!

To Catholics, Easter is a special time because it commemorates Jesus Christ's rebirth. In the same manner, it also symbolizes a change in people.. a rebirth from the old ways.. a chance to start anew..

I look at it as a chance to accept my mom's death, to forgive the driver who killed her, and to let go of any hate.. it's not easy... because I want justice for my mom's death.. I still can't believe that she (it was a 23-year old Caucasian) was let go without even a slap on the wrist even though she killed my mother.. does it not matter that she took a life? Thinking about forgiveness is easier than actually doing it..

We just spent the day at home, going to Church in the afternoon.. we were content eating corn and left-over Chicken Tinola for dinner :) I feasted on Indian mangoes :)

Spirits and Dragonflies

I don't know if you're familiar with the Philippine superstition or saying that when someone close to you dies and then you see a dragonfly or butterfly in your house or in your vicinity, then that person's spirit is visiting you..

Well, this happened to me.. First, when my grandfather died last January.. Then when my mom died last February..

It happened again last March 17, on the eve of my mom's 40th day. It was a surprise to find a dragonfly in the living room. But when I saw it, I immediately thought of my mom and it seemed to me that she was saying goodbye.. I felt so sad and so hurt...

The dragonfly even went so far as to flit beside me, my daughter Dana and my niece Den, who at that time were also in the living room watching TV with me..

It didn't leave the house until the next morning, which coincidentally was also Dylan's 2nd birthday..

Goodbye Mom...

Dylan's 2nd Birthday

Yes.. My baby boy is now 2 years old!! hahahaha

His long-awaited gifts have finally been opened.. voila!! they are Mr. Potato Head and Darth Tater!! woohoo!!!

It's a bit sad though that his birthday coincided with my mom's 40 days.. so we can't really celebrate as much as we want..

We'll make it up to him next time.. besides, it's also Holy Week (Lenten season) here in the Philippines..

Anyway, we also opened the Shell Ferrari Cars but we're still planning on where to put it in the house.. it really should be displayed not played with hahahaha

Talked with Grandma

Yesterday, I decided to call my grandmother. I wasn't able to talk to her when my mom died because I figured it would too hard for the two of us to talk about. So I waited for a month and then I bought a prepaid call card (cozz it's cheaper for long distance calls!).

I tried calling her a weekend ago but nobody was answering the phone and all I got was the answering machine.

Well, I lucked out yesterday and I was finally able to talk to her. It's good to hear that she seems to be doing fine. There were moments in our conversation when we both got a little weepy which was understandable.. I for my mom and she for her daughter, whom she only had 6 years to get to know all over again... They've been separated when my grandmother and grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1978 (if I'm notmistaken). Since that time, my grandma only made one trip back, in 1993. They eventually saw each other in 2002, when my mom and brother made it to the US as well.

So, it's really hard for her to lose her eldest child in such a tragic accident. If I feel this much loss at losing my mother.. what can she be feeling at losing her child.. because no matter how old we are, we're still children to our parents.. and I can feel her loss and it breaks my heart.. First, my grandfather in 2005, now my mom in 2008. My mom's death was so unexpected that we're still reeling from it even after a month has passed....

It just felt good to be able to talk with my grandmother... and I think she felt a little relief too at talking with me.. I plan to talk with her regularly from now on..

Shell Ferrari Cars

Woohooo!!!

We won! We won!!!

Every month, there's a caption-this-photo contest in Top Gear (Philippines) Magazine. We decided to join the contest just for fun and also because they were giving away a complete set of the Shell Ferrari Cars Collection. These Shell Ferrari model cars are part of Shell's promotion to commemorate it's 60-year relationship with Ferrari. The set includes the Ferrari Enzo, the F430, the 575 Superamerica, the 360 Spider, the F50, and the Ferrari F1 racer.

Well, what do you know? We won! We won!! We were one of 5 winners picked!! And we went to Robinson's Galleria to pick it up!! woohoo!!

Dylan is sick =(

After several weeks of people in this house coughing and sniffing, it was Dylan's turn. I don't know what it is about this cough but it seems to be pretty persistent.. I think the new strains of virii are becoming too strong for the regular medicine.

Dylan wasn't able to sleep well last night because of the phlegm ... it was also funny because last night was Patrick's first day/night at the new office :)

Oh and Happy 13 years and 4 months to Patrick and me hahahhaa

Tried a New Dish

Well, today I experimented with a few ingredients that my Mom sent with her last balikbayan box. It's called Pad Thai and its similar to our local pancit bihon. My mom sent the Pad Thai paste/sauce and the rice sticks (noodles). I just added chicken, mushroom, tofu, garlic and broth to it.. It turned out okay - different but edible hahaha

Talk about Tired =)

Well, I had a burst of energy yesterday.. I woke up early, started rearranging stuff in the living room, started doing the laundry (thank God for washing machines LOL!), checked email, downloaded Naruto (dial-up takes soooo long!) did more Internet stuff... whew!!

If that wasn't enough, I started painting the railings of the stairs.. I started doing it about 2 weeks ako - sanded, cleaned them and primed them for paint but never got around to actually painting it until that day.. In my enthusiasm, I knocked over the can of paint and ended up painting 3 of the stairs hahahha they're black now.. fortunately, they're the stairs that lead out the door and the black paint suits them hahaha

It was so tiring!!

But when it was done, I felt extremely satisfied especially when Dana said, "Mama that looks nice!" :) what more can you ask for ? ;)

New Cars toy!!

Looks like gifts are still coming in for the kids :) Patrick just came from our ebayer friend with a new Cars plushie.. a bigger one! hahahaha

Dana and Dylan can't stop playing with it woohoo!!

College is so Expensive!!

Oh my gosh! My niece, Den is graduating from high school this coming March 28. She's been looking at colleges and universities for quite some time now. At first, we were thinking she'll continue with UST (where she is right now) because she passed her entrance test for the IT course there. But, we just saw the table of fees and it costs almost P40K for one sem! At first I thought that was for one year already... was I mistaken.. hahahaha

Now, we're looking for an alternative school because her educational plan seems pretty useless compared to the amount of money involved.. Seems like educational plans now don't really help.. considering the cost of education..

Wish us luck! :D

Patrick's New Job

Hooray! Patrick has a new job!! After a number of months that he's been out of one, he finally got accepted at a call center here in Makati. To me, however, it seemed weird to be interviewed between 12mn and 6am but if that's what it takes, right.. ?

It's been a rough last quarter last year, what with Den getting dengue fever and being hospitalized for 1 week - 4 days in the ICU too.. and then after that, my son, Dylan gets hospitalized as well - this time for pneumonia with asthma complications

Patrick lost his job because of this - we had to be at the hospital 24/7 basically and there was no one else to help us out.. It was good of his friends to stay at the hospital for a couple of nights to get us much needed rest..

Now, hopefully, we'll have a better financial position than the past few months.. :)

Poignant Balikbayan boxes

Today is March 5, 2008 and I feel very sad. 2 Balikbayan boxes were just delivered to our doorstep - these are the last boxes that my mom ever sent.. she sent them before she was killed in a car accident in California, USA. For those of you who don't know, she was hit by a Toyota Tacoma last February 07 around 7pm (PST).

Anyway, it's so bittersweet going through the things that she placed in the boxes. There were a number of sweatshirts for Patrick.. a Darth Vader watch for him too (must be a birthday gift!), clothes for Dana, briefs for Dylan, a bag and toiletries for Den, some clothes for me and a lot of groceries for us.. she didn't even forget medicines for my aunts..

I can just imagine her putting all the stuff in and what she might be saying while she was organizing them :)

This routine with the balikbayan boxes is just one of the many things that I will miss about her.

Dana's 4th Birthday - Day 3

Can you imagine? We went for a trip to the mall for the 3rd time in 3 days LOL This time we went to SM Manila. We were supposed to meet an ebayer whom Patrick bought a Cars Lightning McQueen plushie from..

Of course, taking advantage of the opportunity, we ate at Karate Kid which serves great gyoza, ramen and california maki :)

I was also able to buy James Siegel's "Derailed" at the Buy-the-Book bookstore :) it was a bargain at P99 for a hardbound copy :)

Oh and before I forget, we did pick up Dana's Cars-inspired brithday cake from Goldilocks during lunchtime :)

Dana's 4th Birthday - Day 2

Well, it seems that there's a continuation to Dana's birthday celebration! Not finding suitable graduation shoes for Den at the SM Mall of Asia, we decided to go shopping at the Araneta Center in Cubao the day after. It's a good place to a shop since there are a number of malls - SM, Ali Mall, the new Gateway Mall, Farmer's Plaza and a department store-cum-supermarket combo called Shopwise.

Looks like not too many shoe manufacturers produce white shoes for graduation nowadays. We've been through so many stores, we've lost count before settling with one pair that at least looks comfortable (graduation ceremonies take a long time), priced right and looks good on her :)

After that, we went to a store called the Toy Palace, that's a little out of the way but carries great toys at reasonable prices. The kids' godmother, my old friend Dette, sent some money for the kids. We were able to buy a musical piano, a Mr. Potato Head and a Darth Tater version of Mr. Potato Head :) The kids are into Star Wars, if you want to know :0

Anyway, having expended all that energy, we ended up eating at Charly Brown (we haven't tried it yet) They have great fries and their ramen tastes good!

Dana's 4th Birthday - Day 1

What does a girl of 4 usually want for her birthday? Well, our Dana just wants a trip to the zoo and the mall :) We didn't make it to the zoo unfortunately, but we made it to the mall with more time to spare...

We went to SM Mall of Asia, last March 1st to celebrate Dana's 4th Birthday. We (Patrick, Dana, Dylan and Ate Den) ate a hearty lunch at the Mongolian Barbecue restaurant. It was an eat-all-you can feast which we really took advantage of :) Then, we spent the rest of the day looking for bathing suits ! It's summer so what the heck.. Our aunts from the States will be vacationing here in April and there's a definite trip to the beach in the works woohoo!! Dana had so much fun trying on different styles - a real trooper!! Since Ate Den's graduation was scheduled on March 28, we also decided to look for graduation shoes for her.. unfortunately, we were all too tired to really go around.. so we re-set that for another trip...

We had some digital pictures printed out, Dana was going around in her own car, while Dylan was in his stroller.. Dana and Daddy Patrick spent some quality time together playing in the arcades. Apparently, if it's your birth month you get a ton of credits to spend :) So that was also a great treat!

Dinner was spent at Don Henrico's where we had a huge plateful of pasta to share and pizza and bottomless drinks.. You can sort of deduce we love food! hahaha

We got home around 10pm and the kids still had too much energy! Their poor Ate Den was complaining of tired feet and promptly feel asleep when we got home

All in all it was a great day!