math-tinik

the apple does not fall far from the tree

i'm so proud of nixon. he never fails to amuse us when it comes to his studies. of course there would be tough times and this moment, is a moment of celebration and triumph... not just for us parents, but for our friends and families as well.

he got first place in class and 87th in Asia.

crazy!

this guy is just so great, i have to share his performance to ya' all... get ready to be amazed

some kinda stupid

hay di ko alam kung talagang stress lang ako sa work or what! i was about to register my starbucks prepaid card online so i can keep track of my balance and top-up... so the instruction says, scratch the back to reveal the security pin code. and this is what happened... take note on the lower part...

i said to myself, bakit wala namang number!??! then scratch ko ulit sa right side, wala parin! i'm getting frustrated na, so i scratched the left side. hay naku wala parin!!! tapos i looked up at the card, perfect! andun pala sa taas un pin code!!!! syempre di ko naisip na un long gray line was for swiping diba!!!!! haaaayyyy it's really just one of those days arrggghhh!

ayan so i got a new one to replace it via online... syempre i was embarassed to go to a starbucks branch. anong sasabihin ko!? naisip kong alibi was, my son played with my card. ang salbahe kong nanay!

khmer siem reap trip

my fascination with culture has lead me yet to another place i truly admire... that is siem reap, cambodia. i heard of their history and temples in my asian history class, but my attention got really drawn to it when i watched the movie, tomb raider.

they were mainly using USD as their trade currency, but you can also use cambodian riels. we stayed at steung siem reap hotel; conveniently located in the old french quarter and a few meters away from the old market, restaurants, atm machines, drugstores, bakery and pub street. angkor night market is like three blocks away. our trip falls on a dry, cool season (18-19deg C) on early mornings and late afternoons, while it hits 30-33deg C during mid day.

the highs during my trip was the 'temple hopping' of major landmarks: "angkor wat", "ta phrom", "bantey srei", and "bayon temple". it never ceased to amazed me how intricate the carvings were on the wall. our tourist guide, mr. somuch, told us that there were unending conflicts of religion in the old times... temples were revered and built for hindus, then later on by buddhist. so the conflicting carvings and vandalisms were evident on most of them. i was astonished how these different bricks and rocks have formed faces that have definite features. and i was astonished at the thought of being on a temple on a temple! we went up to temples
15meters high only to find more temples on top haha! and it felt like we were just on the ground.

(left) bayon temple, (right) ta phrom or tomb raider

the locals were very calm, accommodating, soft spoken and 'eager' (i'm speaking for tuktuk drivers and market vendors here). most of them would really sell their services just so they could save for the rainy season. it's not ideal to go there on monsoons, the place would be soaked in mud and floods. i was surprise that most locals we encountered were not aware of what day it was...

us to tuktuk driver: vichet, please fetch us on saturday morning, around 9am

vichet: ok ok. what day is today?

us: its thursday, so the day after tomorrow.

another one with our tourist guide, mr. somuch...

somuch: so until when are you here in cambodia?

us: til sunday morning

somuch: what day is today?

us: uuhh.. friday. so the day after tomorrow.

somehow it made us think that while they let each day pass by without minding about the day and time, while we on the other hand, are always trying to count the minutes, hours, day in a week. it was a breath of fresh air, very laid back and relaxed... while we urban creatures kept pulling for our weekends, which honestly just go by unnoticed.

major highlight was crossing out one item off my bucket list... climbing up a mountain. i'm proud to have finished that 1.5km hike up kbal spean and sunk our feet in the cool waterfall. the terrain was a bit tough and challenging... halfway, i even asked myself why am i punishing myself on my freakin' birthday hahaha! but it was truly rewarding. our day ended with a delicious dinner treat in bopha restaurant serving local delicacies followed by shopping souvenirs in the flea market. *side note: mr. somuch and our driver laughed at us because we were ordering what they call 'peasant food'! we loved amok & sam lor macheu, i bought spices back for cooking them.*

1.3km more to go! aja aja!

(left) amok & khmer style beef soup, (right) sam lor macheu & khmer prawn w/ veggies

when we visited the landmine museum, my heart felt sadness and pity for the cambodians. it was just around 1990's that they started patching themselves up after the french colonization and pol pot's reign. it's understandable why most of them would simply live by their means because they're scared to farm or fish with the fear of a landmine or bomb exploding in their midst. the initiative of landmine clearing was started by aki ra, who was chosen top 10 cnn hero for 2010.. kudos to him! they have a camp for young and old victims, teaching them how to continue living their lives normally.

overall, our trip was truly a break from the busy daily city life and parenthood. a perfect time for dadi and me to explore a new society, be with a diverse crowd, and discover life in a different perspective. the trip was insightful and i'm very glad cambodia was part of our 'to-visit' list :)

ber months are back!

...and oh, i just remembered... today, the countdown officially starts! yiippee!!! 115days til christmas!!! love love love the holiday season.

♫ its beginning to look a lot like christmas.. everywhere you go *except sg LOL* ♫

kid's humor

last saturday, we were on our way to mareng hani's baby shower. then we saw nixon and noah's friends in the playground.

noah: mami, who's that? *pointing to a thin girl w/ protruding teeth and ponytails*
me: your friend! *pardon me, i don't know their names*
noah: no mami! its chicken little!

then i looked back at the little girl... it made me think, then i suddenly realize why.

he was referring to abby mallard.. nyahahah! my son is a bully at 3, tsk tsk! *alert alert!*

noah is growing too fast physically, right now he's weighing 23kg! he won't fit into the regular XL, XXL diapers (12-18kg)... so we were left with no option, we got the XXXL (18-25kg). imagine, 14pieces costing 21SGD! omgulay! hay we were thinking of getting him adult diapers instead, what do u think? :D

on another note, i'm admiring nixon's development lately. i know we haven't been around much lately becoz dadi and i are swamped with work. but nixon was able to handle his holiday homeworks on his own. he's now into reading books like oliver twist, gulliver's travel and peter pan. i hired him a tutor for his mandarin, so he can have someone to converse with in a regular basis. he's enjoying it, and he can understand his tutor even when she's communicating with him in pure mandarin. he also refers to the chinese-english dictionary on his own. one night i sat with him to teach him how to search for the words that he's looking for, and he was very interested. the following day, i saw him doing his assignment using it.

touching valentine letter from kobe

valentine's day hasn't been a very 'celebrated' event in our family. we just normally greet each other and get on with our everyday lives. my sister berna told me the other day that our little sister, kobe, made a valentine's card for our family. she placed it on the ref door back home. berna sent me the message via chat. here was the message:

to my beloved family
mama papa kuya jason ate grace hapi valentines day noah and nixon

thanks jesus for valentines day

dear family, i love you all bcoz wen i was a kid you care for me even mama even i lie i will still love you and papa you done to so much

kuya even you always tease me i will love you in my heart ate berna thank you for teaching me all

ate grace you always make me happy all the time
*this next line is for me...*
achie you gave me nephews and that was the greatest gift to me nixon and noah
*awwww! i'm so touched!*

thank you all from your beloved child kobe

btw, she's only 8years old, turning 9 this year. =)

beyonce, be scared, be very scared!

this link was forwarded to me by a friend, blessie, who was browsing in youtube.com to find latest song hits.. she found this and i was so amazed! i was laughing my heart out and furious with envy!




now, due to the overwelming response of the viewers proven by more than 1million hits, he guested in BH talk show (Bonnie Hunt). here's the 'purified' version... watch it here!

timely coincidence

i just remembered.. i was suppose to blog about this incident last month. remember our nice driver/tourist guide from bohol? mang jun? well, we suddenly remembered to send in some 'tip' for his generosity during our trip to bohol. we weren't able to hand him some token of gratitude because we were expecting that he'll be the same driver who'll take us to the ferry terminal to cebu. unfortunately, he had another appointment so we were taken by another guy. so we decided to deposit some amount in his bank account during our remittance trip to LP.

i asked for his bank details, and told me how thankful he is. his exact words were, 'ma'am, siguro po hulog kayo ng langit sa akin. kasi po nasa ospital po ako ngayon, bukas ako discharge. buti na lang po may dumating na tulong pinansyal galing sa inyo. god bless po at maraming salamat!' *ma'am, maybe you were sent by good fate. i'm currently confined in the hospital and will be discharged tomorrow. good thing you're financial aid was in time. god bless and thank you!*.

it really sent chills to my body and i was so touched by this incident. truly, another one of god's mysterious ways.

*i have to blog this right away, as in ora mismo when i had this conversation with nixon*

nixon going to bed and hugging me...

nixon: mami, something happened to me today...

me: what is it baby?

nixon: somebody told me i'm sexy boy

me: who said it??

nixon: *covering his face with his palms* lincoln did!

*lincoln is his bus buddy and school mate*

me: *trying to recover* why did he say that!??!

nixon: i don't know what he was thinking

me: how about you?

nixon: i don't know what to think also

*moment of silence*

nixon: mami, i have an idea! i'll just ignore him!

me: absolutely!

*kailangan ko na ba ikwento ang birds and the beast 101 sa anak ko!??!*

btw, my nixon has another friend besides lincoln... his name is benjamin.
o diba sosyal! may nixon, lincoln at benjamin franklin! hahahaha!

hay kahit sobrang pagod ako sa overtime for the past 2weeks, nawala ata
lahat ng sakit ng ulo ko! hahahaha

his amazing grace

"i'm just sharing, by far, my best miracle that made me have more faith in god. truly a demonstration of god's power and love."


the lord's amazing grace has touched my heart and our lives. i was never expecting any miracles to happen this big to us, but it did and i would like to share it to you.

the 2nd week of may was a critical week for us. it would determine whether nixon would still enroll in his school for the next term. it would determine whether tita juvs would need to find a new employer. it would determine whether i and my kids would go back home to pinas and i would have to look for a job there as well. it would determine whether dadi and ice should move out of our condo if that happens. it could affect both our families back home in pinas. and among other things, it would affect our savings for the future.

a week before that, ice, our housemate, and i had a chat. i told her the things that were bothering me and how it would affect everyone including her. she showed genuine concern and we both had a moment of prayer. she was doing a pray over for me. she asked god to give us strength and wisdom to withstand our trials at this time. she asked that my application be picked in the lottery and that i would be able to find a job that would best fit our situation and needs. and i told her that maybe even one request would be enough for us. ice said something that striked me a lot, she said, "god is a powerful god and he is a good god so if we need anything, we can just ask for them all.

guess what, last may 8 at 11:45pm, a call came in to tell me the news that my application was picked in the lottery and that the processing will now continue and i just have to wait til october for the papers to come out. i was jumping with joy when i knocked on ice's room that night even if she was already asleep. that same day also during the afternoon, i had a interview meeting with an agent who would find me a suitable job here in sg.

the following day, may 9, he emailed me about an interview with a prospective client and gave me the details. on may 10, i went to the interview and i was offered a job on the spot. that night i went knocking on ice's door again to tell her that it does happen. that god is really a powerful god and he granted all our prayers. it was also my sis berna's birthday so i called home and greeted her and told them about the good news. i thanked them also for praying for me and my family.

then on may 11, my previous agent texted me and told me that my documents and refunds were ready for pick-up. god is really good. he knew that we needed that extra money so come monday morning, may 14, the last day of enrollment, i was able to pay for nixon's tuition for the next school term. i can also send financial help to my siblings back home for their school tuitions.

god is good all the time, he never ceases to love us even in our most darkest hour. after realizing things about life, i never lost hope and i believed that god is going to provide and answer our needs. he will never abandon us, he may seem distant but he never forgets. he may not give us answers immediately, but he fulfills his promises in due time. praise god for he is the almighty father. thank you very much for all the blessings.