Sunday, June 27, 2010

what makes a champion?

indeed, what does it take to make a taekwondo champion?  my kid's shirt, which hubby and i conceptualized ourselves, had it made to order by ourselves, says it all...

migo's 7th gold in tkd, 26 june 2010
...and God does the rest.

gold for lolo roging

Migo dedicates this gold to his Lolo Roging (my Dad's brother) whose cremation was on the day this championship was held.  Lolo Roging was always happy to know whenever my Dad tells him that Migo won a competition.  The last time Migo saw him alive, he just came from another competition wherein he got his 6th gold. 

Pictures:

Thursday, June 24, 2010

crush

this is the post i was composing before my uncle passed away and only got the chance to be posted today.

julla announced last weekend, while watching a local noontime show on tv, that "mommy, crush ko yan.  ano name nyan?"


"si elmo.  elmo magalona yan, anak ni francis magalona."

she stares.  "ahh...elmo..." contemplates.

last month, she declared that she had 5 crushes:  "si baste, (counting with her fingers) si justin bieber, si japoy, si kuya macky.... at si.... kuya migo!"

should i be worried?  elmo makes 6!



so here's the top 5:

1.  baste luna is the character of jhake vargas in the now defunct tv series "first time" which starred him, joshua dionisio and this girl named barbie who julla idolizes/likes/imitates and she thinks they look alike.







2. justin bieber.  we all know who he is.  if you don't, you're OLD.  here's my super wide grin at ya!  :D

3. japoy lizardo is that boy in the milo commercial who is a known local taekwondo player.  i somehow think he resembles jhake, maybe because of the hairstyle.  i think he's her first crush back when she was 3 years old.









4.  macky is migo's teammate in taekwondo who's a varsity player of ateneo.  julla saw him in one of migo's matches and decided he was cute.  a few weeks ago, we were at practice and i noticed him sitting with his girlfriend.  i pointed them to julla and told her that the girl beside him was his girlfriend.  she looked at her, sizing her up.  i mischievously asked her, "sino mas maganda sa inyong dalawa?"  she considered this and without batting an eyelash, she replied, "ako."

5.  migo, well, she adores her brother a lot.  which is a good thing.  despite them fighting often.

i must say, with her choices above, my kid knows cute.  eh? 

marriage and then some



today is a testimony of my love for him more than ever.  ok, i promise this won't be cheesy.  just a matter-of-fact translation of what i actually feel right now.

i was thinking this morning on my way to work, that i've already accepted his mistakes and shortcomings.  yes, after almost 9 years i am finally able to cope.  i guess.  i hope. 

there was a time when i almost gave up on this marriage.  and today i think that experience made our bond stronger.  and all the negative things that happened and may still be happening has brought us to a new level in our relationship, a deeper understanding of our many conflicting personalities that i realized, compliment each other.  like now, his bad temper makes me appreciate when he is extra sweet.  when he does things that are wrong for me, i am reminded of the many right things he does.  when he sometimes scolds the kids excessively, i know he loves them more than they'll ever know.  sometimes, he can be a bit offensive with his words but this is put to good use when he is defending me and our family.  which makes me secure that he will always protect us.  through the years, he has learned to apologize sincerely.  

today his imperfections became the perfect tools for me to decide to love him more.  after all, marriage is not just love, it's a decision. 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

gone

i was drafting two blog entries yesterday in my head.  one, a funny anecdote about julla.  the other, a reflection on my being the most imperfect mother.  but i have to leave them on the dashboard for now.

my dad's younger brother passed away last night at 11:50pm.  a day after father's day.  two days before his sister's 1st death anniversary.  on my parents' 41st wedding anniversary.

it was inevitable.  colon cancer.  two weeks ago, his daughter came home from the states and we think he got better while she was here.  that was the last time i saw him.

i grieve with my cousins for the loss of their dad.  i was never really that close to him.  technically, he's my godfather because his wife is officially my baptismal and wedding godmother but i was never really close to him.  but when i was very young, i remember he would always tease me in some way that i didn't quite appreciate.  his family and my dad's family, being the only ones living in manila while the rest of his brothers and sisters are in bataan and the states, always got together when us kids were very young.  

into adulthood, i drifted away.  what with my work, my married life and concentration on my own family, it became seldom that i got to see or talk to him and my cousins.  but the times we do get together -- birthdays, weddings, funerals, i always felt the bond among us.   through the last eight weeks of uncle's , i felt it even more.  that blood is indeed thicker than water.  that no matter what i do, where i go, we are connected in some divine way.  that we still care for each other.  that despite everything we've been through, we will always be there for each other.  like right now.

you may not believe it, tiong roging, but i will truly miss you.  R.I.P.


"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful.
It's the transition that's troublesome."
-- Jimi Hendrix

Monday, June 14, 2010

airplanes


"....can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are shooting stars?  i could really use a wish right now...wish right now...."  -b.o.b. featuring hayley williams



as i listen to these lines in full volume with my kids playing /annoying each other at the same time in the background, i anxiously count down the hours till it's time to go to migo's new school.  it has been a long time since it felt like this. 

it's less than 24 hours now.

as i've said in a previous post, migo will be transferring to a new school.  i have the jitters more than he for it is like starting all over again.  he will be in a different environment: new classmates, new teachers, new opportunities and challenges, new schedules... new life.  he is going into uncharted territory and he doesn't know it but i know it's scary. 

i remember the first time i was going to ride an airplane. i was so excited.  i knew i was going to experience something new, discover a new country and learn new things.  little did i know  that going there, we will experience something else while flying. during flight, there is such a thing as clear air turbulence wherein there are no cumulus clouds and there is erratic movement of air.  they cannot be seen by the pilot and usually catches them by surprise.  the passengers of the airplane usually feels a jolt, much like when riding a car and you drive over potholes.  only here, you're suspended in air and you don't know what could happen.  after a while, once past these air pockets, the ride becomes smooth again.

tomorrow is a turning point in my son's life.  i admit i'm afraid of the air pockets he may encounter for the next ten months in the new school.  for i know he has to do this alone.  me and hubby can only sit in the sidelines and let him do his stuff.  but just as we let him get into the taekwondo court by himself, we will be confidently looking on, believing he will make it through, supporting him and shouting, Go Migo!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

meetings

yesterday i met an old soul just like me.  we already met about 2 months ago and i guess, being the "way we are", didn't really get to know each other immediately.  see, she and i... we're slow to warm up to people.  funny i didn't see the connection from the start.  

so we talked about my sick uncle, irregular bowel movement, her stint down under, my kid's school, her kilig love story, her design portfolio, my choice of church for my wedding.  

speaking of weddings, she's getting married next year.  her fiance is aries, just like my hubby.  she's pisces which was an omg moment because although i was born aquarian, i strongly believe that i am a pisces.  (i was born premature, 2 weeks early but that is another long story worthy of another blog entry.  well, next time.)

which led us to find out that we feel the same way about a lot of things, we handle situations the same way and that we are both "listeners" not "talkers."  that we experienced the same emotions on our first few weeks at work and that we dealt with it in the same manner.

thus, reaffirms my belief that every person we meet was meant to be a part of our life.  that there are no meetings by accident.  that god lets them come our way for a reason.  and that they will have a particular role in our existence.

for now, i still don't know yet her role in mine or my role in hers.   i just know we clicked.  like a snap of a finger.


Wednesday, June 09, 2010

let's pretend

where do pretentious people come from?  are they born that way or do they evolve from childhood through experiences they cannot control, thus ending up the way they are?  why can't they just be true to themselves?

found this interesting read on being pretentious

Pretentious. Adjective - attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed.

Anyone can be pretentious if they set their mind to it. However, there's more to it than sitting around in your dressing gown, listening to classical music and reading The French Lieutenant's Woman on a Sunday afternoon. Being pretentious is pointless unless people can see you doing it. Being seen is everything for the dedicated follower of pretensiousness.

there's more if you click on the link. 

Sunday, June 06, 2010

sixth



6th gold yesterday

green estates friendship games
guiguinto, bulacan

not really a significant taekwondo competition
but nevertheless.

cannot find the right words to make a blog entry worth-reading so...
blogging this for the record.

proud momma, again.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

on to trivial things, like TV

so it's june 2nd.  we're halfway through the year and i think we're doing a pretty good job.  i think.

a while ago, a good friend of mine told me she and her family are moving and they're selling most of their furniture and appliances to make way for new ones or existing ones at the new house, which is actually the family home of her husband.  anyway, she was telling me about being able to cut down on some expenses specifically their cable tv.

which made me think why in heck don't we have cable connection at home.  

i grew up without it because my mom believed that it creates gaps among families because instead of talking to one another at the dinner table, the tv grabs everyone's attention.  so she made a rule that we cannot watch tv during dinner.  she also believed that we should read books instead of watching endless television programs. she did let us watch what was available in the local channels but she closely monitored what shows we watched.  so i grew up familiar with shows on free tv.

when i married, i discovered my hubby and i both didn't watch tv.  and when the kids came, they were automatically not fans of tv either.  for some time, i've considered getting cable for myself so i'd be able to  watch glee or american idol on the actual day they're being aired so that i would be up-to-date when they talk about it at work. and some people would usually tell me, whaaaat?  how can you live without cable?!! and it sometimes embarrasses me.  also, just so my kids will be familiar with cartoon network and national geographic just like the other kids their age.  so they don't get left out in kids' conversations.  i figured i didn't want to deprive them of that because somehow subconsciously, i was deprived of it during my time.   

but for some reason, i never got around to doing it.  i guess, subconsciously too, i believed  my mom. 


If you came and you found a strange man... teaching your kids to punch each other, or trying to sell them all kinds of products, you'd kick him right out of the house, but here you are; you come in and the TV is on, and you don't think twice about it.  
                                                                       ~Jerome Singer

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

tutoring

today, migo will start academic tutorials near his new school.  last week, hubby and i visited two tutorial centers just outside the school to check out what they offer and all that.  both gave us some sort of preview on what to expect when migo starts schooling at the new school.  they've been tutoring students from the school for years now and they are more or less familiar with the goings-on there. 

funny how, back when i was in grade school, tutors are for those who are slow/cannot cope/not so intelligent students.  it seems that nowadays, even the bright kids are on it what with the demands of going to traditional school.

yes, migo is going to a trad.  ironic that i've been scouting for progressive schools ever since he was an infant and have been dead set on it for the longest time.  but our family circumstances make it not possible for him to go to such.  for one thing, our home is not in the vicinity of them progressive schools.  i am left to choose between a local trad school and this one just outside our city which is known for its high educational standards.  so i chose this.

meanwhile, julla is still going to kindergarten in a progressive pre-school just near our place.  eventually, when she goes to grade school, we just might enrol her in migo's school too.

decisions.  decisions.  i hope we're making the right ones for our kids.  we only want what's best for them.