So, who's lying now?

I want to tell a story about a little girl who expressed an interesting observation regarding her teacher yesterday. The said observation was brought about by an incident that happened several weeks back. This little girl, whom we will name Alina, reported to her parents that her
teacher pinched her and her classmate on their ears because they were not able to provide the correct answers to a question during class recitation. Alina's granny, whom we'll address as Anita, confronted the teacher about what happened via txt message. Anita told the teacher that, unlike decades ago, it is now illegal for a teacher to inflict any kind of pain to his students as means to punish them. The teacher, as expected, vehemently denied such allegations and even accused the children of not telling the truth. She said she did pinch the children but she is very sure that it was not painful. As the exchange of txt messages continue, Anita also updates her little granddaughter of what the teacher had to say. Alina was still headstrong about the pinch being painful no matter how many times her granny asks her to confirm and also informing her that her teacher says she isn't telling the truth. To make the story short, both Anita and the teacher ended up inside the school principal's office. It was the teacher who really wanted both of them to talk to the principal because she wanted to propose to have the children concerned be moved to a different section so that they can avoid the same problem from happening again. Anita said "No way! Why would they be transferred to another section when they did not do anything wrong to you. If and when you transfer those kids they'd think they did something wrong. If there was anything they did, it was only to speak their mind. And every children has the right to be heard. You are in no position to take from them that right. So,no, I don't want them transferred. And they don't want to be transferred either. So bare with them!" The teacher asked, "What if something like this happens again?" Anita only raised her eyebrows and said, "Then stop laying your fingers on them?" The teacher explained,"That is what I do in order to help them study harder and have better grades." So Anita asked, "Well, are they're smarter now?" To which the teacher just fell silent. So now, the kids are still under the same section. Going on with their school life normally and having fun. Apparently, the teacher still holds a grudge. Yesterday, Alina told her mom an interesting event that happened in their classroom. It was not interesting per se but what the child thought about what happened really was. Alina told her mom, "Ma, when my teacher was scolding my classmate this morning she later told him 'Y'all know that I hate children who are liars,right?' and then she looked at me. So I wondered why she had to look at me. Ma, she really doesn't know how to accept her own mistakes, does she? That actually makes her THE liar!" Haha! Take that from a six-year-old. Alina's bluntness about the sad truth can be really endearing if you are not the subject of her attention, that is. Alina's mom just laughed and laughed again when she recounted the story to yours truly. So here I am, inspired by Alina's candid opinion yet again. To the extent of making me blog it cause I know I just gotta share it. It's funny how you can get the real deal of what's going on from a child's mouth when you least expect it. I've known Alina for being all these. She's also a blabbermouth and a comic. She knows how to pull your leg and would immediately say "Joke,joke,joke!" once she gets the exact reaction she wants from you. A liar is she's everything but! If you can't handle the hard truth that comes from Alina's mouth, resorting to accusing her of lying is just simply pa-the-tic! For the sake of argument, let's say the said pinch was not painful, the bottom-line is when you lay a finger on a child as a means to punish them, the physical pain - tolerable or not - eventually goes away. The damage it does to their self-esteem sometimes just won't. That's what you need to be sorry for -- 'nuff said.

Writer's Note: ''This is not a fiction, however, any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.''

Yanna's First Runway Show

It's Valentine's Day but I'm gonna write about my Yanna's first runway show. I've been trying to write about this for weeks now. Besides, I am really not fond of making special plans for Valentine's Day. I can make any day a day of hearts whenever I want to and not on when the calendar says so. Anyway, here are the pictures I took on my daughter's moments of fame :)

I tried how the camera works while we were waiting for a cab to bring us to SM City where the Blackout Oriental Fashion Show is gonna be.

This is the stage. The theme was Oriental.

Hence, Yanna's traditional Chinese costume.

Still waiting so we took the time to do some photo ops.

...with her uber supportive cousin, Allyn

....with Daddy.

...with Mommy Che and Tito Ronald.

♫ There she goooooooes.....♪ ♫

Mommy's most awaited moment! The cloud nine moment!

Blackout Junior's Final Walk

*Group Shots* *Group Shots* *Group Shots* *Group Shots* *Group Shots*

Bad,Big Truck,Bad!

I suddenly developed a fear in big trucks today. Right after my conversation with Yanna while we were watching Ghost Whisperer together this afternoon. I was not really paying attention to what she was talking about while we were watching the said series. Not until I heard her say something like ”….kag mapatay ko, mabalik ko sa akon na lawas.” I was like, ”What did you just say???”

So the scene we were watching during that conversation was when Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) hit her head on a rock then fell into a coma. Her soul was about to go into the light with her already-dead-years-ago grandma when she heard her husband Jim’s voice from down below asking her not to leave him. She saw her body laying on the bed inside her hospital room with Jim on the side holding her hand, crying. Of course, she went back and didn’t die since she’s the star of the show! Apparently, my daughter got the same idea too. Like I said earlier, I asked her to repeat what she was talking about. She said something like ”Kun mapatay ko bala kay may truck naga lakat sa road nga ga amo ni ho (she was gesturing her hand in a zigzagging motion) tapos naigo yako.Ti kn magsaka ko sa air tapos ma see ko akon body sa dalom, mabalik ko ya gyapon sa akon body.”

…….

I was like dumped in ice cold water when she finished her story. So I just went, ”Oooh,you mean for example lang? Next time, please do not say something like that because it’s bad to talk like that. Kulbaan na ya si mommy.” She then went defensive and said that she didn’t know it’s bad because nobody ever told her that it is.

Now,this is one of those things that I will find disturbing for the rest of my life and would definitely add up to all other things I am so paranoid about. That’s why I decided to write about it because I feel like if I share it, the sense of morbidity would go away somehow. So now I hate big trucks. That’s the bottom-line. I just hope I won’t freak out whenever I would see one coming and Yanna’s with me. Dang! This is like burning all the spinning wheel to prevent Sleeping Beauty from pricking herself on its spindle. Phew!

Plastics 101 (What you don't know CAN actually hurt you)

Plastics 101 (What you don't know CAN actually hurt you)

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Yanna and Allyn's Summer Class

Yanna's summer class for Reading started yesterday and I was supposed to post this blog last night but thanks to my verrrrry intermittent connection, I wasn't able to! (Note to GLOBE. You only made me experience superb and fast connection in my first couple of months with you,guys, and after that your service is just going downhill,man!)



Anyway, Yanna and her younger cousin, Allyn, are classmates. I'm excited for both of them cause I know they'll enjoy each other's company like they always do eversince. Or so I thought. Later that afternoon, I overheard Allyn ask Yanna if I already know that her (Yanna) lip bled when they were at school.



Of course, I immediately reacted and asked Yanna what happened. Well, according to Allyn's own account, Yanna's lip bled because her face was too close to their table when Allyn tried to move it closer towards them. Sigh, so young but so good at twisting the story to make it sound like it wasn't her fault. Simply Adorable!



I took all of these pictures when we were headed home. The sun was scorching hot. I've never felt a summer season as hot as this one now. I thought the hottest was when I was still pregnant with Yanna. But this melting point summer hotness totally beats it. Phew!

Another scene from the Drama Queen

Another scene from the Drama Queen

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Another scene from The Drama Queen

I think I have seen Ms. Aquino monopolizing the screen while crying her heart out on TV one time too many. Her most recent one made me say "That's it!What does she take the Filipino viewers for?A sucker for cry-babies?!" NOT!

She may be smart,rich and famous but I was never impressed with most of the things that come out of her mouth especially when it is accompanied with a pool of tears. I was never impressed with how she treats her co-hosts,guests and the players of her game shows.She's fond of interrupting without excusing herself and sometimes to the point that the person talking wouldn't be able to finish her sentence at all.It's also a habit of hers to eye her game show players from head to foot like measuring them up and then she would make comments that are totally uncalled for.

The whole time that I was watching the YouTube video of her most recent tearful drama (Please click on the title of this post to go to the said video), I was cringing and rolling my eyes half the time. Let me count the ways:

00:36 - "Tao lang ako talaga." No one accused her of being not.Yes, she's tao lang also but the questions is - what kind of tao is she projecting herself in front of the camera and the watchful eyes of the crowd around her?The Filipino people doesn't know what kind of tao she is when she's with her family or in the privacy of her own home. What the madlang people is seeing in front of the camera is how she will mostly be perceived as and,so far, she has a lot of haters already.


01:24 - "People always say I'm a brat..but I'm not a brat when it comes to my family" So she does admit that with an exception of her family, she acts like a brat to everyone else.

01:50-02:02 - Again, she just admitted that her apology to Ruffa and her family was all for Noynoy's campaign and was against her will. It is indeed hard to pretend to be someone YOU AREN'T. She isn't humble and she thinks that she need not apologize for her actions whether or not it's hurting a lot of people.That's why she went crying on TV because she can't fake it any longer.

02:10 - "Hindi ko ininvolve si Noy sa desisyon na to because Noy is not part of this show.Hindi artista si Noy2." ...but your 3 sisters are? That's why you involved them with your decision-making and consistently mentioned their names during your "boo-hoo-hoo" speech?

02:26 - "Dahil alam ko ang sinakripisyo ng nanay ko para magkaroon tayo ng demokrasya." She doesn't have to rub it in to get the people's sympathy.We all know what her parents did for our country, but she shouldn't have used that line because, after all, Pres.Cory (God rest her soul),like Noy2, IS ALSO NOT part of The Buzz and not an actress either.

03:03 - "E nagbago naman po ako eh." Please elaborate.

03:15-03:27 - You wanna talk about loneliness,suffering and hardships? Talk to the street children. Those children who've never known their parents. Talk to those who can only eat once a day. Talk to those who can already afford a year of food supply from the amount of money you spend for a single bottle of perfume or a pair of stilettos you buy in one day.

03:39 - "Dalawang buwan na lang naman eh" Yeah, that's right -It's just 2 months for you, Kris. Meaning, you cannot oblige or simply ask people to be sorry for you when, unlike you, they have a lifetime of hunger, hopelessness or financial hardships ahead of them.

04:56 - "It's a lesson.You just really have to be so careful about everything that escapes your mouth." Someone should have told her that years ago OR maybe someone already did but then,again, Noy2, at that time, wasn't running for Presidency yet anyway so why would she care.

06:43 - "Pero pwede ko pong ipagmalaki.Mabuti po ang pamilya namin.Nagmamahalan po ang pamilya namin." For the nth time, they aren't part of the Buzz so why did she have to drag the whole family in to her speech? As an average observer, the current issue came to be because of her own tactlessness and lack of respect for other people's feelings.She was always in trouble because of her own actions and she's the one who perennially drags her family on this. Not Anabelle Rama. Not the "kontra partidos".

07:17 - At least she's not reluctant to admit that at her age and level of intelligence and a number of achievements, she still needs her 3 sisters and brother to babysit her and scrub her off whenever she falls down.

Yes, Kris Aquino is not the worst person in the world. I personally know someone who's much worse and is closer to home. Anywho, I just dislike how Kris always makes it to the point of mentioning how heroic her parents are and how much their family sacrificed so much for our country in every opportunity she gets; may it be in The Buzz or in Pilipinas Got Talent. There was one time when she even let a particular PGT contestant with a mediocre singing talent go through to the next round for the sole reason that the contestant's father is currently in prison and that she can totally relate with his situation. So she let him through. Ugh! They should have changed the title from Pilipinas Got Talent to Pilipinas Got A Story To Tell!

I admit that I have second thoughts in voting for Noynoy because of Kris but I am not the only one. I just hope that whoever would read this would also realize that it is the campaign period of all campaign periods. Anyone would do anything to a great extent just to win. Kris needs to stop all the drama and just be more sensitive so she'll never be involved into another "intriga" fiasco again.

My 2 cents.

Life as I define it

I finally decided to get a life. I went to the office this morning to submit my signed resignation letter. It's just kinda awkward arriving to the office and not being able to go through the turnstile door because my access card had already been deactivated since last week. The one place I feel so comfortable next to home suddenly became a stranger to me. Since I was just there to process my clearance, I had an escort - a house guard,actually - who followed me around from a distance wherever I go. I never even had the chance to finally say goodbye to my QA team and to my dearest friends.

I was still having mixed emotions when I got home. I am sad that the people I have come so comfortable working with and the friendship I have developed with some are now so distant.

My work was putting food on my table but I didn't get to be a real mom and a real wife because of it. I always go home tired. I had no time to fix dinner or review my daughter's lessons with her. In the morning, I had to rush to go to the office again since I live 52 kilometers away which is an hour ride on the bus. I can't wake up much earlier to be able to fix breakfast for my daughter either or to fix her hair before she goes to school. She loves it when her hair is being fixed by mommy. I can only do that if I'd take a leave of absence and it only happens once or twice a month. I also had to take a vacation leave for a day whenever it is her exam week so I can have an extra time to review the exam pointers with her. Thankfully, she always place second on her class when the exam results come out.

I love to cook and make a business out of it. It's even lovelier whenever I do it for my family. Now, I am finally doing it. I would heave a sigh of satisfaction when I am able to finish cooking and ready the table by the time my hubby gets home from his class. I get the natural high whenever my customers would compliment my food and even more when they wonder out loud what I put on my recipes. But most of all, I love the opportunity it gives me to work side by side with my hubby. For the first time, we're working together like real partners. We function in our new business like clockwork. We don't plan what to do. We just know instinctively where to be and what to work on especially when it's rush hour. Sometimes, he would panic when the orders would come in bulk. He tends to burn some of the grilled stuff. I would just gently remind him to calm down because the food will still take it's own sweet time to cook despite his panic attack.LOL! Sure, there are days where only a handful of customers would arrive but, thankfully, it only happens once a week. So far, so good.

Some people, especially my mother, don't understand why I quit. We all need jobs, yes, but it isn't the be-all and end-all of everything once you decide to pack and leave your cubicle. There are still other ways to earn a living. I just decided to take one which allows me to be closer to home and to my family. For me, they are my be-all and end-all.

I got a life. It isn't a life that others would call but it's what life is by my own definition.

The exit

I have mixed emotions towards my decision in finally resigning from my job of 4 years. Well, 3 years and 7 months to be exact. I worked as a Quality Specialist in a BPO company. It's my dream job 4 years ago when I still thought that QA tasks only consist of listening to and evaluating the interaction between the customer and a customer service representative. I didn't realize that there are also some nauseous politics that comes with it...until now. Don't get me wrong but I was happy with my job. I was kicking butt! Not literally,though I wanted to. But then again,it's most of the time,if not always,who you know and not what you know that works in the call center business. I've seen people resort to butt-kissery if they can't hack it using their brains. I thought this practice is only apparent in government offices - no pun intended. So I said to my self, it's time to check some other people's lawn. It's time to check if the politics there is less nauseating and the if the grass of opportunities is much greener.

It's kind of surprising that eventhough I don't earn as much as I did when I was still a QA, I am much happier and content now. I'm just not sure if it's going to last or how long it will. Maybe the stress was too much that's why the compensation didn't matter anymore. Darn, I grew white hair on my forehead in my 2nd year on the job. At first I didn't mind until some officemates of mine started calling me Rogue, a character in X-Men. It only grew on one area. Like a square inch. That's when I decided to had it dyed. When it started to show again, I had my sister pulled it out one by one. Good thing she enjoyed doing it. However, white hairs kept on coming back. A friend told me my stressful job can be the culprit. So I started taking long leave of absences, plus, I was also hospitalized due to hypertension for a week. Amazingly, the white hair started to not grow back from the last time I had it pulled out.

There's also one more thing that came out good about my resignation. Unlike before, now I appreciate the value of P100. I usually spend that much for my snacks alone every day at work. Maybe this is also one way of making me realize and appreciate the value of money no matter how small the amount is.
Sigh! I am surely gonna miss my girls. They're the second and last QA team I was with, and I have been there OIC for the last 7 months of my stay. Surely, there were some of them that I didn't meet eye to eye at first but in the long run I was able to adjust to each and everyone's type of personalities. I guess I'll just be writing about each of them in my following posts. I owe them that,at least, after putting them off guard with my resignation. Long sigh......

Pain Tolerance

It's odd how my very first post will be about the throbbing pain in my ankle. I guess the pain wouldn't let me think of something else but the agony I am feeling now. I have posted about it in my FB page hoping that at least one out of my 450 friends will give me some advice on what to do with it. Darn! It's been an hour and no one has showed me some concern yet. Aaargh! Just trying to stand up is like hell already! I guess what I can do for now is to wish the pain away with the help of a pain-reliever - that is, if I can find where I've placed it - which I can't right now because it is still very painful to just stand up. I guess it's just gonna be me and my bed until my hubby gets home.