Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Going home late....

For the next 15 months I'll be going home late. I am on a course. Ahh, surely, I'll have less and less time to blog. Though, for sure, I'll be able to visit blogs or write posts when time allows.

Others may ask me, why I need to go back to school. Is it okay for an educator to be a student at the same time? Hmmm, Yes of course. And I believe in lifelong learning.

So, I may be going home late for 15 months but after that I'll be a better educator and person. One thing, I'll have this Singapore paper qualification that will be an addition to my resume.

Friday, May 26, 2006

He looks familiar...




I was reading The Straits Times this evening when I noticed a photo of a man and his family. They looked familiar to me. So I read the article. Then and there I learnt that they were my former neighbour.

How could I forget that young family especially that small boy who suddenly appeared outside our metal gate and was pointing at my Christmas tree with all the Christmas lights twinkling? He was so amazed of the twinkling and changing lights that it took time for his young parents to convinced him to continue walking two doors more to enter their own flat. And so it became his routine. He’ll make a stop on our gate to view for a short while our Christmas lights and at the same time, answer softly some of our baby questions. It also became our routine to put on the Christmas lights before six o’clock as Shawn would be stopping by.

I was then gladly surprised months after, when Shawn appeared again in my former centre. I was so happy to see him, what more with him being under my class.

But after a few months or before the year ended, Shawn’s Mum informed us that they would be shifting house to Yuo Chu Kang. It was a sad announcement as all of us teachers adored him very much.

I asked Shawn what he wants as a present before he leaves. He answered; “Barney” at once. Unfortunately, I was not able to buy him one. From time to time, I feel that “guilty” feeling whenever I think of him. For it was a promise to a child and was not fulfilled. “Don’t ever break a promise” is one of my mottos. But look at what I did to a child.

Now, I see Shawn again, though only in the newspaper photo. He looks so happy with his family. He may or may not remember my promise. I am not bothered now. For I am sure that he’ll understand. Why so? He has a sweet Mummy. He has a prominent father who is now a Parliamentary Secretary. He has good parents who are good persons who never ever questioned us; “you are not local right?”


Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Jack Is Back

I am so sure you watched Leonardo di Caprio's Titanic. Do you know that Jack Dawson as played by him is back?

Just watched this. Enjoy!!!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Diversity



When I saw this photo of my daughter with her friends, the word diverse came to my mind. There’s variety in their place of origin; Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and of course Philippines. They are all friends though they came from different countries. And only here in Singapore, you can see that diversity.


And speaking about diversity, I want to share with you an anecdote.

One time in the centre, I saw one of the girls named Sarah, disturbing her friend during playtime. “Sarah Tay, you can’t do that. Apologize immediately” I told her.

I unconsciously pronounced the sound of “a” in Sarah with a hard “a” as I just watched a TFC the night before with a lot of promotion for Sarah Geronimo’s Bituing Walang Ningning. Yuk Yan who was sitting by my side corrected me; “Ms. Luchie, it’s Sarah Tay” (pronounced with soft “a” with the sound “ae”).

For a short second, I was speechless. Oh, my! I was corrected by a little girl. I gained my composure as I remember my daughter’s photo and told Yuk Yan; “You are correct, that’s how we should pronounce Sarah’s name. But you know, in other parts of the world, they say things differently and it’s correct also. Okay?” Luckily, she said okay.

“Hay naku, buti na lang nakalusot.” From now on, I should be really careful so I’ll not make the same mistake again. "Nakakahiya!!!!" Can I blame that Sarah Geronimo for this????

Saturday, May 20, 2006

My Big day


It was my big day last Sunday for it was Mother's Day. My daughters paid for our dinner at Siam Kitchen. Of course the foods are great. And I received this bag from them as their present to me.

How nice it is to be a mother!

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Gulong ng Palad and Poseidon

Yesterday was a public holiday here in Singapore as it was Vesak Day, a Buddhist celebration. That was why we were able to relax and did some workouts in the gym and swimming in the pool downstairs.

Before the day ended, my daughter asked me and her Dad if we wanted to watch the movie, Poseidon. Of course we wanted to with one condition; we would watch the Gulong ng Palad final show. That was why she bought the tickets for 9.35 in the evening showing.

And speaking of Gulong ng Palad, we watched it from day one to the end. With a nice story line, good shots and convincing performers added with the captivating theme song, we were glued to our TV, all of us including my husband.

When I was in college in an exclusive school in Manila, it was not in my lists of activities to watch Filipino TV soap opera as I was “sosyal” daw. I even grew up with the mentality that the local showbiz was so “bakya” or for the masses only.

It was only when we resided in other countries that I learnt of other people’s love for their local personalities. There were no words like bakya or sosyal either. As long as you study very well and make it on your own, then nobody have the right to say anything about your choices. And there was no shame in watching local shows.

Now here in Singapore, my family is proud to say that we are watching Filipino shows and that we never failed in watching Gulong ng Palad, and we will also watch the next soap opera, Bituing Walang Ningning. We may be called “bakya” by other Filipinos, I don’t care a bit. What I know now is that there is pride in watching Filipino shows.

The fact that some of our local friends know some Filipino personalities and that they know the story line of Pangako sa ‘Yo as it was shown here, make me more proud to say that we are also patronizing Filipino shows.

So Gulong ng Palad ended last night. We had a great time. Thank you TFC/ ABS-CBN! Thanks to the cast especially Cherie Gil, Rio Locsin and Cristine Hermosa.

Immediately after the show ended, we went to Woodlands for the movie Poseidon. Though, it was not that good for me, it was still worth the money we paid for we really realized the value of team work in a desperate situation. Even though Kurt Russell drowned here which I really don’t like to happen to his character, still he died a hero. In him, we can see how great a father’s love is. He decided to save his companions himself, not letting her daughter’s fiancĂ© to do it, as he knew his daughter and fiancĂ© have more bright days ahead if rescued.

And so in just one night we watched two stories, both a feast to our eyes that left us values in life that would help us to see life more positively. Whether we may be labelled as bakya or sosyal doesn't matter now. What's important is that we enjoy what we watch.


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Christine Hermosa of Gulong ng Palad
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Kurt Russell of Poseidon

Saturday, May 06, 2006

The Devil and the Clown

In life, as we face our day to day living, we meet people who make us happy by saying jokes to the extent that we call them as clowns. On the other hand, we also meet people who at times, think negative about us or even hope that something bad may happen on us. When those negative ideas/thinking are said on our face, we consider them as devils.

In marine life, there are also clowns and there are devils. Just look.


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In reality, these marine fishes, are not really clowns or devils when they show their
characteristics. And I wonder why they were given those names.
Same with people, though a person may be a clown, be beware, he/she may turn devil in the end. Or a bad person may look devilish but we may not be sure. For behind those negative acts, she/he may have a good heart in the end.
To know whether a person has bad or good intentions is really not an easy task. It really takes time for us to know a person. Therefore, we should not make judgements based on appearance and limited knowledge about a particular person.
***These photos were taken by my daughter's colleague who went to South Africa.

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Cape Town

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Colours Around

I am fond of colourful things. Bright colours. And my children are so aware of this. That is why whenever we go out shopping and they see me getting so attracted to those colourful children's things, they will surely say" ayan na naman si Mommy!"

Actually, I don't feel negative about my being so attracted to bright colours and children's things. I just feel that there is happiness in being a person with a child's awareness and likes. I don't even consider myself deprived from children's things either. It is just that the child in me makes my life more comfortable, simple and joyful.

You can imagine my daughters' and husband's disapproval when I displayed those small colourful stuffed toys on our living room's floor. And when we went to IKEA last Sunday, I added those turtles together with that snake from IKEA as bought by my eldest. The funny thing is that when I took the photo last Monday, it just rained and you can see those rain droplets on our glass wall. It seemed that my turtles are coming out from water and going to same direction. Katuwa!( O, ako lang yata natuwa!)

Anyway, whatever people say or whatever people think of me, I am always proud to say that I like colourful things around me.