Let's Walk

I really want to walk.

Oh! I better follow those people.

Where are you going? Wait for us please!

Oh! This is the Heroes' Walk. Nice! Nice!

Hey David! Why did you stop?

What? A beach! Virginia Beach, I hope to visit you again....

Kapuso in KL

It was only in Kl in our hotel suite that I learnt that GMa 7 has already its cable TV shows. For here in Singapore we only have the TFC . That is why we only know personalities from Channel 2.

I was wondering over the years whatever happened to Janice de Belen. It was nice knowing and watching her in the show Sis with her sister Gelli and Carmina Villaroel.

I noticed that there are now a lot of new and young showbiz personalities that we have no idea what their names are. Like the ones above. I like that Darna girl too. Who is she? She's such a pretty girl. And that young man? He's also good looking.

We watched shows like that Mulawin, Sugo, Darna and Encantadia. I noticed that all of them are fantasy shows. With TFC's Kampanerang Kuba, it then means that most of the shows now deal with fantasies. Well, fantasy stories stimulates the mind too.

Over all, I'm happy with my KL trip for I was able to watch GMA 7 shows too.

A Year Ago

Oh, I almost forgot this. I've been blogging for a year now. How really time flies.

A year ago, I only visited the news sites. I never ever expected that there was a thing called blogging. I've been looking at my daughters then and I wondered how they were able to access sites that were too personal. Later I learnt that they also have sites of their own and for free. I thought that only people who could pay and mostly celebrities like Alice Dixon and Ruffa Guttierrez could have their personal websites. I was wrong. Ordinary people like me could have one. Thanks to Blogger.

Many things had happened in my blogging life. And still, here I am. For what? There are many reasons why a person maintain a blogsite/ blogsites and write entries. But for me, this is a documentation of who I am, though only a percentage is revealed in things I write, at least, my grandchildren and my future grandchildren will know something about me.

So, after a year, I will still continue on blogging. And I hope I'll be able to blog till my golden years....

Three Days in Kuala Lumpur

This is the Petronas Twin Towers

This is in Petaling, the Chinatown in KL

This is the view from the 41st floor of the Petronas Twin Tower

On 21 to 24 November, my husband and me decided to go on a coach trip to Kuala Lumpur. It took us more than 6 hours to reach KL from Golden Mile Complex in Singapore. The country road view was nice.

We stayed in Berjaya Times Square West Wing Hotel 43rd floor. That was why the view from our hotel room was captivating too.

KL is a fascinating place to visit. We enjoyed our three days stay there.

Almost Done

In all the things we do in our life, the initial stage is always the most difficult part. Like in publishing a magazine/newsletter for our centre. It took me a lot of efforts to convince parents and teachers alike to write an article or a short paragraph about a certain topic . It takes a lot of focus and hardships. But then, after all those pains, the joy of seeing the result is immeasurable.

I am happy that our maiden issue's lay out is almost done. And I am so proud of this baby of mine. This issue is consists of 16 pages only and with topics about the children's visit to the farm and the K2's visit to Marsiling Primary School for their getting to know the school session.

As you can see the young children on the cover are the Toddlers and Nursery One. It's because the cover story is about them talking to adults about belongingness and "Watch Me Grow".

Though this newsletter/magazine will be printed in black and white, I am sure it will turn out fine. I hope. I hope.

When I was in another organization, I was also so happy in doing this type of project wherein we have 4 issues in a year. But here in my new organization I am doubly happy because I can be the real ME.

Professional Storytellers Live!

On 10 and 11 of November, I attended the Asian Congress of Storytellers held at Furama Riverfront Singapore. It was a nice experience, making me wish to attend the next Congress again. For meeting those professional storytellers as they tell their stories was an experience to remember. Not only did I learn techniques, I was also entertained. Want to know them? Here they are folks....


This Japanese lady is Hiroko Fujita. She has toured schools and libraries in Japan and American libraries and schools there. With her American interpreter, Fran Stallings, she was able to capture the participants attention not only with her charms but also her storytelling techniques that are so apt for young children. I learnt a lot from her. Those paper folding techniques and finger plays would be a big attention-catcher for my children in the centre.

Storytelling With Music was another concurrent workshop I attended. The leader, Fran Stallings of the USA demonstrated how to tell stories with musical instruments. She taught us how to use melodies in telling stories to children. Being a recording artist and singer/songwriter herself, it was wonderful to hear her telling stories with her nice voice as she play her musical instrument.
I was not able to capture her on my camera, that's my regret. But anyhow, her voice and storytelling technique was the best for me.


Meet Randel McGee from the USA with his puppet pal, Groark the Dragon. He is a storyteller, writer, musician and performer.

His workshop was about Tandem Telling for One or Ventriloquism. He presented his storytelling technique in an interesting way. And with him teaching simple technique in ventriloquism, for sure my own children in the centre would be more amazed of the spoken words once I try this technique also. They for sure would not know that Teacher Luchie is just a neophyte. That's the wonder of being with children. They think you are the best around. Katuwa! That is why I must really work out on doing the best I could.


The lady in white is a workshop leader too. She
is Cherry Pua-Africa from the Philippines. She is a teacher, trainer and a storyteller and has conducted seminars in Singapore, USA , Thailand and the Philippines.

Her topic for the workshop was Creating Occasions for Children to Tell. She gave us a demonstration on how to create story rituals. Though I am sure she is a brilliant lady, yet her presentation turned out dragging. I could not see the main rituals she presented as applicable in the classroom setting.

But then, I am proud that she is a Filipina like me. Having produced storytelling CDs for children that is marketed internationally is a great achievement. With her around, I could again declare that ours is really a land of beautiful women with brains and talents.

And oh, with the above professional storytellers I met in person, for sure I would be more inspired to tell stories to my children in more stimulating ways.

Coat of Arms

My daughter commissioned somebody to make coat of arms for her family name which is my husband's and her husband's name. Since my daughter's husband is really proud of his Spanish roots(or is it Mexican roots as my daughter teased him most of the time), the frames and with writings/explanations/details of the families are prominently displayed in their living room. And yes, with coat of arms, you tend to be so proud of your ancestry.

I remember my daughter ,who was then in grade 1, came to me in tears and said that some girls teased her in school as her surname sound so awful, like a name for a "basurero". I then explained to her that she should be proud of her father's family name. I showed her the encyclopedia and pointed to her the great spanish poet, Gongora. The next day she brought the encyclopedia to school and showed them all that her lolo is a great Spanish poet.

My eldest gave me a smaller version of the coat of arms for my husband's family name. So when I came back here in Singapore, I displayed it also. Though it got no written expanation, it is still a nice wall decor. I like this coat of arms. But as for the name, I'm sorry folks over there, "wa ako ma say...."

So Much Happiness

So much happiness. That was what we all felt when she was born.
So much joy. That was what we all felt when she uttered her first words.
So much pride. That was what we all felt when she proved that she could be responsible.
So much appreciation. That was what we all felt when she fought for her sisters' rights.
So much understanding. That was what we all felt when she decided to be independent.
So much devotion. That was what we all felt when she gave us beautiful angels.
Now, we feel all those emotions all at the same time.
And with so much love. So much love.

The little girl.
The young woman.
The pretty young mother.
Is celebrating her birthday.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAREST KRIZELLE!!

From Singapore with love,
Mommy, Daddy, Marielle and Paula.

Passion and Interest

Since I was a child, I was hooked on reading books. I felt so happy whenever my mother who was then a principal in the public school, brought home some books to read. As my father was very strict then, and never did allow me to play outside, I almost always stayed inside our house. And having no friends to play with, I consumed my time reading my mother's books which as far as I remember were borrowed from school and were donated by UNICEF. Imagine me reading those elephants from Burma and the pioneers in America. I was so amazed of the printed words as I imagined those far away places. But how I wish then that my mother had that time to read stories for me.

So books became my passion. That was why when I started to teach young children back in the Philippines, I saw to it that I read books to them. The way I read and the tone of voice I used made them more interested. And here in Singapore, whenever I read a storybook, the children would say "Teacher, I want some more." I then realized the power of good storytelling. But am I a good storyteller? I don't think so. I need to learn more storytelling techniques.

And today, I am glad to announce that my centre will send me to the Asian Storytelling Congress . Wow! For sure, I will learn professional storytelling techniques.

Like books, pets and animals are my interest too. Growing up with many dogs and cats around as my own mother is an animal lover, I learnt to love those animals too. And yes they are humans. Most of the time, they are real friends too. That is why when I discovered this site, Animals Are Humans Too , I told myself that I want to belong. Luckily, Thess sent me the invite pronto. Thank you Thess!

My passion and interest, they make me more happy these days.

Finding Christmas

I look at my window.

I see the MRT track line.

Maybe the MRT train will come in a minute.

I want to travel and see.

And look for something .

I have to hurry.



I am down now. Where is the MRT train? Oh! I better follow the road and walk faster.


I will try to follow this path wherever it may lead. Maybe, I will see what I am looking for since day one.


I walk and walk.

Then I reach the Christmas House.

This is what I am looking for.

I am waiting for Christmas to come.

Christmas, where love is in abundance.

How I wish it is Christmas everyday!

How I wish! How I wish!

A mother's daughter

This is my youngest daughter, Paula. She graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a Diploma in Engineering Informatics. Her last paper was taken on April but the graduation ceremony was held on August.

She really wanted to be a teacher as in her Industrial Attachment, she was able to teach computer. That was why she applied for one with MOE. Unluckily, she was not accepted. I told her to be positive.

She then applied as a stewardess with Qatar Airline. To her dismay, her bond stipulated that she need to work only with local companies and or MNCs that are based here. Qatar Airlines is based in Kuala Lumpur. So, she tried Singapore Airlines. She did not make it. I told her to try again for like my eldest daughter's friend Shana who applied three times and then accepted after the last application. But she did not apply again.

My daughter then applied as a research assistant and was readily accepted. Imagine, she was working already before her diploma was handed to her. She was so happy. She did like the environment in that CBD office where she could be a grown woman what with those corporate attires and fashion accessories she could wear. One thing, mingling with those high flyers made her confident.

But something happened along the way. The office politics made her sad. She could not take it anymore. But how could she leave when she signed an agreement that in case she would resign, her salary would be deducted? Two week's salary deduction was something difficult to swallow. I then told her that money in that case was not important. What was more important is job satisfaction. So she resigned from her post.

With a call from a friend she was scheduled for an interview as a programmer. Luckily, she was accepted and was very thankful. So she already had a job while serving her notice of resignation.

Now for the second time with the present company, my daughter handed me a part of her salary. Ang bait naman. Ayy, sarap maging Nanay!!

And yes folks my daughter is a programmer with Singapore Technologies. I am really so proud of her. And I am sure someday she'll be able to climb the ladder and be a developer.

Why I write about my youngest? I am sure that many youths now get disappointed that easy. Be not. Take my daughter's story.

Trick or Treat

Kyllene is a ladybug while Darrielle is a fairy.







Why are they wearing these costumes? For their trick or treat. And I do hope they had a lot of fun.

What is trick or treat? Read here...

Trick or treat, Smell my feet Give me something good to eat !!!

The history of "Trick'O'Treating" can be traced back to the early celebrations of All Soul's Day in Britain. The poor would go begging and the housewives would give them special treats called "soulcakes". This was called "going a-souling", and the "soulers" would promise to say a prayer for the dead.

Over time the custom changed and the town's children became the beggars. As they went from house to house they would be given apples, buns, and money.
During the Pioneer days of the American West, the housewives would give the children candy to keep from being tricked. The children would shout "Trick or Treat!".

* source: www.holidays.com

Far and Wide

I travelled far and wide....



And found peace and contentment!