My hubby and I were born on July. I, on July 9 and he on the 15th. I was born three years ahead of him so even if we’re both Cancerians, I am a Rat and he is a Rabbit.

We celebrated on different weekends this year. My family came over two weekends ago and we went to Clark on Saturday for some shopping and to make pasyal the kids. Too bad, I didn’t have my digicam yet. The hubby can’t come as he was busy manning our rice store. On Sunday, we had some spaghetti, soup, softdrinks and lots of stories. The spaghetti was cooked by my youngest brother. While we were in Puregold in Clark, he told me he’ll cook some for my birthday as long as I buy all the ingredients. Shoot! (meaning: agreed). It wasn’t everyday that he offers his culinary skills. I bought the curly pasta and some tube macaroni. Not all of my kids like spaghetti. Raia, my middle child, doesn’t like ‘em. Everytime there’s a birthday party in her class, she gives her spaghetti to friends or classmates. This is why I asked the yaya to cook some chicken macaroni soup too. I am culinary-challenged so I had to ask the yaya to cook a simple food like a macaroni soup,

Last night, it was my hubby’s turn to celebrate. His buddies from college days came over. My mother in law (who is an excellent cook) and her brother arrived at 6:00 in the morning to cook different goat dishes. My husband is an excellent cook himself so he was also in the kitchen helping out with the preparations. We had papaet, kaldereta and bat and balls (an aphrodisiac my husband tells me). They also cooked adobong itik and inihaw na (Bonuan) bangus. Before the celebration started around 3:00 pm, my cousin sent 2 bilaos of pork barbecue. For drinks, there were 2 bottles of Fundador, a bottle of scotch whiskey and a case of mixed San Mig Light and Pale Pilsen. The kids and I feasted on barbecues and bangus. I have wanted to sit down and drink beer with the group but, Enzo, our 1-year old son, seems to have the same thing in his mind. Everytime I went to the gazebo where the party was held, he comes running after me. He was so excited he only slept when the guests left at 9:00 pm.

It was sheer fun to celebrate birthdays with families and close friends. Stories may be of the kinds that are often told but what the heck, replayed buddy and family anecdotes are what good get togethers are made of.

Online Birthday Greetings

I received an SMS/ text message years ago that said something like, “Buti na lang nauso ang text, I don’t have to send you a card anymore. Happy Birthday!”. It was not surprising therefore when I received more elctronic messages than mailed ones this year. I received less than 10 text greetings on July 9. Most of it came from immediate families. Thanks to friendster and facebook, more came rushing in and I have been receiving one or two until today. My friendster greetings ranged from simple happy birthdays to the more glitzy and animated warm wishes. Friends from London and the U.S sent their greetings on July 10 which were not belated because while it was already the 10th here in the Philippines, it was only July 9th from where they were. Thanks to everyone who remembered and greeted.

Cheers to my 36th year and beyond…

When one of my friends was a kid, she thought of living until the age of 20 only. She was at that age when we met so she claimed she doesn’t really know what to do after graduating from college. I answered, “At least ako, I ‘m batting for 25.” That was true. Like her, I can’t imagine what I’ll be doing after 25. So when I was about to celebrate my 26th birthday, I was having anxiety and existentialist attacks. That was when I seriously planned to have a baby.

It’s been ten years + 1 since I imagined my life to end. In a way, it did. Today, on my 36th year, I am more preoccupied with providing a life for my family than having a life of my own. Far from being bitter about it, I am in fact, loving it. When I had my own family, my own kids, I fully realized why we needed to celebrate birthdays. It was not about getting older or having a checklist of accomplishments each year. It was not about how much food or drinks do we prepare or what movies or outing to we go to. It was more about celebrating life and the goodness of this world. Birhdays are about giving thanks for another year of blessings and challenges. In my children’s cases, their birthday celebrations were about giving thanks for another year that is free from severe illnesses and a life full of ongoing discoveries.

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Happy birthay, Tati! Happy birthday to me!

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Years
1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020

Rat personality traits
People born in the Year of the Rat are one of the most industrious and hardest working in the zodiac.

Forever busy in pursuit of an ambitous personal goal, at times they may become difficult to work with since they are born perfectionists. Rats must ensure that every “i” is dotted before completing an assigned task. As a result, they are often successful financially, and are good providers for their family and those they cherish most dearly.

Loyal and loving, Rat people inspire loyalty in others who are close to them. They are essentially honest individuals and loath to betray a confidence. However, their quick wit and restlessness can sometimes lead to chattiness, and they can often be relied upon at large social gatherings for a good story or a juicy bit of gossip.

Their energy levels and expert organizational talents are such that it is a rare thing to see a Rat person sitting idly by with nothing to do.

They may even sometimes be viewed as opportunists who cajole others into helping them accomplish a great ambition. In their careers, Rat people can find much success as business leaders or politicians.

Rats are most compatible with : Dragon, Monkey, Ox

Famous people born in the Year of the Rat : Charlotte Bronte, Truman Capote, Catherine I, Prince Charles, Sasha Cohen, Eminem, Peter the Great, Mata Hari, Scarlett Johansson, Wolfgang Mozart, Plato, William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, George Washington

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Years
1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023

Rabbit personality traits
Although generally calm, gentle and loving, Rabbit people can be very ambitious and intuitively know how to get ahead in the world.

They are good listeners, kind and sweet by nature, and are therefore often sought out as popular and trusted friends. Generally noted for their physical beauty, Rabbits like to surround themselves with beautiful things. They have a good eye for art, design and fashion, and are usually at the top of anyone’s Best Dressed list.

Others may call the Rabbit timid, but those born under this sign rightly view themselves as wise and cautious.

Rabbits are rarely known to make a move or jump into any new situation without first carefully considering all their options. No one is more surprised than Rabbits when they win a poker hand or hit the jackpot at the races, although at times good luck just seems to come their way unbidden.

Rabbits are regarded as the peacemakers in any group. They remain calm in any situation, and are very slow to anger.

In close personal relationships they can be very romantic, but their natural cautiousness prevents them from settling down or committing to any one person right away.

At work, they excel by remaining cool and collected, and can be relied upon for extreme tact in delicate business dealings.

Rabbits are most compatible with : Sheep, Dog, Pig

Famous people born in the Year of the Rabbit: Albert Einstein, Leon Trotsky, Frank Sinatra, Pope Benedict XVI, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, David Beckham, Tiger Woods, Whitney Houston

Hooray!! I want to dance the dance of Joy! My old digicam has been given a second chance at life and with this is the revival of my photography career minus the thousands of pesos needed to buy a Nikon D40.

You see, I bought my Konica Minolta Dimage Z20 through a friend in 2005. It has given me enough satisfaction and lots of memories especially of my children’s life in school. Late last year, the Canon Powershot camera of the office broke which affected my efficiency because my work in the research and documentation unit. Being the NGO that we were, we can not immediately buy a new one so I had to use my own for official shots. On March this year, I wanted to prepare a photo blog about the Holy Week and the fiesta in our town in Nueva Ecija… alas, the poor digicam refused to light up. I was so devastated I actually mourned its demise in my facebook account. I was worried that the lens might have broke and that was as good as buying a brand new one instead of having it fixed. That was the case of our Canon camera. The lens was busted and buying a new lens cost around 12 thousand pesos. I was already thinking, “Now I have to work extra to buy myself a new one.”

When my Konica broke, we missed good photos of the kids graduation and my eldest daughter’s 7th birthday. We also missed taking good photos of my kid’s graduation as a kiddie crew of McDonalds. I had to satisfy myself with photos taken with my Motorola celfone.

A week ago, I had the chance to go to Quezon City and I thought, why not pass by Hidalgo Street in Manila to have my camera fixed. I told the lady at the repair shop to just diagnose the digicam and wait for my signal before repairing it. She said, diagnosis costs P150 while labor (if it has to be fixed) costs P1,500 plus the costs of the needed parts.

I called them this morning and guess what? The damage was minor. She said something about replacing an IC, I assumed it was for the power (the camera’s diagnosis was it was DEAD SET: no power). The part that has to be replaced is only P400 and with the labor it’s only about P2K.

So, again, I dance the dance of joy. I don’t need to buy a new point and shoot camera (which I was already tempted to do) and more importantly, I can be assured of documenting my kids’ school activities and other family celebrations until I earn enough to buy my own DSLR.

We’re on the third week of school and my kids are both in the afternoon session. Classes start at 12:30 pm. For my eldest, classes end at 5:00 pm while for the second, it ends at 3:00 pm. When I learned of this schedule, I thought it’s better because I’ll have the time to at least check on their homeworks and tutor them a bit before I go to work. There won’t be any rush hours in the morning. Three school years ago, my eldest daughter and I suffered too much stress because I enrolled her in the city where I work and the trip takes about an hour by bus. Her classes start at 10:00 and I have to be at work at 9:00am. She was 4 years old then and since we had to leave at 8:00 am I had to wake her up at 6:00 or 7:00. Poor girl, she had regular bouts of respiratory illnesses because of that. The following year, I transferred her to our town’s Montessori school. It was far modest by the city’s standard but more child-friendly and caring than them. Most all, my daughter wouldn’t have to wake up at 6:00 am.

AM versus PM Session

Personally, if it weren’t for the school’s and my own limitations, I prefer that my kids take the morning classes. When I was in grades 1 and 2, I always go to school at 6:00 am. At first, my kuya and I take the school bus but apparently, budget limitations made us ride tricycles later on. My aunt who was teaching Home Economics in the same school would ask her older students to get tricycles for us during class dismissals. She would instruct them to get the vehicle’s plate number and description. Some of her more brilliant students would even get the names and addresses of the drivers.

There are several reasons why I prefer going to school in the morning. One, discipline is instilled in the kids to start the day early. I used to have a colleague who lived in Fairview but studied in Miriam College and imagine how early she had to wake up to avoid traffic and be in school on time. She said that made her wake up early even now that she’s all grown up. The funny thing is, she also developed this talent for appearing to be working but is in fact napping. She said she did it even in her classes before. She sat in front of a table in our office, head bowed, hair covering her face and her hand with her pen poised as if writing in her forms. She doesn’t nod like the rest of us do when asleep. She just keeps still. Talented talaga.

Another reason for my bias for am sessions, is that the pupils have a dose of nationalist activities by singing the National Anthem and reciting the Panatang Makabayan. My eldest was in the afternoon session last year and I realized that I haven’t heard her sing the Lupang Hinirang. Granted that the ability to sing Lupang Hinirang is not tantamount to being a nationalist but I still prefer that they learn these at a young age.

In the Catholic school where I went during my elementary and high school years, we do not only know the national anthem and the Panunumpa sa Watawat. We know a lot of prayers too. We pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and St. John (Pray for Us!) before singing Lupang Hinirang Mondays- Fridays. During the month of October, we pray the Holy Rosary daily and during first Wednesdays, we attend the Holy Mass. In my kids’ school, they have a morning devotion where teachers read passages from the bible.

Another morning ritual are the exercises. When I was in grade 1, we bend our bodies, rotate our hips and do stretches to the beat of a battered drum. Grades later, when aerobics was introduced, we bend, shake and stretch to the tune of Flashdance and Let’s Get Physical.

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Maybe, it doesn’t really matter what time of the day students study. Some learn more easily in the morning while some pick up faster in the afternoon. Some schools hold whole days classes even for grade 1 and two. In my case, I have no choice with my kids school because of it’s limited staff and classrooms. I guess, what’s more important are the lessons and values that my kids learn from them, morning or afternoon.

Now this is HEAVY. This is my entry to the Pinoy Moms Network FamPics for April.

This was taken during my ninth month of pregnancy with my youngest child, Enzo. I took an early maternity leave when I was pregnant with him because I was afraid I’ll give birth earlier. During these months, and up til now, I go to the office riding a minibus and the trip takes a full hour. When I was on the seventh and eighth month I often experience cramps in my belly so I was really afraid I would have premature labor. Enzo was due on the third week of October but since I planned to give birth to him in Dagupan City, my hometown, I filed for a maternity leave on the first week of October. Then I spent almost everyday walking in the beach in the early mornings. He finally arrived on October 17.

I just received my daughter’s kindergarten yearbook last month.

Too early you say? Too quick? Of course not!

She was in kinder two years ago! Yep that’s right. It was fully paid TWO YEARS ago and the school released it only last month. Paying the full yearbook fee was required two years ago or else they won’t sign my daughter’s clearance. They made us wait for two years and when we had the yearbook, we found out that my husband’s name was misspelled!

Tell me, all you guys in the publishing business, isn’t it jurassic to release a yearbook after two years even if the school has students from the pre-elementary to college levels? With all these digital camera and state-of-the-art color separation technologies and camera ready publishing, isn’t it medieval to have parents wait for two years before getting hold of a yearbook that contains their children’s baby faces?

Believe me, my daughter’s looks now is so much different from how she looked like two years ago. That actually softened my anger at how long the school took to come out with the yearbook. I recalled with fondness how she was in kindergarten. I was not mad because of the big difference in how she looks like. I was mad about the school’s inefficiency and non-transparency of how long it would take for them to publish the yearbook. I felt like a hostage who can’t do anything because I have already paid in full. Had I known it would take them that long, believe me, I wouldn’t care if my daughter has a yearbook or not.

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My own yearbook

I myself went to pre-school in 1979 and yes, I had a yearbook. There were no digital cameras then but our yearbook had a colored over and black and white photos. I do not remember receiving a copy only after two years later. I also had a yearbook when I graduated from grade six and the last one when I graduated from high school. My high school yearbook was hard bound with a two-colored cover. Still, there were no digital cameras and state-of-the art publishing technologies in 1989 but I received that yearbook before I entered college. Not two years later.

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I kept the yearbook in my cabinet after taking a look at her photo once. I know it may not be of much use today but in the future, it might be. Like when I was applying for a passport, I had to produce a National Statistics Office-authenticated birth certificate. I have been using my full name ever since I learned how to write and imagine how weak my knees went when I saw the birth certificate carrying a misspelled first name! Imagine too the inconvenience of getting a notarized affidavit from two old people who attested that the person with my full name and the person in the birth certificate was one and the same person. I also had to produce old documents that will show proof that the name I am using is the same name that I have in all of my records. God bless my mom who kept all yearbooks, school report cards, baptismal certificates and honor certificates. A photocopy of my pre-school yearbook was one of the documents that I submitted because the older it was, the better proof it would be.

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The Graduation Pictures (Grad Pics)

I never looked good in any of my graduation pictures. The worst grad pic I had was in pre-school and the best was in college. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a yearbook in college. Here are the photos that I am talking about. If I happen to find my other pictures, I will post it here too and show you an evolution of THE Mamie Ami LOOK

When I and my siblings look at our old photos, we reminisce the stories that go with it. Surely, when my daughter and I look at her yearbook years from now, I will again tell the story of waiting for two years just to find her father’s misspelled name.