core family ...

our view of the core family has always been represented by that poignant scene in the manger, with Joseph and Mary looking over their newly born son Jesus.  to put it into an equation: Father + Mother = Child(ren). 

a recent anecdote brought this concept to the fore and made me look at it really hard. 

a young girl of 7 was asking her grandma where her father is. she was just told at school that a family MUST have a father, mother and child(ren). so she came home confused because she did have a mother, but no father. she however had her mommy lo and aunt and uncle growing up with her. isn't that her family?

the story of where her father is, is not the point that bothered me. 

i have had friends who had dysfunctional lives. Dealing with a broken family (whether physically broken or emotionally broken) must be on one of hell's version here on earth. 

to have it (painfully) underlined by a teacher will leave an indelible mark on the child as we very well know how teachers can become the earliest idols they will know. it will definitely take a very stable home environment to make that child feel she is not a misfit in society. 

in the end, we really just have to be careful with what we say. especially if we are a person of authority. physical wounds heal but the wounds our tongue bring may not. 

Filipino speaking consular officer ftw!

we have jokes going around about US visa application interviews. one of these jokes revolved around a grandfather being turned down a US visa because he does not know how to speak English. The grandfather retorted something to the effect that the consular officer has no right to be in the Philippines as he does not know how to speak Filipino as well.

perhaps the consular officer that interviewed us read this story somewhere and proceeded to demonstrate that this is not entirely true at all :)

after going through the usual security check, submitting the application forms and getting a number in return and finally being finger-scanned, we had to wait out in the interview room as i call it with the rest of those aspiring to get that much sought after visa. seeing and eavesdropping (unintentionally) on the interviews initially makes you jittery but later on actually can make nerves calm. at least that was it for me. there were a number of outright turn-downs and i'm sorry's and only a handful of approval.

in the midst of all these interviews, one friendly Filipino speaking voice can be heard from my seat. i could not see who was speaking Filipino but you could tell he was an American by the accent. and by luck, we got his window for the interview.

i would have to say he was quite good with the language and was really friendly throughout the interview interpersing a joke here and there but you can tell he was really smart. his questions would seem harmless but were meant to draw out any hidden desire to stay in the US for good.

it was a very good interview i would say and i do not say that because we got approved but because it was refreshing to see a foreigner take the time to learn the language and in the process understand the filipino culture during his term here. i cebuano, dili siya mabaligya :D

two thumbs up to the consular officer :)

Note: Read "joke" here...

my dream beach house

finally finished my dream beach house today. weeks of waiting for it to arrive was worth it! my smart alec 5-yr old niece of course had to ask... "where is the beach auntie lot?".

this is the first design though as there are 3 beach house designs you can do with this kit. will let it stand for a week or two before doing the next design :)

the "real" beach house would have to wait though. for now, lego should do.

the long and short of it

may 2, 2009 was a particularly special event as we all jetted to manila, got dressed and dolled up to witness the culmination of the may and jay lovestory. being close to both sides gave me a good glimpse of how they are a perfect foil for each other's strengths and weaknesses.

the courtship, the getting to know each other, the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship all took a long 15 years but the runup to the wedding was particularly short. it seemed like it was just a matter of setting the wedding date. :)

personally, no matter how long or short the engagement is, it is how you use the time to get to know each other that matters. by then, the next step becomes but a natural step to growing both as individuals and as a couple.

panatang makabayan

"Panatang makabayan, iniibig ko ang Pilipinas....".

This was something we used to recite by heart during flag ceremonies then. Admittedly, it was done by rote but nonetheless, recited by heart. A recent chat with an old friend made me rethink this.

His words were quite loaded or at least it was for me. "I passed the written exam for the Canadian citizenship. I have to take the oath to the queen of England Queen Elizabeth II." My reaction was automatic as well. Congratulating him about the feat and I was genuinely happy for him.

But that little snippet of conversation bugged me the whole day.

I don't have anything against people wanting to migrate to other countries. It is a matter of personal choice.

But for me, the rest of the world is just out there to be visited. Working in a foreign country for a period of time is ok with me as well. I love going to different places, experiencing different cultures. I love being able to experience different seasons. I love the goodies that my sister sends me and my family regularly. But my home has always been the hot and humid Philippines. I cannot quite imagine (just yet) how it feels to make an oath of allegiance to another flag.

Who knows, I might be changing a different tune in 5 years or so....

fireflies of donsol

after the meeting the butandings, we had set an appointment with the fireflies of the donsol river later in the night. as we were too early for our ride, we whiled the time away trying to capture donsol's beautiful sunset.

and when it was almost pitch black, our boat came and we slowly chugged along the calm waters of donsol bay into the donsol river. our boat was ably guided by a simple flashlight. it was an unusually calm night but i got shivers thinking that we were out on this small boat in open sea with no life jacket on. who knows if the butandings would suddenly make a comeback :)

in any case, after crossing the bridge that marked entry into the river, we slowly tried to make our eyes get used to seeing natural light. in a matter of minutes, were were approaching a tree of fireflies. it was nature's version of the christmas lights. and nature can put on quite a show as well :)

our guide told us what we needed to know about fireflies including how to determine a firefly's gender, their short lifespan and other interesting things about the insect. dong even managed to catch a firefly on his hand ;)

we also discovered that planktons are like fireflies as well. the donsol river was rich with plankton so that when the boatmen stirred the water with the oars, they will light up as well.

it was also an opportunity for jay, may and dong to teach me the finer things about using the bulb feature of a dslr, in the dark.



this is the best i can come up with using the nikon d50. with may's help i might add. just wanted to pinch myself for not exactly getting acquainted with the cam so that i can properly use it to capture how the fireflies danced along the branches of the talisay tree. i am sorry if you are going to strain your eyes with the above photo. hehe then again, there are things best seen with your own eyes as it is the best camera of all :)

Better pix of the fireflies here :)

the whole experience was enlightening as it was only then that i gave it thought that i was lucky to have played with fireflies in my childhood. i know not all have that privilege.

meeting the butandings

our BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer)

BIO wannabees

spot the butanding!

i can finally lay claim that i swam with the butandings of donsol!
i love snorkeling, i love the sea and i am not really a swimmer but i just had to meet the butandings!

we had 2 briefings which were pretty important if we want to keep the butandings coming back to donsol. a video briefing giving out instructions and guidance on how we should behave. after all, this was butanding turf. :) the second briefing was that from the BIO who gave specific instructions that we just had to follow him.

when our BIO said "baba!", i just did so. not minding (and realizing later) that this deep blue expanse was 150m++ deep. holy cow!

and the butandings did not disappoint. they were quite the gentle ang gracious host just letting us swim up to them. of course we had to be careful not to get caught by their tail nor to even attempt to touch them.

it was a very unnerving but exhilirating experience to meet up front these gentle creatures. and yes, they do have this huge mouths!

if there is one regret i have, it was for lack of a picture-taking opportunity with them. hmm...it looks like i really need that digital underwater camera after all.

borrowing a pix taken of one of the butandings we met :)