Life is Beautiful

"Go out and try new things. Make up your mind about things you found hard to decide on before." (my second fortune last Chinese New Year, along with this one.)

a few years back, i decided to come up with my life goals. things i wanted to do, places i wanted to see, people i wanted to meet...it's basically similar to New Year Resolutions - on steroids. it began as just a crazy idea to fill my idle time and still my wandering mind, but then i realized that life is short, time is gold, i should strike while the iron is hot, and most importantly, i had better stop using these clichés if i wanted to actually live long enough to complete my "checklist."

anyways, so far, i've already accomplished a few of these goals - teach preschool (check), learn photography (check), learn how to drive (check), go to the gym regularly (um...check *cough*), grow three more inches (check - do the added inches around my waist count?)

500 Miles, 500 Miles...

three weeks ago, my community's Music Min announced that they were going to give free guitar lessons every other saturday. i've been planning to learn guitar for years already (yeah, just planning, though. hehe.). although a lot of my family members could teach me (my lolo, my papa, all my uncles, my cousins...), they didn't have the time. so i was stuck to learn on my own - something i did not relish at all. when i shared this to my cellgroup, my leader gave me a set of picks to jumpstart my guitar project. of course, the poor picks gathered dust in my drawer for two years. by the time i finally opened the pack, the print on each pick was embedded on the plastic like temporary tattoos (well, at least now i know where each pick goes).

so, when the opportunity to learn basic guitar presented itself, i quickly grabbed it.

there were four of us who attended that meeting and two of them already know the basics. they said they wanted a refresher course. i said i wanted refreshments. looks like we're all on the same track then...

we're meeting again this coming saturday. i can't wait! (but my fingers can! do i still have fingers???)

i'm currently learning to play 500 Miles by Peter, Paul, and Mary (my papa's suggestion). after a few hours of strumming, digging my fingers onto the strings, memorizing the chords, and trying to feel my numb fingers, i finally realized that learning the guitar is not as easy as i thought it would be. *sigh* goodbye smooth hands....

Working in The Vineyard

last month, my leader asked me if i wanted to head the Publications Ministry along with a brother. it took me a week of praying and calming my nerves to answer her question.

basically, the ministry is in charge of our newsletter, The Vineyard. it's been a while (12 years!) since i was last involved in a publication (i was a features writer in our high school paper). i had no qualms about contributing an article or two but to actually head the ministry was another thing.

i was pretty nervous when i gave her my answer. she smiled and told me i made the right decision. i was tempted to ask her if she made the right decision of picking me. well, she'd soon learn the consequences so might as well surprise her...hahaha!

the more i thought about this thing i was getting myself into, the more excited i got. as i was driving home that night, my mind was working in overdrive...what the paper should look like, which articles to include, what photos to publish, if i should do the comics (a childhood dream of mine, actually)...soon, i was obsessing over it. hm, not a good thing. i need more sleep as it is!

our official meeting will be next sunday and i can't wait to bombard, er, share my ideas. *maniacal laugh*

Sieze the Day!

i just love Dead Poets Society. everytime i watch that movie, i'm tempted to stand on my dresser table, pound my chest, and exclaim, "Oh Captain, my Captain!" of course, my mama would probably kill me if i broke the table. or worse, trash her arrangement of knickknacks and whatnots. so, i usually end up cheering for the students who bravely stood on their tables in an act of rebellion and sheer admiration for their mentor (now, is there any teacher who wouldn't want that???).

so, armed with that motivation and my three years experience as a preschool teacher, i decided to finally kick my heels and get...

a summer job.

yeah, you read right. due to some, uh, financial setbacks and such, i am obligating myself to look for another source of income this summer.

for two years, i've been teaching our Summer Playgroup class. three times a week, three hours a session. fulfilling and enjoyable, definitely, but financially rewarding? ah, next question please. with my (expensive) thesis course coming up next term, i am desparate.

teach summer class and loan the money? or get a summer job and earn the money??

it was a no brainer.

i can't say what job i'm applying for right now (no, not showbiz) because it's not final yet. but wish me luck, friends! :)

what dreams may come

a taste of what's (or who's!) to come, perhaps? :)

this was one of the last fortune cookies i had last Chinese New Year. when i read my fortune, i remembered one of my recent astral travels. well, i definitely like this cookie better than my "blind date!" hehe.

of course, i saved this shot just for today. this is dedicated to all you hopeless romantics out there...and the cynics? well, this is for you, too! after all, everybody deserves a little lovin' ^_~

aaah, i just love Valentine's day...flowers, chocolates, kisses, hugs...doesn't it make you feel that everything will be alright in this world? and, as the Beatles said, All We Need Is Love! now if only some of that lovin' got showered down my way. hehe. :D

to my single and available friends, this fortune is my Valentine wish for you. as for the committed ones, i hope you've found The One. :)

happy hearts day, everybody!

kulit bulilit vol. 2

Last year, I kept a compilation of funny quotes from my kids (see kulit bulilit vol. 1). I haven't been as vigilant about it as before but I managed to remember some of the memorable moments. Although not all of my toddlers this schoolyear are as verbal as my kids the previous year, those who ARE verbal seem to make up for it.

One of them is Emilia, our oldest girl in class. She is really one of the funniest toddlers I've ever met. After all, she's the only toddler I know so far who uses words like "freaky," "wobbly," "foot massage," and "Pterodactyl" in regular conversations. AND she calls her undies, "underpants." Go figure.

1. During our week about Insects, we sang "It's a Great Big Insect World" every Circle Time.

EVERY SINGLE TIME we sing the first few lines of the song, Emilia asked a question that made us lose our composure (from trying hard not to laugh).

Teachers: "It's a world of beetles, a world of wasps...
It's a world of bees and a world of ants...

(while we were still singing) Emilia exclaimed, eyes bulging wide: Did you say UNDERPANTS????

2. I spotted Emilia sitting on a chair right outside our classroom. She was holding a pink toy cellphone and pretended to call somebody.

Me: Hi Emils! Who are you calling?
Emilia: David.
M: David? Who's David?
E: David from Totally Spies! He's my boyfriend.
M: O-kay. Good for you...

I shared this bit of info to the other teachers during our lunch break. The next day, while my class was having snacks, Teacher Ina strolled into the kitchen. After greeting everybody, she turned to Emilia.

T. Ina: Hi, Emilia. I heard you watch Totally Spies.
Emilia: Yeah...I love Totally Spies.
T.I.: Who's David? (she just could not resist)
E: Oh, he's my husband.

From boyfriend to husband after a day. I almost asked her, "What's your secret???" ^_^

3. Our first home visit was at Sofi's house. She lives in the 8th floor of a condominium along Pearl Drive. After saying our good-byes, the class rode the elevator.

I pressed the G button and everybody waited to get to the ground floor quietly.

Basti looked up at the rows of buttons. Suddenly, he broke the silence by blurting out, "I like number 8 please."

Aaawwwww.

This boy could not even form a complete sentence last year. Now, he not only talks in sentences, but uses gracious remarks like, "Please," "Thank you," and "You're welcome." :)

4. Emilia came to school one day with a water gun. Teacher Dez greeted her warmly and asked her about it.

T.Dez: What's that?
Emilia: It's a gun.
T.D.: What's that for?
E: It's for the vampires on the roof. This has holy water to kill the vampires.
T.D. (thinking that Emilia got that from a show or movie): Where did you watch that?
E: From the Nutcracker.

Hm. I don't remember vampires in the Nutcracker...have you been watching Underworld lately, Emils?

5. I was riding a van with Ice (see Ice, Ice, Baby!), Rau, and Rianna for our weekly home visit. On our way back to school after visiting Basti, most of us were pretty quiet in the van. Ice and Rau, on the other hand, were bundles of excited energy. Ice was entertaining his cousin (yes, they're cousins) by making funny faces.

One time, he placed his toy, a red plastic ring (i think it was for a ring toss game), on his head. The ring was so thin it looked like he was wearing a headband.

Rau teased, "You look like a girl, huh!"

6. While we were in the sandbox area, I approached Emilia and asked her about her new hairstyle.

Me: Who cut your hair?
Emilia: The hair styler.
M: Oh, the hair stylist.
E: Yeah, the hair stylist.
M: Who went with you?
E: Lolo and Mommy.
M: Did your mom get her nails done?
E: No, she had a foot massage.
M: Ah, i see. How about your lolo?
E: No. He can't. My lolo's dick slipped off.
M: What? (I managed to keep a straight face)
E: My lolo's...(she paused, as if to get her words right) disc... slipped.
M: Oh, your lolo has Slip Disc.
E: Yeah, Slip Disc.

Whew.

***

Finally, from my kids last schoolyear. They're in the Pre-K1 class now (sniff, sniff).

7. Teacher Nat was playing a game with the kids in the playground. Since they were talking about Fairy Tales, she decided to have fun by pretending to be the Evil Witch looking for her "victim." She'd give clues by describing what he/she was wearing. Since Chino was so fun to tease, she picked him as her first victim.

I couldn't remember the exact details of the conversation but it sort of went like this...

T.Nat: He's wearing a red shirt...
Chino (trying to distract her): Teacher, let's ride the swing.
T.N.: No, I'm the Evil Witch remember?
C (beginning to panic): I want to climb the monkey bars.
T.N. (ignoring him, still): He's wearing a red shirt and blue shoes...
C (pointed at a nearby tree): That's a tall tree! Why don't you climb it?

Hahaha!

8. One afternoon, I joined them for a few minutes for Choice Time. They were playing board games that they brought to school.

Manisha showed off her Disney Princesses card game to us.

"This game is for 6 children only," she explained.

Kaitlin jumped up and answered excitedly, "I'm 4 already!"

Ahh, I miss these kids. Hehe.