Lamon again!

It's been a while. Lunch at CPK! Missed kung pao shrimp so much!

first line....

We got the usual school invite and along with it, notice that the children will be practicing a set of lines each. So, the little girl memorized her lines and we heard her practice after school. We then learned, thru some deductive reasoning, that she'd be the first in the act. Way to build up the excitement... right? In any case , it was delightful...

V's first ever blog entry...

one a upoon a time there a beautful princess who lived in the castle in the mountains.

losing things...

Some time ago, we bought two keychains with very visible, colored Dubai labeled straps. One, I used for my car keys and the other we used on Vivian's water bottle. Weird thing though...

After spending a couple of hours in the mall, we decided to go home but on the way back to the car, I realized I had lost my car keys. I spent almost an hour looking for the keys everywhere we had been to that day - the parking lot, shops, restaurants, bathrooms, bookstores. All this time though, I realized, I wasn't really that worried. I was miffed, mind, with the forseeable trouble of having to hitch a ride with our friends (thanks much to the Velardes by the way) and having to drive back, calling on our landlord to open the apartment and get the extra car keys - and, of course, the non-stop ribbing I'd get from my wife for losing it in the first place - but I wasn't worried I'd like lose the car or that the lost key wouldn't eventually turn up. Luckily enough, we eventually found the mall security guy who found and picked it up from the parking lot. I guess I dropped it on the way in to the mall. If this was Manila, the car would've probably been long gone and I wouldn't have even realized I lost the keys yet.

The very next day, picking Vivian up from school during home-time. She also realized she'd misplaced her water bottle. The wife and Viv tried to figure out where it could be - going to some other places inside the school. Meanwhile, I thought of going to Vivian's class room and true enough, the water bottle was there.

So, the tale of the two keychain straps continues...we haven't chucked them away or anything but one does wonder...hmm.

*an interesting side note - during the car key saga, it was notable that even the people we asked had a common vibe - that we would eventually get it back somehow. it was even notable among Filipinos we asked. whether this is driven or influenced by local laws or not, the positivity was enough to keep one calm and far from frantic. if only somehow Filipinos would be like this even back home...

we love borders!

vivian the bookworm!

Swimming Gala 2009 video

Swimming (Gala) Surprise

It had been several months since we all went swimming (October '08, just before start of winter) and, at that time, Vivian was far from being the mermaid she craves to be. She'd be very clingy and not comfortable being alone in the water even though she'd love wading around in it. In school, however, they kept up with their weekly swimming classes coming up to the Swimming Gala last 10th of March.

The swimming gala, much like Sports Day, is another event/competition for the houses. So, the competitive atmosphere was revved up by the cheers and (playful) jeers of the children (and the parents) during the houses parade and the ceremonies hoopla. Interesting side note, the siblings of the players in the other year levels were excused from their classes and were allowed to cheer for their houses (siblings generally belong to the same house) so that made for a more festive atmosphere - and, well, fostered the familial support system which I thought was very cool.

Vivian was the third in Green Ghubra lineup for the first set of Front Crawl races (which we more commonly refer to as freestyle). The first set had participants who could opt for swimming aids...ie floaters, noodles, etc....so, naturally we expected to see Viv don her noodle or board. MUCH to our surprise, the girl coolly went down to her spot on pool without any aid. The wife and I stared at each other and I took my spot poolside for videographer duty. When the whistle blew, Vivian lunged and floated on the water and started freestyling. What-The-?? My mouth dropped and I lost my wits - as is evident in the video - her strokes were strong and her legs were paddling furiously. It took me a few seconds to recover and by the time I corrected the shot, she rose up and was gasping for air but went back into the water quickly. She rose up about two more times before she finished last in the heat - BUT only because a couple of others were using aids and didn't have to dunk their heads in the water. She reaches the pool edge and casually pulls herself up off the water onto the edge as if it was the most natural thing to do and that what she just completed was so unremarkable. She was so blasé about it, she just fixed her hair and walked back to the Green camp. I was stunned but, at the same time, blabbering in tagalog like an idiot to my wife who was equally dumbfounded.

It didn't matter that Vivian was last in that heat or that Green placed only third overall- she had already won - she won over her fear of the water. Of course, it wasn't that particular time she won over her fear, but for us - the moment she lunged-in was particularly poignant. Sooo sappy, I know, but the feeling was just indescribable. She's not yet the mermaid but I guess she's getting there.

BSM KS1 Sports Day

Key Stage One had their annual sports day last February 18. The event started with the parade of House Colors - Blue, Yellow, Green and Red followed by a warmup exercise. Each of the houses were divided into three animal teams -Vivian's was Green Crocodile. The format consisted of twelve stations, ten activity stations and two water stations. The mix of years 1&2 teams participated in all activities and scored points for their respective houses. There were also some children who broke records that earned extra house points. At the end of the event all points were added together, Green Ghubra team got the total overall highest points and was declared KS1 Sports Champions for 2009. Well done Vivian and the rest of the Green Ghubra team!

KS1 Sports Day - video

am sooo tired

The little-big girl fell asleep during homework yesterday :) Assignments are so boring!