The Scent of a Baby

It's amazing how a scent can bring you back in time and remind you things so good you want to cry.

Although wala pang 3 years old si Abby, technically, hindi na s'ya baby. Hindi na s'ya dumedede at gumagamit ng diaper since early this year. And though she smells just as fresh, hindi na amoy baby ika nga.

Inuubo si Abby, nothing serious pero pinahiram na rin s'ya ni misis ng chinese ointment na katumbas ng manzanilla at al camporado (hope I spelled it right). If you are a parent especially kung nasa Pinas ka, alam mo kung para saan 'to.

Grabeh!

As if she's a newborn, amoy baby ulit! Bigla tuloy nanariwa sa akin ang first few months n'ya na natutulog sya sa dibdib ko. We were lulled with each others heartbeat and breathing. God knows how much I love this little girl who forever is my baby...

And The Saga Continues

I booked 4 tickets online for the movie Star Wars Episode 3 (The Revenge of the Sith) this coming Friday night. The tickets are for me, my wife and my two boys, Alex and Arthur. If you are familiar with the "herd", you would notice that my little princess Abby is not joining us for obvious reason. She would certainly be a nuisance and dampen the mood not just for us, but for other viewers as well.

The timing is just perfect being Friday and close to payday (although admittedly that this kind of expenses really don't make a dent). Arthur's semestral exam (midyear) is over while Alex doesn't have it. They are continuously revamping the education system here to make it less stressfull for students without compromising on the quality. They removed the quarterly examinations and in some levels, like in primary 1, even midyear exams. In case you are not aware, Singapore is in the cream of the crop in Science and Math in recent surveys. Fret not, we are second...from the bottom of the heap. Damn! We are not making any headway, we are simply heading south at a steep rate!

I'm getting off-tangent...

We're really are a follower of the Star Wars saga, specially Arthur. Though he was too young when the earlier sequels came out, we have a collection of them. Off the cuff, he can narrate all the sequels and prequels. It's just natural that we watch this one as well. And although we can just wait for it to come out in DVD (or maybe head to Malaysia for a a pirated copy) and watch it in the comfort of home with my Bose home theater system, there's no denying that nothing can come close watching it on the big screen on the first showing week with nachos and popcorns. Besides, watching your fave movie with your parent is a memory a child would cherish forever. I still remember the day my father, with my younger brother, watched ET when I was in primary school in Makati Square and ate Hawaiian Pizza at Shakey's after the show. This is one memory with my father that is etched deeply in my memory. **sigh*** How I wish he's still around...

Happy Birthday Pareng Minon

I must admit, may pagka aloof,cynical at critical ako. Ako yung taong hindi talaga palakaibigan. Pero pag kaibigan eh talagang kaibigan. No bullshit. My good old friend Elmin or Minon is one of them at birthday n'ya ngayon. Nasa Pinas sya at syempre pa, di kami pwedeng tumoma to celebrate his special day so this entry is somewhat a tribute to him.

Classmates kami ni Pareng Minon from first year to fourth year. Adolescent years, kaya full of adventures and misadventures ang pinagsamahan namin. Unang yosi, unang toma, unang ****, etc. But the friendship didn't stop there. Maski nung college years, although we were at different schools, ay madalas pa rin kaming magkita, hangang nakapagtrabaho at nagkapamilya.

Witty at masang-masa si Pareng Minon kaya masarap kasama, never a dull moment ika nga. Those who know him will tell you that I'm not condescending.

Pre, happy happy birthday!

The Search is Over

Walastik naman talaga dito. Biruin mong it took me almost a month to get a replacement for one of my engineering operator! Generally, "allergic" kasi sa cleanroom type of job ang typical na Singaporean kaya karamihan ay taga-kabilang lupa (Malaysia) at taga-malaking lupa (China) ang nagtratrabaho sa mga semicon firm dito. After a trickle of applicants (3 lang ang nag-apply), kinuha namin yung Indian applicant from Malaysia. High school graduate s'ya with working experience not-so-related sa job function. Although, I was hoping to get someone with at least a good exposure in wirebonding, okay na rin kesa wala. Actually hindi naman ako ganoon ka metikoloso bossing, hindi baleng maganda at seksi as long as she can do the job.

Kung sa Pinas ito siguradong pinutakte na ako ng mga applikante. Siguradong the next day na mag-post ka sa classified madaling araw pa lang mahaba na ang pila. Most probably kasama sa pila ay mga magaganda college grad.

Happy Anniversary Mahal

Around this time 17 years ago, binigay mo sa akin ang pagkatamis-tamis mong yes. Ganoon na pala katagal. Just to think that I spend half of my life and the whole of my adult life by your side is really something.

God must have blessed our relationship and I know the best has yet to come for us. Grow old with me and bear with my eccentricities.

Mahal na mahal kita though sometimes I show it in the strangest ways...

Crab Mentality, Politics, Nepotism, Ethnocentricity, Etc...

Almost a decade working outside Pinas, been exposed to people of different nationalities, I'm one to say that it sometimes preferable working with other people rather than your own. I know there's a number of us, specially those who work outside Pinas, who sometimes feel the same. It's true that in certain degree, all these maladies are present in other nationalities. But for some Pinoys, it becomes a way of life. Is it really in our pedigree or in our culture?! I'm inclined to be believe that it's the latter.

Sure, working with your own has it own pros. The camaraderie is different, you feel more at home. But if your job is somehow in conflict with their interest (just like mine whose job includes developing systems and make sure everyone adheres), you better brace yourself. We are notorious for "shortcuts", always finding the easy way out even if it's detrimental to the whole. This is where it becomes nasty. Trabaho lang walang personalan! I'm duty-bound to tick them off for not toeing the line. I do it as objective as possible but they get slighted and take it personally just the same.

It's like being in a Survivor series. You can't be to weak or too strong, lest they will boot you out.