Secrets Men Keep

I learned something today about relationships courtesy of redbookmag.com. Guys just can't seem to resist the urge to look at a (hot) girl even while you're waiting in line together. It's an annoying habit, one that I can't really get over with even if I've been married for more than two years now. But the blog says" this doesn't mean that he will leave you for her or that he wants to make a move on her. It's a radar that won't turn off."
Still, nakakairita diba? And why can't we do the same and get away with it without being judged? At least in my case, I don't need to get confrontational to make him admit that he actually was looking at another girl.
How? My husband and I have (generally) similar taste when it comes to girls so chances are, I'll catch him looking at the same person I was checking out. It's annoying at times especially if the girl is flirting back but oftentimes we just laugh about it.
"Give us an inch and we'll give you a lifetime." This is so very true. Just let him be. Give him space, his own time with friends, let him play PSP without interruptions and he'll love you to bits. It's a bit hard for me given that Im always clamoring for his attention. But it's not easy for him either. So my motto now: let boys be boys even for a while.

Tom yummy

Modesty aside, I consider myself a fairly good cook, a skill I probably inherited from my "mame" who prepares a mean sinigang and adobong pusit which I still can't duplicate until now. Variety wise, Im limited to the usual fare of nilaga, prito, steamed vegetables and anything that has sauteed onion and garlic in it. Im growing tired of it (so does my family but were afraid to say so hehe) so last Sunday, I announced to my husband that I am making tom yum for lunch.
I know it's silly but when I was in Thailand, I never liked tom yum. It was too spicy for me and the cilantro (juansoy) was a bit overwhelming. The only time that I did appreciate this popular Thai dish was when I had it in Boracay, at a restaurant in within the D' Mall vicinity. Forgot the name but they really serve authentic Thai dishes.
Anyway, I referred to a recipe book by Food Magazine and it proved very helpful. Just had to buy some of the ingredients in the market like lemon grass (or tanglad), shitake mushrooms, cilantro, and shrimps. But the key ingredient, surprisingly, was our local calamansi. This is what gives tom yum its sour, almost tart, taste. I also like to put lots of chopped cilantro in my soup which gives a nice flavor.
It was tom yummy! Even I was surprised by how it turned out.
Thank you Food Magazine!

(Erratum: I got the recipe from this miniature GoodHousekeeping magazine and not Food Magazine as previously mentioned)

Retraction

I'm taking back what I've said in my last post. I don't want to be a teacher...well at least not while we are still struggling to stabilize our finances, while the education system continues to be corrupt, and hopelessness continues to thrive in the streets. I know being a teacher is a vocation, and as such you should not expect to live comfortably with a meager salary. Kaya nga vocation eh...kawang gawa. Haayy...bakit ba ang hirap umasenso dito sa Pilipinas? Recently, I was surfing between TV shows when I saw this news clip which attempted to reveal the evil ways of the education sector.
Apparently, one public school received some PC units which turned out to be useless dahil hindi pala gumagana. To make matters even worse, the education sector allegedly spent P200+ thousand pesoses for each rickety computer! WTF?
Ano un, Alienware computer? If this was true, mahiya naman kayo sa balat nio. Imagine how many classrooms you can build with that kind of money? Just think of the many kids who are deprived of education because of few evil souls? Matakot kayo sa karma!

Experience vs Expertise

I am devastated. I just came back from a job interview somewhere in Q.C., optimistic that I would be hired as a preschool teacher. It's always been my frustration to be a teacher, a desire that stemmed from my early exposure as a volunteer for our church. Summers during my teenage years were mostly spent with out-of-school youths in depressed areas, reading Bible stories, singing Christian songs, role-playing characters from the Bible, and essentially teaching kids how to be God-like. But I guess this doesn't count as a "teaching experience" as I later learned.
I was told that they badly needed an English teacher. Check. I think a solid background in print journalism would suffice.
Passionate about kids. Check. I love my two boys to bits.
Flexible. Check. Journalists are the most flexible people I know.
Teaching experience. Well I argued that I had, uhmm, informal teaching experience but my argument was met with a puzzled stare.
Knows how to make a lesson plan. Check...only because I can easily learn that. (Sabi ko nga, "Teacher I can also learn that as long as you teach me how to make one.")
Starting salary -- P9,000 to P10,000. Ha? Come again? I had to ask again thinking I heard wrong.
Inulit pa nia, sabay sabi, "If you have masters then that's an additional five...five hundred pesos. And another five hundred if you are a LET passer, and so on."
What the...@#%! And this is a private school attended by kids whose parents are either CEOs, businessmen, artistas, instant millionaires, politicians, or just plain filthy rich who inherited haciendas from their ninunos.
Do they expect to get decent teachers with that kind of salary? Private school pa yan, hindi pa yan public. Yes I know teaching is a vocation, a noble profession that, unfortunately, doesnt pay well. Pero naman, teachers also need to eat, feed their families, pay the rent and electricity, ride the public transport, and send their children to school.
I was devastated. I thought I priced myself way below my expertise and experience. Turns out, mahal pa pala ang asking salary ko.
Another issue was my actual teaching experience, or should I say the lack of it. I wanted to blurt out "EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER!" di nio ba alam? I could develop that skill if you'll only accord me the opportunity to teach kids.
Obviously, Im as sour as kamias. But who wouldnt? I was so looking forward to taking on this job. I still want to be a teacher, and I could perhaps do PR writing on the side to get me by.
Kaso they'll just call me back daw. Interpretation: Next please.
You just burst my bubble.
Buti na lang birthday ni River. I have another reason to be happy.

Of birthdays, job interviews and gadgets

I have a new laptop, thanks to my benefactor who insisted that he bought me one since I am into the writing business (yes business, not craft) and often used HIS laptop to write my articles. After much convincing and wading through computer shops in Greenhills, I finally found the perfect gizmo for me -- a white Acer Aspire. I am not very particular with specs so long as it had wifi/internet connection, word document, games and powerpoint. It was a good buy, with a few extras altho I have yet to exploit the other features. Saka na. Lo and behold, a week after my precious purchase, I already dropped the laptop twice. Ngek! I guess that's the problem with small laptops, you forget it's inside your bag.
Anyway, it's still running so I guess it's worth every cent that I shelled out (or rather my husband shelled out). Ok. So much about the laptop.
River's turning six tomorrow, Aug. 5, and he cant wait. He's been doing some sort of a countdown since July and says he can't wait to be 10. Curious, I asked why he's such in a hurry to grow up.
"So I could play GTA," he said sheepishly.
GTA? As in Grand Theft Auto?!!! I've seen snippets of the game shown over Attack of the Show. Natakot ako. I swear River is not going to play that game even if he's 20. What the hell were they thinking? Teaching kids to be felons and how to steal cars?

Maling akala

I hope this buzz about the forthcoming reunion of the Eraserheads is not just a "maling akala" as their song goes. My husband and I already registered online to get tickets (apparently this was the only way to get tickets to the "free concert) but we have yet to receive a reply from this site.

If this is a form of viral marketing, ang galing ng nakaisip! It couldn't have come at a better time. Fans have been clamoring for a reunion right after they disbanded...I cant wait.

Yaya to the rescue

Im back though I was never really away (excluding perhaps the three-day "vacation" I took with my sister in Hong Kong last June 26).
For the past two weeks, wala ako yaya which is why I didnt have time to update this blog. Thankfully I have my new yaya, sinundo namin sia yesterday dun sa agency kung san kami parati kumukuha ng yaya.
I've lost count of my yayas who have come and gone. The last one, who left us like a thief (walang paalam!), was apparently pissed after Alamat threw her cellphone in the toilet bowl. Mahilig kasi si alamat magtapon ng kung ano sa toilet. It reminds me of the macacks in India, tipong nang-aagaw ng pagkain tas biglang tatakbo.
I already warned my new yaya about this bad habit of Alamat. Wag mag-cellphone or else. Sana tumagal. Im getting tired of signing up a new yaya every so often. On top of that, mahal ng placement fee sa agency. Our savings are starting to dry up. Need a job fast.
Now I have to catch up on a lot of things...dami tatapusin. Hopefully, this month I'll have a new job and more projects.