would you want to see your kids only on weekends?

For this month til February, I am attending some GST classes at the Tax Academy of Singapore. Just like any other classes, students would make chika during breaks.

While on a chika break, me and some other locals were talking about the difficult situation of looking after a child when you have a full time job. Like, classmate 1 had to knock off at exactly 6pm because she has to pick up her kids from the baby sitter's place.

Classmate 2 told us about her neighbor, who leaves her kid at the baby sitter's place while she goes to work. Nothing wrong, it seems. But guess what, she actually leaves her kid with the baby sitter Mondays to Fridays (as in the kid stays there for five full days ha), and the mom just gets the kid on weekends.

Whew! I don't think I can stand just seeing my child only on weekends! It's like being divorced and granted only weekend visitation rights by the courts!

kendz (and why i will always love weddings

Candy (or Kendz to most people) and Lui got married last Sunday. Judging from Threelogy's amazing onsite video, it looks like it's one of the most beautiful weddings that I've ever seen (and watched).

Kendz is my co-w@w and co-w@wsg member. She's very active in the w@w community. She is one of those brides who started her preps early. She has documented almost every step of their wedding preparations. And she's so nice to her suppliers. Well, she was able to assemble a dream team that most brides would want.

Aside from always remembering her as being kaladkarin (read: she's always game for any lakad/EB/etc!), she would always be, for me, the happiest and most involved (but never a Bridezilla ha) bride-to-be (and now, bride). Being in touch with her during her wedding preps (even up to the time that she's in Manila na), up to the her last night as a bachelorette, until her wedding night (like just right after she took a shower-in preparation for her and Lui's first night as husband and wife-naks! haha)--it was like getting married all over again. Grabe talaga to si Kendz sa preps nya. And when she texted me after her wedding, I knew instantly that it was a big big success.

Kendz will always be a perfect reminder for me of how magical weddings can be. Not just the wedding, but also the highs and lows of preparing for it. That no matter how big or small your wedding is, what matters most is how important this day is to you and the man waiting for you down the aisle. Everytime I see friends, or even strangers, getting married and as happy as Kendz was during her wedding, I will never get tired of all these getting-hitched-hoolahs. It is one of the most beautiful moments a person could have in his entire life. And I'm just so happy I got to have my own share of it, my own walk to remember, like what I always say.

I think there will never come a time that I won't shed a tear or two whenever I watch a wedding ceremony. Even onsite vids, for that matter. Actually, even if I don't know the couple, I still get kilig and teary eyed when the bride walks down the aisle and when the groom says his vows. In fact, I believe so much in the magic of weddings that even if I knew that the bride walking down that aisle was a bitch, I'd still feel kilig towards her and her groom.

A week or so after our wedding in 2006, Jun and I went to Manaoag to offer our prayers. Whenever I'm back Home, I would always go there to pray and make a wish, just like how my Papa taught us. During this particular visit, there was a wedding, a 50th wedding anniversary at that. And though the "grandma bride" can barely walk, and the "grandpa groom" had a complete set of ultra-white dentures, plus the fact that they really had an awful shade of yellow as their motif...well, the whole thing still made me kilig just the same. ..

Kendz and Lui, all the best to you both! And may you both love each other even after your own 50th wedding anniversary, where Kendz can barely walk and Lui has his own set of ultra-white dentures.

PH

Singapore probably has one of the fewest public holidays in the world:

New Year's Day
Chinese New Year (2 or 3 days)
Good Friday
Labour Day
Vesak Day
National Day
Hari Raya Puasa
Deepavali
Hari Raya Raji
Christmas Day.

That's just 12 days in a year, assuming that Chinese New Year consists of 3 days.

So just imagine my disappointment when I started working here. I am used to having at least 15 public holidays back in Manila:
New Year's Day
People Power/Edsa Revolution
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, (Black Saturday), Easter Sunday
Araw ng Kagitingan
Labor Day
Independence Day
Ninoy Aquino Day
National Heroes' Day
All Saint's Day
Bonifacio Day
Christmas Day
Rizal Day
New Year's Eve

...and this doesn't include "Regional Public Holidays" (for example, Manila Day, Pasay Day, Sinulog Festival, etc) wherein the respective local governments declare a Special Non-working Holiday in their respective cities or provinces)

...plus, our beloved chick president has also declared some religious holidays like Chinese New Year and Ramadan to this growing list...

AND let's not forget that our beloved chick president loves to move public holidays on different days so that we can have longer weekends...

AND classes are suspended on certain days because of the rainy season (and in recent times, due to strike/mutiny/coup, celebrity weddings--nye!). And this moving of public and national holidays is actually a government policy already, read RA 9492.

Making this comparison makes me miss home.

I am reminded of something that the Philippine Comedian wrote on his blog:

Malacanang Moves Christmas to November 1
Malacañang, Sep 1, 2007. Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has signed an executive order officially moving the date of Christmas to November 1. Sources say the new order takes effect this year.

The official press statement explained the reasoning behind the shift in schedule. "December 25 is too matagal nwoh. Plus, tutal, we Filipinos can't wait naman for Paskwoh, so why not just move it na mas maaga di bwah?" the press statement said.
When asked why the President chose November 1 for the new date, the press statement failed to reply. So instead, we interviewed a Malacañang insider.

"Well, like thuh -- the President assigned four committees to study the feasibility of moving Christmas to four months, no? -- August, September, October, and November, you know?" confided Procopio Mengkekekwek (not real name). "Eh bomalabs yung iba during their final presentation. So like, y'know, the November committee got the most votes because they were soooo kaka! And they even brought Willie Revillame to do the presentation, like y'know? And he brought pa his Wowowee girls to dance," added Mengkekekwek excitedly.
Opposition Senator Chiz Escudero immediately hit the latest move by Malacañang. "Naghihirap na nga ang mga tao, aagahan niyo pa ang Pasko," said the visibly irked (but handsome) senator. "Ako ang boses ng kabataan sa Senado," he also said.

The handsome Escudero, who was wearing a barong tagalog designed by Ino Sotto, pointed out major problems that the schedule shift will cause. "For example, what will happen to All Soul's Day? And will we now move New Year's day to December 1."

The president is currently doing Pilates and unavailable for any comment.

So does this mean we are not hardworking people? No lah! Having more holidays , for me, means that we are such fun-loving people who, even during our life's darkest and lowest moments, still know how to stop and smell the roses.
For the official list of holidays in the Philippines, click here. For the official list of holidays in Singapore, don't even bother--it's still the same list.

dining table

This table was for sale on e-bay.

How can you tell if this table is being sold by a man?

The answer is in the picture. Look closely.

Sirit?

Clue: If you are taking pictures to be posted on the web, wear clothes when taking the picture!