Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Contract

This early, my youngest daughter Louise is starting to show her lawyering potentials.

For several months now, she's been bugging me to allow her to sleep in the masterbedroom, much to the chagrin of her dad. Each night, sending her to her bedroom is a never-ending tug of war between us. She never runs out of reasons NOT to stay in her bedroom. I think that she has mastered the art of emotional manipulation, the kind that makes her look like a pitiful victim and me an unfeeling cold-hearted mother that I have no choice but to give in to her caprices.

I can't exactly recall how she successfully negotiated with me to allow her to sleep in our bedroom every weekend (friday, saturday and sunday). The next thing I knew was that she was presenting me and her dad a piece of paper and asking me to sign it. I thought it was something about school so imagine how flabbergasted I was when I saw this:

 
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Oh well, it seems like there's no reneging the promise now. She has the contract to back her up in case of dispute (LOL).

On Thursday last week, I found her sleeping in our bed. Aha! The contract maker has violated her own contract. When told about it however, she sheepishly pointed to the clock that read 12:00 midnight and said: "Mom, it's Friday already, therefore, I have every right to sleep in your bedroom."

Lessons for mom: Before signing a contract with your kid, be sure to define what weekend means.(LOL)

Monday, April 20, 2009

99 THINGS

saw this here, and found it interesting, so i played along too....

here are the rules: bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden in a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michelangelo’s david
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistine chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theater
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. got flowers for no reason
64.donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guards in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person
96. swam in the great salt lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

hmmmm... got only a 40 out of 99. which suggests i gotta do more...

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Countdown

This Saturday, April 11, is a big day for my highschool class. All roads lead to SNHS grounds as former classmates and friends and other alumni troop to join our alma mater's annual homecoming and reunion, this time being hosted by our class, the silver jubilarians.

The preparations for this activity started early last year, thanks to our dedicated classmates who cared enough to make the affair truly meaningful. Although I and the rest of my classmates who are based abroad, am several continents away from them, we were able to keep tab with the preparations and the developments, thanks to Marissa who initiated the opening of the e-group account for the batch.

As I write this, I can only imagine the excitement and frenzy building up as my classmates prepare for the big event. Menchie wrote in her blog how she and the rest of the locally-based classmates had been trying so hard to dance gracefully with the rhythm, conquering two left feet and stiff joints and arthritis, just to give justice to the production number. I am excited to see Nena, with all her towering height, pull it off and the rest of the girls who were not really into dancing during highschool.

They will also have a musical number to be participated in by the kids. Ali and Marissa are in charge of the rehearsals. I can just visualize how the kids will turn out to be as they belt out the lyrics of "Tomorrow" that used to be our class' unofficial theme song.

And of course, the Family Day exclusive to the class is the biggest treat of all. This is the highlight of the celebration, where friends and classmates will gather together in some warm, cozy and summery beach and talk about everything and nothing, reminisce the good old days, tease and cajole each other, share laughters and memories, and just have fun, probably up to the wee hours of the morning.

They will have so much fun. They will find each other again. They will celebrate old and newfound friendships. And when the day is over, they will experience the fullness of heart that will pave the way to tears. A few of them will cry a little but smile a lot.

They and only they, because I am unable to home to attend the celebration. Arrgh!

Since I graduated from highschool, I never had the chance to attend the alumni homecoming even though I was based in Manila then. I promised myself then that I will never miss out on our silver jubilee, but a year ago today, we migrated to Canada which makes travelling back home at this time of the year impractical and uncalled for.

But on our golden, I don't see any reason why I should miss it. And who knows, I don't really have to wait that long. A caring soul may want to organize an exclusive homecoming on our thirtieth year!

But for now, all I can do is wish my classmates good luck and pray for a successful homecoming celebration.