Skip to main content

How To Be Robbed In Broad Daylight On A U-Turn Slot And Keep On Movin'

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I will be driving through the congested streets of Metro Manila and to actually DO LIFE here on a semi-permanent basis. I mean, I love travelling to Manila, but it is the traffic situation here that I dreaded ever since. I'd tell my kids, "pinch me, pinch me, this is just a dream..." as we sat in traffic most of the time when we had to run errands, pick up our groceries, or go to church, or go to their piano lessons at school. A fruitful day would come by so fast and it was interesting to note that my 14 year-old girl and my nine year-old boy have adjusted well to our new environment in no time. We. are. home.

I wish I could say that our homeschooling journey has always been predictable and turned out the way we planned it to be. But I would be lying. Take this incident that happened to us last week on our way back to Manila from a short visit to our beloved Batangas City.

Driving from Manila to Batangas via C5 road - SLEX - STAR Tollway and vice versa? Ha, that was something else...especially when I was stopped by a traffic enforcer for "swerving" or "reckless driving" along E. Rodriguez Avenue, Pasig City. "Me??? A reckless driver?" "Yes, Ma'am, U-turn slot po 'yan, swerving kayo at reckless driving." I wanted to disappear at that moment as I imagined my kids and myself dissolved into thin air. Focus. I needed to focus. My kids watched me talk politely to the traffic enforcers almost begging "patawad po," I overlooked the sign that says "U-turn Slot No-swerving." "Ma'am sa Makati po tutubusin ang lisensya n'yo, 2,000 pesos ang fine, maghapon pong seminar..." In my mind , I said, Makati? What Makati? I don't even know the directions going there and my kids are late for their piano lessons at school! And we're on car-coding and we're just here because of your limited window hours!

"Ma'am, may porsyento ho kame d'yan, kalahati, para di na kayo maabala." Got the picture?

I got my driver's license back and headed towards our destination to CCF Center in Frontera Verde. I felt robbed in broad daylight for an amount of 1, 000 pesos that I unscrupolously handed them for a very minor offense that I've committed. There was no traffic at that time of 11:30am. My chest felt heavy for what just took place. I asked the traffic enforcers if they stopped every single motorists that made a little mistake of swerving along that area. But no matter how sarcastic I sounded, I still felt I was on the losing end. I wouldn't forget that sly grin on their faces.

Alrightee... crunch time! On our short visit to our beloved Batangas City last week, Bethany practiced her "Moths Scherzino."

 We braved the traffic just to see our very first granddaughter, and my children's very first niece by their cousin, my nephew. I hope I got that right. So, I'm a Lola.
We saw this face. The cutest girl on earth, her name is Abira Cymphony. Don't call me "Lola" just call me "Tita Mema," that's what I'm going to tell her when she's bigger.
Too bad Uncle Noah can't kiss her because he had a cold.
"Ate Mana," as my kids call her is Joanna, my niece, don't you think she's too pretty to become a policewoman someday? She also wears a black patent stileto to school.
Condo living with thirty-two square meter living space, my children are learning to scale down everything including this teeny-tiny origami boat.

But there's a bonus of spacious play area for kids.
"Mom, are you posting this on Facebook again? Please don't post this on Facebook."
"I won't post this on Facebook. I promise." Of course this isn't Facebook!
Before I left to get some groceries, I took a snapshot, a stolen shot of my kids doing school at a tea shop in Hypermarket. "Mom, please stop posting our pictures on Facebook."
This is The Mom's birthday treat happening on the month of October. Can't wait!
Batch-cooking is ideal when you are homeschooling and when you have a limited condo space. That way, you will have plenty of time to attend to other school-related activities. All you have to do is re-heat your food before each meal.
But these pancakes are an exception. You can't "batch-cook" pancakes to save for later because they sell like newspapers! In fact, this was what we had for lunch, one rainy day. What we had for breakfast earlier on was tinola. We like it in that order.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

This May Be The SECRET SAUCE of Art

An artist will always be influenced by their past, their cultural exposure, the travels of their youth, the mentors they were afforded, and the family in which they were raised. These have a great impact on one’s artistic inclination; they help to shape their artistic process, the way they view things, and how they translate the world in their creations. Whether it’s through music, fashion, fine arts, architecture, or any other art form, these influences always find their way to his creation being amplified in a fitting manner.   For instance, Paul McCartney of the Beatles wrote the timeless song “Yesterday” at just 21 years old. It resonated globally because the lyrics were remarkably profound and melancholy for someone so young. “Why she, had to go  I don't know, she wouldn't say I said, something wrong, I don't know For yesterday” People wondered where he got his inspiration for such a sad song considering his age. Sir Paul noted that pain and grief were the key element...
Read more

Super Easy Banana Bread Recipe, That's a Promise

Baking banana bread is not rocket science. All you need are the basic wet and dry ingredients such as eggs, butter, over-ripe bananas, flour, fast acting yeast, salt, and sugar respectively. These ingredients are readily available at supermarkets anywhere in the world. So, it's really not a problem finding your supplies because they are actually your kitchen staples. You may not have to leave the house to buy them because it is likely that you already have a stash of them in your pantry. What I've found a bit tricky though was measuring each ingredient in the exact amount as we would have done back home in beloved Philippines. Although we're grateful for our tiny, yet homey kitchen here in Moscow, where there's an old but well-maintained electric stove-top and a good-sized oven,  it does not have the luxury of your kitchen baking implements like measuring spoons and cups, baking pans, mixing bowls, sifters, or an electric mixer. And I have been disciplining myself...
Read more

Confession Time: Finding My Real Father in the Midst of Bankruptcy

Last week I shared about my family's  super easy banana bread recipe . Today I will share about an ordeal that my family, the Arago side, experienced on bankruptcy more than two decades ago. Can you see the connection between this two subjects? Actually, there's no connection :) But I do hope you take the time reading it, browse over some old old pics, and by God's grace, picking up something of value along the way :)  In 1993, our small - scale family marble manufacturing business collapsed which changed our lives forever. For the better. And for our best. This year saw our family's spiritual birth when we came to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We learned to trust Him and His promises even if He didn't say 'yes' to our prayers that time; for tatay to miraculously get well again after he suffered from multiple strokes; for our family business to pick up again from bankruptcy; and for us to keep our cozy two-storey home and never having to move ou...
Read more