I guess it started as carbonara?
Lil boy: This is Kalbo-nanny. Kalbo-nanny means yoghurt in Spanish.
Me: San mo nakuha yang Kalbo-nanny na yan?
Lil boy: From the yoghurt.

True story
Lil boy: there was a dog. And then I was walking to 715. And now I got poopoo in the shoe!

Man of the house
Lil boy: Mama, there is no need to panic. Always do what the little boy says.

Lost in translation number 348735
Rowena: Ibulong mo ito kay Mommy: matulog na tayo. (let's sleep)
Lil boy (stage whisper to me): I... want to play a game!

Work-related post - you have been warned!

I confess. I have a tendency to be brave (or stupid -- same thing) about new roles. Case in point - my first job used C++, Unix, SQL, Perl scripts, and the North American EDI/Co:Di/XML standards for telecomms, but I jumped out of that and landed in data management, SAP, ALE, CIF, Excel formulae (haha lowtech love!). It helped that I knew Unix for CIB work, but everything else was learned on the fly.

Then I took on a role in 2005 (it's been that long!) that left the comfortable world of customized-to-death-I-can-do-it-in-my-sleep (seriously - no blocked idocs and a CSAT of 5/5 for Japan pa to ha) to critical tickets practically every week for 6,000 lines of spaghetti code that ran 70 hours too long. Please note I DID NOT have any ABAP experience and just had the good fortune to be exposed to the gods (Eman, Aileen, Earl, and the wonderful ABAP team :-D). When I reached the point that I could quote exact bits of the BR extractor in my sleep and people started asking how well I knew NY and B5, it was time to move roles again.

So here I am now. Just starting to realize how much I really don't know about this role and the responsibilities associated with it. But every day it gets easier to answer questions - although I still stare suspiciously at people if they walk away satisfied with my answer -- I wanna tug at their sleeves and say "are you sure?". Again, I am only human (and not Sheryl or Roman hahaha). I still have more of my own questions than answers.

Happily for the people I bother regularly, I debugged the damn user exits by myself several times this past couple of weeks, but those obscure bits of Z-programs still leave me wondering. Not to mention the standard code with its German comments. My ABAP syntax could be more pogi but I can certainly construct and review a program design to make sure it's optimized. It's a dark tunnel but there are flashes of light.

What is the moral to my story? If I survive this role long enough to know things in my sleep, remind me not to wander so far off that I need to re-learn everything again. On the other hand, if you're used to jumping into the deep end, chances are you'll end up floating no matter how deep the water is.

Agree with me, you guys. If I say it enough times I may believe it. Pass the snorkel please. 

You broke my heart. You can't fix it with tissue paper.

- Hanna, 200 lbs of Beauty

Bucs, para sa iyo ito. ATP bus tunnel... hehe. Figuratively I am encouraging you, but literally nambubuyo ako baka gusto mo kaming damayan.

P.S. Hubby, this phone's camera isn't bad at all. Ano masasabi niyo sa composition though?

Reposting Ninna's entry here:

"Once again, students being approved for graduation even if they did not meet the requirements to graduate.

http://www.petitiononline.com/pshss/petition.html

I have signed the petition. Standards have to be upheld. School pride has to have meaning. Efforts for four years have to stand for something.

If the BOT is regretting the 1/3 rule to graduate, they should revoke it. Not eat their words by letting failing students graduate."

Turns out this time we were wrong, which we realized when the first plate was placed in front of us. The crabs were huge. I placed a can of Sprite for perspective given my camera angle. This, my friends, was the first plate:

Sorry, but after that we dug in and my hands were too full of black pepper sauce and crabmeat to document. RJ will provide the rest, yes? Suffice it to say we marshalled through 10 humongous crabs with three guys, three girls, and a lot of effort. Super sarap but I think I've clogged all my arteries. I ended up with a cholesterol headache yesterday... which as I write this still seems to be lingering. But man, those crabs were delicious. Sobrang sarap. Pero di na ko uulit sa ganon karami.

Then we headed over to the famous flat, sponsored by Philips (hehe). I post this as an incentive to hubby. You can set up a gaming rig and a few consoles too, but hurry up and get here already.

T's infamous worktable, the side dedicated to gaming:

And this is theindoctrination of H-san on Street Fighter . She chose a random character and ended up with RUFUS of all people. I told her: "For one night you get to be a tall blonde with big boobs."

After a couple of rounds of Mario Kart, we called it a night and headed home. I did not get lost on the way to Eng Seng (thanks Jenm) nor on the way back (thanks RJ).

Things to do to prevent being sad:

1. Eat your feelings - all this new food keeps me occupied. On the drinks front I've had black currant with aloe bits, iced jasmine green tea, the usual iced barley juice and apple juice with aloe bits. The giant celery has been consumed with blue cheese. Mee siam has made friends with me, as have roast duck in noodle soup, and hainanese chicken and cereal prawns have renewed their acquaintance. I'm still looking for a good mango chicken place though.

2. Walk your feelings - thank goodness I'm an endorphin addict too. I think I've actually lost a couple of pounds. Plus being brave (or crazy) enough to take unknown bus routes and getting lost also adds to the calories burned.

3. Do weight training - I don't have my baby with me (YET), but I have the following very cute substitute who gives me my daily workout through jump-jump and kargahan blues. Tip: squats as well as lifts give you that whole body exercise

4. Try to catch up on sleep - it's a war out there on the global front, so like any good soldier grab the chance to nap when you can. I did after all EARN the nickname Narcoleptic.

5. Chat the blues away - thank goodness for instant messengers.

6. Mentally shop the blues away - I am so far behaving on the shopping front (basically because wala pa sweldo hahaha), but I don't know how long I can keep this up.

homesick = wash dishes = drizzt's yaya scandalized

51 <> 57 = me lost somewhere but got home anyway, watch your bus numbers folks

timezones <> each other <> regular sleeping schedules

there are huge red mangoes and tiny yellow mango-like fruits, which I will try eating when I'm done with the sour yellow plums

I.MISS.MY.BOYS.

thanks J for adopting me mwah.

I didn't get the apartment I wanted. It was gorgeous and someone snapped it up already. Heartbroken.

Drizzt is pogi. I want another one.

How do you choose the most urgent parts of your life and limit them to 20 kgs of luggage? I had to spend a long time thinking about it.

Then, when I had formulated a plan, I took my first batch of pack-ables and opened my suitcase to find... train tracks and a toy airplane! And heading toward me was a little boy concentrating on dragging one of his filled toyboxes next to my suitcase.

First plan of action was to divert Paul. I took out the toys and placed them into the smaller suitcase I wasn't taking along. "The brown one is Mommy's maleta. This red one is yours."

"Why, Mom?" Uh-oh... the dreaded word. Argh... think fast! "Kasi mas malaki ako, so akin yung malaking maleta. Ikaw, little boy who is getting bigger, so sa iyo yung mas maliit." (i'm bigger so I get the bigger one... you get the picture). It thankfully is logical enough to satisfy him at the first "why". He then proceeds to fill it to the brim with toys, and then move said toys to another container. Ah, the energy of youth.

In the meantime, I think of having to clean a new place from top to bottom by myself... so I fill the suitcase with cleaning supplies, then toiletries, then three small wedding gifts for the kitchen. Because what I loaded was mainly liquid, I decided to balance it out with... air. There go four pairs of shoes in shoe boxes on top, and voila the suitcase is filled.  

I hadn't gotten to 20 kg yet but I'm close... so I put four more shoes in their boxes in a lightweight carrier. There... 2pcs luggage and 20-something weight.

What about clothes, you ask? I'll have to ship them, haha.

No time to take and post pics, or even grab from the internet.. this post has been delayed enough as it is. Having come from walking in minus 19 Fahrenheit weather (and not being Roman, cause you know I'm just human), I thought I'd share some of the stuff that saved my life.

Alba UnPetroleum Lip Balm - SPF 18, comes in luscious Tangerine flavor (honestly I didn't even look at the other flavors), standard lipbalm stick size for fitting into bags or even pockets. I never experienced any dryness or cracks with this even with windchill, and the yummy-ness of the lip balm has me constantly reminding Paul it's not for eating. I would bet even lips so dry they look like cauliflower would be healed by this.

SKII facial mask with Pitera - I always wondered why these were priced the way they were... then I left my nice little humid tropical country and bam!! Both moisturizers I had with me just didn't cut it. After two days in winter my face was in danger of developing dry patches that I knew would end up as wounds. So I popped one of these babies on at night and the next day... smooth and supple again! Even if I skipped the moisturizers as long as I had these everything was ok. So I take it back, they're worth every penny. And considering I got mine for free... things just couldn't get any better.

Ilog Maria Propolis Shampoo - the first time I used it I was a little freaked out by the strange texture it left my hair... but once you apply the calamansi/lemon juice conditioner the whole thing just transforms your hair into unbelievable shiny smooth strands. I just apply another conditioner after that if I want to change the smell of my hair from lemony to something more floral or fruity, but otherwise I think we've got a permanent addition to an area where I never make commitments.

For some strange reason I've picked up this word (coming from Tiyo, meaning uncle, but which has evolved into "dude"-level slang) and am using it quite often.

Was reading back my comment on binibining Carina's post and saw it. Holy camote, I'd even used it online.

Dunno why. Maybe I'll shed it soon. In the meantime hubby thinks it's hilarious. Eh kayo, chong, ok ba sa inyo?

(+) Woke up early and got to office early. Even after all the talks with North America last night. With luggage. Woohoo.

(-) Forgot my EZlink card at home. Hassle. Oh wells, need a few new ones for the family anyway.

(-) Receiving MHurd's email this morning was not a happy start to my email reading. Si Bucs kasi, pinuna pa. Hindi man lang ako nakatakas. ARRRRRGH.

(+) finished all my paperwork. I hope. Haha.

(+) counting all the things I plan to eat.... hoy Raine kasama dun yun luto mo ha. Woohoo.

(-) Night meetings means I won't be able to shop much. Oh wait, this is a plus pala.

When the light is green you go.
When the light is red you stop.
But what do you do 
When the light turns blue
With orange and lavender spots?

I thought my next entry would be about getting to Cincinnati (more or less) unscathed, but I got an SMS from hubby 5 AM EST that my mom was rushed to the ER today. Argh. She's conscious and communicative and cranky about being confined, but she's in the ICU. Trying not to be panicked yet. My brother says stay put. I hope it works out. Just when everything was fine healthwise for the rest of us. All of you take care, OK?

In other news, no snow here, just freezing rain. It's a good thing I took my own (and everyone else's) advice and left all the suede stuff back home.

I can't concentrate...

I was trying to weasel out of the next business trip because it's right after New Year (I'll miss my boys), it's gonna be cold, and most of all, it's my least favorite embassy to go to. I had successfully avoided it for 5 years, and I was hoping to continue to do so.

(Un)fortunately, all the paperwork came together in 3 days. So this morning I found myself bright and early in Roxas Blvd, waiting in the hordes of people hoping against hope to get the precious go signal. I was feeling slightly guilty that all I really wanted was to be back home switching channels so Paul could watch Word World.

So my first survival tip is to observe the microcosm of society in that small waiting area outside the embassy. There's a complex interaction between the hopeful newcomers clutching their bundles of paper and the cynical vendors running experienced eyes over their targets, preying on the unconfident. I left all electronics with hubby and thought that was a job well done, but happened to still have a USB drive, a small bottle of (rubbing) alcohol, and a bottle of cologne in my bag. Poof, there went Php 100 to the Dragon lady just for safekeeping. Thank God I didn't need any pens, pictures, or tissue na presyong ginto. Gadgets go for Php 150 per item to be kept. One guy found that the vendors make Php 30,000 PER MONTH on the "safekeeping fee". That's tax free. Sushality!!

Next survival tip, be narcoleptic like me. My famous skill of sleeping while sitting upright kept me in good stead during the looooooooooong wait. Just to give you an idea, I arrived there 715 AM for a 9 AM appointment, and only got the interview at almost 11 AM.

Number 3, always bring a book. I re-read Terrier when not sleeping, and time (almost) didn't drag. Of course, the coffee stand and the hotdog stand helped significantly too.

Number 4, Jeanie would have been pleased with all the humanity going on. The interviewers did not mute their mics, so most of the people's lives were out on display for all of us to hear. Manic depression, suicidal violence, love and devotion, estrangement, poverty and riches, leisure, underpaid labor, you name it and we heard it. I was hoping for a number 5 on the entertainment list by getting the consul who was tough, cranky, and rejected 8 people in a row. Sayang naman yung papel na inipon ko. Unfortunately, I didn't get him.

Honestly, how could I think otherwise?

People will rise above situations to become heroes, even if it means they'll get killed. But if you ASK people to please be heroes "since it's for the good of everyone..." you've just asked them to risk dying. 

On this issue, we should all be pro-choice.