Rean…
The kids bug me from time to time about buying a Toy Story 3 video. They really ask for a blu ray DVD, they just want to watch the movie. I then go on my spiel telling them that the video isn’t out yet. While they can be quite annoying, I have to admit that they teach me a lesson about trust and persistence. At times we approach God as grown ups when He desires us to draw near with the trust and persistence of little kids. As he said, it is to these that He gives the Kingdom,
Rean…
The traffic along the Tagaytay-Balibago road in the past few days have encouraged us to enter SLEX via Eton city. It is quite remarkable that this company ambitiously intends to develop a project much like the UAE’s Palm or like NC Outer Banks homes. What concerns me, however, is the amount of water needed to maintain such a development. Where will the water be sourced, considering nearby creeks require rehabilitation? How about the displacement of the farmer communities nearby? These question need to be answered in any development project that is initiated.
Rean…
Tes has been working diligently on a couple of invitation projects lately. The challenge of invitations is the management of key logistical information to included in the document. Clients often forget titles of people, dates, times or even venues. The layout artist/printer has to ensure the client verifies the data before committing anything to print. It’s definitely much easier to do post card printing than to do invitations.
Space has always been a challenge in our home. We may think that we need to have new modern office furniture, but most of the time problems like these are solved by organization. We have a lot of things we have not used in years. So I guess the first step is to get rid of stuff we never use and give it to those who can use them. Next is to put things we don’t use frequently in a centralized repository while those that are often utilized are to be located near the point of use. Having done all this, we should set aside time to constantly restore items to their newly assigned locations after use. Being orderly should help gain space in the least cost possible.
Rean (again!!!)
After more than 10 years, Tes took her 1st ballet class last Friday. This intermediate level modern ballet session forced her to do splits, jetes and rolls she hasn’t done in ages. It was quite understandable that my dear wife was sore all over during the 2 days that followed. As this is only a temporary setback, I expect her to reap the long term benefits of this activity. The total body work out will definitely keep her fit as a fiddle. Perhaps it’s time for us to shop around for new clothes, lingerie, etc.
Once more Rean…
We are a happy for our friends who recently got paid by their pre-need insurance company as part of a settlement. What we found odd, however, was that they were paid in a USD check. So we asked a banker friend why this was so. His reply was that our PHP is doing well in forex charts that local companies have to put their disbursements in USD to cut costs. It is encouraging to see our economy boosted by the optimism of a new administration.
Rean again…
I recently discovered the fascinating concept of Church Health. Apparently, people in the US go around assessing churches to see if they adhere to best practices ensuring sustainable growth. The churches undergo audits in different areas of community life such as finances, ministry, etc. The thoroughness of these criteria is demonstrated in its approach to physical facilities. In this category, a church must demonstrate parishioner satisfaction, safety and security. Here, auditors and consultants look at the position of clocks, fire exits, the presence of an exit alarm and the like. I guess this is an area where one cannot overdo caution considering incident lawsuits that could happen in the US. It would be a shame for a thriving spiritual community to close down because of neglect litigations.
Rean here…
For the last few days, Tes and I have been eagerly anticipating her upcoming executive check-up in Las Pinas Doctor’s Hospital. Hospital stockholders like us enjoy free rooms, free professional fee and significant discounts on laboratory procedures. We’re expecting a battery of tests on critical systems like the cardiovascular. Gyne tests would also be of interest to us. Not that we’ll rush to the drugstore to buy prenexa but merely just to be aware of any abnormalities in the system. Our check-up is slated on Sept 10-11.
Rean again…
Kids can be fascinated with things in amusing ways. My kids are no exception. Their latest fixation was with the iTouch. They wanted to buy 2 of these great iPods, one for each of them. So I asked them why they wanted these fancy gadgets. It was quite hilarious when my daughter replied they wanted it so they could call me and play games. I really didn’t have the heart to tell them that they really wanted an iPhone. I guess they’ll find out when they learn to read iPod reviews.
Rean here…
A fit body has always eluded me in the past. Although I had a few thin years , I never had what you consider a well chiseled physique. My condition became worse when the stress of industrial work encouraged me to bulk up to 208 lbs! I experienced pains in my back and at times elevated blood pressure. An offer to teach ballet turned the tide as I embarked on a daily regimen of demonstrating floor barre leg lifts for little kids. As my load increased, lbs went off , as well as, inches from my waist. I now weigh 178 lbs with a 34 inch waistline ( from my previous 36-37). Moreover, my abs are beginning to show and my chest becoming more defined. I realized that my lifestyle was so sedentary after losing 30 lbs when I got a physically demanding job. It’s also amazing to have achieved this without a dip station or a home gym!
Rean here again…
When I learned that the book “Red Pyramid” was out, I was excited. The first installment of Riordan’s Kane Chronicles reminded me of thrills I had with the Percy Jackson series. In gratefulness to a friend’s son, who lent his Percy books to me and my kids, I took the earliest chance to purchase a copy for his birthday. The journey home was filled with anticipation of cheers from my kids, for getting their friend his much awaited book. Surprise greeted me as I found another copy on my kids desk, my wife took them to the nearest bookstore during the day. While it turned to be a blessing in disguise, an answer to my son’s prayer, I sure wished I called my wife before my copy passed through the barcode scanner.
Rean here…I’ll be your blogger while Tes is working on a project.
Ambivalence has floated around me in the past few days, as I learned at least 3 families close to us are moving. My brother-in-law and his bunch are off to Canada while our dear friend from Davao is embarking on a family exodus to Alabama. To top it off, our neighbors are now setting their sights on California. It’s not one of those Branson vacation packages but rather a more permanent arrangement. While I’m glad for the improvements in these families’ lives and wish them all the best in their new homes, the chats and visits will surely be missed. Hopefully we can visit them in the near future
Today I was watching a rehearsal of a ballet company. While most teens are preoccupied with the latest pronexin review, these girls are worrying about how to keep their bourrees nice and tight. They work hard to ensure their arabesques are high and that they can execute their dances with character. Girls nowadays consider beauty a high priority but these young ladies also concern themselves with grace. Beauty and grace together release the charm in our daughters.
As men grow older, a lot of us feel insecurities creeping in. We look at the mirror and see our thinning hair, our receding hairline and our increasing waistline. We also find ourselves doing a lot of research to answer the important question: ” does Extenze work?” We do struggle with these in one way of the other. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I were young again. While I would look better, I would not have the wisdom and experience I now have. I wouldn’t exchange the painful lessons learned in the past for a rewind. In the end, it is the Lord who orders our steps. Let’s be grateful for it.
I recently did some research on the Maranao Singkil dance from the southern part of the Philippines. Turns out, the versions we normally see in cultural shows, as popularized by the Bayanihan Dance Company, are NOT authentic. These are agglomerations of 3 Muslim dances into one. The original Singkil does NOT have a male dancer. The introduction of the male lead was inspired by the Darangen ni Bantugen, the Maranao adaptation of the Ramayana story. According to a research paper done by Kanami Namiki in 2005, the Bayanihan also did similar treatments to other ethnic dances. The most notable one would be theatrical use of 10 pots in the Kalinga Banga dance vs. the authentic having only 2. The question is what will they do next? Replace the kulintang with stainless steel drums?
From my perspective, it is ok to stylize a work as long as it is continuously communicated that it is so. Problem is, as far as I can remember, the Bayanihan treatment has been folk dance dogma in schools. I think there should be a deliberate effort to teach our students authentic folk dance to build appreciation for indigenous people their cultures. I am not surprised if kids in urban centers like Metro-Manila demonstrate a cultural illiteracy of the highest degree. They probably imbibe American street and gangsta culture than ours. While I have not started to teach my kids authentic folk dance, I have begun to read them epics. We read excerpts of “Darangen ni Bantugen” and “Lam-ang. It is high time for us to take back our heritage and pass it on to the next generation.
Scrapbooker. Layout Artist. Photographer. Dancer. Travel Junkie. Stage Mom. Homeschooler. Most of all, little lost lamb found.
