First Haircut

Caitlin had her first hair cut. She was with her mom and my sister, Lea.

According to Tin, she almost jumped out of the chair when she saw the blower.

Caitlin's Vocabularies - Part Duex

Here's another set of Caitlin's vocabularies:

Boat - boot
Dance - daes
Elmo (of Sesame Street) - emo
Good morning - mininin
Happy Birthday - hapititi
Lipstick - thipst
Lola - umtah
Lubot - bthuth or butut
Nips (Pinoy M&M) - niths
Pencil - pitis
Peanut - meynan
Powder (any) - bati
Tita Joy - titatut
Tita Leah (improved version) - titatat

As of this writing, she talks a lot and not even her mom cannot keep up with her linguistic skills.

Here's the first part of this article.

Living in a Condo - Water Pump in Cluster 8

On our way to our unit, my wife and passed by the main staircase in Cluster 8. Under the staircase, water pumps are located. Even before we reached the Cluster 8's main entrance (where the staircase is located), we were hearing a loud, weird sound of grinding metals. It turned out to be water pump, most probably filling out the building's water tanks.

Yesterday or the day before, I also heard the same sound. I thought it was the generator of the compound. Now I know where the sound is coming from.

While passing by where the water pump is, Tin and I imagined if we were staying on the nearby units - I can't imagine listening to that annoying sound after coming from work.

I think the pump is damaged by Pepeng since this the first time I heard the pump make that sound.

Living in a Condo - Homeowners Meeting

Last night, I attended the homeowners attention. I got the invitation 2 weeks ago in the parking lot. The agenda was all about what happened during typhoon Ondoy. I joined 15 minutes late (the meeting was 8pm in the clubhouse).

I wasn't suprised to see that the host (not even an officer, if my guess is right) had an emergency light lying on the floor, just beside him; the lighting was poor; half of the attendees were standing; and the speaker taped his manila paper presentation on the wall. It's barely a homeowners meeting, if I may say.

I signed the log book and took my place just behind the rest. The topic was about the flooding and how the developer, Empire East Land Holdings, should do it. As what I already surmised watching the flood water drain through our area from the rice field beside us, the speaker (from what I found out, he's an attorney, but I didn't get his name) claimed that our area is a catch basin. Thus, when the perimeter fence was swept by the flood water, our water level didn't subside immediately. He (the speaker) claimed that there should be a drainage that is 5m by height and 5m by width, I am not sure where he got the specs, going to the tributary on the other side of the compound. He claimed that having such facility (or lackthereof), the buyers should not be paying PHP30,000/sqm, but should not be more than PHP10,000/sqm. Where he got that figure is another matter.

Another point that was raised (which I've seen the copied document, but no idea if it's real), is the Cease-and-Desist Order from the housing board. What it says is that the buildings are not compliant. According the speaker's explanation, the development is only allowed to build 2-story buildings; however, the developer kept on adding more levels, reaching the current 6-story buildings. He made an example of Ruby Tower this is the building that collapsed during an earthquake in 1960s, I am familiar with this because my mom told me the story more than a couple of times.

I could feel the interests of the participants were increasing. Me, I was just there to observe - I haven't attended any homeowners meeting yet. Besides, I know for a fact that when I decided to purchase the unit, I was attracted by the model unit and never investigated it. Now, I (and the rest of my family) have to suffer my stupidity.

Questions started to pop up, like what can the buyers do. One possibility that the speaker raised is to file a damage suit to the developer. Two howeowners claimed that they are not paying anything to the developers, except for the association dues (which goes to daily ops of the compound). When the parking fee was raised, everyone agreed that what we are paying is unfair since the parking area doesn't offer any kind of security. I really don't know if this is the case, I haven't put too much thought on what I am paying for except for compliance sake.

And what about those who paid cash? According to the attorney, they have the rights to take their payment back.... with interest! The way it was said, it sounded quite attractive (at least in my perspective). So there's hope alright. And what about those who doesn't want to pay, but are paying via PDCs (post-dated cheques)? They can stop paying; according to the attorney, there's a law allowing them to avoid the bouncing check law.

There were harrasments, like people with unpaid parking bills were not allowed to go inside (police and barangay officials were not allowed to join in because it's a civil case, whatever).

What I found out, that I will clarify with the admin, is that the regular officer election is May 5 of the year. According to those who lived here for 3 years now, no election was seen or called upon. However, there's a list of officers posted on the bulletin board (I saw this, one last name caught my attention was "Tan").

My hunch was confirmed - the group who organized it wasn't allowed to use the clubhouse's facility. Thus, the lights were not turned on, except those that are turned on at nights regularly. Mosquitos were everywhere!

Anyway, the mosquitos won! I left the area when I couldn't stand them punching through my skins. The discussion was just starting, but I have a good feeling where it will lead to.

I am interested to know, really, what my rights are. I will be consulting the admin on some stuff and want to know the details. I pity them because I know they are caught in the crossfire. But then, this is the job that they signed for.

In my opinion, the money that I paid for this area is just what I am getting. I mean, if you buy a condo in Makati, that will cost you PHP4M a pop! But the service is incomparable. I also didn't do a due diligence when buying this unit. Besides, I work in Eastwood Cyberpark - the building where I am working got flooded 2 weeks after Ondoy!!! Wait 'till you hear this - there are 3 elevator shafts in the office building, one elevator is always out most of the time of year for repair considering that it's a 30-story building! Guess what, the developer for our condo area and Eastwood is the same - Mega World. East Empire Land Holdings is the developer for low-cost housing project. I mean, there's no difference between buying a cheap condo unit from buying a made-in-China products - they are cheap, alright, and there are undesirable consequences.

I am sure worse will happen to this area. I am not an expert on land development, but I know when some facilities are out of place - in engineering course, they thought you to be logical and practical, and not where the money is. And this is not the case here.

This community is simply unsustainable from what I am observing.

Lesson that I learned - don't attend the homeowners meeting! =P

Welcome to the world of adults who wants to have a house of their own...

Leah's Graduation

I am at the 2nd floor of the PICC's Plenary Hall looking down at the school officials. I am also listening to this particular speaker (she's a commissioner, but not sure where). She's harping about the important document (diploma) that their getting after years in college; she also mentioned about the effective learnings that the graduates earned in college. (Unfortunately, I have a different perspective, but it's another story for another time).


I did like what the speaker said - be the best you can be. This is what I always advise my sister.

I am just glad that my sister has hurdled through college. She's very pretty with her dress (unfortunately, I don't have a picture of her yet). I am sure she's starving now (we were here since 1130am), unlike myself and my mom who dropped by Jollibee to have lunch; Nanay also had to buy a new pair of sandals since her original pair cut through her skin.

This is the second time I've been here. The first time - it was my graduation 11 years ago.

[New Software Installation - anong version ka]

Anong version ka???  =)

 

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1..0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --

DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind,
Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme. html, try to download Tears 6.2, and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.
If those applications work as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause  Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5,  Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1.

Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the FartingandSnoringLo udlyBeta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0-program. This is an unsupported application and will crash  Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0  is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck ,
                Tech Support

 

 

 

 

 

Caitlin has Fever

Caitlin fell to the ground last Saturday, just beside a pile of wood with protruding nails. When we checked, she has a scratch on her knee. Since we are not sure if that was caused by a nail, Kristine gave her a DPT booster anyway.

While Tin was giving her the shot, she was moving and I had a hard time holding her. After an hour, Caitlin was complaining about her arm. And she started crying afterwards because of the pain. Eventually, she have had fever.

When we left this morning, she was more active and she was using her arm already (the one that got the needle). But she still have fever.

I called the house today, my dad told me that Caitlin was asleep and she's fine. I am glad.

Caitlin in Santa Cruz Church

Last September 21, I went to visit Tito Arnel in the Sta. Cruz Parish. I brought Kristine and Caitlin with me. Caitlin behaved accordingly. Afterwards, Tito Arnel treated us for snacks in the nearby Chowking fastfood.

As much as possible, any activites in the church, I want to take my family with me. This starts Caitlin's exposure to the Catholic church, at the same time, it's also a family affair even though I am the one who has the main business.

Here are some pictures:

Figure 1. Caitlin is enjoying her own chair, while Tito Arnel (not included on the picture) and myself are having a discussion.

Figure 2. Caitlin waves her hand to me while I am trying to take the picture.

Figure 3. Enjoying the trip to Sta. Cruz Parish.

Figure 4. From the eyes of a child.

Figure 5. Caitlin is curious what's happening outside the fastfood. She doesn't see that much activities in our compound.

Learning how to Read

Caitlin's First Mural

Kristine didn't catch Caitline on time. And this is what Tin saw. How's that for a canvas??

Mommy and Caitlin

Sleeping with Caitlin

Kristine told me while having dinner tonight that last night, Caitlin was complaining about me - from time to time, I would roll over her arms or so. She complained, "dadee, ipeet, ipeet". Then, I would roll off, and both of us will go back to sleep.

The 3 of us are sleeping on a single-sized bed. So Caitlin could barely move and she would kick around to gain some space. Or simply roll over us (yes, she could do this), pushing us on the side.

No dull moments with my daughter!

Worrying Husband - 09282009

Yesterday, i was able to call my wife - she is safe and staying in the hospital. She saw what happened to us in TV, and decided that it's too risky to go ahead and go home. When she heard Caitlin's voice, Kristine cried. And at that moment, the line worsened (this time Globe was able to connect, but the line was out of whack). I tried calling again, but failed. But I was glad that she's in the hospital. That made my day.

The water is gone when I woke up, but traces of mud can still be seen as expected. The road is deserted. I got to the office at 630m, I simply took the jeep. There was a bit of heavy traffic near the entrance of De Castro (severely hit by the flood). Also, the foot of the Ortigas bridge were made as evac centers; lots of government vehicles were parked on the bridge, allowing only 1 lane per direction. The evac tents provided by the local government seemed to be deserted; there were a couple of people inside, but I don't see it as your typical evac center.

I brought our cellphones and chargers, just in case the situation worsens. At least we have available communication (SMART only) if this happens. I brought my office clothes since we ran out of water and the office has this expensive bathroom.

After taking a bath, I called my wife. I decided not to call her when I got to the office since I knew she's safe and I don't want to wake her up. It was just a relief that the whole family is totally safe. I am also glad that she's a doc and she can stay in the hospital.

Kristine met me at Shopwise late in the morning - we bought some supplies for the rest of the week. Luckily, my boss advised me to go to ShopWise first thing in the morning since there is panic buying since Sunday. True enough, I wasn't able to grab water for my kid; the buyers were both affected by the typhoons and those helping out the victims (buying boxes of instant mami and canned goods). It took us 2.5 hours waiting for our turn to pay for the goods!

I wasn't able to get back to the office due to the heavy traffic caused by the rescue vehicles on the De Castro area. The F. LEgazpi Street is also closed due to high water level. The normal cab fee of PHP100 per trip to our place became PHP300 - the cab driver have to go around Taytay, if he doesn't want to wait on the heavy traffic.

Whatever resentment I have yesterday, I am taking it back.... Life...