There is also no truth to the rumor that she is selling her UkayManila.com wares to earn her keep.
Most of all, there is no truth to the rumor that she flew all the way to New York in search of branded ukay-ukay selections for her Ukay Ukay Store
““The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. Dr. Seuss
My children read books since they were babies starting with picture books then moving on to books that were suitable to their age. I looked forward to the bedtime story-telling activity as my toddlers lay their heads on my arms and begged me to be read not just one book but twelve of them. I miss those days when my fingers would run through their hair, hearing their gasps and giggles after every book is read. One of their favorite book author was Dr. Seuss so well loved because of his unique style of rhyming and bizarre cartoon characters like “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”
Those are treasured days that every parent goes through. During those financially-challenging days, books were difficult to purchase. With sheer bargain hunting skills and patience, a supply of books always filled their bookshelves. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing my kids leaf through their new books and inhale the scent as if it is the most heavenly smell there is in the world. My kids had equal balance of time spread across TV, Reading, play and sports. I believe this balance made them the smart and beautiful adults they are today.
Before the advent of this Great Book Blockade of 2009, I knew how to address customs whenever a book arrived from an Amazon purchase. I never had to pay a single custom duty just because I knew that books are supposed to be duty free and VAT exempt. I found creative ways to purchase books from abroad ensuring that I never had to pay a single tax or duties on them. That’s why I could not relate immediately to this blockade issue.
I suppose I cannot exercise my bitch power anymore if I don’t break this book blockade.
Read More »STOP The Great Book Blockade of 2009, Save Our Children’s Education
Breaking News: Mary Jean Lacaba, the Filipina Red Cross Worker Freed.
I don’t feel the same outrage towards the Chip Tsao slur compared to the possibility that the Red Cross workers could get beheaded. Everyday as I watch the news, I feel helpless as threats to their lives escalate. Breaking news is that Mary Jean Lacaba, Filipina Red Cross worker has been released after more than 70 days in captivity. She was found near Indanan town and is now being transported to a trauma treatment center in Jolo. Swiss Andreas Notter and Italian Eugenio Vagni continue to be held hostage by the Al Qaeda linked terrorist organization. The threat to the remaining two Red Cross Workers remains.
Update
Ryan Soriano Does Not Return Stolen Macbook Pro, Betrays Trust
Marc Macalua saw someone selling his stolen Macbook Pro on PhilMUG and various for-sale sites. After pointing this out to the poster, user djwoblely, who was identified as Ryan Soriano, a meeting to retrieve the laptop was arranged. Unfortunately, Mr. Soriano was a no-show for the March 24 meeting.
News on losing a laptop or a gadget does not really hit me as hard as when a friend is the victim. In just a span of a week, three of my friends were victimized. Let’s hear their stories.
1. Liz post on Be Paranoid: Car Robberies at The Podium and The Fort where three laptops were stolen from a car trunk on Friday the 13th.
Last night, Marco lost his new Macbook Pro, which he got not more than a month ago for P100,000. He left it in the car trunk of a friend, which was parked by The Podium in Ortigas. They left the parking lot at 9pm for dinner and came back 1am which is when they discovered that the trunk was broken in and three laptops were stolen, including his friend’s Macbook Air (this sells for P80,000 each) and a Dell laptop .
Read More »Stolen Laptops, Car Robberies in Ortigas Center, The Fort
I groaned. Not another show. I felt there are many wonderful moms out there who are so much better than me but Net 25 MOMents was persistent. They said the show is for mothers and kids that feature the different bonding moments, child-rearing styles and the many facets of motherhood. I felt like it has been ages since I have actually been a hands-on mom. I have long since enjoyed my independence from child-rearing since the girls turned 20. What could I possibly offer to the MOMents feature?
Read More »Parenting, Blogging and Our Love Story in Net 25 MOMents
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I first came across the word “ukay-ukay” from my mother-in-law who lives somewhere in Benguet. It was circa 1992. Just so everyone knows what ukay-ukay means, let me quote my daughter:
Simply put, ukay-ukay is thrifting/thrift-store shopping, Philippine-style. I say ““Philippine style” because ukay stores are not so much clean, brightly-lit places like the ones you see in malls as they are hole-in-the-wall outlets that are often dusty and disorganized. Clothes are generally arranged according to tops, dresses, jeans, etc., but there are racks and racks of them and sometimes, piles and piles of them. Which is why the thrift-store shopping experience is called ukay. The word ukay is a Visayan word that literally means ““to dig through” (source: my mom, who speaks Bisaya) and ukay-ukay shopping can sometimes involve hours of wading through junk (and suffering from sneezing fits) to find dirt-cheap fashion gems.
Now that everyone knows what ukay-ukay means, allow me to give you a history of how ukay-ukay became such a hit with my girls.
One day, mom gave me a bunch of lovely children’s clothes. “Used clothing?”, I thought it was only meant for those that can’t afford to buy clothes. But when I saw the array of unique children’s clothes on my sofa, hmm…I thought it was cute enough to wear at the oath taking of my father-in-law at the Malacanang Palace. The girls never knew it was ukay-ukay clothing until they were in college. Not that it mattered. Lauren seemed fascinated with sailor clothes that she’d often buy marine-themed tops or skirts. Apparently, she had fond memories of this particular sailor dress. I told her that the dress she wore in Malacanang was ukay-ukay. She seemed pleasantly surprised.
When my mom-in-law told me the cost of each of the children’s clothes, I was amazed at the low prices and the good quality despite being used clothing. Those clothes above cost around 20 to 30 pesos during those days. Mom, a talented crafts person bought these ukay clothes for her beautiful quilt projects. She’d cut up the dress and use the fabric for her grandmother’s quilt. I got sucked in to grandmother quilt projects myself but until now, I still have to finish working on it. Most often, she’d be in the lookout for clothes for her grandchildren until they reached their pre-teen years. What a sweet grandma she is.
My friend Cathy and her daughter, Pia launched “Heaven’s Butterfly” yesterday. The book is published by Anvil and talks about the story of their life in the first year after Migi died. It specifically describes Pia’s journey from a place of sadness to a place of hope.
Pia was only seven when Migi died in 1998. Loss is a reality for children even at a very tender age. A child experiences grief in a cyclical manner. Meaning, they re-experience or re-visit the loss every time they pass through a developmental stage.
Cathy hopes that parents and teachers who read this book will come to realize that grief and loss, when it takes place, cannot just be swept under the rug. Losing someone is a real occurrence in a child’s world and we must allow that child to grieve. As adults and caregivers, we must do everything in our power to help them navigate that journey from sadness to hope.
Read More »“Heaven’s Butterfly” – sharing part of the journey to help other grieving children
It’s been more than 5 years since my girls left high school. It was a nightmare for us every time L would ask permission to go “clubbing” with her high school classmates. We feared that they would be offered ecstasy or some dangerous drugs. No matter how responsible we believe our teenager are, once they are in the company of peers, one can never tell what may happen. Especially in parties with flowing booze, raging hormones and minimal adult supervision. Thank God, Lauren never succumbed to dangerous drugs. M was not interested in parties then so we didn’t experience these fears with her.
Gone are the days when fun, wholesome teen parties are held at homes. My strict loving dad didn’t allow us to go to class parties unless it was held at our home. My classmates readily agreed because it meant that their parents will allow them, knowing how strict my dad is. Maybe teens still hold occasional parties in their homes but it is not hip or “in”.
Have you heard of an “Open Party”? I have never heard of it until now through Chuavness. An open party is organized by a class from a private school and invitations are posted online. It’s a money-making gimmick, for sure. Anyone can attend, provided one pays a fee. So different from our fun disco parties of the seventies. If 800 people attend and spend 300 each, do your computation. Where the heck does the money go anyway?
I would like all parents particularly in Metro Manila to be aware about this “Open Party”. Let me quote Chuvaness:
COPS AND PARENTS: THE NEXT STOYA OPEN PARTY IS ON FEB. 20 AT THE GREENMEADOWS CLUBHOUSE AT 8.PM. FREE FLOWING BEER. THE PARTY IS CALLED ASYLUM.
Oh, and doesn’t ABS-CBN own part of Multiply? Maybe they can take down the site.Or maybe homeowners can stop these parties from happening in their clubhouses.
Do something.
PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN.
Like Chuvaness, I feel for the boy that got beaten up in an Open Party. You should all read this mom’s heartbreaking letter so your teens will be safe or warned about these Open Parties.
Read More »Parents of Teens: Beware of The Open Party & The Marcel Piezas Incident
January 5– News update Pangandaman kin face child abuse, injury raps over golf ‘brawl’ and Pangandamans file countersuit over golf brawl.
DAR Chief Nasser Pangandaman Appeal to Bloggers
Appeal to bloggers
Since Bambee’s blog, the story about the incident in the golf club spread through the Internet.
Bloggers condemned and some even put up a signature campaign for the Pangandamans’ resignation.
Pangandaman said his family is hurting because of the bad picture being painted on his name and family.
He appealed to bloggers to stop accusing them on the Web. The secretary even warned bloggers against karma.
““I appeal to the bloggers to stop this. They also have their families, they have parents and siblings. Our family is already hurting. I hope this doesn’t happen to you (bloggers),” the secretary said.
And here is my appeal to you:
Yes, DAR Chief Pangandaman, I hear you and I am just waiting for an Official Statement from your son Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr. I only have unverified statements that did not come from your camp. Should Mayor Pangandaman not speak for himself? In the quest for fairness, I would also like to share the Mayor’s Official Statement to my readers.
I know your family is hurting just like the de la paz family. I hope that you allow justice to take its full course once the Prosecutor sees the charges on January 5. It is not surprising that some of us are calling for a signature campaign for a Pangandaman resignation. It is difficult for me to comprehend the fact that a 14 year old boy was beaten up not ONCE but twice.
Even if you say that Delfin de la Paz provoked you, the facts (based on incident report) are and which has to be proven in the Court of Law that :
1. a 14 year old had a bloodied ear and bruises on his face. (Possible violation of RA 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act)
2. You and your sons are public servants that should uphold the law. (Possible violation of Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees)
A friend and senator Pia Cayetano in a comment in my blog entry says it all:
Whatever the story is, whatever versions there are, there is no justification for beating up people.. and a child! There is no excuse for such brutality.
No one has the right, not even a public official to take matters into his own hands. In fact, a public official should be the first to maintain peace and order.
Public office is a public trust. And the public officials involved here should make themselves available for investigation.
Read More »DAR Chief Nasser Pangandaman Appeal to Bloggers & My Appeal
Results are out! Click this > 2010 Philippine Bar Exams Results Here is the list. Toggle to a full screen by clicking the square graphic… Read More »2008 Philippine Bar Exam Results on April 3
