Finally, H1N1 hits my daughter's school c/o a high school girl's confirmed case. The text messages announcing suspension of classes incessantly entered my E71. I wanted them to stop sending it, saying: "I got it, thanks." The following day, I hear another neighboring school had suspended classes.
June 25: Moms receive the homework and schedules good for the next 10 days via email.
Kid's feedback: "Mom, the homework's really hard!"
Mom's balloon thoughts: "Ok, we need to tutor the kids daily! Set aside work--no yaya can do this!". I need to keep them to a study schedule, or else they'll be cramming all of this. Can the teachers set up a chat forum if the kids need to ask questions? Can someone from school please organize small group tutorials? Or at least online if they're afraid their classmates may be virus carriers?
Mom's knee-jerk actions: take Berocca, disinfect the house, pour boiling water on plates and utensils; buy face masks, check everyone for the smallest temperature rise, sniffle and sore throat, buy Bactidol; pray; create Yahoogroups to ensure speedy and more efficient communication amongst parents.
I remember the time of SARs when we were in Singapore, 2003. Everyone was deathly scared to go out. Assignments were sent via e-mail. Kids were more relaxed; I was less concerned about the suspensions of classes. I guess Canadian International School (my daughters' school at that time) was more ready for class suspensions.
What have I learned? So far, I've learned that reaction to the H1N1 spread is hyped. The winners are Tammiflu and facemask suppliers. They feed on fear to increase sales. True, the cases have increased--last count I heard 2 days ago is that we have 300 cases in the country. The good news is that only a few have died (and because of complications due to other ailments of the victim), there is already a vaccine, that my kids haven't gotten it.
My husband, who has had intermittent hi fever since last Thursday, is now sitting in front of the tv, laughing his head off at an early morning show. The hospital ran out of H1N1 test kits, so he has to wait til Monday or Tuesday to have himself tested. So I give him paracetamol in the meantime. Now he's de-stressing, beginning to notice things around the house he hasn't seen. Like the high ceiling, the woodgrain of our platform bed, the repairs that need to be done on the roof. I told him to set aside the laptop, it's a weekend--NO WORK, re-create yourself before you get burned out. Getting sick with a potentially infectious virus is the only excuse he allows himself to take a sick leave and relax.
That the flu allows one to slow down, and re-assess where you're at with yourself and the rest of the world is a good outcome of this H1N1 hype. Sometimes, we become too busy to slow down, that God allows a pandemic to happen as we didn't see many little signposts in our life.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Re-visting my "Blogging Addiction"
I just thought of taking the blogging test again to see if things have improved.
It got worst.
I am definitely more addicted to blogging now than before.
82%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
Well, thanks to my blogs, Architerra, Architelago, MomOnMobile, Munrebpost (which I basically just moderate) and Residences Manila, these prove that you can't stump passion when it's there.
I love blogging!
It got worst.
I am definitely more addicted to blogging now than before.
82%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
Well, thanks to my blogs, Architerra, Architelago, MomOnMobile, Munrebpost (which I basically just moderate) and Residences Manila, these prove that you can't stump passion when it's there.
I love blogging!
When a 9 Year Old Idolizes Her Home Country
My 9 year old daughter composed an essay for her school's Academic Week.
When I read it, I became teary-eyed. I was proud of her effort, her evident gift for words. True, I saw at first the consistency of form, the literary devices she intuitively used, her mature use of grammar packed in a 200 word essay. I saw her careful and almost painstaking effort to type in the words and spellcheck them.
Yet I was immensely stirred by the insight and idealism she expressed in such a simple work. It comes at a time when jaded souls like mine, weary with all the bad news about the world recession, are refreshed with these images. It reminds me to re-focus and to re-discover the simple treasures we can find in our own backyard.
I thought, "If more people viewed their country the way my daughter viewed the Philippines, we'd probably be happier and more productive--no matter what state our nation is in".
No wonder they call the youth "hope of the Motherland". Enjoy the read.
“The Sampaguita Flower”
The Sampaguita is well known for its sweet smell, its beauty, and its lovely, pure white color. It is also quite small in size. It can be made into garlands sold to earn an honest livelihood.
Similar to the sampaguita, the Philippines is a modest country. Although our country is small, it is very beautiful. The people in the Philippines are very religious. They uphold purity and humility. The Sampaguita is also like that: white, with a simple yet pleasing fragrance. When the Sampaguita are made into garlands, they depend on each other's stems to stay connected as a garland. This symbolizes interdependence. We rely on each other to stay strong.
For these reasons, I believe that the sampaguita is the perfect symbol to represent the Philippines.
When I read it, I became teary-eyed. I was proud of her effort, her evident gift for words. True, I saw at first the consistency of form, the literary devices she intuitively used, her mature use of grammar packed in a 200 word essay. I saw her careful and almost painstaking effort to type in the words and spellcheck them.
Yet I was immensely stirred by the insight and idealism she expressed in such a simple work. It comes at a time when jaded souls like mine, weary with all the bad news about the world recession, are refreshed with these images. It reminds me to re-focus and to re-discover the simple treasures we can find in our own backyard.
I thought, "If more people viewed their country the way my daughter viewed the Philippines, we'd probably be happier and more productive--no matter what state our nation is in".
No wonder they call the youth "hope of the Motherland". Enjoy the read.
“The Sampaguita Flower”
If I were to decide on what I would send to an international exhibit to represent the Philippines, I would choose the national flower, the Sampaguita.
The Sampaguita is well known for its sweet smell, its beauty, and its lovely, pure white color. It is also quite small in size. It can be made into garlands sold to earn an honest livelihood.
Similar to the sampaguita, the Philippines is a modest country. Although our country is small, it is very beautiful. The people in the Philippines are very religious. They uphold purity and humility. The Sampaguita is also like that: white, with a simple yet pleasing fragrance. When the Sampaguita are made into garlands, they depend on each other's stems to stay connected as a garland. This symbolizes interdependence. We rely on each other to stay strong.
The Sampaguita starts out as a not-so-impressive flower bud, but which one day will bloom into a beautiful flower. We are like that. We started out as a country unexplored by the world. But now, we have many wonderful tourist attractions.
For these reasons, I believe that the sampaguita is the perfect symbol to represent the Philippines.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Are you Addicted to Blogging?
Just saw this post on Yugatech. I thought it was fun so I tried it out and this is the badge I got:
77%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
77%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
JustSayHi - Free Personals
Monday, September 24, 2007
Time Management for Kids
Labels:
Kids' life skills
I found a cool link on PBSKids . The webpages teaches time management for kids. I was ecstatic: I've been looking for some references on this for some time.
The approach may be bit too executive-like for younger kids (and thinking of my 8- and 9-year-old kids, maybe they might find it boring). There's a pre-evaluation, a drill-and-practice crossword to help pique the youngin's interest. But it helps to motivate them by citing to them a benefit. Like, they'll have more time to play.
Well, my 9-year-old took to the crossword just fine. There's even a sample time budget worksheet--way to go!
The approach may be bit too executive-like for younger kids (and thinking of my 8- and 9-year-old kids, maybe they might find it boring). There's a pre-evaluation, a drill-and-practice crossword to help pique the youngin's interest. But it helps to motivate them by citing to them a benefit. Like, they'll have more time to play.
Well, my 9-year-old took to the crossword just fine. There's even a sample time budget worksheet--way to go!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Business of Online Home Search
Labels:
business opportunities,
investing,
real estate
I've been searching for a new house for the past several months.
I searched the Net with Google as the default search engine. I was just so pleasantly surprised to find even bigger, more innovative property and listing engines such as Trulia & Point2 Homes.
Point2 Homes was developed in Canada. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they listed over 500 agents direct from the Philippines! Many just recently joined, and I was glad to stumble upon it thanks to my habitual tendency to research. They had a lot of houses to show, too.
The technology and intuitive interface makes it easy to list and blog on a more regular basis. I first read about the possibility of doing a real estate blog integrated with other services such as online maps from Yuga. Google Maps energizes the home search process by plotting the location of those listed houses using of those green, squamous-cell-like 'things' that sort of pops out on the area like a mini-cobra. To what extent will it make the search easier--well, what do you think?
The concept of integration drives the continuous improvement of these sites. There's the blogs to build community of brokers. Well, not all brokers and agents can write. However, there were a few entries that seemed to read well about the area of their specialization.
Speaking of Point2Homes, this became an amazing online e-commerce application to come up with my own dynamic, databased new real estate listing website. I ended up including a good number of BF Homes, Paranaque direct listings--a result of those many days of searching on foot for the perfect house. These are the houses that didn't meet my needs, but may meet other home buyers' preferences!
I am now putting those listings on my pilot site, to load and syndicate with other Pinoy brokers across the world. Yup, I didn't forget to link to my own Architerra blog just to nudge the neural networking growth a wee bit.
I searched the Net with Google as the default search engine. I was just so pleasantly surprised to find even bigger, more innovative property and listing engines such as Trulia & Point2 Homes.
Point2 Homes was developed in Canada. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they listed over 500 agents direct from the Philippines! Many just recently joined, and I was glad to stumble upon it thanks to my habitual tendency to research. They had a lot of houses to show, too.
The technology and intuitive interface makes it easy to list and blog on a more regular basis. I first read about the possibility of doing a real estate blog integrated with other services such as online maps from Yuga. Google Maps energizes the home search process by plotting the location of those listed houses using of those green, squamous-cell-like 'things' that sort of pops out on the area like a mini-cobra. To what extent will it make the search easier--well, what do you think?
The concept of integration drives the continuous improvement of these sites. There's the blogs to build community of brokers. Well, not all brokers and agents can write. However, there were a few entries that seemed to read well about the area of their specialization.
Speaking of Point2Homes, this became an amazing online e-commerce application to come up with my own dynamic, databased new real estate listing website. I ended up including a good number of BF Homes, Paranaque direct listings--a result of those many days of searching on foot for the perfect house. These are the houses that didn't meet my needs, but may meet other home buyers' preferences!
I am now putting those listings on my pilot site, to load and syndicate with other Pinoy brokers across the world. Yup, I didn't forget to link to my own Architerra blog just to nudge the neural networking growth a wee bit.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
3rd Quarter Exam Fun Reviews
My daughters begged me to make their 3rd quarter test review more fun. Read: less boring. I remembered what Ms. Fahlmann, the children's pre-school teacher, said about using computer aided instruction: make sure you teach the concepts first on paper before allowing them to use the computers for practice. Otherwise, the program becomes a game for them. I did just that.
I went to my favourite Internet4Classrooms. I found ready made review activities for Language, Math, Science and Reading. For Religion, it was great interactive fun on EWTN Kids. The website was appealing to use for my kids. The sequential reviewer prompted you to memorize and understand the key concepts first (which I did with Sachi and Mira), then choose the appropriate Flash presentation and allow them to 'play' with it for practice. The children and I reviewed on different parts of Church, parts of the Mass, and the review of prayers.
But the interesting part was customizing on Quia a reviewer for their Social Studies module on Early Influences and Traders in the Philippines (for my Grade 3 daughter). The drag-and-drop interfaces made constructing the reviewer easy. The 30-day trial account is free, so make good use of it!
I loved Mathmastery for the timed cyberchallenge So did my little girls. They have a multitude of activities to make practice tests, mastery, time pressure practice of tables et al appealing to either visual or analytical learners. They can print out the best of all their challenges and print out a certificate of mastery.
Was reviewing this way effective for the kids? It was! I was ecstatic that they got 94 and above for most of the subjects we reviewed using the computer. And the kids were happy and appreciative. The best affirmation I got is when they gently 'boasted' about how I reviewed them using the computer. Then they told me that their classmates wanted me to do reviewers for them too. Well, I don't mind sharing with their Moms how to do the practice e-tivities.
I went to my favourite Internet4Classrooms. I found ready made review activities for Language, Math, Science and Reading. For Religion, it was great interactive fun on EWTN Kids. The website was appealing to use for my kids. The sequential reviewer prompted you to memorize and understand the key concepts first (which I did with Sachi and Mira), then choose the appropriate Flash presentation and allow them to 'play' with it for practice. The children and I reviewed on different parts of Church, parts of the Mass, and the review of prayers.
But the interesting part was customizing on Quia a reviewer for their Social Studies module on Early Influences and Traders in the Philippines (for my Grade 3 daughter). The drag-and-drop interfaces made constructing the reviewer easy. The 30-day trial account is free, so make good use of it!
I loved Mathmastery for the timed cyberchallenge So did my little girls. They have a multitude of activities to make practice tests, mastery, time pressure practice of tables et al appealing to either visual or analytical learners. They can print out the best of all their challenges and print out a certificate of mastery.
Was reviewing this way effective for the kids? It was! I was ecstatic that they got 94 and above for most of the subjects we reviewed using the computer. And the kids were happy and appreciative. The best affirmation I got is when they gently 'boasted' about how I reviewed them using the computer. Then they told me that their classmates wanted me to do reviewers for them too. Well, I don't mind sharing with their Moms how to do the practice e-tivities.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Home Management K.I.T.
For most of us Moms who have a thousand-and-one things to do at home but can't seem to find sufficient time to do these tasks well, please get a copy of Frannie Daez's book, "Keep It Together".
I find the book to be well-written, nicely printed, and full of practical tips on home management. There are many good lists in the book that seem to streamline the complex responsibilities of running the household. I can identify with the management cycle, especially the part on mission-visioning, and roles and goals creation. I liked too how she applied the Japanese 5-S philosophy to her own experiences in home management. Try reading the book for the Househelper's Guide--with the difficulty in getting and keeping maids nowadays, the tips given are invaluable and so practical.
I find the book to be well-written, nicely printed, and full of practical tips on home management. There are many good lists in the book that seem to streamline the complex responsibilities of running the household. I can identify with the management cycle, especially the part on mission-visioning, and roles and goals creation. I liked too how she applied the Japanese 5-S philosophy to her own experiences in home management. Try reading the book for the Househelper's Guide--with the difficulty in getting and keeping maids nowadays, the tips given are invaluable and so practical.
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