conversations with Siri

December 18, 2011

me: "when is Christmas day?"
Siri: Christmas is on sunday, december 25, 2011. i hope you get the day off.
me: "what do we celebrate on December 25?"
Siri: No Comment.
me: "why do we celebrate Christmas?"
... Siri: I dont know. maybe the GeniusBar folks can answer that.
me: "is Christmas the birthday of Jesus?"
Siri: I would ask that you address your spiritual questions to someone more qualified to comment. Ideally, a human.

hahaha goodnight Siri! mmmmwaah! ^_^

October 14, 2011

me: what's the best phone?
Siri: "the one you're holding!" LOL!

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"runaway" baby

Got the scare of my mommy life yesterday when Racrac - the playful and active boy that he is - ran away from me in the parking lot of Great Mall in Milpitas where he could have easily been hit by passing cars or those who are backing up. Just a background: Great Mall is a "flat" one-story mall but the biggest outlet shopping mall in Northern California guaranteed to tire out even the most enthusiastic bargain shopper. It also houses Jollibee (popular Filipino fast-food restaurant chain) and we always park at the entrance leading to Jollibee which happens to be at the Main Street side of the mall and is the busiest parking area.

We were actually about to go home when it happened. As i remember it, I opened the sliding door of our mini-van and guided him up with my left hand. My right hand was holding the Jollibee lunch and the pearl cooler drink which he didn't finish and also on my right shoulder was my purse. As he climbed up the van with his right leg first, i don't know what possessed him but he suddenly let go of my hand and ran away!!! At first i was calm and talked him into going back but when i couldn't see him anymore that's when i realized he is only 3 years old and still doesn't have a sense of where he is and what could happen... so i panicked!

I headed to the direction of where i saw him running - about 5 cars away from the van - and found him giggling and standing still but when he saw me, he sprinted towards the next row of parked cars (!!!). What followed was a few but long and tense minutes of hide-and-seek, my voice shaking with panic as i call his name. I remember seeing him about 20 feet away from me running behind parked cars (thank goodness nobody was backing up) heading towards the main busy street where Home Depot is! I ran and was able to get close to him when he stopped at an empty parking spot and i could see him from the car behind him. I tried to fake a sweet calm voice to entice him to get the Skittles candies from my purse while i slowly inched my way to him. When he saw me he ran away again towards the next row of cars (hay nakuuu....!) There i mustered all the energies in me and ran like i've never ran before and luckily grabbed his shirt by the neck. I must have grabbed him so hard and fast i scratched his neck with my nails (which i discovered later).

I carried him on the way back to the van with its sliding door left open and angrily strapped him to his car seat. My heart was racing on the drive home while I explained to him why I'm mad and the possible consequences of his behaviour. Of course he didn't understand...everything for him is just a game. He just said the cars will bangga ('hit') me mama and i'll be patay (dead)... He's thinking that like in video games, if you die you can easily get your life back and play again. He just didn't know how scared to death I was of his "game" but I am sooo thankful that he didn't get hurt. It's a wake up call for me too - to be MORE extra careful and cautious 'coz one thing i've learned about motherhood is that accidents can happen even if you're just a hair's breadth away from your child.

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Hello and Goodbye...!

Goodbye...
to 2010 and to my dearest cousin Ate Maria who lost her battle to breast cancer last December 31. She was my first cousin (mother side)... a very kind, loving and soft-spoken person who lived a simple but happy life with Kuya Val and their two children Vincent and Maimai. At age 44, she is too young and too kind to die.

I have spent many fun and memorable start-of-summer holidays with her and the family in Bauang, La Union which used to be my usual holy week vacation destination. She and Kuya Val always made sure I was comfortable, always asking and giving me what I needed. Ate Maria was diagnosed with the big C in 2004 but despite the treatments went on to live her life the same way she did before the disease. They are poor - living only on Kuya Val's meager income as tricycle driver - so the past years have been a struggle for the whole family emotionally, physically and financially. The last time I saw Ate Maria was May 2007 (5 months before I left for the US) when I brought back her son Vincent after I treated him to a week-long vacation in Manila. She even gave me a bracelet with various religious figures just before i boarded the bus. I still have it with me...

I felt bad when we didn't get to visit them when we vacationed to the Philippines 2 years ago and just a couple of weeks ago we have booked our flights to Manila this February with a plan to see her a day after our arrival... but now it's too late :(

Rest in Peace Ate Maria. Thank you for showing me that happiness can be found in ordinary everyday things and that a person still has a lot to give even if he/she needs help the most.

Welcome 2011

Today is the 1st day of the 1st month of 2011 (1-1-11). It is that time of the year when we all look back and remember everything that happened to us the past year - be grateful for all the good and be thankful that we survived the bad - and welcome the new year with a positive attitude and a renewed hope for a better and brighter future. No day but today, no year but this year... so let's all go and claim it!

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