Thursday, May 20, 2004

Today at work I was checking the registration cards parents filled up during enrollment. I don't know why but some parents misspell the names of their own children, and often write the wrong birthday. I end up having to check it against the child's birth certificate.

Sometimes, their child has such a strange name, I check to make sure it's right. There was a boy named ArrArr. I thought maybe it was a nickname, but his folks really did name him ArrArr. I can imagine when he reaches high school people will call him doggie or bow wow.

Then, there are the kids who I really feel sorry for. If only I could, I would tell their parents to have their family names changed. I mean, if you were a girl, would you to marry someone with the family name Ginahasa? Or how it would feel if everyone at work called you Mr. Peniz?

Saturday, May 15, 2004

Hooray! I just came back from a Boracay beach vacation with my husband. I haven't had a vacation in 3 years, haven't been to a beach in 7, and haven't been to Boracay in 12. The last time I was in Boracay, there wasn't any electricity and there weren't any bars, and the only water sport available was scuba diving. The most exciting activity available was watching naked foreigners sunbathe.

Now, they've got electricity, shops and bars galore, and tons of water sports. My only disappointment was that the naked foreigners were now extinct. Everyone had skimpy clothes on. It will never be the same.

Sunday, May 09, 2004

Yesterday, I went to the gym. I've been going for about two weeks now and I'm starting to notice something. The personal trainers are always happy to see me and encourage me to try out every single machine in the gym. I suspect it may be my tiny tiny frame with tons of fat and they feel they must put some muscle meat on me.

It was okay at first, I got to learn how the machines work and what the different classes are. But after a while it was just painful. "Here, let's add some more weights." "You can do it! Push! Pull!" "Just one more machine and we'll be through." "Let's do a whole body workout today." Ugh! I couldn't budge a couple of machines, even without any weights.

The first three times I went my body hurt for more than two days. But now it's getting better. Maybe in three months I'll actually be able to move all of the machines, with weights.

Thursday, May 06, 2004

I was hopping she wouldn't enroll, but today she did. Last week I was conducting entrance interviews for incoming pre-schoolers. I handle the prenursery class and she was applying for my class. The moment I sat down beside her, she started slapping me in the face! One of my co-teachers approached to help me, and she dug her nails into the teacher's arms and scraped her. We both backed off to give her some space. She started screaming and waving her arms. When she noticed that we were ignoring her behavior, she urinated on her seat. When we called her mom to pick her up, she told her mom that I had hurt her.

Unfortunately, the school rarely turns away pre-schoolers who apply, unless they are special children. We explained to her mom what happened and strongly suggested that she may not be ready. She didn't enroll last week so I thought I was safe. Today, I was handed her registration card. I am not looking forward to this school year. I've had kids who hit other kids, kids who curse, kids who spit, kids who have body odor and bad breath, kids who say they will kill you or shoot you in the face, kids who throw chairs and tables, but not one with behavior as bad as this. When I showed the registration card to the teacher she had scraped, the teacher showed me the wounds on her arm and said "you'd better be ready for this." I just hope she doesn't hurt any of the other children.

Sunday, May 02, 2004

here is a recipe my parents emailed to me

Banana Cake with Cashews

3 eggs
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
3/4 cup (180 ml) cream
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) flour, sifted
4 lbs (2 Kg) very ripe bananas, peeled and
slightly mashed
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) coarsely chopped cashews
1 cup (250 ml) grated coconut
1 tsp (5 ml) Chinese five spice powder*

* Available in finer supermarkets and Asian specialty shops

Beat the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale. Add the cream
and stir to combine. Add the flour, bananas, cashews, coconut, and
five spice powder and stir just enough to combine the ingredients.
Pour into two greased and floured 8 inch (20 cm) cake pans and bake in
a preheated 350F (180C) oven for about 1 hour, until the top is golden
brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes two 8 inch (20 cm)
cakes.