A few weeks after classes have started I'm home sick with no voice. I didn't go to work Thursday and Friday. Why in the world parents give their kids "fruit" juices that contain nothing but sugar and water, chocolate bars and candies as their recess snack is a mystery to me. Its hard enough to get two year olds to sit still for more than 5 minutes, let alone 2 year olds filled up with sugar and sweets. It took me 30 minutes just for them to form a line. As a result I've moved recess right before dismissal. You let your kids drown in sugar, you handle them.

I was also surprised to find out that I have a 4 year old in one of my classes. Apparently, he failed the entrance test to nursery, which is unheard of. Nobody has ever failed the nursery entrance exam. The principal, not wanting to let go of additional cash put him in my class without my talking to or seeing the child. I only found out on the first day of classes. He doesn't talk, just grunts and walks around hitting other kids. Sigh. I've talked to the mother, he suffered some brain damage as an infant. She assured me that the doctor told her he will magically turn into a normal child when he turns 7. I feel bad for him, he should be undergoing therapy. I've strongly suggested to her that he get regular checkups from the doctor and she get a speech therapist and physical therapist.
I also have two other kids who have developmental problems, but not as bad as this one. I don't know why but I think word got out that I was handling special children, and several kids with special needs started applying this July. Arrgh! I am not qualified! I could see in my principal's eyes that she wanted to accept them (additional cash) but I really put my foot down.

I got to go to the toycon last Saturday. While my hubby went from one toy stall to another, I took pictures of some cool costumes and a few statues. Wish I could have gotten more pictures but it was so crowded. It took me more than 10 minutes just to get to the exit.

Last week was the first week of classes, fondly referred to as hell week, when all hell breaks loose or with what we went through all of our sins must be forgiven. In one week, I have managed to loose all the weight I've gained during the summer. We had one father who complained "My son has never cried his ENTIRE LIFE. Why is he crying now?!" We also had the usual kids arriving two hours early and fetched two hours late. They always turn out to be the kids we have problems with later on. Turns out the reason why they spend so much time in school is because their parents don't want them at home. Sigh. We've also got several parents demanding that they be able to pay for the tuition on March next year, with threats of them making up stories about the school to shut it down if we don't give into their demands. I don't get their logic. You want your kid to study in a school you can't afford, so you threaten the school in order to get your kid in. One father even screamed at one of our teachers "I'll run you over with my car when I see you on the road!", right in front of his child. Yeah, that will ensure your child's acceptance into our school.

In the pursuit of thinness... during the cooler months I was able to do some walking about an hour a day, but for the past 3 months or so it has been so hot I can only manage around 20 minutes. It doesn't help that I cancelled my gym membership. With the monthly cost of membership, gas and parking it was getting pretty expensive to keep fit. Sigh, so my husband in I invested in a weights machine than exercises the whole body. This means I will not, or must not make any major purchase for the next year or so. At least classes are starting this week, which means I will now have more stuff to blog about and start loosing some weight. Teaching preschoolers is a physically demanding job.

The preschool graduation is finally over. As expected, the preschoolers were restless and bored to death. But as it turned out, the parents were more unruly than their kids. A fistfight almost broke out when one dad refused to sit down, blocking the view of the parents seated behind him. Almost all of the parents were screaming at their kids (who were seated in front) to stand up and wave at them. At the end of the graduation, several guards were posted on stage since since some parents wanted to take their child's picture while their child "rode" on top of some of the stage decorations which were all made of papermache. Sigh, sometimes you wonder why a kid is the way he/she is, and when you meet his/her parents you go "ohhh, that's why".

I've been feeling terrible since Saturday having a sore throat, major headache and colds. I suspect one of my students came to school sick last Friday because I usually get sick when one of them is sick. Kids' germs seem so much stronger and easier to catch. Sure enough, half of my students were absent today. Half of those who came to school had terrible colds. I ended up going home right after my class because my headache was becoming unbearable. Please! If you have sick kids please do not send them to school! Sigh.
One thing I've noticed is that the most disruptive kids are usually the ones sent to school sick. They're also the ones who arrive an hour early and are fetched an hour late. The nice kids always arrive for class just 5 to 10 minutes early and are fetched on time. The most disruptive kid in my class has his mom waiting for him outside the school, but she still pick him up late and brings him to school super early. She just hangs out outside the school. Hmmm, makes me think they don't want to watch over their own kids. She even brought him to school when classes were cancelled due to a typhoon and asked me to watch over her kid during the alloted class hours. He was the only preschooler who came to the school that day. Could this mean that he is the most behaviorally challenged kid in the whole preschool?

I got tons of body wash as Christmas gifts. Hmmm... Are people trying to tell me something? For some strange reason I get the similar gifts every year. 2006 was the year of the body wash, 2005 was the year of the blouses and shirts - all of which were too small for me and 2004 was the year of the bags.
I hate getting clothes. My friends and family refuse to believe that I am not a size small and always get me something too small. I ended up giving away all the clothes I got in 2005. Oh well, at least this new year I'll be spending a lot of time in the bath.
My husband gave me the same gift he gives me every year - something he likes. When this first happened I started dropping hints about what I wanted. It didn't work, so I tried pointing out the stuff I liked every time we went to the mall. It still didn't work. Its come to the point where I give him a detailed list of what I like, complete with the store name and mall where the store is located. It still didn't work. This year I think I'll get him something I like and just have a gift swap.

One of my dogs gave birth today. That makes a grand total of 11 dogs. 11 dogs! That's a whole lot of mouths to feed. I've been bugging my hubby to get the males snipped and he keeps on saying that he'll call the vet next week. So now its come to this. I totally put all the blame (and responsibility of feeding them) on him!!! My mom-in-law doesn't want us to sell or give them away since she likes them, but hates them at the same time. Confusing, I know. She doesn't like dogs, but she doesn't want them gone, either. Ayyyyy.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I finally graduated this March. I haven't posted so long I didn't realized I didn't blog this. Yes, for all of you who have been asking me for the past 8 years, I am now sick and tired of studying, researching and writing papers. It is over!!!

It's the last week of November and I haven't been to the gym for 2 months. I think I've gained back all the stuff that took me months to loose. Everytime I'm about to go to the gym something always seems to come up - a sore throat and fever, no ride available, a super hectic work week, and now a major typhoon. Perhaps I was meant to be fat. I'll just have to try again next week.

Ok, I know I said I would be posting regularly again but I guess I just lost track of time. Now is probably a good a time as ever to start blogging again, especially since I've been home sick for a week and bored to death.

I finally lost the weight! The stress of finishing my studies last year made me neglect exercise and diet, and I ended up looking like a plump goldfish. Whenever I feel fat I remember my friend's goldfish. He had no eyes. I asked my friend if it was some sort of freak of nature. Nope, she said. That particular goldfish just ate too much. Yup, he ate too much that he grew too fat and his eyes popped out.

So I've spent the next few months exercising like crazy, and I can now fit into my shorts again. Ofcourse I haven't dieted and exercised for a week because I've been sick. No big deal, its just one week, right? Then last night I saw on tv that Oprah gained 10 pounds in 10 days because she wasn't able to exercise.

To make matters worse, I've been to the eye doctor twice because I have keratitis. I have to go back again next week because my eyes are not getting better. Are these signs? Why did I happen to open the tv the exact momment they talked about Oprah's weigh gain on Entertainment Tonigh? Why are the corneas of my eyes inflammed? Is this somehow connected to that fat blind goldsfish who is probably dead by now since the last time I saw him was more than 5 years ago?

Friday night last week I was attending one of my masteral classes. I had to take a bathroom break and quietly slipped out of the classroom. There are hardly any students in the school at this time of the night, and the ladies room was empty. I went inside one of the cubicles and basically, began to pee. Suddenly, I hear this beeping sound. It began with a series of soft beeps. What the? There was no one in the bathroom when I went in and I'm sure no one else went in after me. I would have heard the bathroom door open. The beeps started getting louder and faster. Oh my God! Is there a bomb in the bathroom! The beeps were getting really loud and really fast. BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP! I have to get out of here! But I really have to pee! Damn my weak bladder! I couldn't stop peeing mid-way! I don't want to die with my pants down, much less while peeing. The beeps suddenly stopped. Am I dead? Why am I still peeing in hell? Is this my personal hell being stuck in this cubicle peeing for all eternity? The beeping then started all over again. What the what the? I finally got out of the cubicle and saw that someone had left their cellphone in the bathroom. Those crazy beeps were just the ringtone.

Yes, I know, I haven't posted in a really long time. Right now I'm trying to finish my masters by October. This basically means that I don't have a social life, and all of my time is spend worrying on finishing my final paper instead of actually doing it. Anyway, if I am able to pass, I'll be posting again in late October.

Sleepy Puppy

Dead Tired

Huggy Bear

Awwww...

Stretch
Posted by Micki

Taking the advice of an article I read about different types of friends, I have decided to cut ties with "friends" who drain you of energy, time, money, etc... Please refer to my Wednesday, January 26, 2005 blog entry. Ever since the incident, I have cut contact with such "friends". It turned out to be harder than I thought. I have been numerous phone calls at home, work and on my cellphone every single day. I haven't answered any of these calls. Sigh. You'd think she'd get the hint after a week. I'm now on my third week of 3 to 5 phone calls a day. Can you say stalker?

Summer, the time when parents enroll their child for the next school year. It is also the time when all of these "calamities" seem to occur. As expected, a large number of parents who were on their way to school to enroll had wallets which were stolen, or bags that were slashed, grabbed or lost. A large number of grandparents also seem to die during this time of year, resulting in depleted funds. There also appears to be an enormous amount of house break-ins and house fires, making it impossible to be able to pay for the tuition fees. A small minority of parents, however, have enough money to leave the country. They leave behind their 4 year old child with the maid, who show up during enrollment with no money and no idea when the parents will return from their vacation. There is also an epidemic of amnesia, with parents forgetting that it is time to enroll, forgetting to bring money, and some forgetting that you need money to enroll. "What? I didn't know you had to bring money. I thought that you just had to sign up. Can I just enroll now and pay for it next time?" I think I've heard it all. There was even one mom who had a dog..., and yes, the dog ate the money.

Official Survivor Congratulations! You scored 72%!

Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere. Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 51% on survivalpoints

Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test written by ci8db4uok on Ok Cupid

February is almost over and I'll remember it as the mumps month - the month when dozens of children were sent to school with mumps despite memos and announcements not to send a sick child to school. The most common "excuse" parents gave when they were called to the office was "She/He doesn't have mumps, she/he has a toothache." The second most common was "She/He was crying because she/he really wanted to come to school. I can't stand to see her/him cry." But my favorite of all was "He doesn't have mumps! His father punched him in the face last night, that's why his face is swollen."

One of my students has lice. Due to this development, I have temporarily suspended naptime and hugs. I've talked to her father, and his initial reaction was ignorance, followed by surprise, then denial, and finally acceptance. His response went like "Lice? What is lice?" I explain what lice is. "Really? She has lice? I didn't know! No, she doesn't have lice!" I explain that she scratches her head constantly and complains about it being so itchy. "Ok, I'll buy her some medicine."

A week later I checked her hair and she still had lice. It seems the father didn't do anything. So I asked the school doctor to write a prescription and I handed it him.

I had always told myself that I would never have a toxic friend, the kind of friend who seem to suck every bit of life out of you like a vampire. Well, right now, I'm eating my words.

Last week, she invited me to her birthday party, which is a few days from now. She asked me what dish could I recommend from the restaurant where my husband works. I suggested roast beef, the total cost being P3,000 for 50 people. She said ok, she would buy. The next day, she texted that her budget was only P2,000 and could I bring cake. I thought, alright, the cake would be my gift to her, and my husband would do his best to fit P2,000 in roast beef for 50 people. We were basically giving it to her at a loss. I texted back that I'll do my best with P2,000.

The next day, she texted back that she wants rice and another dish. Oh my God! P2,000 for 50 people, 2 dishes, rice and cake?!!! Why didn't she just tell me that she wanted me to pay for her damn birthday party?! I also found out that she made her party potluck, requiring the other guests to bring food. What a cheapskate!

I texted back that I could no longer "cater" for her. P2,000 just isn't enough. Add that to the fact that my husband's restaurant doesn't do outside catering, so we just don't have the equipment, manpower or transportation for such a task.

Many, many hours later, she textes that she didn't mean for me to bring another dish and rice. She was just asking what else could I recomend from the restaurant, and that all she was asking for is roast beef. Huh? So okay, all I was bringing was roast beef.

Today, she textes me again, asking me if I'm bringing pasta. What?! I text back saying that I thought she wanted roast beef, but if it's pasta she wants, I'll bring pasta instead. She just texted me a few minutes ago saying that what she wants is roast beef.

Now I'm just waiting for her next text.