The Handy Manny and Guido in me

Our transfer to Batangas has made me do more things on my own. The first few weeks I got myself pretty busy. I became the real Handy Manny, I can be seen with tools that where never out of the toolbox for so long. I got drill, screwdrivers, hammer, and ladder as my usual companion—they don’t talk though unlike in the cartoon show. There were fixtures to caulk, frames to hang, curtain rods to install. All these I did even on weekdays just before or after I report to night shift.  I was a regular at the hardware stores.

Then there’s our car to take care of. I realized that I actually have an answer to wifey’s question: “Do you miss Cavite?” I used to say “no” without any hesitation but now I seem to wish I am still close to Honda Cars Cavite. The car dealership wasn’t perfect but it was home for our Honda City for almost six years. There’s a Honda dealer here in Batangas but I decided against availing its services after talking to one of its service advisors. He doesn’t not show good customer service, he gave a pricey quote, and he spelled spark in spark plug with a ‘u’. Yes, I get easily turned off by price and wrong spelling.

Soon I found myself under the hood of the Honda City, this time I become Guido. After eight years, I am taking over the car’s preventive maintenance. I discovered that the task wasn’t easy. I had to familiarize myself with the car and had to read its manual more thoroughly for the first time after I almost loosen the wrong nut thinking it was the oil drain plug. The design of the City’s engine also made it harder to access its eight spark plugs as these are deeply seated unlike the ones in our Kia Pride (duh). I almost quit changing the four spark plugs located behind the engine block. That week I went to work showing everyone a dirty finger, fingers to be exact. I will wear gloves when changing oil next time.

I need my own lift.

But other maintenance jobs are better left to the experts and the better equipped. Yesterday, I watched a car parts store’s mechanic figure out how to change the car’s gear oil. He later conceded that they do not have the tool to drain the oil. It was about an hour and a half wasted. With my temper running low, I drove a few meters to a Caltex gas station where I found someone in greasy overall uniform who did the job in barely 30 minutes. I gave him a tip.

While our routine has normalized, there are still lots of things waiting to be done. For one there are still boxes in our other room with its contents waiting to be transferred to their proper cabinets and shelves which are yet to be made (hint: budget). Others need to be disposed. Then there’s also our parking space that we plan to have cemented. Who knows I could do less messy and faster oil change when I don’t have to worry about the jack stand sinking into the loose soil.

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Car talk

Marcus and I stayed very late last night. He played Roblux, I watched TV. I landed on a channel that shows Formula E and watched it for the very first time. I learned that Formula E is similar to Formula One except that the cars are electric but just as fast. Since there is no fossil fuel to pump, the driver transfers to a fully-charged car on scheduled pit stops. Marcus was right to remark that the Formula E cars sound like those in Star Wars. How soon would mankind be driving 100% gas-free cars? Tesla is  around so the answer should be sooner than we expect it.

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Regular Sunday: no more fiesta, no more outing.)

Mother: A Hero without a cape

It is a fact that we find comfort when we hear the word mother. For a mother gives us warmth when we are cold; food when we are hungry; consolation when we are sad; companionship when we are alone; encouragement when we doubt our own self; and love even if do not give her love in return.

Yes, a mother is never selfish. A mother is always willing to go beyond her human capacity. She makes us smile even if she can’t. She keeps us healthy even if she isn’t. She shows us there is life even if she is dying. That’s because a mother is a hero without a cape, not an armor even. A mother is a real life Wonder Woman, forget the glamorous bikini and crown. She does not need to fly to impress for being a mother alone is impressive enough.

Our  mother  is  ageing well.

You see motherhood is a 24-hour job. A mother becomes jack of all trades when the situation calls for it. She becomes an medic on call; a technician who fixes things; an engineer who builds toys; a magician who transforms a messy house back to its original form–at least for a day. She can be a police officer who maintains order; a lawyer who defends; a customer support who patiently listens to and addresses complaints; a personal chef who cooks great meal on demand. Name it, a mother could and would do it.

So on this special day, here’s a salute to all mothers–present and gone, old and young. Happy mothers’ day to all wonderful women, especially to my to our own nanay, to my mother-in-law, and to wifey–smile, I’ll handle the dishes for now.

Bacolod, 2008

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Mood: 3/10 Honks!  (Drafted  and  published  using  a   broken   phone.)

Old School Flatland, Anyone?

I have found my second lagoon. In my younger years I hang out a  lot with my friends in Bacolod Lagoon to kill time with our bikes and to test ourselves if we can mimic what we saw on BMX Trix 101. I can’t recall if it’s on Betamax or VHS format, definitely not on disc, but it’s the only video source we have back then–YouTube wasn’t around yet. I continued with freestyle until before I got married in 1996.

Years later, I would soon find myself on my twenty-year old Haro bike, stepping on its pegs, figuring out if I can still do either the scuff or rolling tricks that I like to do. And I still can. I am now in the midst of the new generation riders—and I’m lost in their lingo and the names of the famous riders they know. These guys use bikes with small sprockets, low seats, and mostly brakeless. I have an old school setup. One remarked that my Spintech detangler is now only available on eBay. My freestyle bike is the heaviest. But yes, I am among the few here who can do flatland. The rest do street.

I am now on my third week of mingling with whoever is at the Tanuan plaza–yesterday we transferred to their other location as a political campaign was ongoing. I have a list of routines to recover but I was able to do a satisfactory frontyard yesterday and I got a short clip of myself doing a backwards forkwheelie. Need to avoid skinny jeans though.

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To be with other BMX riders is already almost home but to speak with others in my own dialect makes it a lot better. I did not expect that here in Batangas I would meet others who are from either Ilo-ilo or Bacolod. The guy who can do time machine is from Ilo-ilo while the one from Bacolod (he’s here for a vacation) rides with one of the current popular riders, Paulo Gepulango, who happens to be a friend of a Facebook friend. My FB friend is the son of one of my best friends and BMX teammate. Then last week, I was in bike shop whose owner and their mechanic are from Negros Occidental, too. Small world?

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (I need a bike rack so I can take Marcus and his wheelchair with me.)

Goldilocks’ Heroes Cake

Kids are hard to please nowadays and Marcus is one of them. Give them the gift that they have longed for and they look for another. Yesterday, he received the toys that he wanted, only the affordable ones though, but asked that his birthday cake be Batman themed. I did not anticipate his request, I thought I have explained it before that he can’t have it. But then again, kids will be kids, their mind will change at any moment especially if they know it’s their birthday.

So where do I get Batman? A high beam over Batangas’ skies won’t make us see the caped crusader gliding down to the rescue. Good thing, Goldilocks knows their customers and I found one cake that would instantly resolve the problem.

Goldilocks saved the day.

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Finally, a genuine Batman Lego and a Catwoman to make him happy.

Marcus actually received a gift from Batman himself–at least it’s what the gift card says so at the expense of our Skylander gifts being set aside so soon.

Air and Fire characters.

The good American Santas once sent Marcus a used Skylander set and I know he has finished the game already. Later I learned he is missing two other elements so he can explore the game more. On this eighth birthday, he received the air and fire characters, thanks to wifey (I owe you one).

On a side note, kiddo also has his gift to himself. Being a big fan of the Halo game series, he finally opened up his panda coin bank and got for himself a Halo 3 CD. It costs P950 and I think the panda still has more. We will try to sneak later and get some to cover for his birthday party expenses. Shhh.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Recovered the sleep I skipped. Yesterday, I only had more than an hour coming from night shift.)

Marcus turns Eight

Happy birthday Marcus. Stay strong. (Pic by wifey)

Another year ticks by. It wasn’t the best year, in fact, to say it was the most challenging is an understatement. This new year, our wishes go beyond more candles to blow and more birthdays to come. We wish that we all become physically stronger,   mentally tougher , and spiritually better. All for Marcus. Happy birthday, son. Always remember, you are loved.

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Juggling between parenting and broken touchscreen.)

Feel the Drift

So we discovered this one place in Nuvali where we experience drifting a car outside of the virtual world. Marcus loved it so much that we have to do it again on our second visit. Thanks to wifey who this time tagged along with us to capture this video.

By the way, thanks to the crew of Skidkart Circuit who made a kid in a wheelchair (and his dad) experience what he only sees on his Need For Speed Most Wanted game. We will try to find you in Tagaytay if we happen to be there.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (This Ayala Mall Solenad already feels like home to Marcus.)

The Mamon Experience

We haven’t had the chance to watch the latest Kung Fu Panda movie but at least Marcus got to have a different, cheaper one, way to experience it.

Marcus and cousin prepared the Kung Fu Panda mamon in about five minutes.
He destroyed Po in seconds.

 

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I am Mr. Ping, Marcus is Po.

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (He has asked the question.)

 

We Will Rock London

We are not done talking about dreams yet. There is probably no other place where Marcus would like to be and it’s not where most would go to. At the same age, kids in general would say Disneyland, some Universal Studio, some Legoland. But none of these are Marcus’ choice. Where then? London. Yes, London. If he had a bucket list this would be among his things to do, we bet it could be his topmost even. His obsession with this place amuses us.

Firstly, he wants to meet one of his YouTube idols, DanTDM. Given his own free will, he plans to see him and his pugs. Just like that. For Marcus, things were as simple as just dropping by to say hello, like how he now does with this cousins wherein he visits them almost every day since we transferred. He spends so much time on YouTube channel of DanTDM that he feels his favorite YouTuber is no celebrity but rather someone ordinary who he has access to in short notice. Oh by the way, our son’s such a big fan that he wants to color his hair blue just like Dan did. I told him he can when he turns ten. (Two years to go and I hope he forgets.)

Then what’s a visit to London if you haven’t seen the Queen? So this one too is part of Marcus’ agenda. He once asked  if he would be allowed to enter the palace to see the Queen. We told him it isn’t easy to get past the guards but he was insistent and it seems like he already has a plan. “I will sing We Will Rock You, that’s by the Queen,” he stressed. Well, he’s got a different Queen in mind, Freddy Mercury would be proud.

Besides singing his way in to the palace, he has other tests for the famous Buckingham Palace guards. Having seen it once on Mr. Bean’s cartoon show, he would like to prove if they do stay still while on duty despite being surrounded by annoying tourists. This reminds me of one of his classmates who once said she remembers Marcus whenever she watches Mr. Bean. Yup, he could be as animated and funny at times. When not being stubborn, he’s a natural comedian.

There was also a day when while undergoing his session with a local reflexology therapist or manghihilot, he saw on Pinoy Abroad, a local TV network afternoon series, the familiar London underground sign that he sees a lot in Modern Warfare 3. He said he wants to see the actual place to check if it does look like the one in his Call of Duty game. Yup, I know, the game’s rated M so sue me.

So how do we get him to London? We can’t for now but Marcus is keeping his fingers crossed that I win the lotto. Far-fetched but sounds like the only plan.

For now we are close to visiting that flag in the background. (Taken in MOA by the Bay on the day wifey and I renewed our passports.)

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Our son seems to be bent on getting his travel funds. Last night he asked his mommy if he can help finish her freelance job. Hmm.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Today we are committed to fight the summer heat. Home-made halu-halo coming.)