Marcus Can Blog

Interstellar: Our Wormhole

Interstellar, wormhole, interstellar review, interstellar blog — Image from the web.

A couple of months after, wifey and I were able to watch a movie again without Marcus. Our kid willingly stayed behind with his own Mr. and Mrs. Wilson–he is our good neighbor’s own Dennis the Menace. Our time out together was worth it, thanks to Interstellar.

Spoilers have been out since Interstellar premiered but my interest to see the latest Christopher Nolan film remained. I was among those who were curious to know how Hollywood can pull off another space adventure movie after Gravity. Just like the Sandra Bullock starrer, scientists–as they claim to be–expressed their expert opinion that some concepts in Interstellar are far-fetched. However, like how the adult Murphy Cooper sat in her room to figure out everything, we sat still in front of the giant cinema screen–hot Krispy Kreme coffee and donuts in hand.

There is a good thing about not having a good grasp of quantum physics, space dynamics, and all the jargons only NASA and space exploration geeks understand. Such lack of technical knowledge and prejudice allowed me to focus on the concept that man in the distant future will travel through space and time. And the concept that somewhere out there are other dimensions that go beyond what the past and current generation believe only belongs to pages of science fiction books.

Interstellar may indeed be flawed but what Hollywood movie isn’t? For all I care right now is that it was the perfect movie for me and wifey. Interstellar was a wormhole that transported us out of parenting–almost three hours of good entertainment that feels like a week of a well-deserved break. Oh by the way, we picked up Marcus and yes, he is still six years old.

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Things I learned from Interstellar:

1. Have a bookshelf and save the world. Yes, that shelf where you stack paper pages sandwiched between soft or hard covers. Need I say you read them as well?

2. Dust will eventually kill us all. Space may be a giant vacuum but it won’t clean the house. Time to find that thing that sucks dust.

3. Minecraft has become this much influential. Just look at TARS. I rest my case.

Interstellar, wormhole, interstellar review, interstellar blog, Minecraft, Enderman is TARS — This Enderman from Minecraft. (Image from the web.)

4. The demand for cornflakes will stay until end of the world. And maybe farming in general. I now wonder if Marcus will learn how to plow.

5. “How did you know? Because dad promised me.” Interstellar’s cheesy moment but does anyone object that this is true?

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (I promised not to eat junk todat. That’s the plan.)

Cat’s Spay Day

King's Road Veterinary Clinic, Where to spay cat in Cavite, Cavite spay, Cheap cat spay in Cavite — Mittens still figuring out what we have done to her.

Responsible pet ownership has a price. Once a person decides to have a pet(s) he or she commits to take good care of it until its lifetime. Pets will need food, it will need grooming, and it will soon find a mate. And it could multiply which is just fine if planned such as for breeding and selling. Otherwise, the owner–as the more intellectual being–must ensure that the pet doesn’t produce young ones that it cannot properly take care of.

What we call in here in the Philippines as askal and pusakal are usually products of pet owners who do not have any idea–or some, sadly, do not care–about pet birth control. Anyone who plans to have four-legged companions must therefore take everything into consideration including neutering (male) and spaying (female) to curb the increase of stray animals. And it is what we just recently did.

Two weeks ago, our cat was in heat. It became restless, it exhibited the signs that we have read before. It became more eager to go out of the house, it rubbed itself on walls, it rolled like crazy on the ground, and it made those weird mating calls. Not wanting to get it pregnant by male cats who seem to all of a sudden appeared in our yard out of nowhere, we kept our feline from getting outside. We closed the windows and doors, we too got boxed in.

The experience of dealing with a cat in heat compelled us to take actions. Initially we planned to bring the cat to PAWS (The Philippine Animal Welfare Society) as their spay service is significantly cheaper (based on their website it is only P1,000) than any other clinics we know. However, after realizing that the procedure requires some prior tests and the fact that it’s a long drive from home we cancelled it. Wifey then tried to locate veterinary clinics within Cavite that charge the least and she found one.

Kings Road Veterinary clinic is just more than 10 kilometer from home. Setting an appointment was easy and the spay operation was faster than I expected. Our cat and I reached the clinic minutes before 10 am and the vet, Dr. James, immediately started the procedure. He performed the blood test and then the operation proper. Before 12 noon he is finished and few minutes later Mittens is already conscious.

Dr. James’ clinic is located along Daang Hari road. He has two units–one clinic and a grooming station–within the same building. Both facilities appear bright and well maintained. Kings Road vet has a Facebook page so do check it out for your pet needs.

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Mood: 1/10 Honks! (Got kid’s class card. Marcus still his class’ top 2.)

Be carpool cool

How to carpool, how to remain accepted in carpool, carpooling in the Philippines, carpool — The ideal car pool faces. (Image from the web.)

It starts with an honest invite. “Hey, you live close to where I live, you can ride with me.” Sometimes it’s out of boredom from what’s on the radio or the old CD collection. “Yes, good to talk to someone while I drive.” But soon–play Psycho theme–you realize your supposedly temporary companion has gotten fond of the free ride. He begins to treat your car as his, he appears out of nowhere to just to ride with you. He becomes your nightmare. You begin to pray he’s not around. You begin to escape and evade–often futile. The woes of carpooling.

All is not lost, however. If you are among those who benefit from carpooling and sooner or later feels that your driver are making up alibis to ditch you, I suggest following some courtesy to redeem yourself. (Trust me, drivers like me, will start to like you around again.)

1. Offer to pay for gas every now and then. Yes, do not abuse your driver’s goodwill because at some point he will start to think, “What’s in it for me?” The answer at the very least is: gas.

2. Ask permission. Not all the time that the owner of the car can accommodate you. Just like how he gets bored with radio shows, he also gets bored having someone tagging along. Especially for free. So a short SMS from you and an affirmative answer from him guarantee a guilt-free ride.

3. Be infrequent. So you decide not take part in the gas expenses. Fine. But please make sure that you do not expect to ride along for free on a regular basis. That’s rude. In this case, riding only twice a year is perfect.

4. Be observant. Drivers have moods so be sensitive. If they get chatty, talk. If you receive a short answer for a long question, pipe down or better yet sleep. And if they start turning the car stereo’s volume up, do not compete with it.

5. Do not slam the door. In carpooling, the last impression lasts so how you exit the car matters. Not slamming the door is already like a mutual thank you.

(Drafted this while at a Honda car dealership. I got new brakes. Might use this to encourage seat belt use–of free riders.)

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Mood: 1/10 Honks! (It’s been a long time since I took a leave on a Friday. TGIF.)

Got Coins?

So you got your piggy bank filled and you begin to think it’s about time you break it. The pictures on TV commercials now play in your mind where a pink ceramic piggy is carried to the bank and pleasant-looking tellers welcoming their excited client. But snap out of it, it is fallacy because the sad truth is, they hate counting coins. Yes, most bank tellers—who appear so kind, so accommodating—do not like to spend time counting what we have been saving in our coin banks for months. I know this first hand based on experiences (yup, plural).

One of my encounters happened a few months back. I went to a BDO branch where a big image on their wall had my hopes high—it has a picture of a kid with her tower of coins. She seems happy, so proud of her savings. Soon I learned, however, that the teller in front of me thinks otherwise. Her happy disposition changed in a heartbeat when I told her I will deposit Marcus’ coins to his account. It was worth more than three thousand pesos.

While she counts, after a stern comment that I should have grouped it by hundreds, I looked at the huge wall again and had to suppress a smirk and the urge to let out some sarcasm. That day reminds me to avoid depositing coins again—that is, if I can help it.

Not wanting to be in the same uneasy spot again, this week I have found another way to dispense Marcus’ coins. It doesn’t involve any bank tellers but new unsuspecting employees. The first recipient was the water district’s cashier. Surprisingly, he didn’t complain and was able to count the 80 pieces of 5-peso coins fast. Kiddo and I were out of the office in less than ten minutes.

Our next stop was the gas station. I handed the attendant six ice candy packs with 1-peso coins in each. I packed it last weekend—while watching a Transformers movie at home—and was thinking all the while that I got 600 all in all. How he verified that I counted it wrong surprised me. The gas attendant told me that each pack only has 50 pesos just by placing it on his palm. Wow, this guy should be working at a bank and replace those smug bank tellers so I can go back to depositing the coins directly to Marcus’ savings account.

I still have few more hundred pesos worth of coins to expend and by the time every coin is gone I already owe our kid at least two thousand pesos (Lucky kid). How I now wish that the coin hoarding bill will soon become a law so that I can march back to the bank proudly and tell the bank tellers, “You know ma’am, I am just abiding by the law, so please spare me the lecture and start counting the 25 centavos first.”

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Mood: 4/10 Honks! (Those coins are lifesavers for now.)

Empty. Wallet.

I plan to attend Halloween parties as an empty wallet. I’d be the scariest.

Texting Solutions

There was once a time when social media weren’t as popular. 10 years ago people still buy and read newspapers and I was among them. It was also during this time when boredom leads to texting and some texting results to bragging rights. Here’s an example.

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Mood: 4/10 Honks! (Keep calm and wait. For the next payday.)

What’s The Plan?

Our cat I suspect is now in heat and it follows, from my little understanding of our furry friends, that male cats nearby can detect it. In the recent weeks, the three of us at home have been fending off cats who pay our pet a purposeful visit and Marcus has been the most active in this duty of preventing any of those visitors from hooking up with our calico. Today our son comes up with a plan and it’s the first time I heard him refer to something he has drawn.

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (I hope that this is Marcus’ day 2 of playing with our neighbor’s kid. He badly needs outdoor activities–other than spraying cats.)

The Real Oggy And The Cockcroaches

Cat and mouse. This I’m sure that anyone will recognize the famous rivalry. It’s been like that. For example, when I say Tom, someone will highly likely say Jerry. When I start with ‘when the cat is away…’ it will be easily continued by anybody with ‘…the mouse will play.’ Yes, everyone just knows the relationship between the two.

But how many are aware of cats and cockcroaches. For one, I don’t, I never did. I was so clueless that I scratched my head when I first saw the cartoons Oggy and the Cockroaches. Who would have thought that it’s a good idea to create an animation about the misadventures of a blue cat named Oggy and his archnemeses Dee Dee, Marky, and Joey. Well, Jean-Yves Raimbaud seems to know what he was doing.

Marcus started watching Oggy and Cockroaches when he was a lot younger. He loves the show so much that now at age six and with our cable TV subscription gone, for a year and half already, he would mention that it is still one of his favorite cartoon shows. He now hates the others he once watched almost regularly–like Ben 10, Dibo, and, thankfully, Barney–yet his fascination of Oggy and the Cockroaches stays. But do cats and these horrendous smelly creepers meet in real life? Yes, just not as amusing.

We have seen our cat, Mittens, so many times bring inside our house– of course, to our utter disgust–cockroaches to play with and eventually kill. I would often wonder if the poor cockroach would have preferred being sprayed with pesticide rather than the torturous demise due to being tossed around from the cat’s fangs and to be pummeled by its soft paw with sharp claws. Sometimes out of compassion, I deliver the quick death with the classic slipper whack.

The latest encounter happened this early morning while I drag my sleepy self from bed to the toilet. As I was about to open the faucet to wash my face I came eye to eye with the shiny brown pest and by instinct I had my hand ready with a slipper. I saw also that Mittens was right behind me, its iris opened, fully focused, and ready to pounce. The poor cockroach was almost trapped, it hesitated, and decided to avoid the cat. It seems that our cat’s notoriety has spread around the filthy roach community. Oh by the way, its name should’ve been Oggy but we later learned it’s female.

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Here’s a trivia I read from Wikipedia. Did you know that Dee Dee, Joey, and Marky were among the members of the American punk rock band The Ramones? Now what are the chances that their song I Wanna Be Sedated is about a cockroach begging to escape slow death from a cat.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Holiday today. Another day off for Marcus.)

Keep Your Sanity: Learn How To Drive In Tight Spaces

Anyone who watches TV or listens to the news on the radio cannot help but mostly capture bad news. We crave for inspiring ones yet these news are all over: bad governance, overpriced ‘world-class’ buildings, questionable police integrity, bad celebrity role models, bad this and that, etcetera. Then there’s of course bad traffic jam. The good news is, we can do something about how we drive so as not to contribute to the ever worsening traffic. What we need is to learn how to adapt in tight situations.

Truth to be told, I have been driving for about ten years already but it was only last year when I learned how to drive in tight spots. Thanks to this cake that I had to get from a place with the narrowest streets I have been so far, so narrow that I almost turned back and decided to take public transport instead just to bring home the Ninjago-inspired cake for our son, Marcus.

Idling and weighing my options, with my right hand about to put the stick shift to reverse in surrender, I noticed that despite being tight several cars are parked on one side of the street. Unbelievably, none of those cars seem to have those tell-tale scratches. “How do the other vehicles able to get in and out of the place without sideswiping the others? Do they shrink or do they have soft fenders made just for this place?” I mused.

And then, as if to answer my question I saw one SUV drive out. It was quick, it was without any incident. If it fits, then my sedan can too. There was hope.

After making sure that there are no more vehicles I commit to drive and make my way through. As I have expected, it wasn’t easy. But to cut the story short, I got the cake and made way back. How did I fare? Well, it took me almost 30 minutes to get in and out of the rather short distance.

Driving out was harder because I have to back up and turn around—back to the same narrow street. The 2-point reverse maneuver didn’t work, not even 4-point. Almost static, my hands, feet, and eyes got busy—clutch, shift, gas, mirror, clutch, shift, gas, mirror— just so I can squeeze the car out without leaving any dent on it and the other cars parked nearby. By the way, I had to fold one side mirror just to be sure.

Other than getting out unscathed, that stressful experience improved my depth and width perception. In fact, I have had fewer encounters of what I once consider near misses. Inner two-way roads have worried me less and have lessened my urge to honk my way through. (Lately, whenever I honk, it’s just force of habit—a bad habit that I hope to correct soon.)

To drive comfortably and confidently in tight spaces is a skill to be had to keep our sanity. Especially with the fast approaching holiday everyone should anticipate worse (or worst) traffic. People, cars, and other types of vehicles will have to be dealt with because tight traffic will become tighter, slow will become slower but with a better driving skill these shouldn’t be a problem. Happy and safe driving everyone!

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Yesterday, we fell victim to another bad traffic–and bad time management. We were supposed to attend a baptismal celebration just to find out that we took the route where Maynilad have extended their water pipe overlaying project. Wifey and I ended getting a massage in SM Bacoor with Marcus left to play with other kids in a pay-per-hour playground.

Yes my son, The Ninja Turtles don’t like donuts.

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Mood: 1/10 Honks! (Had cereals for breakfast. One that Marcus got tired eating.)

Goodbye Bad Hair Day

What was supposed to be a short trip with Marcus to a sari-sari store to buy a Coke led to something else. This was after I realized that the stores I used to know near wifey’s place have either closed or have ran out of softdrinks. And so moving farther we eventually reached the area close the barber shop where we both get cheap haircut whenever in Batangas. Feeling the late afternoon heat I decided that it was the best time to get a haircut. Or rather something shorter, cleaner–a bald head.

It was my first time to have my head shaved cleanly. I was excited, Marcus was curious. I can see him watch from a bench behind me with a funny expression when the barber started using his razor to remove slowly every bit of my hair that was left by the clipper. At some point I was thinking if I should, or could, still stop the barber from proceeding further as he slowly exposes my scalp. But it was over soon. Barely ten minutes after I saw nothing but shiny flesh.

Stepping out of the barber was weird. So was walking back to wifey’s place. And I had that same feeling when I finally arrived home that night and stared longer at myself in the mirror wondering once more if I regret the new look. Then there’s that anxiousness showing up at work bald for the very first time. Thankfully I got over it sooner than expected. It was just a matter of meeting every people I know and showing them the new me–whether they like it or not.

Since then, a month and two weeks after, I have learned to love being bald even if it takes new routines to maintain it. I don’t know if I should be glad that my hair all over my head still grows fast as it requires me shave my head every other day just to stay bald. I have yet to perfect shaving it myself so every now and then I get those nasty cuts especially if I do it in a hurry. And while I have lessened my need for shampoo, my head needs an aftershave and a lotion to prevent it from flaking and razor rash. Right now I use wifey’s lotions, good thing she doesn’t have those with strong scents that I smell at work, but the internet tells me that there are products appropriate for bald heads. Well, there’s always a price to pay for everything, a price for saying, “goodbye bad hair day!”

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Car needs battery.)