Santa Parade 2007

Last Sunday was Santa Parade in AUckland CBD. The kids were really looking forward to this. Masakit man sa pwet yung sumalampak sa sahig for 3hrs, sulit naman.

MamaSay is here

Dumating kahapon si MamaSay (that's how my mom and sisters address my Mother-in-law). Buti na lang nakasabay nya si Aris sa byahe. He took very well care of her. Aris is my sister Queenie's friend and classmate in Letran. The last time I saw him was 16yrs ago. Aba, mahirap yata yon magbyahe ng malayo na may kasama pang 4.5hrs stop sa Sydney.

Muntik na naming di makilala si Mamasay. Pumayat kasi at naging blondie pa yung buhok. Si Shannen naman ayaw lumapit sa Mama. As in sabi sa akin di daw nya kilala. Pero nung iabot sa kanya yung mga pasalubong, close na sila.

Malaking tulong sa amin ang nandito ang mother-in-law ko. Hindi na ako nag-aalala sa mga bata pag wala kami ni Henry bahay. Hindi na din kami nag-iisip sa lagay nya sa Pinas. Welcome to NZ again Mamasay! Hope you'll enjoy your 9 months stay with us.

Writing right

May pumansin sa advertisement ng isang shop dito. Pambihira naman kasi yung sumulat non, mukhang hindi man lang ipinacheck kahit sa isang 10yr old.

Ghastly grammar, hideous spelling and pathetic punctuation. Common yan kahit na english-speaking country na dito. Hindi rin ligtas kahit na mga professionals. Nakita nagsubmit sa akin ng request form kanina. Napansin ko na di lang yung mga boxes ang sinulatan nung employado. Nang tignan kong maige, binilugan pala nya yung mga maling spelling at punctuations. Napilitan tuloy akong i-review ng maige yung form (di ako gumawa non). Ngek, 7 mali pa yung nakita ko. Di naman ako expert kaya lang talagang obvious yung mga errors.

Ang cultura ng pinoy ay hindi masyadong forgiving sa ganitong mga pagkakamali. Ang dami nga naman kasi nating English subjects mula pre-school hanggang university. Meron nga akong naging boss na talagang binibilugan ng pulang ballpen yung mga errors sa magazine. Some people can take it but there are some who don't care much. To them, as long as the message is sent across, pwede na. Ika nga, the end justifies the means. May punto nga naman pero may isang school of thought din na nagsasabi na katamaran yon o kaya sign ng inadequate education. Mas naniniwala ako dito. Kaya kung kaya din lang, write it right.


Note: This blog may contain grammatical and spelling errors as the author is not an expert on these areas. Please use your better judgment when using any material herein.

Our backyard

There's been some exciting things going on in our backyard lately. First, a hedgehog paid us a visit. Upon seeing people, it immediately rolled into a ball (his defence mechanism). It only straightened up when Vince poured water on it (despite my plea to leave it alone). It's sad to think that New Zealand believes that this cute spiny animal is actually a pest rather than a pet.

Now for the second surprise, our apple tree is coming to life again. After hibernating in winter, it's now starting to bloom. Puno na ng bulaklak ang mga dulo nya. By January, we'll have a big supply of apples.

Aubrey Miles on TV

Nasulyapan ko kagabi si Aubrey Miles sa tv. The show was Amazing Race Asia 1 - second leg. Di ako mahilig manood ng tv dito pero nakakuha ang attention ko nang makita ko yung Philippine flag sa cap ng isang contestant. A few minutes later, saka ko pa lang nakita si Aubrey Miles. I did a little rasearch. Noong isang taon pa pala yon. Sa next episode, matsu-tsugi na sila ng real-life best friend nya. Kaya sa Saturday, manonood ulit ako.

Haloween 2007

First time mag-trick or treat ng mga bata last week. Shannen wore a fairy costume while Vince put on a scary mask. Dahil sa wala kaming kilala sa aming neighborhood except sa isang pinoy na kapitbahay, naki-trick or treat kami sa street ng aming kaibigan. Maraming bata sa street nila at cul-de-sac kaya ok na ok. The kids had so much fun. In fact, Shannen wants to do it everyday. Nalungkot ng sabihin kong next year na ulit ang kasunod.