Raising Boys

Side trip to the fort February 17, 2006

I have for so long wanted to take pictures of Fort San Pedro, oldest triangular bastion fort of the Philippines, in Cebu City. The opportunity came today at last when my husband and I had to pick something up at a nearby place.

The fort, at present, has been converted into a park and entrance fee is 20 pesos per person. One of the famous historical landmarks in Cebu, the structure is a tourist attraction and is mentioned in Philippine travel brochures.

The fort that stands near the wharf area is not the original structure that was built in 1565 by the Spanish government and completed close to 200 years later or in 1748. By 1968, the original structures of the fort were so obliterated that only the two towers were recognizable. Restoration of the fort was a slow process and restorers had to haul coral stones from under the sea to make the restored fort as close to the original as possible.

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Everyday love February 14, 2006

I’m not big on flowers. They wither. You enjoy them for one or two days and then disappointingly they shrivel and leave this mess of dried leaves and petals.

But my husband brought me flowers–chrysanthemums–for Valentine’s Day today and they’re among the most beautiful things I’ve ever been given in my lifetime.

This gift of flowers and because it is Valentine’s Day made me think about the song “This Everyday Love” by Rascal Flatts, who sang about “ordinary plain and simple” love. This is exactly the love that my husband and I share–it’s “typical” and “nothing too peculiar”.
Further goes the song:

Wouldn’t change one single thing about it
No, it’s run-of-the-mill, still I can’t live without it

Neither would I. Neither can I.

The sun, at last February 13, 2006

Finally, the sun shone today after what seemed to be days and days (only 4 days really) of rain. I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to come out from behind stormy grey clouds.

To celebrate the return of sunny days, I took this picture of the horizon, from the old bridge that connects the island of Mactan to mainland Cebu, specifically Mandaue City. In the distance, beyond the new Mandaue-Mactan bridge, the glorious sky comes down to kiss the somber sea.

I pass by the bridge everyday on my way to work and I get to look at this view everytime but it never fails to take my breath away.

Afternoon trip to Cordova February 5, 2006

No. I don’t mean that city in Spain. I’m referring to the only other local government unit in Mactan, an island east of Cebu, aside from Lapu-Lapu City.
I live in Lapu-Lapu City and I work in a company that is located three cities away. Cordova is less than 30 minutes travel from my home yet the last time I remembered going there was some eight years ago.

So yesterday, out of the blue, I told my husband that we should go there. So off we went.

Because it was late in the afternoon already, we decided to go directly to the town center, which we had trouble finding because the town has sprouted several roads that branch off in various directions. There used to be only one main road that led to the town hall.

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Lennon turns three

Lennon turned three years old on January 23 and we held a party for him the day before, a Sunday, because it wouldn’t be as much fun if we hold it on a school day.

Incidentally, January 22 was also the Pacquiao-Morales fight, which Pacquiao won by technical knockout on the 10th round. I’m not a fan of boxing, it’s such a cruel sport, but I watched the Pacquiao-Morales rematch because anything that has reached a level of page 1 newsworthiness deserves some attention.

But more than anything, I remembered that the fight also happened on Lennon’s birthday party because when I husband and I went to the Goldilocks branch in Mandaue City (unfortunately they don’t deliver to the Lapu-Lapu City branch anymore) to get my son’s birthday cake, the same time that the fight started its delayed airing on television, the street was eerily deserted. To think that I pass this road six days a week to work and it’s always full of vehicles.

But back to my son’s birthday party, fortunately Lennon did not consider it a day for troublemaking–unlike a previous birthday when he bit so hard on the glass when he drank from it that he took off a piece and it consequently sliced his tongue–so it went smoothly.
We had roasted pork (a whole pig), there was much to celebrate with my son turning 3 not less among them his being able to speak at last, and balloons, upon special request of the celebrant.

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Surviving math January 29, 2006

One word could only describe our week last week–hectic. My son was a participant in the Math Teachers Association of the Philippines (MTAP) challenge, a yearly math contest pitting elementary and high school students of all grade and year levels from different schools. It was a sort of elimination round at the division level, whoever tops the test will participate in the regional competition.

Thursday’s test was also only the first part of the competition; contestants have to come back for another round. I don’t know if all of the contestants will be joining the second round or only those who are in the top 5, 3, or 2.
Some 20 private and public schools in Lapu-Lapu City participated in the math contest, held on Thursday last week. Schools had to send in three participants from each grade or year. The higher scores of the two from each team will be added together and this will represent the team’s score.

My son and the two others in his team only knew three days before the contest that they would be joining the challenge. Their teacher took this long to tell them. The result: they were only able to review for a total of six hours. They were not exempted from class for the reviews; on the other hand, the teacher held the review after class hours–from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday or three days before the actual contest. My son’s team, fortunately, still placed third. I don’t know though if they would still be participating in the second round of the contest.
My son said Czar, one of the three students in the team, had cried on last day of the review, saying he does not know the answer to the questions in the teacher’s questionnaire. I was told by his aunt that he also cried during the MTAP opening activities, held an hour before the examination. I really felt sorry for him.