England is synonymous with football. England may win the Cricket World Cup or the Rugby World Cup, yes the whole nation celebrates & gloats. But come football season cricket & rugby are forgotten, the streets & homes are littered with “football widows”.

With England’s disastrous exit from the Football World Cup last year, David Beckham, a globally-recognised brand sorry name, resigned as captain. But then with Ericsson’s exit as manager, the new coach Steve Maclaren dropped Beckham altogether. In general, most of the fans welcomed it but half of the pundits didn’t agree. Suffice to say after one good game, the new England squad’s performance was consistently poor. Is it because they’re missing Beckham? Is it because Maclaren is no better than the Swede? Personally, I think it’s down to lack of teamplay. There are too many good players but there’s no cooperation. They lack the hunger and therefore the aggresiveness needed to win.

Anyway, Beckham has been recalled and poor Maclaren is putting all his eggs in David’s basket. This piece of news has been speculated on for the last two weeks. Now that it’s confirmed, the papers have been carrying the same story but with different twists, I think since Monday!

With the rest of England’s footie mad population watching I can’t help but feel sorry for both player & manager. You’re hailed as a hero as long as you keep crossing that ball into the goal. But one mistake, or in David’s case before one red card, you’re vilified as the most hated figure in the country. Tough game huh?

In the meantime I need to find out whether the England vs Brazil friendly will be shown free-to-air or not, because it may also mean I’m single for a day.

photo source: soccersquared.com

Madeleine’s mum is in Rome to have a 5-minute audience with the Pope. I saw on the papers today that she’s never left her twins’ side since her eldest daughter went missing 26 days ago.

It is unbelievable how a family holiday can turn into your worst nightmare. Makes you realise that the world isn’t a safe place, sometimes not even your home.

The Portuguese police has cut down the number of staff working on Maddy’s case. Of course, everyone is saying there’s little chance of finding her alive. The British police are said to be exasperated with the way the case was handled overseas. There are a lot of frustrations. Maddy’s family & friends are doing their best to keep her case open & alive.

We, the public, can only hope that her family copes and that wherever Maddy is she’s not suffering. Please say a little prayer for Maddy, for her safety, and for her family’s strength & resolve.

Grabe. My first tag from Jason turned out to be a mind-bender. It took a while to think of any innate weirdness. I was sorely tempted to call hubby but he’s prone to too much honesty, so I persevered alone.

The rules are:

“Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about himself or herself. People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to tag 6 people as well and list their names. Don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged!”

6 Weird Things About Me

1. I eat rice with sugar water for merienda. Or milo/ovaltine+kaning lamig, or Nido+sugar+kaning lamig. A habit I never outgrew, kaya siguro talagang kinailangan kong mag-SBD.
2. I attack my toenails (until they bleed!!) when I’m revising for exams interviews. Then the weirdest part? I drop hot candlewax on them… Yes, yes bordering on psycho here.
3. I love staging my very own rock concerts when I’m home alone, complete with air guitar & audience interactions.
4. I always look at my reflection — anywhere. Bus/train/plane window, monitors, even diner windows..
5. I cannot sleep with any jewelry on.
6. I floss first before I brush my teeth. It just feels cleaner that way, at least to me.

I’m tagging Kathy, Pining, Cess, Chateau, Christianne and Lisaflor.
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Update 30 May 2007: From the first few comments I realised “weird” pala habits ko? hehe

I have been playing with my point-and-shoot camera the other day. Since I have nothing in the garden but an overgrown lawn & weeds, that’s what you’ll see here.

That’s pogiBoy in the background in his ManUtd gear. It’s amazing how he can run around kicking his football when we rarely get the chance to play the game. Could it be England’s football mania’s so addicting kids catch it in the air?

Spoiler Alert: Turn away now if you haven’t seen the film

When hubby picked me up on Thursday, I mentioned to him the reviews for the POC III were very bland. Three critics gave the film just two (out of five) stars! He suggested we check what’s showing at our local cinema so we can take pogiBoy for his first movietheater trip. Hungry as I was, I didn’t say no. It’s been a long time since we stepped foot in a cinema.

Turns out they’re having an advance screening of POC III that day up til 11pm. Hubby suggested we catch the 8pm show. Again, I was too deprived to say no.

The film was looonnnggg. I warned hubby to stop sipping on his drinks as I will not relate “what happened” to him.

Anyway, like most action packed films these days, it is like watching a computer game. The effects were superb but I was letdown by storyline & the ending. Somehow I didn’t like Orlando Bloom this time, he’s not hunk enough to realistically be the Flying Dutchman’s new captain. But that’s jumping ahead. What’s even more hard to bear was Keira Knightley becoming King of the pirates & her scene where she gives a rousing speech to the Black Pearl’s crew made me raise my eyebrow. Then Calypso is supposed to be powerful so managed to raise Capt Barbosa from the dead but she couldn’t escape a cell or the ropes they wrapped her in? And what’s with the maëlstrom?

Saying all these, I will probably still buy the DVD when it comes out as pogiBoy adores the Pirates. He loves Jack Sparrow, he will not miss a poster without pointing him out to us where ever we are.

One London critic said she was left with a feeling that there will be a POC IV. But Bruckheimer must know how flimsy this film is now. So please no more.

On a positive note though: My local cinema offers a £1.50 entrance for kids, adults go free for Saturday & Sunday morning showing of family films!

pogiBoy has been exposed to cameras from the minute he was born. We have pictures of him coming out of my tummy, taking his first bath, his first step… you get the picture (no pun intended).

It was only a matter of time before he picked up the tool himself. In recent weeks, he’s been playing with my Nokia N70 every chance he gets. He takes the household members’ pictures, even copying us & tells us to “smile“. But his subjects are varied, sometimes he’d even take shots of my bum & laugh! It is curious to see things from his eye-level. And even better to see him really concentrated on getting the right (?) shots, taking the picture again & again & sometimes even kneeling or standing on his toes.

Here are some that are consistent favourites.

His telly which he shares with mummy

Dora fridge magnets

His favourite character, Noddy

I am from an OFW family. Tatay left for Saudi when I was 6-7 years old. He retired when I was 16 and about to leave for college. To say that I didn’t really know him until then was an understatement. It was a shock to both of us. I knew then that I don’t ever want to break up my family for an overseas work. It’s all of us or nothing.

But I ate my words. We left our 1 month old baby in the care of my parents. I agreed with hubby when he said we need to recoup, sort out our mortgage and take pogiBoy back after a year. We were in pain, but I knew it was the right decision. Perhaps to justify it even further, I know a lot of Pinoys were doing the same thing. Still it hurt though when people openly criticise our decision, as if they can help us with childcare. I have to put on a brave face in every gathering. I cannot show that I cry at night or on the bus on the way home to an empty house. I cannot tell anyone that I want to kill myself on my son’s first Christmas because we’re not together. I have to be brave & strong for us.

When my son was nearly one, we went home to bond with him & prepare him for the flight back. I cannot tell you the emotions that surged through me when I first saw him at NAIA. But I can tell you the pain that ripped hubby & I many times when he won’t come near us. For three days we endured sleepless nights because he won’t go to sleep when we try to put him to bed. He’d wake up several times at night asking for his Lola. We nearly gave up when pogiBoy lost his voice from too much crying. Finally on the fourth day he became used to me. He allowed me to give him a bath without a fight. We went to bed with no problem & he slept soundly next to Daddy & myself.

Our flight back to England was wonderful. Arriving home he immediately settled in. On his first week here he even managed to walk on his own! Wala na kasing karga ng karga. He was always smiling. He always wakes up in a happy mood. I was in Heaven.

Then reality arrived soon enough. The first 2 weeks of nursery was pretty bad. But that wasn’t the problem, he got sick too often. I think he caught everything that every kid in their room have. For the 6 months that we paid for his place, he probably spent just 3 months of it in there. We were constant visitors to the GP and the A&E (i.e. ER). It was a struggle to keep him “plump” as he’d lose weight the instant he falls sick. Hubby & I rotated our absences from work. Sometimes I manage to work from home. But still we never felt like giving up to send him back to Pinas. No. He will stay with us, we’re happy, he’s happy.

Then I received a call from one of my sisters. It is expected that they will worry about pogiBoy but her words were “napapabayaan nyo na ang bata, dapat hindi trabaho ang inuuna nyo“. To be accused of neglect by other people is bad enough but my own family? I just dropped the call. Our oldest sister called to explain that the words didn’t come out right. I think they did. I didn’t talk to ditse for a while but I do know she had only the best intentions for her nephew.

Hubby & I were killing ourselves taking care of our son. We were looking at all sorts of avenue to get him seen by the right people. We were spending serious money on his health & his care. We are good parents to our son. He stays in the nursery because that is the reality here in England. We don’t have a Lola to rely on. We are doing our best, no one can say otherwise.

These days pogiBoy is thriving. He’s been with his current nursery for over a year. He’s developing well even given his persistent glue ear. We managed to take a break in Pinas in 2006 & this time around, he wouldn’t go near his Lola & aunties, but only for a few hours.

It seems like all those hurt happened a long time ago. It’s funny because it’s only been three (3) years.

Every other blog has it. It looked interesting, so why not ‘eh?

I’ve been walking past this construction site for 2 weeks now & I have always been meaning to take this picture.

Doesn’t it look odd? Next time I’ll join the tourists & take some pictures of the “gherkin” & of the Lloyd’s building.

Ewan ko ba kung bakit maraming snob sa tube. Common naman ang hayfever dito at siguradong once a day makaka-encounter ka ng sufferer. Pero madalas malapit na kong mapaaway at kadalasan mga babae talaga ang maaarte, kung may lalaki man na kunwa e disgusted, mga DOM.

Hayfever can make you sneeze - a lot, but that’s the “harmless” bit. For those extreme sufferers like myself, hayfever can clog your nasal passages so bad you cannot breathe thru your nose, but at the same time have colds streaming out of your nostrils. Gross man pero aaminin ko minsan di ko pa nararamdaman dahil masyado nang maga ang mukha ko sa hirap.

Anyway, imagine yourself stuck in the train after a long-day at work and you’re already bogged down with this irritant. You’re constantly sniffling and blowing your nose which is already tender. Then the person next to you starts giving you “the look”. What look? It varies from person to person, but disgust is a common denominator. Sometimes the person makes a big show of moving away from you eventhough he/she is trapped in the cramped seat! Those who are most annoying even declare to whoever they’re talking to that they hope they don’t catch anything on the train.

It makes my blood boil most of the time. Sometimes I just ignore them especially if I’m already lightheaded from lack of Oxygen. But other times, I hit back. Fake a sneeze in their direction or let out a tremendously disgusting belching sound as if I’m going to keel over. If I’m really in the mood for a fight, I manage an elbow or a toe-stepping incident. Kainis e.

Nung isang linggo nga may katabi ko na tumingin sa akin ng masama (at matagal pa) nung suminga ako. I sat up & stared back at her. Then proceeded to cough & sneeze in her direction, of course I was saying “excuse me” all the time. She stood up & someone else happily grabbed her seat. What do you know my sneezing & coughing stopped, she looked really miffed, I wonder why?

You don’t ‘catch’ hayfever. It is obvious I have hayfever, my eyes are puffy, bloodshot & watery. Even if someone is really sick & potentially contagious, why be a jerk about it?

Minsan talaga feeling ko magkakaroon na ko nang “public transport rage”.