I am trying to be “eco-friendly” by not taking free papers anymore. But the guy next to me was reading this article “Jobs Gloom Leads to Baby Boom“.

My mental picture is of all these desperate people who were just made redundant. No money, grim job prospects but their day brightens up because at least they still get sex for free. Lucky.

In Pinas, it’s always the poorest who have the most number of kids they cannot support? Some say that attitude is because of lack of education, they have nothing to do, sex is their only luxury… but most “educated” people would say it’s simply irresponsibility & selfishness (gratification without thought for their other kids).

I’m wondering if the same attitude is permeating in the households here. Afterall, UK has the highest debt in the world & that’s consumers huh not just national debt, which we’re also not doing so well. It is safe to assume that the reason why people are panicking about losing their jobs is that they are unable to support their lifestyles for a prolonged period without income.

So why want to add another mouth to feed? Unless one of you isn’t working, then the childcare costs alone are enough to stop me in my maternity tracks.

The article purports that the people have been wanting to have kids and have now found the chance to do so. This worries me… Does this mean we will have more benefits claim??

I hope all these people who are enjoying their “days-off” are all willing to go earn some moolah & not rely on the flailing economy to support them via our taxes.

photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We were on our way pogiBoy’s childminder for holidays and he started interrogating me again. He began with “you look old mum”. He’s been obsessing about this since the first time he said it.

mummy: There’s nothing wrong about getting old. you will grow up and be old as well.

pogiBoy: I don’t want to be old

I didn’t answer because I was thought of “Peter Pan”, which we watched on the weekend. Maybe that started his curiosity again?

When I didn’t say anything, pogiBoy asked “after old, what’s next?”

mummy: We join Jesus and the Father.

pogiBoy: I don’t want to go to Heaven.

mummy: (nauubusan na ko nang Ingles) If you’ve been following God’s will you will go to Heaven, there you can have a mansion maybe a castle!

pogiBoy: What’s ‘will’?

mummy: (racking my brain, bakit ba kasi ganun ang sinabi ko??)  God’s will is for you to be good like Jesus. You love Him more than anything, you love your friends and enemies, you love and respect your parents. Who are your parents?

pogiBoy: Mummy and daddy. I don’t want a castle in Heaven, I want to stay home with mum and dad.

I hugged him very, very tightly. Kaya pala worried sya.

mummy: Everyone you love will be in Heaven. There we will never grow old or be sick.

He skipped all the way to the neighbours.

I am encouraged with pogiBoy. He does know how to share and he doesn’t seem to have any bad bones in his body. Actually sometimes I worry that because he’s so nice, he might be abused or be easy to bully.

Often I observe him from a distance and I restrain myself from going over and mediate. He needs to grow up on his own and mummy cannot always be there. Of course, there are times when I do jump in.

pogiBoy’s school holiday is in full-swing. He’s staying with a neighbour in the meantime. They’ve got kids so pogiBoy’s well entertained.

On Saturday we passed by a toy shop & as usual he asked if we can go in. I said yes but added that we’re not going to buy anything as he just got a bike. He didn’t miss a beat when he replied we should buy Jem, the youngest child of our neighbour, a toy.

This isn’t the first time he asked me to buy those kids something. He’s been bugging me to buy Jem a toy, a shirt, etc. every time we went out shopping. Yesterday coming home from church I asked him if he wants some “special” doughnuts when I pick him up today and he said yes then added I should buy “1 box for me and 1 box for jem, kuya ben and ate nikki”.

So tonight I will be lugging home these special treats for those kids and for my very thoughtful hero.

He deserves these and more.

I should have announced it a long time ago but more important things keep cropping up and I am busier than ever.

But hey world! I am Blessed. No, really I am.

My prayers and pogiBoy’s nightly prayer was answered: “Lord please save mummy’s job” and He did!

I went job hunting because we weren’t making any money. But someone from church advised me to be specific with what I want from Him and that I should ask Him for what He wants me to have. Afterall doesn’t He know what’s best for me?

I claimed to my sister that “in 3 weeks time this situation is resolved, I will have a job!” That was on the 3rd week of June. At the end of the 2nd week of July, the collective dismissal was cancelled and our confirmation letter stated a little something for our trouble.

He is Great. I testified in church that “I asked only for one, but He gave me two“… Okay I could have said it better, but I was overcome with emotion. The point was made, the Lord in His infinite wisdom and mercy knows that at that time I was troubled by several things. Money isn’t the answer but that act of generosity lifted hubby’s spirit even more. He gave us proof that if we humble ourselves and ask, our prayers are indeed answered - in His Time.

See… I could have despaired that I should have had a job offer in less than a month. That’s how it’s always been. I asked Him to change me & Praise God He removed my pride & gave me calm.

There’s so much more besides this that’s happened, but suffice to say,  I am really happy I have come back and I am forever Blessed we have a faithful God.

I got a frantic call from Nanay last week. They received a letter from my local bank that my checking account is “dormant” and because of that it’s being debited 200Php every month. The letter said it was their second notice, but Nanay was adamant she never received any besides this one.

Anyway, the branch manager promptly replied to my email. I wanted to know if my account was below the minimum balance and since I’ve not used it for 2 years, how much was left? She said the account was above the minimum of 5K Php, but they charge it 200Php because it’s not in use.

Any cheque I issued will be returned to say the account is not active.  Apparently that’s different from being bounced because of low fund. All the same you will be charged by your creditor.

This brought memories of my trip in Pinas back in 2002. I wanted to transact in Makati in the same bank but my branch was in the province. We had to pay a % of the amount I wanted transferred because “it’s a different branch”. They’re the same freaking bank but hey! I still have to pay them for using their services. I can’t imagine how much I will be charged if I did a bank-to-bank transfer.

Worse, I had to fill in a form & they faxed it to my branch. I had to pay for a “fax line”. WTF?!

There was nothing I could do by pay! If I transferred 10K Php that day, I probably paid them 20% of it. That might be an over-estimated figure, but it sure felt like daylight robbery to me!

I was so incensed I wrote Inquirer’s consumer issue column (I forgot which already) & the journalist featured it afterwards. She had the same complaints.

Obviously the situation isn’t any better. How can our banks justify charging my account for being dormant? They’re already using that dormant money but they want to eat all of it too? Isn’t it enough they charge a high fee for accounts that are below their minimum balance?

Ayy, onli in da Pilipins!

I liked Metallica so much that we’ve been to see them twice now. After that experience I couldn’t bring myself to join hubby in the REM concert. I certainly didn’t enjoy the OMD (Orchestral Maneouvers in the Dark — sheesh what a name) and I sort almost liked the Cure.

I was gutted when I lost the ticket draw for Led Zeppelin. So I resolved that I will watch the music greats while they can still sing.

I failed though because Tina Turner’s concert coincided with my desire to see AC/DC.

But OH MAN! It was the best birthday present I have given myself.

I can’t believe it. These guys are old but they rocked the house. My right ear was ringing for a day but it’s worth it. The atmosphere was electric.

The crowd were superb. For a few hours, everything felt right with the world. Is that how a hippy commune feels like? Everyone’s happy, everyone’s giving way, everyone’s having super grand time. (more…

I love cartoons… I don’t think I will outgrow them. I remember spending Saturday mornings in front of the tube, waiting for my 2D friends. And now I’m sitting and cuddling next to my pogiBoy. He’s so used to it now that we’ve come to an agreement that we alternate which shows we watch. He gets to choose first then he doesn’t complain when I say “my turn”.

Last month I got hooked on Nickeledeon’s “As Told by Ginger” (pictured above). It’s the cartoon version of a chick flick. pogiBoy resisted at first, but last weekend (while out shopping!) he just blurted:

I like Ginger

I thought he was talking about the spice… No, he said he liked the cartoon.

A part of me went yey, another said uh-oh… I mean not that I have anything against the third sex, I just don’t want my son to be getting the wrong ideas. In any case (I tell myself) we both enjoy manly shows like Transformer, Avatar and Ben 10.

Maybe it’s not so bad for pogiBoy to like Ginger, Simpson, Wild Thornberry and All Grown Up.

He’s got a balance of violence, stupidity, toilet humour and teenage mush.

To those who will scoff that I’m encouraging a bad habit, killing his grey cells and all that: Mind your own beeswax.

Calvin is the man…   We’re both dreamers and lazy as heck.

I’m looking at a flyer for a laser hair removal “specialist” shop apparently just opened near the office.

Other than the odd kanto-parlor threading and manual pulling with tweezer I don’t have much experience on hair removal.

Gracious… the flyer lists over 30 areas they can treat. You have the common eyebrow, underarm & bikini… Call me naive but I am a little shocked to see the following listed:

Nipple

Hands & Fingers

Feet and Toes

Linea Nigra

Jawline

Earlobes

The last just stumped me.

None are cheap, huh. The lowest price is at £45 for your earlobes or eyebrows. The highest is at £260 for whole legs, presumably both.

So cute I couldn’t resist