Friday, October 27, 2006

Nicole laughing!!!




We took this one fine afternoon... it was too cute to not take!!! Have fun!

Rob and Nic




Jazz Hands!




I deleted the other one... this is a better copy of the video. To those who left comments, I'M SO SORRY!!!

Dancin' Kicks




Here's a better copy... if you left a comment before at the older video site, I'M SO SORRY!!!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

October 24, 2006 - To market, to market...


I've taken Nic to the grocery before, but this was the first time she reacted to the wares in the way she did.  Because of the colorful displays of canned goods and detergent, tetra-packs of milk and juice, junk food and even diapers, she was in visual stimulation heaven!  Her arms and legs were flapping excitedly in front of me (I carried her facing front in her Baby Bjorn)... with every aisle we visited came new opportunities for her to feast her eyes... the strong hues of blue, red and yellow everywhere she went.  I think the trip was exhausting; she fell asleep by the time we got to the checkout line (I changed her orientation to let her rest her head on my chest, pacifier firmly entrenched in her mouth).

So I get a little baby drool on me.  Who cares?

Everyday, there's something new.  Now we can make her laugh with more consistency... now she rolls over with the greatest of ease... she's much more interactive than she ever was.  Her ninang Steffi was here to babysit her, and they had the best peek-a-boo play time... the yaya is in a constant state of giggle... her daddy is in love... and her mommy?  A combination of everything.

I look at her, and still cannot believe that I've given birth to this perfect little creature.  She is my greatest blessing... she's changed my life in ways I never thought possible... my tears are far more shallow... my joys more simple... my outlook in life less self-centered.  Love takes on a whole different meaning now that she's here.

Since she was born I promised myself to live my life in a way that would be positively influential to her... to ask for forgiveness, and to forgive... to hold on to what's important and let go of excess baggage... to realize what my blessings are and to give importance to them... to appreciate each and every opportunity to make another person happy... to choose to do what I love for a living... to practice kindness and understanding as much as I can. 

My life as of late has just been one huge blessing... every moment a gift... every friend a treasure... every second a prize I would never refuse... every note I sing an opportunity to glorify and thank God for my life as it is... every word exchanged, glance shot, touch received, embrace shared, hand held, "I love you" uttered... none of it is ever taken for granted.  No part of my life can be considered disposable... each aspect is way too important now. 

It's amazing what having a child can do.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

More Nic in the USA and at home




She was at the birth of her new cousin Christopher Flores (mommy is Rob's cousin Renee), visiting lots of family and having a ball! We had a lot of fun too!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

October 16, 2006 - Hazy shade of winter

Greetings from Singapore!!! 

I'm here for a brief workday, a recording session for a December gig.  It has been an incredibly hazy day, presumably from the fires in Indonesia.  The wind must have blown a lot of the smoke this way, which is making my husband's sinuses go haywire (the poor guy's now in bed after taking a decongestant and antihistamine).  I was worried that I might be affected, which is not a good thing when I have to sing, but thankfully, I was as fit as a fiddle.  Maybe growing up in and being used to a polluted third world country has toughened up my immune system.  If that's the case, may I pass that immunity down to my Nicole.

I MISS YOU, BABY GIRL!!!

Anyhoo... I have yet to have a bad meal in this little city.  For lunch we asked to have bought for us some dry wanton mee (think wanton noodle soup, without the soup).  The recording engineer was eating it when we got to the studio.  He made it look incredibly delicious, so we ordered it.  And it was!  The wantons... the slices of char siu... the noodles... the chili and soy sauces mixed together... it made for a really satisfying lunch, my reward for after my singing was done.  Forkful after yummy forkful, bite after delicious bite, I was happy.  My close friends know my near-orgasmic reactions to food... guys, today was no exception (but I kept myself in check... I had to remain professional after all!).  After the session, we checked in at our hotel, then it was off to United Square for a little shopping (bought a co-sleeper bassinet from a baby store, and antihistamine for Rob).  We also had ourselves a snack: a char siu bao for me, a chicken bao for Rob, and one siumai each.  Sarap!

It's now past 11 PM... Rob's knocked out while I'm surfing the net... I can't wait to get home tomorrow, I need to hug my baby girl.  You have a brand new crib to try out when we get home, my love!  Hope you like it!

Monday, October 16, 2006

Monday, October 9, 2006

October 09, 2006 - Counting the billboards that fell...

"You're so lucky you're not here... glad you're safe..."

Those words were texted to me by friends (the ones who could still send texts) in Manila while the city and its suburbs were being pummeled by Typhoon Milenyo.  I logged on to Philippine news websites just to see exactly what was going on... I couldn't believe the destruction... hulking billboards were brought down, some actually killing people and destroying property... trees that stood for years and years broken like toothpicks... the roofs and frontages of homes fallen in or blown away... mall signages mangled...

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and someone must have done something terrible to piss Mother Nature off.

Right now, people are standing on their soapboxes shouting "bring the billboards down!!!" at the top of their lungs.  But is this really the solution to this?  I mean, typhoons have come and gone before without causing any serious damage.  Typhoons like Milenyo appear perhaps once every 10 or so years.  Is that enough to warrant the disassembly of these behemoths?

Yes... and no.

Billboards have become ubiquitous to our cityscape, part and parcel of our everyday vistas as we drive to and from wherever we're driving to and from.  Some of them can be distracting, (drivers and passengers alike have turned their heads 180 degrees as they pass the grouping in Guadalupe), some are annoying (okay, why do I see Sam Milby on every other billboard?), but most are just huge advertisements, not unlike what we see on television or in magazines and newspapers.  They're up there to make you either buy stuff, see stuff, or do cosmetic surgery stuff. 

Having said that, because they are structures that do tower over us, there should be a building code when it comes to constructing the scaffolding upon which the tarpauline is hung.  There should also be restrictions as to their size and locations in relation to commercial and residential areas, as well as all transport loading/unloading zones.  They should pepper the cityscape, not overwhelm it.  Too much is as annoying as seeing a 2-hour television special that's 1 1/2 hours commercials.  I can turn off my TV; I can't turn off a billboard.

I rambled, didn't I?  Time for me to get off my own soapbox, methinks.

Right now I'm counting my blessings... that my house didn't blow away with the wind, that we have our basic needs met -- telephone, television, texting and the net -- that my family is safe and sound, and that little by little life is returning to normal.  I pray that soon, everyone else's lives will be too.

Friday, October 6, 2006

October 06, 2006 - I hate jet lag

Right now I'm waking up at the crack of dawn, regardless of what time I fall asleep... the worst hit is Nicole who, along with her body clock's getting thrown out of whack, is teething.  In the middle of the day I'm tired, wanting desperately to crawl under the covers for a few more hours of shut-eye, but my brain is telling me to stay up so I can sleep better at night.  Whatever.  I still hate jet lag.

It's 6:14 am as I write this... I have to take Nic to the doctor this morning (she was in a lot of pain and I can't tell if it's just the teething or anything more) and have a presscon at noon for a concert I'm doing later this month.  And I have yet to study my material.  Shit.

Haaaaaaaay.......

Maybe I'll escape to my iPod, pick one great song and listen to it over and over and over again.  Yeah, that's the place to be... time to jump in.

Monday, October 2, 2006

October 01, 2006 - Time Flies

It's now Sunday... we're scheduled to fly out of LA tomorrow.  Already!  Oh how quickly time flew.

Strange, but no matter how much we packed into this trip there didn't seem to be enough time to do everything we intended to do.  There were other people I wanted to visit with, but couldn't... other things we wanted to do, but had no time for it.  Three weeks wasn't nearly enough for the intentions we had listed.  Hey, we had to sleep too, ya know!

Having said that, I'm ready to head back to Manila now.  Ready for my indulgences (both shallow and deep)... my G*go Squad lunches... my solo trips to the mall... the yaya ready to take over (who'll be surprised at how much her alaga has grown)... my mom ready to take over... bling blings up the yinyang... and the drone of the air conditioner lulling me to sleep.

It's time to head on home.

Sunday, October 1, 2006

September 30, 2006 - The G*go Squad

In her blasts, 'Day has made references to The G*go Squad.  Right now it's composed of a motley little lunch group that, one fine day, had every member called by that monicker.  G*go.  Never seriously, of course, always in humor, and only because a joke deserving of the name would be told.

The G*go Squad is a group brought together by theater and music, and kept together by laughter and love.  I miss the squad dearly, and look forward to our next lunch... and to the next time someone ends up saying, "G*GO!!!"

Haaaaaaay...