Nanay was a rolling stone

I put my hands down to Thelma for being so level-headed castigating me for over the top reactions whenever Paco and Ponso would do their shit in the evening pogoing on the bed or just plain shouting their lungs out for being so happy at night when they are supposed to be putting themselves to sleep. I already asked for Ponso and Paco's understanding and forgiveness for my freak out reactions and I guess they accepted it wholeheartedly.

"There is a way of proceeding in keeping the bedroom calm," said Thelma in a half smile, sagely, mindful buddhist manner. "Make Paco comfortable by cleaning him up then give him his precious milk bottle, turn off the lights, and lie down beside him." And so it was that the Way seemed to be working for her. When Ponso ran inside the bathroom for his turn to clean-up and produce some racket splashing water all over and playing soap, she calmly called Ponso's attention to keep his noise down paying attention to her calm tone and demeanor in reminding him. Then Ponso ran outside and asked for his milk then ran inside then started jumping on the bed while Paco and Thelma were trying to reach sleepyland through her way of proceeding. Ponso and his "i-do-not-hear-anything-i just-want-to-do-my-thing-before-bedtime" shit went on with his show and got the semi-zombie Paco jump into action and started rolling in bed, shouting, and spraying his half-filled milkbottle.

No amount of Thelma's meditation and the way of calm can challenge the Pogo. She rolled out of the bed freaking out and searched her phone to call the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) and find out if there is an existing law against corporal punishment. I was watching TV with Andres and reminded her that there is no CWC 24 hr. Hotline and that she better try Bantay Bata 168 or 166 whatever for her inquiries. Her rolling reminded me of the groove roll of papa was a rolling stone.

Evening Mayhem

For the past two weeks, Ponso and Paco always get into my nerves every night for doing the Pogo on the bed. Paco normally would be in bed drinking milk by 8:00 pm then Ponso will run inside the room and will dare Paco to jump up and down the bed shouting gleefully like in a peyote induced state. They only stop when I bring Ponso out of the room and Paco recovers his calm and continues to lull himself to sleep. It is bedroom anarchy bordering on madness. They do not fucking listen. I beg, shout, then helplessly just watch the two of them bounce up and down. Its tiring all right that while I remind myself that they are only young once, I also think of the bed springs that get altered because of their pogo jumping, and the mayhem that transpire every evening. The evening scenes remind me of this Madness song Baggy Trousers.

Alternadad : Neal Pollack

I Never thought Neal Pollack writes shit about parenting after reading Never Mind the Pollacks. It was a hell of a read stumbling dazed across decades of rock and roll from Elvis to Joan Baez to Bob Dylan to Sex Pistols to Iggy Pop before he became Iggy Pop to Lou Reed before Velvet Underground to REM's Stipes to Kurt Cobain with Neal Pollack at the center of the rock and roll universe. And I was freaked thinking it was a real honest to goodness rock and roll book until realizing that I am taking the piss for actually believing everything as gospel truth, until learning that it is, actually, the gospel truth.

Neal Pollack's character was sincerely crazy and moribund that added more to the glitz and glam of being with the rock stars as a self professed rock critic. The book was fast and vicious without any soft spot for any change of heart shitiness and ended without any remorse for whatever happened or transpired in his life. It is rock and roll, it is.

I cannot wait to check out his book Alternadad and his take on parenting.

Ponso is 4 years old!

Its been more than three months since Ponso celebrated his 4th birthday last June 1, 2010 at the Coconut House in Quezon Memorial Circle with his close friends and relatives but I only got to post this just now because I just got the digital camera we borrowed during his birthday because ours was busted and I am again not content to blog a story without a picture, again.

The coconut-themed party (just so because the venue promotes coconut as the greatest next to Muhammad Ali) was great fun as the children ate their coconut-inspired food (i.e. integrating coconut ingredients in whatever food they serve) and ran outside with their hand-held wind toy that spins when they run.


It was great exercise running after Paco who ran after his brothers and cousins outside sliding, swinging and jumping in the playground. Ponso said he had fun.

spider fights

Okey, Beyblades has been the rage in our home for the past months with Andres, Ponso, and Paco having their respective spinning tops battling in the green arena bought in Divisoria. An original will cost you a mean 600 pesos (which Andres got as a gift from his grandparents and Tita Hana) or 40 bucks, almost the same looking tops, from the magical Divisoria, depending on your take on IPR laws. I have to admit that I enjoy watching their battles and how they learn the value of sportsmanship. But just last week, as I walk along Commonwealth Avenue, I saw a group of boys huddling and bargaining for something. Then it dawned on me, Spiders! Shit, my memories came back when I would bring my matchbox spider house in school and ask for a spider fight in our school football field.



So I was like god to the sellers and the little boys as I bought 10 pieces of these spiders, excluding the matchbox houses, and shelled out freaking 40 mean bucks! Thats a lot of fucking money. I rushed home and excitedly showed the boys my latest acquisitions. I was not dissapointed seeing their eyes light up and jumped up and down, up and down shouting to the high heavens for a spider fight. Even Paco was wildly grabbing the stick arena hoping to crush the tiny fighting spiders with his bare hands.

The spiders from Masbate are priced from P2.00 - P10.00 depending on the size, the weight, and the ass width. I felt like a big time spender wasting my hard earned cash on these web shooting fat-assed spiders. For P50.00, you are in for culture, tradition, and fast-paced web wielding butt kicking action.

Ponso felt brave letting the spider walk all over him. Paco wants to crush them, and Andres thinks they are like Beyblades. I cannot wait for our next Spider Fight session.

Book Fair Blast

September 19, 2010 was the last day of the Philippine International Books Fair at the SMX and we arrived just in the nick of time just before it closed its doors to the public. Andres, Ponso, and Paco did not lose time losing themselves in the crowd. Their Tita Hana went with Paco while I stuck with Andres and Ponso. Being around books gives that vibrant feeling of being surrounded with knowledge. It was interesting to see people with different interests bumping into each other to get to their preferred bookstalls. I got a five peso children’s book. So cheap, and is written in Tamil. But the pictures will suffice. For five pesos, the price of two sticks of Marlboro cigarettes bought from a takatak boy, you get a full color Tamil script book. Where can you get a five heaping cheap peso book written in Tamil?

(Clockwise from top: Ambeth Ocampo, Andres, Paco, Ponso)

We also got the chance to see Prof. Ambeth Ocampo, the noted historian and newspaper columnist, at Anvil's booth for his book signing. He gladly obliged when I requested him to pose for a picture with Andres and Ponso. Then I saw Paco streaking towards them and so politely asked Ambeth Ocampo again for another photo shoot. I guess the two boys still don’t know the impact of this picture for their posterity as Paco wiggled his way out of the frame while Ponso stared out in the distance.

It’s always a blast (head blast for the migraine, my nuts blasted for running after the boys, voice blasted for calling out their names) going to the annual bookfair with three boys running amuck in the exhibit area.

Among God's Servants

(picture taken 2010)

There was an activity at the UST and Paco was loitering inside a room when he chanced upon two priests who, we came to know, happens to be a Bishop and the other, the Spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Most Rev. Joel Z. Baylon, DD and Msgr. Pedro Quitorio gamely posed with Paco after playing with him. May they rub their goodness and selfless service to the people on Paco. Amen.