Going Back to School? Nah!

Anyone who knows me pretty well could attest that I would never go back to school even if my life depended on it. On the contrary, I truly had the time of my life while I was in school --- but it was the non-academic part that made everything worth while. Even if I have very little memory of my preschool years, I know that I really loved it especially because my classmates were my cousins --- with whom I spent the best of my childhood life with. Elementary was so- so, a bit of fun but it's mostly the Summer and Christmas vacations which were truly looked forward to. High School and College were truly awesome, the most enjoyable parts of my life indeed --- crushes, cutting-classes, outings, overnights, discos, bars, concerts, nature tripping and the fun list goes on. But hey, I spent 18 years in school --- why the heck would I still want to relive that? I was totally relieved the moment I passed PT Boards last 1999, it was when I said to myself: "Throw away all the books! I will never in my life study again!"

So when the second course in Nursing became the national trend, I felt that I was the only one who didn't jump into the bandwagon. I never showed any slight interest in pursuing a second bachelor's degree when everyone else I knew including my sister lined up to enrol. Maybe it's because not only did I detest studying and listening to a boring teacher, I also was so complacent with my job. I was so contented with my life in Davao that I did not have the slight desire to work abroad. Sometimes I ask my self "What is wrong with me? Why do I get so satisfied so easily?" But then again, what's wrong with that? Sis used to call me an "underachiever" , but I also have dreams and ambitions you know. I'm just not so aggressive in fulfilling them. I sometimes wait for my dreams to come true.

Well anyway, even if I endlessly curse schooling, I do want to take up some short courses. Lessons which truly stimulates my interests and doesn't require too much memorizing and studying. These are the courses I want to take:

• Cooking - I don't want to cook anything fancy. I just want to learn to cook lutong bahay style.
• Creative Writing- I'm a frustrated writer, no need to explain further.
• HTML- I wish I could do more with my blog. Right now I still depend either on my brother, my cousin-inlaw Macky or good friend Andrew whenever a blog disaster comes up.
• Tap Dance- I know it's a bit too late for me to acquire this skill, but who cares?

Even if I don't want to go back to school, I am always proud that I managed to pass preschool to college without failing or dropping a subject. My achievements may sound mediocre but still I spent all my efforts in balancing school life and fun. I could truly say to the world I never missed out on anything at all. That is something I would definitely tell my children and grandchildren.

The Psychedelic Furs- Ghost In You

For the longest time ever, especially during high school days, this was my favorite song. Ironically, this is the only song I loved from Psychedelic Furs. This song actually reminds me of a lot of things: moving to manila during early part of the 80's, my octopus ride with my high school crush during Ateneo Fiesta '90 and first few days of my freshman year. You could just imagine how happy I was to run into this video at youtube.com. I will certainly be an 80's stuck person forever.

Koojee @ 4

I'm 4 years Old!
Originally uploaded by cheskakoojee.

Yesterday, Koojee celebrated his 4th Bday. We just had dinner at Harana Restaurant. He got so many gifts from family. He really had a blast. I'm so happy for him.

Amazing Kids

My kids never fail to amaze me. I know that I sound like a classic mom, ever doting on her kids no matter how trivial their achievements may be to others. But what can I do, they really make my heart soar everytime they achieve a milestone.

Cheska, she's really something. Although everyone says she took after me in every single way, I think we could be so different as night and day. She makes me feel so proud everytime I see her academic achievements. I saw her scores for her last two mastery examinations and she passed all her subjects not only with flying colors but with perfect scores (except for Filipino subject where she got one mistake). She now knows how to write her name "Cheska", can recite almost all nursery rhymes there is, can draw objects pretty well and she can really dance and sing theatrically. Her dream is to be a prima ballerina but her Dad is not yet giving his go signal for that ballet class. She gets really excited when she sees a ballet presentation on TV. She said so herself when I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up: "I don't want to be a Doctor or an office girl, I want to be a ballet dancer!" Another thing that amuses me about her is that she's such a linguist. She can easily shift dialects. When she speaks to us, she speaks in tagalog. When she's with her yayas she's purely bisaya --- as in bisdak if I may say so. When she's at school or with her cousins from abroad she suddenly speaks in straight English! Now, even I couldn't do that when I was her age.

Koojee on the other hand is his father's replica. There is no question that he takes after his dad when it comes to physical traits. But his behavior and attitude is so much like my brother's and my dad's. He usually throws tantrums everytime we leave the house for work. His crying spells although really annoying would sometimes become immuning especially since I have to deal with it almost everyday for the past few weeks. It begins to be a running joke in our family that he's the younger and darker version of my brother. I remember when we were kids my brother was such a cry baby, almost all childhood photos of him was of him bawling. And then it also brings us back to the old family story that my own father was also a crying brat during his younger years. Well, not everything is negative about my baby boy. I adore him so much because he's always been my pet. Although he hasn't achieved much in school, we felt so proud of him when he showed us that he could write letter A. I remember that when he first entered school he couldn't even hold his pencil right. He was still so confused of his handedness--- we actually thought he was gonna be left-handed. But now, I could actually see some improvement. He also has developed social skills and can now play and communicate with other kids. He still has speech difficulty but I know he's really trying to speak clearly. Koojee could also be so talented with his lego toys. He's so creative and patient that he spends the whole night even up to the wee hours in the morning assembling a robot. And he really creates impressive robot designs!

My kids have really grown. I can't believe that in a few years time they'll be in elementary. I get so excited everytime I think of the things we could do together as a family while they are growing up. I'm so glad God has blessed me with my treasures. As I always say, " I will forever be grateful for my two precious gifts"

How the World Gets “Modern-er” Right Before My Eyes

I’ve always believed that my family is “modernized” in so many ways. I grew up in a middle-class family that struggles to embrace the evolving technology the world offers. You see, I have mother who would choose appliances over fancy furniture, a dad with a mind of an inventor, a brother who is a ragnarok addict and a sister who, just like me, is a net freak. If my memory serves me right, I think my mother already purchased for the family over 3 desktops and 2 laptops in a span of 2 decades (not to mention the nintendos and playstations we got from our relatives abroad). Our first ever computer was bought for us by my Uncle when we were in Manila back in 1987. It was an IBM desktop and I think it costed around P20,000 that time. But before that, my siblings and I were already exposed to computers because our school in Manila included it in the curriculum. I was just 9 years old that time and we were already taught how to operate commodore PC’s. I’m sure not many kids with my age then would even know what a computer is. You could imagine how a whiz it was for me to pass computer classes when I was in highschool.

My Dad, whom I love to tell my friends about, has assembled at least five cars and two speedboats during his automotive career. Although he’s not very much into computers, probably doesn’t even know what yahoo is or how to type on the keyboard, he has a mind of a genius. When we were in school he used to help us with our science projects. We grew up believing that our dad was this great inventor-hero as he would always rescue us when we needed his concocting skills. He still is our hero. It’s not easy having to finish building our house and fixing everything that’s broken (including cars and toilets) with his own two hands.

As I remember, during the first five years of my life while we were still living in our hometown Lupon, my first glimpse of technology is our 12 inch-black and white roundish red TV. I must’ve mentioned this before but I used to watch Sesame Street on that TV (my first ever clear memory of watching something). Maybe during that time that red TV was even top of line ---my parents would have to attest to that, not that I’m sure they would even remember it. I’m sure we’ve had a series of more modernized TVs afterwards. We’re a family of couch potatoes and we can’t stand being in a room let alone a house with no small screens you know.

Technology also took its big role in my choice of job. I’m a graduate of Physical Therapy but I made a choice to pursue a career which involves computers. Being an Administrative Facilitator, my job entails having to face the computer 8 hours a day, having to keep cellphones within reach and fax and photocopying machines within a short distance. Emailing is one of my major tasks as I constantly keep in touch with international and local associates so I have to be connected all the time. Losing internet connection is just synonymous to power outage --- I get paralyzed at work. It just amazes me so how technology could really make my job a luxury for me. I could instantly communicate with colleagues, friends and relatives abroad through instant messaging and email. I could purchase tickets and book hotels for my traveling coworkers online. I could even download government forms and schedules through the websites and research about any item in an instant through website search engines. Really convenient! Internet really is one of the greatest forms of technology. Imagine how happy I was when I was able to locate and purchase online 2 song albums back in the 70’s (now I need not mention the band or I’ll just get embarrassed). Another major joy is downloading all my favorite songs into my computer --- all the songs I collected in cassette tapes over the years were downloaded in just a span of one day!

Now it brings me back to my first encounter with internet back in 1998. I’m sure my friend and her husband would still remember our first trip to the internet café. We were so clueless then that even having to log on to yahoo and create an account needed so much assistance from the café personnel. And right now, I could say internet is just so much part of my life. Maybe it’s safe to declare that it’s one of the things I could not live without, other things being the ones found in my purse (wallet, credit cards and make-up). My computer is my non-living bestfriend. When we were made to do a list of the things we would be saving during a fire scenario at work, these are in my list: 1.) Purse 2.) cashbox 3.) my CPU. Now I would have to master the art of removing the wirings in few seconds --- wish I had a laptop instead!

Technology indeed is what makes my life move nowadays. Although I try not be a slave of modernization, I can’t help but admit my dependence in the growing trend. Technology has its many advantages but when misused and abused could also cause more harm than good. I guess that we just have to instill in our minds that as we enjoy what technology has to offer, we have to use it for greater good. We have to remember that even if technology made it possible to build The World Trade Center it was also technology that tore it down.

My message is plain and simple. Enjoy the gifts of technology as it comes but don’t forget that the freedom to enjoy this ends where right to freedom of another begins. Use technology wisely and rightly. Cheers to technology and modernization!

Friday Badminton Club

Friday Badminton Club
Originally uploaded by cheskakoojee.

These are my coworkers namely: farrah, jenny, janneth, leah, pheng, irish, inday and jane. Every Friday we go out for badminton. It's really fun. I wish we will be able to do this religiously. I badly need exercise --- not to lose weight but on the contrary to gain some and tone my muscles. I'm particularly not very fond of sports but I guess I mainly do this for F-U-N!