Sunny Summer

It's finally summer season in Korea! And it's really hot! I think it's even hotter than my homeland - the Philippines. There is not much difference in the temperature but it's in the air. The air is so dry here that you still feel warm even if you hide under a shade. In the Philippines, just find a shade to cool yourself with the wind. The duration of the day here has also been extended since the sun now rises at 5AM and setting usually around 8PM - that is around 15 hours of daytime. I haven't experienced that quite long of a day in the Philippines. Speaking of the Philippines, two weeks from now, I will finally get to have my summer break back in my homeland. After almost a year of stay here, it really feels good to go home. I will be home for a month! Yes, a month of free from work stresses to be with my family. I miss Pinas... can't wait to get back home. In preparation of my summer break, I have been quite busy with my work this past few weeks. This is one reason I wasn't able to write an entry in my blog for quite a while now.

Latest Obra
My wife was recently hired as a part-time english tutor by the proprietor of a small Kid’s Art Academy. It's only twice a week but at least she gets to have some time to go out while Danielle gets free lessons in the kids art school. There are lots of extra-curricular academies here in Korea of which English and Art are one of the major subjects. Below are two of Danielle's artworks. Sometimes, she draws quite very well but sometimes just pure rubbish. Still his latest masterpiece are respectable. The first is a portrait of her Mom who was standing above her when she sat down on the table. The other piece is some kind of a sea creature... probably a mermaid but more like a muppet character. ^^

















July 9
Today is the birthday of my sweet wife. I hope and pray that she continues to stay healthy and strong for our family. We love you babes! We will have a small salo-salo at an eat-all-you can barbecue restaurant near our place. It’s really a simple place but enough to enjoy the company of our friends. Besides I don't want to let her cook today since it’s her special day.

Spring Picnic

The endth of May was a great fine day to go out on a picnic. As such, my Design Team of around 20 engineers (including 2 foreigners - I and Sanjeew, an Indian expat) had a group picnic that day. Our families were encouraged to join and so I brought Danielle and Mei-Mei. My boujangnim - Mr. Choi picked us up in our apartment around 8:30 in the morning. The venue was a 20 minute ride to a secluded formerly elementary school converted to an artist's retreat house. After preparing the venue for the games and playing catch with baseballs, we ate some grilled sea shells, kimbap and fruits while Danielle ate her baon of rice with pork adobo. A game of five-a-side soccer and soccer baseball ensued. I have never been good with soccer so I asked to be the goalie which I thought was the easiest position. What I didn't know was they didn’t allow the goalies to touch the ball with their hands. This almost cost us a goal when I once caught the ball with my hand and a penalty kick was called. Luckily, no goal was made by the opposing team. We won courtesy of two guys in our team who were really good with soccer. I had a better performance in the soccer baseball where I scored twice and hit the ball quite good despite kicking it with my left foot (a handicap to all players to minimize homeruns).


Lunch served was samyeopsal, kimbap, kimchi, fresh veggies and fruits. In the afternoon, the game of choku was played. It’s a kind of sepak takraw but soccer ball is used. Definitely, this game is unknown to me so I relegated myself as morale booster for my team. Then, we had some parlor games. The most fun was when families were the contestants. First game was 200 meter race of fathers and their son/daughter back riding. Since Danielle was probably the youngest among the children, we won the race. All children had the same prize of color pens. Next competition was the couple relay. The husband ran first, then the wife, lastly the wife back rides on the husband and run around twice. We were third in the first round of wives back riding husbands but I couldn't sustain for another round. Only two pairs completed the second round. The picnic event ended with some raffles where we won two lotto tickets and a bunch of bananas. We found the following Monday that the lotto tickets weren't even near the winning number combinations. At least we won some bananas to replenish our spent energy. We slept very early that night and woke up late.

My birthday

On May 30, I had my 30nth birthday here in Korea. Despite being away from home, I am very happy to have spent it here with my family and new friends. Actually, the night before my birthday, I called up home to try to catch up with my twin bro - Jay who had just arrived from UK to continue his vacation in the Philippines together with his wife. Unfortunately, he was not home but I was able to talk with my Dad and Mom. I also talked with my brother InkO Ron-Ron and my niece and nephew - Pauline and Patrick. It was nice to have talked with them.

Since it was Friday, I and my new friends had a basketball game against our fellow Korean colleagues. If it was a boxing match, we won't be allowed to go against the Koreans as they were almost double our size. To give you an idea of the mismatch, it was like a game between the high schoolers against collegiates. Yet, we were able to give them a tough game with our teamwork, passing, shooting and speed. We just couldn't match up with their size and power. The next game we were mixed and matched together with the Koreans and it was more fun. We ended our basketball game around 8PM and my guys were famished. We went home and to my surprise the friends of my wife bought me a nice birthday cake! My wife prepared a simple Visayan birthday dinner for all of us. We had pork humba, chicken adobo, fish escabeche and bihon. We finished it off with some soju - korean rice wine. We ended the small salo-salo a little early than usual (just before midnight) since the following day I had a picnic to attend with my Design Team while my friends had to work Overtime. It was another really wonderful simple dinner with family and friends. I couldn’t ask for more.

My Clone in UK

No, that is not me in UK with another lady. It could not be me because I have been here in Korea for the past 10 months or so. And I have a family of my own here. So, the only viable explanation is, that guy in the picture is my clone. Yes, he is my clone. Actually, not a science-fiction type of clone but real gift of nature clone. He is my twin brother Jay. Jay & Joy, that is what we have been called throughout our childhood and even through high school and some parts in college. But when I started to work, my HR Manager called me Alan and it became JT Alan to shorten it in my engineering plan drawings. I guess my colleagues just want me to be a usual guy named Alan. Alan is also very easy for Japanese to pronounce. Koreans can easily pronounce it too.

Anyways, my clone, my twin Jay has been working in Kuwait for the past two years now and he and his wife had their much needed vacation in UK with my elder brother Jigz. They had a wonderful time in UK as posted in my brother Jigz blog. When I and Jay were in college, we sometimes watch different movies and talk about it when we get home. After a few months, his story of the movie seemed to be embedded in my memory that I oftentimes forget if I or he watch a certain movie. With his new experience in UK, I feel like I have just been there too. I am very glad Jay and his wife Yannie had a wonderful time in UK because they both deserved it. They are now in my home country, the Philippines to continue their vacation there.

Last May 30, I had my 30nth birthday and it means it was also Jay's birthday. Happy birthday to both of us - Jake! I am proud to have a twin like you!

First Sketches

I went home after OT with a wide awake Danielle waiting for me. It’s a nice feeling to have your daughter eagerly waiting for you to come home. Since I brought some bond papers for my wife, Danielle readily requested to write on one of the bond papers. So, we gave her one bond paper and a pen. While I and my wife were talking, Danielle was scribbling away on her paper. I was pleasantly surprised as she finished sketching a Penguin. The sketch really looked liked the penguin "Big Z" of the animation movie "Surf's Up" which Danielle likes to watch. I do hope she gets to develop her creativity and artistry. Keep it up Danielle.

However, her next sketches were a little bit more reflective of her being a 3 year old. She sketched a Daddy Whale and Baby Whale while the next one was supposedly a Mommy Whale & Baby Whale but it looked more like Mr. & Mrs. Potato. ^^












First Stitches
Danielle also had a scary incident 5 days ago. One night, while I looked for my charger in the other room, Danielle followed me and called out "Hide & Seek". So, I told her "I found you!!” she ran to the master's bed room and slipped, barely missing the door jam, she hit her forehead not very hard but it still cut her. We immediately sought help from our friendly neighbor Min & Jung and we went to the hospital. I put pressure on her forehead to stop any bleeding and as we arrived at the emergency room, we saw that it was a bit nasty cut that needs some stitching. The doctors immediately x-rayed her head which turned out negative for abnormalities. Then, the time came to stitch her forehead. All the time, Danielle had already stopped crying and talking with a hint of smile on her face. The doctor first placed Danielle on a small board with a net which will tie her body and arms to immobilize her during the operation. We sooth her with assuring words that the doctor will fix her "wawa" wound. But as soon as the doctor sticks the needle of anesthesia to her forehead, she winch in pain and it wrenched my heart. Now, I know how painful for parents to see their children suffer. After about five small stitches which seemed to take forever at that time, Danielle amazingly smiled to her Mommy saying "Magic, no more wawa!” ^^ Now five days later, a small scar remains which we hope will be smoothen out with the cream the doctor gave. One thing this incident showed is that we will have to be more vigilant with Danielle because she has become a quite active little girl.

A Family Movie

Two days ago, my boujangnim (boss) - Mr. Pil Gyoo Choi gave me two movie passes to enjoy a movie with my wife. We checked the Lotte Cinema website and found that Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian and Speed Racer are the english movies currently shown. I have always wanted to have a family movie experience with Mei-Mei & Dani so I chose Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian over Speed Racer.

However, the movie passes can only be used during weekdays. Thus, we decided to watch the family movie yesterday. It will be the first time for Danielle to have the big screen experience and we can't wait to observe her reactions. Unlike Philippines, movies here have time slots that one must choose as no one is allowed to enter the theater once a movie starts. So, after work, we went to Lotte Cinema and had some sizzling steak for dinner in a nearby restaurant. I don’t know but Danielle always seems to eat more when we go out to the Mall or to an eatery. This time, she even ate more as she was excited to watch the big TV. We reserved our time slots and bought a large pop corn with two drinks. Then, the movie started, Danielle comfortably sat on my lap and was initially a little bit scared when the lights turned off. However, as the movie played on, she seemingly enjoyed it, eating pop corn and sipping some sprite. She visibly enjoyed the scenes where the King Lion and fairytale creatures come to life. We really thought she would sleep through the middle of the movie but she was still in high spirits to the finish. Expectedly, she slept through the ride home but it was a nice first movie date with my family.

Pouting Lips

Last night, I went home to a sleeping Danielle with pouting lips. The protruded pouting lips were caused by a mouth injury of her own doing. She had been playing at the playground with her Pinoy-Korean friends that afternoon. Upon coming back to the apartment, she went directly to our room and jumped in the bed. After a few minutes, my wife heard a thud and a cry in the room. She found a crying Danielle with a bloody mouth saying the window hurt her. My wife, I am proud to say she didn't panicked upon seeing the blood in Danielle's mouth, immediately let her drink some water and let her eat some ice cream. She learned that putting cold compress to children's mouth injuries was a good way to stop bleeding. Indeed the bleeding stopped and Danielle cooled down and asked some milk before sleeping soon after. When I looked at her injured mouth, I was really worried because it was the first time I saw her with such an injury but my wife, Gina, soothed my worries away with the way she coolly handled the situation. She got some ice pack and applied cold compress to the lips while Danielle slept. This morning when I called up the house, a lively Danielle in good mood answered the phone. She told me (she still speaks gibberish sometimes but I could understand her already) that she is already fine and that she had been playing with her friends yesterday. My wife took over the phone and told me that Danielle promised not to jump on the bed. We are hoping she will keep that promise with the kind painful lesson she received.

Children's Day

On May 5, we planned to attend the Children's Day event hosted by the company I worked with which is held in one of the nearby beachfront of Jangseungpo. However, my wife's Filipina friend with a Korean husband invited us to instead attend the nearby Jisepo village Children's Day event held near its coastline within the Geoje Fishing Village Museum. Since they had a car, we were happy to join them and we were surprised that we will also be attending the picnic of the other Filipino-Korean families of Geoje Island.

We arrived in the Museum around 10AM and soon found ourselves watching kids enjoying the day with some mascots, lots of balloons, a kid's variety show, parlor games and free gifts. Danielle was visibly elated to see lots of balloons and kids playing around. She got two balloons right away and as we took some pictures together with the mascots, Danielle seemed to shake off her fear of the mascots. It seems her pleasure of going out and seeing lots of kids occupied her mind. Before watching the kid's variety show, we went to the museum that had free entrance for this special event. We saw some unique fish varieties of Geoje and even saw some fish fossils. Then, we were educated to the evolving fishing methods of the fishing villages through some eye-catching miniature villages of the past, present and the future, life-size model of a traditional boat propped with fishermen mannequins and video presentations. There was also a large aquarium of the unique exotic fishes of Geoje. I could only imagine that someday this kind of museum would rise up in my hometown in Bohol. Who knows?

After going through a leisure walk of the historic world of the fishing villages of Geoje, we proceeded to join the kid's variety show but the morning session just ended. Still, we were fortunate enough to be given with gifts to our kids. Danielle was so happy receiving her gift. The funny part was all the children actually received the same gift - a jumping rope! Still, a gift would always give joy to any kid. We then had our Filipina-Korean family picnic but we were the honorary guests being the only pure Filipino Family of the group. We had a Filipino-Korean lunch of samgyeopsal barbeque, ramyeon noodles, pork kaldereta, fish inun-unan, some fruits and snacks. The kids were free to roam around, play, and enjoy each other's company. The afternoon session of kid's variety show soon started as we watched several kids lined up in joining the various games. Prizes were the same kind of gift that Danielle received. It didn't dampen the kid's spirit of fun. After the games, kids were asked to sing in front of the stages and they eagerly joined! Prizes were still the same kind of gift that Danielle received. It just shows that the important thing for children is to enjoy their time rather than their gifts.

The day's event ended around 5PM with the adults and kids all tired. When we arrived in the house, Danielle soon after fell asleep. She only woke half asleep around 7PM to ask for her milk and doze off back to sleep soon after. It was another wonderful quality time with my family.

Month of May

We all know that the 1st of May is Labor Day. A major difference with Labor Day in Korea and Philippines is they mark it here by giving gifts to the employees while our country mark it with various protests by Labor groups. It just shows we have a long way to go in realizing the value of employees. I and my fellow Kabayans were pleasantly surprised two weeks ago when we were asked to choose our Labor Day Gift from the company, we had to choose from four different items - a Knife Set made in Germany, a Steam Iron made in France, a Glasslock Food Container set, or a Food Preserver made in Korea. My wife chose the most likely item we need when we get back home - the Knife Set made in Germany. Its really nice to know how companies take care of their employees here as its actually customary for a company to shower gifts to employees atleast 3 times a year - Labor Day, Korea's Holy Soul's Day, and Korea's New Year's Day. These simple gestures entice the employees to work harder for the company. I can only dream that this kind of tradition will soon be practiced in the Philippines and we will finally have a real open relationship between employers and employees.

The month of May is also the month of Fiesta in Bohol! My Manoy Jigz wrote a nice entry in his blog on his personal insight of our hometown's rich tradition of fiesta merry making. All I can share is, Fiesta in Bohol is definitely a unique and enjoyable tradition a Filipino should try to experience atleast once. Whenever fiesta comes in Bohol, it means family and friends (sometimes, even strangers are welcome) sharing happy moments together.

Back here in Korea, we have three holidays in May - May 1, May 5, and May 12. For us Filipinos, three opportunities to have whole day OT. However, May 5 will be a holiday I will share with my family as this is Childrens Day. Our company hosts an annual activity for its employee's families as they lined up a Fun Walk at the beachline where simple gifts and shows are prepared. This is another indication as to how our company value their employees.

Moses' Miracle in Korea

This phenomenon of sea parting is actually a yearly happening in one of the places here in Korea. They say, every year about 400 thousand Korean and foreign tourists rush to see this miracle where a fully exposed sea way occurs for about an hour. Basing from the pictures, its not really as dramatic as the graphic movie presentation of Moses' miraculous parting of the Red Sea. Still, it made me curious that something miraculous being described in the Holy Bible is actually still happening this year. Read more about it.

Mom's Special Day

April 10 - today is my Mommy's Birthday! Well, I am far from her but she will always be a big part of who I am today. During my first two years in college, I spent it mostly with her and my twin bro in Bohol as all my brothers were studying in Cebu (for which my Dad usually stayed with them) back then. I think we got our preference of being home-buddies from our Mom as we usually stayed at home during weekends sometimes just reading books or novels together with her during those days. Actually, my parents bought some really nice encyclopedia and reader's digest books at home when we were still kids and I hope to do the same with Danielle. Anyways, thank you very much Mommy for bringing us into this world and molding us to be responsible persons. You will always be my inspiration in strength and faith. May our Good Lord continue to bless you with more strength.

April 10 - today is also the birthday of Manoy Jigz' son John Paul Glenn. A wonderful boy who shares his birthday with her Lola Mary. Poy-Poy, may you grow up to be a smart and strong man.

April 10 - today is also the baptismal day of my daughter Danielle. Barely a month old at that time, I chose this special day so that she will always remember it when she grow as its also the birthday of her Lola Mary.

Blooming Cherry Blossoms

Finally, the chilly winter temperature is replaced by the welcome cool breeze of springtime season! Here in Korea, the start of spring is associated with the blooming of the cherry blossom trees. It is indeed a sight to behold with cherry blossom trees blooming white flowers after it has been bare the whole winter. It's one of natures beautiful reminder of the start of another season - springtime.

Last Saturday was the full bloom of the cherry blossom trees in our place here in Korea. My office building is surrounded with these trees that employees have the luxury of strolling through the surrounding areas during lunch breaks. The side of the street across our office is also lined up with these cherry blossom trees. For me, I took the opportunity last Saturday to take the time to enjoy this seasonal event together with my family. However, I only had the chance to stroll through a few trees as we had some other family schedule to attend to. Anyhow, it was still a relaxing feeling to go out into the sunshine with its welcome warmth comforting the cool air of spring. Besides, my wife and her friends had already strolled through most of the cherry blossom trees across the streets in our office.

Koje-do

Koje is the name of the Korean island we are currently located. Actually, its Korean character name can be read either Geoje or Koje. The first character of its name can be read either "k" or "g" since Koreans basically pronounce it similarly. After more than 6 months living here in Korea, I have learned the Korean alphabet which I think is much easier than the Japanese alphabet. Japanese alphabet is composed of 2 styles - the Hiragana for Japanese words and Katakana for foreign words (not to mention, they also have to study the chinese characters or Kanji) while here in Korea, they have only 1 style which is Hangul. I am impressed by the way they have created the written alphabet which I can say is basically a phonetic alphabet. I have been with a Japanese company for the past nine years and I have been to Japan more than 5 times but I still haven't mastered their alphabet(s). But here in Korea, in just a matter of months, I can dare say, I have definitely learned to read their writing system and I am even not that gifted in the art of languages. Ofcourse, I am still in the very basic stage of their spoken language which is more complicated. Well, atleast I know how to read. My wife is currently studying the Korean language with the sponsorship of the Koje government. Hopefully, she will get to learn more than I have since I believe girls are more adept in the languages. I won't dwell much on the Korean language since we are still in Grade 1. I have passed grade 1 but my wife is still studying and hopefully go on to study the Korean language until Grade 3 (which is more advanced) for Foreigners.

This post will be about the recent places my family visited here in our 2nd hometown - Koje Island. When we first arrived here, we thought it is a laid-back mountainous island where we can expect to have a quiet and serene life. Yet, we learned this island has many beautiful spots quite famous in Korea. In fact, my officemates coming from bigger cities said that Koje is the vacation island famous for beautiful beaches and other historical places. Indeed, the beaches are beautiful and there are definitely some historical places one must visit. One of the more famous sites is the Korean POW Camp which has been converted into an impressive tourist attraction. I haven't been there but my wife and daughter had the chance to visit it together with our Korean friend - Hee Jeung. Based from the pictures, I would definitely go there together with them specially now that spring season has started. It would probably be a spritually enlightening feeling setting foot on such a historical place reminding us of the perils of war. I surely hope we won't get to experience war in our lifetime. Another place which my wife and daughter visited is the the Botanical Garden. A place where you get to see some nice plantation surrounded by sculptures made of stones and trees. A place where man-made creations intwine beautifully with nature. We hope to visit more of Koje's historical and beautiful sites and take advantage of this opportunity of living in Korea.

Lady Presidents of my Country

I just would like to share the very nice article of Conrado de Quiros of the Philippine Daily Inquirer about Cory & Gloria. The article aptly titled Study in Contrast is very insightful on the strikingly different aspects of these two leaders of my country - the Philippines. Cory, the first Lady President put in power by the first People Power of Asia while Gloria, the current Lady President still in power despite the many horrible issues surrounding the legitimacy of her presidency. Eversince I read the post in my Manoy Jigz blog about Conrado de Quiros article proclaiming him the Filipino of the Year 2007 (better read his post and learn more), I had been drawn to read the intriguing articles of Conrado de Quiros which I find helpful in giving me insights into the current situation of the Philippines. I pray that this political and moral storm in the Philippine government will end soon and my country will contrinue to try to achieve its own dreams of becoming a great country with its own real identity.

Su-tu-kil Saturday

One of our friends, Jayson is leaving for Singapore as he was offerred with a better oppurtunity. Actually, Singapore is the hot place for Engineers working in the Shipbuilding industry like us. And its probably a place beeping on our career radars for years to come as the shipbuilding industry continue to thrive with cargo ships and oil & gas offshore structures foreseen to be in demand in the next couple of decades. Most of my friends from my previous company are stationed there. However, I like my situation here in Korea right now as I look forward to a better opportunity in the next couple of years.

Anyways, after having hosted the small salo-salo birthday celebration of Danielle just a week ago, we decided to bring the private Farewell Party to our house. Jayson's Place does not have a living room since he didn't brought his family over here in Korea. So, he requested to have the venue in our place.

Being a Black Saturday, we decided to have a seafood-theme dinner with a menu we fondly call as Su-tu-kil (Sugba-Tula-Kinilaw). Sugba means grill as Jayson bought big squids we stuffed with spices prepared for the grill. Tula means soup for which shells was the main ingredient. Lastly, Kinilaw or fresh fish served raw together with spices and vinegar. A seafood feast we have all been craving since we arrived here in Korea. It had the familiar atmosphere of a homey family dinner as the party ended just after midnight for the Easter Sunday!

Love Chocolate Hills

I love Hershey's Chocolates as these remind me of my beloved hometown Bohol's Chocolate Hills! If you haven't been there, you missed one of the world's wonders of nature! Yes, it's true, it's nominated to be among the New 7 Wonders of the World. I have voted for it for I dare say, its one of the breath-taking places I have ever been to. Not that I have been to a lot of places in the world but I don't know if there ever will be a feeling of awe over the breath-taking beauty (I mean it literally too.. as you have to climb atop one of the hills to experience it) of a thousand cone-shaped hills located in one place! It's an awesome feeling... it makes me proud to be a Bol-anon! So, if you ever have the chance to visit Bohol, experience and explore Chocolate Hills!

My brother - Manoy Jigz started a campaign in his blog in having this wonderful site of our native Bohol be voted among the New 7 Wonders of the World. Do visit his blog and read more about Chocolate Hills and Bohol! I hope you enjoy reading his blog as much as I and my family does.

D' Day

My Korean Mentor once told me that "time travels directly proportional to our age". Thus, as we grow older, time travels a little bit faster. And I do agree with it because once I was still young, I was eagerly awaiting the day I will be able to work on my own. At that time, I contemplated that time is very slow. Yet, these days, time seems to fly by in a second. And so, the day has come again for me to celebrate one of the best things that ever happened to me - the birth of my daughter Danielle. It seems just months ago that I held her in my arms and placed her on her hanging crib as she sleeps. Now, when I come home from work, she runs around our house and doesn't want to sleep even though her eyes beg to differ. I guess time for her runs 3 miles per second now that she is 3 years old.

Danielle has the same birthday as my eldest brother - Kuya Noem on March 14. We even contemplated on naming her Noemi but I decided to name her Danielle from the Holy Bible prophet Daniel. The prophet Daniel in the Bible had the gift of understanding visions and dreams. Eversince I became a father, I have somehow cleared my mind of unnecessary things in life and just focused on becoming a good provider for my family. Somehow, she is the clarity to my dreams and living a life of direction. She completed my family and gave me a direction. I continue to hope and pray that the Lord will continue to bless me and my family as I work towards the fulfillment of my dreams. I added Marie to her name hoping she will get my Mom's virtues.

I really didn't want to have a birthday party due to some concerns within our families in the Philippines. I would feel guilty celebrating a party with the situations back home. Yet, I don't want to miss the chance to share the happiness I feel having a complete family here in Korea. As one saying goes, "Happiness is only real when shared." Thus, we decided to hold a small salo-salo with my close friends at work and some friends of Danielle who are actually Korean-Filipino kids with Filipina moms. As we tried to minimize our budget, we were still able to squeeze in a simple Filipino birthday party with Filipino foods - Bam-i, Pork Humba, Breaded Chicken, Crispy Pata, Bulalo, and Macaroni Salad. Ofcourse, we had a Birthday Cake, actually two cakes as one of my friends brought one to the party. With our Magic Sing and some beers and soju (Korean traditional rice wine), we had a relatively enjoyable evening with my friends. As gift for Danielle, we bought her a children's piano/keyboard from the internet which is the best way to buy things here since its cheaper and its delivered right at your doorstep. Danielle also received some nice gifts such as stuffed toys, a Barbie doll, a toy stroller (which is one of her favorite these days) for her stuffed toys and dolls, coloring pens, and some nice dresses. The party ended at midnight as my friends enjoyed singing on our magic sing and talking with each other beyond work concerns. I guess it was all worth it and sharing time with friends and family is one of the best things money can't buy.

March Birthday Watch

March is a special month for my family as we celebrate 5 birthdays on this month. Check out these dates:

• March 5 - Manong James' birthday
• March 7 - Mano Jojo's birthday
• March 9 - Simon's birthday (son of Manong James)
• March 14 - Kuya Noem and Danielle's birthday

Speaking of birthdays... my family also have two other special twin birthdays (not counting mine and my twins birthday):

• February 18 - Dad & Cean (son of Manoy Jigz) birthday
• April 10 - Mom & John Paul (son of Manoy Jigz) birthday

119

Last Monday, we bought a potty seat for Danielle as she now likes to use the toilet to "u-u". Since my wife went to a clinic with our neighbor, she finally bought one after weeks of contemplating. And right away after arriving at the apartment, Danielle requested to use the potty seat to "ish-ish".

That night I arrived late from overtime work and Danielle was in the living room watching Hi5 (she has been very fond of this show lately) and dancing as she greeted me with a smile. I never suspected what had transpired that night as my lovely wife told me a funny but quite concerning story.

While my wife was washing some dishes after their dinner, Danielle called her and shouted "Mommy, help! I cannot get my hat.". She saw the potty seat was in Danielle's head as she imagined it to be a funny hat to wear like the ones Barney does. My wife was not alarmed at first as she tought the potty seat was soft enought to easily take out. However, after some careful pulling, the seat won't budge an inch. So, she called me up at the office but didn't receive an answer (I must have already been on the company bus by this time). She decided to ask help from our friendly neighbors Min & Jeung and unabashedly knocked at their door. Min also tried to cautiously pull it out but to no avail.

Thus, they decided to call 119 - Emergency Rescue system! Within minutes after the call, the rescuers arrived to check what needs to be done. My wife wisely turned on the TV and Danielle watched her current favorite show "Hi5" as the men gingerly cut the new potty seat. In just a few minutes, Danielle escaped without a scratch from her funny hat. We are now among the grateful benefactors of 119 (or 911 in the US). We might have to buy a new potty seat but we are quite sure Danielle won't be using it other than just her potty seat.

Happy Lunar New Year

The first day of the new year is always an important event in any country. However, here in Korea, it can be said that they have two New Year's Day. The second one is the first day of the first month of the lunar year. For this year, it fell on February 7, 2008. They call it Seolnal. While January 1 is internationally acknowledged as the first official day, here in Korea (just like old Asian countries - China and Japan), the Lunar New Year's day is more important and more significant. Infact, we had a 5-day holiday just for Seolnal, it started on February 6, 2008 until Febrauary 10 (including Saturday and Sunday). Most of the Koreans travel back to their hometown during this festival and enjoy their families.

However, for me, instead of having a real holiday break, I spent it resting and enjoying my time with my family. Most specially with my little daughter who seemed to grow up every day and does not ceased to amaze me with her new antics. Danielle has started to communicate to us with almost complete sentences now. We decided to teach her english communication first than my native tongue "bisaya". Since Danielle like watching Barney, Barbie, Dora and other kid's shows, it would be better we talk to her in english so that she will eventually catch on understanding the kid's shows. Indeed, just months shy before becoming 3 years old, she confidently talks to us. Ofcourse, some are jibberish and her grammar are sometimes off (Where is going Daddy?) but I am very proud she has started to communicate verbally. Infact, she plays and talks with her Filipino playmates older than her and she likes talking more than some of them. Anyway, I bet she will eventually learn Bisaya (and perhaps Korean too??) as she grows specially through her playmates and friends.

One funny thing about Danielle is also the fact that she already understands the animated movies Shrek, Disney movies and Barbie movies. She particularly likes the Shrek movies and she calls me Daddy Shrek! To my amazement, she told me 'What is your name?' I told her, my name is Daddy. Then, she said, 'No, no, no, no... Daddy Shrek lang.' So, I told her, 'OK, my name is Daddy Shrek. What is your name?' 'Princess Fiona Sisican!' she said. Then, she can already play the online Dora stories and games (Check it out.). She also says she is Dora when she is playing this in our laptop. She is already very patient in moving the arrow through the touchpad of our laptop. Hopefully, this interactive website will enhance her imagination and learn more things.

We really can't help but smile and laugh at her new antics. By the way, she also sometimes calls her Mommy as Princess Fiona, and she becomes Baby Princess Fiona. The funniest thing these days is that whenever she sees tall Condo buildings, she calls them Castles!~ one time, while she and her Mommy where still at the ground about to enter our apartment unit (its a 5 floors-Townhouse type), I called her from our fourth floor, she told her Mommy, 'Let's go, Daddy Shrek is at the Tower!' I just hope she thinks of me as the transformed Shrek in the second movie rather than the original large green Shrek. :)