Un fuerte abrazo

We need ...
... 4 hugs a day for survival.
... 8 hugs a day for maintenance.
... 12 hugs a day for growth.

- Virginia Satir, family therapist

Plaque Monster!

"Can you do me a favor, Papa?" Gabi asked as I picked him up from school this lunch time.

"Sure, Gabi," I said, already expecting a request to pass by his favorite fast food chain for chicken, fries and rice.

"Can you please stop drinking Coke Light?" was his surprising reply. "And I will stop eating candy."

"Why?" I asked, now truly curious.

"Because the Plaque Monster will go inside our mouth and make a hole in our teeth!"

Turns out that a lady dentist visited the school today to talk about proper oral hygiene. She was invited as part of the class' month long series on people in the community.

And obviously, her scare tactics worked.

"Please, Papa, I don't want that to happen to us," Gabi pleaded some more, the fear in his voice seemed real.

"Yes, anak, we will try," was my attempt to reassure him. "we will really try."

Gabi then handed me a small package. Inside was a toothbrush, two sachets of toothpaste and the flyer and calling card of the lady dentist.

Now that's what I call direct marketing.

One small step for Bela ...

Bela took her first steps today. A good three weeks before her first birthday.

And on the 40th anniversary of the first lunar walk too. To the very day.

Maybe Bela will be the first woman to set foot on the moon. I'd like that.

But for now, there's a new world outside our four walls for her to explore. On her own two feet.

Enjoy the walk, my love. Papa, Mommy and Kuya are right behind you.

Bela Speaks!

So much for "papa" or "mommy".

My 10 month old daughter's first word was "dog."

Take a bow, my love. Bow wow.

Speechless

For once, Papa was speechless!

Today was my Moving Up Day in Little Sandbox. And I received an award!

The teachers voted me the Little Chatter Award for being able to "express my mind freely" and "converse with others fluently."

In other words, because they can't keep me quiet, they decided to give me an award of excellence for being madaldal.

And I choose to chat not with my classmates, many of whom are still in the googoo, gaga stage, but with my teachers. I like telling them stories of where I went on the weekend, the games I played, the places I visited, the people I met.

Sure, I still have to work on my pronunciation and I still mix up my past perfect and past progressive tenses but by and large, I think I am understood by most.

Papa was so surprised by my award. I am sure he was proud of me. But I guess he was more caught off guard by the accolade.

Papa doesn't realize that it's all his fault. He and Mommy have always insisted on talking to me like an adult. Even when I was still in a crib and not yet crawling.

Every morning, while having breakfast and before Mommy wakes up, Papa and I spend the time talking about anything and everything. Today Papa asked me what I wanted to do during the summer. Of course he had to explain to me what summer was and what it meant. That there was no regular school because the teachers needed to rest. But that if I wanted, I could continue to go to school for special classes or join football clinics or swimming lessons.

I enjoy these chats I have with Papa. Not only do I get the chance to learn new words and expressions but I also get a chance to be with my Papa before he sets off for another long day of work.

But why were you speechless, Papa? This we have to talk about.

Beware! Insensitive Zoo Keepers Can Bite!

My friend Michelle sent me this forwarded e-mail this afternoon.

I was in shock. On the same day when the accident happened, I was also there in Arc of Avilon. With Gabi and ALL his Mercado cousins!

We didn't witness the incident. But we were there. And it could have happened to any of us.

We were there on a whim. Miguel had a few hours to kill before flying back to KL with his kids, Luis and Rocio. Paolo had left for Paris earlier that morning but Dana and their two boys, Gio and Pepi, decided to stay a little longer to avoid the bitter winter in Europe.

So to AOA we all went. Wawel and Therese, Samantha and Diego, Miguel, Luis and Rocio, Dana, Gio and Pepi, Beeto, Gabi and myself.

Thankfully no one wanted to pet the snakes. The kids did pose with the birds and the miniature horse and fed the rabbits and giant turtles. But not the reptiles.

I don't know what I would have done if the same thing happened to Gabi or any of my nephews and nieces.

I'd probably bite the snake back! And the handler too! And after reading this forwarded e-mail, I'd probably sink my teeth on the zoo owners as well.

Wow! Can you imagine that? They blamed the victim for "not properly handling" the snake!

THEY should be the ones kept in cages! I'd certainly pay good money to visit a zoo where insensitive merchants are put on display behind bars as a warning to would be consumer victims!

Grrr... Never again.

Date: January 8, 2008 4:30:03 PM GMT+08:00

Subject: Snake Bite Story at the Arc of Avilon in Tiendesitas - FYI

PASS THIS STORY TO YOUR FRIENDS...

My Family and I visited the new Arc of Avilon (AoA) Zoo located at Frontera

Verde near Tiendesitas in Pasig last January 5, 2008. The highlight of the

said zoo is they allow people especially kids to touch their animals like

orangutan, parrots, eagles, rabbits, tortoise and snakes.

And when you allow your kids to touch these animals, you trust that the

animals are harmless and are trained not to hurt its visitors.

Unfortunately, my 2nd daughter was bitten by an Albino King Snake. Her

finger was bloodied so I quickly ask where the clinic was located. I saw a

sign that read Hospital/Quarantine, I quicky open the door but found

nothing inside but some cages and two people talking. I ask if there's a

doctor there and they said none. Then the king snake handler came over and

directed us to follow him. I thought we would be brought to a clinic. To my

dismay, we were brought to a dirty pantry full of flies. And the handler

administered Betadine to my daughter's finger, which was stored in a soy

sauce gallon container. A park with no clinic, no doctor and no medicine.

I took my daughter to the hospital, and upon reaching the hospital the

first question was what kind of snake bit my daughter. I told them its an

Albino King Snake. They were not sure whether the king snake is a venomous

or a non-venomous snake. They said they had to consult an expert about

this. After awhile, Thank God that the king snake was a non-venomous one.

But the doctors wanted to be sure so they gave my daughter an anti-tetanus

drug and ask her to take anti-biotics for seven days.

After reaching home, I texted both Jake and Tina Gaw (owners of AoA) that

the doctor asked us to observe my daughters condition. I also told them

that I am going to write about this horrible experience. Tina texted back

and said: "Jerry, if thats how bad you felt, I respect your personal

feelings concerning the incident. I wish she (my daughter) could have been

more careful in handling the snake or other pets as well especially this

one is exotic. Even tame ones, rabbit, tortoise, mouse, pig bite when they

felt hurt or frighten when not properly handled. And its really sad when

you felt it became a horrible issue."

Now it's my daughter's fault to be bitten by the snake? AoA never bothered

to offer their help and now they blame my daughter for the incident. That

was a very insensitive remark by Tina. I don't think the snake was hurt or

frighten, they were tired and irritated because they were being used to

entertain people.

Exotic you say? Why allow them to be touched by people? Yes, I agree that

animals bite when they felt hurt or frighten, but let me remind the

management of AoA that most of your audience are children, I even saw some

as young as two years old. They will just touch and play with the animals

without knowing whether they're hurting them or not. It is AoA's

responsibility to make sure that none of their animals be hurt or frigthen

so that biting won't happen.

And since accidents happen, how come Arc of Avilon don't even have a clinic

to at least administer some first-aid soluton. What if the eagles decided

to peck the visitors, or use their big claws to attack the visitors. Donkey

or horse suddenly kicking. And snakes biting. There shoud be a doctor, a

clinic and first-aid kit to address this kind of unfortunate incidents.

Arc of Avilon should not allow people to touch a snake that bites plus they

should have expert handlers to assist its visitors. All the Arc of Avilon

management can say is that the snake is a non-venomous one. No other help

was offered, and then they will blame the visitors for mishandling the

animals.

Am I overacting? I don't think so. What are the chances that you will get

bitten by a snake in the metropolis? Worst in a theme park like Arc of

Avilon. As a parent, will you take it sitting down? Will you just take

their word for it that it's non-venomous? Remember, its a snake-bite. Let

this be a warning to all my readers who are planning to visit Arc of Avilon

at Tiendesitas or any other zoo for that matter.

Let my story be a lesson to all. You can ask your kids to look but as much

as possible DO NOT TOUCH. Better yet, DO NOT VISIT the Arc of Avilon

totally, until they improve their facilities. Never again will we go to the

Arc of Avilon.

Thank you and more power. God Bless us all!

Jerry Liao

I am so proud of you, my son!

Gabi is now officially potty-trained! Woohoo! (I'm already counting the savings on them damn diapers!)

And I witnessed it myself early this morning.

Gabi and I have a daily routine. I get up at around 5 every morning. I go down to the dining room and sit down on my favorite chair on the dining table cabezera.

Say my prayers. Check my blood sugar. Inject insulin and take my medications. Write my blog (if I have anything new to say). Update Gabi's multiply. Check my e-mail. And sigh, begin to work.

Gabi, almost always, at 5 minutes before 7, wakes up and calls for me from his third floor room.

(Yes, to Patty's horror, Gabi is slowly becoming a mini Me. He too is slowly becoming a creature of habit. And OC too! Not because I force him, mind you. It's HIS choice. So there!)

I bring Gabi down and he takes his favorite chair also on the head of his small table. Gabi and I spend the next thirty minutes talking about anything and everything under the sun. Today it was about school and how excited he was to see his favorite teacher Mia and his classmates again.

Suddenly he stands up, grabs my hand and leads me to the powder room, proudly saying "I'm going to make poo poo, Papa!"

And he did! All by himself. (Okay, I helped him up the seat and wiped him clean after the deed.)

Patty did mention to me yesterday that Gabi has indeed learned to relieve himself. But this was the first time I witnessed it myself.

Made me cry. (To the puzzled look of Gabi who probably thought, as he is wont to do, that Papa is being weird again.)

I wonder if this will now form part of our routine. Hmmm. Must put that down on my schedule.