Maia Turns 5, and other wonders of the week
Valentines Day has always been extra special since 2004. That’s when our little girl Maia was born. It wasn’t all that romantic when you learn what the circumstances were at the time. We were at our OB-Gyne’s clinic, and after examining me Dr. Liza Santos said I could either give birth on Friday the 13th or on Kris Aquino’s birthday. It was really difficult to decide which was the lesser evil.
The year 2009 has exactly the same dates in February as there were in 2005. Yesterday was Friday the 13th, but apparently it was a lucky Friday for the entire family.
Early in the morning it didn’t seem so. My constant checking of the UPCAT results online kept returning a server failure, which was starting to freak me out because Maui’s results were due on Monday. I was also feeling extra depressed because again when I thought I had enough money in my hands, that elusive Nikon D60 still was a couple of thousand pesos out of reach.
Five years
Happy anniversary, Mahal.
Doesn’t seem that long really, when you consider the fact that we lived together for about four years prior to the big day. The five-year count is from the time we walked into Hon. Encarnacion Jaja G. Moya’s chambers in Makati and said our “I do’s” along with five other couples in various stages of pregnancy.
We’ve been through a lot, you and I, although I can still say other couples have been through much worse. We have been separated at length only once and only by necessity, when you went to Iligan ahead of baby Maia and me to find a place for us to stay there.
Otherwise we had the happily ever after. We voice out each other’s thoughts, finish each other’s sentences, and then argue over dinner about why *insert name of female pop idol here* is the way she is or why Michael Jackson was not at Barack Obama’s Inauguration party.
You treat my sons like they were your kid brothers, and you raise our daughter like a princess. There’s really nothing much to ask for, is there, except maybe a D60 for an anniversary present (*joke*). Or maybe we should just get each other senior life insurance.
Five years. Don’t they go by in a blink?
The quest for a good suit
It’s January again, and apart from the new year it’s also when the installation of officers at Sam’s masonic lodge takes place. This means another stressful trip to places far and wide for a suit that will fit — not an easy task for the way his body is built. I have never had to dress anyone for an occassion like this, not since Sam became a Freemason, that is. Till then it’s always been sports shirts and curduroys, but men’s suits are a totally different species.
Going into a department store and getting one off the rack is out of the question; not only is it expensive to do so, the quality of the available material also leaves much to be desired. No doubt we have to look at measurements for men who fall under the Special Sizes category. There’s Tall Sizes and Shorter than 5’8″ and there’s Big Men.
When I was younger I thought that suits all fell under the term “Amerikana”, which is what my father and uncles called a suit. I didn’t realize there were suits, and blazers and sports jackets and whether or not the pants should match also mattered. What looks good to me and to other people who like me don’t know any better may not be the correct suit. As it is what Sam needs is a black suit (with matching pants), light color shirt and a red necktie. Sounds easy enough, until you try to find one that will fit Sam’s physique which is a tailor’s nightmare.
So why don’t we have one made? A good suit at Arthur’s will cost at least 6,000 (jacket only) and so a set can easily dent our budget by 8 – 10 thousand pesos. NO.
The other alternative is to go up to Baguio and forage through the ukay shops. The fare for both of us and what the suit itself will cost will be cheaper than having one made, or buying one off the rack at a Manila department store.
Whatever we decide, we have three weeks to do it. Wish us luck.
A Thousand Words on Gaerlan St.
Sam and I bought the domain gaerlanstreet.com just for the heck of it, and at the time we bought it we really didn’t have an idea of what to put in it.
Well now we do.
I’ve been a point and shoot camera buff ever since I got an old Minolta from my aunt a decade or so ago, and I’ve been pushing this Kodak EasyShare CX7330 as far as it can go.
And then there’s Photoshop.
The results? Almost magical for some of them. Why don’t you head on down there and see for yourself. Click here to go to Gaerlan St.
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