Passport renewal experience

I've already read a lot of blogs talking about their passport renewal experience (all good), and I just want to add to that because I had a good experience too.

When I was still planning on renewing my and my son's passports, I was thinking of scheduling it sometime mid-May on a weekday. So I went to the online passport application/renewal site of DFA about 3 weeks before the date I wanted... only to find out that there was no availability on that date.

So, a tip: Go on the DFA portal to schedule your appointment 2 months before the date you want. Looks like they limit the number of applications they entertain daily, which actually is a good thing.

I ended up getting a 10:30 AM appointment for today in their Megamall branch. I chose this branch because I'd read good feedback in a forum.

Today being a Saturday, I planned on leaving the house at 8:30 AM because I didn't want to get stressed in case there's heavy traffic going to the mall. From past experience, I knew that traffic around this area can get heavy in the mid-morning.

We left the house a little past 8:30 and got there at around 9:15, thanks to the driver's fast driving skillz and light traffic past the Cubao area. I checked Waze and saw that the DFA is in Building C, so I had the driver drop us off at Building A. This is the side where upon entering you see Sbarro on the left and Kenny Rogers on the right.

At 10 AM we finally got to enter the mall. The security guard told me that to get to DFA, we have to go up all the way to the fifth floor using the escalator just near the entrance, then cross to the DFA. It was easy enough to find.

There was already a line forming at the entrance but it wasn't long and it moved fast. A security guard by the entrance checked our printed appointment confirmation and application forms then let us in and we proceeded to the verification counter. The two guys who manned this counter checked our application forms, stamped them, and attached a small slip of paper to each. The slip of paper was a list of the procedures we had to go through. We were then told to proceed to the processing area.

The processing area is air-conditioned and comfortable, with plenty of seats to spare. The DFA personnel were proactive in helping applicants check whether their requirements are complete. I knew it was imperative to have all the required documents photocopied, and I did have photocopies of page 2 of my and my son's expiring passports, my driver's license, my son's school ID and birth certificate. But while in line in the processing area, one of the DFA guys said I needed to have the last page of our passports photocopied as well. So I had to go out of the DFA and fall in line at the nearest photocopying shop (Pixografx on the 5th floor).

I went back to the processing area and the same guy who told me I needed those photocopies spotted me and directed me right away to an available window. The lady in Window 8 was very pleasant but I got miffed when I was told to photocopy my application form. She did explain that it's needed because it's going to be attached to my son's application form as proof that I would be the one traveling with him. Ugh, fine. Back we went to Pixografx -- good thing the line was already short.

Going back to the processing area the third time, the lady in Window 8 spotted me and motioned me to come over. Finally, all the documents were complete! While checking them, she even remarked, "Uy, artist!" when she saw our surnames. She said she has one of the pieces Freeway made as a tribute to Tatay. That was unexpected, and good to hear. We proceeded to the cashier and paid P1,200 for each passport.

The next step was encoding. There were about 10 counters in the encoding area, and maybe 3 more for senior citizens and PWDs. There were plenty of seats to spare here too, and the line moved fast. We spent maybe a total of 15 minutes waiting before we were told to go to the next available counter.

At the counter, the lady entered the data for my son's passport, took his photo, then scanned his fingerprints. The lady here was also accommodating and not at all your stereotypical laid-back government employee. After encoding my son's information, it was my turn and it was all very quick.

When we were done, we went to the courier counter to pay for the shipping of our passports, which was P150 per passport. I wish they had the option of shipping all family members' passports in one package, since obviously one package can hold more than one passport. But obviously getting P150 per passport is the courier's way of making money.

All in all, we spent less than 2 hours at the DFA, and it would've been quicker if I didn't have to have some documents photocopied. But overall, it was not a stressful experience at all. I thought I would've been made to wait at the end of the line again upon returning from the copier, but I really appreciated that the DFA guys made an effort to make the process as smooth and as orderly as they could.

Meow

I promised Mig he could have a pet on his birthday. I'd originally wanted to get a pug, but after talking to my dog owner friends, they recommended that we start with a cat because it's supposedly easier to take care of. So... meet Madison!

She's a 4 month old Persian and I got her from a friend of a friend. We sometimes call her Madis or Maddie. I often call her Maddie the Baddie because she's so naughty! Although I suppose that's normal for a kitten her age. She always wants to play when it's time to sleep and she likes dashing out of the room and having us chase her.

Instagramming

My niece Maxine took this photo of me paying for my order at Conti's. She called it my OOTD. I had no idea what she meant by that at first, then I remembered seeing lots of OOTD posts on tumblr. It means "outfit of the day"!

Grabbed from this site

Old school

Before the iPad and Draw Something, there was this:

Concentrating on his drawing

Et voila! A cute robot!

You are too young if you have no idea what an Etch A Sketch is. It's only the coolest toy ever. Duh.

Ang Aming Lolo

My Tatay celebrated his 80th birthday last April 11th at the UP Executive House and a special program was put together for him. Part of the program was a poem-reading by the two boys, Miguel and Andres. Watch the first couple of minutes:

This is what they read:

As a treat to Tatay, Gloc-9 also performed. The crowd loved it.

Overall, I'd say the party was a great success!

Zero to hero, baby!

The Raya Razkals joined the 7-under division at the Zobel Football Festival in Alabang yesterday. We weren't really expecting anything. For us parents -- and I guess for the kids too -- it was just one of those tournaments the kids join to gain experience.

As we watched the games and saw how the team had improved, though, we started getting excited. And a teeny tiny pinprick spark of hope started growing... maybe they're going to do well, after all! They played against some of the teams that had defeated them before, and their performance was almost at par with these more experienced teams. They even beat the varsity team of DLSZ. How about that?

First game: Raya FC 0 - Alabang FS 2
Second game: Raya FC 2 - DLSZ 1
Third game: Raya FC 2 - Manresa FC 0
Fourth game: Raya FC 1 - Makati FS 1 (resulted in a penalty shoot out where Raya scored 2 and MFS scored 3)
Semi-final game (for 3rd place): Raya FC 1 - Atletiko Diliman 0

They were all so happy to get a medal!

When they placed third, us parents (and even Coach Sims) could hardly believe it! Maybe just a couple more years and they'll be playing like a well-oiled machine.

Posing with his medal

Yes, it was a tiring but happy day in the south yesterday.

Two things

One: I've decided to create a separate blog for my fitness-related posts to spare those who can't stand reading yet another CrossFit- or running-related post. From now on, this blog will contain a minimal amount of stuff about (mostly) CrossFit. My other blog: http://almostprettyfit.blogspot.com.

Two: The family just got back from Boracay, and although it was fun, for the most part it was stressful. Not only because we had the kids with us but also because one of my sisters' baby girl and our elderly parents were also with us. We tried to make the most of it but I sure am glad to be home now.

And Boracay isn't what it used to be. What I remember the most the first time I went there back in 1998 was the powdery white sand stayed cool even at midday. You could walk barefoot the whole day if you wanted to. Now, you have to wear slippers when you walk around. It was also too crowded this time of the year (or is that my age talking?).

We still managed to have fun, though. I got to taste Jonah's banana milkshake again, we had a scrumptious seafood lunch at the talipapa, and we were able to try out the yummy calamansi muffins at The Real Coffee and Tea Cafe.

And now, here is one of our funnier attempts to do a jump shot on the day of our departure.

With my sisters and niece

Joyeux Noël!

Every year just before Christmas, the family agrees on an outfit "theme." The year before it was blue; last year we wore floral print clothes; this year we wore purple. Even our decor had a hint of purple.

The sea of gifts shows just how big a family we are!

Traditionally, every family member gets busy in the morning of Christmas Eve to prepare for Noche Buena. This year we prepared ham, potato shrimp salad, chicken relleno, parsley rice, molo soup, charlotte russe, and fruit salad. When everything was set, we got ready for the 8:30 pm mass at the chapel just in front our house.

After the mass, we tried to have our annual family Christmas photo taken, but it was a tad too difficult coordinating a big family that includes a dog, a baby, and two little boys.

Our family (no in-laws and kids)

The entire family now

Following the "pictorial," it was now time to eat a little then have the Christmas family program, which is usually just a mishmash of performances by family members willing to look silly for a night. My niece played the guitar while my brother-in-law sang Wonderwall; the two boys sang and danced to Justin Bieber's Never Say Never; and Miguel did a reading of Si Inggolok at ang Planeta Pakaskas.

Rocking out

Miguel reading his book

After all that, it was finally time to open the gifts, which of course made the kids bounce with excitement.

Total chaos

When all that were done and the kids were busy playing with their toys, it was time for the mamas to unwind.

Mango margarita - cheers!

Now the countdown to 2012 begins!

Game day

The Philippine Azkals played with the 2011 MLS champion LA Galaxy yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. My friends and I excitedly made plans to watch it together when it was announced, then they released the ticket prices which were just too steep. So we'd resigned ourselves to watching it on TV instead.

Fast forward to lunch time yesterday, my son's school director sent me a text message saying co-parent Mr. Dan Palami (Azkal team manager) was giving each Raya Razkal (that's what they call the players of the school's football team) 2 tickets each. At first I was hesitant because it was raining, but then I realized that this was a once in a lifetime chance to see David Beckham play! And so we found ourselves taking the train to go to the stadium.

The game was scheduled at 7:30 pm, but we were in the vicinity by 6:30 -- which was a good thing because the line going to the entrance was already long. When we were finally ushered in it was around 7:15, and you could feel the electricity in the air.

Look how sweaty my boy is

It was a pleasant surprise when we found out that we got good seats, plus the kids' friends and classmates were just seats away! They played and ran around while their parents focused their binoculars and cameras on Beckham.

The kids having fun tooting their vuvuzelas

Getting ready to do a corner kick

In the end, the LA Galaxy won 6-1, but this is one game Philippine football fans will not soon forget. And for me, being there and watching it live made the sweaty commute and the long lines worth it.

Celebrating life

I hear it being said so often that it's become one of the most overused cliches about life. But if there's anything that Tin's death has taught me, it's exactly this cliche: Life is short. We blow off invitations to parties and gatherings because we always think that there will be time for all that when our schedules are not too full anymore. But our schedules never do clear up. Our work load never does lighten. And we never get to go to parties, lunches, coffee dates, and reunions. I used to be guilty of this, but since I realized how finite we all are, I've made a conscious effort to not let moments just pass me by without appreciating them.

Today is my son's 6th birthday. Sixth! It doesn't seem like such a long time ago when I was sipping a tall coffee jelly in the recovery room as a reward after having given birth to an 8 lbs 12 oz baby through lamaze (whew!). And now, here he is, little Mr. Marunong. In a few more years he won't let me hug and kiss him in public anymore, so I'm taking advantage of this time to do all that. There are times when I just want to take a mental snapshot of a moment we're having together and store it in my album of memories. I never want to forget.

The Angry Birds cookie pops from Shoppersville were much appreciated

The family board

My mother is a big fan of organizing stuff and coordinating family members' schedules, and since there are now a little less than 20 people coming and going in the house it's become imperative to make sure people are aware of other people's schedules.

Hence, this:

May I introduce our family bulletin board, where you need to write your weekly appointments, dates, and what-have-yous lest you incur the wrath of mother dearest -- which my father suffers on a fairly regular basis.

I hate to admit it but it's a big help. Because of our different schedules we don't get a chance to see one another during the week and sometimes this is the only we we communicate. This is where we post our greetings, wish lists, and menu suggestions. Without it we would all be lost, so cheers to Nanay!

"I'm never going to be average."

I read Baby Blues in the paper everyday and I've even subscribed to its RSS link so I can read the ones I liked again. This is one of my favorites.

Source

Beach trip #3

Quite a gray day at the beach

Tide was low when we arrived

I love seeing hermit crabs at the beach

The sun finally came out around midday

When we're in Davao we always go to the same beach - Paradise Island - every time. So to shake things up a bit we decided to try the beach a couple of resorts down, called Costa Marina. It was a Saturday so we were afraid that there would be a lot of people at the beach, but we were very pleasantly surprised to find out that we were among the few groups there that day. There wasn't the usual buzz of activity you'd hear at more popular beaches and the atmosphere was very relaxed. The sand wasn't perfect but I thought it added to the untouched paradise feel.

The tide was low when we arrived so we let the kids wander far from the shore to explore what they could. There weren't many fish but they did see some starfish. While waiting for the tide to come in, we swam a little bit and searched for hermit crabs - which to our delight we found were in abundance. We put them all in pails and observed them as they tried to get out. We set them free after a while but we had fun observing "crab mentality" in action.

A day at the beach is never a waste.

40 Days of Love

That's been the theme in church since last month, and today's message was "Love is slow to anger." It was a wonderful reminder of how our actions can have a damaging, long lasting effect.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

I had to remind myself to be forgiving and slow to anger again and again after the service while walking around the mall with Miguel. He does something I disapprove of and I tell him to stop, then he does it again so I tell him again... this goes on a few times until I find myself on the verge of anger, but then I remember today's message. It's a struggle to control anger but if you start by speaking calmly and kindly, you don't lose control easily. Because I find that once you respond rashly and harshly, the situation can only get worse. And the end result is both of you go home in a bad mood.

So I will try to apply this everyday in every situation until it becomes a habit. Or maybe I'll need to get it tattooed on my arm so I won't forget.

A happy Valentine's Day

One of my son's new interests is writing. He and his cousin like exchanging "letters" written on scratch paper. They write things like, "Let's play" and "Gusto mo mag slurpee?"

Yesterday, Miguel went out of our bedroom then slid this under the door:

Yes, he's sweet like that. :)

Happy Valentine's Day -- whether you're married, single, in a relationship, or whatever your relationship status is!

Mommy mode: ON

I've been spending the last few weeks thinking of ways to get Miguel ready for the UPIS Kindergarten entrance exam. I know it's a long shot because only 100 children will be admitted, and 60% of those will be UP dependents -- so hundreds of children will be vying for the remaining 40% of slots. Nevertheless, it would be good for Miguel to experience taking a school readiness test.

Taking a page from my sister's book, I made something like a word chart for Miguel. It has what are called "sight words," also called the Dolch Word List. These are some of the most frequently used word in the English language. It's important to teach pre-school kids these words because many of the sight words cannot be analyzed phonetically, and also because a number of the sight words cannot be taught using pictures.

I started off with the list of pre-primer words. There are about 40 words in the list, and I used these ones first:
As he masters the words, I'll be replacing them with the other words on the pre-primer list. I think it's happening sooner rather than later, because he read all these words easily when I showed him his chart (yes, proud mom here!).

A new obsession

Thanks to Slurpee (sister's poodle) and Baci (another sister's lab), I've grown to like dogs. And ever since I saw a picture of my brother-in-law's hybrid poodle, I've been wanting to get one too... a westiepoo! I think I'll have to wait a while though, because I don't think Miguel is ready to help me take care of a dog. Sometimes when he plays with Slurpee he gets too rough and the poor dog runs away.

Anyway, I've been reading up a bit about westiepoos, and what I like about them is they don't shed (like poodles) and they're very intelligent.

(photo from Westiepoo Hybrid Dogs)

Hospital trip

At the hospital ER yesterday, a kindly old man who befriended Miguel asked where his daddy was. My son, with all the innocence and honesty of a 5-year old, said that he doesn't have a daddy. He further went on to explain that his daddy left when he was still in my tummy, because Mama and his daddy had a fight.

That's the explanation he always gives whenever someone asks him where his "daddy" is, and I'm glad I told him the truth (however simplified it may be). He doesn't seem to feel any sadness about the matter, but I don't like the sympathetic looks I get from people when they learn about it.

Megamind movie date

I went on a movie date with my little man this afternoon, together with my sister and her son. They (the kids) had been looking forward to watching Megamind ever since I told them about it a couple of days ago.

I wasn't expecting much from the movie but it was a very nice surprise. I was uncertain about seeing it in 3D, as I'd been disappointed with every 3D movie since Avatar, but it turns out that this one is worth shelling out the extra money for.

As for the story - hilarious and touching on alternate occasions. Also, I like the idea of the supervillain turning out to be one of the good guys after all. The character I liked best was Minion, though. Such a cute fish. How come the sidekicks always get more fans?

Favorite line: You know what the difference between a villain and a supervillain is? Presentation!

After the movie we went to McDonald's - not to eat but to have the boys registered for the McHappy Day Fun Run happening on the 28th. They're excited to run the 500m dash, and I've already given them a pep talk about it. The 500m category is limited to kids 7 years old and below, so we can't join to give them some guidance during the run. Looks like it's time to have them practice! :)

Being a mom

I love Baby Blues. My son isn't a baby anymore, but I sure can relate to the mom.

(image source: ArcaMax Publishing)