38

I'm 38 and I'm one happy fellow.

I don't feel like 38 though, maybe it's just denial. But the happiness I feel is real, no denying about it.

I am a father of 2 wonderful kids, a husband of an even greater wife, a son of two ever-proud parents, a brother of 4 helpful siblings, a doctor for my needy patients and a friend to many individuals.

I have a car, I live on my father's house, I work in my clinic, I can eat my favorite food, I can wear my preferred clothes, I use my different gadgets, I am relatively healthy, I can travel to far places, I belong to different organizations and groups, and I am in a position to help people.

So, what's up for me?

Many things I guess. I still have lots of plans, things to do, things to finish, things to dream about.

Hopefully, for this coming year I can still share my happiness to all I know and care about.

Tagaytay 2009

Every Holy Week time, Judith's family makes it a point to have a reunion, sort of an annual tradition. So Last April, we went to Tagaytay to spend an overnight stay in a rented house. Joy found a great house just right for 3 families - Judith's, Joy's and Candee's.

Zia and Enzo enjoyed the change of scenery and the cold weather, being in the middle of summer. They played with their cousins, and the adults had their soul batteries recharged.

Easter morning, we went to the Tagaytay Church to hear mass, then the kids had an easter egg hunt. Great fun for everybody.

For more pictures, please click HERE

Enzo's first hospital stay

Last February 6, 2009, Enzo was admitted in Las Pinas Doctors Hospital. It was his first time to be admitted since he was born. He was diagnosed to have mild dehydration due to acute gastro-entiritis.

Sometimes, being a doctor can be disadvantageous specially if you are a parent doctor. The first day Enzo had diarrhea, Judith and I were already entertaining so many possible diseases and worst scenarios in our mind. Between the two of us, Judith is more of the worrier, maybe one of the roles of mothers is too worry all the time. Based on Enzo's signs and symptoms, 2 doctors - graduates of UP College of Medicine and of Philippine General Hospital, are having difficulty treating their patient because the patient is their son.

Eventually, we decided that Enzo need intravenous fluids and further tests, thus we went to the hospital early part of the morning that day. Our attending pediatrician is of course our friend, Dr. Ces Alinea. In the ER, our main concern is the insertion of the IV on Enzo. We know how strong and likot he is, but the insertion was just one try. The hospital is quite familiar to us because Judith is a practicing doctor there. We chose it over PGH because of its proximity to our home.

Enzo was quite grumpy in his room during the early hours, he would try to remove the heavily bandaged IV line on his arm. Eventually, he got what we were hoping since the previous night - a peaceful sleep. He was so masungit and crying the previous night because his sleep would be interrupted by his diarrhea and vomitting spells. So when we were in the hospital, he just slept the whole time. In fact, when he woke late in the afternoon, he was eating some bread and cakes, and walking around his bed na. So at around 10PM we were already heading home the same day.

Stress galore but eventually, seeing your child smiling and well - priceless!

Avilon Zoo

Zia and Enzo enjoyed their visit at Ark of Avilon Zoo that we decided to go to their main site, the Avilon Zoo in Montalban, Rizal.

I went to its website and downloaded the map going there. Since May 1 was a holiday, we thought it would be perfect to go there. It was quite a long trip from Las Pinas, nearly 2 hours of travel. We were quite worried before the trip because the weather was quite rainy, but eventually the weather cooperated. Locating the place is not that easy, and the road going there is still rough and muddy. Once we get there, it turned out well.

The place is 8 hectares, so one will have a whole morning or whole afternoon to see all the animals. We opted to hire a tour guide, and it was worth it since the guide had a systematic route and stories on each segment of the tour. It is a walking tour so it is quite tiring. There is a segment for reptiles where different crocodiles can be seen. They also breed crocs there. For bird watchers, this is a good place to be. Their collection of birds are great. There is an area for big birds - flamingos, peafowls, all kinds of parrots, birds of paradise, birds of prey; an area for small birds - colorful, singing ones. There is an area for apes, a spacious area for wild cats - tigers, leopards, jaguars, lions, lynx, pumas; for hyenas, wolves, bears, tapirs. There is a snake area, a lizard area, an amphibian area, horses, ostriches, deers, llamas, rodents, big fishes - ANG DAMI TALAGA!

Enzo was so tired during the tour that he even took a nap during the tour, when he woke up, played with the animals again. Zia was so enthusiastic, she was so active throughout the tour. She played with the orangutan, took pictures with an owl and an eagle on her arm. The guide mentioned that the zoo is still developing some of its parts. They are preparing provisions for elephants and giraffes. It is one of the better zoos I have visited. The trip was so worth it. The kids have a grand time. We had a great time.

For pictures, please click HERE.

Ark of Avilon Zoo

Zia and Enzo love to watch animals on TV. Even on books, they would identify the names of the animals and the sound they make. As seen from my previous post here in this blog, Zia uses one application in the iPhone to identify animals and listen to its sound.

So when an opportunity comes for us to visit a zoo, we always accompany the kids for these animals. We have gone in Tagaytay a few months back, in the Residents Inn, but the animals were not as interesting, and they all look cramped.

Judith then eventually booked us to go to Ark of Avilon Zoo, located near the Tiendesitas complex in Pasig. For P250 all-day entrance, we had a great time mingling with the animals. On the ground floor, there were spacious cages for the wild cats - a white sumatran tiger, lions, panthers, leopards etc. There was also a large koi aquarium where Zia and Enzo enjoyed feeding the fishes. Some lizards and reptiles can be seen as well. On the far side of the ground floor, we had some photo shoot with the orangutan and some birds. Zia enjoyed touching the ape and the birds, di siya natakot. On the second floor, giant aquariums can be seen and different fowls and birds. There is also a feeding area for rabbits where Zia had a grand time.

For pictures of our trip in the ark, click HERE

Coron, Palawan 2009

The Philippine Glaucoma Society held its planning session in Coron, Busuanga, Palawan last March 5-7, 2009. It was the first time I have visited Palawan, and it is really a beautiful place.

The plane trip from Manila to Busuanga was approximately 45 minutes. Busuanga has its own new airport. This place is located North of Palawan, quite far from the main city of Puerto Prinsesa. Because of its rich diving sites, it has become one of the popular tourist spots in the country. From the airport, our group was fetched to be billeted to a resort. Most of the roads are still not cemented but numerous construction areas denote progress on this islands.



The places to visit there are the picturesque coral islands offshore, the crystalline waters of the different lakes and the different dive sites. I was able to dip to a saltwater hot springs, quite an experience. We also went up to hilltop wherein a giant cross is located, all hundreds of steps along the way.

Coron is also near the Calauit Animal Sanctuary, wherein animals imported from Africa were put by an influential politician, to be his private zoo. Some of our group went there but I did not go anymore. I miss my kids and my wife. Maybe someday, we will go there as a group.

Enzo's second birthday and Manila Ocean Park

Enzo is growing fast! He is a very active boy. He doesn't smile much as his Ate Zia, but he is more excitable. He has this special kandirit, wherein he will do a hopping action on one foot, with hands outstretched and facial expression of excitement every time he sees a favorite TV show, or hears a favorite tune or when I or Judith arrive from work. Aside from these, he runs faster than Zia when she was at his age. Of course, he also mimics his Ate Zia a lot. He wants to be involved when Zia is involved. He has this knack of pulling one's hand, using all of his weight, to force him/her to go with him when he wants to go or do somewhere or something. His favorite activity at home is jumping endlessly on bed at nighttime. He knows how to count already, knows basic colors, knows the alphabet, even some numbers, planets and months of the year. Saka mas nagiging kamukha ko na siya. Pati paghilik at pagsasalita pag natutulog, kuha rin niya.



We celebrated his second birthday at home. On a cloudy January 17 morning, we gave Enzo a very subdued birthday celebration. Judith prepared some balloons and a birthday cake. He received a toy Diego as a gift. Even Zia was excited for her brother, so excited to the point that she wants to blow the candles in the cake. We really decided that we will not hold a grand party for him, Judith and I decided that instead of a party, we went to the Manila Ocean Park instead, the new big aquarium center at the back of Quirino Grand Stand in Luneta.

Enzo and Zia can identify animals. They love watching TV shows with all sort of animals. So once we got good feedback with the Ocean Park, the whole family went there a week after Enzo's birthday. The place is quite big, it was taunted to be as good if not better than the other aquariums in Hong Kong and Singapore among other places. In terms of diversity of fishes and other marine animals, the Manila Ocean Park is quite astounding. Both Enzo and Zia were so enthralled in seeing the sharks, the rays, the eels, the corals, the fresh water fishes, the salt water fishes, etc.

The aquariums were enormous and were designed very well so the viewing of the animals are maximal. The place is designed in such a way that a mall and restaurants are incorporated within the system. We stayed there for the whole morning, and even some months after our visit there, Enzo and Zia still remember their visit there.

To see the pictures of our visit there, please click this link HERE.

Zia's first school

Last November 2008, Zia's developmental pediatrician has cleared her to enroll on a preparatory school. Her doctor has noted improvements on Zia's development, although there are still points to be improved. The speech and occupational therapy have to continue but we were advised that regular school can proceed. Judith and I scouted schools in BF Paranaque, looking for a school ideal for her speech condition, near our home, near the therapy center and of course not too expensive. After trimming the number to three potential schools, we eventually picked Child's Home School. Judith was very picky - she looked at the size of the rooms, the number of children per class, the schools where the teachers graduated, etc, etc.

Zia's class would be from November 2008 to March 2009. Her class was in the morning, from Monday to Friday. Seeing her in a school uniform for the first time is a sight to behold. It's a mixed feeling of glee - "my daughter is so cute" - and of gloom - "I'm getting old, my baby is now in school." Zia was enjoying her class. She was always excited when she was preparing going to school. Occasionally, she was accompanied by her Ate Cris to school, to be brought there by Manong Archie. After school, she would eagerly read her books and practice homeworks. Her speech has improved significantly. She has consistently expressed her feelings and sentiments, unlike a few months back wherein tantrums would be frequent because she cannot communicate to us well.



Of course, with school works come school activities that include family activities. By December 2008, Zia was excitedly practicing her Christmas class number. It was a dance number to the tune of Little Drummer Boy, with a costume of Little Santa. So when her school Christmas party came, all of us were there, happily cheering Zia and her classmates for their dance number. It was a cute number. Zia was dancing with her classmates, although sometimes, she has her own choreography different from her routine. Everybody enjoyed the party afterwards.

The other main school activity was the graduation. Again, some musical numbers were prepared. This time, Zia's class performed "I'm a Believer" from the Shrek soundtrack. Zia did another good dance performance. Her Ate Cris modified her costume which made her outfit better-looking. The other musical numbers were very entertaining as well. However, as her school was ending, Judith and I were deliberating wherein we will continue Zia to Child's Home. After balancing the pros and cons, we decided to enroll her to Montessori de Manila next school year.

Macau 2009

My christmas gift to Judith was a vacation trip in Macau. She deserves all the credit being a very good mother to Zia and Enzo, and keeping our house a good home for all of us.

So after the parties have finished, we flew first day of January, 2009. We stayed in the very magnificent Venetian-Macau Hotel, believed to be one of the biggest hotel complexes in the world. Macau is the equivalent of Las Vegas here in Asia. Numerous casinos and hotels are scattered throughout the small colony, and our hotel is the biggest of its kind. The hotel has the biggest casino land area I have ever seen. Maybe at least 10 basketball court-wide are the sizes of the casinos, and all of them are full of customers! Within the confines of the hotel is a shopping complex, elegantly located with a man-made river where gondolas travel to and fro. The ceiling is even painted with sunny, cloudy skies, giving the illusion of eternal daytime. The artwork in the hotel lobby is a sight to behold, and the hotel room exudes class in every aspect.

The sites in Macau are also good for tourists like us. Being a Portuguese colony before, this has aggregated to the Chinese culture beautifully, making its sights truly unique. We visited old piazzas, old temples, museums and different places of eating. The most famous landmark there is the Ruins of St. Paul Church, and one of the most popular food is their egg tart.

Travelling with Judith is such joy. Kahit lakad lang kami ng lakad, ok lang sa kanya. Siyempre, magkasundo pa kami sa food so kahit saan kami kumain ok lang. Kapag nasa ibang lugar kasi kami, mas gusto naming kumain ng mga local food kesa doon sa mga fastfood. Kahit hindi kami maintindihan ng mga tao doon, ok lang kami.

Na-miss lang namin ang mga bata. Apat na araw lang kaming nawala pero parang ang tagal-tagal na naming di sila kasama. Pag medyo mga 6 or 7 years na sila, isasama na namin sila sa mga biyahe namin.

Here are the pictures of our trip, click on this LINK.

Revival

It has been more than 8 months since my last update on this blog. I could have posted earlier but due to various reasons, nothing was posted.

There have been many activities in our home since then - Christmas 2008, Macau trip, Enzo's birthday, Zia's graduation, family outings, etc.

I will try to post each activity to update this blog. A new and hopefully better blog from moi.