transposable element

in the philippines, most rice-farmers practice double-cropping, i.e., they plant twice a year, allowing about 2 months pause in-between planting called the fallow period. after the first crop is harvested, the land is left to dry and recuperate before it is again plowed in preparation for the next planting season. at this time of the year, the dry-season crop must have already been harvested and the fields get a short hiatus.

pinoy as i am, my blog doesn’t do winter hibernation. i’m a tropical flower through and through! as i revel in the sights, sounds, and yes, even the smells back home, this blog will rest awhile. but not for long. the rainpours in june will herald a new season. see you then!

what would my mother say if she sees the billboards here. tsk-tsk!

shucks, two days to go and my to-do list doesn’t seem to be getting short. out of all the tasks, though, the one that seems insurmountable is my petronas towers of laundry for ironing. i was hoping to leave the hamper empty so that hubby won’t have to labor much over the iron horse. but well, hubby will have to do his things himself afterall.

spring cleaning? what for?

hanau? when i get back na lang.

pasalubongs? wag na kaya. maybe i’ll just grab some chocolates from duty free.

AnP’s books and vcd’s? i’ll leave it with hubby. maybe he can bring it to frankfurt sometime. either to AnP or justice. AnP, ok lang?

mano po? let lolo and lola teach him.

so there. my list is substantially shorter. smart eh?

this photo was lifted from the april 2004 issue of marieclaire (yes, i do occassionally flip through such collection of ads they pass for a women’s magazine). hubby said i should try to look something like that. hello? who would believe that this woman is a real mother? just because she has a boy tagging along doesn’t mean anything at all. look at that perfectly coifed hair. when would i have the time (and manual dexterity) to do that? and try walking in those shoes while lugging around a diaper bag (that can’t be what she has over there, eh?), and pushing a buggy, AND running after your little angel who refuses to sit in the buggy after all. hah, try that.

BUT then… there’s anna. if i ever encountered a person who would fit this picture to a T, then it’s gotta be her. probably the most glamorous no-yaya/no-maid mother i know. i don’t know how she does it. figure it would rub off if i hang out with her more often? hm, i doubt.

this one’s for you, anna. happy birthday!

naturally, i’m excited about my upcoming trip to manila. but angst is also up there. just a few weeks ago, j’s cousin got sick in manila during their vacation. amoebiasis. the son of a cyber-friend of mine contracted UTI and was nursing a fever on their way back to australia. and as if that isn’t enough to make me paranoid, hubby is constantly reminding me to “please take care”. never have those words carried so much responsibility as now. it’s no longer the half-empty goodbye phrase you haphazardly dish out. it’s loaded and it’s making me worried like hell. if there’s anything that would dampen this holiday like a wet blanket, it’s j getting sick. so please, please, all the saints in heaven reading this blog (huh?), banish all those pathogens from our paths. pleeease, i promise… i promise… um, pwede IOU’s?

our new plaything arrived yesterday… nah, nothing naughty, hehe… just hubby’s new notebook: dell inspiron 510m. it’d better be good, ’cause we spent about €500 more than we expected, ugh! we figured we needed a good service package, with j always poking his little nose and sticky little fingers on just about everything.

thank you, madaus.

easter sunday has been an equally fun family day. was surprised how J caught the concept of egg hunting after just a few minutes. had a good nose for sniffing out where the gummi bears were hidden… super weather and loads of loot for the kiddies… here are some pics during the egg-hunt:

that’s j with cousins, j looking for a nest, and j opening one of his loot.

as i’m nearly always the one holding the camera, this is one of the few photos of me and my son together:

as promised, here are some more photos from our saturday kita-kits in frankfurt:

clockwise from top left:
the kids with their yaya’s…este, moms pala, hehe… (sorry, a bit blurred, but i’ll see if i can make a better digital zoom); jp, a bit moody with his nasty teething woes; the family who call themselves p as in pangets; and delayla, lala and david’s angel.

who’s missing is Anna and Carl’s sweetie, Maxim. wasn’t able to catch her thru my lenses…

yippeee, i’ve got my booking confirmations and am flying back home in two weeks. we’ve just figured that either we go now or celebrate j’s birthday yet again in the philippines in september. i don’t want to miss the summer here in germany (june-aug) as that’s the only time the weather is cheerful and sunny and warm. plus, j’s opa and oma want to see him on his birthday this year, and if we fly after september, we’ll have to shell-out nearly 75% of the adult fare for his ticket. so off we go now, while his ticket costs only 10%.

hm, two weeks to go and i’ve still got to:

1. get an appointment for j’s hepaA booster shot
2. get MY hepaB booster shot
3. see my OB for check-up (can still wait til we’re back… or?)
4. shop for J’s necessities: sunblock, favorite snacks, toys for the plane ride
5. wash J’s clothes with this UV protection detergent
6. sort J’s summer clothes and choose what to bring
7. transfer my bacterial cultures to fresh media
8. leave a set of stock cultures to RGP
9. spring clean the apartment
10. go to hanau and visit CH
11. return vcd’s and books to AnP, get movie-list, borrow cd case
12. get some pasalubongs (shucks, hirap mag-isip)
13. teach J the mano po
14. reduce the mt. everest of clothes for ironing to mt. apo
(what else am i forgetting?)

long, yes, but that list can’t compete with my wish list for when i eventually get home:

1. pig out on pinoy fare esp fish– the small ones, cooked and served with heads and tails. no fillets, please!
2. get my fill of polvoron, buko pie, good shepherd’s ube and peanut brittle, pastillas de leche, choc-nut, tamarind preserves, selecta’s queso royale (meron pa ba nito?)
3. refill my body’s vitamin stocks: carabao mangoes, indian mangoes, melon, watermelon, banana (latundan, the small ones with blemishes), pineapples, rambutan and everyting else in season, even durian and marang, if available
4. get a haircut, hot oil, manicure, pedicure… ah basta, the works!
5. buy english books, books, books… for me and j
6. get pinoy movie vcd’s
7. cool off in baguio
8. go bitchin’, este, beaching pala (pagudpod? can j make it?)
9. see the pahiyas in lucena (may 15)
10. vote at the national elections, if possible
11. meet with friends and former colleagues
12. catch up on the latest showbiz chika
13. get caught up in the daily telenovelas
14. check out the malls (euphemism for…you know what, hehe)
15. buy the negatives from our wedding photographer
16. get j a photo shoot (from auey?) –may budget kaya kami dito?
17. buy J’s summer clothes
18. feast on jolibee chickenjoy and longanisa breakfast
19. visit the kids at Pinagpala
ano pa ba???

i’m sure this blog will get edited-and re-edited as i add things to my lists… got any more suggestions?