Kimmy Schemy

Archive for October, 2011

I grew up in the province and I couldn’t remember having joined a Halloween Party. So, the first time I saw a real one, I was thrilled! I love to see kids (and even not kids) wearing the coolest, the creepiest and the most unlikely Halloween costumes. As for my own kids, my sister Liz makes it her habit to send them costumes

Last Friday, we held a Halloween Party at the office joined by our play school students. It was a real blast. I lost my voice due to too much yelling and cheering.

That’s BATMAN riding the broomstick with The Corpse’s Bride!

Well, let’s take a closer look at my favorite character..

Yes, The Corpse’s Bride herself! You know what’s so cool about this? The costume was made by, no other than her mom, my friend Hazel.

And my costume?

Yes, we just bought that before the party began.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

At the part of the mall where our shop is, we are the only store that offers academic services. Most of our neighbors are spas and salons. Our next –door neighbor, however, is a clinic. Being neighbors for two years, we became friends with one of the lab technicians. He is a nice guy with kind eyes. I always see him assist a patient and I believe he loves his work. A week ago, however, during my break time, I went to the rest room to brush my teeth and I saw him sitting on the stairs leading to the Upper Ground Floor. He was holding a newspaper and seemed to be absorbed with what he was reading. He didn’t even notice that I was already standing beside him. I saw that he was looking for jobs abroad so I teased him about it. He smiled instantly the moment he recognized me. I asked him whether he is really serious about working abroad and he said his eldest son is going to college next year so he needs to earn more than he is earning right now. So, I got a piece of paper from my pocket and wrote down a website. I told him to check it out for I believe it offers Medical & Clinical Laboratory Technologist Jobs, so there must be something there for him. I heard him murmur a polite ‘thanks’ as I walked away..

As a tutor, one of the most rewarding tasks for me is teaching my kids at home. I can still remember when my kids were still in preschool and we didn’t have internet connection yet, I used to copy the pictures from their books on pieces of paper. I remember drawing round objects, square objects, rectangular objects, etc., it was FUN!

I also remember guiding their hands when they trace lines until they develop power grip. It felt so good enclosing their little fists with mine as they labor with their writing drills. Candid’s favorite shape to trace was circle while Mika and Daryl preferred straight lines.

Now that they are big enough to do their own homework, I simply have to explain what they are supposed to do or those they did not fully understand. And after all these years.. teaching is still as fun as ever!

Sometime during the first quarter exams, I had a student named Biboy. He is a handsome boy of 7 and is in grade 2. He is a really smart boy. So, I asked his mom why he is being brought to the tutorial center. Mommy said Biboy doesn’t want to study AT ALL. No one can force him to study. So, to avoid committing physical abuse directed at her youngest child, mommy decided to bring him to the center.

Honestly, all of us teachers really had difficulty teaching Biboy. He was one of the most stubborn students I have ever handled. He simply didn’t want to study. And I think it wasn’t because he was a mean kid, it was because he already knows the lessons, and I believe he doesn’t need to come to the tutorial center anymore.

There was this particular time with Biboy that left me open-mouthed.

We were studying about the difference between a common noun and a proper noun and in his lessons from school I saw the word ‘painter’ so I asked him if he knows any painter. Actually, I wasn’t expecting much. I, myself, can’t name any particular painter aside from those I learned from my history book and my grandfather, Bueno Silva, a celebrated painter in US.

Then Biboy answered.. “Juan Luna..”

So, I was.. “Oh, okay.. so, do you know who Juan Luna was?”

He answered, “The one who painted the SPOLIARIUM..”

I was speechless for 30 seconds.. I learned of the Spoliarium when I was in college, and this kid is only in Grade 2.

I really couldn’t tell whether we were able to be of service to Biboy. What I know is that he didn’t need us.

Photo taken and owned by Charles Fredeluces Mundo

I’m at a crossroad at the moment.. couldn’t move on not because I can’t but because I don’t know where to.. too old to look back and too skeptic to look forward. I need a break..

Trina* is four years old. She is a smart little girl with bright eyes. She was enrolled in our Reading Program and she was doing very well.

Sometime during the rainy days, when the Philippines was being attacked by typhoons, Trina came to the center covered in thick jacket. The usual twinkle in her eyes was gone. But when we started the lesson, she did quite well. Still, I felt something was wrong. So, I asked her how she was feeling and she said she wasn’t feeling well.

So, I asked our receptionist to please call Trina’s mom and tell her the girl wasn’t in good shape. Mommy came and asked me if Trina wouldn’t want to work. I said Trina wanted to work, in fact, she was doing great, but I felt that the girl wasn’t feeling well.

Then I heard Trina sobbed and cried and said..

“”Mommy, I want to to go home..”

So, Trina was really sick after all, but mommy was forcing her to go to the center to study. The girl was running a fever, still, mommy took her to the center despite the storm and all.

I MUST have the last say at the matter and I said the girl MUST be sent home, and she was.

Our children are humans, sometimes they are sick, sometimes they aren’t.. and they need rest when they are.

*not real name

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I love flowers. I love plants in general. For some twist of fate, however, I couldn’t grow one, lol! My mother said I don’t have green thumb. I guess I have to agree with her because even those plants which grow anywhere and at any season have this habit of drying up if it was I who planted it. It’s as if the sunlight, the soil  and the water are conspiring and decided not to work together so that I wouldn’t grow any single plant, lol!

Still, I love plants and would keep on trying. As a matter of fact, every time I am asked what I would like to be doing in my old age, I always say the same thing, grow flowers, and I really would. I would plant roses, sun flowers, Iris flowers, yellow bells and orchids. Keep on dreaming, right?

One of the most exciting and controversial parts of pregnancy is CRAVINGS. Well, to begin with, pregnant or not pregnant, I eat a lot but the urge to eat when I am pregnant is almost unbearable. And, though I hate to admit it, when I crave, it’s unreasonable.

During my first pregnancy, I was craving for stolen local black berries (duhat). There was, in our place, a house surrounded by duhat trees. I was dying for a taste of those shiny plump fruits and I didn’t want any other.

On my second pregnancy, I was craving for orange and grilled pork chops, specifically the one sold beside the Baliwag Terminal in Cubao (Quezon City). And finally on my last pregnancy, I was craving for barbeque being sold on the sidewalk and not the ones prepared by myself or anyone I know.

Hormones or simply caprice?

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Much as I want to set it aside, I just could not ignore our visit to the dentist which is long overdue. Every year, I take my kids to our dentist for cleaning. I could say I am kind of obsessed with regards to my children’s teeth. Maybe it is the result of my having ‘bad teeth’ when I was young and my having to wear dentures as early as twenty two years old.  So, I got very observant of dental hygiene and trained my kids to brush their teeth as soon as they could hold a toothbrush.

This year, however, I got too busy with work that our appointments have been cancelled again and again, that by the time I was free, I no longer have money for the dentist. At times like these, I wish our company offers dental plan in addition to medical plan for each employee. Considering the mass resignation that has been taking place for the past three years, I guess, now more than ever, they have to contemplate on offering incentives to make people stay.

I, for one, would love to have a dental plan. It may not sound very helpful to those who can afford a dentist, but for someone like me who is trying hard to make both ends meet,it is one less thing to worry about. The monthly cost may feel a little hefty for a low-salaried employee, but, compared with the possible expenses if he does not have any dental plans, still, having one is a more attractive option. After all, being prepared for possible problem is solving half of the problem already.

At the moment, I would just instruct my kids to infallibly brush their teeth especially after eating sweets and before going to sleep until I have enough money for the dental appointment. I know brushing does not amount to the real visit to the dentist, but it will do for now. What matters is they know how to take care of their teeth.