Run for Your Life

Everyone who knew me well know (by now) that writing/blogging/digital photobook are one of my passions. A totally non-atlethic activity for a klutz like me. It figures.

The most physical/active recreation I've done so far was the playing tennis and ping pong via Nintendo Wii; and my daughter would always beat me anyway.  And then there was Yoga when I was in the Plant. I got the hang of it and enjoyed being able to sweat it out but was cut-short when we moved.  Yoga clinics are popular in SG but you probably guessed it, excuses get in the way.

I discovered a new found wellness passion lately, totally unexpected if I may say so.
I have just joined the bandwagon for the runner's circle!

Looking at my race bib and realizing that I'm up to something serious.

Finishing my first 10K run!

There was a runner's circle at the Plant and they expanded rapidly and attracted wannabe-marathoners/runners. I'd hear them raving about their latest running events, the training they have to undergo before signing up for the real thing, the diet they had to adhere to (at least, for the serious runners).  Anyone who can run 42km for 4 hours or less (5 to 7 hours for the average folk, I suppose) is nothing short of amazing!  I never even imagined myself doing it.

So who would have thought I'd be caught (belatedly) by the running bug?

It all started with the P&G Dare to Dream Fun Run. It was a 5km event for all SG employees and family members were allowed to participate as well. So we all signed up just for fun and to help Beyond Borders' charity work for building a pre-school in Vietnam.  I never ran 5km before and ended up with aching limbs after that.  Kyla ran with my friend Leklek and they finished well ahead of us.

And then, Leklek suggested we sign up for the Shape Magazine's Shape Run 2012 10km event.  She assured us that we can walk the rest of the way in case we ran out of running fuel. This was, mind you, before we learned that there was a 5km and a 2.4km fun run.  There was no turning back because we already signed up for 10km.

Something portentious must have happened to me two weeks before the run.

Something that drove me to run 3-4 days in a week at the treadmill. In my fourth day I decided to run straight 5km. I added strengthening work out sessions as well- which I read from the special edition runners' guide from Shape magazine.    I think it was when I saw the 10km route when it finally dawned on me that I am up to something really serious.  That, plus the programme said that if you haven't crossed Republic Highway by 840AM, the runners will be re-routed and you might not receive the finisher's medal.  I sort of panicked that I may not make it.  Fear is a good motivator if you can turn it to courage and persistence.

I finished the Shape Run and my first ever 10 KM at 85 minutes (official time).  I thought that wasn't too bad for my first attempt considering I was only clocking 10mins/km during my training.  And yep, finished it before 840AM.  It also validated that while practically anyone can run, undergoing training before the run will make you significantly less sore-limbed after the event. My yoga breathing exercise also helped a lot especially towards the middle of the run.

And it all began from there. SG is a runners' heaven-- there is a dedicated website and group that manages running events in the country. I signed up for at least three more events for the next few months! My husband and I will be running together in the 100 Plus Passion Run and the whole family will be joining the POSB Family run. I now run regularly at the gym as well.

I won't likely show up in the 21km and 42km events anytime soon but I will definitely have a great time and a get natural high from running for as long as I can!

The prestigous Shape Run 2012 is an all-women's run event

The dawn of the run day

Annie and an Afternoon Tea with My Girlie

I call it full circle.

I was in 3rd grade when I first watch the movie version of Annie. The entire grade 3 class from our school watched Annie as part of the school activity at the Ali Mall Cinema in Cubao which is very near our school.

And now, it is my 3rd grader's turn to watch Annie The Musical at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theater.  Who can forget red-haired Annie and her lovable dog Sandy? Until this very day I can still sing the full lyrics of the song "Tomorrow."  I now have a little girl who sings it every so often...

We have chosen not to watch a lot of movies anymore these days but if there is a good play, I certainly wouldn't want to miss it for my little girl.


With the newly-opened Circle Line, going to MBS via MRT is now easier (and cheaper). Kyla insisted wearing a red dress, just like Annie's. And insisted we buy the souvenir programme. The major actors and actresses were mostly British stage actors. However, for the Singapore production, 304 girls from Singapore auditioned for the orphan roles and 27 were finally chosen. There were 2 dogs alternately playing Sandy. In this run, Sandy was a Golden Retriever. Picture taking was not allowed once the show starts though.
 



Annie fever goes on. Trying on a redhead wig at the souvenir shop.

 After the play, Kyla and I went to have an afternoon tea at the TWG. We've always wanted to do so but the queue was always too long. We were quite lucky this time. Except that of course she can't have tea (but a fruit shake instead).  The tea selection is like a list of hundreds so I decided to go with a simple caramel tea. This is served in sealed stainless pot that keeps it nice and warm.

Afternoon tea is not complete without finger foods (biscuits, the English type) or pastries like muffins, scones or the French macarons. Our muffins were served with apricot jam and cream (which Kyla monopolized). These are placed in dainty pastry trays. We had a leisurely time savoring our afternoon snack and enjoying mom-daughter bonding moments.



13 and 19

For the past thirteen years of married bliss and nineteen years of being together, while there are so many things to be said and stories made and yet to come... The most important is that we thank the Lord for granting us the life we have always prayed for. And more.

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

Fridays at PS Cafe

What is a better way to unwind at the end of a busy week than to spend it with good company, good food and a soothing cup/s of my favorite hot tea? And perhaps a decadent dessert once in a while. In a quiet, cozy place for nice and easy conversations. PS Cafe is just perfect or me.

PS stands for Project Shop. I have been to its branch in Paragon Mall quite a number of occassions with my hubby mostly. The one in Paragon Level 3 has a split dining location. A smaller area is located right beside the escalator and overlooking the main atrium. Great for cake and tea chit chat sessions for ladies. Across it is the main dining area with an adjacent shop of bags and shoes (also part of the PS Cafe). If you are on a date or with friends, the soft lighting makes for a lovely ambience.

What I really love about PS Cafe is the food which is what I would call a "green menu" -- a contemporary fusion of yummy comfort food we love with a twist of greens and other veggies in a presentation that is mouth watering and visually delectable!

When we first tried dining at PS Cafe, I decided to have Chicken Tau Kwa (tofu). It's a pan fried tofu with shredded chicken, greens with homemade sesame szechuan peppercorn dressing. Obviously got me coming back at PS Cafe.

Another pasta creation is the Veggie Greens. It's your good old spaghetti tossed with well, lotsa greens - artichoke, asparagus, french beans, broad beans and capers with olive oil dressing and topped with parmesan.  Hubby tried this.

One of PS Cafe's sandwhich variety is the Roasted Chicken. It's an open faced sandwich with heaps of roasted vegetables. The gouda cheese dressing is divine!

For me this taste spectacular as it looks. Coconut-Ginger Lemongrass Chicken Salad. Hubby tried to recreate this at home.

Last friday I was at PS Cafe with friend Belle. I tried the Green Garden Lasagne. These are assorted greens with slivers of mozzarella cheese, bechamel and portobello mushrooms, layered with herb ricota and spinach pasta topped with shaved fennel and almond salad. The serving is quite overwhelming for me but if you have a big appetite, this should be perfect. The picture is a bit dark because we were seated in their interior dining where lighting is toned down.

They have a wide array of sinful-looking desserts displayed in a glass covered cake tray. I don't have pictures because by the time I realized I needed to take a picture, we already started digging in! It's that tempting!

Good food had to go with a drink. I usually prefer hot tea or coffee after dinner. They also have wine, juices and cocktails. I was told that the Paragon branch's menu is a junior version of the entirety of PS Cafe's menu, so it is worth visiting their three other branches around Singapore too!

And next time, I will remember to snap a pic of their slabs of decadent sweets!

Happy Father's Day Dada

I wrote an article as a tribute to my father whom we call Dada, few years ago before I started my blog and so I had to transfer this as a blog post (see The Sound of His Music) later on. It's another Father's Day that we have to celebrate away from Dada.

My father hails from Ilocos Sur (Northern Philippines). Young as he was then, he had dreams that took him to the far side of the seas and when he was independent enough, he chased his dream in Manila and lived with various relatives in the city.  My father is the extrovert type and he got on well enough with people from different walks of life. He can adapt to any situation and can live anywhere.

My father is also an intellectual type of person-- the young lad who would always emerge at the top of the class.   Poverty and economic downturn prevented him from finishing his college degree.  He was a working student then in Manila but when the store he worked for was foreclosed, it became difficult for an undergrad to find a new job that will enable him to support his college education.  But Dad continued to study and finish a degree in Avionics even after he was married and had children. 

Being the eldest, I had my share of earliest memories with Dada when life was much simpler and economy was still glowing. When he was still working in the Domestic airport, I remember Dada always arrive home in the evening with football chocolates, balut, flat tops or chocolate crispies. He visits my grandmother and his relatives living then in Pasay some Saturdays and I would tag along and he would buy me chocolate frosted donuts in Harrison Plaza. I don't vegetables and seafoods then, which were his favorites.  He would cook fried chicken, porkchops or fried egg and hotdog when the food isn't to my liking. You can say I was spoiled.

And because he was very good in Math, he gave me a hard time when I couldn't memorize my multiplication table in my 3rd grade. It's ironic I did end up taking engineering many years later.

During my college days, I would commute every weekend from Rizal to go back to my dormitory in Manila and would be bombarded with his litany of hundred combinations of routes to take to Manila and this annoyed me.  My mom told me later that it is only because my father still sees me as his little daughter.

When my heart got broken (or likely it was just my pride that got dented), Dada and I did not talk about it but I knew he is aware of what's going on, through my mother.  All he can say was to forget the good-for-nothing fool. And I knew he was right.  It was just a case of wounded pride.

When I started working in Makati, Dada will still wake up ahead of me and make sure there is hot water in the kettle, or that there was hot food that I can eat before leaving.  And if I will arrive home late in the evening, he would wait at the entrance of our compound, knowing fully well that I would be walking through the dimlit alley leading to our house because he knew I was too stringy to take a tricycle ride.

Thank you Dada for being there for me all those years and even for continue to spoil us long after we had our own family and during the times when we can't be there beside you and Mom.

You are always in our thoughts! Happy Father's Day Dada!

Dada and Mama's visit in Singapore (April 2011)

The Sun Always Rises (Kevin's 12th Birthday Tribute)

"Clouds come floating into (our) life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." - Rabindranath Tagore

In a few days, Kevin will be celebrating his 12th birthday. We planned for a short family vacation, like we always do for the last few years, in time for his birthday, often somewhere with a nice beach because Kevin and his sister love swimming. This year though we deviated from this routine and opted to do the much-deferred trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. My sister and nephew will meet us in HK and spend Kevin’s birthday in Disneyland. At twelve -- technically still a tween and a year separating him from teens. But Disneyland for me is symbolic of the child in him that I know will always be there. I was able to plan this ahead this time around before things get pretty busy for fiscal end.

When I started writing the draft for this post, I still have a few weeks to complete his birthday gift list – one gift from each of us – that he will open on his birthday. Kevin appreciates receiving and opening his gifts now that he is older, I’d catch him sporting a smile as his eyes light up when he sees his gifts. A few days ago, while enjoying an after-dinner-lazy-moment at the living room and I asked him, “who will have a birthday soon?” He smiled and said “me!” in his now deep voice.

Time went by so fast.

I still need to come to terms that Kevin is now a young man and no longer a little boy. He is now (much) taller, bigger and heavier than me. Whereas I used to lift him and swing him around, I couldn’t do it anymore without risk of breaking my back. We buy his shirts and pants in the grown-ups' section now. The tweens and teens section in Singapore are too small for his frame. His bathroom include his own set of deodorant, hair gel, cologne and a mild toner (yes, toner!) – we got him to use one after he started getting a few zits and whiteheads – which thankfully, he does not scratch away.

He has gotten used to running his daily personal self care routine like clockwork-- fixing his bed after waking up, choosing and preparing his clothes for school, going though daily grooming including applying his deodorant and prepping himself. These include putting his own watch, belt, cap (when he feels like it), socks and shoes and taking out his backpack. I learned that he too has his favorite shirts and pajama set.
After school hours, he follows a schedule that includes ‘study time’ and his other drills. We keep part of the hours in the afternoon to be his “free time”. Between five to six o’clock, he will get his basketball and prepare to play downstairs. We used to have cue cards, the one that Kyla arranges for him every night in preparation for the next day. But since he has gotten comfortable running his routine, we don’t need the cue cards anymore. In a way, it was one of his early successes into moving slowly to daily independence. He is now starting to learn to clean and tidy up his own room and help more into other chores at home. This is not unique for him because we ask Kyla to do the same.

Kevin now holds the role of being our prayer leader. Before meals and before going to bed, he is the one to initiate to start praying. He will recite the Sign of the Cross while Kyla will be the one to lead the rest of the prayer. Then he will close the prayer.

Kevin started asserting his privacy as well. There are times when he would just want to stay in his bedroom and enjoy his time alone. When we’d check, he’ll be sitting by the long bench facing the window and he would be looking down at the busy sight. The bedrooms in our unit overlook the pool, the vast track of garden and play area. There will always be people swimming at the pool, children playing soccer or riding a bike, or just hovering at the Koi pond. I guess that there were times when he probably wanted to be a part of that busy state of affairs. We allow him to have his daily play time if the weather is not too hot and if he is done with his daily tasks. The people in our condo-community knew him by now and they like him. Kevin likes looking at the babies. There was a boy little over one-year old who gives him the 'high five' when he see Kevin. There was also a dog who liked playing with Kevin and his basketball.

As I realized the new goings-on in his life, I could not help but marvel and be thoughtfully poignant at the same time. My little boy is now a young man. And whether we like it not, we had to start backing off and let him run his show, seek for opportunities for him to be a part of the bigger pie of life.   And we have to do it in a way that allows him to breathe and not stifle him, while at the same time still be there to shadow and guide him.   I am thankful that his Yaya Jhane who has been with us since Kevin was 6, continue to be there for him during those hours and days when I can't.  I pray that she can still be with us for more years.

In what seemed now like eons ago, when he was about six years old, I remember sitting in the office of the Developmental Pediatrician over an excruciating conversation about Kevin’s progress.  We were told that the chances of Kevin being able to speak and able to join regular school would be quite slim. That we should probably consider reducing the therapy and SPED (special education) sessions that he attended then and save the money instead (since the therapies and SPED counts a fortune, a reason why it took us longer to be able to afford building our own house). I probably cried an ocean in that space of time.  One of those moments when you try to contain emotions but just can't.  This was one conversation that I always try to push back to the deepest recesses of my memory.

I respect that as a professional, the doctor has a responsibility to tell us the reality of the situation, no matter how painful it is. The logical side of me can understand that. But the maternal, emotional side of me wanted to be angry at how the option seemed to slam all doors and windows shut.   Hope cannot be reduced to pesos and cents.  All that histrionics. And we moved on and continued to provide our son, to the best that we can, all the support we can give – educational, moral and spiritual support, the love and loyalty that only a family can give.  We pushed on, hoped, prayed, worked for better days.  We are also thankful for the angels around us, who have given Kevin their selfless show of support in many ways that made his life richer. They have given us hope to cling on to, during the days when the skies look overcast.

A fellow parent-writer aptly puts it and I quote her: “When the clouds are forever hiding the sun, you learn to squint your eyes and look hard for the silver lining. And true enough, by God’s mercy, they are always there.” (by Pinky Cuaycong in her article Silver Linings, featured in the blog of the Autism Society of the Philippines)

That day seemed light years by now. Kevin is now a young man and everyone who knew him loved him. They are his blessings as he is a blessing for us. His challenges, our challenges – are still herculean and just as daunting as it were years ago but love, faith and hope – God’s greatest gifts – make us stronger.  And I believe it made Kevin stronger too.

When I look at Kevin, I still and probably will always see, the little baby I used to cradle in my arms. Every night before I tuck him to bed, I always remind him of our promise. That we will be there for him for as long as it takes. For whatever it takes. Now matter how dark and cold the night could be, the sun always rises.

Happy Birthday dear Kevin!
We love you and we thank the Lord for each that is given to us that we are together.
You are a blessing to all of us!

Kevin perched on top of his favorite spot at the playground

Dare to Dream - Our First 5K Run

We made it!!!

Today we ran our first ever 5K Race. It is definitely a first for me which officially ticks off one item from my 2012 To Do List :-)  Yay!

It is also the first time that we participated as a family in any fun run. Dare to Dream is a corporate event, part of the P&G Olympics Games Day. P&G is a worldwide partner and sponsor of the 2012 London Olympics.

We made it!!!

The Dare to Dream Run celebrates the dream of every athlete -- the dream of making it to the Olympics. For the 5K race, every runner's bib has a declaration of their dream. Our family's dream is to be able to make a difference and touch more lives of Special Children!  It really isn't just a dream but an aspiration that we hope to make our lives worthy of.  If there is one good excuse for breaking my lifelong hate relationship with the sun, this is it. It comes for a great cause.

Our 5K Run Race Bib - Go for the Dream!

Kyla being interviewed by one of the organizers/event hosts while
she was hanging around at the Soccer booth before she makes the trial kick. Showbiz!

2 KM more to go!!! Kyla was way ahead of us!
Clearly she did not inherit my klutzy sports gene!

With Belle and Leklek before the start of the run

The 5K event was held at the East Coast Park. The sunny weather and the clear blue water of the beachfront was a perfect backdrop for this great event.  We also ran with my uber-althletic friends Belle and Leklek. Kyla ran with them and they finished ahead of us - good job to Kyla babes! Kevin, Alvin and I ran together. Predictably, we had more stops along the way to make the most of photo-ops!

This project was spearheaded by Beyond Borders which is P&G's Live, Learn and Thrive initiative that supports community projects worldwide. The donations from runners from this 5K run will be used to build a pre-school facility in Vietnam. We are also running for the dream of Vu Thi Mai, a kindergarten student in Minh Phuong Vietnam whose dream is to live in a peaceful village with trees and animals.

We headed home, tired and with aching feet, but with huge feeling of fulfillment to have contributed to make the dreams of little children in Vietnam a reality.

And yes, you bet, we will do this again!