Ants in the Pants

My mom and I were talking on the phone when she told me about how bothered my sister was over an SMS my sister read in my niece's phone. If you're weirded out as to why my sister was snooping around her daugher's phone, you have to understand that we come from a very paranoid and neurotic family. My mother could have been a Stasi spy, I swear.

"She read that Christen was texting a male classmate about the love scene in the Twilight movie!"

"So what ma, that is no big deal."

"No big deal?!"

I have to say though that my views on sexuality is very liberal for Filipino standards, they always have been.

"I guess I'm too German already," I said as an explanation. "Kids as early as 12 get to see sex scenes in movies at school."

"But she's only 10!"

"But see, that's the reason why they lose ther virginity at age 12!"

I remember thinking back to the time when I promised myself that this would never happen to my child. I still find the thought disturbing, but now I am a bit more...open-minded.

"Well that's not true for everybody here. That still depends on upbringing. Thomas did not lose his virginity at age 12. In fact, he was a late-bloomer. Besides, what's better, sex at 12, or teenaged pregnancy?"

My mom was silent, because I hit a nerve. "She just doesn't want her daughter to end up like her, you know."

That's what I find ridiculous about the hypocrisy going on. My sister throws a fit when a commercial even shows a whiff of immorality when her life is as unorthodox as it comes. I understand where she's coming from though. I guess my family is not yet ready for sex-ed.

Another friend of mine, also a Filipina, is incredulous that her 15-year old stepdaughter is desperate to lose her virginity. Their relationship resembles the mom and daughter in Forty Year-old Virgin. "Hello, that's normal! She's fifteen! Don't you remember the time when you just wanted to get it over with? I certainly do."

The German lassez-faire approach to teen sexuality appeals to me because I believe that teens are gonna fool around, there's nothing I can do to stop it, and I'd rather that they'd do it in a way that is safe for everybody involved.

Get back to me in 13 years though.

Potty Training and Socialism

Ask an East German about the GDR, especially those who are not exactly adapting to capitalist life so well, and s/he will most likely get defensive about how much better everything is "in former times."

Do you know that when four month old babies were shipped off to day care during the GDR, they were potty trained at the tender age of eight months? No, I am not kidding. After recess, they were all made to sit on a communal potty trench, very much like the communal outhouse huts in China I remember reading about. They were not allowed to go until they were done with business.

I have nothing against this method. Whatever floats your boat, I say. I was shocked when I was told of this, when I read about it, since I am pretty sure my parents started us off at the two year mark, if I remember my brother's potty training correctly. I've read that while kids can be trained to take a crap at such a young age, it is more a matter of "catching the right moment" and conditioning them to move the poop when they feel the toilet seat under them than free will. Of course avoiding diaper rash and washing all those dirty diapers is a good thing, but I would like to wait until my baby says he is ready.

Anyhow, MIL is trying to convince me that Antonio is ready for potty training. "I trained my kids to go to the potty as soon as they can stand." she says. Yesterday, I let Antonio hang in the breeze while I was running his bath. The pedia says that a baby should hang diaperless for a few hours a day to avoid diaper rash. He managed to shit on the carpet in these two diaperless minutes after marinating in his pee for four hours! MIL says that this is Antonio's way of signaling that he likes doing his business WITHOUT his diapers on. I think this is a one-time freak occurence. Parents of the world, when did you start potty training your kids, and why did you decide to do it when you did it?

While You Were Sleeping

I am a worry wart.

I listen to parents tell me to "enjoy my child," things go by so fast.

And they do.

Antonio, within a span of a few days, was able to sit up on his own, then prop himself up to a standing position. At his pace, I'll be a grandma in a few weeks.

Sure, he is a pain in the ass sometimes, but I don't mind, as long as he's still a baby.

For this reason, I am so glad that I live in a country that lets me savor these few precious moments with my baby.

Sometimes, I catch myself thinking, like Emily Webb, stop, it's all going by too fast.

Ang Paglalakbay ng Videoke Tourist

Mahilig ba kayong mag-videoke? Minsan, kapag nag-vivideoke ako, natutuwa akong makita yung mga retrato sa background. Kasi hindi ko na kailangang gumastos ng pera para maglakbay sa malalayong lugar!

Minsan, may kumanta ng Modern Talking, may Koreanang babae na nag-tatampisaw sa karagatan ng Boracay noong 1992. O yung babaeng blond chaka yung lalakeng brown ang buhok na nag-lalandian sa San Francisco kapag lumalabas yung "Zombie" ng Cranberries. Tuwang-tuwa ako noong nakarating akong Prague kasi talagang yun na yun ang hitsura niya sa videoke na kinanta ko minsan!

Noong nag-cable car kami sa San Francisco, natawa na lang ako, at sinabing, "nakita ko na ito sa videoke!"

--
Die Reise von einer Videoketourist

Videoke singen ist eine von meiner Lieblingstätigkeit. Es macht mich froh, wenn ich die Hintergrundsbilder anguke. Ich brauche kein Geld,um reisen zu können!

Ich hab einmal zugeschaut, als ein Mann ein Lied von Modern Talking gesungen hat, und am hintergrund war eine Koreanische Frau die im Meer spielt. Es war Boracay in 1992! Oder ein flirtendes Paar in San Francisco als ich "Zombie" von den Cranberries gesungen hab. Ich hab sogar Sehenswurdigkeiten in Prag erkannt weil ich sie mal im Videoke sah!

Deswegen als ich das Cable Car in San Francisco mitfuhr, dachte ich, ich hatte das hier schon im Videoke gesehen!