Read the reading of the day of the same title on Our Daily Bread. I remember long ago, when my office mates and I visited the pediatric cancer ward of the Philippine General Hospital, I rhetorically asked (on email a day after the visit) why we we’re smiling, giving gifts, and singing when just a room away, someone was dying… and died… we saw the interns wheel away the body of the recently departed child. Soon after that, Bob told me that we were not smiling, giving gifts, and singing because of the dying, we were there to try and bring some happiness to those who live. Indeed what he said is true. Every moment of life is a reason for joy and the memories something to cherish. Wise guy, that Bob (BTW belated happy birthday!)
Month: January 2012
After Sunday mass and lunch, Michelle went off for a massage and a facial. That left Jeanne and I with at least two hours together. No biggie, I’ve done it before.
First we went to Gymboree where Jeanne had a great time playing alongside the kids. All the other kids were doing the same. I guess the typical visitor still haven’t learned how to play with others. Still it was lots of fun for her even if the interaction with other kids is limited to things like “That’s my ball!”, “I’m still playing with it!”, and “No! No!”. Most of the time, I just let Jeanne romp. Only later did I find out that they recommend you to be a “hug distance”.
Next, we went windows shopping at iStudio and ROX. Jeanne had fun with the white iPad at iStudio but said she likes her black iPad better. At ROX, she had fun with the ramps at the shoe section. I also took the opportunity to look at the gadgets and gear.
Finally, we dropped by the Spa. But Michelle wasn’t done yet. So we strolled around some more inside and just outside The Spa. After a while, Jeanne was getting bored so I took her to Dimensione which I like visiting and which Jeanne seemed to also enjoy. But it was stressful for me with all the breakable stuff within her arms’ reach.
Finally, with Jeanne becoming cranky and sleepy, I decided to head home. After leaving a text message for Michelle, we went to the parking and then drove off. Halfway there, Jeanne was already asleep.
Tonight, my uncle and cousins encountered a taxi driver sidelining as a linguist (or is it the other way around?). His name is Vicente (just like my uncle) and he speaks several languages including English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, even Japanese. He seemed to be a smart, learned guy. I wonder which language he uses to teach his kids. Experts say that the best language for teaching is the child’s first language. I expect it would. Of course, the educational material, e.g. books, would also need to be on that first language. It’s easy to say there’s no reason why we can’t develop material for a particular language since the Japanese, Chinese, etc were able to do it. But those languages have millions of users with a huge pool of domain experts. If you are to take that concept here, you’re talking a dozen languages with a few million users each with a smaller percentage of domain experts much more those capable of developing educational material. I say instead of changing the language used at school, change the first language to the one used at school be it primary, secondary, tertiary, or beyond.
PSMonitor 1.2 is out! Added new tabs (active stocks tab for viewing actively traded stocks by value, gainers tab for viewing gainer stocks by gain, losers tab for viewing loser stocks by loss) and fixed error in indices data. Check it out!
Michelle and Jeanne came home last night. Thanks be to God. Thanks to Michelle for giving me this chance. Thanks also to my family and friends for their prayers and support. Now for the harder part, to live each day as a husband and father as God intends it.