When I was a kid…

Rainbow Loom

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Ever heard of Rainbow Loom? Apparently it is a popular product for kids and adults and I have seen it mentioned in several family-oriented blogs. Of course I just couldn’t resist checking it out, and so I’ve been watching tutorials for rainbow loom friendship bracelets.

Honestly, reading up on this product and watching the videos was an ultimate throwback to when we were kids. Back then we didn’t have brightly colored rubber bands, but I would go in debt buying the ones available!

We didn’t use them as bracelets or anything though, we just joined them together to make skipping ropes.

So then I began thinking why would anyone spend on a loom when this can be done with just the bands and one’s own fingers? No need for c clips either, we would just tie them off. After watching the vids it began to be clear that with the loom, design options became limitless! Check out this more intricate design. I can also understand how making them can be addicting for adults and not just the kids. The young ones really just want to wear the end product, while the bigger ones may find making them a little therapeutic and keeps their hands busy.

The creator of the Rainbow Loom was a former crash-test engineer with Nissan, and a father of two girls. Read their story of success as told by the New York Times. Fantastic, isn’t it? I love how an idea just blossoms into something really special.

So amazed I was with the bright and cute bands that I went in search for it locally. I found sellers, but they were about twice the retail price on Amazon, and very expensive. There is a knock-off, a different brand, Loom Bandz, at a very low price. I’m ordering and we’ll see if it’s fun to make. Haha. If they’re any good, might give sets as gifts too, or whatever. It is after all, the time to start Christmas shopping. I’m thinking of giving gifts that encourage imagination and creativity. This seems like a good one, and definitely more pocket-friendly for a ninang like me than those exciting student guitars at guitar center. Hehe.

I can’t resist, here’s another video of a design I liked, chevron:

 

Do you find yourself getting hooked to the latest craze like myself? Smile

The World of Lisa Frank

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Who doesn’t know Lisa Frank? Saw this video on the Brit List, and it immediately took me back to a younger me. I wanted this huge Lisa Frank binder for school but it was freakishly expensive. Unfortunately.

I think I only ever managed to get stickers out of my allowance.


Was that a young Mila Kunis in the video? Haha!

Hmmm. Like Lisa, I’m still a kid! So maybe it’s not too late to start a collection at my age 🙂

Jesus Loves the Little Children

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I grew up learning Bible stories and the teachings of Christ through Sunday School. It was there that I first experienced being taught to make heart-shaped cards to give my parents for Valentine’s Day.

Sunday couldn’t come too soon because on that day we get to go to school in the Seminary and yet have fun. We learn songs. We draw, color, cut, paste, and do lots of creative things.

It’s almost like every other afternoon spent with friends in some grounds or corner of the compound. Except we’d be wearing our Sunday best.

Every Sunday at around 8 or 830 AM, all the kids would head to their respective classrooms, while our parents or older siblings proceed to the chapel. We all meet again later, during Communion. And then after Mass, the community gathers for coffee at the Common Room. Sometimes, the Sunday School kids would mount a performance.

Fun times.

All those memories came back to me after seeing this short video.

Thank you indeed for all the support given to the ECP’s Sunday School programs. Though their own experiences may be different, I’m pretty sure that when these kids are as old as I am now, they will look back to these times with fondness.

Then I remembered too, that at some point I thought about volunteering for the children’s ministry of the Church. So why haven’t I? It would honor Auntie Leesah’s memory to do it (ask any Seminary kid of my generation and their Sunday School memories will not be complete without her). It would also be a way to give back to the Church who has given us so much.

I don’t even go to church regularly. Sad to say, but the only times I’ve been at church lately, is to attend a memorial mass for friends or loved ones who died. So I won’t make a promise today that soon I’ll be back on track, attending Mass, and volunteering for Sunday School. No I won’t make a promise I’ll break. But I am reminding myself today. Reminding myself that I’ve been looking for something new to be passionate about. I’ll never know if this is it all along if I don’t give it a try.

Did you have Sunday School at your church? What was it like?

Back to School

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For most kids in the Philippines, school’s been back for three weeks. Sometimes I wish to go back to that young and carefree life, but then I remember how much I didn’t like school. Really. I may have been a good student in the eyes of classmates and teachers, but deep inside I was itching to be outta there. Homework wasn’t something I cared much about, but they had to be done. And waking up early! My gawd!

Oh okay, it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t hate it. I just really didn’t like studying. I really love reading, just not books for my academics. Although I did enjoy reading school books one summer while I was in elementary school. Guess what they were? The Noli and Fili. It was either my kuya or our kasambahay’s books that I read. So I went through the required reading for Pinoy high school juniors and seniors just because I liked it. But when I had to read along as a high school Senior myself, I didn’t. I read Greek/Roman mythology too, from my brother’s books. But we didn’t tackle them in English class much (bummer).

I further realized how much I didn’t like being in school when I gave up dreams of being a lawyer. Seeing Malcolm Hall regulars with their 4-5 inch thick daily readings turned me off. Spare me the agony. It just wasn’t for me. Years later, when Friendster was all the rave, I went through a crisis. Batchmates in medical school or law school made me envious. That should be me! Instead, I was working at an NGO (I loved my work then, don’t get me wrong). It felt like I wasn’t chasing after my dream.

But then I realized, well, it could be me. If I really wanted it.

It wasn’t a question of whether I could make it through law school, or med school. I’m sure I could. But I had to be realistic. I would be miserable at least half the time!

Now there’s something I really enjoyed while I was studying: Writing. Not copying notes, mind you. Composition writing. Theme writing. To a certain extent, I liked having to do ‘papers.’ Some kids would complain about having to write essays on exams; as for me, I loved it!

 

Photo Jun 21, 8 49 37 PM

I had no problem getting good essay writing. As long as there was a question to answer, and I was inspired, the words would flow through my pen to the paper. How many “my memorable summer experience” essays did I have to write in my life? ‘Don’t remember. Sometimes I wish they were returned to me, or that I bothered to keep them. I don’t think kids have to write those themes anymore.

No doubt, the yearly journalism workshops we did for the school paper (Young Trinitian’s Voice) were invaluable experiences. They did help me write better. I attended for three years, grades 4 to 6. I missed that when I moved on to (a different) high school. When I look back, I knew more about writing and putting a paper together when I was younger. Now I know zilch. And my writing’s gone bad I can’t make money doing business in research paper for sale. haha!

So there. I guess I didn’t hate school after all and it wasn’t a dreadful experience. Smile

How about you, did you look forward to writing exercises in school?

By the way, photo is mine. Those are my colleagues taking notes during the big meeting we all attended back in April.

Career Choices

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Back when I was a senior in high school, there were supposed to be career talks to help us decide what course to take for college. I looked forward to that, but I don’t think it happened for our batch. I sure wish it did.

career-choices

Growing up I had many dreams. At some point I wanted to be an architect, then an interior designer. I remember a friend wanting to be a fashion designer. I think there is a phase in every little girl’s life when she pictures herself in medical uniform. But I don’t remember going through that phase. I grew up a stone’s throw away from St. Luke’s Medical Center and have family and neighbors who have become nurses and nursing aides, but the nurses scrub pants (no matter how colorful they’ve become in recent decades) just never appealed to me (except those worn by this male nurse I crushed on for a time).

Over the years as I became more exposed to social issues, legal thrillers, and as lawyer TV shows aired one after the other, I zoned in on the one thing I wanted to be – a lawyer.

That career choice was the reason I took up BA Psychology in UP. A few years later though, I gave up on that dream. I didn’t need to be a lawyer to “right” wrongs. I didn’t have to be a lawyer to keep on helping the kids and NGOs I worked with. And I didn’t like all the readings law students had to go through. Smile

So I started off on my adult life as an NGO worker. Now, I’m an operations manager at a BPO. Things couldn’t have been more different than where the younger me imagined I’d be. Though I am serious at my job and current career, I still dream of someday doing something else – becoming an entrepreneur. A successful home baker or pastry chef Smile

Or maybe becoming a teacher? Now, where did that come from?

Image lifted from this article, also about career choices.

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