by rossanahead | Jul 3, 2011 | career, children, Education, Rossana Llenado, woman
By Rossana Llenado
In my business, I am surrounded by young people. Our students are young. Our tutors are young. And my staff, most of them are in their 20’s. Although I am just in my early 40’s, I am already one of the oldest in our company. This to me is a blessing because there is nothing like the passion and enthusiasm of youth to get any sort of enterprise moving.
Jose Rizal was only 26 when he published Noli Me Tangere. Andres Bonifacio was only 29 when he helped established the Katipunan. At the recently concluded convention of the International Association of Business Communicators in San Diego, California, of which I took part, the keynote speaker was Jonah Lehrer. He talked about the philosophy behind the decision-making process. There he was in his polo shirt and jeans, talking to us about the inner workings of the mind, and he is just barely 30!
The young are fearless. There is no challenge big enough not to be conquered. The young are free. There are no boundaries to the way they think and act. The young are idealistic. The way they throw themselves at what they believe in is simply amazing.
That’s why I always sit up and listen whenever I hear a young person speaking—whether it’s a staff member proposing something that we’ve never done before or one of my kids giving his two cents on a movie we just saw.
The youth, they are the future. And that’s why I am privileged to be working for and with them.
by rossanahead | Jun 30, 2011 | children, Karen Galarpe, parenting, woman
By Karen Galarpe
So there I was at midday today, doing brisk walking on the treadmill. Before I knew it, the 15 minutes warm-up walk was done and it was time to lift some weights. No, not the heavy kind, but more like 5-pound dumbbells for arm curls and 15 pounds on the lat machine. After that, 2 sets at the total abdominal machine to hopefully tone those abs. Then some time on the leg press, and maybe 10 minutes at the stationary bike.
It’s Monday, and it’s gym day, and again I am paying for the privilege of sweating in an air-conditioned gym. I marvel at how time flies—it’s been more than a year now? Wow!
I’ve been a gym dropout for a couple of times over the past 16 years (or since my son was born). I’d go for a few months, then drop out, thinking I can do it on my own and exercise at the UP Diliman Oval, but always, always, there’s something more urgent to do. So I’ve had a pretty much sedentary life for most of the time.
More than a year ago, I went to Baguio with my good friend Jing Lejano [https://www.smartsuperwomen.com/category/jing-lejano/], and walking uphill on the street got me panting in like, 5 minutes. She said, “Kung ‘di ako fit, mas hindi ka fit.” [“If I’m not fit, then you’re so not fit!”] Don’t I know it!
When my son got interested in enrolling in a gym last year, I enrolled myself too. On the first day of my training, my trainer put me on the treadmill. The 15-minute time limit seemed like forever that he brought it down to 10. He also moved back my speed from 5.0 km/hr to 3.0 km/hr. I was exhausted. He said, “Buti na lang naisipan niyong mag-gym. Ang hina niyo pala.” [“It’s a good thing you decided to go to the gym. You’re weak already.”] OK, I know, I know.
Fast-forward to a year after, and today, I do 5.3 km/hr on the treadmill for 15 minutes if I don’t feel like pushing myself. I can lift light weights and walk faster than I used to. I also feel stronger, and walk with a spring in my step, I believe. The muscles? Hmm, getting firmer, although the abs may take another year to be flat (haha!).
I read somewhere that just 30 minutes of exercise a day can do wonders to one’s health. Thirty minutes! Surely you can spare 30 minutes a day, right? Or, OK, 30 minutes every other day at the minimum. Go flex those muscles, girl, and do it for a healthier you.
by rossanahead | Jun 28, 2011 | career, children, family, Gina Abuyuan, parenting, woman
By Regina Abuyuan
Out of sheer frustration, I ranted about a certain celebrity in my Facebook account. When I posted it Friday night, it got 14 likes in one hour. Now, it’s got 51 likes. The fervor has slowed down, but it looks like it’s not stopping.
So what is it that’s gotten people so involved—maybe a better word would be “embroiled”—in my personal opinions? My opinion about Kris Aquino, that’s what, and her most recent quotable quote about being a single mom: “Madali maging single mother, kasi mababait ang mga anak ko.” [“It’s easy being a single mother, because my children are good.”]
Google it and you’ll see.
I don’t even have to go into details on why this statement offends so many.
She makes light of the most difficult “job” in the universe, glossing it over with her image of being a doting, hardworking mom with a healthy work-life balance. No one—not even married or partnered moms and dads, no matter how wealthy and successful they are—can claim parenting is easy. Up to a certain point, you’re in charge of shaping a person’s life, making sure he or she doesn’t turn into a serial killer or something. And her reason? Because her kids are “nice”? That’s like saying parenting is easy because one’s kids are thoughtless, emotion-less lumps of cake who don’t need attention and understanding and discipline.
She seems to have forgotten that her mother, Cory Aquino, was a single parent. I wonder what Tita Cory would have said if she heard her youngest say that. I can just imagine her hanging her head in disappointment, shaking it side to side, and sighing: “Hay, Kris. Where did Ninoy and I go wrong with you?”
by rossanahead | Jun 19, 2011 | children, family, parenting, Ruth M. Floresca, woman
By Ruth M. Floresca
“It’s your government-given right!” I’d always point out every time one of my sons tells me a tricycle or jeepney driver hadn’t given him the correct change.
It irritates me that we have a law indicating that students are entitled to a 20% discount on public transportation fares and yet there are still drivers who choose to ignore this directive. I am all for paying the right amount for fares and services. I even return money to drivers and bus conductors every time I receive extra change. But I am not in favor of having my kids pay more than what they are supposed to.
Three of my boys take public transport when they go to school. I really dislike it when drivers insist that students don’t get fare discounts when there are no classes. Even though I still don’t get why not (since their status as students doesn’t change just because it’s Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday), I pay full fare for my boys when we ride PUVs on those times and during summer vacations just to avert unreasonable arguments.
But now that classes have resumed, I remind my boys to insist on their rights. “Imagine poor kids who can’t afford to pay regular fares. If you let drivers think it’s OK with you if they don’t give you the correct change, you are doing a disservice to many other kids, especially those whose parents can’t afford to pay extra.”
I also tell them to compute how much they’ll be able to save in just a week, in a month, and in a year if they pay the discounted amount every day. That got them thinking, particularly my firstborn who’s already in college and is more conscious nowadays when it comes to budgeting his allowance.
To avoid hassles as much as possible, hubby and I save the coins we get as change whenever we go out. This way, we can give our kids the exact fares they should hand over to drivers so they won’t have to insist getting the right change every time they pay.
I believe that what I’m doing is one way to teach financial responsibility. Alas, honesty should go both ways. Still, it’s always better to stay upright on our end even if there are others who refuse to do so. While they are young, I want my kids to always remember that.
by rossanahead | Jun 17, 2011 | children, Education, Gina Abuyuan, parenting, woman
By Regina Abuyuan
I usually dread the mornings. I hate the feeling of drowsiness, not being able to think right because you’re just too goddamn sleepy. When I’m sleepy, I turn grouchy and uncoordinated; an ill-tempered puppet.
But it’s school time again, and while my partner D has taken the initiative to make the kids’ breakfasts and drive them to school every morning, I sometimes feel guilty that he has to do all the dirty morning work…so I gather up all my willpower to drag myself out of bed and join him and the family for “breakfast.”
We have no stay-in help, so breakfast is a no-fuss affair. No table settings, no side dishes of atchara or elaborately sliced fruit. This particular morning, it’s ham sandwiches, all piled up on a single plate. Baon is packed the night before (that I do). Sounds efficient, yes? Like everything would go by without a hitch? Not really. Either one of the twins has a hard time waking up, gets absentminded while eating his sandwich and loses it to our new Labrador puppy. Another forgets to turn off the faucet after brushing his teeth. Then the other wears his shirt the wrong way. Their older sister is getting grumpy; she’ll be late if the twins carry on like this. Eventually, it’s over. Schoolbags are piled on little shoulders. Kisses are exchanged. They’re in the car and off to school.
I sit alone at the dining table. Crumbs litter the surface; little bits of wheat bread and egg are scattered on the floor, and already I can imagine the ants’ antennae perk up, a contingent of soldier arms ready to pick up the morsels. I pick up their leftovers, put them in my mouth and chew slowly.
Amidst the mess, the whole house is quiet. Cool, not-yet-so-bright, and silent. I’m alone. For the first time in almost a week, I feel I can breathe.
At that moment, I feel like a different person. I feel no tension and anxiety, and a thought crosses: I love mornings.
Let’s see how long that’ll last.
by rossanahead | Jun 14, 2011 | career, children, family, Karen Galarpe, parenting, woman
By Karen Galarpe
About a year ago, I was trying to schedule a lunch date with two of my classmates back in high school. We were all working for the same company, and I figured we should have a mini-reunion right in our neck of the woods.
It should have been easy to set a date then, I thought, but it proved otherwise. MG had to pick up her daughter from a tutorial center and bring her home, right around her lunch break. MC had to make a run to her sons’ school to pick them up and bring them home, before returning to work. Every day.
Finally, we found a common free lunch hour (after weeks of scheduling). After talking about high school and work, we got to talk about our lives as career moms.
True, it may be difficult, but bringing our kids to and from school is a joy in itself, we agreed. The extra time to bond with our kids is priceless as we get to talk about the serious and not so serious stuff while on the road.
We hear it first from our kids what happened in school, what project they need to do, and what they did with their friends.
We learn more about their world at the exact time they feel like talking about their day. More often than not, they’re kinda tired by the time we get home from work that they’re not in the mood for much talk.
I know not many moms have the privilege of driving their kids to and from school every day, but should you have the chance, take it. Kids grow up fast; make time to be with them.
