MY TEN RANDOM FACTS

i been parpolised by an award! thanks to tintintetay for this :D

Here are the rules:
- Each blogger must post these rules.
- Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
- Bloggers that are tagged need to write ten facts about themselves.
- You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.
- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and also to read your blog.


okay...random facts about me:

1. i used to climb a lot as a kid: trees, walls, rooftops, cabinets, etc. you name it, i've been up on it first and fastest. i taught my brothers to do it and never had a fall. we'd gauge a wall, spotting hand/foot holds and the best route to take to a perch and just launch up. sometimes to get from one place to another, we'd have to climb one end of a wall and balance beam to the other end. nevermind if it was a twelve-foot drop on either side for a scrawny kid. our parents and neighbors gave up on trying to make us stay down and just prayed we never had an accident. my philosophy was, i didn't climb anything i couldn't stay on top of. i hated getting hurt and having to go to the hospital, so that was incentive enough for me to be good at what i did. but sadly, the glory days of height were soon over when my mother figured out she could put us to good use cleaning the rain drains of leaves and overripe fruit that fell from the trees towering above our rooftops. it wasn't so much fun after that. haha.

2. i hate needles. the kind that they stick in you at the hospital. i am deathly afraid of something happening while they stick me with the needles and they rip out my veins. with all due respect to everyone in the medical profession, i am just afraid. i pleaded with the nurses and my doctors to be gentle when i was giving birth and they wer putting on the dextrose. but oh, lucky me...they had to give me shots almost every other hour with different medicines because i was hypertensive, going 180/100. the bad part of it was i've never had so many needles stuck in me in my entire life! i felt like a pincushion! and i hate needles!

3. i can live on books. i can lock myself in my room with books to read and just go out to eat, do my girly business and go back to reading. i can not talk to people for an indefinite period of time as long as i have a good book. yes. i am a bookworm of the worst kind. i was banned from the library as a child for reading too much. they told me to go outside and play. i was like, what? get dirty and scabby while all those books are begging to be read? worlds are waiting to be discovered and explored! and they said yeah, nice try. go play... so i went. and got caught in the cross-fire of a water balloon fight. to think i was wearing my nice pink dress and white stockings. dammet. i went back and got a book and read in a quiet corner of the playground.

4. i played cards for money in college. not all the time, just whenever i'd REALLY need funds (which at least just happened 2-3 times only. damn xeroxed readings!). my luck ran strictly along those lines. whenever i'd run out of money for necessities, i played for the pot. not that we were hard-up, but i made it a point not to be a burden to my parents and go beyond my allowance. however, those readings and research projects really can cost a student a lot, so sometimes, i wouldn't have anything left for lunch or for fare going home. i walked home when i could, but having classes all day would drive me to play so i could have fuel for my brain. i'm not a hot shot player, but my luck would only work when i really needed the money...something along the lines of, when all else fails....and i'd win the pot. i just knew that if i played for profit or pushed the limit of my luck, i'd lose what i won. so i'd always quit while i was ahead. of course my opponents always wanted to win the money back and i'd get a stare down as i beat it out of there. still, they know i never play to rip them off. after all, i'm only following tradition. my dad did it, playing cards and shooting pool for food and fare, and so did my brothers. but always never for profit.

5. i like spaghetti noodles with kare kare and bagoong. nope, don't knock it til you've tried it. it's true pinoy pasta hehe! i first had this while infanticipating with Oona.

6. i am a frustrated violinist and ballet dancer. i can't play the instrument even if my life depended on one silken tone. and i have two left feet plus about a hundred pounds unsuitable for a tutu.

7. i wanted to be a pilot and an astronaut. buuuut i couldn't make the height requirement and all that math gave me vertigo.

8. the first dream i remember is about worms floating in my bedroom. i was about 3 years old at the time, my mom says. squiggly, sesame street worms floated in the dark. i kinda freaked out about it because i knew i was supposed to be asleep and worms didn't do that. let's not ask Freudian dream interpreters what that dream meant.

9. i'm a sucker for road trips. i love travel. if i can travel (in style of course!) for a living with my family in tow, i would! especially the beach. but i love mountains too. i think i'm at my most peaceful when i'm on the road. i'm lucky rf shares my joy of the open road. we try to indulge ourselves whenever time and money permit!

10. i am a die-hard, dyed in the wool, true blue romantic. i may be a liberated, opinionated, strong-minded woman of the latest independent breed who can outlast, outthink and outdrink most creatures of the other sex; but i love surprises, doors being held open for me and flowers on special occasions. i love walks in the park, sunsets, rose petals on my bed and a man who woos me and sweeps me off my feet. i read romance novels ( i love a good bodice ripping story) and swear solemnly by wine and candlelight dinners. poetry, handwritten notes and lazy afternoons with feathers rank way up there with a hot, sweaty salsa night and being kidnapped for a secret rendezvous.   

i now hereby tag MEC, Jonas, Johnny, Den, Jimbo, Jen Trajano, JenCC, Elapot, John Becaro, Pheng, Lette and Rei! 

FUN STUFF FOR MOM: Baby Astrology

you're nauseated, nothing settles you down and your hormones are giving you a heckuva rollercoaster ride. great news is, you're pregnant!

there's so much stuff on the net to help you have more fun if your hormones aren't driving you to be moving around or nesting. on the down times, here are a few places i checked out.

First up is Baby Astrology: What's your baby's sign?

Yes. I checked out Oona's Astrological sign one day that I was bored to death. Along with being named after strong women, I'm afraid we hit her with a double whammy to be a fierce little fighter with her Western astrological sign. At least her Eastern Birth year tempers it so we haven't had a really difficult time with our little Leo Piggy! Read on!

The Leo Baby is, above all else, loud! Forget sleep for the foreseeable future, Mom and Dad. This is a baby who must be heard and will certainly let everyone in their midst know what they want. Think center of attention, since there really is no other way for this tot!

> so true! she's a little dynamo! moving, moving, moving all the time! nobody goes to sleep before she does. the only way for us to convince her to go to sleep is to pull in the shades so this little sun-worshipper could rein in her energy for a bit to get rest in the afternoons. she doesn't know her own limits yet so we're teaching her to sleep at a certain time so that she won't over-exert herself and get cranky the entire day. she also loves noise, even in the dark, she would still play or sing or babble or carry a weird conversation with me (weird because she's got her own language and i can't understand it in a cerebral way). she expresses herself well, though...babbling, pointing at what she wants or dragging you to what she wants you to do or where she wants to go. at a year and three months, she uses her entire body for expression. but, no coherent speech in our language yet. all she's got is her own language and that bond we share with her. so far it works. she's also a true performer. being the center of attention, she's very gracious to her audience, pulling out all the stops on her cute tricks and adorable antics. thank god she behaves well whenever we're in public or with company...except when she's already stretched to tantrum-point (like any child) and even that hasn't happened beyond what I can count on one hand.

With a Leo baby as part of the plan, family life will revolve around this magnetic child. The Leo baby adores an audience, so it should come as no surprise that many of these tots go on to become stars of stage and screen. This babe is auditioning early on!

> Yep, she loves a good, appreciative audience. But I'm also glad she has enough independence and confidence to be able to play on her own. When there are people, she'll be her gracious little self, like a gracious little hostess entertaining guests at a dinner party. I haven't seen her be mean or selfish to anybody. She pulls out all her toys to share to the kids, even gives the adults a toy so they can share in the fun...she tries to give people a ten-cent tour of her favorite spots in the house or attempts to share her bottle. When she's tired, she'll be quiet or if she really doesn't feel up to it, she tells Mommy or Daddy or Lola in no uncertain terms (whimper...).

To that end, this is a child who is also competitive, so maybe they are prepping for that dog-eat-dog Hollywood whirl from day one. When in a play group or any social situation, the Leo baby will make friends easily and will thrive on the interaction, since being on-stage is where they're at. Even so, they will have a hard time sharing things, such as roles, responsibilities, and even toys.

>Hmmm...If I have anything to say about it, she will continue being the gracious and unselfish little girl that she is. A little competition is fine but I don't like brats and spoilsports. After all, I am an Aquarian and I live to break the mold. Above all else, I'm happy that Oona has a sunny disposition and nothing should ruin that...not childish selfishness or vanity at always being the center of attention. I don't want any shooting stars for my child, I want her to shine steady, strong and true. Light like that shines longer.

The King (or Queen) of everything they see, they will be the one making the rules, after all. To sum up, the Leo baby is the leader of the pack, loads of fun, and will expect to live in the most comfortable of kingdoms. Pity the parent who won't play along!

> She is certainly Princess-in-training-to-be-Queen-someday. But I hope we would be able to guide her to be a true Queen as her namesakes are: to emulate the best qualities of each, learn from their mistakes and avoid them and be strong where their frailties have weakened them. From myself, though I know I'm far from being the perfect specimen, I hope to help her along to learn from history and her own experiences. I am terrified, of course. This is huge. We can all only hope for so much for all our children. But that is what parents are for.

I never liked brats or the kids who can't control themselves. I'm no paragon of virtue but I'll be darned if I let Oona grow up to be a Queen and not deserve every bit of the good it means (and none of the bad).

Now on to Oona's Birth Year!

About the Pig Baby

Contrary to its rather negative reputation in the West, the Pig of Chinese Astrology may be the most generous and honorable Sign of the Zodiac.

>WHOO-HOO!!! Great tempering agent to the aggressive Leo!

Pigs are nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste. They have so much of the perfectionist in them that others may be inclined to perceive them as snobs, but this is a misconception. Pigs are simply possessed of a truly luxurious nature, one that delights in finery and riches (in surroundings, food, lovemaking and otherwise).

> Hmm...must teach Oona value of simple living. After all, one can find elegance in simplicity. Think the Japanese way of life!

This Sign believes in the best qualities of mankind and certainly doesn't consider itself to be superior. Pigs also care a great deal about friends and family and work hard to keep everyone in their life happy. Helping others is a true pleasure for the Pig, who feels best when everyone else is smiling.

> Bait ng anak ko! Buti na lang Leo sha so she won't be a push-over! Oona does love to laugh and see others laugh. She's generous with her smiles and her flying kisses.

A Pig with no one around to appreciate its giving nature is a sad sight. Pigs are so magnanimous they can appear almost saintly; this can lead some less-than-well-intentioned souls to stomp all over this Sign, and the bad news is, the Pig will take the blows! Pigs make great companions in part because of their refusal to see the more negative or base qualities in a partner, but that rose-colored view can lead to this Sign's allowing itself to be taken advantage of. Contrary to their seemingly benign dispositions, however, Pigs can be quite venomous in response to being crossed by a lover, friend or business partner.

> Yup...Oona really is a generous little girl. Mental note: Must enroll Oona in aikido for proper ass-kicking training. You know, just in case. Still, I'm hoping that the Leo in her kicks in to balance this emerging magnanimity. I hope she can manage to be firm and giving without being a doormat like I was when I was younger.

Pigs are highly intelligent creatures, forever studying, playing and probing in their quest for greater knowledge. They can be misinterpreted as being lazy, however, due to their love of reveling in the good stuff; this Sign could happily spend hours on end making love, napping, taking a long bubble bath or dallying over an incredible spread of rich foods. Pigs tend to make wonderful life partners due to their hearts of gold and their love of family. Even so, Pigs can be rather exclusive, choosing to spend time with those who will appreciate them most and ignore the rest of the populace. Pigs would do well to realize that there's more to life than being needed. When they open up their world to a diverse group of people, they will truly bloom.

> Must cultivate her innate qualities and balance it out with the Leo's love of social interaction.

The most compatible match for a Pig is the Rabbit or the Goat.

> Haha...tsaka na yang compatibility thing na yan! I'll deal with the matchmaking after seventeen years or so.

Of course RF and I believe it's in the upbringing how Oona's going to turn out. We both have high hopes and dark fears about ourselves as parents. I know we'll never be able to get rid of the feeling that we're responsible for this little being, because it's true. We brought her into the world, it's up to us to teach her how to get on in it. While there's no manual on how to raise a good person, it does help to have little things like these to contribute to how we could shape her character and how well she'll do later on.

Of course an astrological reading has to be more in depth to truly nail things down, but I don't mind a general overview. I still pretty much love surprises so I think it's no fun if at this point, I'll be neurotic enough to want to know everything about my daughter's fate and destiny, if such things can truly be 100% read in the stars. She'll have to figure out those things on her own, I believe. I won't be the kill-joy to deny her the adventure she'll be making of her own life. I'd like to help and be there along with her and be as surprised as she is at the wonders waiting for her.


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