Life with Baby

like many have done these past few days, revisiting the music of michael jackson has been greatly touching and rewarding.  we have been reminded again of how he truly is a musical genius, song-wise and dance-wise.  i have never been an avid fan but i can say that the first CD i’ve ever owned was “dangerous”.  i’ve also been lucky enough to see and hear him perfom up close, during his concert here in tokyo in 1996.

browsing youtube, i came upon a recording of him singing a preliminary cut of “we are the world”.  his pure, beautiful voice really shines through in this video, especially at 3:30.

from this, i came across very rare footage of the making of the song.  even though the narration is in japanese, i think you will still get goosebumps from the sheer talent gathered in one room.  it is indeed rare, because the uploader says he recorded this on betamax from a tv special in 1985, converted it to vhs and imported it into his pc.

wouldn’t it be great if all the remaining artists in the video got together again and re-record the song as a tribute to michael?  the message is as relevant as ever and it would be a grand gesture to a true musical great.

part 1 here

part 2 here

part 3 here

part 4 here

part 5 here

could this be any funnier?

she just gets better and better.  watch out for her on oprah, may 18.

i never was a fan of boxing, equating it with needless violence.  i know that manny pacquiao is revered in my country, and i really wasn’t interested at all in his story.  it is easy to see why he is considered a hero by fellow filipinos - on him we project our aspirations that we too, the filipino people, are world-class.

mom was fortunate enough to meet the man a few months ago before his latest fight (and she was ringside too in las vegas but that’s another story.) she told me that before he ate his lunch, he took a very long time to pray.  and he gladly signed so many pictures mom brought.  mom brought a number to give away to friends and family, and one of their party took one of the pictures away after he signed it.  in a small voice, he told mom, “i’m sorry but he took away your picture.”

that made me admire him.  i have heard of his incredible generosity, his humility and his faith, but somehow it is different when you hear stories of him first-hand.  that even without the cameras, he still was prayerful and humble.

my interest piqued, i watched the hbo documentary of this latest fight, “24/7″.  i admired him all the more for his complete faith in God, and even the way he views his opponents.  he is a true sportsman, one worthy of the admiration that comes his way.

mom called me last night and told me of an unpleasant experience she had there.  they were in the elevator of the mgm grand and the doors opened on one of the floors.  a british contingent was waiting to ride, but upon seeing mom, one of them said, “i don’t want to ride that elevator, there are asians in it.” after the KO victory today, i was tempted to tell mom that i wish she would encounter that man again and tell him “i don’t want to ride that elevator, there are losers in it.” but i bit my tongue because that is so un-christian.  and i also thought that i should learn more from the pacman’s humility.

mabuhay ka manny. mabuhay tayong lahat.

by nature i am a worrier.  sometimes i worry myself sick, that is, until i literally get sick like i am now.

the swine flu outbreak is worrying me to no end.  there are times when i am in control, thinking rationally and carefully.  but there are also times when i feel like i am going to lose it and i am gasping for breath.

the only comfort and solace i have now is prayer.  i am so thankful for my faith, for knowing and recognizing God’s presence in my life.  there are times when i clearly know and can say “it is Him!”  like the other day when i was going to pick up the kid from a birthday party, i got hopelessly lost walking around (and it was cold and raining, which i’m sure made me sick as well).   i said a small prayer to God to show me the way.  just then, a family of 3 came into view (this was a residential area, and it was pouring so there were really no people outside.) and i asked the dad if he knew where the french embassy was and he pointed me to the right direction. now what are the chances of that? coincidence, some may say, but i believe it was God, sending me a human angel to help me.  

i also remember when i was pregnant and i was walking home.  i thought i could make it home but halfway i couldn’t and i really thought i was going to give birth right there on the street.  i prayed for a taxi and the minute i finished my Our Father, one came.  now you would say taxis are common in tokyo but we were living then outside of tokyo, in the suburbs where taxis hardly venture unless they already have a passenger.

just last night, at the height of my panic attack, i opened my book “He and i”.  the message was “I am always with you.”  tonight, while putting the kid to bed, she told me that she will sing a song for me.  and this is what she sang:

“You’re Never Alone, You Know
Just Think Of Your Friends
The Ones Who Care”

and who cares more for me than the Heavenly Father and Mother? once again i recognized God reaching out to me through my child.

but i am human, and i still stumble and begin to fear again.  and during these times i have learned to pray.  my mom told me to have a Holy Hour with the Lord, just talk to Him and tell him all of my concerns and thoughts.  she also encouraged me to pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. when i am scared the most, i realize how grateful i am that i have my faith to turn to.  i wonder how those who do not believe in God fare in times of distress?  to whom do they turn to?  from whom do they find comfort?  if you read the link above, it says that we should pray for mercy for those who do not believe.

i believe that we should all pray harder, to make more time for prayer and for God in our lives now more than ever.  there are just too many problems and suffering in the world now that our prayers are really needed.

so after you read this, try to check out the link above and pray with me for all of us.

these babies just took away 10 years from their mommies’ lives.

she sees our wedding photos.

“i like your dress mommy.”

“thank you.”

“will i wear something like that too?”

“yes, when you get married…who will you marry?”

“anybody.”

this just proves that the truly talented are multi-talented.  she writes, composes, sings, plays bass and teaches.  she just sounds so wonderful!

makes perfect? 

we were preparing for a school interview/assessment.

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“ok, pretend i’m the teacher ok?”

“ok.”

“can you spell rat?”

“R-A-T.”

“can you spell fun?”

“F-U-N.”

“can you spell pig?”

“P-O-T.”

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“what are you favorite vegetables?”

“broccoli, peas, carrots, and lettuce.”

“any more?”

“sausages.”

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role-playing.  she was the shopkeeper, i was the customer.

“i would like to buy those pencils, please.”

“you have to wait your turn.  please fall in line.”

okaaayyy.

i was inching forward.

“it’s not your turn yet.”

i step back.

“ok, now it’s your turn. what do you want to buy?”

“those two pencils please.”

“that will be 500 yen.”

“500 yen?! that’s too expensive!”

“i sell expensive things.”

i slink away.