230: Name Game

I was thinking of naming her Eric Jr. if she was a boy. But she turned out to be a girl. So I was thinking of Erica. In the end I settled for "Deirdre". I first heard the name "Deirdre" from a character (a stunning Russian Model) in one of the TV episodes of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer in 1986. The name got embedded in my mind as I finally had the chance to use seven years later.

Of course the first name wasn't enough. I needed a second name. Not having second name or even third for a child is considered blasphemy, at least in the Philippines(I myself officially has three names). 

So, for her second name, I picked "Erin" which is the the romantic name of country Ireland. Erin was a favorite word in the crossword puzzle section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer paper, a favorite morning paper in our household during my college days. 

Combining the two names "Deirdre Erin" turned out to be a perfect match. Everyone I meet says that her name is quite rare or unique which definitely fits her character. Although her name has different spin-offs depending who's saying it. Her friends sometimes calls her "Didra", "Derdra" or "Dirdra". Of course our family would go for a more Filipino sounding name like "Debrang", "Dengdang" or "didi". I myself call her Deirds or sometimes "pong" (which is nadire's) by mistake.

And so goes the name game, as I (for the nth time) narrated to my kids while enjoying a pig-out dinner at Todai on Deirdre Erin's 17 years of existence. 

As we got out (after an hour mind you) bloated, I told them to stand in front the restaurant. "Why?", they asked. "Let's take pictures", I jokingly suggested. "Yeah right", they said as they turned away. "Hey come on it's bad not taking pictures on the places you go to!, you're Tita Chiquit will be mad!", I pleaded. "Fine more stories coming tomorrow during our long drive to Vegas", I said. "Good I will make you crazy with my Korean music for 4 hours", Deirdre fired back.

229: 1 and 44

I woke up today (with a slight headache) not realizing a year ago I started Aemes World Blog.  I also brazenly promised that my blog will be updated daily. Obviously I fell short of that promise. I only wrote 229 out of possible 365 posts.

I wasn't feeling bad about it, after all it was worth the try. There where great posts and there were not so bad posts and there were posts that didn't make any sense at all.

All in all it was a great exercise. A great way to unwind after a day's work. And more important a great way to share an idea or two.

Of course, today June 27 I know that I am another year older (not necessary wiser but 35 pounds lighter). I also found out that I still have friends and family who still know I exist (my droid Facebook wall post notification hasn't stop since yesterday- thanks everyone).

Today is just another day for some but It's was today 44 years ago that I was put in this world to either make your life better or miserable.

228: Quick! Grab your Google Voice Number

I wrote about google few months ago in this post. Back then you can only get Google voice via invite. Today Google finally open it to all U.S. Residents (sorry Canada).

Of course you need to have a gmail account first. For those outside the US, if you try opening an account, it will ask for a U.S. phone number to verify your location.

I love Google Voice, I used it to forward my calls at home so I won't miss anything and of course block unwanted phone numbers like those telemarketers. Quick grab yours here.

227: Stages of Fatherhood

Being a father has many stages. I've been a father for eighteen year and here's what i think of being a father so far.

Stage 1 - First few months, you start not to get enough sleep (and sex), lose some weight and smell like baby drool when you go to the office. Your house resembles a factory of large-packed diapers.

Stage 2 - More diapers. You start talking like a baby. Words like "dada", "baba" comes out naturally. traveling is a challenge. Your luggage resemble a whole month visit but in reality you're just going to your in-laws for a few hours. If you're not visiting your in-laws, they visit you instead  and more often than not they teach you a trick or two in parenting.

Stage 3 - You start to gain weight for eating all the leftovers from happy meals and ice creams they wanted but never can finish. You can't go out with your friends because no one will take care of the kids. Your house is a mess, you can't see your floor because toys and books are everywhere.

Stage 4 - You make sure you don't kiss them in public because they get embarrassed. Suddenly you are on your own because they rather go out with friends than going with you. You start to brush up on your math, english and history to survive the debate. You start to get few words like "fine", "i guess", "i don't know" or "I don't care".

There will be more as time goes by. You're a father from erection to resurrection. Bottom line is, you knew what you're gonna get and you're not going anywhere.

226: Ubuntu

South Africa is in the eye of the world cup storm. The Spirit of Ubuntu (Humanity towards others) in full swing. Incidentally my favorite (so is Dr. Sheldon Cooper of Big Bang Theory) Ubuntu Linux use the Ubuntu philosphy in developing software for the world to use. Back to soccer,  I always like Argentina. More so with the legendary Diego Maradona ( now in his 50's) who instead of firing those booming goals is now calling the shots from the sideline.

225: A girl or a boy?

It was 21 years ago today. I was outside the delivery room. No I wasn't waiting for my baby to come out. it was my sister's (Chiquit) second born.  As a good brother and soon to be an uncle, I was there for support.

But helping someone go through the process is not as simple as you think. First, can someone explain why most women go into labor at ungodly hours? Maybe it's a way women get even to their husbands who they blame for their 9 months of suffering. e.g. the morning sickness, the craving for weird food, the humiliation of being fat and ultimately the pain of giving birth. I have heard stories about women calling their husband the worse name you can imagine during labor.

Second, the waiting... ah yes the waiting, the pacing, the twiddling. If you had a chance to wait before, you know very well how long this thing takes.The worse part of waiting though is you can't leave (not even a brief bathroom break). It's the rule and you can't break that rule. Why? Because anytime, the doctor will come out the door and there's no one there to deliver the news. This will piss your wife more that you can ever imagine.

Anyway, I finally got the words that she's ready to blow (was it 6 or 7 cm when it's time?). A few more minutes, the door opened and I saw Dr. Villaraza, still wearing her scrubs and mask, looked around and shouted " Who's with Chiquit?". I walked towards her and she said "It's a girl! i mean it's a boy!".

And the rest is history... 21 years ago we called him GalBoy (coined from Girl-Boy). Today he's Kyle and he's 21. I saw him two weeks ago and yes he's a fine young man. He has moved out of her mom's. Although every now and then he would raid her mom's fridge when he has the time between school and work. He looked tired but seems to be enjoying his life.

p.s. 3 years after Kyle was born, I found myself doing an encore. But this time, it was my own baby (Josh) and thanks to my earlier exposure,  it was a walk in the park.

224: June Gloom

Spent most of my day outside the office today. My work keeps getting interesting each day as technical challenges are being thrown my way. I would have enjoyed it more if not for the June Gloom and somehow didn't see her today. I don't mind the former but can't seem to get over the latter.

223: Josh's Day

A special day for Josh. Today is the end of his high school days and soon the start of his college days. As I sat as one of the spectators watching the formalities, I can't help but feel proud of him. How he have grown to a fine young man. He said he wants to be in business and will soon rule the world. Quite a lofty ambition, I said. "But make sure you do it right. And when you're up there remember you still owe me lunch. "

222: Blanche Devereaux

Rue Mclanahan (who died today) once said "People always ask me if I'm like Blanche. Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern belle from Atlanta -- and I'm not from Atlanta."  She was one of the stars of The Golden Girls. Only Rose  Nylund(Betty White) remains alive.

The show has always been a family favorite in the 80's.

221: what's with fridays

It's friday and I always wonder why traffic is so light in the morning. Does this means a lot of people just get's lazy on fridays? Incidentally, I remember a manager used to schedule meeting at 4:30pm on a friday so he won't get too much questions from his staff. People love to say TGIF and always dread Mondays. If we don't feel like working on a friday, aren't we supposed to say thank God it's Thursday. It's Friday and I am not making any sense.