Even before taking up Biology in college, I already knew that babies undergo a growth spurt or a period of rapid development. But I was still surprised at how rapid rapid was. You see, every time I look at Mateo, I couldn’t help but be amazed that he was just half his present size just 15 months ago.

His now tight baby clothes are solid testaments to that. His shirts and shorts that once were too large for him are now tightly stretched against his body. In fact, most of his clothes seem to be shrinking in relation to his fast-developing limbs and torso.

And actually, if baby clothes didn’t cost us money, I’d be completely amazed and perfectly content just watching our little baby grow out of his clothes. Haha!

A few days ago, Globe finally came to the house to answer our application for a faster broadband connection. At first, I wasn’t really happy to see them because they’ve been more than a week late for the agreed date of installation. (In fact, I wasn’t just indifferent towards them. I was really frustrated.) It was only after they left that it all sank in, that, yes, we now have a faster connection.

So right after dinner, andrea quickly tried surfing the net to see how much different it was from the previous service we had. She was happy… and of course I was too… until I realized we overlooked something important - the wireless router configuration.

You see, we already configured our router using our Smartbro antenna’s address. And now that we’ve switched to Globelines, the router will need re-configuring. Unfortunately none of us could remember how we did it before. It took another 30 minutes or so to find the router’s manual from God knows where. Then it took another 30 minutes or so before we could completely re-configure the blasted device. But in the end, it paid off.

I was so happy to try the dos command line to check out my ip configurations and finally confirm the connection. And YES, the new connection is great! Woohoo!

I never thought that having a baby meant so much change in one’s lifestyle. In my case, for example, before mateo arrived in our lives, I would often find time to engage in various sports - badminton, a little basketball, and even soccer.  Or sometimes, if there are no games to join in, I’d settle for jogging, pumping some iron, or just simply doing push-ups and sit-ups. Now, however, I don’t even have time to dream about doing any of these things (well except now… because the little one is still asleep). I guess it’s true that having a baby is more than having a full-time job.

I guess what I’m really afraid of is that without all the usual activities I did before, I’m slowly becoming out of shape. In fact, just recently, I started experiencing some back spasms - all because I had to carry mateo, and a bunch of groceries altogether at a certain time. What a wussy! I mean, I used to carry heavier stuff when I was in college (back in the golden days of weight training) and I’d feel no pain whatsoever.

This is why I can’t help but think that age and senescence will catch up to me faster now that I have a baby. I’m afraid that if I don’t find a way to get myself in shape now, I might just need a stair lift in the future just to get up and down the house.

While casually chatting in class this morning, I was a bit surprised to hear one of my students gasp in awe after I announced to the whole class what my age is. You’re only 27 years old! She said out loud in a surprised tone.

It was the first time I heard such a reaction from anyone. What in the world did she mean by that? Am I starting to look older than my age. You’re ONLY 27 years old… but what? I wanted her to continue but she just simply smiled in response. So the moment I got home from work, I started looking at the mirror and inspecting my face. There are indeed lines on my forehead already…wrinkles! I’m not even at my thirties and I’m already forming wrinkles in my face.

Is it alright for me to be having wrinkles at this point in time? Am I already at the age of wrinkles? Is it already time for me to start using anti wrinkle cream?

I mean, I don’t want to be vain or anything nor do I have any desire of staying eternally youthful. All I want is to look my age! Is this what it means to be a daddy professor? Huhuhu!

I’ve never given up on my dream of purchasing a brand new car… well at least until yesterday.

You see, I’ve always thought that somehow we could find a way to afford one. I mean, I always believed that it was only a matter of time before something comes along and provides us with an opportunity to actually go for it.

When I heard about Kia’s promo - the trade-in-your-car-to-get-a-new-kia deal, I figured this must be it - the opportunity we’ve been waiting for. Since they were accepting any brand and any model at any year, I thought I could finally get enough money for a down payment of a new vehicle by simply trading in our trusty old car. So yesterday, while I was out on a chore, I quickly passed by the nearest Kia outlet to have the red car appraised (without andrea’s knowledge that is). But as things turned out, the red car’s worth was not even enough to pay half of the down payment for the Picanto, Kia’s cheapest model. Even the general manager went out to inspect the red car in order to help with the trade-in, but 50k was the most that they could offer.

I guess this means we’re stuck with our beloved lancer, perhaps for the rest of our lives. Because the way things are going, we won’t be expecting any dramatic increase in the inflow of money any time soon. Huhuhu!

It’s just the first week of April and there is still more than a month of summer to go, but it seems like the summer sun is already pouring it on. Even though we have air-conditioning, it’s still not enough to beat the heat because the blinding rays of the sun are warming up the window panels in our room.

The house, you see, is facing the west and our room directly receives the sun’s fury all the way from mid-afternoon until just before it sets. In fact, the coolest place this summer seems to be the living room and the nanny’s bedroom. Unfortunately we can’t sleep in any of them. So andrea and I are currently thinking of ways to address this problem. As of now, our only options are to either put a large wooden panel outside the windows to block the sun or to put additional layers of curtains or roller shades to insulate the windows. Unfortunately, the first one totally ruins the house’s looks from the outside while the second one is gonna cost us a bit of money (which we don’t have at the moment).

Which one should we choose? We haven’t figured it out yet. So until we do, I guess we don’t have any choice but to bask in the summer heat! Huhu!

Recently, Globelines has launched a campaign in our subdivision to aggressively promote their new broadband plans to new customers. They’re promo people have been constantly leaving fliers in our gates and everybody else’s - their own subtle way of persuading people to try out.

I guess they were successful, because I did. I gave in to my curiosity and asked one of their agents to explain to me their new plans. Apparently, with the same price as our Smartbro subscription, Globelines can provide us with download rates almost 3 times faster than what we’re getting. And because they’re wired, they promise a more stable connection than the intermittent wireless Smartbro.

The only thing I wasn’t sure of is whether they have any routers that come with the plan. You see, I already bought one when andrea decided to buy a laptop of her own. I guess I just don’t want to keep it stored away and allow it to break down over time. I mean, I’ve seen used cisco routers in school that ended up with the same fate because they were forgotten.

Anyway, the router is the only thing that wasn’t clearly explained to me by the agent, but everything else was clear. So after talking things over with andrea, I decided to go for it. In fact, just this morning, I already finished the application form for a 1 Mbps subscription to Globelines. As soon as we get connected, ‘m terminating our Smartbro subscription.

High school is basically the time for acne. I remember having my own set of acne problems when I was in my junior and senior years. Like all the other desperate teenagers, I tried several solutions but no acne treatment seemed to work for me. In the end, I ended up with just frequent washings of water to lessen the ones on my face.

I guess, it’s still the same up to now. You see, some of my high school students are suffering from acne infections and are constantly battling against breakout. They’d often cover up their faces with their hankies to hide new pimples that pop out overnight. And despite telling them that it’s normal and that most kids really do experience acne infection at least once in their life, I figured there’s no amount of words that can really relieve them of the psychological and emotional stress from acne.

Oh well, acne is part of growing up! So guys, welcome to the world of grown ups!

Now that Mateo is more than a year old, andrea and I would often find ourselves discussing about the possibility of a second baby. Can we still afford to have another one? Or how long should we wait before we’re ready to have a baby again?

Both our parents  are already egging us on to have another baby but andrea and I are not too keen about the idea yet because we now know how hard it really is to have one. From the 9-month pregnancy, the maternity clothes, the actual delivery, to the balloon of monthly expenses because of baby stuff and vaccinations, we have to go through all of these again if we’re having another mateo in the house. It’s simply something we can’t afford to rush blindly into especially now that we’ve tasted it already.

The verdict - mateo’s brother or sister will come at least three years from now. When mateo is ready to be a kuya, and when me and andrea are financially, and emotionally ready to be expecting again. That would be the best for us.

Last Saturday, I witnessed the graduation of my first ever advisory class. It was a bit sad because up until that day, I never fully realized that I was going to lose them. You see, it was just then that the reality of the whole event hit me straight in the face.

I guess it’s because I take the kids for granted. Every time I see them in school, I couldn’t help but look at them as if they were still the same kids that I once handled, the same rowdy but sweet bunch of innocent students, the same rambunctious and yet inquisitive group of teenagers, the very first class of kids I considered as my own sons and daughters (virtually the same except for the fact that they’re a bit taller, huskier, more exquisitely handsome and beautiful now). I never realized that in the last three years that they were not under me, they were steadily maturing, growing more independent, and slowly but surely becoming adults, and also, to my selfish side’s dismay, establishing stronger bonds with other teachers.

You see, when I saw them, for the last time, go up the stage one by one to receive their diplomas, that’s when the reality started sinking in. I wanted to cry. The only thing running through my mind at that time was that I will not be able to see these kids anymore after the ceremony, at least not everyday like it used to be for the last four years. That’s when my tears welled up. However, it was not until when they paraded off, then hugged and bid goodbye to their present teachers that the tears dangerously came close to falling.

This, I guess that was the final blow that truly symbolized how much they’ve grown. Because as much as I wish that it was me that they were saying goodbye to, I know that that was how it was supposed to end. My children have indeed grown and learned to form bonds with other people. I just have to accept it. Perhaps, four years ago it would have gone the way I wanted it to but the sad truth is, they’re not just mine anymore.

There was nothing I could do except to recall pictures of them from way back when they were still under me - their funny antics, our many serious conversations about being mature, the punishments I gave them for not putting their chairs back in order, the leche flan frenzy, the hilarious slips that gave birth to the tradition of the word of the day. Everything! We would never have those again. Heck, we won’t even see each other anymore. And as much as I would like to stop them from leaving, I have to let them go.

I felt like I wanted to say so much to them but I don’t really know how to start. I’m sure they’ve heard everything I could possibly say from their other teachers so what’s the point?

I guess it’s a good thing our paths never crossed again after the march. I don’t think I would’ve been able to say goodbye to them without letting tears drop from my eyes and I don’t want that to happen. I mean, it’s enough that I have memories of them that I will share and cherish. There’s no need to share tears as well. After all, they’ll always be the first class I ever loved and first love never dies.