Since I never dreamed about being able to celebrate a centennial anniversary with andrea, I thought about celebrating the next best thing – a 100th monthsary – something that is supposed to take place next week on the 7th of July.

Yes, it’s been a hundred months since we got together, not much actually compared to those who have gone through 50 years or more of marriage together, but it’s been the best 100 months of our lives as far as I’m concerned. And now, I’m wracking my brains out trying to figure out how best to celebrate it with andrea.

Do I treat her to a romantic date complete with a view, a sumptuous dinner, and the wine of the month? I’d like to but I don’t think it’s gonna work because that’s not really our style. Should I give her a diamond necklace or earrings instead? I thought about that too but unfortunately I don’t have enough to get her any jewelries (even those without the diamonds). The fact is, I’m broke, desperate, madly in love, and 8 days away from our hundredth monthsary.

I’m still waiting for the right idea to come along and I’m praying it comes along soon…huhuhu!

This first few weeks of school are taking its toll on our expenses. We’ve been spending more because mateo’s nanny comes to school with us too, so instead of just snacks for 2, we have snacks for 3. Instead of lunch for 2, we get lunch for 3. Not only that, since everyone is lining up to use the printers at school, andrea and I are now resulting to using our own printers at home, which translates to ink expenses. It’s still more than a weekend to go before the next payday and yet we’re already on our reserves.

It seems that we have to re-evaluate the way we allocate our money because it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to save up with the way things are going. Especially with mateo nearing school age, we can’t afford not to store for the rainy days. So far, andrea’s own MS Excel program is the only budgeting software we use for this but I guess it’s not as reliable as it was before. Well, it’s either that or we win in the lottery! Haha!

As mateo continues to grow, I can’t help but keep on thinking about pushing through with buying a house of our own. Sometimes I even tell andrea that I am almost willing to take on mortgage lenders If only we weren’t treading on uncharted territories with mateo.

You see, we spend a considerable fraction of our salaries on three major things: the rent for the house, mateo’s groceries, and mateo’s monthly vaccinations.

The house is pretty much a given. No surprises there. Mateo’s needs, on ther hand, are a little erratic. Sometimes his vaccinations cost a lot, sometimes they don’t. There are seasons when he eats voraciously while there are times when his appetite is just low. You can never really expect a constant amount when it comes to his expenses, but I guess that’s normal.

I just hope the time comes (soon) when we’d be getting enough to not worry about the spikes in expenses. Because sooner or later, the house we’re living in would be too small for our growing family.

After finally deciding that I won’t be replacing my old laptop with a new one, andrea received word from her dad telling her about his wish to ship his old notebook computer together with arlene’s (andrea’s sister) new laptop this October. Apparently, because of an incident that corrupted his computer’s operating system, andrea’s dad decided to replace his computer that’s why he’s sending it later this year together with arlene’s new toy.

Now if I didn’t spend some money upgrading my own laptop I wouldn’t be torn about this news. Why? Because as I see it, when andrea gets her dad’s computer (which is significantly smaller, faster, and newer than both our present laptops), she’s bound to pass hers to me. And since her laptop is also much faster and newer than mine, then it would only be logical to use hers instead of mine, which means I would be left with only two choices for my laptop – to sell it or shelf it for some time.

It’s just too disappointing. And just when I finished upgrading its memory and re-installing everything to give it a total makeover. I was also just beginning to fall in love with it again but I guess it’s really time for a replacement. Huhu!

After the seemingly long summer (long because of the many piled up work we were assigned to do), it is finally time to start to school year again. In fact, last Friday we already had a taste of the classes that we are supposed to teach for the whole year. And even though it saddens me to say goodbye to the break, I have to welcome this school year with open arms and optimism, because whether I like it or not, it has begun.

The whole school and the mechanism that runs it has been set in full gear with the arrival of the students. The classrooms, the library, the laboratory and even the canteen has welcomed its first batch of kids last Friday. Even the chairs, fans, boards and books are ready for another 10 months of constant use.

There’s no denying it anymore. Summer’s gone and school has begun!

A couple of days ago, while on our way to school, we passed by a group of bikers – not the ones with mountain bikes or BMX (Extreme Games) kind but the kind with big motorcycles – red Ducatis, Huskies, Choppers, and even old used Harleys. I was in awe at the site of all of the bikes revving up their engines and roaring the same beautiful sound. Did I mention that I’m a fan of motorcycles?

Yes I confess. I’m a biker at heart! And seeing the big bikes then made me wonder if it would be a good investment to buy a motorcycle of my own now. Heck! It’s cheaper than a brand new car, consumes significantly lesser amounts of gasoline, and relatively easier to find a parking space for. As for the danger that comes with riding one, I don’t plan on using it for long travels. I figured I would just use it to get from here to work and vice versa. That should decrease the chance of accidents since the school is no more than 10 minutes away from the house. Right?

Now, if only I could convince andrea to agree…

Among the Boston jobs right now, perhaps the best one is a janitorial position in the Boston hardwood court. Not only will you get a free pass to the games in Boston especially during the finals, but you also get to see Pierce, Garnett and the rest of the Celtics up close.

Although the confetti and all the other litter would be quite troublesome, it would be alright so long as the Celtics fans are the ones celebrating the victory. Yup, I confess! I am a Celtics fan. Actually, to be more precise, I’m a Suns fan but since Phoenix wasn’t able to make it to the finals, and since Boston is my second team, I’m cheering for them this time.

Just when we thought we finally hit the jackpot this time with mateo’s nanny, we were once again disappointed. You see, a few days ago, the yaya went to andrea to tell her about the news she received from her aunt. According to her, her aunt just informed her that her brother died. At first we were skeptical about the whole thing, but later that same day, we saw her weeping inside the room so we figured it must be true.

This morning however, we called up the agency and found out that there were no news of death that came to them. Andrea grew suspicious. She questioned the yaya and the yaya slipped. Not only was she not able to confirm the truth about her brother’s death, she also messed up with her answers about certain things – things like her true age for example. She’s not 18 as what her papers claimed to be. She was only 16 years old. I told andrea that we should let her go no matter what. (Hiring minors is not exactly legal in this country.)

Upon further investigation, we found out that even before the death news, her aunt already received complaints from the yaya about the work. It wasn’t the other way around. Apparently, the yaya was finding it difficult to handle mateo so she wanted out.

I don’t get it? Why didn’t she just tell us. Why did she have to result to lying just to get out. We would have willingly let her go. I mean we don’t want anybody taking care of mateo who would feel uncomfortable doing so.

And what’s with our baby? I know he can get annoying and very irritating sometimes, but I don’t think his mischief and tantrums are beyond the range of usual babies. He has his good sides too. As a matter of fact, our co-workers in school find mateo adoring and funny. Do I have to put a gold chain around his neck just so his nannies could withstand his antics? I don’t think so.

Anyway, that’s our yaya problem right now so we’re looking for another one. We’re praying that somebody better comes along. We’re not after a perfect nanny! All we’re asking for is someone who would love mateo almost as much as we do!

Ever since my colleagues in school have started playing basketball, I’ve always had Fridays to look forward to. You see, Andrea and I have been cooped up in school and at home for quite some time so we barely have enough opportunities for ourselves or for exercise. With the establishment of the Friday basketball games however, every Friday after work, I can play from 4 in the afternoon to 7 in the evening. All I need to do is to leave Mateo to the care of his Tita and yaya and then I could immediately proceed to the court to shoot some hoops.

Why in the world do I bother? Why now? Well, I’m not exactly getting any younger nor am I becoming fitter as I age. I just thought that if I don’t do anything to keep myself healthy then time might catch up with me sooner than expected. Secondly, I play not just because I have to but also because I want to. You see I used to shoot hoops every weekend back in high school and in college because I like basketball. That hasn’t changed even though I haven’t played the game for a long time.

For me right now, playing is the most convenient and the healthiest way to get in shape. No need for a weight loss pills. No strict diets. And especially no surgical cosmetic procedures to worry about. Not to mention it’s also fun, cheap and readily available.

I’m so hooked on basketball right now that I wish I could play on Wednesdays too. Haha!

I’ve been trying to make a comeback in basketball by playing regularly every Friday with my colleagues in school. It seems that everyone is in high spirit when it comes to the sport so I’m finding it very exciting to be back in the saddle. Unfortunately, however, the body doesn’t seem to be as good as it was before. In fact, it never felt this sluggish before.

Of course, I’m refusing to accept that I’m getting older even though I really am. It’s just that for me, 27 is still a pretty decent age to be playing basketball. The real problem is that my body has not seen any sport for a long time. I mean I haven’t even had jogged for more than a year already. That and the fact that I haven’t really gone on a diet even though I’ve been away from playing. I guess that’s why I’ve gained quite a few pounds here and there.

Bottom line is my body is still adjusting. How quick will the adjusting be still remains to be seen. All I know is that I’m back to playing basketball and that’s what’s important. Whether I get back my form from all the playing is just an additional bonus. Besides, even if I don’t lose the flabs from all the running, nowadays, it’s just a simple matter of finding the drug with the best diet pill review. And that is only if I don’t get any results from basketball.