It’s just more than halfway through March, and the summer heat is already wreaking havoc. The plants outside are slowly dying despite getting water regularly. Our house is starting to feel like an oven, especially in the afternoon if you don’t open all the doors. We’ve been spending more and more time with the air-conditioning unit on (and yet we’re still contemplating on getting a basement dehumidifier to further add more coldness to the house).

If things continue to be like this till May, our expenses our going to shoot up, especially since andrea would be in her second trimester by then. She’ll be feeling the heat more than mateo and me, and we have nothing but the air-con to fight the heat.

We don’t exactly have a swimming pool at the back nor a shopping mall across the street where we can relax and spend some time in without suffering from the this awful summer heat.

I do hope it rains soon.

Last week, we went to a friend’s house in QC to catch up on things. She was one of our oldest friends and was just recently married. To give a brief background, she and her husband are currently residing in a detached extension of his parents’ house, but they were moving in to their condo this December once it gets finished.

One of the topics during dinner was about moving in. The couple were worried about how to furnish their space. Since the condo itself is a little pricey, they figured it would be difficult to save up for things to put inside.

We suggested several solutions. First, buy only the necessary stuff. After being married and living on our own for 5 years, andrea and I realized that there are a lot of things we could have lived without: (1) TV – With our laptops, a subwoofer, and the internet, we were up to date with shows, movies, and a lot of other things we used to depend on TV for. (They already have those so a new TV isn’t going to be a necessity.) (2) Sofa set – Once they have a baby, they’re going to need as much additional space as they can. In our case, we got ourselves a puzzle mat for mateo’s space. Eventually we ended up spending more time on the mat than anywhere else in the living room, so our sofa became a substitute table instead where we put our bags, clothes for folding,  etc. They can save more by not buying a sofa set or going for the less expensive contemporary sofas. (3) Washing machine – Since there a lot of laundry shops now, it would be more convenient to just simply drop your clothes off. You not only get them neatly folded already afterwards, you also save yourself the trouble of worrying about water, soap, and electricity expenses. Not to mention, you also save space.

Second, buy things one at a time. Fully furnishing a unit takes a huge amount of money because most, if not all, the necessary stuff costs more than 10k  each – bed, refrigerator, dining set, etc.

Third, postpone the baby-making. Pregnancy, delivery, and other baby expenses put a lot of pressure on the budget. If they want to furnish the unit first, then they should concentrate all their efforts on that before the baby comes. I guess this is also why most couples nowadays choose to have babies late. It is financially practical, but then again, biological reasons also have a say on that argument. (but that’s for a different post)

We realized that after getting together with our friends, andrea and I have already been through a lot. Learning these same lessons the hard way is challenging but we’ve made it through… somehow. Perhaps, next time we get together, we’ll be talking about babies and baby lessons. Those, we learned the hard way also.

This summer, I’m still undecided as to whether I want to lose weight or whether I want to put on some in preparation for next school year.

You see, it would probably sound like such a ridiculous dilemma but I have a lot of things to consider for this incoming year. First, since I’m planning on playing basketball this summer, the first choice seems like the reasonable one (not to mention healthier). Although, it’s not really much of a choice if you think about it since a lot of people consider sports to be the best weight loss supplement of all. However, it’s still up to me to decide how much play time I want. I can still stop anytime if I’m losing too much too quickly.

Second, since andrea and I are expecting a new baby by August, I’m already thinking about sleepless nights and additional chores on top of school responsibilities. Because as far as I can remember with mateo, his first year was a bit difficult (perhaps because we were newbie parents as well, I can’t say for certain) and I lost a few pounds as a result.

I don’t want to look like a zombie by December and I also don’t want to let go of the chance I’ve been given at work to handle additional responsibilities, but I don’t want to look bad and unhealthy this summer either. So what should it be then? To lose or not to lose? That is my question… hehehe!

I’m finally looking forward to summer – a promise of long break from the busy hassles of everyday teaching, a promise of afternoon basketball games, and a lot of chances for brushing up on some LAN games and skills. Although it would still be filled with work, summer still offers a welcome change in ambiance and some time for mental and emotional recuperation.

The  only real down side that I can see about this summer is the summer heat. I mean, it’s not even April yet and the heat is no less than scorching already. And as I mentioned before in my previous post, not only do I not appreciate unnecessary heat, I also abhor the sweating from it. My skin does not handle prolonged exposure to sweat well because it tends to suffer from acne breakout. I’ve known this since I was in college, which is why I’ve been conscious of sweating and body soaps since then.

Of course I have a variety of soaps and phisoderms at home since Andrea and Arlene have a thing for them and other organic body wash, but I’m not really keen on following any particular brand when it comes to soaping. I just usually take frequent showers when it’s hot and that’s it. That’s also probably the same thing I’d be doing for this summer. I just hope it doesn’t get any hotter than this though.

Andrea is currently in her 5th month of pregnancy. She’s already starting to see familiar signs of unwanted pregnancy side effects. Her feet are starting to swell; stretch marks are once again forming around her belly; and she’s been forgetting a lot of stuff lately. Her complaints about weight gains are also starting to become more and more frequent, and she keeps on wondering whether there are natural diet pills she can take without affecting our baby.

During these times, I feel a bit helpless because as much as I want to give her answers, I can’t. The only thing I can do is to listen to her and tell her how beautiful she is. Because the truth is, no matter how much she gains, I still find her amazingly attractive and sexy.

Every once in a while, I give her massages. I clean the whole house before she wakes up in the morning, or help prepare ingredients for dinner. I give mateo a bath and prepare him for sleep. I clean the dishes and kitchen utensils after dinner (whenever her sister eats out). I give the dog and bath, water the plants in the garden, and clean the garage.

But I cannot ease her pain or worry. I cannot undo the stretch marks or foot swelling. I cannot make her lose weight.

Goodbye diet! Good riddance diet aids! We’ve recently started playing basketball again and I’m pretty confident that playing would be able to keep my weight down this summer. You see, we’ve been organizing skirmishes on a regular basis these past few weeks and I think this is going to continue until the start of classes this June.

If things work out, I’ll be able to keep myself fit and in good shape with basketball and cycling. You see, playing ball has always been effective for me. I didn’t have to go to the gym in college because I used to play basketball every weekend.

This summer, I plan to play as much as I can. I’ll ride my bike to school, play basketball, and ride my bike home. Good plan eh?!

It’ summer time once again. The afternoon sun is making that fact more than obvious. Truth is, you don’t even have to walk or do anything nowadays. Sitting is taxing enough under this summer heat.

In fact, it’s become so hot that I’m starting to reconsider the idea of biking to school again. You see, unlike a few months back, when it was still relatively cooler, I had time to freshen up, and the weather allowed you to cool down before work started. Nowadays, it’s already hot before work begins, which means that I won’t have time to dry and freshen up after biking. I’ll be sweating from morning till afternoon – a not so appealing thought. Yuck!

What’s even worse is that my skin does not handle sweating really well. I easily develop acne and other skin problems when sweating profusely. There was even a time when I would be more susceptible to boils because of moist skin and prolonged exposure to dirt. Back then, my mom would even consult dermatologists for acne cleansers and boil treatments. Really hated those times.

That’s why I’m becoming really hesitant about going back to biking, at least in this awful heat. I’ll see. Perhaps I’ll try for the next few days. If nothing happens then I’ll completely go back to riding. If something does happen, then that’s it for cycling, at least for this summer.

Does height matter in preschool? Because mateo is currently the shortest in their class. Well, he is also about half to a full year younger than most of his classmates so the height difference is not unexpected. However, I am a bit worried about how much this particular difference would affect his life in school. Am I being too much of a stage dad? Hehe!

I can’t help it. I was not exactly tall when I was young. (Actually I’m still not.) In fact, I would often be the third or fifth shortest in class so I don’t get picked that often in basketball games, volleyball games, of even in tracks. What I used to compensate for the lack of height however was my ability to think and come up with strategies so I specialized in games where I could use just that – like Patintero and Agawan Base. But of course, if there were already height-boosting supplements during our time, I would have cried my heart out to my parents for some. I wouldn’t mind some additional growth hormones if it would give me an extra 3 – 5 inches, whether it be in the form of hgh spray, pill, or even injectable.

In the case of mateo, however, I’m still not so sure how he reacts with his classmates. With what I’ve observed so far, their class has yet to get to the stage where team games matter a lot or where height counts. They’re still too preoccupied with individual interests. Thank God. I am hoping that by the time their class becomes aware of how important height is, he’s already caught up to them or at least he’s already figured out what he’s good at in case he’s still not as tall as his classmates.

Last June, andrea and I had real doubts about letting mateo join school this early. (He was only about two and half at that time.) Now, exactly ten months after, he’s already taken part in his first recognition day.

Earlier, Andrea and I witnessed earlier how much our not-so-little-anymore mateo has grown. He was now confidently dancing his heart out in front of his teachers, classmates, in front of the center director, and in front of all his classmates’ parents. (He didn’t do so well during his first solo act just a few months before this.) This morning, he was singing. He was reciting, and he was even role playing. He was proud. I hate to admit it, but mateo was showing off. Even andrea was in complete agreement.

Just one year after and he’s already showing signs of a regular, typical school boy – yet another step to moving on, another step in letting go.

Summer is almost here. It’s the best time for students because it gives them a long reprieve from school, lots of time for hanging out with friends, more time to go to the mall, or simply more time for relaxing. For teachers, however, that’s not the case. Because so of many reasons, summer is not as fun as it was when we were the ones studying (not teaching).

You see, during summer, teachers only get a month of rest as compared to students who get the whole of April and May off. (Of  course we’re still better off than those in the corporate scene who don’t get any month free.) By May, we undergo training programs and a massive paper production for the incoming school year.

Second, whatever buffs (financially I mean) we get during the school year are taken away because we do not perform special roles during summer. We don’t take care of advisory classes or clubs, or go to contests and stuff. So basically, our salaries are reduced significantly. We can’t even augment our income by means of part time work somewhere else because job opportunities outside are also reduced during summer.

For example, part-time wedding coordination was a good source of additional income. We used to help out our friend who went into the said business a year ago. She would put andrea and me in charge of wedding accessories as well of being ushers. However, wedding season peaks during the cold months. Nowadays people rarely get married during summer unless it’s a beach wedding. Also, since students have a lot of free time on their hands, a lot of them go into part time work to earn extra during the break (reducing opportunities for us).

Third, summer heat is only fun when you’re on the beach, when water is available anytime you want to take a dip. It becomes such a nuisance when working. It makes you sweaty without even moving. It makes you sleepy. It makes you sluggish. It makes you want to stay home and spend the rest of the day locked up inside your air-conditioned room.

I guess that’s part of growing up. Summer eventually loses its appeal, just like a lot of other things. Huhu!