Didn't blog for almost a year...gasp...this long? Hmmm. What happened Senn, creative juices (what creative juices hehehe) wasn't flowing freely? Anyway, let me see if I remember the happenings for the past months in a nutshell.
I- Keet is in sophomore, and doing great in school (Just had their third grading report card, goodness how time flies). She was fuming mad that the Anime Club wasn't offered this year, only Art Club this year.
She had her Snowball dance last December and had a blast hanging out with her cronies.
We celebrated her birthday in our favorite Thai restaurant. Originally, we're supposed to have some dinner guests with us but we cancelled because I got sick, and afterward we all couldn't manage to get together for schedule conflicts, so we end up going just ourselves to celebrate.
Keet has completed her service hours for this year (We always like this last service hours done in her Easter break). She volunteered in the Assisted Living Home. She helped elderly by talking to them, doing crafts, games etc.
School is keeping her busy...taking SAT practice tests on weekends, a class Holocaust Museum trip next week, a Retreat sometime this month, field day (this, she's excited because they just hang out with friends in school...sort of carnival in her school ground, with food and games). She's also excited of Pope Benedict's visit. Some of the girls in school would be attending the mass at the new National Ballpark and some (including Keet, sometimes she doesn't like confined and crowded places) will watch the affair in a big screen t.v. in the school's auditorium. Then there's the ever present homework (if this won't keep kids busy, I don't know what) and class projects. But, as I told Keet lately, all of these will pass, as summer vacation is just around the corner...yehey :-)!!! But, wait...how about summer school to take some advance courses, you have to impress colleges when it's time for you to apply college...
II- Hugbun is keeping himself busy at work and at play :). He have this monthly meeting of Duke Ellington aficionados where he is President, and then it's BASEBALL SEASON again so he's in business. Last December ('07) he had an x-ray performed on his knees. He always complains about his sore knees. I was worried, I thought that he would need surgeries for new knees. Luckily(?), it's just an arthritis... the pain comes and goes.
Most of his friends are retiring this year, this makes him daydream about retirement too (five years from now). His compressed work schedule is off indefinitely, as his assistant had just retired last week. He used to have every other Mondays off from work. He goes to work 30 minutes early and comes home 30 minutes later for him to enjoy the every other Mondays off. But with his assistant gone, he'll be in the office in the regular hours 5 days a week! I hope that he would still be able to have a week off this summer for vacation, otherwise this would be a looong summer for all of us.
Hugbun is hopeful that this year, he would be able to plant some nice tomatoes and herbs in the garden. We weren't able to have nice tomatoes for a couple of summers now, the darn squirrels had made Hugbun's garden their salad bar.
Hugbun's tomato patch some years ago before the squirrels problem
III- Moi...Well, same old same old. Although I don't work, shuttling these people is keeping me "busy". Now, I have to drop off hugbun first in the subway. He used to ride the Metro bus to the subway (bus stop is just right in front of our house), but with his new schedule, it would be convenient for him to be dropped off. Then, off to Keetbug's school. You have to pay extra for school bus when you go to a private school. With public school, the bus is free...well you pay thru your taxes, anyway. Repeat the shuttling later in the afternoon to pick them (not both at the same time) up.
I had a cat scan last October ('07). I always have headaches for the past years for almost everyday. The headaches wasn't that bad, but you sort of know that it's there. Imagine how nervous I was with the procedure and the result. The procedure itself wasn't that bad, my doctor (ENT especialist...checked the nose, throat and ears too) ask for a contrast cat scan. The technician injected me with a dye and she explained to me what to expect. Sure enough, when the dye was in my system, I felt my chest and groin getting very warm, it was a weird sensation. I was thankful to GOD, VIRGINS, and all the ANGELS and SAINTS that nothing is wrong with my brain and sinus. My doctor thought that the reason of my headaches was maybe because I clinch my jaws and chew gums a lot. Come to think of it, sometimes I realized that I clinched my jaw hard whenever I get upset or just concentrating on something. Now that I'm aware of this, I try my best to stop. My headaches has diminished considerably.
Well, what do you know, after 17 years of being a green card holder, last month I became a U.S. Citizen!!! The "catalyst" were: My Philippine passport was expiring, Immigration would raised the application fee substantially, we won't be vacationing to the Philippines for a couple of years (to save money for Keet's college pohon) and if I'm not a U.S. citizen, I can't enjoy some of the benefits of my hugbun's earnings (U.S. law).
The process of the Citizenship wasn't that long. I applied before the end of July last year ('07), by mid August, I had an appointment with the USCIS (application center) for fingerprints for the FBI. I could have taken the written exam in the same facility, but there was no available examiner that day. Last month was my interview. The appointed time was at 9:00 (different facility this time), by 9:30 I was called for the interview. I was glad that I wasn't able to do the written exam before hand. The interviewer asked me if I've already taken the written exam, so I told her no. She just asked me 6 questions orally (written exam would be ten questions), which I aced by the way ;-). The interview was just her, reading from my filled application. She also asked what I understand about my allegiance to the U.S..... fifteen minutes later, I was done. The interviewer asked me if I'm going to take the oath taking ceremony later at 3:00, and gave me a piece of paper to be filled out before the ceremony. We waited until 3:00, that was a very looong wait. It reminds me of waiting flights in the airport. I was hoping to have the oath around 12 (but that day, they only have one ceremony, the 3:00 o'clock). I was only wearing a light blouse and the temperature that day was cold and windy, so instead of going around Baltimore to while away the time, we just went to a restaurant for our lunch and came back and waited. Meanwhile hugbun was so pleased in reminding me what would happen if I don't listen to him when I complained that it was so boring (he reminded me to bring a book to read, but didn't listen). I was also amazed that there were many applicants with lawyers accompanying them, maybe their cases weren't as straight forward as most. At 3:00 o'clock, we were herded to the top floor for the ceremony. There were 140 being naturalized. There was this Korean woman who doesn't speak and understand English at all (an agent would asked you for the paper that you filled, if there are changes between the time after your interview and the ceremony). I was afraid that they won't give her her certificate as she really had a hard time understanding the agents. One amusing part of the ceremony was when an agent asked a man if he committed a crime between the time after the interview and the oath taking, the man said YES. Immediately he realized his mistake and vehemently said NO, NO. The agent was amused and we laughed WITH the man. We recite our Oath of Allegiance...then the agents called us one by one to have our Certificate (reminded me of a graduation ceremony ;-)) and a small U.S. flag. The Korean woman was all smile when she got her Certificate. I was so disappointed that we didn't bring our camera though...
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We had our summer ('07) vacation last year in Cape May, N.J. The drive from our place was a little longer than we thought, almost 5 hours. The place is so pretty. It is sort of a resort town but with plenty of old Victorian houses. I always love Victorian houses (In the Philippines it's the old Spanish style houses that I couldn't get enough of), so that was a feast of the eyes for me. We stayed in a bed and breakfast, very beautiful! I was hoping that the place was haunted, but no such luck :(. The town offers a ghost tour though, so maybe next time. We did the trolley tour of the old historic district. The architectures and the sizes of the houses are just phenomenal (some of these houses were turned into bed and breakfast). The restaurants were good and priced reasonably. You're in heaven, if your hobby is into antiquing as there were lots of "stalls" inside one of the antique stores we went. We didn't go swimming on the beach though as the place we stayed in has a swimming pool (the only bed and breakfast who has one). We're just content to lounge in the pool and sight see the town...got sore legs from all the walking though. Definitely a destination for vacations for years to come.
Where we stayed...
Some of the Victorian houses...
The beach...
