I missed a day of work today. It wasn’t intentional, though. Unknown to me, my husband took a leave from work today and tomorrow, not because he really wanted to, but because he needed to. He has to use his remaining leaves or they will be forfeited. When I learned this morning that he’s not reporting for work today, I told him to just take his son to the mall. I wasn’t supposed to go with them. I was all set to work. But I couldn’t bear not being with them. To be honest, I don’t want to miss out on this great family bonding moment. So I gave in to temptation, but a nice one at that. So all three of us—daddy, mommy, and Justin—headed early to the mall. In fact, we were there 20 minutes before opening time.

Gone were those days when I would prioritize work over family. Yes, I was such a workaholic. There was a time I voluntarily worked two shifts (morning and evening shifts; the second shift was pro bono) because I wanted to improve both the quality and the quantity of my work. I was working for a production-based company at that time. That work attitude eventually got me noticed by management and was later made supervisor. But would I do it again? Not ever. I now realize there are things more important in life than work or money, and that’s family. Nothing compares to the joy I experience being with the people I love. So for the first time today, I don’t regret missing a day at work. Will I do this again? Certainly.

There are a number of things that my son Justin took after his daddy. One of those is his fondness for watching TV and VCDs/DVDs. In fact, the only time the TV set in our living room is off is when Justin is taking his afternoon nap at the sofa bed. Otherwise, it’s on the whole day.

That’s the same with his dad. When he’s not in front of the computer playing chess or watching an international chess tournament, you’ll find him in front of the TV watching his favorite shows or a VCD/DVD of a film he already watched before or he’s yet to see. To date, Justin’s daddy already has around 300 original VCDs. He started collecting when we got married. DVDs are quite expensive, so he only had a few originals. He actually had wooden shelves installed in our living room wall to house his growing collection.


Ed's VCD/DVD library

Justin’s daddy already started buying his son his own DVDs. (Note: There are DVDs for kids that are selling at Php100.00 in selected stores.) Justin’s own VCD/DVD library consists of a few Barneys, 3 Blues Clues, 3 Thomas & Friends, 2 Dora the Explorer, 2 Brainy Baby, 1 Bob the Builder, 1 Bee Smart Baby Vocabulary Builder, and 1 Brilliant Baby Collection. Justin’s daddy did not buy all of these, however. Some are gifts from friends. I now wonder what part of our living room wall will be for Justin’s own collection.

I took my son Justin to the playground last Sunday morning. I had no work that day, and my son’s nanny took the day off. I knew my son would get dirty, so I resisted the urge to give him his bath before going up. Up because the playground is located at the building’s penthouse, 39th floor, that is, the same floor where the building’s swimming pool is located.

One of the things Justin looks forward to is going to the playground after he’s taken his afternoon nap. Oftentimes, he’s the only toddler in the playground when he goes up at around 3pm, but there are also times when he gets lucky and he finds a playmate or two, especially during weekends.

The playground has a kiddie clubhouse complete with a steering wheel, a telescope, a table and a stool, a telephone, which is now missing, by the way, and a slide. The lower part of the kiddie clubhouse functions as a maze. The playground also has a kiddie table where children can read books or have snacks or whatnot. There are also toy animals the kids can ride.


The kiddie clubhouse at the back; the kiddie table in front


Justin on the kiddie clubhouse's steering wheel


Justin riding “Mr. Fish”

I read from Yahoo! News last Sunday that a 67-year-old woman from Fujisawa, Japan experienced numbness on her tongue after consuming Nissin’s Cup Noodle. Japan’s health office discovered the presence of paradichlorobenzene, a chemical found in bug repellent in the said food item, although there was no puncture or other abnormality in the cup.

Because of this, Japan’s Nissin Food Products Co. voluntarily recalled 500,000 cups of instant noodles made on the same factory line on the same day. While Nissin president Susumu Nakagawa apologized for this mishap, he denied the possibility of contamination at their factory, saying it had never used or stored the insecticide inside the factory and had seven security cameras overseeing manufacturing lines.

When we went to the mall that afternoon, there was a newly installed booth beside Tom World’s at Robinsons, Galleria. And what do you know? The people manning the stall are giving free Nissin instant noodles, not the cup noodles, but those in pouches. My initial reaction was to get as far away from the booth as I could, my husband and son in tow. Those noodles might be contaminated, too. Who knows? I wonder what’s safe to eat these days.