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Published: August 28th 2006
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Almost every month, we celebrate a birthday in the family. This month, it’s Reid’s 9th birthday. The kids enjoyed playing cricket and football in the backyard while the adults feast on spring-rolls, sushi, satays and JFC (Jon’s Fried Chicken) and converse about anything under the sun. Men usually talks about work, sports, movies, TV shows and whatnots with a beer on one hand while their female counterparts talk about babies. This year, there are three newborns in the family. It’s like babies galore ! Yet…the conversation revolved around having more babies ?!#?
This is virtually how the conversation went in Tag-lish (Tagalog-English): Charmaine: “ So, are you having another one soon ? “
Janine: “Yup… I’m going to plan to have a girl next time.”
Johanna: “Yeah…it will be great to have a girl as we’re all having boys ! “
Janine: “ …in the book, dapat daw ay mag-bate muna ang lalake para lumabas ang mga strong and fast na male sperm, so female sperm na lang matitira sa susunod “
Charmaine: “ Eh…baka naman wala ng matira at dapat baka pigain na lang”
Johanna: my nephew Reid - "The Birthday Boy"
wishing two front teeth for Christmas ! “ Apparently, you have to eat a lot of dairy product and try to avoid citrus if you want to have a girl“
Charmaine: “ When my sister was trying to conceive, hindi nya pinapaligo ang asawa, dahil hot water can kill the sperms ! ”
Johanna: “ What the….???? (*in reflective thought*)….What about cold shower ?#*?
Charmaine: “ HUH ????”
More reflecting and funny facial expressions…blah….blah…lol…… Charmaine: “ How about you Johanna ? any plans for another one ? “
Johanna: “ I think I’ll just leave with you girls the rest of the breeding” :>……..lol
….. the rest was more blah blah and lol….. and joking around. Janine is thinking of going back to work next January as she is hoping to get the senior specialist position. However, she is also apprehensive to put her baby in the Child Care Center knowing he wouldn’t get the proper attention and nurturing environment he would get at home. Her husband toyed with the idea of quitting his job to look after the baby for a year. He did quit his job before
Birthday party
careful with the knife there... the baby was born but a new door has opened up for him. He landed on a very promising career in the computer industry. So now Janine has to either go back part-time in January or hope her employer will let her take a year off work.
Australia has an aging population. In an attempt to increase the birth rate hence boosting the population (apart from immigration) to keep the country going in the next century, the Australian government is giving away AU$4000 (with a thousand dollar increment every year or two) for every child that was born since July 2004 (my little Ryan missed out on the grant as he's already born before the introduction of the grant).
The government is basically bribing women to breed. The modern woman’s dilemma nowadays is whether to fully or partially abandon her career in order to look after her children in the early years of their life. The cost of putting kids in the Child Care Center will also practically offset at least half if not most of women's salary. The government has made it difficult for mothers to return into the workforce especially in the private sector. After the
new industrial relation law came to pass, business owners with less than 100 employees have now the power to fire workers with any apparent reason. So say goodbye to unfair dismissal law !
The million dollar question is, “What do women consider the most important things in life”……… the
ANSWER is simply
GOLF BALLS ……..NOT soccer balls, tennis balls, cricket balls or ping-pong balls but GOLF BALLS. Interested to know why golf balls ? You just have to read the email that a friend of mine sent me. So here it goes:
" A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous . . . "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided. "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things; god, family, children, health, friends and favourite passions, things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter; like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else; the small stuff."
"If you put the sand into the jar first", he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to
you."
"So, pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, fix the drains, put up that shelf.. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just sand."
One of the students raise d her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked; it just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
Cheers !
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John and Sylvia
John Wallace & Sylvia Bowman Wallace
Stole your story!
Joanne, I have stolen your philosopher's story and sent it on to some of my friends. I hope you aren't offended. I have never spammed anyone before but thought the story was too good to keep to myself. I would have included you on my email but I couldn't find your address. Travelblog keeps its secrets. I think you should get my email address as part of this comment, but, if not, it is john_m_wallace@optusnet.com.au if you want to respond. My wife and I are just about to leave for the Woodford Folk Festival, North of Brisbane, which starts on Boxing Day. Have a great Christmas.