100% Kelly

Since last year, I was already searching for a good preschool for Manu (thanks to the endless threads and various forums on preschools that glued me to the internet like a crazy momma). I was able to gather so much information from the internet more particularly on Mom Exchange, N@W, and GT, which eventually led to a decision to send my little boy to school at an early age.

Choosing a good school isn’t easy, believe me. First off, there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of preschools near our home. Second, there are different teaching philosophies (which I just learned recently since the only thing I was aware of before all the research was the traditional method of teaching) which got me thinking which is the best one? And third, the distance and budget issues (I can’t believe how much the fees are! My boy’s tuition fee - if I decide to enroll him this school year - is more than twice my tuition fee when I was in college!)

I was immediately drawn to the progressive approach of teaching the first time I read about it at Mom Exchange. As I researched about it, I knew that I wanted such a school for my toddler. One of the more popular preschools that always comes up in the forums is Toddler’s Unlimited. This school became my first choice as the reviews about the school are positive, not to mention them being progressive. Then I learned about The Bridge School. As I read feedback both from cyberspace and from close friends, I became more curious on why this school is highly recommended. I then looked into their website, found out about their teaching methods, and searched for more recommendations. With all the high praises from moms who send their kids to The Bridge, I decided to choose this school.

But when will I enroll him? I want to enroll him this year, but I am apprehensive about how he would cope as a two-year-old. I expressed my concerns to Teacher Katrina of The Bridge, and she recommended that we try out their summer camp to see if Manu is indeed ready.

Early this morning, I, together with the soon-to-be preschooler, met with Teacher Katrina and finalized his enrollment at The Bridge’s Summer Camp. I am really excited about Manu joining this camp as I can’t help but imagine him getting messy with the paints, looking intently at the teachers during story telling sessions, singing, dancing, and other fun activities. By the end of the camp, I hope to come up with a decision on whether I’ll push through with the plans of enrolling him for this school year.

Fancy a game of slot machines via your PC? There are lots of on-line casinos now offering the ever famous slot machines in varied game play (and graphics) – thus the term computerized slot machines. There are variations in the old game to both entice and interest everyone, whether a previous player or recent gamer. Fancy titles like magic casino or realm of riches do add a twist to the games but beneath it all is a simple game which can be enjoyed without the higher betting cost of other casino games.

We will be moving to a bigger and better office space in a couple of months thus our department is busy preparing for the transfer.  We had already purchased the critical office furniture and fixtures for the first phase of construction.  Only a few pieces, e.g., side tables, plant decors, blinds, are left for installation.  Although the second phase won’t require as much purchases as the first, there are still a few more items for requisition, some of which include one unit refrigerator for the executive office, a couple of coffee makers, one unit of fax machine, and a bigger safety volt.  I better submit the requisition by Monday before I take my one week vacation leave (yaya will be going home to her province to fetch her son).

We have several bottles of wine in our home, but not one has been opened since we got them from our in-laws around two and a half years ago. The reason? Well, I simply do not appreciate it – not as of the moment at least. Considering that my husband’s family are wine drinkers, I should have at least learned to drink by now. But I haven’t. I want to though, and so I tried watching a few shows on the Lifestyle Channel about wines. I also took a few pointers from a wine-lover friend. Although I learned a thing or two about this drink, I still was not converted. I guess I have to take a few sips every now and then for me to begin a relationship with wine. And a lot more pointers, perhaps? I recently knew of a video entitled, “How to Get Your Wine Palate Trained”. I haven’t seen it yet but it sure sounds interesting to a novice like me. There are also other videos specifically targeted for beginners such as “How to Taste Wine”, “Wine Glasses, How Do They Affect Wine?”, and “Decanting Wine, What Does It Do?”. If I want to be a serious wine drinker I better start viewing these soon. You should too.

Thanks to Abie, Jesse, and Jody for this cute angel.  And thanks for considering me as a friend.

I guess Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had it right after all — the computer age of is really upon us. Gone are the days when we would do our research in libraries, be picking out dictionaries and encyclopedias to get definitions and descriptions. Now, we can either get all the info we need through a search engine or straight through wikis. Mr Webster’s relatives must really hate this paradigm shift! I guess you can’t really “fight the future” (to coin a phrase) as I also find myself going through wikis to get the updated definitions though I’ve been born during the period when a household usually had two to three sets of encyclopedias and two dictionaries, one pocket-sized and one super-sized. Now the smallest dictionaries and encyclopedias are those in our PDA or mobile phones – and no need to go through the index, just “find” the word. Are the effects good? Or bad? ‘Depends really. Good because everything is within reach – (again) literally. Bad (or just not good) because the discipline of finding, searching and discovering has been replaced by “qwerty” and “enter”. I hope my son doesn’t grow up impatient or anything – I’d hate for that to happen. I want him to still enjoy reading books and learning the long way and reap the benefits of the faster way.

If this is where we’re at now, what more can we expect in the future? Exciting, isn’t it?