Philipponion

Except to say this:

2007-06-30T16:45:00.000+08:00

Favourite things about this posting? The list would start with these folks.

Neither of us will say more

2007-06-30T16:37:00.000+08:00

Friends and Colleagues

2007-06-30T16:25:00.000+08:00

Promise you won't tell why a flower is being passed from one president to the next. But I have every confidence that these fine folks will take these traditions into a 50th year.

Hard at Work

2007-06-30T16:24:00.001+08:00

It had been a while . . .

School's out

2007-06-30T11:24:00.001+08:00

The quiet dignity of youth is exemp -lified in this documentation of the last day of school

She swims!

2007-06-30T11:13:00.000+08:00

If you don't believe the picture, check out the video

Post Disney

2007-04-22T17:16:00.000+08:00

Hanging at the hotel, playing at the airport

All day fun

2007-04-22T17:08:00.000+08:00

Considerably more energy at the start of the day than at the end. For most anyway.

Parade highlights

2007-04-22T17:00:00.000+08:00

Depends on your perspective I guess

The rivalry continues

2007-04-22T16:58:00.000+08:00

After seeing her brother getting his medal for that recent kumite tournament, the little one decides it's time to start weight training.

Something for everyone

2007-04-22T16:44:00.000+08:00

The little one loved the Mickey and Minnie dancing show. So did Papa.

Everybody smiles at Disneyland

2007-04-22T16:30:00.000+08:00

Toontown getaway!

2007-04-22T16:24:00.000+08:00

After breaking out of jail, Brother drives the getaway car.

Toontown mishaps

2007-04-22T16:18:00.000+08:00

Brother takes the brunt of sister's first driving lesson, and she phones in the accident. That followed this shocking incident brought to you by YouTube.

Then (2004) and now

2007-04-22T16:04:00.000+08:00

Plus ca change, plus c'est Disneyland

2007-04-22T15:48:00.000+08:00

Piano Recital

2007-03-10T13:34:00.000+08:00

n
We hosted a recital for all the kids studying under our piano teacher. The older one was worried that he was not as well prepared as he could have been, but you can judge how he did for yourselves on YouTube

Update: My favourite things

2007-03-10T13:23:00.000+08:00

Just to let you know, I like Dora, and I like tatoos.

Thank you Auntie!

2007-03-10T12:04:00.000+08:00

More loot from home!

Hey, this isn't Manila!

2007-02-25T21:05:00.000+08:00

Buddies

2007-02-25T21:01:00.000+08:00

On the slopes, in the bars, or relaxin' in the room afterwards. Nothing like catching up with old friends, eh.

Ski weekend in Sapporo

2007-02-25T20:57:00.000+08:00

Good old friends and fresh new snow make for a great ski weekend. This should also challenge Mama's assertions that she is never in these pictures.

Sapporo Beer, Hokkaido Bears

2007-02-25T20:53:00.000+08:00

Good friends in Sapporo share beers and bears.

Sports for the girl this time

2007-02-25T20:47:00.000+08:00

So finally the little one starts her sports career with a kinder-
garten sports meet (or undokai). As you can see her class was primed and ready, and did not let the crowd down with their precision pompom performance. When the actual sports began, the little one had a last minute burst of speed, but alas, only took second in this race, brought to you by YouTube. Later, father and daughter helped her team win the blindfolded relay by taking advantage of the anchor position to run past the hapless blue team.

Why I'm kind of looking forward to going back to Canada

2007-02-14T21:11:00.000+08:00

From whining to grinning

2007-02-11T20:19:00.000+08:00

Meanwhile the little one was, as usual, resistant at first to unexpected visitors but soon warmed up

Sports update 2

2007-02-11T20:09:00.000+08:00

A couple of last minute tips from the coach didn't stop him from being floored by a kick to the head, but he got back up and fiercely fought back (as this video will show) and ultimately earned a bronze in the kumite competition

Football glory for EIS

2007-02-04T21:27:00.000+08:00

Gold medal performance

Touring Intramuros with my boss

2007-02-04T21:19:00.000+08:00

There are some nice things about Manila . . .

Hard At Work

2007-02-04T21:15:00.000+08:00

in Intramuros, with my boss and some UP students

Nothing new so more vacation pics

2007-01-19T17:35:00.000+08:00

Young girl's affections

2007-01-06T23:36:00.000+08:00

Adores her brother, has a boyfriend . . . papa is jealous

Happy New Year!

2007-01-06T23:01:00.000+08:00

So we survived the fireworks again this year, and celebrated the New Year with a traditional Japanese mochi-tsuki, pounding rice cakes. Here are some pictures, along with three video links, which as you can see show the pounding, the rolling and the eating. Bonus video shows the big brother that his little sister is getting competitive.

Hard at Vacation

2006-12-29T21:49:00.000+08:00

By land, by sea

2006-12-29T21:30:00.000+08:00

Part of the fun is in getting there and back, by jeepney (a little nicer than usual) and banca. Note the security guy, which I managed to keep out of most of the pictures, even though they were everywhere. It's been a while since anything happened, but given how bad that was . . .

Flora and Fauna

2006-12-29T20:53:00.000+08:00

Moonlight scenes

2006-12-29T20:18:00.000+08:00

Club Noah scenes

2006-12-29T19:31:00.000+08:00

Caves and Cliffs

2006-12-29T18:52:00.000+08:00

A typical outing brought us on a short speedboat ride to this small island with a spooky cave and awesome cliffs plunging deep into the crystal clear water, providing a platform for some great coral to snorkel around.

Feeding the fish from the balcony

2006-12-29T18:20:00.000+08:00

Hard at Vacation (for a change)

2006-12-28T23:03:00.000+08:00

The food

2006-12-28T22:31:00.000+08:00

Great bountiful breakfasts, then separate chefs employed to do the barbecue lunches on the beach and the buffet dinners at night, all in all the best food we ever had on vacation.

The sea at our door

2006-12-28T21:22:00.000+08:00

Because our back steps led directly to the sea, we could snorkel directly from the room, and then relax on the balcony enjoying that spectacular view. The snorkeling was amazing, and if you don't believe me, take a few minutes and check for yourself.

The room, the view

2006-12-28T20:51:00.000+08:00

The view of the boats from the cabana, and the cabana from the boats.

In-room massage

2006-12-28T20:26:00.000+08:00

Our vacation at Club Noah Isabelle may have been the best yet. Great service, comfortable room, spectacular view, instant access to the sea, best food ever, memorable outings . . . a few pics now to back it all up.

Vacation! Step One: the airport

2006-12-28T19:37:00.000+08:00

Our plane set down in the bustling air hub of Taytay . We knew this no longer Manila. Note the dog trotting plane-side, a favorite for many who made the same trip we did.

Camping out

2006-12-28T19:16:00.000+08:00

in Nana's Xmas present . . .

More Christmas Loot!

2006-12-28T17:32:00.000+08:00

Xmas presents from parents and grandparents gleefully displayed.

Santa was here!

2006-12-25T08:09:00.000+08:00

Even way out in Club Noah Isabelle Santa was able to make it and deliver the goods. The little one was so excited she couldn't even wait to get dressed, but soon woke up everyone else to share the joy.

"Quiet" diplomacy

2006-12-23T19:47:00.000+08:00

So this guy thinks he was on some low-key "mission" to talk to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (the MILF that you can look up at work) only to find that his name is plastered all over the media. Well at least it's for a good cause.

My other posse

2006-12-21T22:36:00.000+08:00

Don't you hate it when no-one tells you your fly is down?

My posse

2006-12-21T21:44:00.000+08:00

We were cited as "group that had most obviously come up with a last minute number but made up for it with enthusiasm and audience participation." This was the dance from Pinoy Big Brother, using the infectious hit theme song Pinoy Ako.
By the end, there were so many people up dancing they couldn't tell how bad the two white guys on the left were (hey, the redhead can dance).

Office Christmas Party

2006-12-21T21:27:00.000+08:00

So for some reason, they decided to make me one of the MCs for the office Christmas party this year. Naturally, I assumed I was supposed to make all kinds of shockingly inappropriate remarks. I mean if someone tells you he's been working long and hard on his act, would anyone really expect me to be restrained? (For the record, I almost was.)

Not quite sure if I trust him, but he does have presents . . .

2006-12-16T16:16:00.000+08:00

Hard at Work

2006-12-15T22:06:00.000+08:00

Sorrry to keep you waiting

2006-12-09T20:13:00.000+08:00

Another typhoon blew through and devastated the country, but luckily spared Manila. The older one had a karate tournament, and performed well, but was outclassed by another dojo (though some dispute the fairness of the judging). Then the little one had a Xmas concert at her kindergarten, and unlike in past performances actually moved, indeed, sang, danced and jumped, and while she did not exactly smile, certainly did not have that look of frozen terror that characterized past appearances! Finally, the mother (no pictures) took second place in a badminton tournament. Since graduation, she's been practically a full-time player. Oh to be a lady of leisure.

Hard at Work

2006-11-21T20:46:00.000+08:00

Note the Pacquiao t-shirt

Don't you hate when this happens?

2006-11-21T20:39:00.000+08:00

Don't you hate when you get pythons stuck on you?

The sign says "Please don't touch the Lawin"

2006-11-21T20:19:00.000+08:00

In order to stop people from touching their Lawin, they posted this big bird as a guard.

What? It's a flower! What?

2006-11-21T20:14:00.000+08:00

Philippine triumph: Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao

2006-11-20T19:53:00.000+08:00

The highlight of our recent trip to Davao was the chance to watch Manny Pacquiao definitively claim victory in one of boxing history's most exciting trilogies amongst a crowd of his home province supporters. Pound for pound one of the best boxers in the world right now, hopefully Pacquiao will go for the title next and take on Barrera.

There are places I remember

2006-11-04T01:14:00.000+08:00

This is where these children's father proposed to their mother

Creatures weird and small

2006-11-04T01:06:00.000+08:00

Canadian golf grip

2006-11-04T01:00:00.000+08:00

Blindingly bright colours of autumn

2006-11-04T00:53:00.000+08:00

Chores

2006-11-04T00:41:00.000+08:00

Down on the Farm

2006-11-04T00:29:00.000+08:00

While I was holding down the fort in Manila, the rest of the family was off to Japan for a week, where the highlight was a day spent on the farm. Here's a few pictures from that trip. Hard to tell who's having more fun, the kids or the auntie.

Want to play with my monkey?

2006-11-03T00:17:00.000+08:00

So I went to Bohol this past weekend for a wedding. Went on a river cruise, and a woman there let me touch her monkey. It was really soft and furry, and she even let me put my face right up to it. The wedding was great too.

A Package from Home!!

2006-10-26T20:26:00.000+08:00

Thank you for the books and Halloween stuff! Notice Papa's birthday present is playing in the background: the 40th Anniversary edition of Pet Sounds in 5.1 Surround Sound.

Boys Show Off; It's What They Do

2006-10-26T20:19:00.000+08:00

Hard at Work

2006-10-23T20:09:00.000+08:00

Well, as you can see by this picture here, some aspects of Philippine culture demand to be partaken of. So after two years of holding out, I finally gave into temptation and ate some balut.

As you can imagine, I had actually been looking forward to the chance to eat some, and I really just hadn't had the chance until it was pretty much just handed to me. I needed to be persuaded, and even shown what to do, but once she broke through my shell, I eagerly plunged in my tongue and found the broth to be invitingly pleasing. The smell . . . well, like this site says, I found "the faint, slightly gamey, deliciously menstrual aroma"to be not disagreeable.

I'll be honest, I thought of this only as experimentation, and although I did tell my family about it, it's not something I plan to do regularly. Some people get all dramatic about these things. For me, it was just something I wanted to try.

Special birthday bonus family pictures

2006-10-07T21:41:00.000+08:00

Calm children quietly comporting themselves

2006-10-07T21:33:00.000+08:00

The all-important cake

2006-10-07T21:26:00.000+08:00

The entertainer and the entertained

2006-10-07T20:44:00.000+08:00

Guests invited and unexpected

2006-10-07T14:07:00.000+08:00

We gave the street kids some french fries . . .

Cake n burgers

2006-10-07T13:52:00.000+08:00

Climbin' n Slidin'

2006-10-07T13:47:00.000+08:00

Birthday girl and "big" brother

2006-10-07T13:42:00.000+08:00

Birthday! Pt. 1

2006-10-07T13:36:00.000+08:00

Hello and welcome to my 4th birthday party. Commensurate with their position in life, my parents wanted a venue that was sophisticated and elegant. McD seemed appropriate . . .

Another bus bites the dust

2006-10-07T11:17:00.000+08:00

More images from the typhoon lat week, taken from the website of the National Disaster Coordinating Council. The bus on the upper left is on the flyover exit from the tollway two minutes from here, pinned under a fallen billboard. There were 15 injured here, but another billboard (40 fell in total) killed a driver. Soon after our last posting, we lost web access for days, and a power surge knocked out our access to the main line, so we were on generator power for a few days. Everything is back to normal now . . .

Bonus photos for the grandparents

2006-09-30T15:43:00.000+08:00

Pre-birthday updates

2006-09-30T15:38:00.000+08:00

The first one had a hockey tournament this weekend. Opening game saw him score four goals and get named "player of the game." Another victory followed. Stay tuned for final results tomorrow. As for the bottom photo, featuring an uncharacteristic smile, this one is in Kindergarten now

TYPHOON!!

2006-09-30T15:27:00.000+08:00

These are taken on our block; we are about half way between the two trees. The worst typhoon to hit Manila in 11 years left us without power for a couple of days, but worse, no cable tv (or internet) until now.

Birthday greetings happily received

2006-09-30T15:21:00.000+08:00

Thank you to all who called or e-mailed on my birthday, or soon before or thereafter. Special mention to my brother, who used the most unconventional means (astral projection, albeit apparently unsuccessfully). My favourite present was the picture below, with the original album cover for those who don't catch the reference, from a co-worker at the office. I also liked the card from my kids (hand drawn) and the new ID which proclaims "Ako si Teban. Canuck, hindi Kano".

The Onion and the Spiders from Mars

2006-09-30T15:08:00.000+08:00

2006-09-24T15:07:00.000+08:00

Miles davis et John Coltrane - So what

Sublime

Maher Arar report defies my expectations

2006-09-20T00:21:00.000+08:00

Just got finished reading the excellent report into the Maher Arar report. My skepticism that this issue was by inherently too subject to secrecy to enable any revelations to come out has been proven wrong. This is the definitive word on what happened.

Hard at Work

2006-09-19T21:46:00.000+08:00

What is this man doing with his hands again?

2006-09-07T20:49:00.000+08:00

What is this man doing with his hands?

2006-09-04T23:19:00.000+08:00

Ex-military vs ex-militant

2006-09-03T21:23:00.000+08:00

A very interesting weekend in Davao, right in the thick of things. Got to see Nur Misuari and Fidel Ramos vie for the affection of a packed house while recounting their memories of the 1996 Peace Agreement. While it was a pretty packed schedule, I still had time to notice why Davao is my favourite city in the Philippines, if for no other reason than to stay at the fabulous Marco Polo Hotel.

Generations 11 and 12

2006-08-25T21:45:00.000+08:00

Cdn Olympic Team 2018

2006-08-25T21:39:00.000+08:00

Cousins

2006-08-25T21:32:00.000+08:00

Thousand Islands

2006-08-25T21:26:00.000+08:00

Fort Henry

2006-08-25T21:19:00.000+08:00

Reunited

2006-08-25T19:42:00.000+08:00

If parting is sweet sorrow, there is nothing like seeing the family after a separation. When bad weather grounded the flight from Nagoya, I had to wait until 5 am, and then be told the flight was still going to be one hour later, but finally, at 06h00, they were back. I had actually been at the airport the day before to greet my new work colleague at 04h00, an ungodly hour for any arrival. I still had to work all day, including accompanying a delegation to a meeting with JDV, and got home just in time to tuck the youngest in and kiss her goodnight. Her brother had already dropped, not even making it into his pyjamas. The next day, I had to take off for a management retreat, to the beautiful Tagaytay Highlands. The mountains were almost enough to shake off that nagging feeling of anhedonia, but I really just wanted to get back and see the family again. Now that we are all back, I will get some pictures up soon.

Another interesting weekend

2006-08-21T20:46:00.000+08:00

Friday night I headed out to Batangas and caught a slow RORO ferry, arriving at Calapan around 21h00, that is, after the Parang Resort had shut down, but after a while, the driver eventally showed up, drove to the hotel, and blasted his horn until someone shuffled out to hand me the keys. My guide woke me the next morning to take me to the Mangyan Heritage Center, and later to an exhibit at the local university. Then, off to Naujan with a group of Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines
We saw a spectacular view of the town and the ocean from the chapel at the top of a mountain, and that evening we walked around the wee town festival. An evening of family singing and guitars, a few beers, and then off to see the excavated ruins of an 17th century church the next day. In the afternoon, a long conversation with a fascinating priest, and then a rough ride back to Batangas. Another great weekend.

Hard at work

2006-08-21T20:43:00.000+08:00