Zek at ZIC

Mommy Chie did it again.

She saw, she inquired and she got the tickets!

Yesterday was another first for our family as we brought Zek to the exciting quarterly racing events held at Zhuhai International Circuit (ZIC). With one drawback of being uncomfortable with lots of thunderous roaring engines, Zek feasted on his fascination for fast and casts. And in between races and stunt exhibitions, he was having a great time with newfound friends Chase and Hunter, the 8 year and 4 year old son of an American businessman who went to the car show with us as well together with his daughter Madison and his special someone Meileen. Another Filipino friend, Tibs provided timely respite for me as well when Zek vented his wrestling energy to him at some point (sorry about that, bro :D). Other than that, it was the usual run and gone games for me and Zek as we tour the entire facility teeming with booths and promotions. There was even a go-cart race track which is open for the paying public.

The races provided variety with sport cars, speed cars, motorcycles and F1-like racing cars taking the track circuit to the delight of several thousands of audience from near mid-day to dusk. This is why my wife’s sandwiches and hotdog on sticks bring-along were a hit and so were the drinks and Doritos which we munched with a lot of gusto.

Back in our homes that night, my wife started complaining about her terrible headache from staying the whole afternoon under the sun as I felt my terribly aching body for all the time I have to carry Zek on my back. Still, we slept soundly because we know we all enjoyed it.

Thanks, honey.

Thank you Lord for another memorable moment with my family.

Lessons from a Pizza Delivery Man

It’s in the news.

Ken Karpmann is a former CEO who receives an annual salary of a staggering 750,000 USD. But due to their misplaced financial conservativeness and dare I say, carefree spendings, their monetary woes spiraled out of control with unpaid mortgages and a failed hedge fund business venture leaving them bankrupt. The present economic crisis has not been kind either with companies readily refusing his job inquiries.

Now he has done one of the most unorthodox way any former big-bucked CEO would do to save his family's finances from total collapse – deliver pizza for 7.29 USD an hour.

Really? Yup, you can google his name and read his full story.

If you go on reading about him, you will come to admire at least 3 persons in story.

First is the pizza owner who literally gave Ken a humbling yet decent job. It was risky in terms of management (I imagine the restaurant manager hesitatingly giving delivery order to a person with higher education and better management experience than he is).

Second is his wife. I am sure they have fought and quarreled a lot of times during the time their savings were dwindling down to keep her husband’s hedge fund business afloat. Losing your dream house and wealth-related prestige is not a good topic to cuddle and discussed during bedtime. But, she stood by her man – even if he is now just a pizza delivery guy. Commitment personified is she.

Third is Ken himself. I have never heard of a bankrupt CEO who would humble himself and turn to blue collar jobs. Not only did he do that, but he was totally honest about his failed financial status that he wrote in his application form his 750,000 annual salary and high education thus adding the risk of being rejected with such high-qualifications. And from what I have seen in the short video clip about him, he is enjoying it as well. When asked why he is doing it, his straightforward reply was, “To keep food on our table.” Now that is undeniably love for family over pride.

Ken Karpmann is included in the rare breed and endangered specie of man. I am sure he will find other financially rewarding job soon but for now he is the man of the pizza delivery men.

To My One and Only True Love

On this day, the single most important yet humble, gorgeous yet simple, sweet yet strong, hardworking yet casual, fun yet serious, friendly yet reserved lady of my life was born some thirty-yish something ago (it’s a grave sin to tell the age of a woman from what I always overhear in their girl-talk :D)

And so, as a loving gift to her, here are some 5 x 5 never before heard stuffs, serious and curious alike, that I would like to honor her with:

Five amusing things about her:
1. She dislikes small bills and coins that she always discharges them first every chance she has. It is not rare that we find ourselves in a spot because we have a big bill for a small amount of payment to make (try imagining holding a 500 hundred peso bill to pay for your jeepney fare :D)
2. When she is in a laughing mood, she can never finish her joke because she keeps on laughing while narrating it.
3. She likes to highlight our children’s positive strengths and wonder from whom they “inherited” such amazing traits before looking straight beyond me as if my genes are not superior ha ha :D)
4. She’s a legitimate member of the shopaholic club and can almost always find the lowest price and best-buys available in the malls.
5. She has that cutey smile after being able to buy something she wanted for a long time while waiting for the discount sale to happen.


Five topics that make her sad:
1. Remembering our Maia’s untimely demise.
2. Her father who passed away when she was just about 5 years old.
3. Her mother in the US who migrated while she was also still young.
4. Some unfortunate experiences in her growing years
5. Family and friend’s misfortunes


Five dreams she often wishes:
1. To be able to spend time with her mom
2. To travel and visit the Holy Land, USA and Europe
3. To be a member of a synchronized swimming team
4. To be a figure skater.
5. To have a successful business


Five traits I really admire about her:
1. Her dedication to be the best mother and wife.
2. Her growing personal relationship with God.
3. Her prayer life.
4. Her patience (especially to my idiosyncrasies and temper-tantrums).
5. Her strong personality.

Five reasons why I will always be by her side:
1. I am married to her (not as an obligation but as a lifetime choice of commitment we solemnized before God)
2. She is the mother of my best bud (hopefully some more future best buddies for us :) )
3. She loves me despite all my warts, blackheads, pimples, receding hairline, bedtime snoring and a lot more “unlovables” in me
4. I couldn’t see my life with somebody else
5. I love her forever.

Happy Birthday to you honey!

May the Lord grant you your heart’s desire and wishes in accordance to His plan.
Zek and I love you. Ditto from our little angel in heaven.

Rocks Vs Plants

Question 1: Which one is stronger than the other - rocks or plants?
Answer: Both.

Question 2: Why both?
Answer: It all depends on time.

Having spent my college days within the confines of the well-renowned, highly fortified Manila fortress called Intramuros (spanish for "within" (intra), "walls" (muros) ), I have always marveled at the strength and endurance of those piles of square-shaped carved stones through the centuries. History has it that, having been built by the Spaniards during the 16th century, it was the bastion of the colonizers during their time until it was totally destroyed during world war II. Decades after its rebuilt, it now stands as one of the acclaimed and recommended places to visit in Manila for its rich history.

But if you would look a lot closer at each stone slab, one can clearly see how trees, plants and grasses grows out through some cracks and crevices. Well, one can argue that the cracks came before the plants and nothing to suggest that its was the plants own doing that lead to the cracks. I will subscribe to that partially, because this I also know for a fact - that plants are living and alive. And being alive means they have to grow no matter how slow and hard. It is its nature to persevere despite the "rocks" blocking its path. It will still grow, maybe around the rock, or even through the rock if it has to.

Therefore, a rock is stronger in mass-weight in its present form, until it starts to crack and weakened but plants are stronger in time and perseverance.

Thinking further about it, the key for the plant's survival and success is to be properly rooted and nourished with sunlight and water.

Question: Are we deeply rooted in God to persevere to be good in life despite the "rocks" around us.
Answer 1: If Yes, then praise God.
Answer 2: If No, then it is never too late to change ourselves.

Let us all seek God in all our thinking and ways.

God bless.

A Lesson in Prayer

Last night was the first time my wife and I would pray the rosary without my parents whom I accompanied to Macau International airport that afternoon on their trip back to Philippines. Our parents just concluded their three month of vacation in Zhuhai. To be perfectly honest about it, we only started our family rosary prayer time during our 9-day novena after Maia’s burial ( I know. Even in her after-life, our little angel has been and will always be a moving inspiration in our family life ). Now my parents made sure that we will keep our started and simple family tradition to pray together the rosary around 8 o’clock each night even after we all come back to China. And so we do.


Praying it regularly and solemnly, however, has always have at least two frequent obstacles (actually it is three for me as I struggle to keep away mental distractions while praying). First is my work, which, because of the far travel from office back to home highlighted with late night meetings whenever my German employer visits China, causes me to be late in going back home. In these cases, my wife and my parents are left with the only option to do it without me. Next and the more formidable one is Zek. Yup, you heard that right – my son is the second obstacle to our prayer time whenever his charm level reaches two. First level charm, succinctly, is when his actions are cutely harmless and amusing to watch. Level two, on the other hand, are actions consistent with draining the remaining patience in all of us as he jumps around the sofa and on our backs as if they were sofa extensions, shouting at the slightest reprimand, interrupting us only to inquire where is his spiderman action figure is, hiding our prayer booklet or his grandfather’s eyeglasses, covering our mouths or collecting all the rosaries and playing with them. To distract him, I would often have to let him stay in his playroom or watch a cartoon DVD while we pray.


Going back to the last night, my wife and I know something needs to be done differently to allow us to have at least a semblance of normalcy in praying the rosary. We were still trying to figure a way when all of a sudden, Zek approached us with his hands reaching out.


“Zek will pray”, he said with a slightly excited tone.


“OK”, my wife and I said in calmed unison.


And the ninth wonder of nature unfolded before our eyes!


Zek recited the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be in near correctness and with demeanor of a theologian in undisturbed prayer mood. He took the lead of the first, third and fourth Sorrowful mysteries even if my wife has to adjust his fingers on every rosary bead and while giving a hint on when the Glory be will be. He recited ( I guess “murmured” will be the more appropriate term ) the Hail Holy Queen.His fascinating display went on until he has recited the seven responsorial prayer that his grandmother will say before finally ending our praying time.


My goodness gracious! My wife and I just realized that all those time that Zek seemed never interested to pray and doing his level two charms, he was actually learning it by heart and was in fact only waiting to be invited to participate with us.


So to my dear co-parents, never under-estimate your child’s capacity to learn.
Teach them your faith and let them actually practice it while under your guidance.
You’d be surprised at how much influence you can have on them.


God bless.