Halloween and All That

Forgive me friends, for I have sinned.
It’s been a while since my last post for this blog.
Life’s been hectic.

Anyhoooo… I need to tell you something about last Halloween. After living here for 8 years, this is the first time I was involved in it. Started with ‘Boo Buddies’; which I was not familiar with at first. But again, I wasn’t born in this country. And the country I was born in and lived in, Indonesia, is not a big Halloween fan (at least not in my era). Then a coworker said, “It’s just like the Secret Santa. Only it’s for Halloween.” Again, not familiar with that either. Being brought up in a Moslem family and all.

So, the concept for ‘Boo Buddies’ is to secretly give Halloween-related gifts (not to be expensive) to another person on the week of Halloween. Everybody who’s interested in playing wrote their names on a piece of paper and put them in a bowl. Then we all picked one name out, and that is your assigned Boo Buddy. Mine was my favorite nurse (the person that I gave my presents to), so it was cool. The keyword is ’secret’ and this was rather hard. Everybody (receptionists, medical record clers, nurses, and lab technician) were pretty much sitting in front of their computers all day. You just have to be sneaky when you see somebody left their station (rooming a patient, looking for a chart, etc), you dashed to their station and leave your gift at their desk. Or you could use a ‘messenger’ or a delivery person. I had received a lot of cute stuff from my Boo Buddy. Day one was a Halloween-y picture frame, then a cute orange candle holder with ghost and pumpkins on it, then a bag of a pair of Halloween socks and a small ’Too Cute To Spook’ sign, a bag of Cheetos (yes, we did make a list of things we like), and a big sign for the lawn saying ‘Turn Back Now’. Just adorable.

On the fifth day, right on Friday October 31st, we revealed who our Boo Buddy was and I guessed it right. It was our lab tech, Melissa. That day we dressed up, my first ever Halloween involvement. I came in to work as a cow girl; pair of old jeans, boots, a Western-style shirt, and a borrowed cowboy hat. A fellow receptionist came in as a surgeon, dressed in blue scrubs. One of our doctors groaned, “Oh from all costumes, you just have to pick that. I hate surgeons!”
Four nurses and one doctor were kittens, and the most impressive one was Melissa. She dressed up in a Lady Vampira outfit, with the fake black long hair and full make up. Her choice of costume was really appropriate because her job is to get the blood out of you.

I worked half day that day. Then off to school to be the party helper for my kids’ Halloween celebration. Only they called it ‘Harvest/Fall Party’. Whatever. Dante’s Kindergarten teacher was kind enough to let the kids wear any costume they like as long as they leave the scary masks and weapons at home. Dante chose Darth Vader this year. Davi’s second grade teacher, on the other hand, sent home a notice a week before Halloween that they’re doing a Fall/Harvest theme instead. So after we purchased her chosen costume (Vampire Princess), I had to come up with a different idea so she won’t be in trouble coming in as a vampire. Just one day before Halloween, I walked to a nearby Goodwill store and bought a pair of old baggy jeans (couldn’t find an overall, unfortunately), a plaid shirt, and a pair of old boots. I found a farmer’s hat at Kmart that night, and I also bought fake Fall leaves that I stapled on the shirt and jeans to give that ‘farmer look’. Further enhancement was a trip to our backyard and rubbing the jeans on the dirt for that ‘dirty look’.

The night of Halloween, it was my turn to stay at home to answer for the trick or treaters. Again, bigger kids had no courtesy at all. No more eagerness of the shriek “Trick or treat!!!”. When the door bell rang, I automatically grab the candi bowl, then open the door. The bigger kids would just grabbed the candies and go away with a quick mumble of ‘Thanks’. How polite.

Hubby took the kids walking around the neighborhood for the trick-or-treat. Davi finally got the chance to wear her vampire costume, while Dante’s still on his Darth Vader outfit. Hubby did report that the kids were very polite and say ‘Trick or Treat!’ properly along with ‘Thank You’. Dante even said ‘Gracias!’ at one point. They left the house about 5:45pm and returned at 7:00pm. After supper, they asked us how many candies they could have. Hubby and I looked at each other, we really don’t want them to eat all the candies, but we also hate to be the meany. Hesitantly, hubby said, “Five” and the kids instantly replied, “Thank you Mom and Dad! You’re the best!”

Wow… we must’ve done something right raising the kids. They didn’t try to bargain for more at all…

more pictures click here…

Dante’s Birthday Party; a Few Notes to Self

We finally had Dante’s birthday party last Saturday, 9/27. From 15 invitations sent out, 10 made it. Out of ten, there were three boys who were Dante’s buddies from preschool. We reminded Dante a couple of times that he needs to be fair and not only play with his preschool buddies. “But I haven’t seen Miles and Sam for a long time!” he protested. After a brief discussion, he finally understood that deserting his Kindergarten friends would not be a good idea.

Since school’s only been started for about a month or so, Dante doesn’t have a preferred friend(s) yet. From the conversation with the moms, this is actually the first birthday party in Mrs. Tickle’s classroom (don’t you just love that name?). Their sons were very excited to come to Dante’s birthday, being the first and all. But who doesn’t like birthday parties? Cakes, games, running around, giving the birtday boy’s parents a headache, etc. I later learned that being the first is not really a good thing. Not in this case, because we haven’t met these boys before; we didn’t know which one is ‘nice’ and which one is too hyper. Although, when I informed Dante on whose mom called to confirm, he said, “Oh… A? He’s a little crazy. He likes to punch me and all.” Well, thanks for the FYI, monk. Maybe next time you could inform me before I send the invitation out?

Sure enough, just 10 minutes after the party had officially started, hubby and I (plus the lady from the place we rent) were able to pinpoint which ones are ‘crazy’. The place we rent, keep in mind, is a kids gym owned by a bigger fitness center/tennis academy. This place has a jungle gym (like the one in McDonald’s or Burger King where kids could climb up and slide down and got lost in a ball pen), a mini basket ball court, and some areas for dramatic play/games. It’s a perfect place for a birthday party, let alone for boys. But these two boys were too rough, too crazy, too hyper, and not a very good listener. We warned them to take it easy and not to pummel their [smaller] friends. We asked them to be gentle with the equipment and not to destroy the toys. Goodness. It made me realize (and thankful) that my kids are well behaved and not so obnoxious. It made me feel so bad for Mrs. Tickle, because this sweet Kindergarten teacher is pregnant and not at all a drill sergeant.

Another note to self: Don’t even bother to ‘organize’ a birthday party (especially for little boys) too strict. I had outlined the events in my head about what comes after what. But in practice, it didn’t go as planned. Was hoping that the boys would do the birthday cake first, then pinata. But instead, the wanted to try the pinata first, then the birthday cake. I think partly was because they think it’s the kind where they hit the pinata. It was not. I did not want any casualties, so I bought the string pinata instead. It’s whimpier than the whack one, but at least nobody got hurt.

I was also hoping that at the end of the party, the boys would sit on their bottoms ever so cutely and wait patiently while Dante opens the birthday presents one by one with me on his side reading the birthday cards. I was going to jot down the name of the present giver and what kin dof present was given. Why? Because I thought all moms would expect a ‘Thank You’ note afterwards. I’ve seen that a lot; birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, etc. Like a sincere verbal thank you isn’t enough? Even the lady who helped us with the party reminded me, “Diny, I have sticky notes if you want to write down who gives what for the Thank You cards later.” At that time, the boys were already all over Dante and screamed, “Dante! Dante! Open my present first!” So I weakly said to her, “Nah… never mind. They’re too fast.” Some of them even helped themselves opening Dante’s presents and I heard a lot of, “Whoa… cool! I wish I have that!”

But Dante didn’t seem to mind. Organized or play-it-by-ear, he had so much fun that day. “It’s the most awesomest birthday party ever!” he claimed.

 

Click on the collage to see the birthday pics.

Who’s 6 Today?

Cheeky Monkey is! Unbelievable. Told him last night before bed, that around the same time six years ago, I was in pain. Why, he asked. Not really wanting to go into details about labor-related pain, I told him, “Because you want to get out from my tummy.” Then you opened your arms, gave me a hug, and said, “I’m sorry I made you hurt. I just don’t want to get out because it’s dark in there.”

We love you, monk. Looking forwards for tonight. Dad we’ll get food from our favorite restaurant (Bali Satay House) after work, and we’ll sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and open presents. Can’t wait to hear you shrieked ‘Awesome!’ when you open the birthday presents from us. Pssst… it’s the one you’ve been wanting for quite some times: Xbox 360’s Batman Lego video game. It’s a perfect timing because it’s just released today.

Tonight, just the four of us. This Saturday, is the birthday party with your friends. Exciting, huh?

 

The monkeyish birthday invitation:

Watch for the updates!

Thirty Five and Still Kickin’

Last Wednesday was my 35th birthday. Yeap… I’m an old lady. Had to go to work early that day, so I got up at 6:00 am. Took a shower, feeling nothing special about today. To be honest, I felt a little mushy. Couldn’t help but thinking how great it would be if I were home. Jakarta, I mean… with my family and friends. But wait a minute… this is my home now. And I do have my own family. Hubby, the kids, and Max. Although I don’t have ‘friends‘ like back home’s friends, I know some people here. Yikes, started to sound really pathetic.

This day was also my daughter’s first day of school being over, but the summer program hasn’t started til the next day. So she’s staying home with dad, and not to make our son jealous, he’s staying home too. As I was pulling out from the drive way, around 6:50am, the sky was kind of grey and gloomy. Great. Will it be the theme for my birthday today?
The neighborhood was spookily quiet. The grass and the road were wet, from the hard rain last night. The air felt a little heavy. Funnily enough, so did my heart.

Oh, this is bull! I scolded myself. Get it together…
So I lit up my cigarette and turned the radio on. Axl Rose was singing his heart out with ‘Knocking on Heavens Door’. Oh for crying out loud… I’m not close to death yet, I don’t want to hear this on my birthday. Trying to cheer myself up, I pulled out Amy Winehoouse CD and blast ‘Rehab’ up.

“They tried to make me go to rehab
I said no, no, no.
Yes I been black, but when I come back
You won’t know, know, know…”

 

  

Arrived at the clinic about 7:05 am. Parking lot was empty. Yayy… I got to park super close to the door. Just in case it’ll rain later, I thought. Walked in to my desk, all the lights were still off. I have not felt eerie walking in to our dark clinic before as the early person; but I don’t know, today I felt different. As I was getting stuff ready for the clinic to open at 8:00 am, more people were coming. Doctors, nurses, techs, and receptionists. Nobody knew it was my birthday. But since I had already planned to buy treats for people at work (whatever happens to the birtday person getting the goodies?), I ran to HyVee real quick to get donuts and some fruits. I actually was hoping that nobody at work would remember, but in case that somebody does. First question they’ll ask would be, “Where’s the treat?” 

Made it back to the office just in time before we start seeing patients. One of the nurses saw me with the goodies on my hand, and yelped, “Is it your birthday today? That’s right… Dr W was telling me that.” So of course, I got ‘write up’; meaning it’s being announced to everybody in the office that it’s my birthday. Wishes and greetings were pouring in, even few attempts of singing the birthday song. Exactly at 8:40 am, hubby and the kids called and they sang ‘Happy Birthday’ on the phone. I could tell that they just woke up and feeling guilty about forgoting to wish Mommy on her special day before she left for work! Although my son did whisper sleepily to me the night before, “Happy birthday tomorrow, Mommy.” So after they sang the song, hubby asked if they could take me out for lunch today. And I could pick the restaurant *woo hoo!*

   

Of course, I opted for Bali Satay House, the Indonesian restaurant here. The kids and hubby picked me up at work at noon, then we’re off to the restaurant. We ordered big for lunch: fried spring rolls and fried tofu for appetizers, bihun goreng (thin rice noodle) and dara panggang (quail in nanking sauce) for the kids to share, sweet and spicy grilled salmon (with sambal terasi) for hubby, and nasi goreng cumi (squid fried rice) with extra telor ceplok (over hard fried egg) for myself. For dessert, the kids were having jus alpukat (avocado shake). I was so full afterwards, I didn’t want to go back to work. I just want to take a nap…

Back to work, I found two birthday cards were laid on my desk. One was hand made, the other was Hallmark’s by my fellow receptionist. The hand made one was sign by a lot of people at work; with some interesting messages/greetings that I posted here under ‘Precious Sayings’  side bar.  Sarah, our medical record girl, made the card by using a Tootsie Roll, a Dums Dums sucker, paper clips, and ‘Sign Here’ post-it to form my name. Then she copied it into a yellow stationery paper, and accessorize it with one of her fancy ribbon. I was very pleased to received it. Along with the hand made card, I received a big Cheetos.  This surprises me because I thought nobody was paying any attention to my ‘rituals’. From time to time in the afternoon, I visited the vending machine to get a snack. I usually told the other receptionists that I’d be just a few minutes away from my desk ‘to get my afternoon Vitamin C booster’. I meant Cheetos.

Done with work at 4:00 pm. Went home to get Dante for gymnastics. When I walked into our house, I saw this pink box laying on the dining table with two cards next to it. Gasp!

“Guys! You didn’t!” I yelped.
“Yes, we diiiid…” Hubby said.
“But I told you not to, because I bought myself a massage for tomorrow.”
“Mommy, we have a surprise for youuu,” Davi said.
Her face was beaming, being the first who ‘delivered’ the news.
Then came along Dante, running to me from his room.
“Mommy… mommy… we got you a new camera!”
Surprised spoiled.
“DANTE!!!!!” Davi screamed frustratedly, then tears came falling down.
“Oh honey, what’s the matter? Why so upset?” I asked.
“Well, it supposed to be a surprise for you. Daddy told me not to tell, and Dante too. But he didn’t listen and spoiled the surprise. And now he’s the first who told me about your present,” Davi just went on and on.
“Ha… ha… I told Mommy,” Dante teased.

After settling the kids down, I opened the present and let out a big ‘WHOA!’. Been dreaming of any brand of an SLR camera for quite some time, I was given Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. Sweeeet!

At night, before going to bed, I checked my email, and found more birthday wishes from home.

It was not a bad birthday after all…

Alissa’s Bridal Shower

How nice of somebody (or two, in this matter) to throw a party for you. Alissa is the youngest nurse in our department, and is getting married next month to her racer husband-to-be. Two of the nurses got together and planned the bridal shower for her. The others (lab technician and xray technician) provided food. This was my first bridal shower to attend (I didn’t have one myself) so I needed all the help I could get with the bridal registry. Being a creature who always question an establishment, I pondered, “Why do we need to be told in what to get as a present? What if I don’t want to get something from the registry? What if I have a different opinion on something unique as a present?” But then, the others lectured me the reason why bridal registry (or any kind of registry) was created. OK then… why don’t you give them cash instead?

Anyhow, the party was fun. It was more relaxing than the department’s Xmas party (maybe because the doctors weren’t there). A lot of giggling, actually. The food was good, the wine was fine, the weather was freezing cold. Since the party was last Thursday after work (the invitation said 5:30 pm), most of us drove directly from work. My little car usually takes about 10 minutes to warm up, so I was shivering while driving to the destination house (and back to my own house). About 15 women were in Gale’s house, but it sure felt like 30. Naughty comments were heard when we played the lame ‘Toilet Paper Wedding Dress’. Oops, did I say lame? I meant fabulous, sorry. Ahem.

My lame attempt to take pictures without a memory card resulted in low resolution pictures. My camera allowed me to take pictures still, but with a limited number of shots. So I lowered the quality hoping to get more pictures. I’m not very happy with the printed outcome. But I think this montage will be watchable:

Alissa’s Bridal Shower

Mother and Daughter

She feels guilty for not always feeling ‘close’ to her mother. Even when the two were still living close by. She’s working and living in the city, and her mother just live out of the city limit. She came home occasionally, during weekends, after her mother texted her, “Will you please come home this weekend? Been awhile and we miss you.”

The past behind the two was long and would not make a good children’s book. Even though she’s not holding her mother against it, she had become used for not having her around. She wanted to think of it mainly because her mother was a single parent and working hard for her kids. She wanted to forgive her mother for the lies, the broken promises, and the insecure feelings it had given her when her mother was out and about.

Now that she’s living so far away, half across the globe, she had thought this will make her missing her mother more. She’s not. It was almost eight weeks since the two talk on the phone. She emails her sister more than she does her mother. Being the number two child -while the oldest son was not always around- she and her [5 years younger] sister going through the sadness together. Some scars just won’t heal.

Yet, she’s her mother. For better and worse, this is a woman who gave birth to her. Putting up with her crap when she’s little. Sending her off to school and gave her the best she could give. She’s not perfect, but then who is?

December 22: HAPPY BELATED [INDONESIAN] MOTHER’S DAY for everybody back home…

Tabblo of the Day

I just got back from my braces check up, and was not very happy with the soreness it had caused. What a pleasant surprise to see so many emails from Tabblo users congratulating me because my most recent tabblos made it to Tabblo of the Day (TOD). I wasn’t so sure about what everyone’s talking about when I read the emails; I though ‘what the heck is TOD’? But then somebody made clear what TOD stands for.

[A tabblo is a collection of photos and words brought together by a stylized template that can be customized to your heart's content. A tabblo lives at a permanent URL and can be private, accessed by whoever you invite, or public for the whole world to see.]

I love taking photos. I may not be a professional photographer, but I’ve been told that I take good pictures. I don’t own a big ass SLR camera either. Just a compact digital Olympus Stylus. I don’t touch-up my photos with the fancy Adobe Photoshop either. I store my photos and do some mini repair with Picasa. At times, I yearn to own a cool SLR camera (Canon, preferrably) and master Photoshop so I could make my sky photo looks super blue and the white clouds look like cotton candies. So, to have somebody appreciate my simple work, really meant a lot for me.

On a more childish note… “In your face, biatch! My tabblo is TOD! Uh huh, uh huh, it’s my birthday”.

Halloween Is Not Fun Anymore?

Just like any other old tradition, Halloween is now deteriorating. It’s not about celebrating the end of harvest season anymore. That originality and pureness had long gone when people started to feel that it’s more fun to celebrate Halloween as a costume party. That’s not entirely wrong, since [according to Wikipedia] the Gaelic culture believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and caused havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. Costumes and masks were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits. So there’s the relation.

More and more, with the global commercialization and all, the costumes are mainly Hollywood-related. Princess this, lady that, captain this, and superhero that. What good is a costume if you don’t wear or put on the appropriate make ups, right? Well, this is when I think it gets a little too much. Moms who go too far by make up-ing their daughters like a young adults. “Well she’s a vampire princess. We got her outfit and the tiara at Walmart. I chose the burgundy eye shadows and lipstick so it goes perfectly with her dress,” one of my coworkers bragged about her 9 year old girl. She showed us a picture of her daughter (who is really pretty even without makeups) with the outfit and continued, “She loved her look so much, she asked if I can do her make up the next day. I said, no honey, not on a school day.” Phew! At least she’s sane enough not to ‘decorate’ her daughter for school.

When I took my kids to my son’s daycare costume party, I saw a girl -I bet she’s 9 or 10- who dressed like a punk girl. Black leather-like skirt and jacket, fish net stockings, black lipstick, and purple eye shadows. To top it off, she had some pink/purple hair extensions as well. I thought she was trying to look like Avril Lavigne or something. But when I heard one of the teachers asked her who she’s supposed to be, she said, “I’m a diva.” Omygawd…

Then I got to think that I was probably not being fair and square. In Indonesia, we celebrate ‘Kartini Day’ where we celebrate the birthday of Raden Ajeng Kartini; Indonesia’s national heroine. There’s no similarity with Western-style Halloween but the dress up part. No, we don’t dress up as Barbie or Super Man. Schoolchildren in Indonesia celebrate it by wearing national/traditional costumes. And yes, some kids put on some make ups and tried to be a grown up for a day. Sad.

Back to Halloween. The only reason I like it is because I like seeing little ones dressed up in cute costumes.  Age-related costumes, mind you. I don’t care so much for the candies or chocolates. The kids do, I know that. Other than the costume, it’s like the second important reason they like Halloween.

The other fun part of Halloween (or, supposedly) is the trick-or-treating. Only, it has gotten less fun now with some malls/shopping areas doing trick or treats too. Where is the fun? All you need to do is drive to the mall, take your kids in, join others, prepare your plastic sack or bag, go in line to collect the goodies from the stores. It’s so… automated. Few Halloweens ago, Davi was asked to do a trick by an old guy before she could get any candy. So she told him a knock-knock joke. My coworker told us that her 8 year old granddaughter made everybody laugh by doing a neat trick. She told them that she could do a hand stand. The trick part is, she put both of her hand under her feet (she’s squating!). My kids were kind of bummed this year too because nobody had asked them to do tricks. They’ve been learning some gymnastic moves and memorized some jokes and they were so geared up to do these tricks. After the 7th house we visited, my son whispered to me, “Mom… nobody asked me to do tricks yet.” And I told him, “That’s OK hun, they’re probably amazed on your salutation.” Dante dressed as a cowboy and [when he remembered] he would say, “Howdy! Trick or treat?” and take his hat off like a cowboy would do.  

As we were walking around the neighborhood, hubby stayed home for the trick or treaters who visit. He told me that he had some rude teenagers who just grabbed the goodies in a hurry and ran off. No exciting “Trick or treat!” or polite “Thank you” anymore. Some of these rascals even complained on our selection of goodies. Those bastards.

Happy Halloween, everybody!

 

The Cowboy and the ‘Indian’ Girl

Being a dedicated worker *ahem* I came in to work anyway this morning with a lousy voice. I thought I could see one of my doctors today, got a prescription, fill it out at the pharmacy few doors down, and be better later. I counsulted two docs and both of them said there’s nothing they could do for me. It’s a viral thing and needs to run it course for maybe 3 to 5 days. I won’t be needing any meds, just lots of fluids and to rest my voice. Err… we’re going to have a problem with that last part. So my doctor left it up to me. I told him I’ll play it by ear. Or in this case… throat.

Two o’clock in the afternoon, I left the office. My supervisor was actually sending me home because she overheard how difficult it was for me to schedule an appointment on the phone. I was actually glad because I was struggling to talk but not really want to be a quitter. I kept hoping it’d get better. It didn’t.

I went to Dante’s daycare to pick him up but Miss Julie, one of his teachers, told me that they just fell asleep for a nap. Wow… I didn’t know they nap late in the afternoon instead of right after lunch. Not really want to wake him up and make him all woozy, I told her I’ll come back in an hour or so.   

My daughter Davi’s having a costume party with her afterschool program (Kids Club) staff and friends tonight. It’s at school and they also invited the rest of the family. Well, Doug is in Kansas City so he’s out of the picture. Dante dressed up as a cowboy and I’m bringing Davi’s costume which is a Native American little girl. As I drive to Gilbert Elementary school, it just clicked in my mind that they costumes match! She changed into her costume in the bathroom (and so did her other friends), I braided her hair, and put a bandana on her forehead. Some adults asked her, “Are you Pocahontas?” She answered, “No, I’m just an Indian girl.” Mind you, she’s only 6, but smart. She knows who Pocahontas is, but since I didn’t specifically dress her up as ‘Pocahontas’ but as a ‘Native American girl’, she doesn’t think she’s Pocahontas. Make sense. Besides, how’d she know that adults would assume that a Native American girl costume is Pocahontas? 

It was a fun night. We had pizza provided by Kids Club and treats provided by parents. We got to see some slideshows about their activities and acapella performance. Couldn’t socialize much since my voice was worthless. The three of us will sleep really well tonight.

Dante’s Birthday Video and Slideshows

Finally! After procrastinating for a week and a half, the video of Dante’s 5th birthday party is posted at YouTube. I don’t know what happened, but after it’s uploaded, the resolution had gotten lower. It’s not perfect but it’s watchable. Here’s the link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NWWeZlGM7bg

Dante’s 5th Birthday Party –> Slideshows; just in case the video isn’t watchable.