The Journey. It’s Mine. [Raine’s Mom, Problogger, Techie-wannabe, Wheelchair-Traveler]

If like me, you haven’t pre-ordered from Amazon or from any local bookstore, you can have the chance to win a copy of Harry Potter Book 7 by joining Yugatech’s book contest.

I hate spoilers as well, so i intentionally skipped scourging the internet on anything about Harry Potter and The Deathly hallows (book 7). I even covered my ears when the twins tried to tell me how it ended from asking a friend who have read the book. I swear!

I have copies of books 1-6. They’re the ones I intentionally saved from typhoon Milenyo and which we’ve re-read (together with my brothers) when we had no electricity after the said typhoon. I am the only bookworm among my siblings, so it was quite a feat having them read Harry Potter books. At least they’ve realize that the book version, is always, always better than the movie adaptation.

How would I like Harry Potter to end? Of course, the ultimate downfall of Voldemort and his sympathizers in front of Harry and his gang. I would like to see Harry lead a normal wizard life my marrying Ginny Weasley. Hermione will of course marry Ron Weasley and she will later become the Head Mistress of Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (with brains like hers, and of muggle-descent at that, no pure blood wizard comes close) with Harry as the DAD (defense against the dark arts) teacher. And then Neville Longbottom will die a hero by saving Harry and his friends during the final duel with Voldemort. Severus Snape rots in Azkaban. Draco Malfroy getting the Cruciatus curse. (Obvious ba, i hate Draco!)

There. I might as well try joining this book contest before I buy me a copy.

Ayoko sumabay sa “uso” kaya di pa ako bumibili. He he. I want to read the book when everyone else has stopped “talking” about it.

But I guess it won’t be very long before I get us copy, even my brother na nasa barko texted me just to remind me to buy one already! And guess what, Raine is bugging me to watch the book 5 movie once it’s showing in Legazpi.

There was a time in my life when I knew all the lyrics of songs and which songs are playing and most requested on the radio. Yes, there was once a time that I listened to the radio 24/7.

You know, long before videoke became the “in” thing in singing and jamming. Long before music videos came about, there were 1001 song books and guitar playing. That was how we learned to sing songs and memorize lyrics of the songs. That was good old ‘jammin’ man and you learn to pluck the guitar by looking at the chord charts at the back of the 1001 song book!

When Raine was born, music and singing are some of the things I lost. I had better things to do I guess. He he. Motherhood does that: better things to do and more important things to put your money into. Thus, goodbye audio CDs. Heck, I can’t even remember what audio CD I bought last.

Anyway, fast forward to today…I’ve yet to discover MP3s and iTunes. Where’d the time go? Now, you can just download your favorite song and watch the video on YouTube.

Today I’ve been cleaning the hard drive of my PC. Guess what I found?! Tons of MP3s that the twins got somewhere and saved in my PC.  So I looked and listened…and saved some that I like into my cellphone. Gosh, I feel so ancient! 

This is my new favorite. (can somebody please tell why I still can’t embed a YouTube video in this blog?)

Well, if Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore can pull a nice duet, then that must be one darn good use of technology. Har har har.

Last night, I was working while Raine too was working on some stuff. Afterwhich, he showed me this and pinpointed who is who in the family picture (see notes on Flickr):

Now, that piece of paper is posted on our ref (fridge to some)’s door. Raine placed it there for Papa Gary to see when he comes home. Ain’t that sweet?!!

I almost cried when Raine showed me the picture. My son is so, so smart and understanding! For him, that picture is complete. 

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I would prefer normal clothes, but school insists on the uniform so we have to follow. Raine loves it though, so I guess it’s okay. I just find it weird that pre-schoolers are wearing school uniforms. Well, he’ll be wearing school uniform for ten years of formal education so Raine better gets used to the attire this early.

However, Raine hates those standard navy-blue school shorts that kids are wearing here, you know that one with “hook and I” on the belt…so we kind-a violated the rules by having Raine wear his normal maong shorts and got away with it.
Actually, he would have been happier if the uniform were in green instead of blue. So he can use his green backpack and wear his green socks. Raine loves green, he prefers it over blue. That shoes, would have been green if I didn’t insist on it. I swear.  So, he might as well get used to blue.

Good thing the school’s room is air-conditioned. Otherwise, I cannot imagine Raine wearing these with sando underneath, otherwise, he’d be too happy to go to school in his underwears!

Yes…if you’ve been watching Jackie Chan movies with your mom since you were two!

Since Raine has discovered the fun in watching videos, he most often decides which ones to watch. (Hindi ako napupuyat sa pag-bo-blog, kundi sa panonood ng gusto ko…kasi sa late night lang ako walang kaagaw!)

His favorites would of course be cartoon movies (like disney, dreamworks and stuff) and Spiderman and Ice Age and anything with bears and horses, fishes and dinosaurs that all talk - as just fitting because he’s not even five yet.

Anyway, it has been educational for me too…as I only got to watch cartoons on TV when I went to college and lived in the dormitory. I only knew who Peter Pan was when I saw that movie “Hook” in college. I swear! We didn’t have TV here at home even before I went away for college, not only because my parents didn’t have money to buy one but also because there was no TV reception that can reach here. Besides…around here, back then, your TV should have a betamax player, otherwise it was useless. We didn’t have both.

So we used to go watch movies in local theaters on weekends when we’ve saved enough from our meager weekly allowance and we bought and read pinoy komiks and magazines once in a while, like Liwayway and Woman Magazine at hindi po Archie or Marvel Comics.

If I remember it right, a regular movie ticket was 5 -7 pesos and you got to watch two movies at once (may ka-double po and sinehan dito dati!) and Funny Comics was only 1.50 pesos (or was it 0.75?). Luckily both my parents are movie buffs, so we weren’t that isolated from the rest of the world. At least I got to watch Karate Kid 1 and 2 even if I was literally attacked/bitten by nasty dust mites from the waist down.

That way, growing up, I had my fill of Sharon Cuneta movies and all the TVJ’s and some of Niño Muhlach’s (tama ba spelling?) and of course the old Chinese Jackie Chan movies that used to be badly dubbed in English.

Back then, I was too young to fully comprehend English anyway but I remember loving the hilarious karate actions that Jackie Chan is so known for - so I didn’t mind tagging along with my father who by the way was only one belt short of a judo-aikido-black-belt, who loved Jackie Chan and James Bond more than FPJ. He He he.

Now, I am so happy that Jackie Chan is something that Raine and I can agree on watching together. Jackie maybe a generation older but still as funny. Yes Abby, I am really a Jackie Chan fan, like you discovered a long time ago. Ha ha ha.

I hope Raine do not get to forget that I “introduced” him to Jackie Chan.

…may kaagaw na ako sa PC! And this little man is so very hard to say no to.

Look at him, he looks like he has been doing this all his life!

It is truly amazing - kids - you thought you’ll be “safe” at their young age so you don’t teach them with button to push to turn off the computer, or how to navigate into the TV’s remote or how to use the mouse. But they just know, like they were born with it. So don’t you get surprised when you call my cell and Raine picks it up! Because he has figured out the cellphone a long time ago.

Hayy, it won’t be long , then he’ll be asking for gadgets I never dreamed of using myself. Ha ha.