ahem

i am steeling myself for the time in the not so distant future when jana will roll her eyes and snort at things i say and do. but in the meantime, let me enjoy the blind adulation.

jana's mother's day gift to me was this. she has always been sweet, our jana. and good thing too because it would be beyond ironic to be crabby and named dulcinea.


the gift actually reminded me of the newsletter my sister maita and i published when we were in grade school. it had the unfortunate name of CB Bears. maita used to be evil and manipulative. she has since changed her ways, thank goodness. at that time, i did not know that CB Bears stood for Carmel Blanco Bears. yes, maita's birth certificate name is Carmel Blanco. I do not know why she appended the word Bears. me thinks it is a concession of sorts to me. maybe i wanted to name our publication after the cartoon characters care bears? who knows. all i know is that i was too dumb to know i was being hoodwinked.


but going back to jana.


her gazette was a four pager. and everything in it was an ode to ME! glorious, fantabulous ME!

to quote from the top story: "my mom is wonderful! she is amazing!"


and


"she is good at drawing, journalism and reading."


"she is really the best!"


ah. i can feel my liver doubling in size.


but wait. good at drawing, journalism and reading? only?


what about my other...skills? cooking, for example. parenting? leadership? teaching? makeup-ing?


i mean, what is she trying to say by focusing just on these three?  


i am no good at drawing. she knows she is better than me. way way way way way better.


and journalism. i can hear the collective snorts of my journalism professors, if they can see this. (is there a way to hide this blog post from chay hofilena, luz rimban, karl wilson, kim kierans, et al? or did i just made the opposite happen by putting their names here?) 


and reading. well. i concede on this. but this has no meaning whatsoever. what does good in reading mean? that i read fast? that i choose my reading materials well? an irrelevant skill.

but the best part of the paper was the one that was not about me, directly. it's the classified ads section. while it is not about me, it is directed at me, as you can see. 


"this kid needs more computer time. help kids who need computer time."


this is simply classic among the blanco-delgado kids. our kids have rules, complex ones, about computer time allocation, that they promulgated themselves and which they self-impose. 


this does not mean however that no stray kid appeals in secret for higher courts (aka papa and mama) to intervene. this is one such appeal. done in behalf of diego, because in the image, a long haired girl is at the keyboards while a forlorn looking boy is looking directly at the reader. in an appealing way.


and the survey on souvenirs. ah. using empirical data (albeit invented) to argue her case and not-so-subtly hinting for me to ask her already what she wants as pasalubong. this gazette is a loaded gift.