Friday, July 25, 2008

Oily Stuff

Rama and I wandered around the jazz fest last night. The roads were closed, there were live acts on every street corner and munchies everywhere. When we decided to pause for a break, she chose to have fish and chips. We picked a spot, a roadside bench, and she dove into her meal. She takes a bite of the fish.

Rama: I love oily stuff.... Don't make me take it off.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Charlie...

One of our games while horsing around is inserting finger in the mouth of the other person as she yawns. It can either be funny or annoying - with Rama, we often have fun with this. One time, I was the yawner, she put her finger in my mouth and I caught it between my teeth. Rama, in a perfect Brit accent, cried, "Charlie bit me!" She was referencing this.

Heaven

"Can you do anything you want in heaven? Even breaking things?"

So I probed where this question was coming from. Turns out, Britney "likes to break things." And obviously, she can't keep doing that. So Rama was trying to figure out how Britney can have her way and not "get into trouble."

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Cycling


We went out on the bike today, the second time since we got the bike last week. We rode quite a distance, and even after we got caught in a downpour, Rama wanted to keep going. By the end of the afternoon, she could brake on command (by back-pedalling) and keep right. She also tackled some slopes (but wise enough to walk her bike when it got really steep). We had landmarks on both ends of our ride - this harbour on one end, and on the other, the bridge over the river.
After the ride, we had a dinner capped with her favorite ice cream. She had shrimp, which she couldn't finish. She offered some to me, but it was our companion who had it. I explained, "I don't eat anything with a face."

Rama: What about chicken legs? You don't have to eat the whole thing.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Reading Lessons

You know a 6 yo is a city slicker when the first few words that she learns to read outside of the classroom are:

"Garbage Disposal"
"Starbucks"
"Bad Disc"

Saturday, July 12, 2008

My Monster Mother

Rama is always asking for stories. Sometimes, she even tells us, "Even if it's something I already know, kase alam ko, nauubusan." Something new to her was My Monster Mother (Ruffa Gutierrez-Annabelle Rama movie, currently playing in Philippine theatres). So I recapped the plot, and threw this in: "The mother talks like Ate Mercy."

Rama: Does she also say Ram-ram?

A nick which Rama isn't very fond of. But we Pinoys just can't help ourselves.

Narnia

We visited a friend at home. G gave us a tour of his house. "That's Susan's room..." Etc. "And this is our cat, Lucy."

Rama: Your friends, two of them, have the same names as the kids in Narnia.

Psychoanalyzing

Sometimes I worry about Rama's self-confidence. Often, with other people she is quiet and restrained. With other kids, she hardly ever takes the lead. But then again, sometimes, she surprises me with her boldness, even with strangers. She will go up to a random person and dish out a compliment or two. ("I like your hair. And your dress." - this to a young punk-ish woman with green hair and an ironic, goth-ish prom dress on the bus.)

Yesterday, she was learning to bike without training wheels. A friend of mine, a certified bike instructor, was teaching her. Childless, he wasn't too aware of how adult his language was.

G: Rama, you want to get enough momentum.
Rama: I don't know what that means.

That simple statement reassured me of her confidence to admit what she doesn't understand. And this makes her very teachable and open.

In minutes, Rama was balancing on the bike and pedalling away.

First Order of the Day: Wisecracking

Lying in bed in the morning, getting ready to rise, I let out a huge, loud, moanful stretch. How loud?

Rama: You sound like you're nanganganak.... Where's the baby?

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Conflicted? Or merely aware?


Rama, while enjoying one of these: Mmmm, it's so good. (Pause). I mean, it's not good for me. But it tastes good.

The Romantic

Rama: Mommy, what if someone asks you to marry him, because you're pretty?
Me: Nah. That won't happen, Rama. They can always ask, but I'll always say no.
Rama: Oh.
Me: But you know, that happens to other people. They fall in love, fall out of love, meet somebody else... That's how it is sometimes in the world.
Rama: I don't like that world.