Blame the Kids

Yeah, I knew that title would get your attention. The results of an 8-year study came out last week saying that if you are stuck in an unhappy marriage with kids, guess who's to blame? The kids!

The study may be scientifically accurate, but in my book, scientific studies such as this should never be conducted to begin with. Granted, they may have been expecting different results, but still... I think that the release of this study will bring about a lot of hesitation in married couples to procreate.

I did, however, like the reaction of one person who was interviewed on the news about this subject - he said that while the results may be true, some people are willing to forego that happiness in exchange for being able to bring a new life into this world. I totally agree.

What I haven't been talking about at all in this blog is that back when I had just graduated and didn't really know what job or career path I should take, my mom suggested I try teaching in a preschool. So I applied and got a job as a nursery school teacher, and boy oh boy did I love it. In spite of tons of snot, a lot of crying, and even a little bit of biting, it was a truly enjoyable and memorable experience. I have to acknowledge my co-teacher, Teacher Victoria, here as well, whom I believe taught me how to be more patient with our nursery kids, and more creative with the activities we would come up with for them.

I still remember all of my kids, but here are descriptions of just a few of them:

Carina - who never wanted to let go of her blankie, no matter where she went

Migs - the sweet one, who always made sure to stuff his roll of bread in my mouth - that was his way of sharing

PJ - our student with Down's Syndrome, and was ever-so-sweet as well. I once bumped my knee on the table really hard, and he wouldn't stop patting it to make it feel better

Lia - always came in early, while I was still prepping for class and asked me "Teacher, wasscha dewin?"

Chrissy - never said a word, but after a few weeks of encouraging her to "use her words," the first full sentence T. Victoria and I heard come out of her mouth was "I made poopie!"

Audrey - knew all of our dance moves and lyrics for their graduation and would yell "Teacher!!!" out of fondness, even though her face was only a few millimeters away from yours

Darryl - hated me so much because I took her away from her mom and nanny and cried for two weeks. I made her "teacher's helper" to distract her, and after that, she wouldn't let go of me

Sean - always made sure that he had the right shoes on the right feet, and always rushed me to open his bottle of Yakult. That kid could drink 6 bottles of those straight and not blink.

And then there are the hilariously memorable times - like when I taught my toddlers class "empty and full" with grape juice. I'd fill their cups "full," they'd drink it, then say "empty." After the third refill, Darryl said "Cheers!" and they all clinked their plastic cups together and drank the wine- I mean, grape juice. Then there was that time when T. Victoria and I made wigs with cartolina, and had the kids run around the play area with them on - they all looked ridiculous... and cute!

So how can people possibly blame their unhappiness on kids? I just don't understand. Perhaps these couples should see their kids as their refuge or form of spontaneous entertainment from a long day at work, more than as a responsibility or burden. Kids are your opportunity to remember your childhood, and how sweet and innocent it was. And if you didn't have a fun childhood, make it fun for them. As a teacher, no matter how tired I was, or how many problems I had in my personal life, there was nothing that could ruin my day when I saw my kids smiling, realizing that I helped make them feel happy and feel better about themselves :)

Tickets to a Show, and the Corner Bistro

When we got a notice from FedEx Friday evening that said we had a package we had to sign for, Javi and I got really curious to find out what it was. One of the conveniences of living in an apartment building where you can trust the other tenants on your floor is the ability to have packages left in front of your door without having to worry about someone stealing it.

So where could this package have come from? Javi had a cousin flying in from Manila, so if his parents had sent anything, it would have been through his cousin. And my mom and sister were coming soon as well, so they weren't about to send a package if it was going to arrive about the same time they would! I hadn't bought anything online, and our house people (we're in the process of buying a house) know better than to ask to have a package signed for upon delivery.

The good thing was, the note said we could pick it up at a nearby FedEx office on Saturday. This forced us to get out of our almost too comfortable apartment and trek over to the West Village in gorgeous Spring weather.

For those of you who haven't been to Manhattan, the Village (aka Greenwich Village) certainly has a lot of character. It's also where you'll find the famous Bleecker St., cute botique shops of brand name items (Coach, Ralph Lauren, Juicy Couture), as well as Hollywood celebrities if you're lucky. Definitely a must if you're a first-time tourist and are in the mood for a nice stroll down cobblestone streets. But you have to be sharp enough to appreciate what you see. Take the following picture, for example:

Only in NY can you find a bent telephone booth, with a guy STILL trying to use it!

When we arrived at the FedEx office, it took a while for the lady to ge the package. So while we waited in utmost curiosity and anticipation, I took a few shots.

After these shots, I didn't mind the wait. I'm really glad I forced myself to bring my camera with me at all times.

So we finally got the package - the typical thin FedEx cardboard envelope that hardly told us what was inside. But the mystery was finally solved when Javi opened the envelope to reveal the title "Ticketmaster."

They were the U2 tickets we ordered!!! Wahoooo!!!

So mystery solved! And after making sure that the tickets were kept safe in my bag, we started thinking of where we should have lunch. Javi had been promising to take me to a place called Corner Bistro, but always forgot about it when we were actually in the Village. This time, he remembered, so off we went.

Corner Bistro is an old establishment with relatively cheap drinks and food, and pretty good burgers. I tried the Cheeseburger, while Javi tried the Chiliburger. The star of this restaurant, however, is the Bistro Burger, but I think we both wanted to be rebels and each order something else.

I couldn't take a photo of Javi's Chiliburger because he inhaled it even before I had the chance to take the camera back out, but I did get the chance to take a shot of the interesting tabletop.

I wouldn't die if I couldn't come back here, but I also wouldn't hate having to come back to this neighborhood watering hole again. Seeing as I don't drink alcohol, that should be a reasonable conclusion to have come from me. For those of you who DO drink, and love a good burger and greasy fries, then I definitely recommend you give this place a shot. ;)