It's been a while since I decided to get back to blogging again, if it weren't for the boredom the holiday season brings. I guess it's more of that time of the year when all my creative juices just keep flowing, and darn, how I wish I have mastered "asdf typing" very well. It would have been so much easier speaking while the fingers do the talking.

I remember way back how I get so fascinated reading those bulky encyclopedias, and whenever I encounter a new word I instantly look it up in the dictionary. Yep, that's me when I was a kid, haha. Funny how the generation has changed today. Instead of books, kids read game manual.  Instead of playing outdoor sports..well, yeah they still play those sports, except they're indoors holding their Wii. Instead of getting physically active and socializing with their peers, a lot of kids today prefer playing online games on the computer. So how does that affect them? I get a lot of referrals for therapy for kids who have grown aloof, introverted and socially retarded. They have delays in speech because they grew up watching Tom and Jerry, and playing Angry Birds. They grew up learning one of their first words as "braiiinnss." I'm just kidding. But these things are not so far from the reality of what's going on with our society today. Plus the fact that a lot of couples marry at a young age, have kids that are not so hard to be mistaken for as their younger siblings and in turn, meeting these parents for Occupational Therapy evaluation of their child - clueless, hopeless, begging to learn what they could possibly do. Seriously, it surprises me to know that the simplest advice I could give them regarding child-rearing could be so much of a big deal. My point is, shouldn't they know those things already before even thinking of starting out a family? Btw, I was so glad the RH Bill is finally passed into law. It's not that I'm pro abortion or against the teachings of the church (clearly, that's what those narrow-minded people think what family planning is all about). It's just nice to know that now everyone gets informed and everyone gets the right to choose - when they would like to start a family or have kids, and still enjoy one of the privileges of being in a heterosexual relationship - sex. Yes I'm saying it outright and I won't be a hypocrite about it.   

I'm not here to put blames or place judgment on anyone. I just hope that people grow smarter as the years progress and start minding about more important matters at hand instead of wallowing on why Pacquiao lost his last fight or debating why Miss Philippines wasn't crowned Miss Universe.

It has been a known fact for me and my parents that whenever depression strikes me, I impulsively run straight to the department store and buy a couple of buckets of paints. For some time it served like my outlet, of which in psychology what they would usually refer to as “sublimation.” Sublimation is a positive defense mechanism in which you divert your attention from stressful events into more productive activities. And yes, “painting” has always topped my list. For a reason that, writing has always been a part of my life, and when I decide to write to counteract stress, I just end up writing over and over about it. Not to mention all my posts either being overly “cheesy”, exaggerated; morbid or way out of sense. So back when I was slowly being consumed by my torments from my last heartbreak, instead of writing (which I later on realized I still did nonetheless) one day I told my mom, “I want to paint our house.” Surprisingly, I did. I painted all the walls and the floors of our living room, kitchen, receiving area, and even our terrace all by myself. It’s not that my mom and dad didn’t want to help me, it’s just that I’m so particular with the details.. being a perfectionist, obsessive-compulsive that I am. So now our house is just painfully purple with a soft touch of peach. Of course I do the painting, so I choose the colors. Haha! Just recently, I also painted the walls of the second floor of our house mint green, the stairs yellowish, window panes peach, and my room.. well, guess the color. Purple! It’s a flirty mixture of ballerina pink, magenta, berry rouge and purple. 

When I first painted, I was so foolish to think that painting could be the best remedy for my broken heart. I thought that when I change all the colors that I see around me, it changes everything, and it will make me forget all about the bad stuff. But then I realized, I don’t really change anything. I cover up my pale blue walls with bright pink and what I really did was just mask all the dirt and flaws. It is the same wall. I may try to change it in any way, but it is still the same. Like when you do a make-over to yourself, you change how you look but it is still the same you. We get a wound and cover it up with a bandage, but underneath it is a scar that will serve as a reminder that “hey, I’m your past and I beat you.”

Whenever I look at my room, which now by the way is so girly, it’s funny because I can no longer remember how it looked like before. I recall how it used to be so dull and boring, but I can’t remember the exact way it looked before. I guess that’s the magic of it. When you change a part of you, you may not completely forget how it was before, but it makes all the looking-back bearable.

So here’s some of the ‘basic’ things I learned about painting:

1. You use acrylic for stone and latex for wood. When you try to mix both, for example, red acrylic and yellow latex, to come up with a new shade, it’s not really going to happen and it’s just going to be ugly. 

2. It’s always best to really clean up the surface and scratch up all the remaining old paint before you cover it up with a new one, so you won’t end up wasting a lot of money covering up the same surface with 3-4 applications just to get the finish you desire.

3. Cracks in woods or stones are ideally covered by what they call “mansilya.” You put it on the defected surface before applying paint. Others usually mix it to some paint then directly applies. When you lacked the time to go to the nearest hardware to purchase, a masking tape “may” work.

4. It’s nicer to paint with rollers than brushes, because brushes usually leave a trail of lines as you brush, unlike rollers. However, rollers seem to “eat up” or absorb a lot more paint than paint brushes do.

5. It’s really hard to remove paint on your skin, especially if it’s not water-soluble, particularly latex paint, which usually requires thinner to remove it. However, I tried baby oil once in removing paint stains on my face and it worked wonders.

6. It’s always best to estimate and buy all the paints you’re going to need to finish the entire surface you’re painting before hand. So you won’t end up painting with one color and then the paint runs out, you head out to the hardware only to find out the shade you were looking for was sold out and you opt to buy another similar shade. And the thing is, it’s not entirely the same, you just end up starting all over again, wasting a lot of money.

7. Don’t ever try to paint over a varnished surface, because you’ll only be losing a lot of paint than you can imagine. What happens is that, the wood only seems to absorb the paint with every application. You don’t get the color you want, it just turns yellowish, and the surface smells nasty. The best thing to do is, sand the entire surface first, clean off the dust, then voila!

8. It’s always better to paint during weekends, or long breaks/vacations. Because what happens when you impulsively decides to paint (like me) is that you try as hard to finish everything in one day, but you realize it’s not possible because you have work tomorrow, and just like everybody else, you also need to sleep/rest. You only get frustrated that you can’t finish it, at the end of the day, you lose the motivation you need and it affects the quality of your work. Not to mention you miss some wee sleeping hours.

…well, that’s it for now. Till my next paint job! ;p

When “Budoy” was first aired, I was so happy to learn the fact that, finally, the media is paying more attention to what could be a rapidly growing problem in our society today – the increasing number of kids and individuals who have developmental delays of various causes. I’ve been practicing Occupational Therapy for more than 3 years now and I’ve handled different cases of children and adults with special needs – from autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, mental retardation to adults with physical and psychiatric conditions. To have a teleserye that empathizes with a lot of parents and families with kids with developmental disabilities would be a great help in rising awareness to those who would resort to confining their loved ones with mental retardation at home for life, or even wasting several years in “denial” then later on deciding to act on it only to find out there’s so much more they could have done years before.

It was so disappointing that they didn’t conduct a thorough research when they attempt to deal with medical cases. Gerald Anderson’s acting ability is unquestionably very plausible, the way he deliver and portray a mentally challenged individual. It’s primarily the loopholes in the script and story line that is making this television series not as excellent as to what it could have been.

If I would watch Budoy as a medical professional, I’d look for the big details they missed out such as, Budoy‘s exact medical diagnosis. Now that the character Budoy found out that he came from a rich family, they could have tried all medical interventions a mentally challenged individual might need (and a medical doctor would always recommend) say, Occupational Therapy and Special Education. It would have been better if from there, they gradually habilitate Budoy to be a more functional individual, instead of miraculously making him so smart right after he incurred a coma from a lightning shock. Who are they kidding? Moreover, the story is more focused now in the sibling rivalry and love triangle among the characters.

Now the even greater problem remains…how the parents with children with mental retardation and developmental delays perceive Budoy. I have parents constantly asking me, “teacher paglaki ba ng anak ko magiging katulad din ni Budoy?”… “ibig sabihin teacher may pag-asa ring tumalino yung anak ko kahit nadiagnose with severe MR?” And so, I go on and on explaining to them… Budoy is a fictional character. What works with somebody might not necessarily work for everybody. It’s always best to consult your developmental pediatrician or doctor regularly. Collaborate with your child’s SpEd teachers and therapists as to how to follow-up treatment at home. Above all, always be vigilant to the changing needs of your growing child.