KiDO Time Again, February 2009

It's KiDO time again!

For those of you who have visited our blog before, you'll remember that when he was about three months old we enrolled Little Nio in a kind of playschool called KiDO, which is located on the sixth floor of the Central World Mall. Now that he's almost two years old, we've decided to enroll him again.





Here he is checking out some of the play equipment at KiDO.



We've enrolled him to join a two-hour long structured play period that runs for 10-weeks, but only meets every Saturday. It's not quite the same as a real pre-school, but that's something that we're planning to enroll him in towards the end of the year.



Here we are having dinner at one of the many restaurant outlets at Central World. If I recall correctly this one is called Le Cashbah, or something equally pretentious like that. The food was decent but nothing to rave about.



This was taken the very next day, right in front of our house. Little Nio learns to wear sunglasses. I think he looks really cool wearing shades.

Back Home, January 2009

After all the excitement of traveling to Manila for a visit, and the stress of studying for the exam... and the relief from passing it... and then getting sick, then getting better and then sick again... it's slowly starting to feel like we're back home in Bangkok.



Here's Little Nio back in front of the computer again, visiting one of his favorite websites. He really enjoys spending time in front of the computer and browsing the internet for interesting things.





On the floor of our kitchen, enjoying some chocolate ice cream with his Daddy. Little Nio sometimes makes a big mess when he eats, so why take chances? It's also easier to mop up a tiled floor then worry about some fancy carpets. Not that we have anything fancier than a few fluffy door mats.



This is the same series of images that my wife, Kanittha, took for the comic strip on the chocolate cows.





When we were visiting in Manila for Christmas, one of the many many gifts he received from Lolo Jun was a little toy car. He really liked that toy car, which came in a box labeled "Unborn Flyer" — a very creepy name for a toy car. I suspect this is one of those peculiar transliterations from the Chinese language. Unfortunately, we were unable to bring it back with us because of all the other stuff we had. When we got back, we bought him something very similar.





Here he is enjoying the replacement little toy car. He probably won't remember that this red car isn't the same one as that "Unborn Flyer" that his Lolo Jun gave him when we visited.

Little Nio Comics Update, January 2009

Rather than put all the latest comic strip installments up in one go, I decided to split the updates up into manageable chunks to help with upload times.



This series of photographs was taken a few weeks ago and it shows our son, Antonio, playing with his toy car. This one is called "Little Nio and the Toy Car". More and more I'm finding that I can insert some subtle environmental messages in these comic strips.



This is actually an older series of photos taken by my wife, Kanittha. Antonio loves eating yogurt and it's usually the first course before he eats a proper breakfast. His expressions here are priceless. This one is "Little Nio and Yogurt".



We took these series of images in August of last year, when we went up country to visit with my wife's family. This comic strip is called, "Little Nio and Football". He really enjoyed running around in the sunshine on the dirt ground with a dilapidated old football.



This one is entitled "Little Nio and the Balloon Flower" and the images here come from an activity day of our village some time last year. They had balloons and painting, snacks and ice cream for all the kids. It was good fun.

Latest Little Nio Comics, January 2009

It's been a while since I've posted any "Little Nio" comics. Here are the latest installments in this series.



This one is entitled "Little Nio and Natural Gas". There's a small swimming pool next to the clubhouse in our little village and our son, Antonio, enjoys the water. This was taken summer last year, when it was nice and warm.



This one is "Little Nio and the Elephant" and was taken in Ayutthaya when my cousins were visiting us. We were feeding the elephants and every time that the elephant took the bananas from our hands Little Nio would clap. He loves animals and is not the least bit afraid of them.



It's very difficult to get Antonio away from computers. I guess he gets that from me. This comic strip is titled, "Little Nio and World Domination". It seemed appropriate given his expressions and the intensity of his concentration. This was done from a series of photographs taken last year.



This is a more recent comic strip, entitled "Little Nio and the Chocolate Cow". Like me, he's got a sweet tooth and a weakness for chocolate ice cream. My wife, Kanittha, captured these images as we were sharing a quick snack on the kitchen floor. It's more practical to eat on a tiled floor when you're eating ice cream with a little boy.

LEED AP, January 2009

After months of studying, I am relieved to share the news that I passed the LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional) Exam.

I took the exam this morning at the Prometric Center here in Bangkok and passed with a score of 181/200 (90.5%). The passing score is 170/200, so I didn't do too badly. Not that I am really into numerology and stuff like that, but scoring a 90%, on a test scheduled for 9:00 AM, on January 9, 2009 does seem fortuitous. It's a good thing I didn't plan on taking it at 5:00 PM, on May the 5th. It is such a relief and am very grateful that I can now get back to doing actual work without the additional burden of studying for this exam.



After checking the USGBC website and looking in the LEED AP Directory — I am now officially listed as a LEED AP!

On the downside of things... the LEED NC 2.2 (New Construction) Rating System, which I qualified for will be replaced by the middle of this year with the LEED 2009 Rating System. This takes my qualification and makes me a Legacy AP. I will then have to take some continued education or put in hours on a credited LEED project to upgrade my accreditation to the newer system.

I am very grateful for all the encouragement and support from family and friends and the online communities that are advocates of sustainable design and the USGBC LEED. But most of all, I am very grateful for all God's blessings in helping deliver this achievement.

Christmas in Manila (Part 1), December 2008

DAY ONE

It's that time of the year, when we again pack up our gear and fly home to Manila to be with our family and all our loved ones. After the re-opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, we were relieved to get our flight confirmed for Friday, December 19, 2008. We got up very early in the morning to arrive at the airport three hours before our flight, as recommended.





Here's Little Nio posing with his Daddy and Mommy at the airport areas right after passing through Immigration Control. We spent a bit of time wandering through the Duty Free shopping area before we went to our boarding gate. Here he is wondering what's so delicious about an apple you can't eat.





A quick swig from a bottle of milk on his Mommy's lap while playing with the ear of his "Barrista Bear", and Little Nio is off running around the gate area. We try to tire him out and use up as much of his extra energy so the flight becomes a great opportunity for him to rest and catch up on his sleep.

Our uneventful flight became unexpectedly unpleasant for us. We sat in the middle row seats right behind the bank of toilets, and we bore the full brunt of all the malodorous smells wafting out of those cubicles. A disturbing reminder for me to be more meticulous about the seating arrangements I make with our travel agent.



My wife, Kanittha and Little Nio waiting with the luggage. Just waiting for my brother, Tito Nico, to drive up with our borrowed ride from my sister and her husband, Tita Tessa and Tito Louie.



Finally arriving at Lolo Jun and Lola Nene's house in Marcelo Green Village. We spent the rest of the day unpacking and just relaxing. It was then that I realized that I caught a very nasty flu bug and for the entire duration of our visit I was running a fever, coughing painfully, suffered a running nose and had the most intense headaches. Although it put a cramp in our schedule, it didn't prevent us from enjoying the holidays as best as we could.


DAY TWO

Our visit to Manila was really all about getting Little Nio to spend time with his grandparents. It's not only about celebrating the miracle of Christmas and being able to exchange gifts, but more importantly it is being able to be with family.





Little Nio spends time in the garden with Lolo Jun.



Little Nio proves beyond reasonable doubt that he's literally got lots of balls. He's discovered a giant cache of assorted balls — footballs, basketballs, plastic balls and all sorts of other balls. Don't worry about that unusual long line behind him... that's the tether for towing a toy truck, not some garden snake basking in the sun.


DAY THREE

Once more out in the garden with his Lolo Jun, Little Nio enjoys himself playing with some assorted buckets and pails filled with a bit of water.





Here they are exchanging some thoughts on how best to make mud and get messy in the shortest amount of time possible.





Lolo Jun isn't offering too much advice on the matter, so Little Nio decides that this issue should get top priority and promptly places things on his head.



After a bath and a change of wardrobe, Little Nio settles down in front of the television and gets some educational entertainment time watching the "Little Einsteins". His favorite Starbucks "Bearista" bear is a constant companion. We've named this stuffed toy "Barry Bear". Little Nio usually crosses his legs when he watches his show, and it has earned him the moniker of Don Antonio.

With all these unusual little habits, which we ourselves don't do it makes us wonder and Lolo Jun agrees that perhaps our Little Nio is an "old soul".


DAY FOUR

Our day started off a bit early, with Little Nio having breakfast with Lolo Jun. Our son eats "monk style". Buddhist monks here in Thailand are taught that one must only eat to live, and that they should transcend the niceties of having food separated into different sorts and look beyond the aesthetics. They only need to focus on the nutritious value of the food. Little Nio does pretty much the same thing when he starts mixing all his food together.



I fought off a very high fever the day before, but felt well enough to do all our last minute Christmas shopping for the entire family. We didn't bring any gifts with us as our bags were already overstuffed with some dried fruit samples for Lolo Mon and Kuya Rene, but thought it would be better to do our bit for the local economy and do our shopping all in Manila.

We went off to "Market Market", which has quickly become one of my wife's favorite places to visit because of the variety and the prices of goods there. I spent most of my time carrying Little Nio around, and his Mommy, armed with a comprehensive shopping list completed almost everything in around three hours. My brother, Tito Nico, was with us the whole time to help get things done even quicker.



We had an opportunity to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend, Tita Via and Tito David, to have lunch at this Italian restaurant at "Market Market". From left-to-right, Mommy carrying Little Nio, my younger brother Tito Nico, my older sister Tita Via and her boyfriend Tito David.



We had a great time catching up with them, and after lunch we moved over to have coffee at Starbucks. The day ended very simply, we dropped off Tito Nico who had to go and get a haircut, then we detoured to do some groceries at "SM City Bicutan" before we went home. It was very tiring because it took us about ten minutes to do all our grocery shopping, but the queue at checkout took longer than half an hour.

Christmas in Manila (Part 2), December 2008

DAY FIVE

The day before Christmas started off with a very pleasant surprise with a visit from our very good friend, Bong Mendoza. We know Tito Bong through my brother, Tito Nico and through the years he has pretty much become a part of our extended family.



Here's Tito Bong carrying Little Nio. We asked our son to point to the moon, and he unerringly pointed straight up instead of the shiny shaved head of our gentle friend.



Out on the street in front of our house, the neighbor's dogs are barking furiously at our son. Much to my surprise Little Nio didn't jump back in fright or surprise, but balls his tiny hands into little fists and stands his ground with a serious face. Even though the dogs were safely behind a closed gate, I was still very proud to see first hand that our son has a naturally courageous streak in him. Something to be developed and guided properly as he grows up.



Getting ready for Christmas Eve mass, Little Nio and his Mommy feign surprised expressions when I jump out to snap this photo. Too funny. These two characters are really something else.





My wife, Kanittha, posing with my younger brother's girlfriend, Tita Jocelyn. I am very glad that they have become such good friends. We are expecting Tito Nico and Tita Jocelyn to visit us in April 2009, when we can all celebrate Songkran together. We are really looking forward to this visit and plan to make it very special for all of us.



Back from Christmas Eve mass and almost ready to start our Noche Buena, Christmas Eve traditional family dinner. Here I am seated behind our niece, Sofia (who is the daughter of Tito Louie and Tita Tessa) and Little Nio who is munching contentedly on an ice cream cone, sans the ice cream.



Crowding together on the family room couch, from left-to-right, my wife Kanittha, our niece Ate Sofia, our son Little Nio, and his older cousin Kuya Jose (eldest son of Tito Louie and Tita Tessa). Not sure what's with the raised fist, but it could be some kind of gang sign.



A rare family photograph, but Little Nio is more interested in the television show rather than preserving the moment for posterity.



Time to open our Christmas presents! Here's Little Nio opening up the gift from Tita Jocelyn and Tito Nico — a wonderful Starbucks "Bearista" bear dressed up in a cap and blazer and waving a flag with "Philippines" written on it. His Mommy promptly named this new stuffed toy "Billy Bear", to compliment his other favorite named "Barry Bear".

Little Nio received so many wonderful toys and gifts, with so many mini-basketballs and little toy trucks, and all sorts of puzzles from Lolo Jun and some beautiful books from Lola Nene. He received a wonderful bowling set from Tita Via, an awesome pop-up book from Lolo Mon and Lola Charing, personalized stuffed letters from Tito Louie and Tita Tessa... and so much more.



Lolo Jun looks on and watches everyone opening up their gifts.



From left-to-right, Kuya Jose and his father, Tito Louie, and seated on the couch is his mother, Tita Tessa.


DAY SIX

It's Christmas Day! Merry Christmas everyone!

Tita Via, my elder sister, came to visit and have Christmas breakfast with us. Right after breakfast she made sure to spend time and give Little Nio some special instructions on how to bowl.



Here they on the rug of the common room playing bowling, from left-to-right, Tita Via, Little Nio and his Mommy.



Time to take a quick power nap with Lolo Jun on the big bed. Little Nio didn't quite get to sleep, but it was a great chance to spend some quiet time with his grandfather.



Posing with a papaya that's as big as his head — Little Nio on center, flanked by his Lolo Jun on the left, and his Lola Nene on the right. Not sure why they are posing with fresh fruit in the first place, but it does make for an interesting and unusual photo. Charming, in a slightly fruity way.