Pregnancy pact?

Before I go on to my rant, you can find the story behind this blog here.

I'm not sure if you have had heard about this, but there are a group of at least 17 high school girls in Gloucester, Massachusetts that had made a pact to get pregnant. Some are as young at 16 and even younger! They were supposedly high fiveing each other each time a pregnancy test came back positive. Are you kidding? I remember when I was in high school, high school pregnancy was a thing to be ashamed about because we all made fun of the girl who got pregnant calling her a whore and slut and that sort of thing. It makes you wonder where we have gone wrong. Some people blame the movie "Juno", but I don't think so because they said that the movie glorifies teenage pregnancy. I've seen the movie and I don't agree with that. Could it be because of famous teens like Jamie Lynn Spears? Possibly. Could it be because parents aren't talking to their teenage girls about the consequences of being pregnant? Probably. I've got a 13 year old and the wife and I have already starting talking to her about what a pregnancy would do to her. About how life altering it is. How as a teen, you're life ends when you bring a child into the world. My brother has done the same for his teenage girl. I also told my daughter that she would kill me if she got pregnant before finishing high school and college because that possibility ends when you bring a child into this world. Well... OK... you still might be able to go to school, but probably not. Having a baby is such a big responsibility. There was a time in the world where teenage pregnancy was the norm, but that was a long time ago. Back then, the age expectance was a lot lower than it is today. Teens were taught how to be a mom or dad at an early age back then. Now, it's just not a good idea. Now, you life HAS to be put on hold because taking care of a baby is a 24/7 job. You really don't have time to do anything else. Has anyone out there ever tried to take care of a baby AND go to school at the same time? It's very hard if not close to impossible especially if you don't have someone to help you.

My trip home to the Philippines...

I started writing this while I was in the Philippines. It's only now that I am finishing this because one of my friends asked me to post a blog about my trip.

They say home is where you hang your hat and mine hangs in the United States and the Philippines.

I really enjoyed my trip home to the Philippines. Granted, I got sick a few times, but it was overall fun. I've got a blog for my trip that you can find here. I've also started adding pictures to my personal web site. You can find those here. Sorry, but you won't find any personal types pictures there (like family pictures). There are a few extra things that I'd like to add here in this blog that aren't in my other blog.

Visiting the family was great! Some of them couldn't understand English and my Tagalog is not that good, but that was mostly the little kids who had been born during the past 11 years since the last time I was there, which brings me to another thing.

It was too long between visits. 11 years really is A LONG TIME! Some of the "kids" that I knew 11 years ago now have kids of their own. I hope it won't take me as long the next time. I've missed so many birthdays and special events like graduations and the like that it makes my head spin just thinking about it. *needs to stop typing to let head stopping spinning* Most of the time I spent with the family was like getting to know them all over again. The only ones that I really knew were the brothers and sisters; it was the nieces and nephews that I had to get reacquainted with. I also had to get acquainted with their kids. Don't ask me all their names because I don't remember them all. I do remember most of them, but to match a name with a face is a daunting challenge because there are just so many of them.

Here's another thing... Being helpful is one thing, but it can get rather annoying when it's just too much. I go to put my dirty dishes away and I actually get in trouble for doing it! I go to lift something and I get in trouble for that! I feel like a helpless little baby. I'm sure I could have gotten them to do a lot more for me if I would have asked, but I HATE feeling so helpless. I understand and can appreciate the family wanting to help me, but really! I CAN help myself and I CAN be helpful when given the opportunity.

I really miss the Philippines and I know that I will hate to leave. Let's start with you can get anything you want there for just a little money and end it with 360° 24/7 "eye candy", especially in Baguio because it has like 3-4 universities/colleges. Sorry guys, but I didn't take any pictures of the "eye candy" because I didn't know how I'd be able to explain that one to the wife.

As I am writing this, my niece is sitting beside me with her baby niece and all I can think of is how much I hope it will not be another 11 years before I come back. I really hope it doesn't take so long before my next visit. I don't want to come back to see the now little kids with little kids of their own. Not that I hope that they won't have little kids of their own, I just hope that I get to see them one more time before they have kids of their own. Besides, I have a "daughter" there anyway that I love very much. I say "daughter" because the wife and I unofficially adopted her 12 years ago when she was just a baby. I'll post a picture of her and the wife that I took in Manila near the Mall of Asia.

There are things I'm going to miss about the Philippines and some things that I won't. Take for example the traffic. I LOVE Baguio, but I HATE the traffic. It's a lot more crowded now than it was 11 years ago. Part of the problem is the college students. They come to Baguio, but don't leave after they finish college. I can't blame them because Baguio is a lot cooler than any place else in the Philippines. The warmest average high temperature here is about 75°-78°F as compared to outside Baguio which can get up to 90°F +. What's bad is that it's a lot warmer now that it has been in the past. It would drop below freezing a lot overnight, but now it doesn't.

Here's something... What is it with some people and their inability or just unwillingness to follow even the most simplest of instructions? I'm sitting at the airport in Detroit awaiting my last flight back to Jacksonville and this though occurred to me because of the flight to the Philippines and back. Take for example the dip who thinks it's OK to stand up at the end of the flight BEFORE the Captain has turned off the fasten seat belt sign. I was on a flight that was actually delayed because too many people stood up before the Captain turned off the fasten seat belt sign. On this flight there were people getting up and moving around while the fasten seat belt sign was on. The Captain told us that we would have to sit where we were until everyone sat back down. We had an elderly lady actually get up to use the restroom while on final approach coming into Detroit! She just made it to her seat by about 1-2 minutes before touch down! What got my goat about that was there were two people sitting beside her that should have told her not to leave her seat! What about the person who does not return their seat back and/or tray table to their upright and locked position AFTER the announcement has been made to do so? What also gets me are those who still don't after the steward/stewardess asks them to.

OK... It's time for another good idea, bad idea. Good idea... Traveling to see the world. Bad idea... Traveling to see the world with small kids. I already told the wife's family in the Philippines that if we DO have any kids, they will not see them until they are 7-8 because I don't want to travel with small kids on an airplane. Case in point was when we left Jacksonville at the beginning of this trip. There was a little boy who didn't want to sit in his seat. His mom said it was his first time to fly. I'm going to guess he was about 3-4 years old. He was Filipino. How do I know? He kept screaming, "Ayaw," (pronounced I-yaw) each time his mom tried to get him in his seat. In Tagalog, that means I don't want or I don't like. I'll give the stewardess credit. I don't know if I could have kept my cool has well as she did. I think I would have just told the Captain we need to turn the plane around so these people could deplane because that's what she was telling the mom.

That's about all the extra stuff that I wanted to say. I'd better get to posting this because I left the Philippines in the beginning of May.