Who knows if the next incident strikes somewhere closer? Can I count on the authority to make the right decisions at the right time? I don’t even want to think about it. That’s the reason why I’m seriously considering about investing on some kind of security measure for my family, – GPRS devices, CCTV cameras at home, or just some sort of concealed phone if only Data cabling and Network cabling are my expertise.

If there is anything I can do to prevent them from getting involved in such situations, then I don’t mind spending. For as long as my family stays safe and away from all these useless danger, that’s alright with me. It’s still so much better than doing nothing.

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We were finally able to go through with our family application for passports last Friday, August 27th. Even if you do not have plans of travelling soon, it would be advisable for you to apply for an epassport (machine-readable, with digital signature and thumbprints) now. I applied for an appointment for us last July 11th and the earliest available slot was August 20th already. I wanted a Friday because Edil has no work that day (DFA is closed on weekends) and the first slot (7AM) because I was advised that spillovers happen.

1. First you need to set up an appointment here: http://epassport.com.ph/. It is fairly easy to do. Just pick out the dates you prefer. You will receive a confirmation e-mail which you need to print out (or copy the confirmation numbers). It contains a link to your passport application forms. Print that out.

2. Prepare your documents. I was going with the renewal and change of name/status while Edil and the kids were new applications.

Renewal:
Old passport – copy of front and back parts
Marriage certificate – if you are going to use your married name
(The lady who processed my application didn’t need my birth certificate)

New Applications:
Birth Certificates with NSO seal – if you have the old ones issued 2006 (yellow and blue papers) – that’s fine.
Copies of ID’s – since the kids are still in school and are minors, have their school IDs photocopied

*We were also made to photocopy our passport application forms as IDs for the kids.

** Have everything photocopied twice, just to be sure. It will be a hassle going out of the building to have it done and it cost Php3 each.

3. Go to the DFA Aseana early. We are instructed to be there 30 mins before schedule. We got the 7AM schedule so we were there at 6.30AM. Have the printout of your confirmation appointment email ready because the guard will look for it (and the time you have scheduled) – and guide you where to line up accordingly. The guard showed us there were 5000++ applicants that day and our time slot (7:00-7:30AM) had 276 applicants. So be early. It is also best if you have kids that you bring food and something they can be entertained with. My kids drew the whole time and listened to my iPhone.

4. Within 15 minutes, we were ushered in and wow, the room was cold – LOVE IT! There were already so many people but everything was organized. Security was everywhere guiding and assisting people and there were about 15 DFA personnel processing queues. We only had one number because we went as a family.

5. After processing the documents, you are going to pay at the cashier on the second floor. You get to choose between the regular processing which costs Php950 (20business days) or the express which costs Php1200 (10business days). At the processing window, you will see when would be the expected dates of releasing. Love that there are notices. You dont have to ask so much.

Again, long lines. but there were four cashiers so it went by pretty fast.

We paid for the regular processing since we are not in a hurry (we get them September 27th supposedly)

6. After the cashier, you just walk towards the image capturing stations and get your assigned numbers. We also got one number as a family and this is your time to freshen up (no need though because I barely broke into a sweat). There were about 50 image capturing stations so our number was called out in no time.

The DFA personnel again, was so gracious and patient. I know they have invested so much in the machines – everything is scanned in and ready to go. She took Martha’s picture twice and would ask us if we were satisfied with how we looked in the picture. Too bad I was sporting a big zit right in the middle of my eyes above my nose so no amount of retakes can zap that out.

I signed in behalf of the kids. Matthew, being 10, did not sign but was eligible for getting his thumbprints. Edil and I signed digitally (using a pen tablet) and had thumbprints scanned in.

7. If you wish to have the passport delivered, you just need to line up again and pay. It was fast enough because there were about 4 couriers to choose from. I just went to the next empty slot and was assigned 2Go. They cost 120Php each passport.

Timecheck: By 8AM we were done. Amazing.

It is NOT cheap to have one’s passport taken, especially if you consider the thousands of OFWs trying to get out the country to make a decent living. But it is a primary form of ID and lasts five years – and with how efficient the DFA upgraded its equipment and streamlined its process, I would gladly pay the price.

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Lately, she has been obsessed with a new TV show, Ben10. She actually calls it “Ben Tens”. It doesn’t help that she has two boys as her bus mates and she is the only girl. One time upon arriving home she actually asked me as soon as she opened the door, “Mommy pwede ba ako maging boy?” (Mommy can I be a boy?), and she must have seen my eyes grow wide as she hastingly said, “No, joke lang ako.” (I’m only joking)

She loves to dress up as  Super Hero, singing the Super Hero song from Hi-5. And since she is a “gir”, she told me, “Im Super Hero Girl Mom, kasi di ako boy, girl ako.”

So Super Hero Girl it is.

She actually has a cape and a – surprise! – a helmet. At least my daughter practices safety She alternates using her shorts or her lunchbox actually.

And you know what she said when we were watching the tragic hostage taking last August 23?

Classic Martha: Hala mom patay na ilaw sa bus! They need super hero girl!

And here was Super Hero Girl to the rescue:

That’s my girl, you gotta love her

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They were fine doing a Woody and Jessie tandem:

But there were two hitches – my kids are bigger than what their age size dictates so naturally, Matthew, being a size 10, didn’t have anything in his size and Martha is impossible to fit into a size 5. Plus, Martha wants a “giddyap”, in her terms. She asked, “Mommy, where is the giddyap of the Jessie?” – meaning the horse. So we browsed around and she insisted she wanted to have a giddyap like this – perfect for her – A HORSE AND A FAIRY PRINCESS! Nice.

Then Matthew wanted to be something scary (totally contradicts his stance two years ago!) if Martha wanted a horse and when Martha saw the vampire costumes, everything went downhill from there. She doesn’t want to have a Halloween party or a “trick or tree” anymore because there are a lot of “Vamp-i-ares”, as she puts it.

As always, we will cross the bridge when we get there!

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The brat’s first quarterly exams are coming up. It will be "exciting" to see us reviewing for it – so far every time I try to get her into a game of "Name That Color" she has answered pink, orange or her favorite color since two, GREEN. And no, she is not color blind. She knows when her clothes do no match. She throws a… fit when her shoes aren’t the same color. Monochromatic much?

I am in no way putting my lovely daughter down. I am just telling it as it is. I was really not that confident if Martha will be able to pull through with written exams because everyday, for the past two months since she started school, every time I would ask her what happened in school when she would go home – she would only answer one of the following things: Color, Drawing, Playground, Sing, Dance, Play ball – followed by the words “kami ni (insert friend here)”. I don’t even know if she knows the alphabet already.

So I did what I have never done with her big brother before – I printed test activity sheets for her to ‘answer”. Martha doesn’t really like reviewing by pointing at things. Besides, I wanted to do a simulated exam for her just in case.

Wouldn’t you know it – my daughter KNOWS her colors. She just cannot really articulate them that well.

She loooooooved doing the tests. She also got all the colors right – even coloring the object the right color. In fact, she did everything in 30 minutes! After the review, she ate two packs of eggnog, drank Yakult + juice and then downed a bottle of milk –and slept. Marts was zapped of her smarties juice!

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