Went out with Lydia and my son Mio with our dear friend Malu Moraza and her son Xavy to Watson Bay. We took the ferry from Paramatta and went to this picturesque little destination with such breathtaking views. It was not just the view of the city that was impressive but also the prehistoric cliffs and rock formations that seem to stand defiantly against the expanse of a big ocean. It was a wonderful site to behold these natural wonders. But at the same time, one can’t help but be totally pulled in by a bigger story about the place, and that is that it has been a dramatic setting for many a suicides committed there. Many teenagers it is said, have jumped to their deaths from the high peaks into the rocky and watery depths below. There is such a violent beauty about the place. I couldn’t help but pay tribute to it by allowing it to take my breath away (without dying).
The most fun part of the day trip was the conversations and exchanges I had with my son Mio. We talked about a lot of things, from mundane jokes to heavy philosophical and spiritual stuff. I learned one thing about Mio today, and it is that he has a very probing mind–more than what I thought I knew. I’d even say that he has the makings of an intellectual since he seems able to grasp difficult concepts and ideas with ease. And he seems generally interested in them too, unless he was just accommodating his father. Ha ha!
What a great day it was.
Actually, we’ve been going out for three days now. The past two nights it was at the Noite Brazil concerts held at the Domain in the city and a park in Paramatta. Mio and I are both musicians and we thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic playing by the Brazillian Bossa players that entertained the crowd on those nights. More than enjoying the music and all that, I was so happy to enjoy Mio’s company. Actually, I do enjoy each and every member of my family and I am so grateful that they are easy to love and I am the kind of father who is crazy about them.
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I defintely want an i-phone, Apple’s re-invention of the cellphone that will put any Nokia, Motorolla, Sony Ericson, Blackberry, etc. to shame. And to think I was lusting for a Nokia N-series phone just a month ago. Alas, lust is truly fleeting, and if it isn’t it’s at least transferable. Heh heh. I am definitely gonna hold off buying any other phone and will be among the first to line up for the i-phone this June. I have been an Apple user for many users now and have always enjoyed its cutting-edge technological wonders. Believe me, the i-phone will blow you away.
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In two weeks, I am going back to Manila to do concerts with APO. I am quite excited to see Danny and Boboy and our musicians again. At the same time, I am quite lonely at the prospect of again leaving my family. I have been spending a lot of time with them and am so happy to be learning a lot about living abroad and sharing it with my loved ones.
It is also a great feeling to be living in our new house here. For some reason, I had no problem feeling at home in it. It felt like it was ours from the very first night I slept here. Maybe it’s because the furniture is familiar since we brought a lot of them from Manila. Or maybe it’s because Lydia has put her touch into it. But more than that, I just feel it has the ‘Paredes home’ spirit that seems to characterize every house we’ve lived in and owned. It is a friendly house and naturally attracts good people to visit. I know this house will recieve many visitors from Manila, Aus and the US and many other places, and they will be welcome.
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I got a new ‘do’. It’s time for a change. I just felt that on this trip I was ready to do something adventurous. When I went to Pinoy hair specialist Bhajune in Rooty Hill to have it done, I was so surprised to find out that, a) the back of my head actually had a good shape (contrary to what Lydia had been saying all along), and b) I was not bald at the back as I suspected all along. What a relief! I feel so liberated having done something so uncharacteristic of me, cuttting it short like this. There was something very zen-like about letting go of a long-held image of what my hair ought to be. No attachmements. No combing. Great! I will still try skinhead one of these days! Rock and roll, as they say!
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PS. If you are a regular reader of this blog and your name happens to be Emily, please write me at jim_paredes@yahoo.com. I have a message that may be important to you. I got a letter from someone and it concerns you. Please properly identify yourself in the letter–where you are from, civil status, etc.. to make sure I know I am communicating with the right Emily.
Have you done the Bondi-Bronte-Coogee walk? It’s amazing, at one point you’ll pass a large cemetery (by the Pacific! how cool is that?) and it’s interesting reading the names and dates on the old tombstones. Zen do! Preskong presko! Bummer, that iPhone won’t come out ’til next year in Ozland. May come out first in Manila even.
If it concerns finding a bag with million dollars, then I can be your Emily 🙂
Just kidding!
I love the way you talk about your kids. I can imagine your father would be saying something similar about yourself. I wish someday you could post a story about your 3 children with their baby/kiddie pictures and what they were like then.
Marie C
I dont think I can get used to that hair of yours! Maybe if I see you in person.
Yes, I remember you lusting over that Nokia catalogue. At least, now you dont have to think of what phone to buy. I watched Steve Job’s 2hr speech explaining and demonstrating the functions of the iPhone and I was having some sort of visual/mental/technological orgasm! Cant explain it. I want to work for Apple na talaga. Kahit sa Apple store lang. I’ll be a proud salesperson who can explain to buyers all the functions of Apple products. (not like the spaced out sales people we usually encounter when buying gadgets).
when’s the APO concert?
i admire the way you talk about your kids. when my children reach their teen years (toddler and preschooler pa lang kasi sila ngayon) i hope to have the same experience as yours.
sir, love the new do! 🙂 fresh na fresh, pwedeng commercial model ng mints! hehehe..
my friend and i had a funny conversation re: i-phone..share ko lang po kahit corny 😀
me: “uyy ang ganda! haytek to ah! kasya lahat ng files ko dto!” (drooling over the magazine)
friend: “oo nga! mukhang mura at malaki ang memory kasi may cpu na kasama” (sabay turo sa katabing ad ng cpu sa kabilang page)
ay corny talaga! hahahaha!
Me too, I want an iphone.i think it costs nearly $600 with contract,im not sure though!
I love the way you talk with your kids.my dad always talks about jokes and his favorite novels, that’s where we clicked!
how bout having an APO concert here in chicago?
sir jim,are you familiar with rex demavivas?
pen–No but I am looking forward to doing that with my daughter Ala. Ganda daw.
Marie C.–If it did, I would claim to be emily!!!
Unfortunetaely, I never got to know my dad too well. He fdied in a plane crash when I was six.
doranne–. Yup! Mixed reviews talaga ang hair ko. The i-phone is God!!! IAll of a sudden Nokia looks like a beinner’s kit not to be taken seriously. I think you’d be a good mac sales person por pitcher.
paranoia–check apohikingsociety.org under shows.
cess–I think the trick is to treat them the way you want to be treated.
I look at my kids as real people and not extensions of me.
trish–corny nga pero natawa rin ako. Glad you like the new do.
jaja–It’s 499 with two years sa Cingular. I knew a demavivas singer before but I can’t recall if his first name was Rex. Why?
nice ‘do’ sir jim. it really suits you, mukha ka tuloy teenager, hehehe!!!
hello sir jim!mas affordable nga pag 499 with 2yrs contract!2 demavivases pala,si rex and aris.naalala ko lang kasi pareho kayo ng panahon na sumikat.tito rex did some stint in the 70’s before migrating in US tapos si tito aris naman,present pa rin nung 90’s.tito rex is enjoying his retirement.tito aris i think is still active in the singing arena.i wish you could do a concert here in chicago.
another question po sir jim,is mrs paredes from the visayas region?is she,in any way, related to the Tangs? naku invasion of privacy na ata ako
thanks much!
Hi Jim,
Welcome back and Happy New Year !
Are you going to get Iphone in the US? Will it work with our local Sydney Vodafone? or any provider? What do you think? Can’t wait for 2008.
Goodluck.
JVC
Beaumont Hills
kaye–salamat. I even feel younger! heh heh.
jaja–I remember aris but not rex. No my wife is not fromn the south but from Nueva Ecija. her family, that is.
JVC-I-phone should work anywhere where GSM is used. I bet mauuna pa sa Pilipinas ito before aus. We pinoys are so much more tech savvy pagdating sa phones.
Great do!
Some people may find it shallow, but it really does feel liberating to do something you haven’t done or is afraid to do all your life even if it’s as mundane as cutting your hair short!
I myself have been contemplating to have a skinhead since college but have dilly-dallied for fear that I will look like a siopao. Bilog kasi ang ulo ko (actually pati katawan, hehe). I had it done, finally last summer and I was amazed that it looked good and felt even better. Some people even say that I look better in it with my old do.
Can’t wait to see you wearing a skinhead though. I’m sure you’ll look even younger : )
I too, love the way you share stories about your kids. I wish I can do the same to my son when he grows older.
Regards to the family po.
Jim, sorry to burst your bubble about the iPhone. It’ll be released only in the US in June and only on Cingular. It’ll hit Europe in Q4 2007 and Asia in Q1 2008 with similar network restrictions. And if Apple’ track record is anything to go by, they might just succeed in making the iPhone unlockable. The carrier who gets the deal for the iPhone will be very lucky indeed.
the place is really awesome,i do agree,but the family bondings,the talks with your son Mio impressed me a lot.you are really a family man,just leaving them for your concert make you sad.and i like the way you distinguish what kinda home you have,very welcoming and friendly 🙂
the i-phone is cool!hope they`d be released here in Japan,too!
yeah,the new “do” fits you,maybe the skinhead will do,too 🙂
russkal–shallow or not, it’s liberating. Glad you enjoy the stories about my family.
swipe–alas you are right. I guess we have to wait unless Pinoy ingenuity abundant in the Greenhills area can break the code as they always do. Sana. Otherwise, I guess we all have to just salivate for a year.
ghee–skinhead is next on my list. ha ha. But they say iyt’s hard tpo go through winter na kalbo. Bahala na. If I will just be staying in OZ, I might do it. ha ha
Sir jim,
Have you heard about Cisco suing Apple for the iPhone trademark? And Apple’s already spent so much money marketing the brand! The day after Steve jobs spoke in San Francisco, newspapers and websites around the globe already announced the coming of the iPhone. Tsk, tsk, looks like Apple has to pay Cisco a huge sum to be able to use the trademark.
razielle–knowing appple, they probably have things figured out already. They actually told Cisco that they were ready to meet the suit head on and they were confident they would win. Let’s see.
I was at a videoke room in a mall when the boys had a sudden urge to sing APO songs. One mtv had a montage of your pictures from the 70’s (the hair & outfit). I found myself suddenly glad that you’re Filipino. Such great artists.
I came across your blog through your star newspaper article. Had a great time reading it. You mentioned that you somehow feel sad that you’re leaving your family to work here. If it means anything, it made me feel happy that you still come here and share your talents in the Philippines. =)
I’m also considering a mac, but using a PC all my life… it scares the heck out of me. And by the way, trust me, it was a good decision not getting an N-series phone. 😉
shine–Wow. I am honored that my presence in manila matters to people I do not personally know. I will always be coming back. The truth is, it’s great to be performing here especially now that the kids seemed to have discovered us.
If you are thinking of switching to a mac, don’t hesitate. I’ve gone mac, and PC and went back to the best mac ever (OS10 rocks).
Thanks for the advice on the n-series.