Happy Birthday, Mom!

Mom and me pretending to be NYC tourists at Rockefeller Center last holiday season. Photo taken by another (genuine) tourist on 12/28/05.


Happy Birthday, our ever-loving-and-loved Mom! I wish you much healing ASAP on your birthday. Mi pobrecita Mamamia fell two weeks ago and landed a huge welting bruise on her chest, which happens to be right on her heart chakra. Yow! Let's all send her love. Her heart chakra can sure use some TLC.

And I sure do love you very much, my wonderful, fragile Mommy.

Happy Anniversary, A&E!

My father-in-law and stepmom-in-law posing in their old apartment in Oak Park, IL. Photo taken September 1995.


Happy anniversary, Arthur & Elizabeth! Don't fall off your chairs in shock that I remembered. I now keep a calendar! And I actually look at it!

Finale. Free at last.

Ate and 21-month-old Kayla on 1/22/06.


Never, NEVER ever again will I pull a crazy mind-numbing stunt like a 21-day theme of one person, place, or object. I love the kid but this was ridiculous. Two days after I made the grand announcement of 21 days of Kayla, the great procrastination freeze-out came. Everytime I thought of posting something on this blog I went ahead and did something else in the kitchen or put another DVD on. You would think this was about making dental appointments. This photoblog, once a silly and amusing and fun toy to play with, transformed into a term-paper deadline for a class I hated. I bemoaned to some friends, "Why, oh why did I ever come up with this theme???"

So it took me more like 41 days rather than 21 days to make this happen. Oh, well. Now it's over. I'm amazed that we actually took photos of this beloved child every single frickin month of her existence. We are such shameless family paparazzis.

Free at last, free at last, thank god almighty this p-blog is free at last!

I'm so giddy from this thought that I might do away with themes for the time being. Let's see where this project next leads me to.

Day 21 of 21 = Kayla at 20 months

Presents-opening madness of Christmas 2005. All were for Kayla, of course. Note here that Mike is taping ribbons on Kayla's back. Also check out how Tito Lito (right edge) now has a ribbon tied around his head. Madness, I tell ya. Photo taken Christmas Eve 2005.

Day 20 of 21 = Kayla at 19 months

This was such a crazy hat. Imagine a little toddler less than 3 feet tall walking around with a huge hat like this. It was a present from Auntie Vil in the Philippines. Mike said Kayla looks like someone from mortal combat. Photo taken Thanksgiving (November 24) 2005. And is that a rosary she's carrying??

Day 19 of 21 = Kayla at 18 months

Halloween 2005. Photo taken by Cookie on 10/27/05.

Day 18 of 21 = Kayla at 17 months

Who the heck watches TV like that? Isn't this a yoga pose? Photo taken 9/25/05 by one of her parents.

Day 17 of 21 = Kayla at 16 months

Kayla has fun with her little blanket costume. Photo taken by Cookie on 8/19/05.

Day 16 of 21 = Kayla at 15 months

Mom and Dad with the love of their life during a family vacation in Cape May last summer. I swear these two are the most devoted grandparents I've ever seen. Photo taken 7/7/05.

Day 15 of 21 = Kayla at 14 months

Summer snack at her kiddie pool on 6/26/05.

Day 14 of 21 = Kayla at 13 months

Cookie and Kayla on Mother's Day (May 8) 2005. Now here she's got a full set of teeth. See the difference?

Day 13 of 21 = Kayla at 12 months

Interesting to see how green the grass is here when this is the same exact site as three entries ago (see Jan 2005 photo of Kayla's first snow). And Kayla looks much older here too. Now she has three front lower teeth! (see below). OK, from hereon I'll stop with the dentistry. Photo taken by one of her parents on 4/17/05.

Day 12 of 21 = Kayla at 11 months

Again, compare this picture against the previous entry and the one taken on Christmas 2004. Here she now has two big upper teeth. How the heck did they get there so soon? They're pretty big for something that develops in a month. See below for a close-up version. The human body never ceases to amaze me.

Next to Kayla is the ever-wonderful Barney boy. Photo taken by Cookie on 3/2/05.

By the way, Kayla's impish smile can also be found in old childhood pictures of Ate and Cookie. The same exact grin and squint. It's quite uncanny. Doesn't apply to me, though -- I have no pictures of me grinning this much as a kid. Ain't that a can of worms that will never be opened.

Day 11 of 21 = Kayla at 10 months

Kayla gets her studio portraits done. Is it me or she had a major growth spurt here? Compare this pix against the previous 2-3 photoblog entries. She doesn't look like a baby here at all but a mid-sized toddler. Photo taken Feb 2005 by the studio photographer.

Day 10 of 21 = Kayla at 9 months

I still remember that Saturday night in January 2005 when it snowed nonstop the entire evening. We spent the blizzard snug inside Mike and Cookie's house watching season 1 of Alias. By the time the snow stopped the next morning over a foot had accumulated, which made it Kayla's first official snowfall. She played outside for a bit and enjoyed every minute of it (the kid loves water), but really her parents wanted the photo op. She looks like a little stuffed animal here. Mike (black gloves at the bottom) is the one holding her steady. I love how the fuschia of her winter onesie contrasts against the white snow. Photo taken by Cookie on 1/23/05.

Day 9 of 21 = Kayla at 8 months

Santa baby on her first Christmas. The two front teeth peeking out kills me. Photo taken on Christmas morning during the opening of Kayla's dozens o' presents. Photographer unknown, though I'm guessing it was Mike.

Day 8 of 21 = Kayla at 7 months

Now THIS is what I call healthy mirror work. "To know me is to wanna kiss me!" seems to be the Kayla motto. Her Lola (Tagalog for grandma, aka my Mom) holds up the self-loving baby. Photo taken on Thanksgiving 2004 (11/26/04). Photographer unknown.

Day 7 of 21 = Kayla at 6 months

Court Jester baby on Halloween 2004. Photo taken by one of her parents.

Day 6 of 21 = Kayla at 5 months

5-month-old Kayla performs some baby acrobatics for her proud daddy. Hey, when was the last time you can do a trick like that? Photo taken on 9/5/04 by Cookie.

Day 5 of 21 = Kayla at 4 months

Um, yeah, you could say that 4-month-old Kayla had absolutely no problems being in a swimming pool for the first time in her life. She loved the pool so much that she was furious when Mom Cookie finally had to take her out when her lips started turning blue from being too cold. Kayla howled and made these weird baby blubbering sounds that really sounded like she was cursing us out. Photo taken 8/28/04 at our cousin Melina's house in South Jersey.

Day 4 of 21 = Kayla at 3 months

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Kayla, and maybe even of anyone. I see this smiling baby as the personification of the happy Buddha, and I'm referring to her spirit more than I am to her roundness (although it's that, too). This really is a great shot. Photo taken by Mike on 7/5/04 at their house.

Day 3 of 21 = Kayla at 2 months

2-month-old Kayla on Father's Day 2004 (July 16). Photographer unknown. I wonder who she was smiling at here.

Day 2 of 21 = Kayla at 1 month

Kayla and her Mommy. Photo taken by (Daddy) Mike on 5/9/04, which was Mother's Day. That year was Cookie's first.

Theme: 21 Days of Kayla

Kayla at zero months. She is only two days old here, and had just come home from the hospital. Photo taken 4/3/04 by Dina.


OK, folks. If you want to see the unfolding of a beautiful human being from newborn to little girl, then stay tuned for the next 21 days. If you'd rather see landscape pictures or at least anything but pictures of the same (though changing!) person, then tune back after February 7.

Kayla, aka The Favorite, is currently 21 months old. Say, what if I post a picture of Kayla of every month of her life to date? It will be like flipping through those illustrated books real quick to see the figures move. She's a baby, then her face is changing, and now she has teeth, and then she's running, and then... look! Here she is driving a Toyota!

Come to think of it, this little mini project can actually be expanded into something universal. I'm 33 years old. What if I see the next 33 days as a daily year of my life so far? (i.e., on the fourth day I think back to when I was 4 years old, on the 17th day I think back to when I was 17 years old, etc.) If you're 45, you've got the next forty-five days of year-to-year introspection. If you're 65, well, then, you've got a lot more days of look-back thinking than everybody else.

Makes sense? I think it's a neat concept. It's a way of guiding your interior self to align with your chronological age, and, more importantly, to say farewell to each year of your life and all the things that happened to you that year once that allocated day has ended.

Well anyway. 21 days of Kayla, one for each month of her wonderful life so far. Hope you enjoy the show.

Pax and me on Christmas Eve, 1993 in my old bedroom. What the heck kind of crazy dress was I wearing?? Photo taken by either Ariel or cousin Mike B.


Being perfectly loved just the way you are.

Grace, Erin, Pam, Frances, me. Gathering for Fran when she visited NY in October 2001. Photo taken by David.


The preciousness of friends.

Statue of Mother Mary at the yard of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy (Lenox, MA). Photo taken Feb or March 2002.


Having faith, and standing by what it reveals to you.

Me during a hike in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. In January 1999 I decided to leave everything behind and go on a self-imposed retreat at my friend Trish's home in the Sangre de Cristo mountains outside of Santa Fe. I was supposed to stay 4-6 weeks. I ended up coming home after 2 weeks. I learned the age-old lesson that you can't run away from your own mind. Besides, I missed Lorin too much. Photo taken by Trish.


Listening to oneself.

This week's theme: stuff I've been thinking about lately

Masks shop in Venice, Italy. Photo taken September 2001.


Uncovering the truth.

Shakyamuni Buddha on our mantel awash in morning light. Photo taken 3/31/05.


May the New Year bring us courage, wisdom, and peace.

L&T = Best Friends 4Ever. Photo taken by Trish at SUNY Binghamton, Spring 1993.


May the New Year bring us love and friendship.

Bellissima Firenze! View of Florence taken September 2001.


May the New Year bring us beauty and gratitude.

Me experimenting with mirror surfaces after being inspired by the Mirror Project. It was only when I found this autobio picture today that I realized I also captured some major elements I wish to manifest (money! luck! sweetness! food! ice cream!). Photo of this diner window on the Upper East Side taken on 4/29/05.


May the New Year bring us creativity and growth.

cherry blossoms in Central Park. Photo taken 4/29/05.


May the New Year bring us abundance and wealth.

Kayla. Photo taken by Mike 9/14/05.


May the New Year bring us joy and laughter.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Full rainbow circle over Waimea Canyons, Kauai (Hawaii). I didn't have enough of a wide lens to capture the full arc. Photo taken 9/29/05.


Prayer for the New Year

We begin.
May the New Year bring us healing and wholeness.

Friday Five = Why 2005 is The Best Year Ever

sunrise over Kauai (Hawaii). Photo taken 9/24/05.


Yes, 2005 is not a pain-free year by any measure for me and those I love, but even with that knowledge, this year has absolutely been, without question, the best year of my life to date.

That's a pretty serious claim to make. But I make it anyway with full conviction. The reasons are manifold. But here's a top 5.

Why Teaneck T Hearts 2005:

1. This is the year I met Amy Burke (endless thanks to my friend Pax on that one). Amy technically goes by the label of chiropractor, but what she really does is heal people and what she really is is... well, no Friday Five photoblog entry, superior or otherwise, can cover that. Her healing capability is unlimited. She is unlimited. Without Amy, I would never have transformed in the way I did this year. I can honestly say that Amy has given me the gift that is my true self. I recommend her to all women, men, children, dogs, cats, parakeets, turtles, monkeys, salamanders, plants, etc., ad infinitum. Amy is The It Girl Extraordinaire.

2. This is the year I quit my office job. Ostensibly to write full-time, but really to allow myself to explore options, as general and vague as that statement is. Big thanks to Lorin, to LiquidNet (his company), and to much-beloved Money Energy for this opportunity. (Also big thanks to Amy, but all my blessings this year can be traced back to Amy so let's just make that gratitute humming throughout this entry.) Through Lorin's encouragement and belief in me, and despite my gaping fears and intermittent panic attacks, I spent this year writing; thinking; opening; and just listening to every creative cell in my body.

3. This is the year I became a licensed driver. To know me is to know what a HUGE accomplishment that is. That's big. That's bigger than me quitting the employed life -- and I've been employed non-stop since I was 13 and suddenly I'm not employed, and so to say that this driving thing is bigger means I'm talking major mental reconstruction has been accomplished here.

4. This is the year Lorin and I celebrated our ten-year wedding anniversary. What makes the celebration even better was we realized we are happier now, as individuals and as a couple, than we were then. The awareness that we keep continuing to grow and connect in our growth never ceases to amaze us. (And yes, Lorin sees Amy too.)

5. This is the year I began doing Reiki. Of the five, I would say this is the biggest one of all. It's so big that prior to this blog entry less than 10 people in my life knew that I've been doing it, and of that number I would say only 2-3 know how much Reiki means to me. (With Teaneck T, there is an inverse proportion between what is important and what she discusses with family and friends. Sharing this photoblog is one attempt to reverse that inversion.) Reiki IS my life now. Reiki is everything. Reiki, it turns out, is my true path, and in some ways truer than writing has been for me. And THAT, good people, is big.

Thank you so much, 2005! There's nothing like being the favorite. I heart you forever.

we bless you and we love you

Dina's dad, aka Tito Andy (d. Oct 2005). Photo taken 12/24/03 by Ate.


Thank you for all your love and life and laughter, Tito Andy. Know that you will always be loved.

I also thank you, my dear sweet Auntie Sially (my mom's sister-in-law; d. mid-2005). How I would have loved to embrace you and talk to you when I went to Bicol earlier this year.

We wish you peace. We honor you always.

volcano eruption at dusk

Kilauea Volcano eruption (Big Island, Hawaii). This volcano's vent, called Pu`u O`o, has been erupting nonstop since 1983, which makes this still-ongoing eruption the longest one in recorded history. Photo taken on 9/18/05.


Goodbye, anger. Goodbye to all forms of my explosion and implosion. Goodbye to all hurts, and all sadness. I release you all.

the sun has set on my office workaholism

one wee portion of my overcrowded desk at my old job. I was supposed to archive all those goddam disks but could never got around it, so they just kept piling up. Photo taken 8/24/04.


Goodbye, Facts On File and all the previous versions of Facts On File in my life before that. Sayonara to my dysfunction that made me give too much of myself so that my boss won't be displeased with me, or so that the company's goals will be met if I work till 10pm, till midnight, and on weekends, or any and all f*cked up beliefs I held for years when it comes to being employed.

Goodbye to living for the opinions of external authority figures. Goodbye to not honoring myself and what I love. If I ever work in an office again for another employer, I will first make sure the old part of me that lives for psycho parent-child office relationships has completely and peacefully vanished.

This week's theme: Twilight

our street, 3/17/05


Today marks the beginning of the last week of 2005. Time to bless and say farewell to all that needs to be released. The word "twilight" comes to mind.

I looked up what exactly the word means after I've been feeling, or intuiting, this word for this week's project. Here's what Webster has to say about it: "(noun) 1. the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night produced by diffusion of sunlight through the atmosphere and its dust. 2. an intermediate state that is not clearly defined."

That sounds about right to me.

Friday Five - Top 5 Christmas songs

Tres marias, un Pinoy, y un Gringo: Ate, Mike, me, Cookie, Lorin. Christmas 1996 in Staten Island. Photographer unknown.


Top 5 Christmas songs by Teaneck T:

Heh heh heh... I'm pulling teeth on this one because I'm actually not a fan of holiday music. Christmas songs make me think of malls and grouchy shoppers with bulging shopping bags. Well anyway, here's what I can come up with:

1. The Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler, both the original and Part 2. Not a Christmas song (duh!), but it's actually the one holiday music I never tire of listening to.

2. River by Joni Mitchell. The Indigo Girls also did a decent cover of it, but no one does it like my girl Joni.

3. Carol of the Bells as performed by George Winston.

4. Winter Wonderland BUT ONLY the version Harry Connick, Jr. does in the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack.

5. Merry Christmas From the Family by Robert Earl Keen. Man, this song is messed up and every bit worth listening to as the Adam Sandler song. When I played it in the guitar for my friend Pax she laughed so hard I couldn't get through the whole song.

All songs are available in iTunes if you care for a 99-cent listen.

Christmas season 1994

This was taken a few days after (or before?) Christmas in 1994, when Lorin was just of mere boyfriend status. Who knew we would be married nine months later? (And no, it had nothing to do with pregnancy, ya gossip mongers.)

Lorin and I were happy then. Lorin and I are happy now. Lorin and I will always be happy, s'far as we're concerned.

Photo taken in my parents' house in Staten Island. Photographer unknown (though I'm guessing it was Ate).

Christmas in the Philippines

These decorative Stars of David (we embrace Jews) or Stars of Bethlehem (we embrace Christians) made in the Philippines are called parol (we embrace Pinoys). I saw parols everywhere when I was in the Philippines last month. Seeing them made me feel nostalgic. For what exactly I don't know.

This photo was taken on 11/5/05 at Manila International Airport. Chances are this display has been up for four months, since Christmas season in the Philippines begins in September. This is not an exaggeration. Pinoys can be quite the fanatic Catholics. Or at least they find any excuse to party.

The 'rents on Christmas 1996

Mom and Dad showin' the love on Christmas Eve 1996. By my calculation this photo was thus taken on the day of their 30th wedding anniversary. Das right -- the lovely 'rents got married on December 24, 1966.

We'll be greeting you again in a few days, Mom and Dad! I love this picture of them. My Dad's smile in this photo cracks me up. That's his amused-and-contented smile.

This week's theme: Christmas

Man alive, I've been remiss on my photoblogging duties. No matter -- no one reads this blog anyway. It might help if I actually let people know it exists.

This week's theme is.... Christmas. It was sure hard coming up with that topic. Not!

Above photo is of my favorite little person in the whole wide world. Taken on Christmas day (December 25 for you heathens) of 2004. Kayla wasn't even a year old then. It took her parents more than an hour to open all her presents that year. Holy materialism, Batman!

Happy Birthday, Ate!

At the beach in Misibis (Philippines) on 11/5/05.


Happy Birthday, beloved Ate! ("Ate" means older sister in Tagalog, for you non-Pinoys who need a translation.) But I like to call her "Ats" because, hey, when in America everything just has to end in "s." Yes?

Sidenote: How come I don't call Cookie "Ate" as well? (You know, as in "Ats Chinx" and "Ats Cooks.") Who the hell knows. The annals of sociopolitics in my family seems lost and forgotten.

Well anyway. Have fun gambling in AC on your birthday, Ats! This poker player extraordinaire turns ex-y-eight this year. Yee-hah!

Happy Birthday, Cookie!

"Cookie and Barney standing by a tree. K-I-S-S-I-" ....oh, never mind. Photo taken Christmas Eve 2004 at their house.


Happy Birthday, beloved sister-and-neighbor! The Cookmeister turns ex-y-five this year. Yeay!