very courageous patient's mom yesterday who brought 3 young sons across 12 states to teach them the importance of family and take care of grandma in hospice care. the cost - being homeless for a few months. the cost - appearing to be a bad mother. the cost - others criticizing for not providing for her children. the cost - child with dental pain.

glad i got to hear her out. we say we can never blame kids for their dental neglect. we are to blame the parents. but a lot of times, circumstances aren't always what they seem.

aside, when we see 20 year olds needing all teeth out and complete dentures due to cavities, it's hard to "blame the adult" here. because of fine lines between childhood and adulthood.

holy week!

my 'nephew' eric sent me a letter for his 2nd grade literature project. actually, his mom does a lot of his homework, so she sent it to me, on his behalf.

aside, 7 years ago i got the same letter from his sister, rachelle, who is 7 years older than eric.

moving on, the letter introduces a character "flat stanley", who was crushed flat by a bulletin board. he learns that being flat is not so bad because he can slide under doors and do other cool things, like, be send via postal mail. hence, flat stanley came to visit me in philadelphia. he was accompanied by a little survey with questions about my city and what he should wear next time he visits.

the question is, "next time flat stanley should wear" ___, "because the climate is"____.

dunno if this is considered inappropriate for second graders, but i wrote "flat stanley should wear philadelphia sports jerseys because the climate is hostile to other sports fans".

the letter also said, "feel free to send any photos or postcards". instead, i thought i would pick up a philadelphia sports team tee or jersey and send it back with the letter.

i made it over to walmart for the first time, thinking that i could pick up some other stuff. ann arbor meijer is better than south philly walmart. i was disappointed to say the least.

besides that, i spent 10 minutes staring at the phillies/eagles/sixers gear. i think the old school 76ers logo is pretty hot. and i also like the simplicity of the phillies' P. however, as i was contemplating the eagles, i couldn't bear to don an eagles' jersey to my nephew in bears' country. and as much as i like the sixers 76, i couldn't fathom giving it to a child who i would want to cheer for my childhood team, the bulls. i'm not sure where eric's allegiance lies baseball-wise, but it just didn't seem right.

so, chicago sports, you win in my heart. philly, i tried. but, i need more time.

finally, i picked up a kids' biography of benjamin franklin. hope it impresses his teacher!

poor eric. mom is doing all his homework. and auntie is trying to win brownie points on his behalf with his teacher.

special day

1 yr 11 mos old today for her first visit to the dentist. she's totally not going to remember this day.

fortunately mom immortalized the moment on her cell phone camera, snapping a pic of her baby sporting her pigtails, sunglasses and aqua bib.

que linda!!!!

except when she bit my finger.

do the right thing

my co-workers who are from and live in n/ne philly are bracing themselves for summer.

i'd thought that by relocating here in mid-december, my transition would be all the more pleasant because the weather would become progressively less harsh, and daylight hours would progressively increase. then i remembered how much i can't take the heat and humidity, which will be interesting working in a crowded clinic on the 6th floor.

why are philadelphians bracing themselves? because as the weather is better, as it's getting hotter, more folks will be out on the streets. crime rate goes up. people are a little more restless. atv's are on the roads. packs of motorcycles are on the roads. music is blasting and street smells are getting smellier.

not excited for the increased crazies outside, but i'm excited to see the vibrant communities come to life after a season of hibernation and tranquility.

my coworker R says that it's easy to romanticize it, but also put all the rioting crime in the spotlight. i'm reminded of spike lee's 'do the right thing', and the scenes of urbania in the summer heat.

today's pt was 28, released from prison 4 months ago, had spent TEN YEARS behind bars.

[pause]

let's take a moment to reflect on our turbulent but exciting twenties, and how much life has happened.

[pause]

i can't imagine the culture shock of returning to society, granted he/she's back in the same city, but philadelphia has changed so much in a decade as well.

allez kensington

bienvenida/welcome

-un nuevo blog para describir mis aventuras en filadelphia
-a new blog to describe my adventures in philadelphia

-the title is a spawn off my two recent missions/travel blog sites:
allez burkina
allez guatemala

-allez means "go!" in french, part of my life mission