Kung Hei Fat Choi

Kung Hei Fat Choy! That's how they spell it here. Some spell it Gong Xi Fa Chai (this is how they spell it in China using Pinyin). It is the greeting you often hear from people wishing one another well during the celebration of the Chinese New Year. In China and other predominantly Chinese countries like Singapore, Chinese New Year is celebrated for a week. It is a full week's holiday and all sorts of celebrations are on. For some, it is the time to travel back home to be with one's family (much like the celebration of the Christmas season here in the Philippines).

For good luck, there are all kinds of customs and traditions. There is the wearing of the color red. There is the giving of the Tikoy. There is the careful menu planning (there are actually some foods that are supposed to be served at this time for good luck). Plus a whole lot more.

Well, just wishing everyone Gong Xi Fa Chai! or Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Boyd

That's the name I gave to my car.

I acquired Boyd back in 1998. Boyd is a 2-door Honda Civic hatchback, '92 model (limited edition), bought by the first owner in 1993. Today, I still drive Boyd. It is still the handsome car that I bought almost 8 years ago. Gosh, has it been that long?

When the movie The Fast and The Furious came out some years back, friends, acquaintaces, and even strangers would ask me if I'm selling Boyd. Sell Boyd? Nah. It still serves me well, and I still love driving it.

These days, I still get asked once every so often if I'm going to sell Boyd. My standard answer these days is: No, I'm not selling. I'm up for a trade though. Boyd for a Honda Jazz. =) That usually ends the conversation.

My dear Boyd, almost 13 years old and still turning heads.

Mammogram

Last December, when I went to see my surgeon, he was quite pleased with my CT scan and breast ultrasound results, and then he looked for my mammogram results.

Mammogram? I did not have any mammogram, for my radiotherapy doctor told me to hold off any mammogram for a few months as my treated side would be quite painful if the procedure is done right away. This is because of the scar tissues/fibrosis turning rock hard after being zapped by radiation therapy for 33 days.

I thought I got out of that one. Nope. My surgeon wanted me to have a mammogram, since it is quite important, especially a year after my surgery.

Okay, okay. Much as I dreaded having to squash my twins again, I went in for mamogram last January 19th. I went back to Manila Doctors Hospital (where I had my first mamogram) since St. Luke's would (1.) cost 50% more, and (2.) make me get an appointment which will be a week later. Whereas in MDH, it's on a first come, first served basis.

I met Queenie (the technician who refused to do my mammogram the first time around since I do not fit the profile but eventually did it) again and she did my mammogram again. As with the first time, she did a superb job, the squashing process was not so painful. I thanked her and I was told to go back for the results on the 23rd.

I finally went back for my results on the 24th, being a bit busy on the 23rd. Just before I was able to physically hold my mammogram results, my heart was beating like mad - I thought I might have a heart attack or that my heart would pop out of me.

When I got hold of my results, I went back to my car first before reading it. My heart skipped a few beats when I saw the word "calcifications" leapt out at me. Oh no! Then I saw the word "benign" before it. "Benign calcifications?" Really? Is there such a thing?

The next thing (ok, after driving myself to the office) I did is to fax my mammogram results to my brother in Cagayan de Oro so that he could give it to my surgeon. After doing that, I made it a point not to dwell on the results anymore.

Around 6pm that day, I got an SMS from my brother telling me that my surgeon was quite happy with my mammogram results. Whew! Oh, yeah - hurray! =)

Before and After

Before


After

Here are my before and after (haircut) pictures.

6 weeks after my first cut, my hair morphed into something like that of Eddie Gil's (again). It's good that only my hair changes into the look-alike and my face remains the same. But when my hair gets "big", I sometimes feel I am Mr. Gil's twin. So off I went to see my good friend Ipe (again), and let him do his magic. Ipe is hoping that we could stretch it to 8 weeks this time before I go back.

The picture taken above is just a week after my last haircut, but now, a mere 10 days after the picture above, my bangs are already almost touching my brows. It seemed like my hair just decided to grow long extra quick this time. There must something in me that makes my hair grow quickly. Or maybe my hair is just trying to make up for the lost time (in growing last year)?

Sunday Lunch

As planned, I went to Cavite last Sunday, arriving there just a little bit before lunch time. It was an easy Sunday morning drive. I was lucky to have just missed one of the numerous Sto. Niño procession/s and parade around the city.

Lunch a major production number. There was kare-kare with bagoong (I only eat this dish if Mama cooked it, otherwise, I do not eat kare-kare) , adobo, and sugpo. It amazes me that Mama would know what my favorites are, just like she knew what Leila's favorites are. We must have gone to Cavite a lot in our college days and almost munch the Auditors out of their home. Well, at the very least, we went there more than enough times that Mama's able to remember our favorites!

Gigi rang just before we were about to sit down for lunch. All of us took turns in making her go green with envy at the food spread out in front of us. She tried to get us back by insisting on talking to everyone one by one, interrupting our lunch. No one minded though, we just kept on eating before and after our turn at the phone.

After the sumptous lunch, Mavic and I settled down in the sala again to continue our conversation. Five o'clock came soon enough and it was time for me to head back to Manila, not wanting to drive on unfamiliar streets after dark. It was a good day.

Split Second of Fame

What is the correct number? 10 or 15 seconds of fame? Whatever it is, I got a "taste" of that last December 31. However, I think it was just a split second for me.

We (Papa, Mama, Olive, and I) were sitting around the living room just talking after dinner on the 31st. My parents usually go to bed early, even during christmas' and new year's eve, so it was a rare treat for all of us to be together in the living room still talking at 11:00 in the evening.

Around that time, I got a text message from a friend first greeting me a happy new year and then he said that he saw me on TV just then. I answered, saying happy new year too and that he might just have been mistaken. I mean, why would I be on TV? On new year's eve to boot! I'm not out partying on the streets, much less attending any high profile party, so what is my face doing on TV? And I'm pretty sure that our conversation at that time is not being covered by any TV station.

Then, another text message came in, from another friend, telling me that I was on TV and that he's so proud of me. Duh? What's going on here? So, I switched on the TV and managed to catch the tail end of that particular segment. Then, I understood. It was a file footage of the interview of one of my sisters at I Can Serve. Somehow, my face must have been included in it.

When I got back to work, my colleagues were telling me that they saw me on TV. They were so excited that you might think that they are working with a celebrity! I laughed and asked how did I look? Did I have hair or not? It was then that I found out that the footage shown was part of the video made by I Can Serve for its breast cancer awareness campaign.

That was my split second of fame.

Excitement

I was pretty much buried under mountains of work when I got back. This will go on until around mid-February. Since I got back from the christmas vacation, life is pretty much routine. Work-school-home. I would get home so pooped out that sometimes I have to take a nap first before getting ready for bed. Weird, no?

Last Sunday, I bumped into Francis (Gigi's cousin) at Glorietta and he informed that Mavic (Gigi's sister) is still here. So, I finally got around to calling Cavite yesterday and made arrangements to visit on Sunday. Lunch at Cavite! What joy! Yummy! At least this will inject some excitement into my otherwise routinary life this year.

I can hardly wait for Sunday to come around - I'm going to see my "big sister" again, and also my (unofficially) adoptive family!

China

Last Saturday, I met up with Au, Arlette and Dion at Greenbelt 3. It was a joy seeing them again. Dion is now 4 years old and quite a smart kid.

Au and Arlette again bugged me about visiting them in Shanghai. It's been more than 4 years since I last left the country, and I'm so tempted to take them up on their invitation.

On the other hand, Papa also wants me to go with him to China when he will fix grandma's tomb. This is in Xiamen. I've been there before but I think it's been more than 10 years ago, so it would be totally different now.

If I'm travelling to China, I want to go to Beijing.

3 cities, one country. If only I can have the luxury to visit all 3 cities!

It's Been a Year

Where were you a year ago today?

When I realized what date it is today, I am quite surprised. Time indeed goes by very fast. A year ago today, I was flooding the operating room of CCC hospital. Around this time, I was being operated on. Looking back, I can't believe that I have come this far, that I have survived, and that today is my first "birthday" as a cancer survivor.

I give thanks to all the people who have been there for me, family, friends, strangers, and the Divine Being(/s that you prayed to, I knew at the least there were 3 kinds of religion involved). The past 365 days have been quite an experience, something I would not exchange for. I only wish that I could take away the worries and anxieties (then and now) that people have for me. As I look forward to a healthy life ahead, I thank you again for your love and support.

Happy new year!