Twice Blessed

Maxine just turned three last February. She is our favorite niece until last Sunday March 26, when her little sister made an early entry to the family. Now, we have TWO favorite nieces! Alexia was born in the wee hours of the morning of Sunday, and now Max can't help but adore Xiaxia, wanting to take care of her little helpless sister, and loving every minute of it!

School's Out! - NOT!

Last night, we were required to report back to school for our supposed "graduation." The school even fed us dinner.

After dinner, the morning class was separated from the evening class and our respective teachers met with us. It was bad news for ALL of us. Imagine, none of the eight students passed the course! Passing grade is 80%. I got 79.06%. Almost, but not quite.

No one to blame but ourselves. The final exams pulled my grade down. I was ill prepared for it. So, here we all are, facing another two weeks of extension classes (make-up class? removal class?), after which we will have another exam, and then our final grade. I'm fine with the extension, for it will prepare us for the (final) finals. I will just have to work harder. I will just have to manage my time better.

April 10th, the moment of truth for all of us. Good luck to us all!

Wonder Women

Olive and I started the day at 1030 yesterday. It was originally planned that we leave the apartment for Divisoria at 10. However, I was too lazy to move and was also finishing a book. So, I ended waking Olive up at 945. As it was a Sunday, we were very sluggish in our movements, plus the summer heat didn't help.

We decided to take the car and parked it in Chinatown. From Chinatown, we first had brunch, then off we went to Divisoria, walking along the back streets to get to Divisoria Mall. We got a bunch of cleaning stuff (mops, sponges, dish cleanser, etc.) for under PhP500.00! Things that, if bought in the department store will cost around three times as much.

It was speed shopping, for we were pressed for time. Olive and I would get distracted from time to time looking at stuff that we do not need, but nevertheless facinates us (like the bamboo decorative umbrella that sells for PhP75.00). We would prod and remind each other to just buy the "essentials."

By two o'clock in the afternoon, we had returned to the apartment and loaded a few boxes in the car and was headed for the condo. Summer heat is BAAAADDD! Plus, the car aircon is busted. I felt like the melting woman while driving the car. Upon reaching the condo, we quickly unloaded our stuff and took a 15-minute breather. After which, we were on our way to Makati, to get the appliances we need.

On our way to Makati, we realized that we were hungry. All the food in the billboards look delicious! Upon reaching Makati, we first had some food and then we joined the buying frenzy in Glorietta activity area. After purchasing the appliances, we headed towards the home section of SM, getting things that we didn't see in Divisoria (plus a couple of other stuff that we forgot). We finished around 830, ten hours on the go! Whew!

We planned to sort out and packed some more of our stuff when we got home. Well, that was it, just a plan. We were both too tired to move when we got home. By 11pm, I was already asleep.

First Check Up of 2006

Yesterday, I went to see my oncologist for my quarterly checkup. All went well except for my liver function tests (LFTs), which were a bit elevated. I lost a couple of pounds, which made everybody (my onco and me, that is) happy.

Due to the elevated LFTs, my oncologist wanted me to do an MRI of my liver. I made a bargain, and we agreed to see the results of my next check up in June, if the values are still elevated, then I will have that MRI. In the meantime, I will be fixing my diet (yet again???), cut the sugar and the fats, try to lose more weight, take more supplements, and then pray that everything will work out for my fatty liver (as if me being fat is not enough, my liver has to join the bandwagon!)

After my checkup, I went to visit a "classmate" of mine (in chemotherapy). Leaving her room afterwards, I felt quite sad. She was in pain yesterday, I do not think that she even knew that I was there. I was reminded of my grandmother when she was hospitalized for liver cirrhosis.

With a lot of friends (who had cancer) having recurrences, I can't help but think that I should be extra vigilant about monitoring my health. It is scary, to think that I could be next, but what can I do? I refuse to live in the shadow of fear and paranoia, so I will just try to live my life to the fullest, and I will do it everyday.

Health Issues

Trying to keep healthy is always a struggle. It is so easy to just let go and let be, then you do not have to be concious of the food you take, the exercises you must do, lots of do's and don't's. It can be quite tiring trying to keep up everyday, so, some days, we just do nothing at all. Then I got an email that made my day and keeping healthy is just a snap. Let me share with you the contents of the email.

HEALTH QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A : Are you crazy? HELLO . Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! "Round" is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming: "Whoo! What a ride!".

Precious, isn't it?

Almost There

We finally signed on the dotted line last Friday. We are officially the tenants of the condo unit we have fallen in love with at first sight. After the contract signing, we visited the unit again, this time to appreciate it as it is since when we looked at it the first time, it was in the process of being repainted.

Standing there in the condo, I can't help but notice how small it is. I have always lived in big spaces all my life. This is the first time that I will be living in a place where it is all there in a 64 sq. ft. area. I will just have to adapt to it, and fast.

Last Sunday, we went to Glorietta to check out the BPI Appliance Madness to see what good deals we can have for the new stuff that we need to buy. It turns out to be a very good call. We have earmarked what we will be availing from there, and the rest, we will just get probably from the department stores and other shops. After about an hour of going around checking the appliances, we headed for the department store to check out other stuff that we might need. We were there around 4 pm and finally decided to call it quits around 6:30, after which we did some grocery shopping. We managed to get home around 9pm.

Only a few hours on my feet, going window shopping, and I was conked out. Monday still saw me tired and listless. I feel like I was going to come down with the flu, and I was dreaming about joining the Amazing Race??? Bah, humbug!

I felt better yesterday. I tried to assess how much packing we (actually, Olive did most of the work) have already done, I think we're around 30% packed and already there is barely room to stack more boxes. We will be moving these as soon as we get the key to the apartment, maybe then we will be able to pack more faster.

9 more days to the new address! Yay!

Minus Pretty Points

Being on leave yesterday, I decided to walk to school instead of bringing a car, thinking that a little extra activity might do me a wee bit good, but then again, the pollution might just negate that. Anyway, I did walk to school. After classes, I was so excited since it was officially the last day of school, I hurried home, thinking that I can start the sorting of our stuff already, or perhaps catch something on TV, or maybe catch the last full show since I was so pumped up with energy.

I ended up not doing any of those things. Instead, I now sport a luscious lower lip (it looks like it's injected with collagen), a scraped chin, scrapes on my hands, scrapes on my knees, a VERY bruised ego, and a minus of around 500 pretty points.

A block away from the apartment, I was hurrying along the sidewalk, weaving my way around people who are waiting to catch a ride. I was hurrying, ticking off things on my mental list, and the next thing I knew, I was diving and skidding across the sidewalk into the road. I don't know how I looked sprawled there on the street, but I guess it was not a pretty sight. I just know that I felt my face go bump-bump, and felt my lips connect with my teeth. I stood up, and a guard from a nearby establishment rushed to help me up, at the same time asking: "Ma'am, okay lang po kayo? Anong nangyari?" (Ma'am? Are you okay? What happened?) I can't answer the guard since I was trying to keep the blood in the mouth from pouring out. I had split my lip. I have to spit out the blood before I can answer.

Upon unable to get an answer from me right away, the guard switched to English, asking me if I'm all right. I almost burst out laughing. There I was, standing on the sidewalk, sporting a split lip, and trying to assess any other damages, and I was being mistaken for a foreigner! I finally managed to answer the guard and assured him I am all right. I thanked him and then I hurried home to clean up the wounds and put ice on my lips, which have swollen to twice its size by then. Dinner was forgotten (I realized that this morning when I woke up hungry.) as I tried to hold in my laughter and ice my lips. How clumsy and stupid of me!

Right now, a couple of teeth hurts as well. I realized that I am lucky that I did not break any teeth; and I woke up with only a fat lip. Oh yeah, the scrapes on the chin, hands, and knees still sting from time to time. Good thing school's over, I won't be walking down that stretch of street again. On our "graduation" day on the 27th, I will definitely be bringing the car!

Stressed

Stressed! That is what I am.

For the past three weeks, life is a blur. It is only today that I am able to breathe a little, and then I think all will pick up again tomorrow and carry on until the end of the month.

Things have been crazy. We did house-hunting in a week (or less?). Then, I have to talk to the dormers (to see who will be staying behind and endorse them to the management). Added to that, we are having our final exams at school. Then, there is the packing and sorting waiting to be done. Of course, I will also have my checkups this week, might as well max it out!

There are times that I feel so tired that I just want to lie down and sleep and sleep and sleep and sleep some more, but of course, that is just a dream. In reality, Olive and I will be signing on the dotted line this week (hopefully, by Thursday or Friday). I have talked to the management about the dormers (things are almost okay on this issue). Yesterday, we had our written exams, hopefully, after today's practical exam, I will be cleared of school obligations. The packing and sorting, I will start on them next week. Oh yeah, I still have to call the utility companies!

Another source of stress, perhaps, is the news of recurrences among the members of my support group. This year alone, there are at least four of those beautiful women who have recurrences. Sometimes, I would find myself teary-eyed just reading the emails from them, but it is from these people that I draw my strength from these days. Funny, isn't it?

I am so looking forward to April. By then, all these stress I am having right now will be over. We will be staying in a new place. I will not have to deal with the dormers anymore. I will start to see the fruit of my labors for the past six months (school). Best of all, I look forward to sleeping at night without all the construction lights and sounds seeping into our room and into my dreams! Life is sweet, indeed!

The Week That Was 2

What? It's Sunday again?

I cannot believe how time flies! Everything was a blur. For the life of me, I cannot even remember what happened to me the early part of the week!

I thought house-hunting would be fun, it turned out to be a very tiring and stressful thing! We have to check if the neighborhood is okay, we have to check the security of the place, we have to make sure that we will be moving into some place that is accessible for both of us without having to incur ridiculous transport bills, and of course, we have to make sure that we can afford it. Nothing much, really!

First, we went around the New Manila area, faithfully going through each of the numbered streets end to end. We saw saw and fell in love with one townhouse that was just perfect! - but not for us. It is in a small compound, where there are only four units of the same. It has five bedrooms with a toilet and bath in each bedroom. It was well designed and soundly built, but just too much room for Olive and me. What would we do with a five-bedroom townhouse??? By the way, it has a pretty price tag too! Just PhP 22,000,000.00.

Then, we checked out a place near St. Luke's hospital that we saw being advertised on the net. As we drove into the sudivision, I laughed, for the place have a "Stepford" stamped on it, sans the trees. Nevertheless, we went to the office of the property developer and checked out their prices. Uhm, nice.

Next, we saw an apartment that was within our budget. Well, this is definitely more affordable than the last one. Security is good, place is big, two bedrooms, two toilet and baths, laundry area, etc. Our only reservation is that the place is kinda a bit run down to command such a price.

Before going on to the next, we decided to have a coffee break first in one of the coffee shops in the area. As we were sitting our coffee, Olive told me that there is this building that she likes and that it is just a block away from her workplace. I said: Why not? Let's ask the guards if they would know of any units for lease or sale. As it turns out, there were indeed units for lease or sale! But since it is a Sunday, no one is around. The guards were kind enough to give us some numbers/persons to call.

Then we saw another apartment. Three bedrooms, quite neighborhood, good security. It was not only too expensive, but it was also too far. However we ended up in that neighborhood, I honestly can't remember. After that, we decided to call it a day and went home.

Olive went to work - she checked the ads and called the numbers listed, she made appointments for us to check out the potential places. She talked to owners and to agents. Funny enough, six out of the eight people she talked to all recommended one same place, which turned out to be the building she was telling me about! Is this a sign???

We checked out four units from that place, plus four more in other areas. We liked a couple of properties. We did a lot of number crunching and then some; trying to figure out things.

I wanted us to be able to find a place by mid March, since I still have a lot of things to do with the current apartment. I still have to finalize things with the management, try to sell some stuff that we will not be needing anymore, make sure that the residents who opted to stay will be properly endorsed to the next management, throw out things (LOTS of it!), and of course pack and move. Just the thought of these would literally paralyze me or leave me so tired that I would just want to go to sleep. I never liked moving.

I know that Olive's heart is set on one unit in the building she likes (I liked that place, too, I even dreamed about it), but the practical side of me still made her make other appointments so that we can explore all options that are available, then take the best deal.

After another day of driving around and looking at properties, after a lot more mumber crunching, we decided that we already have the best deal on our table. So we called the owner and asked her to draw up a contract. We have found our new "home." It is the one Olive (okay, okay- and I) wanted.