Birthday celeb

forest-house
Originally uploaded by micaela.

Here's the whole gang at Forest House in Baguio, where I "celebrated" my birthday.

Thanks to my husband Neil for giving in (hehehe) to my wishes!

28th

When Neil asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year, there was only one answer: a trip to Baguio. He asked me again, and I said Baguio. He asked me if I wanted shopping spree, I said Baguio. The release of the iPhone was announced last week, and he asked me if I wanted that, and I said Baguio.

The wanderlust in me is stirring again.

And so it was decided, Baguio it was. :) We planned to leave Manila January 14 and return January 17. Ginny kindly offered her family's time-sharing privileges in The Manor at Camp John Hay. John and Ryan also decided to go.

Since we were to leave January 14, I spent my birthday here in the city. Lia and I went to the grocery in the morning, to shop for stuff we'd need for our Baguio trip. Then we slept the whole afternoon (duh, what a way to spend my birthday hahaha). In the evening, Neil and I went to Greenbelt to hear mass, then have dinner.

Before I fell asleep that night, I realized I was getting older: no more birthday surprises, no more hard-core partying. Just a simple, uneventful day--which, surprisingly, was a happy one.

Holiday rush (A Late Post)

Sigh. This is so looong due. I really didn't have the time to blog during the holidays! Christmas rush got me--again.

Shopping

I thought I figured it all out. I started shopping in November. Since I started relatively early, I told myself I can do my shopping in batches. I mentally scheduled my shopping days, and it looked like I was going to end earlier than usual.

But no! Of course not. Took me a long while again to find the perfect gifts. Took us a while to decide on Lia's gift (should we give in to her whims and buy her that train set, or buy another toy that's much more feminine?). Took me forever to shop for my mom's gifts ( i.e., her gifts for other people). Took me until the mall's closing time to look around.

Get-togethers

We started on the 24th, with a trip to Neil's relatives in Cavite. We left in the afternoon to go to Laguna (my tita's place). Dropped by Neil's friend's house there and socialized a bit. Attended mass. Noche Buena (where Lia slept through).

The next day, we went to my relatives in Alabang, where we always spend Christmas lunch. I couldn't believe there were 8 kids already from the second generation!

After Christmas lunch, we proceeded to Cavite again, to Neil's father's relatives. We stayed until late at night, before finally going home.

Sick baby

Lia started to have fever just before the New Year. And then she started coughing. And then right after New Year, she showed signs of dehydration--and we almost took her to the ER.

The New Year

Before I knew it, 2006 passed. I went back to work on the 2nd day of the year.

Ooooh well. I hope this year's much much better than last year!

A happy new year to everyone. :)

New bargain finds!

Hmmm, I'm really such a bargain-hunter these days! Here are my new bargain finds, to add to my previous entry (of the same topic):

Avenida/Sta. Cruz for medical supplies. I've heard of this street before, but I never appreciated it until I went there with my mother, last week. I was looking for a nebulizer for Lia, a good brand but one that's cheaper than ones they sell at Mercury Drug. What do you know, I found a Devilbiss brand that was worth only P3, 400, which had a three-year warranty. This brand is used in hospitals, as they're heavy-duty. These sell for about P5,000 in drugstores (according to my tita whose sons had asthma).

Pedro Gil St., Paco, for furniture. Our sofa set has been utterly shabby and pathetic for a long time now. We bought the set right after our wedding, and the two-seater sofa (it was small because it fit our small condo unit at that time) cost us P5,000 (that was almost four years ago). After two years, the sofa started to give in, until it reached the sorry state it was in last week. So, I had to go undertime at work (hahaha, was that really necessary?) and went to Paco, Manila, for that famed street lined with furniture shops. The prices were outrageous, I tell you. They were like 50-70% less than mall prices! You have to ask the salesman/saleslady to take you to their bodega though, for more choices. I bought a leather three-seater sofa, with two single couches, for only P4, 200. That includes free delivery (with me riding beside the truck driver--in a tube top, mind you. I think that was the first time Neil was extremely happy with my purchase--it was cheap, it was a nice set, and it looked like I really scoured the street (which I really did, and which he always doubts I do). I also got a wooden rocking horse for Lia, which was also cheap--P350.

Next project: rugs and home accents. I'm still looking for a "depot" for this. If you know where I can get them for less, please please share! :)

Waldas

Got my 13th month pay exactly one week ago. The next day, Neil and I went to Greenhills. The day after that, I was in Divisoria with John. Two days ago, I bought a new sofa set. Oh, and not to mention a new nebulizer for Lia, and spending thousands on my beads for my new "sideline". I also indulged our maid with a large amount of market money (hence, kare-kare for lunch and tiger prawns for dinner).

Gotta stop!

Bugger

I got the bug. It started when we fetched my mother at the airport last October 8. Lia had fever-cough-cold, and sure enough, I was next. Add to that, one of my molars started to ache because of another (impacted) molar pushing it.

So through coughing fits, I had my molar extracted. After the tooth extraction came the pain (of course), so most of the time I had an ice pack on my cheek.

It was a sick October for me!

I hope I won't get any more of it until Christmas. (It's shopping season, I can't get sick! Hehehe.)

Waiting for dengue???

Oops, don't jump to conclusions yet. It's not me waiting for dengue, or my Lia, or any of my family members or friends.

Waiting for dengue - that's what the barangay officials told us when we requested for fumigation in our area.

Background: last week, my co-worker's two kids tested positive for dengue. And me, the ever-paranoid parent, wanted to have our area fumigated.

So: we asked the barangay officials. They answered: we can't fumigate until there's a report of a dengue case. We'll wait until someone contracts dengue.

What kind of an answer is that, huh?

!%$%^&($@$!@#$!!!!!!!!

New bargain finds!

Four years ago I discovered Divisoria--not Tutuban but the real Divisoria with the pasilios and the busy streets and sidewalks and the large pedicabs and the constant whiff of wet market+mud+rainwater+a little bit of garbage.

I shopped there for my wedding stuff--the textile, beads, candles, ribbons, accessories. I also shop there every last week of November/early December for Christmas gifts and wrappings. On some months of the year I go there to shop for cheaper stuff (i.e., stuff I could have bought at the department store but did not because of the fact that I can buy it cheaper in Divi). On some weekends I go to the Divisoria market to buy our seafood and vegetables (and ox tail and ox tripe for kare-kare, with ground peanuts so I don't have to use Mama Sita's!). For Lia's birthday stuff, I also went to Divisoria. At times, I drop by nearby Ongpin St. in Binondo to buy hopia. I also take some occasional stroll down the jewelers strip (I actually bought two pairs of earrings for Lia there).

Last week, though, I went with my mother to Quiapo. We bought Excellente ham, of course, and hopia. But what made my day was this shop in Villalobos St.--Wellmanson. They had a store in Divisoria but this one in Quiapo is just--heaven for beadmakers! They had walls and walls of stringed beads and stones and strings and accessories (and they were all so organized, my O-C self couldn't help but appreciate). I bought some P800 worth, and when I got home, I was able to string up about 11 necklaces of different designs (which Mama will bring to the US as gifts to her amigas). I just couldn't get enough of them, so I returned to Quiapo yesterday (in the guise of buying seafood and meat and vegetables in the market). I bought P1300 worth (and I feel so guilty having bought that much) and I still haven't finished with stringing everything.

I'm so the bargain-hunter these days! Is this what happens when you're a wife and a mom?

:)

Where do I go from here?

Okay. I admit: when I chose my course in college I did not exactly think about what I would end up to be. I did not even think about how much I will be earning. It was just--it was what I wanted.

When I got out of college I found a job where I got to apply what I learned: I wrote, I edited. I was happy that I did find such a job. But then of course I wanted to learn more, grow more with my career, so I tried out writing for the Web. I spent three years doing this, and so far, it was the best three learning years of my life.

After writing/editing for the Web, I tried a little of marketing communications. Which I did not learn much, and I did not enjoy much (well, maybe because the company closed down and I was not given enough opportunity).

And then I was hired as a Web editor. I was thrilled! However, my first two months were spent--just researching, researching, and writing down my ideas for the Web site I was going to manage. And then when relaunch time came, there was much work for the programmers; they weren't able to completely achieve the requirements for a long, long time. So, the Web was on hold for a while.

While I wasn't doing any Web work, I "moonlighted" with the Content Team...helping write content and reviewing theirs. I eventually got more involved with this team than the Web site. However, I was still bent on working on the Web and I expressed this to my boss, which was just fine with her.

And then...just recently, we had a sort of a re-org. I found out that I was being pulled out from Web, and that they were making me Content Supervisor. I also found out that I did not have any much choice because (a) the new Web editor position has new requirements which I cannot fulfill (background in local/international music scene), and (b) I was already doing supervisory work anyway. That means, I'm pretty stuck. It's fine in a way because there are opportunities where I can move up, but...honestly, I'm still happier with Web work. And I had sort of planned to work on Web for at least the next 5 years of my life (if I were not to fulfill my other dream--that's another story).

So...where do I go from here?

We'll see.

Schadenfraude

That's the feeling of pleasure at the misfortune of others.

(It's one of John's favorite words. But just for today, I will borrow it.)

I'd love to blog about it, but I'm afraid I'd have to savor it myself (or risk being branded "demonyita"). Let me, please? Just for one day. One day, to drink in the sweet taste of karma.

Forgive the smile pasted on my face.

Today is the day I will never forget!

=)

Irritant of the week

Last Monday, this person sent me an SMS of lines from an erotic poem I wrote back in college. I asked who he was, but he did not identify himself. Instead, he answered that he was someone I knew from my "UP days". When I asked that he identify himself, he said I've already forgotten about him just because I was married.

I did not answer after his second message. Instead, I asked Armel to text this particular person we worked with in the past. I had a strong feeling that this person was my "mystery texter" because (1) he was the only person who always kidded me about "getting married and forgetting" about him, (2) he may really have a copy of that poem because I remember having shared my written works with some coworkers in the past, and the third reason...you'll find out later.

So Armel texted him. His answer was something like, "you're texting because of the poem I have of Micaela". And when Armel did not answer back, he texted again that we (Armel and I) called each other "mudra/muds".

While he texted Armel, he also sent me some text messages. In these messages, he claimed he was my ex (when I did not have any exes because Neil was the only boy I went out with, loved, and married). I was getting irritated already, but there was one message that got me totally upset and disgusted (I won't put it here anymore).

I told Armel: this guy is not my friend. If he keeps buggin me via SMS and tells me this, he is not my friend. He does not have any respect for me. He is not my friend.

So, if YOU somehow know of this blog and you are reading this, you now know how I feel.

Subic trip

everyone_subic
Originally uploaded by micaela.

Two weekends ago we headed to Subic for an early birthday celeb for Lia. Why Subic? Lia still hasn't stepped on (beach) sand, there are many other activities we can do in Subic besides going to the beach, and we can bring along family and friends. (Oh and did I mention? We were planning for a trip to Singapore but Neil had to buy his Dopod...so there goes Singapore.)

We stayed in a nice, small hotel (thanks to Ginny's reco), went to Ocean Adventure to watch the dolphins, missed the Zoobic safari because we had a very long lunch at Cafe Xpresso, and shopped. We almost decided on extending our stay for one more day but Ryan had to work the next day.

Nevertheless, even if we missed the safari, Lia still enjoyed the weekend trip. :)

Side effects

After reading some facts about cancer, I was enlightened. I found out that my mom can fight it. So many people have conquered it, why not Mama?

Mama has been taking the pills for a week now. And now I can see what it does to her.She's cranky and moody. Every day she finds reason to get mad about something. She does not like visitors, does not like mingling. The staff at her school wanted to visit her, but she won't let them.

I told her sisters about it. One said she'd take her in her house for a while for a change of scenery. Another said I should bring her to the church every day.

I'm praying she'll find strength in fighting this disease. That's all I ask. Five years is long, and it takes a lot to swallow a pill every day even if it's not making you feel any good.

Stage 2

After Mama's mastectomy, we found out her cancer was on stage 2. Histopath results found that she had 30% risk of recurrence.

She was given two options for treatment: (a) chemotherapy for six months, then on the seventh month, hormonal inhibition until the fifth year; or (b) hormonal inhibition for five years. The treatment can only lower the risk to, at most, 20%. It will never go down to zero, according to the Oncologist, until Mama has reached her 10th year without the cancer coming back.

Chemotherapy has 2% advantage over hormonal inhibition. Meaning, if she undergoes chemo, her risk will lower to 20%. If she undergoes hormonal inhibition, the risk will be down to 22%. Considering the pain, side effects, and expenses, we decided to take hormonal inhibition. That means, a pill of Arimidex a day, for five years. One pill costs P437.20, which adds up to about P13K a month. Kinda expensive, but I guess we have to be thankful that we're not spending on hospital bills, or something that's more than that.

Hiatus in the dark

Aaarrggghh. Over three months of not blogging. No wonder I've been experiencing a certain imbalance in my life.

A lot of things happened within those three months, but there was one thing, one big thing that shook our world. In February, Mama complained of a lump in her breast. In March, she was advised to undergo mastectomy of her left breast.

Those weeks were one of the darkest in my life. It was cancer for Mother. The night we found out, I took shelter in our bedroom, cried out to God. He was the only one I could talk to. Although I had Neil to comfort me, Lia to make me laugh, and my mother's sisters to ask for advice from, I felt all alone.

27th

Yeah, getting older...:) That's why my birthdays are getting simpler. Less of the celebrating. Why is that so? Shouldn't we have more parties and more fun each year that we grow older? Someone should change the rules.

I spent my birthday with my family. Went to Enchanted Kingdom, upon Neil's insistence. Classic family day! Hahaha. It rained a little, but it was all right, we still stayed in the park. It was Lia's first time there, too. Neil and I, wise parents that we are, took Lia with us to ride the hot air balloon. We didn't realize that the speed was - fast. During the middle of the ride, Lia had her head bent already from dizziness. My mother was gesturing wildly from the sidelines, desperately telling us to let Lia down already. Poor baby! She was dizzy when we got out, but she was a sport. She still smiled and babbled after the ride.

Had lunch at Tita Gaya's, who lived just ten minutes away from the park. We ordered lechon kawali, plus we brought kare-kare and rellenong bangus (cooked by Manang Naty, our ex-maid who stayed with the family for 10 or so years, and who still is in touch with us).

We were on our way home at around seven in the evening. Was supposed to meet up with John and other friends, but John - well, he slept through the day and through the night. So we just had pizza at home.

It was a tiring day, but it was a brand new experience for me, spending my birthday exclusively with my family. I was happy; the simple kind of happy. :)

The three little...friends!

DSC00004
Originally uploaded by micaela.

And here we are - Maiete, John, and me. That's in Mario's, where Maiete and Geoff held their reception.

Right after the wedding...

DSC00065
Originally uploaded by micaela.

We pose outside the chapel. =)

Highway Queen

DSC00032
Originally uploaded by micaela.

Of course we were late. Again. =p Maiete's wedding was at 10AM, and I was still in curlers, blowdrying my hair and applying makeup on my face.

So! Here we are...while running from the hotel to the church...and we still manage to take a snap! Hahaha.

Haggard, hectic, holidays

The 2005 holidays are my most hectic, hurried, haggard! I was out almost every day of the week last December for Christmas parties, Christmas dinners, and frenzied Christmas shopping. Come to think of it, maybe it was bad planning. I knew it; I should have done my Christmas shopping last June and finished by September.

Also, Maiete got married on the 23rd in Baguio, and John and me braved the Baguio weather (hahaha -- pretending to blame the weather -- we had pure fun!) to attend her wedding. (Pics will be posted after this.) When we got back to Manila it was the 24th already!

The 24th went by in a blur. I still had eight gifts to shop, so I rushed to the mall in the morning. I wrapped everything went I got home. After dinner, we left for Sta. Rosa, Laguna, where we spent our Christmas eve.

The next day I was in my most haggard state. We passed by Neil's relatives' province (Cavite). We stayed there for about 30 minutes, because we were to have lunch at my relatives in Alabang. Dinnertime was spent with Neil's relatives in Las Piñas.

Thank God the 26th was a holiday. I was able to rest, even for a bit!