Oh, boy! It's a Boy!

07/07/07, 7:16am.

The most memorable day of my life.

The judgment day.

The day when this little angel came into our life.

It was a smooth ordeal. He didn't give me a hard time. No pain. No contractions. The last few hours before my scheduled sentence were smooth sailing. I was waiting. I was bored.

Inside the OR, I felt quite nervous. This was it. No more turning back. I saw all the doctors around me. Hubby was there, too. I was prepped for the epidural anesthesia. I curled up. I was poked. It did hurt. But it didn't work. Another time. And it hurt more. I have high tolerance for pain tho'. I didn't complain. I was silent.

I didn't go through the natural way of giving birth. My previous operation prevented me to. It would've been exciting. I think. So, C-Section I go.

I was awake. This green cloth was blocking my view. I heard someone say, the baby couldn't come out. Bunny was stubborn. Yes, Bunny, that's how we called him. A lady doctor said she was going to exert pressure on my tummy to assist the exit. I obliged. I prayed. Finally, after minutes of waiting, the baby was out. I heard him cry, scream. He's here, finally! Bunny was already beside me. They let me kiss him. I was ecstatic.

I was the happiest person inside the room!

I couldn't remember what happened next. All I knew was, I was in another room and hubby was asking if I was fine. Hello, recovery room. I was still groggy to talk. 3, 2, 1.. lights out.

When I awoke, I was back in the room. I was feeling good. No pain, whatsoever. I was waiting for Bunny. I knew he was already in the nursery, post circumcision. I had hoped he was fine.

I couldn't recall what time the nurse brought him in the room. Can't describe the feeling. I held him in my arms. It's mother's instict, I guess. It will come out naturally. Cradling. Sucking. Breastfeeding. What a wonderful feeling!

I wouldn't trade the sentiment for anything in the world.

The peak. The crest. The summit. The culmination.

I am a MOM! ....without a doubt.

P.S.:
That was years ago. Time flies, indeed. Today, we are celebrating his 9th birthday. Please don't grow up too fast, too soon!

Happy birthday, son!

The Sound of Music.. The Sound of Silence..

My day is not complete without music. As soon as I step in the car, the next thing I do after I start the engine is turn on the audio button. I tune it to my favorite local FM radio station, turn up the volume and sing along at the top of my lungs, like nobody is listening. Err, nobody indeed, 'coz I am alone in the car. I don't have the talent, I just have the guts.....when I am alone.

 

I love listening to pop, smooth jazz, classics, classical, retro and sometimes rock. Fairly anything that could perk up my spirit. Or anything groovy. I have to have something playing while I am traveling to my destination.

 

However, I can't stand commercials. I will go up and down the dial 'til I find a station playing a song that suits my taste. One song after another, my fingers don't stop shuffling. I do have a short attention span. But thank heavens, there's Sirius. Seemingly, he is the next best thing after Siri. :)

 

 

Through this satellite radio service, I can alternatively listen to commercial-free music from every genre, anytime, anywhere. Yep, that's what the shark fin thingy on the car rooftop is for.

 

Music does wonders!

 

THIS article says, 

1. Music Can Help You Relax
2. Angry Music Improves Your Performance
3. Music Reduces Pain
4. Music Can Give You A Better Workout
5. Music Can Help You Find Love
6. Music Can Save A Life
7. Music Can Improve Your Work — Sometimes
8. Use Music To Make You Smarter
9. Music Can Make You A Better Person

Well, I couldn't agree more!

When I'm at work, I become more productive when buds are stuck in my ear. Just me, my music, my world. The youngsters in our group are more like me. The oldies, on the contrary, are not used to it. They work hard in silence. They love peace and quiet. We all respect each other's preferences. 

Oh, wait! I, too, like PEACE and QUIET!

...peace and quiet in our open office environment, while I am confined in my spot listening to some (pleasant) noise that only I could hear.

 

My 8-yr old, obsolete but reliable iPod nano. Do you like my playlist? LOLz

Read more:
"What the Music You Love Says About You and How It Can Improve Your Life"

Let's Make the Philippines Great Again!

Today marks the inauguration of Rodrigo Duterte as the 16th president of the Philippines. No fanfare, no posh affair. Just a simple, non-extravagant ceremony. I salute you, Sir!

Mabuhay! Let's see if change is really coming.

Keep in mind this checklist:

(photocredit: CNN Philippines)



Sana hindi 'to galing sa ilong, Digong! Here's hoping for the best! Kahit hindi ikaw ang best bet ko, suportahan taka. CHEERS!

P.S.:
Dear Mr. President, please prove to the world that you don't deserve to be called the Donald Trump of the Philippines. Swear that your actions will speak louder than your (harsh) words. *pinky promise*

Vertically Challenged

Does height even matter?

Y-E-S.

I wish I were tall. *sigh* It is the ultimate short girl's dream! 😃 Apparently, I have to accept the fact that this dream is definitely out of reach. Period. I had inherited the "cute" genes. Period. Not complaining; having the height is a plus tho'. I can trample on, look down and bully anybody! *just kidding*

When you're tall, it is easy to choose and shop for clothes, more so, pants. One does not have to alter the length or fold the hem up three-fold as if planting rice was so much fun. One's field of view is always panoramic/ scenic in a Standing Room Only setting. No need to tiptoe to achieve a giraffe's neck. One can reach the topmost shelf inside a store with less effort, that is, without having to empty the lowest shelf and use it as a step board. (I know this is shameful to admit, but that's what I sometimes do). These are only a few of the many reasons why I think being tall is awesome.

Being short, on the otherhand, has also its perks. I don't have to duck, scoot over or slouch when I need to do stuff. I can sneak in/out of somewhere without being noticed. I could be mistaken for a highschooler/teenager which means I look young. 😜 I could buy clothes from the youth section and it will be a tad cheaper. There's too many to mention.

I haven't had any issues with my height, err, the lack of it, not until Kimi asked me why I am short. If only I could say it's because of genes and inheritance. I simply cannot, should not. I had to think of the simplest comprehensible explanation.

So, I told him, I stopped growing because...
...I didn't eat my vegetables, I was a picky eater, I ate unhealthy snacks, drank too much soda and didn't get the right amount of sleep. Phew. Bad Mommy! *smirk* Of course, these are make-believe alibis.

So far, these reasons have become an effective, persuasive tool to alarm him. Surprisingly, he's been more cautious.

Who doesn't want to grow taller, anyway?

Geez, he's catching up! Will I pass for his big sis?

Who's on the Chopping Block?

We all are hooked on social networks. May it be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat etc. Each is a good venue for meeting old and new friends, batchmates, teachers, former bosses and colleagues. The people whom you haven't seen for ages. You may be able to share photos, like photos and do silly stuff with the apps that could be installed along with it.

With the user friendly icons, one could post anything and everything under the sun. A post, however, is always subject to scrutiny. It can either be liked or disliked or hidden. And if the post is too cocky and overly dramatic, then that person could be unfollowed or worse, unfriended and/or blocked.

So, what triggers someone to unfriend somebody?

In a 2014 study, Christopher Sibona, a researcher at the University of Colorado at Denver,  actually pinpointed the four types of content that are most likely to prompt an unfriend:

1. Frequent/unimportant posts

2. Polarizing posts (politics and religion; liberals are, for what it’s worth, more likely to unfriend over political views)

3. Inappropriate posts (sexist, racist remarks)

4. Everyday life posts (child, spouse, eating habits, etc.)

I, personally, have pulled some weeds out of my list. My criteria includes: 

1. Ex's and Oh's

2. The "ghost" friend who is around but who's been mum. (Paramdam ka naman, teh!) 

3. Lurkers

4. Self-likers

5. Acquaintances

Let's shake hands. No hurt feelings. That's what friends are for. 😉

Since FB gives us this option, we all tend to be picky. Odd-man out. Nothing wrong tho'. Each one has his or her own reason.

We can, therefore, conclude that social media could indeed make us anti-social. Nah, just selectively social.

Spectacled

It's that time of year again. READ: Eye check-up. It is the only test I comply with religiously. I don't like it.

Firstly, I already know what my result would be. My prescription increased..again. (now: -5.25/-5.00 + astigmatism)

Secondly, I will have to shell out money out-of-the-pocket 'coz my insurance will only cover one thing, either the glasses or the contact lenses. I always get both. Not because of vanity; I need it! How would you even enjoy a 3D movie with the 3D glasses on top of your specs? Or swim and snorkel?

And last but not the least, who likes to wear eyeglasses, anyway?

If there's one thing I regret, it's that. My fault. I used to think that wearing eyeglasses is uber cool and stylish. So, I intentionally abused my 20/20 vision when I was young. I was 14 then. It is my deepest secret..shh. I used to read under dim light laying down on the bed while hoping for the best. Alas! Success! I was prescribed corrective lenses with -0.25. My dream came true! It wasn't bad after all, or so I thought. It never dawned on me that it could become worse, worst. There had been days/nights when I opened my eyes and I felt like the world was spinning around. Had to go to an EENT Dr. to rule out vertigo/disequilibrium. I was fine. Next was to check on my eyesight. That was the culprit. My prescription had changed. The cycle occurred year after year after year.

The only fun part of any check-up is that I have the right to try on all the frames that are on display. All shapes and color. In my case, I always choose the angular frames 'coz my face is round and fat lol. Here are a few of the ones I had used before.

Doesn't do anything much, right? Same banana.

People who are visually challenged get to see a whole different picture--people with no faces, abstract figures and peculiar images. Our eyes have special effects. It could achieve a good "bokeh" better than any Canon or Nikon lens. ;)

* bokeh (boh-kay or sometimes boh-kə) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens. -Wikipedia

Fixer Upper

Six years had passed. I left this space untouched, unscathed. Many events transpired within that span of time. Social networking was in full swing. The pioneers of social media quit. Facebook reigned. Perhaps, FB was partly to blame for my absence. *wink*

In this day and age, blogging is considered passé, i.e., DEAD. People have no more time...err..patience to read. Long or short. There is no significant difference. So, why the sudden shift? There's still a part of me that misses writing, ranting, rambling, musing. Long or short. It doesn't have to be perfectly written. Long or short.

We'll see how far could I go. Baby steps.. baby steps..

For now, I'm giving myself a pat on my back for a successful makeover. I thought my old layout looked too juvenile/rebellious. Editing the template is not as easy as before tho'. Ahh..those were the days.

Nothing will change. Just tweaking.

Goodbye, dark side!

My old layout

Testing 1,2,3

Yay! My jurassic blog is still alive! Sweet!! Just encountered a few glitches upon logging in.

It's been 6 long years since I last visited! Too rusty to write again.
"Should I stay or should I go? " (The Clash) ...that is the question.

We'll find out.. 😉

P.S. In the meantime, I will have to figure out how to alter the template/layout.

MRI: first and hopefully my last

Just had my MRI test today. It wasn't scary than I had expected. Had I not been experiencing excruciating pain on my left shoulder/blade and neck, I would have skipped this part. I am nearly done with the steroids but still on Naproxen, a muscle relaxant.

I initially thought I will be carried into a suffocating time capsule, however, the machine looked totally different when I arrived. There's the bed and a fixture overhead beyond the bed. No doughnut hole or any of that sort. The set-up of the room was cozy enough that I'd fall asleep especially with the warm lights on and full blast air-con.

After dressing up and all, the tech let me lie on the bed, positioned my neck on a metal brace, tucked a cushion under my legs, covered me with a thermal blanket, then finally secured the metal brace in front of my face and inserted ear pads so I won't move a single bit. He again asked if I was claustrophobic. I am not.

So in a few minutes, he turned the unit on and the fixture above slid down towards me and stopped halfway. My face was around 6 inches away from the ceiling. Now I have figured why they call it an Open Air MRI coz all my sides are free and the light is still apparent. It seemed as if I was an auto mechanic just checking out the underside of a car. I wasn't worried at all for I know somebody's watching over me.

1, 2, 3, ..and the hammering sounds begun with an interval of 5 minutes. First, a tom-tom drum and drill in unison. Then silence. Followed by a sewing machine and big-ben clock combined. Then, silence. Then comes a slow pounding beat. Then, silence. A few knocks follow. Then silence. These go on and on without a shuffle. It was so annoying that I couldn't fall asleep.

25 minutes had passed and it was over. Thank heavens! That was it? No sweat! ;)

In 2 days, the results will be out. Hopefully, it's nothing serious. Well, I guess, I really am growing old and these symptoms are the aftershocks of how I've spent my life in my younger days, that is, carefree and sometimes careless.

Now, I couldn't afford to abuse my back anymore. It's my bread and butter. *wink*

Happy Parents

I couldn't explain how delighted we were when Kimi pooped in the toilet for the first time tonight!! :)

Months before, it seemed impossible coz he couldn't keep still on the bowl. The longest time he will sit is roughly 2-3 mins. So, what we did was we have instilled on his mind that he can have any toy he wants if only he will poop in the toilet. And whenever he grabs a toy on the display shelf in the dept. store and we know that he likes it a lot, we will constantly remind him that he can have it once he has pooped in the toilet. This has been our long playing song but it has finally paid off...yipee!! Indeed, it only takes patience...and tons of it.

What we've learned from the entire course is that you can never force a child to do something out of his will nor strictly impose it. Everything happens naturally.

Of course, each parent has his/her own style of raising his/her child. I'm neither in a capacity to claim that our style is right. Well, what's proven effective is to reward your child when he does something right. A hug, a kiss, a pat on the head, a rub on the back, a thumbs-up, a high-five or a piece of candy/chocolate that he enjoys shall suffice. It doesn't have to be great or expensive.

However, there are times when you must also satiate a child's yearning. You will try not to deprive your child but not to a point of over-pampering him. There is always a limit.

...enough of the blabbing. We're just overwhelmed. It's such a simple happening, but we can never trade it in for anything else. Fulfillment to the max! Hopefully, this won't be the last... The list goes on and he still has a lot to go..

Nevertheless, he can now officially go to school come September.. *yey*