Our little angel Carl Benjamin was baptized in the name of our Lord last Saturday October 13, 2007 at St. Luke Catholic Church in Foster City. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us, as well as to those who sent well wishes.
Here are some pictures of Carl's baptism courtesy of Ninong Kyo.
Here are a few pictures from our Trip to Filoli Garden last August 7, 2007.
In just a week, my son will be 2 months old...wow, time really flies by. Here are a few pictures from Carl's First Month. See how fast my baby has grown!
Finally, we've caught up a little bit now...Carl's been sleeping for at least 4 hours at night now so I got to put in some time to reading the last Harry Potter book and finally finished it this morning. (Still haven't seen the movie though...but that's okay, I'll just wait for the DVD) Please if you have not finished reading the book do not read on...I do not intend to give anything away, but I just have some sentiments that I do not want to share with you if you do intend to read it.
Okay, I've really been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series since I read the first book. And I was really excited about this last one coming out coz finally I will get to rest my mind from wondering what happened. But quite honestly, I was hugely disappointed with this last one. And yeah I know, leave the writing to the writers. Sorry! I can't help but feel like the last book being the first plot written did not do justice to the initial books in the series. I felt like the ending was rushed. After Rowling's amazing work on building up such interesting characters in the book, it's such a waste that the book ended without giving them enough lines in the book to at least talk about what happened to them. The way the last book was written, I kinda feel like J.K. is so rich already even if this last book is crap people will buy it anyway. I have no complaints about the plot. I give her props for the ingenuity and creativity as she always have been for the storyline, well --- except for how Dumbledore's life was explained in the end, I always thought he was among the best heroes of the story --- I didn't like how his character turned out to be. I was hoping the details could have been better. Also, it kinda seemed like having the epilogue was a poor retreat to not have people ask stories about what happened to the rest of the characters who suffered an ill-fated end and whom she really put into life in prior books because it's a happy ending anyway. Kind of feels like a diversion to not have more questions asked.
I'm not saying do not read it, I don't think there is anything I can say to anyone who's read the first 6 books to not read the last one --- coz I know nobody can stop me from reading it either. But I guess I was just expecting something better. Oh well.
Anyway, I'm just so glad I have Carl to keep me busy now. Otherwise, I would probably be itching now thinking what would I be doing now. Actually, I was so excited to get to the last page coz I could not wait to just focus on baby right now. I'll be uploading some first month pictures of Carl on my next blog.
Yes, it's amazing how time flies by so fast. I have meant to send out the links to my son's pictures, or at least update you guys about what's been happening but believe it or not --- I haven't got the chance. Yeah, even I couldn't believe that taking care of a newborn is this much work. In my mind, I thought it was just about feeling happy all the time about how cute and huggable they are...I never realized it is this EXHAUSTING. I am getting a lot of support from Bobby, I wonder how others do this by themselves. Yep, I do not mean to undermine how difficult it is especially when you are doing hands on parenting. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I am the happiest person in the world right now --- tied to Bobby of course. I'm just saying it is not easy, and I never really understood what everybody have been saying until I've experienced it myself.
I thought the most difficult part was going to be the pregnancy, labor and delivery --- especially since we had quite an eventful nine months to show for it. But aparrently that's the easy part. My coworker friend told me that there is something in women's memories that erases the pain they feel on delivery after some time...I guess that explains how people get to have kids again. Personally, I preferred to not know anything until I had to. A close friend of mine even sent me a Lamaze DVD that I intended not to watch, sorry Da --- takot ako eh. I thought I'll just cross the bridge when I get there. It kinda worked for me...I just didn't want to make myself more nervous than I already was. I had tons of things running through my mind --- it was more challenging mentally and emotionally for me. But even so, I would not trade this experience for anything in the world. I don't even want to think that I only have about a month left before going back to work. I will definitely miss spending time with Carl. :-)
Here are some pictures of our very cute baby. Carl's First Day Pics and More. I will upload more pics later.
Here are some details about the delivery.
We tried to have a normal delivery, I was scheduled to be induced Tuesday July 3 at 7am (originally July 2 but when we saw my OB that morning, she said the hospital was fully booked ---gosh didn't know that can happen). My estimated due date is July 5 but she didn't want to wait till then since my prior week's ultrasound already estimated baby's weight to be 8.7 lbs. However, Monday night around 10pm, I felt my contractions were already regularizing to about 5 minutes apart but no pain. So we decided to call the doctor and see if we need to go to the hospital already. They had us come to the hospital and we were admitted at around 11pm. All night, contractions went on but I wasn't progressing enough but I couldn't sleep --- everything was uncomfortable. I felt itchy around my belly because of the monitors etc. I was just able to sleep around 3am when I asked for pain medications when the contractions started to be painful. They ended up doing the induction around 6:30am to speed up the process. By 10:30am the nurse said I was ready to start pushing. We started pushing at 11am, but within 30 minutes of pushing, baby's heartrate dropped to 73. So we stopped and they revived his heartrate to normal. The doctor didn't want us to try pushing again and said she would like to just do a c-section in the afternoon. At 3:15pm, we were taken into the operating room. It was weird, I was conscious the whole time, Bobby and the anesthesiologist were sitting over my head and we were talking the whole time. By 3:33pm Carl Benjamin Tatco was born. I cried when I heard baby cry finally. He scored 9.9 on the APGAR. After letting me have a glimpse of Carl, Bobby and one of the nurses took baby to the nursery and they took me to the recovery room. I was in the recovery room for 4 hours to wait for my blood pressure to stabilize. The most difficult part was the recovery days later when all the strong pain meds were starting to wear off. We went home Saturday July 7, 2007.
A N N O U N C I N G O U R S O N
CARL BENJAMIN S. TATCO
July 3, 2007 3:33pm
8 pounds 6 ounces
20 3/4 inches
Proud Parents,
Bobby and Owan
Hello everybody...I know haven't blogged about my pregnancy since we got past the 20 week mark and the awesome baby shower that we just had last June 5. Here's a long blog that hopefully explains why.
Last March 13, I was then 24 weeks along, we went to Oakland Zoo so we can get out of the house, we've been stuck at home doing limited activities due to the complications I had in my early stages of my pregnancy. When we got the clearance that everything was fine, we had to take it. Besides, everybody says it's great to do walking exercises around your second trimester, coz by the time you reach the third trimester, things will start becoming uncomfortable to do anything. It was a fun day --- Kamille and Kathleen had lots of fun...believe it or not, it's only my second time to go to a zoo. The first zoo I got to was San Francisco Zoo on my 27th birthday. Yeah, pathetic, I know.
However, as we were walking around the zoo, I was feeling some sharp pains in my lower back, it goes away pretty much right away so I didn't mind it. But when we got home, it was getting more frequent and then it would move from my abdomen then to my lower back again. So we called my doctor just to be sure. After 15 minutes, the nurse on-call said we need go to the hospital so the doctor can see us. We didn't have anything with us, the last time we got to the emergency room they just sent us home.
This time it was a different story, when we got to the hospital, they admitted us into Labor and Delivery, aparrently what I was having was contractions and they were already 3 minutes apart. My doctor was talking to the nurse about having to transfer me to CPMC in San Francisco if I was going to deliver that day. It was the only facility in the bay area that had a good neonatal ICU. I was a nervous wreck, I can't help but cry, even if my doctor kept reassuring us that at 24 weeks the baby is going to be okay, of course I would prefer my baby to be full-term. The nurse thought I was crying because of the pain and immediately gave me a shot of morphine.
Thank God, the fetal fibronectine test came back negative, which meant I wasn't gonna deliver for at least 2 weeks. So they gave me medication for the contractions.
I've been taking the contraction medication since then until 2 weeks ago. I'm really thankful our baby has reached 38 weeks as of today.
We also got clearance from my nutritionist that I'm cleared for gestational diabetes and we no longer have to worry about having to use insulin, one less thing to worry about.
My blood pressure has been slightly high the past couple of visits to the doctor, so my doctor scheduled us for a nonstress test. We had the first test yesterday and baby did well: heartbeat is great, amniotic fluid is within range and my blood pressure was also normal...whew! Baby was sleeping though and wouldn't wake even if the nurse kept buzzing him so it took awhile for them to let us go...but he woke up and moved after several minutes so they let us go :-) We're scheduled for another one next week...if I don't deliver yet.
Now I'm thinking I might make 40 weeks after all. I'm just worried baby might be too big by then, well I guess the doctor will know. Even if it has been difficult these past few weeks to move, sit or stand, I don't really mind the wait...I'm just really excited to see and hug our baby when he comes. Please help us pray for a safe delivery and most of all a healthy baby.
I've been writing this blog post in my head the past couple of days...I was hoping to write something really nice to give our appreciation to the people who've put a lot of effort into giving our coming baby an amazing shower...but the longer I waited to post it, the more I felt sending our huge thanks might be diminished somewhat.
Bobby and I are really grateful to everybody who came to the shower, sent gifts and wishes for our coming baby...it really is unbelievable, our baby has received a lot of gifts...it is so heartwarming...we're really appreciative of the fact that we have poeple to share our joy and excitement as we count the days before our baby arrives.
We'd like to give special thanks to the amazing hosts of the shower: Ate Anna, Cyn, Cris, Deo and Kiko. We know how much work you've put into making it a special celebration. Thanks so much!
Here are some pictures of the shower courtesy of Kyo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksuayan/sets/72157600332332973/
More pics and updates to follow...
1. Go to www.google.com
2. Click on "maps"
3. Click on "get directions"
4. Type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. Type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)
6. Click "Get directions"
7. Scroll down to step #23
Just thought I'd forward something to laugh about...everything seems to be too serious...and everybody's been really busy with each of our own stuffs...tatanda tayo agad niyan!
Yes, 20 weeks, we're halfway there!!! Don't get me wrong, even with all the challenges of this pregnancy, believe it or not I am enjoying every moment of it. But then again, I am at my second trimester so I am pretty much at the smoothest part so my opinion might be slightly biased.
Even at this point I still can't believe that I am growing a life in my body. I'm still pretty much amazed at how all this works. Somehow, my lack of understanding of how biology works seems to just make it all the more magical. Bobby's been doing a lot of reading...on the Internet, books my sister-in-law lent --- the best one is: "What to Expect when You're Expecting". I'm really glad coz it doesn't compel me to read so much about pregnancy --- I just end up being more paranoid than I already am.
Okay, let's head back to the important details:
1) We just got the AFP screen results last February 9, and the results are negative...woohoo!!! :-) Don't know much about it but it checks for a variety of neural defects like Down Syndrome and some other defects. Even if the test has a false positive rate of 5% --- so they usually say don't stress so much about it, I'm just so relieved that it is one less thing to worry about.
2) We just had our 2nd Trimester Ultrasound on February 16...they checked all the vital organs, fingers, size and weight --- the baby is doing great!!! I am 20 weeks and 1 day, the ultrasound showed the baby's size is 20 weeks and 2 days. The baby is slightly bigger, on the average, 20 week babies are 10 1/2 oz. our baby is 14 oz. Though ultrasound technician says its nothing to worry about. I wonder what our nutritionist will say once they get a copy of the results. Maybe that is why everybody's been saying my tummy is so huge...they keep teasing me that my tummy is even bigger than our friend who's already 27 weeks pregnant.
3) And finally, Bobby is so happy to announce that ... we are having a boy!!! Of course we both are...but I'm sure you know what I mean. :-)
A month ago, I saw a poster of Mountain View Reads Together at the vegetarian restaurant we go to Garden Fresh. The recommended read was Malcolm Gladwell's Blink . I've read his other book The Tipping Point before and I loved it which got me really curious about this one. Yeah, yeah...I know you're curious what we're doing at the vegetarian restaurant?!? Ok, sometimes, we eat at that restaurant when we cannot think of anything to cook. Believe it or not, their Vegetarian Chicken Curry is good, yeah I still find it funny everytime I think about it. Oh by the way they use soy glutein as meat substitute, so its really healthy and they serve it with brown rice too.
Anyway, back to my story...
Bobby and I always go to Borders or Barnes & Noble after dinner when we have nothing to do at home. We usually just stay there for 2 to 3 hours reading books and/or magazines. Recently, I've been looking for Blink and for 3 times it has been out of stock. It would take me at least 20 minutes looking for it. It kinda dawned on me that there were thousands of books at the store, why was I wasting my time looking for that one book they didn't have?! For some time, I just stopped looking for it...and read other books instead. When it was finally available, it didn't turn out to be as good as I was hoping it was gonna be.
I know this is a bit of a stretch, but I kinda realized, most of the time, we always ache for the things we do not have. It keeps us blind from seeing that we do have everything else --- minus that thing we've been looking for.
I think maybe God intended that nobody gets everything they want. Otherwise, what else will we have to live for? I'm not saying that we should stop dreaming --- I also believe He gave us that ability to dream so we can learn to aim high or higher.
I think nothing explains my thoughts better than the the Serenity Prayer: "God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
Discernment is our biggest challenge in preventing ourselves from dwelling in disappointment nor settling for something less than what we can achieve. As they say, life is what we make it --- which means our happiness is all in our hands. Life is too short. Don't waste it.
Whoever coined the term "morning" sickness should be blamed for giving false expectations...that's like false advertising. If it happens any time of the day, they should not call it that!
Yeah I think I spoke too soon about not having much morning sickness in my first trimester. I am currently in my 16 weeks of pregnancy and I still have episodes almost everyday. Although I guess it is triggered by some kinds of foods, which weirdly I normally would have loved.
Cheetos, cheese puffs, sunflower seeds I really love but for some reason, wait less than an hour and it just makes me sick. Fish is also something I thought I cannot give up coz I love fish but now it's just too difficult to eat. I even hate my prenatal vitamin coz one of the capsules tastes like fish, yuck...even if it says no fish oil...but that I can't not take so I guess nothing I can do there.
Right now, I always crave for In N Out french fries --- usually that becomes my midnight snack. hehehe Yummy! I can finish the whole thing, supposedly, it's not a very good snack --- what are they saying?!? I think it's very good! --- coz it's all carbs so Bobby throws in a vanilla milkshake para daw may protein hehehe Right now, I'm not too worried about gaining weight coz I haven't gained any yet but my tummy is already HUGE. I'm at 4 months and probably I've just gained 2 pounds so far...I was already overweight when I started with pregnancy, so I guess I'm losing my weight as the baby grows, it doesn't show though --- taba pa din hehehe
I've mentioned this to our nutritionist and OB coz I was a bit worried and they said that I am doing great, so nothing to worry about. They graph the weight gain every time we come in for a check up. With my starting weight I'm supposed to only gain 20 to 25 lbs at most.
We just had our AFP2 screen test last Friday, we'll find out the results in 2 weeks. Hopefully the results are good.
With all the difficulties of pregnancy, everybody says its all worth it. Don't worry I believe all of you --- there is also happiness and joy that comes with it --- and we're really excited and psyched about every part of this experience.
I guess folks have been wondering why I haven't had any update since my last blog. And with the title of this post, you'll understand why. At the 8th week (Dec. 11), we found out that one of the babies had stopped growing at 6th week and did not have a heartbeat...
Our ultrasound at 5 weeks showed both babies, with the other one barely making the range. It was why my OB had us come back for another ultrasound at 8 weeks. They wanted to make sure both babies are growing fine.
For twins, they ask you to schedule a 2 hour session coz it's kinda like doing 2 ultrasounds...they need to make sure they have enough time to be thorough. Although the weeks before, I had already been having dreams about one of the babies not growing, I didn't think much of it --- after all it's just a dream --- it never occured to me what the radiology doctor was going to say. The ultrasound technician didn't say anything, she just went on normally with one of the fetuses, did the normal measuring and checking of the heartbeat. Then did the other one, with just frame stopped and left the room. Nothing in her face suggested that there was something wrong. It was all done in about 45 minutes. She left the room and said the doctor will come in to give us the results. When the doctor came in, she had somewhat of a smile on her face or maybe so I thought. Then she started saying: "Fetus B is at a perfect size 10 weeks 3 days old. And good strong heartbeat." then went on without pausing "However, fetus A doesn't have a heartbeat" she continued on mentioned a few more things which I no longer minded and said "do you have any questions?" At the back of my mind, even if I wanted to ask her a lot of things I just wanted her to leave. I think Bobby asked her something but I was no longer paying attention. It was just too hard trying not to cry in front of someone I just met that day. Finally she left and I just burst into tears. I think we stayed longer in the ultrasound room just to wait for me to stop crying than how long the ultrasound actually took, I'm sure that wasn't true but that's how long it felt like. I kept telling Bobby maybe they just didn't look hard enough that's why they didn't see the other heartbeat to the point of asking him maybe we should get another ultrasound even if we had to pay for it. Though I know the moment they put the sensor on, they already know how many heartbeats there are. It's just too hard to accept and too much to take in. I was crying like a baby, I can see Bobby was also devastated but he was just trying to calm me down. The walk going out of the ultrasound office was just embarrassing I thought --- in the waiting area, you see couples with smiles on their faces coming out of their appointments but there I was my eyes were just red from crying. I guess it was too obvious to the other patients what had happened seeing my face like that.
Our OB's office is downstairs, normally wait time is a while, especially since our appointment wasn't until 4:30pm and the ultrasound finished an hour earlier than expected. But the moment we stepped in she immediately called us in.
She told us a lot of things which at that time, I didn't really understand but it did make sense eventually. Bobby asked her if it had to do with nutrition, if the baby wasn't getting enough nutrition and she said your food intake is being monitored by a nutritionist, you are eating healthier than before, it isn't the reason. The nutritionist doesn't only monitor if you are taking in more than you should, they also monitor if you are taking less than what you should and the right kinds of food. I am seeing a nutritionist since I failed the glucose tolerance test. They ask you to track down all the meals you took, blood sugar checks 4 times a day, ketone checks daily, 6 meals instead of 3 huge main meals. They ask you to add more kinds of foods needed when they see your list lacks certain kinds of food. I tell you, Filipino foods are just hard to jot down, lots of carbs -- lahat may rice, and very little green veggies. The nutritionists already know about it, siguro madami na din sila patients na Pinoy before.
My OB also said, this happens more often than people find out about. Most pregnancies start out as twins but since ultrasounds are normally done at the 10th and 12th week timeframe, people don't even know they had twins -- it's called the Disappearing Twin Syndrome, I read about it on the internet 2 weeks before the appointment when I was having those bad dreams but I tried dismissing it coz that wasn't what I wanted to read about at the time when I was already anxious about my pregnancy. We had our first ultrasound at 3 weeks, they even wouldn't say I am pregnant coz it was too early. Only the 5th week ultrasound when the sacs are clearly visible did they say we were pregnant and with twins.
I took a week off from work, primarily because I didn't/couldn't talk to anyone about what happened it was too painful then. I guess it still is now. I can still remember how I felt when we found out about it. But one of the best things my OB said was: "Cry about it tonight, but tomorrow, move on...there is another life depending on you". In my mind at that time I was just thinking can you really do that? Apparently time heals all wounds...
Most of our friends have been emailing me and asking how the pregnancy is doing...I apologize for not emailing back, it's just too hard to tell this story over and over.
The other reason I wanted to move on is that, we have been waiting a long time for this pregnancy and the longer I cry over our loss, I would lose the opportunity of being happy and excited about our other baby --- that's kinda unfair to my other baby I guess. I'm sure though that this baby will just be doubly loved --- that's the least we can do.
For most of our closest families and friends, this news is no longer surprising --- most of them have already been shocked, if not twice, as Bobby and I were. I know I haven't blogged for about over a year now not necessarily for lack of trying but mainly having nothing really interesting to write about.
As most of you know, we've been married for a while, going 5 years now and so typical of Filipino families, or maybe families in general, the pressure of "when are you planning to have kids" immediately follows the wedding bells. Which if maybe you were in my shoes your ears would have bled by now.
Here and there, I would hear someone getting pregnant, even younger than me --- there wasn't any pressure until I realized I am already 29 years old and almost a majority of my friends who have been married after I did are already pregnant or have kids already. Yup, the clock is ticking. I've always thought I would eventually have kids -- I've always seen myself eventually becoming a mom, I just never knew when it was gonna happen.
We always tease Kamille that she was ordered from Costco, and that she should help me make my order --- coz they always run out of stock. Finally, they got stock!!! Or should we say there were multiple stocks available and we got 2!!! hehe O ayan ha!? I'm being a bit more explicit --- most of the folks we told didn't realize immediately that it is a "double" blessing, most of them were too excited to hear about the pregnancy news alone and didn't get to read through the rest of our announcement card.
Bobby and I are a little bit worried about finances and about being ready and being able to take care of 2 babies, but I'm sure God will provide and will help us be great parents. Both Bobby and I have lived with limited means our whole lives, not poor but not rich either, but we turned out okay. In fact, I'm more worried about being able to give my kids everything than being able to provide them with less. I want my kids to have the same aspirations and fulfillments as I had --- most kids I've seen who do not seem to value what they have ---even when they already have everything are those who've been spoon fed everything. I'd want my kids to know know that getting a Barbie doll, an iPod or an xBox is a huge thing. And I'd like them to know what a great feeling it is to purchase your own car --- not because it is a cool make or new model, but because they've earned it.
Believe it or not, I've always thought everything I got in life was hard earned --- nothing was easy --- I always had to work for it or wait for a long time. Sometimes the struggle is frustrating, but I always realize in the end that it just makes it sweeter, and the apreciation is much more.
I've always been clueless about biology --- I still do not know where our hair and finger nails come from, which trully makes this "twin miracle" really astonishing for me. God's engineering and design is really unbelievable. I know they are developing in my tummy --- for at least 32 weeks --- the doctor said to prepare for delivery earlier since they're a twin.
I haven't had a lot of morning sickness yet, just a couple of times so far. I was thinking it's more frequent but maybe it's just too early at this point. Sleeping is the thing I find difficult at this point. I'm sleepy so early which I love coz I usually stay up late at nights coz I can't sleep -- but then finding a position to sleep in is quite challenging. By the time I find a good position, it's time to pee. Oh well.
Anyway, hopefully I can continue to blog as my tummy grows to keep you all updated. Please join me and Bobby in waiting for the storks to deliver our little angels and in praying that they have a safe trip.
I just heard from the radio the other day that people who don't have good friend and family ties are more likely to have dementia.
Ok, I didn't mean to scare everyone (including myself) but isn't that just reason enough to keep in touch?!
Moral Lesson: Post blogs more often and keep your sanity and your memory sharp.
Let me just go ahead and greet you all a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! The holidays have come and gone and it feels so weird that I miss it already. Somehow this year's holiday season was quite a bit different from previous years' and I'm not sure if it was just me growing old[er] or just the busy -ness @ work that took away all that holiday magic for me. We had several night releases both on the pre-Christmas and pre-New Year, imagine having a release all the way till Dec 30. I guess I am just so not used to working on the Christmas season as it has always been the biggest holiday break in the Philippines, and that's what I got used to.
Anyway, I learned quite a bit about Hanukkah this year, we had several colleagues who are Jewish and we went with "multi-cultural" decorations for the office. I still don't understand how religion is just considered culture, maybe someday I'll understand what that means.
I never thought I would ever have to worry about political correctness before wishing people good cheer. What has the world come to? I still don't get it. At this day and age, I think even the Catholic church has finally realized that different religions have somewhat overlapping doctrines and that we all have the same beliefs -- well, more or less.
Anyway, enough of all that, I just wish everyone a joyful, peaceful and prosperous new year ahead! And I am hoping to keep in touch this year, hopefully more postings from everyone's blogs to keep far friends and family updated. I don't want to say that it'll be my new year's resolution coz I don't think I ever stuck with any resolution I made my whole life -- maybe nobody has ever, but I'll try. :-)
Yes, time truly flies by fast. It has been a little over a month since my last blog post. I know I have said so many times that I will try not to use work as an excuse but I guess there is no other alibi I can give.
These past 3 weeks I have been sleeping at 2am consistently, a couple of days till 4am, one time at 6am, but we just released to production last weekend...so finally, my life is getting back to normal woohoo!
I just realized I am not as I was when I was 20 when I can stay long hours be it a night-out with friends or night-in studying or working. Yup, I'm getting older. It took me at least a week to recover, is it even possible to just hibernate for a full week to catch up with all the lost sleep. I just feel beat.
It seems just recently when I found out my bestfriend Rona is pregnant --- and I really am happy to receive a note from her that she is already 3 months pregnant (and doing well), wow time really flies by. Just found out my dear friend Cris is pregnant too...congratulations! Hmph! Just kidding...really am happy for you guys.
Health-wise, another improvement is no matter how busy, we try to make it a point to go to the gym at least 5-6 days a week. Yeah, I know it still sound unbelievable but for health's sake, I'm trying --- well really I'm just getting dragged along coz I live with health conscious people --- let's say its a perk. Well, you only get to live once, you would want to live as long and healthy as you can.
Reminder: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire The Movie is showing on Friday, not really excited as waiting for Book 7 but at least there's something to look forward to.
In Memoriam: The last of our fish has died --- with no decent funeral they are all gone. No pictures even, gosh, gone just like that. They are over a year old --- 4 fat goldfishes died first, each at least 2 inches already. The 2 angel fishes --- at least 3 inches, died last Sunday. Just trying to write about them before they get totally forgotten.
Friday night, guess where we were? At the GYM.
After the gym, we went straight HOME to have dinner...sus di man lang kami lumabas.
After dinner, Kiko, Bobby and I had our laptops open -- WORKING. How pathetic is that!? On the background was Monk, its not even new season, rerun lang.
Gosh what losers.
Okay, healthy-healthy tayo kunyari...Bobby, Kiko and I joined the gym --- oo shocking I know. Maybe not really for Bob and Kiko at active naman yung dalawang yon e, but for me? This is really a huge step and commitment! Well, anyway the monthly fees were quite reasonable. The gym may not be as fancy as 24 Hour Fitness' facilities but they have practically anything you would need, well don't take my word for it, I'm not exactly a health buff so...well anyway, they have daily classes: kick-boxing, spinning, yoga and lots others.
I decided to give yoga a try last Tuesday, I was skeptical at first coz I tried it once, we have a DVD at home. Nakakainip sobra! I didn't even have a mat so I used whatever was there that was used by everybody -- oo nakakakilabot, so if ever you try it, bring your own mat-- I don't think it costs a lot. Anyway, the warmups were fine -- I thought ok, this is easy. When we started to move along, pahirap na ng pahirap. Sometimes I couldn't even do it. Well what would I expect? But the instructor kept iterating that it is not a contest --- you should listen to your body --- naks...ok so I just did what I could but still minsan nanginginig na ako sa hirap. But afterwards? Wow ang sarap ng pakiramdam! I really felt relieved of a ton of stress...I could fall asleep right there.
For folks who do not want massages bcoz you don't like the feeling of someone touching your body, this is a great alternative.
The stork has dropped the sweet little angel Kathleen Alyssa last September 22, 2005 1:01 am 7.4 lbs. Dada and Mom are coming home tomorrow from Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City. Kamille is spending the night at Tito Bob and Tata's. Just wanted to share the great news with all of you...Congratulations to Dada, Mom and Ate Kamille!!!
Okay, before folks start thinking about any wars going on at home, let me clarify that everything is okay, no need to worry. It's the title of the new TV series I'm sure I'll be watching this season. OC just finished and it came right after so we decided to give it a few minutes to see if it was any good. Yep it was. :-) Go see my blog entry at BarangayAmerika for details.
Sorry to have been out of touch for a couple of weeks sobrang dami kong trabaho, actually I feel this is a break right now not thinking about it. Even if I still have a lot of deliverables left. I've been sleeping at 3am for the past couple of days to finish quite a bit of work --- don't think this will make me rich, wala kaming overtime pay --- just to be able to catch up at least but I feel like I'm still in the same amount of shit (sorry for the word) since I started. I have not even been able to open my personal email the past couple of weeks and have been dreading doing so because I might see there is already a ton of emails I need to respond to. Gosh! I hope it gets better soon, I don't know how much more stress I can take. To add to it, my manager called me for being late at one of our meetings since I was at another meeting that ran over. Maybe I should get one of those Treo's or Blackberry's? Recently, the only way I can remember anything is if it is in my Outlook calendar. Sometimes I feel like need a reminder to remind myself that I need to remember something.
Anyway, there is a loophole. Outlook is only useful if you have your laptop with you. When you're at a lunch meeting like the one where I was, I didn't know I had another meeting right after. Shoot! Another problem with it is early in the mornings, you can't even tell if you have a meeting or not unless you turn on your computer and check your calendar. It is just tedious and I'm whiny. Well, our work email requires VPN access and the bootup process isn't really quick.
I hope that there is something that would not require me to dock the gadget to get the calendar, the idea of docking to get data is still kludge. It means you still need to be remember to get your reminders.
I know, I know I'm just trying to justify my likings for yet another gadget. "You need a thousand reasons to justify something you like --- you only need one for something you don't". Or is it the other way around? Now I'm confused. But I haven't figured out if getting another gadget to stick in my purse is a good idea nor do I know which model is okay and does it solve my problem and if it is money's worth spending, please I'd love suggestions.
Finally, the week is over. I just finished my last deliverable for the week and am so ready for the long weekend. Woohoo! Labor day sa Monday kaya walang pasok...wow salamat naman...I really need a break. I feel I've been on a rat wheel at work, not getting any of my planned things done recently, lalo tuloy exhausting ang pakiramdam. Sometimes I feel no matter how hard you work, there is still the same amount of work left to be done as when you've started. Yeah I think I should take it easy. Still haven't figured out how though.
Anyway, I just finished work (3am na pala) and no matter how late it is, i couldn't sleep anymore, I guess I'm way past sleepy. So I just decided to write something here. Even if I finished late, it felt great coz the work I just finished was for the communications we sent to our customers who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Our general manager approved giving 6 month free subscriptions to our customers in QuickBooks Online Edition who have been affected by the calamity. See our groups' blog. One of the things I love about Intuit is that they really do reach out to the community. It feels great to be working with people who knows that the smallest things can make a big difference.
Thanks to everyone who participated and came to the Baby Shower for Ate Anna last Saturday...it's no longer Baby No. 2. Her name is going to be Kathleen Alyssa. I'm sure Ate Kamille is as excited to see Kathleen when she comes.
Ate Anna, Cyn and I are so worried that you'd give birth before we were gonna be able to throw you a shower...ngayong tapos na ang shower, pede na hehehe joke lang po...
Thanks to everyone for helping out and for coming...I never realized that event organizing is really involved and I just found new respect for people who do this...but I still thought it was a lot of fun, especially doing it for the people you love and care about.
Connie, salamat sa help with the game and for coming :-)
Cris, salamat sa mga research na ginawa mo about baby showers...ayos sana yung book na yon kumpleto kasi lalo pa tayo tinaranta...nakalagay kasi things to prepare 6 weeks before the party, aba e 3 days na lang ang party nung binabasa natin! Salamat sa tulong sa pag-prepare and plan.
Ayan Cyn makakapahinga ka na --- Cyn, Nel and Kyle did a lot of work for the shower...Cyn didn't sleep before the party, di na nga ata nakapagpalit ng contact lenses sa dami ng inasikaso...Kyle and Nel went with Cyn on ordering and shopping around the bay area for prizes and gift bags...yup, they went around the bay for 2 consecutive days...thanks sa inyong tatlo...congrats sa atin.
"A baby is God’s way of saying the world should go on." ~ Doris Smith
To dear Kathleen Alyssa, we're all excited to see you...
Sa mga kasama ko nung weekend, yeah I know you know all about this --- sorry kayo at uulitin ko talaga --- besides the fact na ni-require ako ni Cris to blog about it (sa kanya din galing ang title). We went biking last Saturday morning and truly I was amazed sa nagawa namin...before, when I biked alone, I couldn't get as far bukod sa boring e baka mapalayo masyado, nakakatakot baka di na makabalik hehehe...anyway, we started off from Catamaran in Foster City, went around to go to Beach Park but realized we went the opposite way. But we got there anyway, nakarating kami all the way to Oracle building's back which is in Belmont --- lampas ng 10 miles din na bike namin, oo kahit kumontra si Manny (Ate Anna's cousin) hehehe ...took us about 2 hours, the trail was great kasi may daan na din pabalik without going back the same route...
Sunday, the Biker's Club also known as Tropang Bikers T.B. (ansagwa ata a) for short was officially formed. Yeah medyo "health conscious" ang theme ngayon, I guess I wasn't alone with the sugar, cholesterol and blood pleasure issues. Alvin and Ann brought their bikes from Sacramento, gabi pa lang the night before mag-bike daw ng 7am...pero 4am na gising pa lahat at nag-iinuman...the whole day went walang nangyayari...biglang nagyaya sa Bob, magtingin daw sa Supergo ng bike rack aba biglang nagbangunan lahat...habang nag-ikot kami, Kyo found a bike he liked and decided to just get one than wait for the one he already ordered...ang sososy nga ng mga bike nilang lahat...siguraduhin niyong gagamitin niyo yan ha! Bob got his bike from Kiko who got it from Jun at yung sa kin naman e galing Kmart, (ika nga ni Rex Navarette, where the rich people shop)...siguro kapag ready na kami to go to more difficult trails we'll get better bikes, so far nakakasabay pa naman kami.
We went to bike for about an hour to the Coyote trail near Dumbarton...Eric, Mitch sama kayo next time okay?
Calories Burned: 200
Calories from Sinigang na Baboy Post Biking: 2000
Well, I guess better pa rin than being lethargic and sedentary. I'm actually amazed at wala pang actual na sakit na lumalabas kahit sobrang tamad ko mag-exercise for the past 6 years.
I hope this is not just a phase...till the next bike session.
We went to LA last Friday afternoon to attend the baptism of Bobby's cousin: Kyle Isaac on Saturday. Bobby allowed me to drive at I-5 woohooo! 
From Harris Ranch all the way to Lebec. Yeah I was still a little tense, but was able to do it...drove ~80mph for at least 120 miles, oo meron akong na-overtake-an and take note hindi lang mga truck hehe. Just when we were about to go up Angeles Hills, I panicked coz as lights started showing up...nauuubos na mga palayan, LA was getting nearer so I exited in Lebec and switched with Bobby. LA is a scary place to drive --- next to Manila I guess. Yeah I know, it doesn't matter to me, any place would be scary I guess, but that's just what I heard. Going back we ate the chicken wings Tita Nene packed for us in a gas station, andami endless chicken. Bobby and I had fun at the road trip.
Our General Manager at Intuit for QuickBooks Online Edition, Paul Rosenfeld was interviewed last Thursday night about blogs on ABC7. He talked about how businesses have been using blogs to reach customers.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=business&id=3363529
(On the right side of page under Related Links, click “Watch this Report”…a new window should open…don’t use firefox.)
Paul is a huge advocate of Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing. Based on the Yankelovich Study: "Word of mouth is trusted more than traditional marketing --- ads are now #4 in rank and are considered more worrisome than nuclear safety"
I bet this is the whole business foundation of friendster as well.
Don't mean to bring folks down on a Friday afternoon. My colleage just mentioned this today.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/19/BAbodies19.DTL
You'd think tragedies like these only happens in movies like House of Sand and Fog. Yes it is a scary world.
We went to sleep at around 3am, Bobby's cousin Ann and her husband Alvin spent the night...woke up at 8:30am to get to work...I still feel a bit sleepy but somehow I feel happy, the week is about to end! Weekend at last!!!
Bobby and I have been doing a lot of biking recently. And yes, marunong na po ako mag-bike. Mabagal pa rin lalo na sa mga pataas, pero pede na :-) May silbi pala yung mga knobs na nasa left and right at kelangan pala magpalit ng gear all the time, oo pathetic, di ko alam...malay ko ba sorry BMX lang nung kapit bahay namin sa San Pedro ang nalalaro ko nung bata pa ako...wala kasi kaming pambili ng bike e...alam ko sasabihin ni Kamille: "kawawa ka naman Tata" hehe...well, kelangan ko na talaga mag-exercise...I've gained so much weight these past few years that I really feel I'm no longer fit...bad trip nahihirapan na ako magtali ng sapatos, kainis! Kelangan pala talaga ang exercise...ok ok!! Eto na nga! Kelangan na din mag-diet...pero exercise muna ok...one thing at a time...
Yeah it worries me...ang mga blood sugar at ang mga blood pleasure (ika nga ni Kamille) kelangan i-check parati...we went out to Walgreens last night to get some glucose test strips kelangan ko daw i-monitor at i-chart ang sugar at BP ko sabi ng doctor...it made me more nervous when the Pinay saleslady said: "Na-amputate ang big toe and little toe ng husband ko"....nyah!!! What are the odds na siya pa makakausap ko sa botika...Ok ok...I'm taking my health seriously this time...and if I don't, feel free to remind me about the toes. :-(
Thanks to Kyo for forwarding this article. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050814-1.html
To Chef Cris Comerford, we are all so proud of you. Congratulations!
For today, I will break my rule of not mentioning work on my blogs. My annual review at work just turned out which got me depressed, these past couple of days...it read: Meets Expectations. On a scale of 1 to 5, (1 being the highest, how can that be the highest?! 5 is clearly higher...well anyway.) this year I was a 3.The sheet had more information on it but I couldn't help look at those 2 words, and I kept repeating it to myself, over and over and over.
Every year in this company, my reviews have always been a 1...all my life I have always set my goals and for people who know me, this is nothing new. I never think of myself as special -- I've tried to meet my goals through really hard work and lots and lots of prayers -- and the combination seemed to have worked up until this review turned out...but what went wrong? After thinking for a long time about it, I finally gave up. I went and talked to my manager about it and asked why.
I guess I already knew the answer, I kept thinking it didn't make sense to ask feeling stupid asking, especially what if he felt it was rhetoric? But I thought I would not be able to stop thinking about it, so okay maybe it wouldn't hurt, so I did. He said it was usually common when people get promoted to a senior position, which happened last year -- or maybe he was just trying to make me feel better. But it did. I don't know why, somehow I just felt consoled. I have never been more pleased with myself asking my manager about it, it wasn't about his response to me but the fact that I was able to show that it mattered to me. I'm sure, for all of us, we want to feel that our outputs are valued.
We should always learn to speak up...especially on things we feel are important. Don't let things important to us be diminished by the fact that it is not as important to other people. Loving yourself does not always relate to selfishness. We can never love others unless we start with ourselves.
Yes, it's been a while since my last post. It has been a combination of factors really; other than the fact that I had nothing interesting to write about recently, it's been really busy too...I've sprinted my way on finishing book 6, which finally I did last night, or this morning I guess. I just wanted to get it out of the way, but now I'm thinking what do I do now till book 7 is out!? I guess book 4's movie is gonna be out soon, but I never really enjoyed the movie as I loved reading the book. Anyway, enough about that.
Ate Anna recommended the movie: House of Sand and Fog and the DVD has been sitting for about 2 weeks in the living room. We have not been able to do anything much at home recently, I guess all the adrenaline rush is gone with the house fixing - it has gotten quite costly.
So when Bobby and I had nothing to do last week, we finally decided to watch it...late Wednesday night. I don't want to be a spoiler but just for those of you who haven't watched it, don't attempt to watch it on a weeknight --- it is stupidly depressing. Or if you do, make sure you have some other movie to pick you up afterwards and time to watch the second movie, even a nonsense comedy like Harold and Kumar: Go to White Castle will do (Ate Anna lent it to me after I made her feel bad about making us watch it).
I couldn't believe, that after all the events these past couple of weeks that the headline of a newpaper will still read: GMA receives standing ovation on her State of the Nation address...I feel so sorry that I missed it not because I would have been moved nor agreed with her --- but then I guess I would have the right to say that there was really something to applaud about or not, and just for the mere fact as a Filipino citizen it is my responsibility.
It is so sad to see what is happening in the Philippine economy today --- the rich, becoming richer, poor poorer. This has been going on for ages...before, our reason was that we have foreigners oppressing the people. But they have been long gone...and we have only ourselves to blame now for what is happening.
I know it seems like an easy target for me to say all that is wrong as I am comfortably out of the country. I never felt bad before about the economy when I was at home coz I thought I wasn't really affected. I had just enough to call myself well-off (which by the way is totally different from being rich) as a single person with no responsibilities to think about. I think I see the bigger picture better being far away.
If you see someone running for office who is so excited about doing it and is spending a ton of money on campaign and buying people off, that is a cue that the person does not have good intentions. Don't ever think that this politician is good because he gave you money. Do you know how much government positions pay? Nothing! Even if they get re-elected 10 times, they won't be able to get their money back, so why would they spend all that money to get the position?! Hmmm I don't know.
There is a reason why it is called Civil Service, it is serving the public. But that has not been the case.
I am not generalizing and I'd like to believe that there are still people you can trust -- I'd like to believe that Rousseau was right, that: Humans in the state of nature are naturally good, and bad habits are the product of a corrupting civilization.
The Philippines need a radical change --- and it should start with the people. We should guard our rights coz if we don't really care about our own rights, who will? People take advantage of the people who let them.
We only see what we want to see...and have reasons for things we don't want to do. But if you believe in nothing, what will your life be for.
I first heard this word from Allan Borra a.k.a. Sir Borgz...which by the way I couldn't find here at Friendster...meron ba may alam ng contact niya? I got his ICQ but I'm not sure he's logging in. Di ko din alam ang email address niya, even tried to search his name from the UPLB T.A.'s friends in friendster, still no luck. Anyway, let me know kung alam niyo.
I remembered him saying that he felt "pensive" that day and I looked at him like, "huh?!?" and he pulled his hi-tech dictionary and showed me what it means. I think we were on our way to the teaching class that summer. We had so much fun with Mang Maroh, Mang Minela, Mang Beth on that training. Borgz and I were imitating how students usually sleep while the instructors were giving the lecture. The first moment anybody would step over the front to give the sample lecture, we would pretend to sleep --- snorting loudly and eyes drooping, of course, just to ourselves. Kaya ata wala ako gaano naaalala dun sa mga tinuro ni Prof. Rimando about teaching...kulit kasi ni Sir Borgz, (sorry Borgz you got no chance to counter back) hehe.
Everyday now, I dread going to work. Needless to say, Bobby still doesn't trust me to drive alone...when will this end, hopefully soon?! I bet one day he'll just let me go by myself when he's finally had enough headaches and realize he does not want to put himself on that pain.
Anyway, what's up with the Speed Limit? I know the rule is go with the flow of traffic. But when you're already 10-15 mph above the speed limit, and everybody is still passing you left and right?!? Do I have to say including trucks, tama ba naman yon?! How embarrassing is that?! Shit, grandma ang dating -- sobrang bagal magmaneho. I'm not sure if I've become claustrophobic all of a sudden...lalo na sa Dumbarton, pede bang luwagan nila ang lanes?! Ang sikip e di ako makahinga...yeah, yeah I guess it's just me and my non-stop complaints...well then, lilipas din ito...I hope.
Anyway, back to work na muna ako, kunyari.
Today, for a change, I decided to go out with Bob and do something more than lie down till noon on a Saturday. During spring and summer, they usually play basketball every Saturday at Foster City. I decided to put the bike we bought 3 years ago to use. Imagine it had only been used three times that whole time. We even had to drop by Chevron to get it pumped with air coz its tires got flat not being used for more than 2 years.
While he played basketball, I biked around Catamaran and on some of the "not a through streets" (dead-end for short, I have never understood what that means -- nor would have I thought it grammatically correct prior to seeing it on street signs, anyway...) in the area.
After about 5 rounds around the area, I thought I'd drop by to the nearby liquor store to get some Gatorade for me and Bob. And so I did, I got 2 -- didn't even realize that since it was a liquor store, they only used brown paper bags (they need to cover what the person is drinking --- apparently, it is illegal to loiter around with an alcoholic drink, hmm only found that out today). I was hoping they had at least a plastic bag since I didn't have a basket for the bike --- and I couldn't bike with only one hand. So it only meant one thing. I had to walk the bike and hold the darn Gatorades back to where the car was parked, to think I wasn't even that thirsty yet!
When I got back to the car, I decided to just rest for a while. Besides my butt had already been aching due to the seat. Okay, okay I decided to get my book 6 a read. It's been sitting unread the whole week since I had a ton to do to catch up at work and at home with the move and all. After reading several chapters, I thought I should go out again...Baka mahuli ako ni Bob, pagtatawanan na naman ako non...so I hurriedly went out of the car and left -- syempre pretending na seryoso sa biking!
I wasn't sure if I had locked the doors so I decided to come back and check. As I turned to go back, I decided to do a quick U-turn. Apparently, not a very good idea...just when I was about to hit the gutter, I panicked and fell from the bike. I'm lucky I just had a couple of scratches, I thought I fell hard. The fall hurts physically, but my ego was hurt more, I'm 28 and I just found out I still don't know how to ride a bike. Badminton na lang? Pede ba?
I've always woke up and felt so bad waking up -- worried that I had a class that I never attended or that I never went to ever, it is the end of the semester, I have failed the course. I've talked to a couple of friends and colleagues and said they experience the same dreams too...what's up with that?!
How do you normally respond to nagging? Someone tells you: "Maybe it will be better if this was done this way...(instead of your method)", how do you react?
As Filipinos, we've been taught so many conflicting ideas about right and wrong. I guess a lot of it has to do with the number of times the Philippines has been colonized which made us one of the most confused nations in the world. "no" means "yes, nakakahiya naman kasi"...which means kailangan mo imbitahin 5 times bago pumunta sa mesa.
I'm sure I'll automatically get raised eyebrows with someone reading my second paragraph. And I'm not surprised. Had I read/heard it from someone else, I would have reacted the exact same way. Of course we do not want anybody saying unpleasant things about ourselves. Filipinos are practically clear about that. When I started reading Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, it took me awhile to get past the first few pages especially when he started talking about Philippine economy. I could definitely feel my ears getting red as I browsed through the pages. I guess my feeling was that nobody has the right to talk that way about us --- except us (I know, where's the logic in that?). In my mind, I was thinking: "Does he think Filipinos won't ever bother reading his book because it was all about cryptology and he's used a ton of math and that Filipinos wont understand the book anyway?! May calculus din sa Pinas ano!?!" All of that was going through my mind. I even had to close the book for a few days just get over the feeling I had.
Anyway, I guess it just shows how poor my emotional intelligence is.
I just realized that the only way we know on dealing with anger is either by keeping quiet or by bursting out in anger (let alone, habulin mo ng itak o magsampalan o suntukan --- sounds like a Filipino movie huh?). We never knew how to use the powerful middle ground that can turn things around. I myself snap too quickly on people with agressive behavior.
We've been taught not to answer back to our parents: "Ano!? Bakit mo ginawa yon?! Sumagot ka! O...o...o...sasagot ka pa!" Di ko talaga ma-gets. Inis na inis si Mommy sa akin kasi palasagot ako. Si Kyo naman kasi kaasar, pag napapagalitan, sinasarhan niya lang ang kuwerto niya at matutulog --- bwiset talaga! I am actually worried when I have my own kid, it will all boomerang. Though I would like to stand on my position that there is nothing wrong answering back to your parents --- that will teach your children to think about the consequences of their own actions and explaining why they did it --- maybe there is a side to their story (tingnan natin kung makakalusot). I think it is one of the reasons why Filipinos find it hard to articulate that we have an opposing opinion is because we've been trained to just accept and not question OR fight (in a very physical obvious manner) against something we dont agree in which I think is the case moreso often -- especially when it will lead to something sticky. But remember that aggressive behavior begets aggressive behavior. Remember that how you communicate with others, carries on how the conversation will go -- how the other party will act and react.
Don't expect a good meal if you're not nice to the waiter, it's one of the stupidest things you can do - expect sneezers instead.
Don't expect people to be nice to you if you're not nice to them. It's just the basic law of karma: cause and effect.
I know it is hard to deal with difficult people...I find the same problem everyday...and sometimes I'm the difficult party. Maybe forcing yourself to be nice isn't being "plastic". We should strive to remind ourselves that other people are simply reacting to the behavior we show them. Hopefully, that can make a world of a difference in our relationships with people around us.
I know I've been complaining a lot lately about the commute to work. Sorry to bore all of you about all that, just needed to vent a little bit. Actually, one of the things getting me through the day is getting home. We just moved last July 9. After 5 years of renting here in the US, renting all my life in the Philippines, finally, drumroll please...we have our own place. Yey! Fireworks please! :-)
A couple of years ago, we moved closer to work since we were renting in San Mateo anyway and we were 13 miles away. When we moved to Mountain View, I was 5 minutes away from the office, boy was I spoiled.
When we started looking for a house I was still optimistic that we'd be able to find something we can afford in the Mountain View area to be as close to work, to lessen the commute. But there was just nothing we can practically afford. So we expanded our search and after viewing several houses, we found it: Home Sweet Home.
We are really happy about the place we found in Union City. We had a great real estate agent who was recommended by Ate Anna, recommended by one of her previous co-worker. Let us know if you need one coz he really is great. You really need one especially when you're not buying a brand new home. Because sellers also have agents and I'm sure you wouldn't want to deal with them directly.
Anyway, now we're closer to family. Kyo, Ate Anna and Kamille lives about 0.7 of a mile away, maybe closer if you try to walk. We usually go to their place on weekends anyway. Ninong Rudy, Ninang Aveling (Mommy's Aunt), Dave and Ryan (their sons, our uncles who are younger than us! :-) I have to congratulate Ninong and Ninang as they have grown up as really nice kids.) is close. They actually live in Fremont but we live right about the border of Fremont and Union City, so it's still close by. It's just nice to be close to family especially when you're thousands of miles away from home.
I'll be uploading some before and after pictures soon. With the move and all, I could not find the charger for the digital camera. Hopefully, we'll get out of boxes in a couple of weeks, months. Bobby did a lot of work on the place. We were both excited about listing the projects we wanted to work on. The list got quite long -- but after realizing how much it is gonna cost, we've narrowed down the list to the really important ones for now. Hopefully, we can get to the nice-to-have's later. We'll keep you posted.
Found out the company had a transportation subsidy program which you can use on any public transportation in the SF Bay Area. So I went online to see my route so I can hopefully try it for next week...I am so happy thinking I'll have a way around not having to drive to work :-)
Unfortunately, here was the result 511.org's trip planner gave me.
It will take me 2 1/2 hours to get to work compared to the 20 minute drive. I will need to take 2 buses, a train, another bus and walk quarter of a mile to get to work!
Plus, you have to be at the bus station at the exact time otherwise, you will have to wait for another 15 to 30 minutes depending on what time of day it is. Before, when we didn't have a car yet, I used to commute from San Mateo to Mountain View. My bag would be filled with bus and train schedules, mostly the same but I always worry not having one on my hands. Because if you didn't know what time to be there, you'd be waiting for a loooong time. Several times I've missed all the buses and would have to walk 2 miles to the train station, mga 45 minutes din sa bagal ko maglakad. Most of the times I'd just cry, because I am almost there when I would see the train leave. One time it was a little over 8pm, I got to the train station walking through San Antonio Road. It was already dark and that street isn't well lit in that area, I was crossing the last street to the train station and I saw the train just passing by. Darn, I missed it! The next train comes at 9pm.
Looking back at all that, I think driving is still my best option. I guess I don't really have a choice. Wish me luck.
After 9 business days, Bessie, our ninang sa wedding who's asked Bobby to man the remittance store she opened finally decided to close the shop before losing more money on it --- rent is high, you can count the people going inside the store with your fingers in one hand, computer peripherals breaking and needing to be replaced only to find out the replacement doesn't work with that type of computer, just one disaster after another, etc --- you'll be surprised when Murphy's Law proves itself. It was nice coz Bobby got to drive with me to the other side of the bay, we get to save gas and toll coz we get to carpool. And the best thing of all, I get to just sit in the passenger chair not having to worry about driving --- lazy ass ooops. Oh well, good things never last...
But today, I need to really practice driving to work. Otherwise, it is too impractical for Bobby to drive me in and pick me up in the afternoon. Especially now, with the mortgage payments -- every penny counts.
And so we walk to the garage, as usual I walk to the passenger side --- as what I got used to. And Bobby calls me and says: "O, ikaw ang mag-drive!". That's where the system broke down.
Though I already have my driver's license, after 3 tries, God bless the soul of the examiner on my 3rd test --- of course a lot would disagree, "What was she thinking letting a menace like me loose on the road?!" Anyway, hey! Give me a little credit, after taking 3 exams you get to get better --- believe me, you really get to know the road rules, but applying it? That's another thing. Well anyway, for me, all I need to do is get from Point A to Point B.
But with your husband as your coach? I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of marriages ended up in divorce because of this. You'll definitely notice how dismayed he is everytime I hit the breaks, or step on the gas --- even with just my peripheral vision, "You're wasting gas" is what I see on his face. There is tension definitely. He gets to be nit picky about the tiniest little things like: "Ayusin mo hawak mo sa manibela." or "Sa kaliwa ka pumina..wag sa kanan!" or "OH MY GOD, intay ka muna bago ka mag-merge!!! May truck!!! Mamamatay tayo nyan!!!". Ok, ok not too tiny I guess.
But we made it in one piece to the office, thank God! That's why you pay a lot for insurance and AAA I guess.
Anyway, here's a word of advice for those of you who want to save your marriage: there's a reason why there are driving instructors. Call Mr. Tsuei, it is better to spend $65 an hour than wreck your marriage.
Saturday Night...we've been alcohol-free for quite a while, I know the barkada at home will sound surprised...we had friends come over at our new place...we've moved just last Saturday --- which forced us to clean up all the boxes in the living room. Man, I still feel all beat up. I'm sure Bobby will just start laughing at how lame I've been with anything that has to do with lifting or organizing coz he did most of it, hey, but still! We stayed up all Friday night cleaning up till just an hour before folks came over...felt like HGTV (which by the way is one of my favorite network these days, I wonder why) doing something like While you were Out.
My favorite sister-in-law Ate Anna (meron pa bang iba hehehe) and Kamille my niece, an expecting big sister, came earlier. They went with us to Home Depot to return some stuff (which is the only store we go to now by the way --- if they sold grocery there, we'd probably shop there as well). Guess what? Two sets vinyl blinds I measured for the upstairs window...off by more than a foot! How can I be off by more than a foot!? To think I wrote it down twice coz both windows had the same size...oh well, good thing I still have the receipts. Kamille had been complaining this past year as they've been going there all the time for a while when they just got their house last year: "Parati na lang Home Depot, Lowes, Home Depot Lowes. Punta naman tayo sa pambata!"
Ann (Bobby's cousin) and her husband Alvin stayed with us straight from their house in Sacramento, dropped by around 6pm to drop by what Alvin was cooking for Sunday morning --- Curry, wish we had Roti huh? Ann and I are blessed with husbands who can cook really well. Should I say blessed? I'm sure folks will not be able to recognize me now when they see me, blame it all on Bob! :-)
Eric Tanlapco, Bobby's neighbor from Pasig and his wife Mitch, my batchmate from LB came over. Ayon inuman till 2-3-4-ish in the morning. It was weird when Bobby first saw Eric in Kamille's birthday party. They both looked at each other and pointed at the same time: O!
Of course we were both shocked coz we only knew each other post-college at Maginet. But surprisingly, we knew common friends. It really is a small world.
Bea, their 6-yr old kid was up with Kamille playing some online game on the computer, neopets.com. Very behaved naman at sobrang lambing kay Mitch. The 2 really had fun together. Unlike sa Pinas na paglabas lang ng bahay e may kalaro ka na, kids here are lucky to see kids at parties or play dates set specifically by their parents. Imagine needing an appointment to play? Anyway I guess it worked out well, otherwise either one of them would have been bored.
Hitting 2 birds with one stone, while parents are out drinking, syempre play date na rin for the kids hehehe It was fun to have fun once again. Sus parang nakalimutan ko na ata kung pano gumimik sa katagalan. Hopefully, we'll get to do this more often.
I've always thought everybody is "special" in their own way...it was only recently when I realized that --- that by itself is conflicting enough. We've always looked at different reasons why we're more special than others: either being more pretty, more intelligent, more talented or artistic, more sporty etc.
People have been trying so hard to set themselves apart, only to find that there are more people who do/has it better and with the struggle to do this we forget what is more important...we forget that we are only special because we have people in our lives who think we are special...without them we are nothing.
These past 5 years, all I ever did was work and work harder...I'd imagine if Bobby wasn't around our fish would die. Because I wouldn't even remember to feed them, I think they know. And it is true, there will always be something to do at work, and it will NeVeR be done!!! This is still work in progress...trying to delineate between work and personal life. Coz work is just work, it's not your life.
Always remember that life is too short --- 100 years by Five for Fighting really makes me sad. Well so does Mondays. I guess it could just be it!!! All these ramblings and it just boils down to the saddest day of the week!?!
Anyway, I still mean what I just wrote...with our quest for the meaning of life, let's not forget what really counts. It sounds corny I know, but its true.
Woohoo! Finally, the Half-blood Prince is coming tonite! Yeah, I guess this post sounds like I'm excited about the birth of some evil creature but at this day and age, who does not know Harry Potter? I'm amazed at how the Harry Potter series has increased readership for kids these days...well, I guess for me as well. I have not really been fond of reading and always thought it was a chore, probably associating it so much with studying. A few years back, if I has said "reading is fun", I would probably have said, "yeah right". But thanks to J.K. Rowling, I've loved reading again.
Looks like it really is a blogger's world...so finally, I took the courage to start one of my own. I feel like I've been disconnected with friends and family for so long!!! SORRY talaga...well I know there is no excuse...it used to be work...and again work...and up until now, same alibi as usual...I know, I know! Anyway, I am so excited to finally do something other than work...Ok...that's the end of that word for me on my posts -- well, ok... I'll try.
I hope this wouldn't be my last post, and hopefully we can get updated with each others lives once again...miss ko na kayong lahat.
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