Still breathing, folks :)
Over the course of the last two weeks, my to-do list at the Desk has ballooned from 20-plus to over 35 items late last week. Today, Wednesday, I have managed to trim it down to 25 ... so far ... but the deadlines are on the hound.
However, before I go insane though, I decided to take a break and write a few warbles (it's a Wednesday, after all) and to let you know that I'm still here, alive and kicking (and getting a caffeine fix to get the gray matter going).
* * * *
Initial thoughts on George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones?
I'm only on page 184 of the mass market paperback edition but at this early in the reading, I could say that the plot (and plots and sub-plots and counter-plots) is already beginning to thicken. We're already beginning to see the pieces of the entire machinery of the series starting to move and it could only get more complex (and complexer) as the series progresses. We're getting hints of motives and motivations, of the politics and intricacies of ruleship that define the reign of King Robert Baratheon, of the incoming conflict that would result in the power struggle all amidst the drapery of an incoming winter spell.
Brilliant! Brilliantly written and that GRRM is one heck of a writer. I do hope the rest of the series doesn't disappoint. But judging from the praise the series has received all over (resulting to a TV adaptation), there's little to doubt that the series will disappoint.
After reading the opening chapters, I definitely need to get my hands on the next set of books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series to avoid the "bitin" syndrome.
* * * *
How do you explain religious differences toa 4-year old?
I was posed this question earlier this morning by my daughter. Apparently, one of the assignments given by their teacher is that all students should bring a rosary everyday (Ikai goes to St. Paul's College - Makati, even if she is Protestant-christened). And being the 4-year old she is, she has said that she has to bring a rosary because all her classmates were bringing theirs.
I told her that she doesn't need to bring a rosary because she was not Catholic.
"What is Catholic, Papa?"
Uh-oh, cornered.
After a few seconds of thinking about the best way to answer a 4-year old, I sat beside her and proceeded to explain religious schism. I told her that all people prayed and believed in only One God. That everyone believed in Jesus as well. However, I told Ikai that not all people prayed and believed in God and Jesus in the same way. There are groups of people who are called Catholics who pray to God in one way and then there are others called Protestant who pray to God another way. It just so happened that she goes to a Catholic school even though she is a Protestant.
I told her that she doesn't have to follow how her classmates pray to God but that there's no harm if she wants to follow as well.
A bit too much to digest but I think Ikai understood. She's a bright little girl after all.
But to comfort her, I got her diary and scrawled a note to her teacher asking if Ikai, being a Protestant, needs to bring a rosary as well. I told Ikai she has to show her diary to her teacher and that her teacher will answer. If however my daughter still wants a rosary (it's hard to feel different from the rest of your classmates, of course -- she's only 4 after all), we agreed that she will ask her grandparents (my parents, of course) for a rosary.
"May rosary naman sila Lolo Ely sa car, di ba?"
I think someone little is being too tad observant and has one heck of a memory :)
* * * *
Walking along the same lines, I think our daughter is having a bit of crisis of faith, in her own way of course. And that's probably partly our fault as we enrolled her in an all-Catholic school.
As it is unavoidable, Catholic students do Catholic things -- pray specificied prayers and do the sign of the cross. They're even taught that. Ikai of course, wasn't taught those things. Even in Sunday School at the UCCP Cosmopolitan Church, there were no set prayers or sign of the crosses. They pray, they sing praises, they do Christian stuff -- the Protestant way.
So, it's a bit confusing for her right now so I guess that's why the talk about Catholics and Protestants this morning might help.
I just thought about this a few secs back because I remember when I accompanied Ikai on her school field trip last month, before the bus left, her teacher led the prayer -- "In the Name of the Father, the Son ..." and I espied Ikai minutely doing the sign of the cross, taking care that I didn't see her making the Catholic prayer gesture. But the small movements caught my attention and she looked sheepishly at me, embarassed at being caught as if doing something wrong.
I smiled at her and told her it was alright if she wanted to do the sign of the cross. No harm done. None offense taken.
* * * *
I saw my weighing scale this morning after I got out of the shower. So, I said to myself, let's see if all the calorie-counting I've been doing the past several weeks has been helping.
I adjusted the knob so that the needles points exactly to "0", stepped on the scale and voila -- 200lbs?! I can't farkin believe it. So, I get off again and on again and the needle still points to 200.
So, I step off again and for the third time step on the scale and this time the needle went 202 lbs. Repeated attempts resulted to 202-ish marks. That settled it.
Still an improvement from my 206 lbs. a month ago. I need to rev up the walking regimen and keep on calorie counting.
* * * *
Right, time to get back to work now. Ciao!
Talkin' 'bout stuff over steaming cups of coffee. Grab a seat and be part of the chit-chat.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, September 05, 2011
monday mumblings: moron -- not the person, charlie and the choco fact, book to bring on a trip, sicknesses in the family
Alright, I changed my mind over the weekend about reading 52.
I realized I needed to read first Infinite Crisis before hitting 52 and since I don't have a complete copy of IC yet, I have to defer reading 52 then. Makes sense, otherwise I won't understand what was going on when the storyline first emerged in the DC Universe some years back.
Instead, I found an old copy of Roald Dahl's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory sitting in my bookshelf last Friday evening and decided to read it. It's a short read, bound to be done in a few hours (if I get those few hours tonight).
The book has already spawned a couple of theatrical releases. Initially in 1971 which was entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which the author disowned as the story focused more on Wonka (played by Gene Wilder) rather than on Charlie Bucket, the protagonist of the tale. In 2005, Johnny Depp took on the Wonka character in the more-properly adapted film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which also starred Freddie Highmore as Charlie. I have yet to see the Gene Wilder-starrer but I've partially seen the Johnny Depp and I've liked what I seen. I will have to secure myself a DVD copy of the Tim Burton-directed film version.
Going back to the book, this is probably the youngest book I've ever read (discounting of course the books of my daughters, Ikai and Issa) and in my opinion, is a tad even younger than The Mysterious Benedict Society series.
* * * *
I'll be off on a business road trip this mid-week and while I'm hoping to get some fiction writing done, it'll be somewhat impossible given that I won't be bringing any laptop with me. It'll be back to basics pad and pen style if I do any writing. It's going to be likely more plotting and outlining rather than writing but that still going to be progress especially with a month-end deadline forthcoming.
* * * *
I'll be bringing along for the trip, A Game of Thrones. It's about time I work on this book to see what the fuss was all about and whether the next volumes of the series merit the pesos I'll be shelling out.
Depending on how long I'll be gone, I usually pack one to two books plus I carry a laptop that contains more reading materials, just in case. This time around though, I've got no rig on hand so if the PSP doesn't consume all my free time then GRRM's A Game of Thrones will be my main entertainment.
Of course, there's always cable TV.
But then again, depending on what province you travel or the type of hotel you stay in, there's no 100% guarantee the cable TV will be quite good. Better to have a good book on hand, just in case.
* * * *
Came in late for work today as Ikai had to be brought to the hospital as she's had high fever since yesterday afternoon.
Elvie and I woke up several times during the evening to monitor her temperature which hovered in the 38's. This morning, even though Ikai was singing and dancing around, her temp still hovered in the high 37's so we decided to bring her to the hospital for a check-up.
Of course, dengue is the unspoken fear we hope against the most however, the ER docs said it's quite too early to test her for that. They instead ordered a urinalysis to check whether she has UTI or a viral infection. After finally getting urine sample from Ikai after a couple of hours at the hospital, the doc told us we could take her home and observe her there. If the fever continues until tomorrow, we're bringing her back for a CBC.
Hopefully, she'll get well soon as she has practices to attend for her Twinkler Scout investiture on Friday (alas, I am away and cannot witness the occasion).
* * * *
I was in the hospital last night as well.
My father had flu-like symptoms since last Friday and after much egging, he finally permitted himself to be checked up. Good thing I was in Laguna yesterday evening and I accompanied my folks to a nearby hospital for the check-up.
CBC and urinalysis came out clear so the doc suspected viral infection in the throat area (aka trangkaso) since Papa also had a cold and slight coughing spells.
After an hour or so at the ER, my father was discharged.
* * * *
Moron (pronounced moo-ron not mow-ron) is a native delicacy of several provinces in the Philippines, namely in Leyte and Samar and most recently, I learned from Butuan as well.
It's a suman (rice-cake) made from milled rice, blended with coconut gata (coconut milk), flavored with chocolate, and wrapped in banana leaves and resembles a tamale or corndog in shape. Over the long weekend last week, I was the proponent for the making of moron at Laguna. I helped out of course, helping in stirring the quickly-massing milled rice and coconut (continuous stirring is needed to keep the mixture from sticking to the pan as it becomes a sticky dough-like substance) and in shaping the two dough flavors into small flat cakes for blending later on.
Last time my parents came home from their hometown in Samar, they brought with them commercialized moron which were sold at P75 a dozen -- freakin' robbery considering that the morons were roughly just about four inches long and an inch in diameter. In contrast, the moron we usually make at home are about half-a-ruler in length and somewhere near one and a half inches thick.
Last night, I went home with lots of moron in a bag :P
Last week when we cooked moron at Laguna, there were still a lot of banana leaves left over. Last Friday, rather than allowing the banana leaves to go to waste, my parents decided to cook another batch of morons so that the banana leaves would become useful. How's that for reasoning? :P
I realized I needed to read first Infinite Crisis before hitting 52 and since I don't have a complete copy of IC yet, I have to defer reading 52 then. Makes sense, otherwise I won't understand what was going on when the storyline first emerged in the DC Universe some years back.
Instead, I found an old copy of Roald Dahl's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory sitting in my bookshelf last Friday evening and decided to read it. It's a short read, bound to be done in a few hours (if I get those few hours tonight).
The book has already spawned a couple of theatrical releases. Initially in 1971 which was entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which the author disowned as the story focused more on Wonka (played by Gene Wilder) rather than on Charlie Bucket, the protagonist of the tale. In 2005, Johnny Depp took on the Wonka character in the more-properly adapted film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which also starred Freddie Highmore as Charlie. I have yet to see the Gene Wilder-starrer but I've partially seen the Johnny Depp and I've liked what I seen. I will have to secure myself a DVD copy of the Tim Burton-directed film version.
Going back to the book, this is probably the youngest book I've ever read (discounting of course the books of my daughters, Ikai and Issa) and in my opinion, is a tad even younger than The Mysterious Benedict Society series.
* * * *
I'll be off on a business road trip this mid-week and while I'm hoping to get some fiction writing done, it'll be somewhat impossible given that I won't be bringing any laptop with me. It'll be back to basics pad and pen style if I do any writing. It's going to be likely more plotting and outlining rather than writing but that still going to be progress especially with a month-end deadline forthcoming.
* * * *
I'll be bringing along for the trip, A Game of Thrones. It's about time I work on this book to see what the fuss was all about and whether the next volumes of the series merit the pesos I'll be shelling out.
Depending on how long I'll be gone, I usually pack one to two books plus I carry a laptop that contains more reading materials, just in case. This time around though, I've got no rig on hand so if the PSP doesn't consume all my free time then GRRM's A Game of Thrones will be my main entertainment.
Of course, there's always cable TV.
But then again, depending on what province you travel or the type of hotel you stay in, there's no 100% guarantee the cable TV will be quite good. Better to have a good book on hand, just in case.
* * * *
Came in late for work today as Ikai had to be brought to the hospital as she's had high fever since yesterday afternoon.
Elvie and I woke up several times during the evening to monitor her temperature which hovered in the 38's. This morning, even though Ikai was singing and dancing around, her temp still hovered in the high 37's so we decided to bring her to the hospital for a check-up.
Of course, dengue is the unspoken fear we hope against the most however, the ER docs said it's quite too early to test her for that. They instead ordered a urinalysis to check whether she has UTI or a viral infection. After finally getting urine sample from Ikai after a couple of hours at the hospital, the doc told us we could take her home and observe her there. If the fever continues until tomorrow, we're bringing her back for a CBC.
Hopefully, she'll get well soon as she has practices to attend for her Twinkler Scout investiture on Friday (alas, I am away and cannot witness the occasion).
* * * *
I was in the hospital last night as well.
My father had flu-like symptoms since last Friday and after much egging, he finally permitted himself to be checked up. Good thing I was in Laguna yesterday evening and I accompanied my folks to a nearby hospital for the check-up.
CBC and urinalysis came out clear so the doc suspected viral infection in the throat area (aka trangkaso) since Papa also had a cold and slight coughing spells.
After an hour or so at the ER, my father was discharged.
* * * *
Moron (pronounced moo-ron not mow-ron) is a native delicacy of several provinces in the Philippines, namely in Leyte and Samar and most recently, I learned from Butuan as well.
It's a suman (rice-cake) made from milled rice, blended with coconut gata (coconut milk), flavored with chocolate, and wrapped in banana leaves and resembles a tamale or corndog in shape. Over the long weekend last week, I was the proponent for the making of moron at Laguna. I helped out of course, helping in stirring the quickly-massing milled rice and coconut (continuous stirring is needed to keep the mixture from sticking to the pan as it becomes a sticky dough-like substance) and in shaping the two dough flavors into small flat cakes for blending later on.
Last time my parents came home from their hometown in Samar, they brought with them commercialized moron which were sold at P75 a dozen -- freakin' robbery considering that the morons were roughly just about four inches long and an inch in diameter. In contrast, the moron we usually make at home are about half-a-ruler in length and somewhere near one and a half inches thick.
Last night, I went home with lots of moron in a bag :P
Last week when we cooked moron at Laguna, there were still a lot of banana leaves left over. Last Friday, rather than allowing the banana leaves to go to waste, my parents decided to cook another batch of morons so that the banana leaves would become useful. How's that for reasoning? :P
Monday, April 04, 2011
monday mumblings: goodbye leila, new rig, new book, new way to escape traffic to tagaytay
Last week ended on a rather sad note.
Last Saturday as I was getting ready for a day at the mall, I received a text message from a former colleague that another former colleague of ours, and a dear and wonderful friend, Leila Luna-Cacanindin, had just passed away.
Leila had been battling a form of ovarian cancer for about 7 months now. Unfortunately, her body, already weakened by the ordeal wasn't able to last any longer but as narrated by her mother and her husband, she was still being funny and her usual jolly self towards the end. And according to her mom, she just slept and didn't suffer any pain when she relinquished her hold on life early morning of Saturday.
Yesterday, a group of Leila's friends and colleagues (present and former) including myself and Elvie trekked to Tagaytay to pay our respects to our dearly departed friend and console Lei's loved ones.
Our condolences to Leila's bereaved loved ones, including her mother, her husband Obet, and her daughter, Yshia.
* * * *
Our entourage to Leila's wake included a certain 4-year old with a knack for asking questions that demand rather hard-to-explain answers.
While Ikai primarily went with us because she wanted to see Ate Yshia (Ikai attended Yshia's seventh birthday last January), she also got to see a a departed person in a coffin for the first time in her life. While she did not show any fear or apprehension, she of course was curious about all that was happening inside Yshia's home.
Before the wake, we had already explained to her in as simple terms as possible the circumstances about Leila's death, euphemizing death as "the sleep you never wake up from". We told her that Yshia's mom is already in heaven with Jesus and that people are going to be sad and some might be crying because they won't be able to be with Yshia's mom. I even tried explaining to her using science -- explaining that the spirit is like the phase of matter gas -- can't be seen and that this
spirit/gas has already went to heaven leaving the solid / body behind.
Arriving home last night from the wake, Ikai got me cornered and peppered me with more questions.
Apparently, she thought that heaven was the rectangular box Leila's mother was in so I had to explain that the coffin wasn't heaven and that heaven was somewhere else. She asked where and I said no one knows (a hard answer to say to a child, mind you). I again tried to explain that sometimes people sleep forever and never wake up and that they leave loved ones behind and reunite with them later on (as in really later on and not just like next week or so)
I believe in the course of that 20-minutes-something conversation I may have used words such as death, dead people, spirit, ghost, heaven, after-life, etc. etc. but I don't think I made the notion of death any clearer to her.
However, when I closed my eyes for a bit, Ikai suddenly shook my arm and said in a rather alarmed voice, "Bakit mo close yung eyes mo, Papa?".
I ended the conversation (before it turned morbid) by saying that things like death and dead people she will understand when she gets older. Ikai started to say why again but I cut her off with a basta and again told her that when she gets older, she'll understand.
* * * *
The big red car is missing one mudguard so while in SM Megamall last Saturday, I found myself inside Concorde, the car accessories shop hoping to score a new mudguard.
After a few minutes of going around the shop, I found the mudguards but they had no Innova '07 mudguards on display. I went to a store personnel and asked where I could find '07 Innova mudguards and after receiving a baffled look, he directed me to another part of the store and pointed to door sunvisors and promptly left me for another customer. Egad!
To their credit, they had a lot of customers that time so I guess they were hilong-talilong so I forgave the first chap and proceeded to get the attention of another store personnel. I went to one and asked if they had the mudguards I needed. He motioned affirmative and led me to another area in the store, pointed at the shelf and left. Unfortunately, he pointed to those decorative fiber glass
stuff you could put on your vehicle's hood. What I needed went under the car, not above it.
Seeing that getting the right mudguard would be pointless at that time, I left the store but not before commenting to the lady security guard that their store personnel needed additional training.
* * * *
There's a new rig in the apartment.
That was the main reason for the trip to Megamall as we had ample resource to buy a new rig.
But it wasn't a full laptop that we purchased but a netbook, an Asus Eee PC which we scored for a very friendly amount. Albeit, the downside is that it didn't come with an OS so before the 30-day trial lapses, I need to get the netbook installed with a full Windows 7 OS. I asked if it were possible to install Windows XP on it but the personnel at Complink told me that the netbook's drivers were meant for at least a Windows 7 OS. I guess that settled it.
The new Asus is a decent enough machine -- 1 GB DDR3 memory with a 250GB hard disk. It runs on an Intel Atom N450 processor with integrated video graphics. I don't expect to play Sims 2 on this machine but it had no problem running the FB games I play. It's not as fast as I had hoped it would be but then again, the machine does what it's meant to do -- surf the net, connect to wi-fi, and well, although untested yet, I think it'll be able to do your usual MS Office stuff: word processing, MS Excel, and probably Power Point.
For the meantime, this netbook will have to do. We're still looking at purchasing a full laptop but it's not a priority right now.
* * * *
A day after writing that I was meaning to buy as my next book purchase James A. Owen's The Search for the Red Dragon, I contradicted myself and bought instead the second installment of The Mysterious Benedict Society.
In all honesty, I already had The Search for the Red Dragon in my hand at Power Books last Saturday and was on my way to the cashier (with my daughter, Ikai, in tow after we purchased a couple of activity books for her) when I espied the second volume of Trenton Lee Stewart's series hawked on the stands at a irresistably lower price.
I immediately looked again at the price of the book I had in my hand -- Php 379 -- and looked again at The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey on the display -- Php 279 -- and after a few seconds of thinking of buying the two books, I sheepishly returned the higher priced book to its shelf. Sorry, James. Next time.
I still ended up paying Php 295 for the Stewart book. Why? Because I overlooked their ad -- they were selling the book for Php 279 if you bought it with a Citibank credit card. Since I bought the book in cash, I didn't get the discount (on most occasions, the promo works the other way around, you get a lower price if you pay in cash).
And here's the clincher ... I found myself at Fully Booked Greenbelt over lunch today and smacked my forehead with my hand in utter disbelief --- Fully Booked was selling the same Stewart book for a freaking Php 280! I've been had!
* * * *
Incidentally, Fully Booked also sells the third volume of The Mysterious Benedict Society series entitled The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma at a slightly higher price -- Php 285. Resisted the urge to bring out the wallet and hurried myself out of Fully Booked before my impulsive book-buying self emerged.
* * * *
Dreading the weekend traffic to Tagaytay on the usual route?
Take the alternate -- via Aguinaldo Hi-Way.
It's not a shortcut. It's a longer route but it gets you to Tagaytay faster (for now) because you avoid the traffic hassles of Paseo de Sta. Rosa and Nuvali (both ways!).
From SLEX, exit either at Southwoods or Carmona and head off to Governor's Drive. Drive the route all the way to SM Dasma and then turn left on Aguinaldo Hi-way. It's then a straight travel up to the Tagaytay rotunda. Saves you some 40 minutes of travel time and when you drive a stick shift like I do, you would want to avoid the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay road traffic jams at all cost!
It's actually not a new route. It's actually an old route but people have generally by-passed it in favor of the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road because the latter is shorter. Unfortunately, like I said, the developments along the shorter route to Tagaytay have compounded the traffic jams that made traveling the shorter route take a longer time.
Monday, October 04, 2010
monday mumblings: frustrations at work, jetpack, walk-xercise, unread books, job opening
How long does it take to upload a website page if the website has been existent for eons and the page in question is a mere 23kb? In my experience, no longer than 5 minutes. So, why does it take more than 3 days for people here at the Desk to do it? Up until this writing, the page in question is still not updated. To top it all of, I had to fill in a request form and email the persons concerned but it still this doesn't get done.
I hate to compare but in my previous gig, I was in-charge of updating the websites and when we needed to update a page or an entire website even it didn't take more than an hour to do so. And we did it with less paperwork at that -- helps save the trees even. But here at the Desk, it's a different story altogether and I don't know if the paperwork -- the actual and the virtual -- really works or if they are just exercises in futility.
This is just frustrating. That's why my website project at the Desk isn't taking off.
* * * *
A quick cyber surf yields an interesting bit of news straight out of science-fiction: jetpacks are coming!
Over at Digital-Trends, Ryan Fleming reports that jetpacks may soon be heading out of the sci-fi books and comics and onto consumers' backs as aviation company Martin Aircraft looks to make jetpacks commercially available.
The Martin jetpack doesn't look like the jetpack used in Rocketeer or the one used by Adam Strange of Rann or even Flash Gordon which are all sized as big as your average backpack. The one being developed by Martin looks more like one that Ace McCloud of Centurions fame might don (weighs at least 250 lbs). But heck, it's a jetpack and a working one at that. However, it won't be readily available to the average consumer yet as it's quite pricey at US$100,000 but for sure, as technology advances, this jumbo jetpack will eventually be scaled down to manageable size and the price will surely drop.
Here's an excerpt from Fleming's story:
"Currently Martin Aircraft Company is fulfilling an order for 500 jetpacks to be used by emergency services, as well as four unnamed defense companies. As of right now, the company's focus is to produce jetpacks specifically for governmental purchase, but they are seeking funding to build at least one new factory with the purpose of producing jetpacks for the average (extremely rich) customer.
The Martin jetpack comes in two models. One is pretty much what you would expect a jetpack to be- it is a device that can carry a person to infinity and beyond, assuming that infinity is less than the 8000 feet ceiling or the 31.5 miles distance that travelling at the maximum regulated speed of 63mph will take you. With a full tank of gas, that would last roughly 30 minutes, although Martin Aircraft expects that to improve as the manufacturing process becomes more efficient.
The jetpack operates the way you would imagine it. You strap it on, you fly. The principals aren't all that difficult to comprehend. That might be a little bit of an oversimplification, and possibly a touch insulting to the extremely bright and dedicated engineers that have spent years working on the project, but really, how much convincing do you need that a jetpack is a good thing? You put it on, and suddenly you can fly. Everything else is details.
If you are one of "those" people that absolutely needs to know the specs on the combustion engine that you might one day soon be strapping to your back, the Martin jetpack uses a gasoline powered V4, 2.0 liter engine capable of producing 200 hp. In fact, the name "jetpack" is actually a bit of a misnomer, as there is not jet involved. But "Enginepack" just isn't as sexy. It is a carbon fiber design that weighs around 250lbs before adding safety equipment, and at maximum thrust it can carry more than 600 lbs, so even the bulky NFL player that just signed a multi-million dollar contract extension can get in on the action. Can you honestly see Terrell Owens NOT buying one of these?
The standard equipment for the jetpack is slightly unique. While Ferrari might give you a hat or a lovely keychain when you purchase one of their products, they probably do not include a flight and engine display, a harness, a retractable undercarriage that absorbs energy, or a ballistic parachute. All of which come standard with the Martin Jetpack."
Head on over to Digital Trends to read the entire story or click here.
Photo is a copyright of Martin Aircraft. All rights remain with them.
* * * *
Just had pre-lunch or mid-morning snack (depends on your POV) of home-made tuna sandwich. Breakfast was a mango donut (300 calories!) and a cup of hot choco. I also had 7-11 Vanilla Cupcake gourmet vendo coffee which will probably up my current calories to somewhere around 1,000 and I have a 300 calorie lunch coming up. That leaves around 700 calories for meryenda and dinner as I'm trying to ensure I don't go over 2,000 calories a day.
There are days, of course, that it can't be helped but generally, I've been able to keep myself at below 200 lbs. Credit that to all the walking I've been doing at every possible opportunity. Having a car helps with mobility surely but it has reduced the amount of time I used to allocate to walk-xercises. These days, I try to find time to do this so as to make sure I get enough activity to burn off the fat and the excess sugars.
UPDATE: Just had lunch -- leftover menudo from last night with rice and a banana. Like I said, 300 calories roughly for lunch. Now, need to walk downstairs at least 10 times to lose this!
* * * *
Hence, for easy readings after a hard day's work at the Desk, I'm re-reading Butch Dalisay's Barfly -- a collection of columns that appeared in the defunct Today broadsheet (Today has since merged with Manila Standard) written by Palanca Hall of Famer Jose Dalisay who incidentally was my professor in the basic Creative Writing course I took up as an elective during my junior year in Peyups.
I'm not yet in that state of mind where I'll appreciate a complex storyline from a spec-fic book so aside Barfly, I'm also re-reading Lester Wunderman's Being Direct, which from previous posts I'm sure I said is a source of inspiration for my chosen career path.
And oh yes, I've mentioned I've been reading a lot of comic books of late as well.
When I have the time and the right state of mind, that's when I'll be able to tackle Stephenson's Anathem and other books that still are waiting to be unwrapped like the anthology Extraordinary Engines, The Difference Engine, and Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors short fiction. I'm sure there are other unread books still waiting to see the light out there in my bookcase and I'm sure I'll continue to add more and more books because -- I don't do drugs but books drug me :P
* * * *
Work is piling up at the Desk. I need help.
We're looking for an Ad & Promo Assistant, preferably with at least a year's experience in either of the following: advertising, marketing, or corporate communications.
The biggest factor is that the person we will hire should be able to write and write well. We're talking about someone who can write ad copy for brochures, flyers, and streamers; and come up with a script or a spiel. He/She should also be able to write news and feature stories as he/she will be an integral part of the company newsletter. Oh, if he/she has web copy experience that would be a plus.
How old? Preferably younger than me as he/she will have the unfortunate luck of being under my auspices. Don't worry. I'm no hard taskmaster but I do expect results to be delivered!
Interested parties may get in touch with me via my Desk email rlragandan(at)veteransbank.com.ph. Be prepared to showcase your writing portfolio and be prepared to take a writing exam to test your skills!
Thursday, March 04, 2010
coffee is generally heart-friendly, studies say
Something fitting for a blog so-aptly named ...
COFFEE IS GENERALLY HEART-FRIENDLY
TUESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Coffee drinkers can take heart from a series of studies presented this week at American Heart Association conferences in San Francisco.
For example, coffee drinkers appear to have a lower risk of hospitalization for abnormal heart rhythms. And there's no indication that having a few cups every day increases the risk of atherosclerosis, the thickening of blood vessel walls that can lead to heart attacks and other problems. What's more, something in coffee other than caffeine might be responsible for a reduced risk of diabetes for women who regularly imbibe java.
Read the rest of the article here.
Do you believe in these studies? I do hope so as that means I can once again up the number of cups I can consume in a day :)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
wednesday warbles: komikon 2009, globe, health issues, homeless man
diss-connected
Until November 1, I will have to rely on my mobile pre-paid internet to gain web access from home and it can only do so (web-access, that is) in spurts. The signal at our apartment is just weak and unfortunately, the mobile pre-paid kit stabilizes at GPRS access, not at the supposedly-faster HSPDA platform.
After weeks of trying to coax out an answer from both Globe's hotline Customer Service and from their Globe Service Center in Greenbelt, they finally managed to release info that landline and internet service in our area in Makati will be restored by November 1.
Thanks for the Halloween gift but as I subscriber, I can't help but be pissed off by the quality of service being offered by Globe's CS department. They should seriously re-do their script and I honestly think that the quality of "real" service (as in substantative and qualitative service) has gone down.
What I'm trying to say (and meaning no offense to BPO-workers) is that I would rather talk to an impolite and rude company representative who can give to me straight the answers I need than to a sweet-talking CSR who profusely says sorry and offers a million apologies but who has no idea how to answer my questions. I think there are a lot of us consumers and subscribers who share similar experiences with call centers and their agents in that we don't usually get the quality of service we expect. The quality and substance of service should go beyond being polite and apologetic and repeating formulaic phrases over and over again; it should be relevant to the one who's on the other end of the line fuming mad.
philippine speculative fiction V submission
Last two days and nights (until 11:59pm of October 15 technically) to submit your entries for the fifth running of the anthology, Philippine Speculative Fiction, slated for publication Feb next year. Rules here.
It looks like I might be submitting after all but I'm not all that hopeful that what I will submit will make the final cut. But since the story has been completed, I just need one more look-over for final edits and I'll be blasting it off to the antho's editors (Nikki Alfar and Vin Simbulan) and then await what I expect to be a letter of rejection (yes, pessimistic me is speaking).
Whether my story gets accepted or not, this will be a good experience for me. The real, first step I'm taking into finally doing something about writing creatively for the spec-fic field. Otherwise, I would have abused myself again for coming up with excuses not to submit an entry.
komikon 2009
The leading names of local komiks (sans Carlo Caparas, hopefully) will be gathering at SM Megatrade Hall this Sunday, October 18, for Komikon 2009. It's bound to be a fun day filled with everything to do with comics -- new publications, artworks, comic book artists, publishers -- and Komikon is the culmination of the Philippine International Cartoons, Comics, and Animation (PICCA) event.
Gerry Alanguilan has already posted that Komikero Publishing will be coming out with two releases at Komikon: Elmer Collected Edition (I've been waiting for Gerry to collect his Elmer issues in one graphic novel-styled edition) and the highly-anticipated Where Boldstars Go to Die featuring the comics debut of Arlan Esmeña. Gerry is also featured in a graphic anthology published by Summit Media called Underpass along with other Pinoy comic greats, so this can not be missed.
I'm sure there will be lots of stuff to see and (sigh here), buy. So, I will have to allot several thousand pesos for what's bound to be a spending spree at Komikon :)
weighing the issue
I've grown a few pounds heavier in the last few months and that's a bad sign. I've been guilty of sneaking in more than a cupful of rice during dinner time and it didn't help that there were several events and occasions where I could not help but indulge.
The good news is that my sugar level is under control and I am now able to monitor it more frequently as I've finally bought for myself my own blood glucose monitoring device. The last time I tested my blood sugar was Monday, right after I opened my eyes in the morning, some 10 hours after my last meal (optimum testing time) and the result was an 84 mg/DL. Normal blood sugar levels are between 80 mg/DL and 115 mg/DL.
However, I need to resume some semblance of enhanced physical activity so that I can trim down the once-again-enroaching fat. The past few weeks of unpredictable weather have drastically affected my daily brisk-walk regimen and last night, I resumed brisk-walking home.
If I don't slim down to say, around 195 pounds on my next visit to my endocrinologist (for another blood-sucking session of lab-experiments), I'm going to hear her say I'm overly and grossly obese.
My wife has been egging me to buy that portable air-walker-whachumacallit device and I am just waiting for Shopwise to put that on sale again. It was being sold for P1000 when I went to Shopwise right after Ondoy but didn't have enough money with me. Alas, I also left my credit card at home. When we went for groceries last weekend, it was no longer for sale. One of these days, I hope to catch it in its drop-down price again. Outside, the same device sells for at least P2000.
And I need to buy a new bathroom scale. My relatively new scale was the unfortunate victim of my daughter who discovered a new way of using it -- as a trampoline.
It looks like it's high-time to get back to working on The Diabetic Daddy which has been on hiatus since August.
detour
While walking home last night I passed by the same homeless man along South Avenue. There was nothing unusual about that as I routinely pass by him and his mobile home (a wooden kariton filled with odds and ends) when I walk home except that yesterday he was animated. He was talking. And not just talking but having a debate -- with himself.
On other days I pass by him, he was usually quiet -- either he was just seated beside his kariton and idly looking over all who pass by, or, lying spread-eagle in his kariton, fast asleep.
Yesterday, with a PET bottle filled with either plain water or gin, he was again seated beside his kariton but talking and arguing and debating with someone I could not see.
And what topic was the homeless man schizophrenically or drunkenly debating with himself?
Jose Rizal.
As I drew further away, I could hear his voice in debate:
"Si Rizal, sa Calamba, Laguna yun lumaki. Sa Calamba!" (Rizal grew up in Calamba, Laguna. In Calama)
"Wala siya dyan sa J Rizal (street) na yan." (He's not there in J Rizal Street)
"Sa Calamba si Rizal lumaki hindi dyan sa J Rizal!" (Rizal grew up in Calamba, not in J Rizal!)
Just imagine the discourse happening in his mind -- purely spec-fic material!
eye contact
Incidentally, I'll be undergoing a minor eye surgery tomorrow to remove a cyst from my upper eye lid.
The cyst first came to life as a kuliti. Not because I was peeping, as people would say, but because my eyelashes managed to collect dirt and debris and made the corner of my eyelid their garbage bin. Hence, the kuliti. The disturbance however failed to respond to medication and after seeing an eye doc earlier this week, I've decided to have it lanced.
So, after the operation tomorrow morning, I'll be a one-eyed Jack for probably a good part of the day.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
stress tested
Aside from the Big D, since a month ago I've been undergoing treatment for hypertension as well.
A fairly recent development, my blood pressure remained high for several days prompting me to go pay a cardio a visit. He suspected too much salt intake as the cause of the BP elevation but to be sure, he had me undertake a 2D echo test and when the results of that test were ok, he then subjected me to the treadmill stress test.
That treadmill stress test happened this morning.
In a nutshell, this test will measure a person's cardio-vascular activity (heart rate, blood pressure, etc.) while being stressed out -- via the treadmill. The test will have you work on a treadmill and in stages, the difficulty level increases making you (and your cardio-vasculars) work harder. The treadmill stress test had seven stages but a person does not have to complete all seven. He/She only has to go to his/her maximum capacity.
The seven stages are divided into minutes of three each and at each stage, the speed of the treadmill increases and is inclined a notch steeper.
I reached Stage 4, however, lasted only one minute in the stage which had me only doing light jogging (yes, I am that unfit).
Stage 1 was normal walk (which seemed un-normal to me as it was definitely faster than the average speed I often pedal myself -- and people already consider me a faster-than-average walker) while Stage 2 had you walking a half-step quicker. Stage 3 was already brisk-walking and like I said, Stage 4 was already light jogging. By Stage 3, I was already sweating gallons!
How did they measure the performance of your cardio-vascular system?
The treadmill machine was by no means your ordinary, run-of-the-mill treadmill but a specially-built machine for stress testing. Think of a regular treadmill then attach a computer beside it. The "computer" is the ECG machine that churns out data progressively. And how is data fed into the ECG machine? Via connectors pasted on your heart area that will monitor you as you treadmill.
A total of 10 round connectors where plastered on my chest, most of them around the left chest area for obvious reasons. But parts of my chest hair had to be shaved off so that the connectors would stick :P Then, when I got to the machine, I was hooked up, 10 wires for each of the connector and a small device was belted on me that would help the ECG perform better.
However, monitoring the BP had to be manual. A doctor was on standby on your side while you worked on the treadmill and every 2 minutes, you had to hold out your hand so that your BP can be determined. Then, the BP is manually inputted into the ECG machine. From the ECG machine setup, the operator or doctor can also control the treadmill's speed and incline.
When I finally had enough at Stage 4, I couldn't get off the machine right away as they also had to monitor how my BP changed from strenuous activity to almost nil activity. So, after 10 minutes on gradually increasing difficulty mode, the recovery period also took ten minutes as your activity also gradually decreased.
Results will be available in 2-3 days. For more info on the treadmill stress test, visit here.
And oh by the way, Diether Ocampo was there with his Brazilian girlfriend. Apparently, he was there to undergo the same stress test as well :)
A fairly recent development, my blood pressure remained high for several days prompting me to go pay a cardio a visit. He suspected too much salt intake as the cause of the BP elevation but to be sure, he had me undertake a 2D echo test and when the results of that test were ok, he then subjected me to the treadmill stress test.
That treadmill stress test happened this morning.
In a nutshell, this test will measure a person's cardio-vascular activity (heart rate, blood pressure, etc.) while being stressed out -- via the treadmill. The test will have you work on a treadmill and in stages, the difficulty level increases making you (and your cardio-vasculars) work harder. The treadmill stress test had seven stages but a person does not have to complete all seven. He/She only has to go to his/her maximum capacity.
The seven stages are divided into minutes of three each and at each stage, the speed of the treadmill increases and is inclined a notch steeper.
I reached Stage 4, however, lasted only one minute in the stage which had me only doing light jogging (yes, I am that unfit).
Stage 1 was normal walk (which seemed un-normal to me as it was definitely faster than the average speed I often pedal myself -- and people already consider me a faster-than-average walker) while Stage 2 had you walking a half-step quicker. Stage 3 was already brisk-walking and like I said, Stage 4 was already light jogging. By Stage 3, I was already sweating gallons!
How did they measure the performance of your cardio-vascular system?
The treadmill machine was by no means your ordinary, run-of-the-mill treadmill but a specially-built machine for stress testing. Think of a regular treadmill then attach a computer beside it. The "computer" is the ECG machine that churns out data progressively. And how is data fed into the ECG machine? Via connectors pasted on your heart area that will monitor you as you treadmill.
A total of 10 round connectors where plastered on my chest, most of them around the left chest area for obvious reasons. But parts of my chest hair had to be shaved off so that the connectors would stick :P Then, when I got to the machine, I was hooked up, 10 wires for each of the connector and a small device was belted on me that would help the ECG perform better.
However, monitoring the BP had to be manual. A doctor was on standby on your side while you worked on the treadmill and every 2 minutes, you had to hold out your hand so that your BP can be determined. Then, the BP is manually inputted into the ECG machine. From the ECG machine setup, the operator or doctor can also control the treadmill's speed and incline.
When I finally had enough at Stage 4, I couldn't get off the machine right away as they also had to monitor how my BP changed from strenuous activity to almost nil activity. So, after 10 minutes on gradually increasing difficulty mode, the recovery period also took ten minutes as your activity also gradually decreased.
Results will be available in 2-3 days. For more info on the treadmill stress test, visit here.
And oh by the way, Diether Ocampo was there with his Brazilian girlfriend. Apparently, he was there to undergo the same stress test as well :)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
let's drink to that!
Drinking, as in drinking liquor or anything alcoholic, has never been a top social activity in my books. It ranks slightly lower on things I prefer not to do in life (a couple of rungs below "smoking") and I try to avoid it as much as I can.Contrary to popular belief (by friends and the numerous doctors who show doubt when I answer their query on how frequent I consume alcohol with "occasionally"), I do not like to drink. If you've been to one of the few gatherings my wife and I have organized for our daughter (baptismal, 1st and 2nd birthdays) alcohol is almost never served unless requested. I don't consider beer to be part of the party's budget in the first place.
I would also rather enjoy a quiet evening with friends in a coffee shop or restaurant rather than in a booze bar. While I will merrily ride along if friends and companions prefer the chaos and noise of a bar to enjoy a bottle or two (or five) but personally I would've preferred downing two mugs of dark coffee while enjoying the conversation. In the first place, no conversations happen in a bar with blaring music. What happens is a shout-out and shout-back.
If alcohol and beer appealed to me, I would've already been seduced since high school. Most certainly I could have conked myself drunk every night during my college years if that were the case. Even more certainly, my earlier professional years allowed me the chance to purchase drunkenness if (and only if) I had wanted alcohol. But alcohol never really appealed to me. Never did, never will.
Then how do I explain my rather rotundness? (something the annual physical exam docs associate with regular drinking)
My being fat has to do with an overly aggressive food intake and not because I've been to too many drinking binges. The times I've drank are far and few in between and the last time I've drank majorly was in the company outing last year when I downed 2.5 bottles. Before that, the most bottles that I drank was 4 and that happened only on a couple of occasions. A normal consumption for me would be 2 bottles max and even at that weakling of a number I've been cutting down to just 1 bottle or even less per occasion (and being a bit of an introvert, those occasions are very, very rare indeed).
I don't even recall the last time I've drank beer. I think it still dates back to that company outing I mentioned earlier. I managed to get home alcohol-free from the company Christmas party early December and during the holidays just swilled a bit on red wines (take note, a bit).
Don't get me wrong, I've experienced drunkenness before. And I swore to myself while puking my guts out over the inodoro that I will never get drunk again after that one instance. This happened in college when some youngish relatives dropped by (cousins of mine) and as is the normal decorum my father proceeded to offer alcohol -- beer, wine, rum, even a sangria. He then prodded me to join them (his drinking companions being my age group, he reasoned) and left with no choice, I indulged in that "washing". So, there I was drinking glass after glass of beer, rum, wine and sangria (the last three leftovers from previous celebrations of my father) all the while worrying if I can still wake up at 4am the next morning to catch the earliest bus to U.P. as the next day was registration day. In those heydays, computerized registration was still a dream and us Isko's and Iska's had to line up for each and every subject (hence the moniker U.P. = University of Pila). At around 2am, my guts exploded and I found myself in the toilet emptying the contents of my digestive tract.
Since that day, I've made sure to never get myself drunk again. And I've kept that promise. Anytime I feel the alcoholic drink beginning to seep through my brain (the signal is light-headiness), I stop the alcohol and I don't care if it was just my first bottle.
All in all, for courtesy's sake, I drink, especially when proffered a bottle or a can. You don't want to offend in the first place so you accept. But if I can, I avoid it. Being a diabetic for over a year now has given me a very valid medical excuse not to drink. It's hard on the liver and I can't risk that with the D and all.
So, I apologize to all those who I've possibly offended, insulted or inconvenienced with my refusal to accept your invitation to go out for a bottle or two. I know it's for camaraderie and all but if I can possibly avoid it. I will avoid it.
Magkape na lang tayo :)
* San Miguel Pale Pilsen image courtesy of Wikipedia. San Miguel Pale Pilsen name, design, bottle and label are trademarks of San Miguel Brewery and San Miguel Corporation. All rights remain with them.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
let's get physical
Yesterday had an annual physical exam for the second time this year and being the pessimistic me, I expected things to turn out not to well. I mean, being diabetic and fat and high-cholesteroled. Turns out, despite being obese and with a body fat index of 35.5%, my physical turned out ok.
With a mid-month scheduled appointment with my endocrinologist, I guess I just have to work on my weight the next two weeks and try and burn off as much fat as I can. Not really dieting but eating right and getting the necessary exercise.
With my wife scheduled on the mid-shift, I have the flexibility to do my morning walks again and if I can, also walk home. These simple exertions are enough to burn off the pounds with a little help from controlling my carbo-intake.
Just a short post this Sunday afternoon, folks!
With a mid-month scheduled appointment with my endocrinologist, I guess I just have to work on my weight the next two weeks and try and burn off as much fat as I can. Not really dieting but eating right and getting the necessary exercise.
With my wife scheduled on the mid-shift, I have the flexibility to do my morning walks again and if I can, also walk home. These simple exertions are enough to burn off the pounds with a little help from controlling my carbo-intake.
Just a short post this Sunday afternoon, folks!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
thursday tidbits: economics, visa, pneumonia, caffeine
economics
Ciel from our HR department informed me yesterday that today is the day when my boss and HR talk about the salary adjustment (or what one of my artist referred to as "economics") I will be getting after the annual evaluation I underwent last Monday (or in blog chronos, a post ago).
Hoping it'll be a significant one given that I have been advised to smile more often (LOL).
visa talks
Chat with Elaine yesterday afternoon and she informed me that their visa for immigration to the Land of the Sheeps has arrived. Congratulations!!!
That of course brought to mind the recent (dismal, I say) state of my family's own immigration plans which has been brought to a standstill thanks largely to a lack of funds needed to meet the settlement provision requirement in Down Under - South. While the amount is not overly large, the amount is still too large for my wife and my own income to cover. Now, if I were earning about PHP150,000 per month that dilemma would've been solved a long, long time ago and we would be in Adelaide probably by early next year. Unfortunately, the case is not so and while I earn probably a little better than what the average middle manager is getting, there's nothing left every payday for the immigration thingy.
There's also a slight concern because we checked South Australia's skills shortages list and the update for this second half of 2008, my nominated occupation -- Marketing Specialist -- was already off the list. Egad!!! Now, why is INS not calling us and panicking as this development might seriously derail our plans!
We're just hoping that since the VETASSESS validity is good for one year, as long as we are able to process our papers before the VETASSESS expires, we are still cool for South Oz.
Pautang!!!
ikai down with the P
Cold, cough, and a recurring fever -- our toddler, Ikai, has had these since late last week that we actually had to rush her to the hospital. The pedia in Emergency diagnosed it as bacterial something and had our little one medicate on anti-bios.
But the darn bacteria didn't disappear well into Monday and she had a difficult time sleeping at night because of the cold and phlegm (which, of course, translates to Elvie and myself being deprived of sleep because we had to wake up everytime little Ikai woke up). So, Tuesday I bring her to her regular pedia and Dra. Salas (who herself was sick) diagnosed it as acute broncho pneumonia which she said was uso or in season.
No need to have her confined, the good doctor said, because only those little ones who were dehydrated and not eating needed confinement. Just plenty of fluids and regular medication. Now, that's the good thing about Ikai. Even though she is feeling under the weather, she still has a good enough appetite and takes in liters and liters of fluids -- meme and meme (or milk and water). So, no cause for alarm for us, her parents.
She prescribed a alternative medicines and fortunately the new meds worked and Ikai is now on the mend. Well enough we hope for Saturday when she becomes a flower girl for the first time at her Tita Erma's wedding.
running on caffeine
Since I've not been sleeping all that well these past few nights -- on the average about 4-5 hours of disrupted sleep -- I've been wrestling with antok in the office all week long. To combat the onset of sleepiness, I turn anew to caffeine and this week, there has been a marked increase in my coffee consumption, often reaching about 4 mugs of coffee a day (3 on the average).
Hopefully, when Ikai shakes off the pneumonia then our normal sleeping patterns will return and no need for me to take in the extra caffeine doses.
Ciel from our HR department informed me yesterday that today is the day when my boss and HR talk about the salary adjustment (or what one of my artist referred to as "economics") I will be getting after the annual evaluation I underwent last Monday (or in blog chronos, a post ago).
Hoping it'll be a significant one given that I have been advised to smile more often (LOL).
visa talks
Chat with Elaine yesterday afternoon and she informed me that their visa for immigration to the Land of the Sheeps has arrived. Congratulations!!!
That of course brought to mind the recent (dismal, I say) state of my family's own immigration plans which has been brought to a standstill thanks largely to a lack of funds needed to meet the settlement provision requirement in Down Under - South. While the amount is not overly large, the amount is still too large for my wife and my own income to cover. Now, if I were earning about PHP150,000 per month that dilemma would've been solved a long, long time ago and we would be in Adelaide probably by early next year. Unfortunately, the case is not so and while I earn probably a little better than what the average middle manager is getting, there's nothing left every payday for the immigration thingy.
There's also a slight concern because we checked South Australia's skills shortages list and the update for this second half of 2008, my nominated occupation -- Marketing Specialist -- was already off the list. Egad!!! Now, why is INS not calling us and panicking as this development might seriously derail our plans!
We're just hoping that since the VETASSESS validity is good for one year, as long as we are able to process our papers before the VETASSESS expires, we are still cool for South Oz.
Pautang!!!
ikai down with the P
Cold, cough, and a recurring fever -- our toddler, Ikai, has had these since late last week that we actually had to rush her to the hospital. The pedia in Emergency diagnosed it as bacterial something and had our little one medicate on anti-bios.
But the darn bacteria didn't disappear well into Monday and she had a difficult time sleeping at night because of the cold and phlegm (which, of course, translates to Elvie and myself being deprived of sleep because we had to wake up everytime little Ikai woke up). So, Tuesday I bring her to her regular pedia and Dra. Salas (who herself was sick) diagnosed it as acute broncho pneumonia which she said was uso or in season.
No need to have her confined, the good doctor said, because only those little ones who were dehydrated and not eating needed confinement. Just plenty of fluids and regular medication. Now, that's the good thing about Ikai. Even though she is feeling under the weather, she still has a good enough appetite and takes in liters and liters of fluids -- meme and meme (or milk and water). So, no cause for alarm for us, her parents.
She prescribed a alternative medicines and fortunately the new meds worked and Ikai is now on the mend. Well enough we hope for Saturday when she becomes a flower girl for the first time at her Tita Erma's wedding.
running on caffeine
Since I've not been sleeping all that well these past few nights -- on the average about 4-5 hours of disrupted sleep -- I've been wrestling with antok in the office all week long. To combat the onset of sleepiness, I turn anew to caffeine and this week, there has been a marked increase in my coffee consumption, often reaching about 4 mugs of coffee a day (3 on the average).
Hopefully, when Ikai shakes off the pneumonia then our normal sleeping patterns will return and no need for me to take in the extra caffeine doses.
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