6 days of confinement

So I just got out of jail the hospital today after spending 6 days at St. Paul's.

I started feeling a bit under the weather around the second week of May, but I mistook it for just allergies and colds, so I self-medicated. And the symptoms cleared after several days so I thought that was it.

I even went to Cebu to attend my high school bestie's wedding, and I felt great during the 4 days I was there.

2 days after I came home, my throat started to itch. Then came the coughing. Then came the aches and pains. And I thought, "Hey, I got the flu." Which led to another round of self-medication. 2 days later, I felt better, but I was still coughing quite a bit.

And later that night, I was rushed to the ER. For chest pains.

Being brought to the ER looks more exciting in movies than in reality. There's the rush driving, running through the red lights, parking haphazardly outside the ER, running inside, screaming for a doctor.. In my case? It was quite a leisurely drive, no rushing. We parked at the back of the hospital and I walked inside the emergency room and calmly asked for a nurse.

>What sucked about that night was that though the ER was kind of quiet, there were quite a few patients and only one resident physician. So there I was, lying on a bench, with chest pains and labored breathing, waiting for the doctor to finally check up on me.

The BF was getting agitated, and when he saw me crying silent tears, that was when he stood up and demanded the nurse to have someone see me already. So after one hour of waiting, the doctor came.. Then he sent me to get a blood work up and chest x-rays. Which led to another hour of waiting for the results to get back. X-ray was clear, but the blood test came up with viral results, so I was given a round of medications for 5 days before I was cleared to go home.

And 5 days later, I thought I'd be feeling better.

I was still coughing and having random chest pains despite the antibiotics I was prescribed, so I finally decided to go see a pulmonologist, especially after finding out I lost quite a few pounds.

Monday morning I went for a check up at the OPD, by afternoon I was back at the ER with a needle in my vein, waiting for me to be transferred to a room.

Being in bed for 6 days may sound like a vacation.. And in the beginning, it sure felt that way. I spend my time reading novels and re-watching the first 2 seasons of my fave show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. And sleep. I did get a lot of sleeping time. But it gets boring after a while.

What sucked the most was that I wasn't able to wash my hair for days, because I am tethered to an IV line. And it also sucked that one of my meds gave me a gastric complication that made me bloat like a fat pig.

The nurses were great, but I think they'll understand if I don't want to see them again. Well, maybe in different circumstances. ;)

Paper Towns

Author: John Green

Summary: Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew..

Comments: I love you John Green, I really do, even though the only other book of yours that I’ve read is The Fault in Our Stars (though admittedly it wasn’t all that great, and as blasphemous as this may sound, I love the movie better than the book *GASP* but I really liked it).

So, Paper Towns. 

What should’ve taken me a maximum of four hours to finish took away 2 days of my life. That’s 2 days I’ll never get back. I’m a very fast reader; I can finish a whole book in 2-4 hours, provided I have little interruption. But while reading this, I was looking forward to some interruption myself.

I cannot stress how boring this book is.

Q’s crush on Margo is no mere crush; it’s an obsession. An unhealthy obsession. And don’t get me started on Margo Roth Spiegelman, who’s apparently so perfect and awesome that 4 people miss their graduation to race across to country to look for this attention-seeking, self-centered bitch.

Halfway through the book I was ready to kill Margo myself.

Was seriously considering adding it to my DNF pile. What kept me going was this need to know if that bitch Margo is dead. Not gonna spoil anything here, but I must say I’m disappointed with how it ends. I leave it to you to guess why.

Rating: 2/5

#LesMisManila

I love musicals. 

Ever since I was a kid, I've always enjoyed movies with lots and lots of singing. I don't know why, maybe it was the influence of Disney classics like Beauty and the Beast and Mulan (my 2 favorite Disney movies of all time). I remember watching the Sound of Music with my Mom and Dad over and over again until I had all the songs memorized.

Of course, I couldn't keep on watching Disney movies and The Sound of Music forever. Eventually, I discovered Grease, The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story, The King and I, and My Fair Lady. They were before my time, but it didn't stop me from enjoying them. I even liked The Rocky Horror Picture Show, weird as that movie was.

But the first time I saw one on stage was when my cousin took me to see Cats. I didn't know what it was or what it was about. But the tune made me want to sing along, the songs made me wanna dance, and when we got home after the show, I downloaded the soundtrack, played it on loop, then started singing about Mr. Mistoffelees out loud during random times. 

I watched more shows after that: The Phantom of the Opera (which is one of my top three faves, maybe I'll blog about this one day, heh), Wicked, and Beauty and the Beast.

And when it was announced that Les Miserables (part of my top three faves, too) is coming to the Philippines, you can just imagine my excitement. I bought my tickets two hours after Ticketworld started selling them (I would have bought it earlier but I had a doctor's appointment). 

I just watched it last Saturday, and IT. WAS. AMAZING. Even The Boyfriend (who always accompanies me but gets bored and falls asleep in the middle of the show) loved it. He watched the whole thing without getting bored or falling asleep, and that is saying something!

There's probably a lot of reviews online, so this won't be one of those. I'm just writing to rave about how awesome it was, and how lucky I felt to be able to watched Les Mis.

Rachelle Ann Go was great — proud to be Filipino moment right there. Also, Chloe (she played the young Cosette) was so adorable. And she's half-Filipino! My favorite character, Eponine, also did not disappoint. The whole thing was worth every peso I spent for the tickets, and more!

Les Miserables. 

The amazing cast. 

Collection of tickets. 

Karma's one angry bitch and she's out to get you

I'm not a selfish person. At least, I don't think I am. 

I am not rich. My family is not rich. But we do have the means to live comfortably. We aren't flashy; we prefer simplicity. I'd like to think that we're a middle-class family. Doesn't mean I wasn't taught about the value of money. We're Chinese, so yeah. Thriftiness is part of my upbringing.

But being thrifty does not equate to selfishness. I was raised to be giving, to share what I have to those who need it more than I do. 

Yes, I spend a lot (mostly on books and food) but the money I spend is my own (unless my parents give me hihi). I used to work, and I split my salary into 3 parts: savings, household bills (yes, I help my parents with the bills), and shopping. So when I quit my job and started a business with one of my friends, I felt a little.. Broke. Well, not really. I mean, I have savings, but I had to control my spending because our shop isn't earning much yet. But instead of feeling down, I searched for other ways to earn extra income. I do odd freelance jobs online, and now I'm planning a new venture to earn more.

So you might be wondering what this rant is about? I mean, there's no correlation between karma and my rant above, right?

Anyway, moving on.. Yesterday, I accidentally left my wallet at the shop. It had exactly P2120 in it, plus a few coins (mostly of the 10 and 25 centavo variety), and when I went back to get it, I opened it an saw only P1100 inside. 

I called my partner, and I also asked one of our staffs (the one who's been with us the longest), and both of them didn't know anything about it. 

I got really mad, but then I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm myself down. I told myself it's just money, yes, hard-earned money, but just money nonetheless. I don't know who took it, and I don't really care. But if it was someone I knew, someone who really knew me, then he/she should've known that had he/she asked me, I would've let him/her borrow it. No deadlines, no interest, just one person helping another.

But no. Fucking person had to resort to stealing, and I am not happy about it.

Which brings us to karma. I believe in karma. What goes around, comes around and all that shit. And I also believe that what's coming around is a thousand times worse than what you did. I don't care how, I don't care when. I don't even care if I got to see it, or hear about it. All I care is that divine retribution is coming, and you'd better watch your ass because you won't know what'll hit you. I swear with all that's good and mighty, karma is coming for you. Bitch.

Re-reading my feel-good books

It's been a stressful two weeks, and I've got a lot on my plate.. So what do I do to keep my stress level at a less-than-crazy-but-not-much rate? I read.

Reading, for me, is not just a pasttime, nor a hobby. It's a necessity. I like reading because it takes me away, away from this stress. And while I read pretty much anything, whenever I need a distraction I have several go-to books I always re-read.

These are the books I never get tired of repeating, and most of these I've read more than 5 times. The ones on top of my list are Harry Potter (of course this tops the list, I've been a fan ever since I read Sorcerer's stone when I was in Grade 5), Percy Jackson (I love Greek mythology and I fell for the books as soon as I read them), Heroes of Olympus (because I can never get enough of Percy and Annabeth), The Hunger Games (not a fave, but when I'm way too stressed I like to read about the tributes killing each other), Pride and Prejudice (my all-time big-time favorite book ever), Julie James' books (no idea, but I love them).. And the list goes on. I have probably a dozen authors and series on my feel-good list.

But anyway, this time I've re-read Rick Riordan's books. I've finished the 5 books of Percy Jackson and now I'm on the second book of Heroes of Olympus. 

Sometimes I imagine I'm a demigod (because I'm awesome that way). I'd like to think that I am a daughter of Athena, my favorite Greek goddess. Heh.

Multitasking gone horribly wrong

I am a multitasker. Being a bit ADHD (self-diagnosed, mind you), I have the inability to focus on one single task. I get started on one thing, then end up getting sidetracked by another. Short attention span at its finest. My solution? I do multiple things at the same time. 

This morning, however, my multitasking skills failed me.

As I mentioned before, our helper left our employ. Plus, my Mom went to Manila to be with my Uncle J who underwent angioplasty (it was successful, btw). So it's just me and my Dad. Which means most of the housework falls on my capable (is it, though?) hands.

This morning Dad asked me to give our dogs a bath. I bathe my dogs (I have 5) once a week, but I've been neglecting them since our helper left because I've been a) busy, b) tired, c) both.

I woke up at 7, but I went back to bed. I have the luxury of sleeping in until 9 or so, because I'm usually up till 2 or 3 in the morning finishing the odd jobs I've got going online (I'm making cookbooks now). So I got up around 10, procrastinated a bit, and got started on the dogs.

I started with Rusty. After I bathed and dried him, I went to get the pugs. Then I decided I better clean their play pen first, so that it'll be clean when I put them back in after their bath. By the time I finished cleaning it was already 11:15. I wasn't in a rush, though, because Dad saw how busy I was and suggested that we get takeout instead, so I don't have to cook lunch. Then, I gave Bruno a bath.

Around 11:45, Dad left to get our order, and I realized that we don't have rice yet. So I took out last night's leftover rice and heated it over the stove. While I have that going, I took Basha and gave her a bath. And totally forgot about the rice I was heating.

Basha was giving me a hard time, so I keep talking to her (yes, I talk to my dogs) to distract her. Until I got a whiff of something burning, which made me rush to the kitchen to turn off the stove.

But I was too late. 

We had to endure eating rice that smelled like charred wood. Dad was laughing the whole time.

20+ years of cooking and multitasking, and this is the first time this happened to me. Lesson learned, though. Never give a dog a bath while on kitchen duty. 😅

Me-time badly needed!

I need some time off, seriously. 

In between doing housework, going to the shop, and finishing up the work I have on the side, I need to make some time for myself. I like being busy, it keeps me from thinking way too much about what's weighing me down these days, but this is seriously killing me.

I have a constant headache, and don't even get me started on my back. What I need is a nice, long massage but I don't even have time for that.

Adding to the stress is my Mom leaving for Manila tomorrow, so it's just going to be me and my Dad for a few days.. And that means I get to do all the housework — cleaning, cooking, washing, feeding the dogs.. At least he's the one who brings the dogs up to our rooftop to let them do their "thing".

Not that my Mom is going for fun. My Uncle J had another attack, I think. Or maybe they saw something on his physical, I'm not clear on the details. All I know is something is wrong with his heart, and they (my uncle and my cousins) are flying to Manila from Bacolod and heading straight to Philippine Heart Center. My Mom is going to meet them at the airport.

My Uncle J is a fighter. He had a coronary bypass a few years back, and he emerged from that first attack stronger than ever. I'm praying that he's going to fight this off, too.

And here I am complaining about being tired when others have it worse than me. But I think I earned the right to be selfish for a bit. Just this time. 

It's almost 2 AM now. I just finished some extra work I've been doing (a little sideline to earn some extra moolah) and instead of ranting about how tired I am, maybe I should've just went straight to bed, huh?

Zzzzzz

A year later..

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since my last post (well, maybe I can). I've just been too lazy to do so. And it's not like I have anything to post about. Life has been fairly routine to date. I get up, I do chores, I go to work. My days are an endless cycle of boring.

I'll try to post more, though. The key word being try. 

It's just, I've been busy lately. Our helper left our employ after 7 years (I think) with us and took a caregiving job in the big city (meaning Manila, LOL). We haven't found a replacement yet, but we get by. I took on most of the house chores, though. I cook (not everyday), clean, wash dishes, iron. I give the dogs a bath once a week. I drew the line with laundry, though. I just gathered up all the dirty laundry and brought them all to the laundromat. 

So.. Looking back, a lot has happened over the past year. I mean a lot. But I'll just mention the highlights.

I dragged the Boyfriend with me and watched Beauty and the Beast, which makes that my fourth musical (after Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked) I'll be watching Les Mis this March (can't wait!) with a very reluctant companion (the Boyfriend, again). 

The family got bigger with new dog additions. Pugs Bruno and Basha joined the family. We had another one, Bruha but she died of infectious canine hepatitis after being with us for several months. 

Basha and Bruno celebrated their first Christmas

Our shop turned one! The Nail Express celebrated its first year last November.

I got two new goddaughters, which means more kids to give gifts to during Christmas. LOL Ally is the daughter of my cousin, and Riley is the Boyfriend's niece. Such adorable cuties!

My friend got married last December. (Which made me think about how old we're getting. Seems like yesterday when it was all debuts and stuff, now it's all weddings and christenings.)

Hmmm. What else, what else? I know there's more but I seem to be drawing a blank. But anyway, I'll just stop here for the moment. Fingers crossed that I'll be blogging more and more again!