Throwback Thursdays: Mrs. Ponce's Typing Class

Sweetie asked me the other day, "How do kids learn how to type nowadays?" It was a curious question since we both learned to type on a typewriter. Miggy learned to type on a computer keyboard. I don't think he experienced using a typewriter even though we still had Mom's Olympia typewriter when he was growing up. 

I think I was just in second or third grade when my Mom started teaching me how to use the typewriter. It was a fascinating gadget for me. I even slept on the floor with the typewriter beside my bed. Mom had a lot of scratch paper and just let me play with the typewriter as much as I wanted. 

We had typing class in high school. Our teacher, Mrs. Ponce, had us decorate brown paper bags. We used it as our "blindfold" whenever we had typing tests. She'd play some music whenever we had exams. That was supposed to help us type faster since the songs were pretty upbeat. My seatmate, Rica, shared the playlist of the songs on Spotify (look for "Mrs. Ponce's Typing Class Playlist). 

We also had a typing class when I was a froshie in college. The typewriters were soon replaced by computers. We were the last batch that had typing class. Kids nowadays won't experience getting their hands dirty changing the typewriter ribbon. They also won't experience getting their fingers stuck between keys. Also, no need to use liquid paper whenever you make a mistake. And they won't be able to prank others by interchanging the keys. 

The heavy typewriter may be gone now, but I have many happy memories of using it. A portable one made me editor-in-chief of our literary folio in college. I just borrowed the portable typewriter then from a friend. It was also the last typewriter I used, since I've been using computers eversince that fateful day. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

 

Wellness Wednesdays: Exercise to Get Out of a Rut

When you cannot perform, japorms! - Marc Macalua

Getting out of a rut is half the battle to being well. I fell in a deep ravine in the past two weeks after I had a cardiac episode. The chest pain was unlike any I've experienced. I saw my cardiologist and she's still investigating what happened. The debilitating pain was followed by severe headaches that lasted for a few days. 

Whenever this happens I end up depressed and anxious. It makes me feel like it's the end of the world. I slept the headache off and prayed that it's not something serious. It's bad enough my doctor has suggested surgery. My doctors in Singapore though would disagree. They said it would be too risky for me to get poked. I'll still get myself reviewed by the surgeon to see if there's any hope to have a better quality of life. 

At some point when I was having migraine, I got tired. I told myself there should be a way to get out of it. Sleep helped, but the pain was replaced with back pain. I got angry at my body for succumbing to all these aches and pains. I told a fellow patient in the blood clot  group that getting out of a rut is half the battle to feeling well. 

I had previously enrolled in the Justin Agustin beginners exercise program. It was still too overwhelming for me. I've been following Bob & Brad on YouTube. They claim to be "the most famous physiotherapists on the internet", haha. Well, they've been on YT for 12 years now and most of the exercises they teach are similar to what Wendy (my PT) taught me. Found a few very basic exercise videos on their channel and started doing it. 

I've been doing 10 to 15 minute exercises the past few days and it's making me feel better. I was able to increase movement yesterday. I started with 10 minute stretching exercises and then did more than half of the upper body exercise. What's good about it is I have the option to do it standing or sitting down. Today I think I'll do some bridging to help ease my back pain. 

If you're as sedentary as me, you may want to try some of Bob & Brad's exercises. Just search for "Bob & Brad Jordan" on YouTube. 

Creative Happy Tuesdays: Made a Huge Quilt Cover for my Oxygen Concentrator

My doctor required me to have an oxygen concentrator on standby. I've used it a couple of times, but realized I should keep it covered whenever I don't use it. Decided to make a cover using my rainbow fabric. I love using it because it's so colorful. 

Challenged myself to do it in squares because I wanted to practice piecing ends evenly while using a sewing machine. I was able to put together the squares quickly, but it took a few more weeks before I finished sandwiching and putting the whole piece together (I got sick). 

Finally finished the binding today and I immediately used it on the oxygen concentrator. It's a huge hideous gadget. It's beside the bed and makes our room look a hospital. Now it's providing a splash of color in our room, no longer covered by just a towel. Yay!

There's two more covers I need to make to complete my "rainbow collection". I need to make one for the steamer and another for the airfryer. When that's done I plan to make a new set in more neutral colors. It'll probably take another three years to complete the set, haha. 

I was telling Sweetie, I should've made a quilt cover for my car! Hahaha! It would've been a huge pain to have it laundered!

Keep creating to stay happy!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: Finally Got a Coffee Grinder

Our house came with a coffee nook, but the only coffee gadget we have is a Hario V60 coffee dripper which I got two years ago. I only weaned away from drinking 3-in-1 coffee during lockdown since I ran out of supply. I took it as a sign to explore drinking brewed coffee. I even enrolled in Commune's coffee 101 class to understand the basics. 

After the coffee class, Ros invited me to join the Coffee Home Brewers group on FB. The group piqued my curiosity more, but I told myself to take things slow. Members would share their coffee nooks and gadgets. I honestly drowned in the terminologies they would use, so I told myself not to fall in the rabbit hole. I read though that grinding beans is better than buying ground coffee. 

So, the sign to finally buy a grinder happened when Gab sent us some Cafe by the Ruins beans. I have been holding off to buy a grinder because I was waiting for "a sign", hahaha. I gave it a week more before I finally bought the grinder Anne recommended. I was really happy I was able to use a coupon to shave off 10% of the cost.

We also watched some videos on how to set it up. Took us awhile to affix the silicon gasket, but setting it up was pretty straightforward. Of course, the first thing we ground was the beans Gab sent. Still used the manual drip method to prepare my coffee, but, oh boy, I realized I should have bought a grinder sooner. The coffee was much more smoother and fresh. 

I hope the Baratza Encore grinder lasts for a long, long time! Now, time to save up for a proper coffee machine. At the rate I'm going, it'll probably take another year before I get to buy a coffee machine, haha. 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Miracle Sundays: Coping with Typhoons

 “God uses ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary plan.” (Unknown)

The alerts sent by NDRMCC has been making me anxious. PAGASA-DOST has announced signal #5 in some areas and Metro Manila has been under signal #3 and #4 in the past few hours. I'm anxious because #KardingPH was originally not expected to make landfall. It intensified though and moved further in. The previous typhoons did not make landfall, so I was hoping it would stay that way. 

Well, we've all so far been able to cope with typhoons. The worst for me was typhoon Ondoy. We almost postponed our wedding because both our homes were severely affected. After #OndoyPH happened I volunteered to help with crisis response. I did that for almost a decade. It helped me deal with the trauma and getting anxious during typhoons. 

I woke up today with pain in my lower back. The pain has been growing in the past two weeks. I suspect it may be because my doctor adjusted my medication. It's also been exacerbated by anxiety. I told myself last night it's funny how I never really had debilitating anxiety when I was younger. I was always able to cope. It's been found though that it comes together with having pulmonary embolism. 

Watched Doc Willie's video on dealing with anxiety yesterday. He enumerated several ways on how to cope with it and said, "No one dies from anxiety." That made me look back on how I've always been able to cope. After the flood put everything I owned under water during typhoon Ondoy, Dad scolded me because I started to cry. He told me, "Para yan lang iyak iyak ka na." 

He taught me an important lesson that day. Don't dwell on the bad situation, get moving and do something. It's probably been hard for me to cope lately because I've been feeling unwell. I need to focus though on the future so I don't get stuck in a rut. And, of course, pray. 

Happy Sunday everyone. Take care and stay dry. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: A Rat Ruined My Germination Project!

Boohoo! It's been a few weeks since I planted some seeds. Not many sprouted since the typhoon hid the sun for over a week. I gave it a few more days before I planted some seeds again. Lo and behold, the day after I planted the seed tray was trashed by a huge rat!

Miggy alerted us about an "animal" that was lurking behind the trash bin in the garage. We normally tie-up our trash every evening and put it in a covered trash bin in the garage. We do this to avoid attracting rodents. It has so far worked well for us since stray cats haven't been able to open the bins. I did not expect the seed tray would attract a rat. 

The seed tray was sitting in the garage untouched for more than two weeks. I only used two-thirds of it and only completed it early this week when I decided to plant more seeds. The sunflower seeds I planted on the last column was probably what attracted the rat. I was inspecting the seed tray when I heard something in the backyard. That was when I saw a huge rat scrambling up the bamboo to get to the property next door. 

The next day our friendly pest control supplier dropped by to check the termite bait. We reported the rat and they advised to just monitor the activity first since it may just be one rat scouting our property. I was  worried though that they might multiply and immediately got some cayenne pepper and Racumin. 

I read that rats don't like it when  you move things around, so we moved the seed tray to a sunnier spot in the garage. Placed the bait under it and hoped the stray cats won't come near it (the cayenne pepper should help ward them off for now). 

Two pieces of the bait and two pieces of the paste were gone the next day. I read it takes 4 to 6 days before it affects the rodent. We haven't seen it since we placed the bait the other day. We're just hoping it went back to its nest. I'm not looking forward to its horrendous smell if it dies in my garden. Sorry bud, pests aren't welcome in our home. We've also gone through a lot already this year and just want to finally get our gardening projects going. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Lakwatsera Fridays: Tried Out Da Gianni Cucina Italia

Ended up at Da Gianni Cucina Italia one hot afternoon in June. We were at Westgate Center for Miggy's fitting. We originally planned to have lunch elsewhere, but it was so hot. Right before we exited the mall I saw that Da Gianni was open*. I then suggested to the boys to try it out. 

Save for a group of titas celebrating a birthday we were the only other customer. The place was cozy and it allowed us to escape from the hot afternoon sun. We settled in and an array of food. We normally try to get a variety of food to gauge if it's something we'd like. Here's what we ordered -

Lasagna bolognese

Fish fillet

Meatball spaghetti

Margherita pizza

The serving size was just enough to fill our tummies. We brought home some of the pizza since our individual orders made us full already. I liked the meatball spaghetti I ordered since it felt less acidic compared to other restos. It reminded me of the pasta I had when I had the chance to visit Rome. The pizza was also prepared much like how they do it in Italy too. The boys said they also liked the lasagna and fish fillet. I wish though they would expand their beverage menu. 

We enjoyed our dine-in experience at Da Gianni Cucina Italia. I noticed they also have a private room. It will be useful for a small dinner party. Do call them before going since I'm not sure if they're open everyday (their FB page isn't updated). Maybe we'll dine in again if we chance upon it being open. 

#BeKind #StaySafe