From Bird Cam to Jay Cam: Isolation

My superman Sweetie is sick. He started to have fever yesterday and was complaining of body ache. He was so busy all weekend taking care of two sets of workers. He also drove me to Makati Med for my heart test, so he was really tired by Saturday night. He still woke up early on Sunday because there was still repairs being made in our home. 

Good thing they finished just after lunch. We had him take a nap so he could rest. He went downstairs and joined us to eat. I decided to go back upstairs by 5:30pm to force him to rest again. By six he was having chills. We managed his fever with Biogesic and it slowly went down. We were able to hear mass late in the evening. 

I turn into a light sleeper whenever someone is sick at home. I didn't notice though when Sweetie moved to the guest room at around 5 in the morning. He said with his symptoms it was probably better to isolate. We set up a receiving area outside of the room and I left a box of the antigen test we brought home from Singapore. He took it and it was negative (whew!). He'll still stay in isolation for the meantime even though he doesn't have fever anymore. He'll take the test again tomorrow so we're sure. A friend suggested though we have him do a PCR test, we'll observe for now. 

Sweetie had set-up an extra camera in the guest bedroom so we could see the birds hanging out in the area. They have been attracted to the window of the guest bedroom for some strange reason. For now we could see Sweetie through the camera. It really gives me peace of mind to see him. I'm able to monitor his condition also and so far he looks like he's bouncing back really fast. Maybe he just need to really rest. In the meantime, Miggy and I are also grounded and observing our health. Also got help already for some important errands we were supposed to do today. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

How the Pandemic Changed Me

“If you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable . . . then you will find your joy in the Lord.” – Isaiah 58:13-14

The pandemic has definitely changed how we live. I was already making arrangements to work from home twice a week when the mandate to WFH was made. It was a blessing in disguise for me, but things got busier and I ended up working longer hours. What I missed most though was our weekly trip to church and eating out with the boys. Malling was my cardio exercise haha. 

I like just staying at home. My friends at work once had to kidnap me to join them for dinner. They intercepted my ride home and made me ride their taxi. I'm an introvert so I thrived just being home. The pandemic changed me and re-aligned my priorities. Here's what I've so far done:

1. Learned to bake bread. 

2. Took up gardening again. 

3. Developed more quilting skills.

4. Blogged everyday (this is my third year of blogging everyday)

5. And most importantly, prayed more. 

And lessons I've learned:

1. Rest is important. 

2. Health is wealth.

3. Be with family. Being apart for two years was heart-breaking.

4. Remember that God loves you. 

5. Trust that everything will be alright. 

Now that I'm back home I'm adjusting again. You just need to be flexible and enjoy wherever you can. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Ohai Outside World!

Received confirmation yesterday that we were approved to get our booster shots at the NPF Drive Thru vaccination site. We headed to the site an hour before our appointment. I felt like a kid going out for the first time. The sky was a lovely shade of blue, there was no traffic and everything looked serene. 

I was amazed with the many new buildings in the Aseana area. The last time I was in the area was in July 2019 after a friend's wedding. I think only Okada and City of Dreams was operational at that time. I felt lost since there were so many new streets and buildings. It felt very unfamiliar. My Mom thought we traveled out of the city, but it was just 15 minutes away from home. 

We originally scheduled three of us to get booster shots. Unfortunately, the vaccination site only offered Moderna. My doctor required me to get Pfizer since I'm taking anti-coagulants. My Mom was the only one who managed to get the booster. I guess Miggy and I will need to find a drive-thru service that offers Pfizer. 

It was really tempting to go the mall! It was too early though and the boys would not have allowed it. We just got curbside takeaway from Pancake House for breakfast. I think this has been the most exciting joyride I've been on since December (hahaha) even though we didn't step out of the car. I felt antsy though for sitting too long since I normally move around every 30 minutes. 

Maybe when gas prices go down we can do a longer joyride outside my city (Aseana is still Paranaque City!). Back home now and will go take a nap to complete my required zzzs.

Happy Sunday everyone!

PS More information here about the drive-thru vaccination. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Are You Ready for the Re-Opening?

According to the news it looks like the alert level will be lowered to 1 by the first of March. Of course, doctors are giving reminders about following safety protocols since the virus is still around. It's welcome news for many people since it means the economy would be more open. It means more jobs and maybe things can be a bit more normal. 

I pinged my favorite doctor yesterday to tell him to be careful since the cases in Singapore has gone up. He said, "It's OMG all over the world. We're fine. We'll all get OMG and then stronger." I'm happy to see he's still funny as ever despite the situation. I worry about my friends in Singapore and Hong Kong since they are experiencing the Omicron surge. 

In time we need to learn to live with this virus, just like all the other viruses out there. I'm a magnet though because I'm immunocompromised. This means I need to be extra careful. I've just been home since the start of the year and still got an infection lol. I realized though I can't let being immunocompromised keep me from living my life. I just need to be flexible and be careful. 

Here's a short-list of what I want to do:

1. See more family and friends. 

2. Visit Dad at the cemetery. 

3. Be able to eat my favorite spaghetti. 

4. Do daily walking again to the nearby park. 

5. Do a day trip. 

#BeKind #VoteWisely #StaySafe

It's All Coming Back to Me

Did you notice it's been very windy lately? PAGASA said it's amihan season. Wind from the North is prevalent and will last until March. The air is also much cooler especially in the evenings. We normally stay in the living room to feel the breeze. In the afternoons though it's nicer to stay at the basement since it's cooler. I've started to unbox my fabric stash and have been busy organizing my craft room. I hope to finish soon since summer is just around the corner and I know I have to stay somewhere cooler. 

I'm happy. I feel much more relaxed nowadays. I guess because of this the fog in my brain has been lifting. The past few nights I've been dreaming about forgotten memories from my university days and my 20s. For a few nights I dreamt about being in campus and rushing from one class to another. Remembered those days I had to run from Miguel building to the La Salle building to make it to my next class in time. I can't imagine how I managed going up so many stairs back then! No wonder I was just 85 pounds when I was in college. 

Last night I dreamt about that time I did part time work at Shell. I joined as a writer, but also got to learn how to layout a newspaper manually. At that time we were already using Pagemaker in our student publication, but they were doing some things manually. It was fun to learn so many things there. A few years later my boss at Shell tried to recruit me back. I decided not to pursue it since I was advised about the glass ceiling for women at that time (I heard it's gone now). My life would probably be very different if I chose that path. I still remember my former boss' name and found out she eventually became an editor at a leading newspaper. 

Of course, the fog also revealed some painful memories from the past. Ugh. It's apparently still lurking somewhere in my brain. I wish though the fog just kept it hidden. Not remembering is bliss haha. It's true that forgiving is much easier than forgetting. To keep it from eating me up, I just shifted my position in bed and it soon went back into the abyss. I just prayed and reminded myself that it's all in the past and those are just ugly memories now. 

My doctor told me I had too many major episodes (health). I also had too many major emotional episodes. I take comfort in the fact that those episodes (physical, mental and emotional) never broke me. My Mom would always tell me I'm an Apolo and I was born to be tough. I have many battle scars. I survived it all because of faith and love. And that's all you need :) 

Happy weekend everyone!

#BeKind #StayHome #VoteWisely

Prioritizing

Oh boy, this month is proving to be an expense filled one. Aside from from the usual expenses - utilities and groceries - several things cropped up at the same time. We were planning to move forward with our home development project, but health has to be prioritized. We're still in the process of signing up for medical insurance so this means everything is out of pocket for now. Yikes!

Luckily, my original pulmonologist here still treats us as family. My Dad was his professor and he has cared for us through the years. I was really surprised about his generosity because it's been 2 decades since I last saw him. It was his wife, my original cardiologist, who discovered I had mitral valve issues. 

We met with him yesterday through a video call. I was so nervous because he spoke to me in Bicol dialect throughout the consultation, haha. Good thing I understood everything (I can understand, but I struggle speaking the dialect). All good for now, but he wants to determine the cause of my PEs. He also prohibited me from going near a hospital. He also said not to mess with my blood thinners. 

Car expenses also kicked in. I had to get my car registered so that meant spending for emission testing and insurance. I realized my car hasn't had any maintenance since 2019, so Hyundai's quote is a crazy amount. Well, at least I could delay that to next month since getting the car fixed isn't urgent. I thought about selling my car, but decided to keep it for now so Miggy can learn how to drive (important in case of emergencies). In time, we plan to sell both our cars and get a new one. 

All is well, just need to prioritize our expenses. It just means our home will still be messy. As Tita Dine told me, it more important to be happy and live in love than have a tidy house. I totally agree with that, haha. I'm also back to being cheerful since the nasty infection seems to be gone. Yaaas! God is good! 

#BeKind #StayHome #VoteWisely

Can We Just Live with the Threat of the Virus?

We're finally going to keep our Christmas decors this week. We delayed removing them because we only put it up two days before Christmas! So it has seen us through Christmas and 2 new years, there's no need for it to reach Valentine's. I also feel like we're entering a new phase now since cases are going down and there's more movement happening. We also decided to move forward with organizing our new home. The nasty infection is also gone now and I feel my energy is coming back. 

How to live with COVID-19? That's a question that's being discussed across the world. The UK was forced to remove mandates because of their PM's irresponsible behavior. There has been a lot of protests in Canada. Denmark scrapped restrictions. In Singapore they made clear guidelines on what to do if you get sick. It's made me think about whether or not we can just live with the threat of the virus. 

When the first circuit breaker in Singapore eased up, my physiotherapy clinic contacted me and said I can resume my sessions. Went back to my sessions and just made sure I always wore a mask. I would even pass by my favorite store after my session. My doctor eventually advised I should just wear a fabric mask. I obeyed, but picked up a virus from a taxi driver the first time I did. It wasn't COVID-19 according to my doctors. 

Beautiful tulips at Roppongi Hills

After that incident I concluded that: (1) There are many different viruses out there and we're living alongside them, and (2) Being immunocompromised I am a magnet to getting sick. Case in point: I haven't gone out since the first week of January and still got an infection. The world will not stop because of people like me. Restrictions were put in place because we didn't know much about the virus. That bought time for scientists to develop vaccines and find ways to save people. 

I miss seeing the rest of my family and hanging out with my friends. I miss those days I could just sit at Commune and bump into friends. I miss doing my cardio at the mall (a.k.a. walking). I miss the freedom of being able to explore new places. One could say that life has been on hold the past two years, but you can also look from a different perspective -- a new way of living. 

For now I stay home.

Take care everyone!

#BeKind #StayHome

Living Worry-Free

I am a worry-wart. I stressed out a lot before I decided to leave my job. I worried about letting so many people down. I worried about losing my income. I worried about losing my medical insurance. I worried about how people would treat me. All these worries eventually caused anxiety and depression.

For many months, I couldn't sleep. I felt weak and was just generally unwell. The more I worried, the more stressed I got, I became more unwell. I would use essential oils to help me fall asleep, but it was praying the rosary that helped me calm down. I also sought the help of St. Jude for my desperate needs. 

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” – Luke 5:5 (NLT)

It was through months of prayer that I realized what I needed to do. The idea started when one of my doctors told me that it was perhaps time to leave my job. I was shocked by his advise because years ago he told me I shouldn't rest too much when I was sick because my employer would get impatient. I definitely did not expect to hear that advise from him. My other long-time doctors also advised it would be best for me to live a stress-free life. 

It took awhile for me to digest their advise. Dr. Chan even told me he hoped I'd make the right decision. I prayed and I just knew what He wanted me to do. I also knew that I could rest my worries because things were going to be okay. So I listened and followed. 

It wasn't an easy transition. The worries are now just "concerns", but I don't obsess over it anymore. I am with my family. Mom is just a kembot away so it's easier to take care of her. We have a nice roof over our head where we're building more happy memories. We get by and have been able to help where we can. 

A year ago I was a bungle of nerves. Now I'm just chill. I just lift up all my worries and concerns to Him and just let things be. Worry not and just listen to His guidance :)

#BeKind #StayHome

Learning Acceptance and Being Content

I was planning to write about alternate realities today, but thought I'd go the more positive route. Yup, I was about to do a rant post about people who seem to be living an alternate reality -- one where they are above the law. I learned though that it's unhealthy for me to worry about things I cannot control. 

Yesterday's Didache reflection gave me a lot of food for thought. It asked, "Lord, what do You want me to learn today?" I was unwell for a few weeks and I realized I hit a slump again. I don't feel good when I'm not productive. Sweetie keeps reminding me to focus on one thing for now - rest so I can get well. Followed his advise, slept all day on Friday and I was feeling better yesterday. 

I read the Didache reflection just before I went to sleep last night. I realized that I've been waiting for a grand mission from Him. It's clear to me that He wants me to focus on my family first, but I've been asking Him, "Is there anything else I need to do?" Typical me, pushing myself hard, haha. 

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

This prayer is credited to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and adopted by the Alcoholics Anonymous organization. Perhaps it's useful for me also since I'm addicted to being productive. I need to find the courage to accept that I have physical limitations and I can't do the same activities I used to do. I also need to forgive myself for letting people down. 

I am grateful I've been able to retire and get the rest I need. My heart hurts for other people like me who are forced to work immediately following a pulmonary embolism. There are many and I read about their pain in our patient group. It's really hard especially when you don't have the proper support you need. 

Accept. Be content. Be thankful. 

“The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” (Psalm 32:8, NLT)

#BeKind #StayHome

Make February Better

Oh wow, January just flew by! With everything that's happening, January felt more like the end of the year already! Like most people, I had nice plans for this year. Everything was thrown out the window again when the surge happened. I've been stuck at home all month and I don't even remember the last time I stepped outside of our gate. The boys have been doing a good job making sure I'm safe. 

Learning also from what happened last year, I'm just going to play things by ear. Here's what I hope to do to make February a better month:

1. Take care of my health better. Hope to end this on and off slight fever. Took the first step and got a blood test today. I'm running out of meds too, so this means I need to contact and see my doctors here soon.

2. Proceed with things I can control. Need to get things going with developing our home. Since plan A didn't work, we're gearing up to proceed with plan B. This goes also for a couple of requirements that need to be fulfilled like getting my car registered.

3. Accept that I need help to do some things. SOS on the way. It just pains me I can't do the things I want to do.

4. Reduce stress triggers. Much as I love to participate in what's happening now, it's just stressing me out and that's affected my health. 

5. Find other happy things to do! Or at least make what I'm doing now work better, i.e. move my sprouts to a place where they can get more sun. 

6. Sleep earlier, wake up earlier. I haven't been able to resolve this and my Mom told me it's been almost 3 months now since I got home. Hope to fix this soon. 

7. Eat better, exercise more. Fitbit told me I get more deep sleep when I do more than 2k steps per day. I'll start there. 

Keeping the list short for now. Better to just target things I can really work on for now so I don't get overwhelmed. 

Things will get better :)

And here's a summary of January :)

#BeKind #StayHome

Places I Want to Explore More

I haven't gone out for almost a month now and it's starting to drive me crazy! My activities have been limited also since I've been having slight fever on and off. I'm getting a blood test tomorrow to determine if I have an infection. To keep busy I water the plants and have started a new quilt project. Well, like many others, I've been scouring through old photos to remind myself of life before the pandemic. 

One of my wishes is to visit again some of the places I've been to. I never really had the chance to explore most of it because I was busy with work. Here are a few of the places I want to visit again:

Yeosu-si, Korea - getting there was an adventure in itself. It's a a city located in the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. I was luckily upgraded to a suite because I could smell smoke coming from another room and it caused a severe asthma attack. The reward was a beautiful view of the bay. My colleague said it was a fishing town and it reminded me of our hometown, Pasacao in Camarines Sur. (more here)

Switzerland - I had a chance to go see the Swiss Alps, but my doctor prohibited me because it was too cold. He was right because there was a cold snap when we went to Zurich. I'd love to see more of Zurich though because they have beautiful places to see. I was only able to see the river once because it was too cold. Maybe I'll get to visit again someday. (How I survived -6'C).

London, UK - I've been to London twice, but I didn't get to go around also. The cold really gets to me. I was only able to walk to Buckingham Palace because it was near my hotel and that was all I got to do, haha. So I must visit London again someday. (snippets)

New Zealand - I was in NZ for less than 48 hours for an event and meetings. I didn't get to go around and was only able to visit Spotlight (priorities, hello!), haha. I'd love to explore this country more someday. 

Australia - I've been to Australia several times and got to visit Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. We were able to do a day cruise thanks to Tita Chu. I've also been able to eat in some nice places, also thanks to Tita Chu. I'd love to see more of this country though and hopefully meet my cousin's super cute baby. (Australia posts)

Taiwan - I've visited Taiwan a lot and I've been to several provinces also, but believe or not I have done what tourists do! It was all work, work, work. I only managed to go to the night market, thanks to Shin Yee. Sigh, would love to see more of the country. (Taiwan posts)

Japan - I think everyone can agree that Japan is one of the places we'd all love to explore. I even tried to learn the language! Hope to be able to explore this beautiful country again and see Tita Pet, Uncle Fumio and my cousins again. (Japan posts)

Since it's impossible to travel for now, I'll probably look for some places we can visit nearby. Hopefully, with the cases going down we can eventually go out and explore. What about you? Where do you want to go?

#BeKind #StayHome

Conscience

Jean-Jacques Rousseau said that "human nature is essentially good". 

I went to sleep last night with a bad taste in my mouth. I had just seen a post promoting a candidate's virtual session. There's nothing wrong about promoting an event, but this one was really unethical. It was done on a city mayor's page and the official public information page of the city. Of course, the admin immediately deleted the posts, but the damage was done already. It disappointed me a lot because I really appreciated the efforts of my city government to provide updates. Now I'm questioning whether they should be trusted. 

It's not new to me. I've had a lot of firsthand bad experiences. I even picked up a call that was a death threat for my Dad when he and Tito Ed were cleaning up PNCC. I was in high school then and we were immediately sent away. The first time I asked about corruption was in sixth grade. I asked my parents how come a classmate was getting PhP200 as her daily allowance and I was just getting PhP5. When I grew up I saw the grown-up version, even in other countries. 

It always makes my stomach churn whenever I encounter these things. My Dad though taught us to do what's right. I remember asking my Kuya during our last Japanese buffet dinner before the pandemic, "How come I always encounter these things?" He said it happens because Papa God knows I can help make things right. While some would be skittish about righting things I always pushed to make things right even though it oftentimes got me in trouble. That was the only way to stop my stomach from churning. 

The election fever is upon us. I realized last night that I probably need to lay off from reading too much stuff online. It's giving me a lot of stress and has been affecting my health. I also realized there's so much fake news and it's adding to unwanted stress. 

Some of the purveyors of fake news and trolls are probably in it because of need. I do hope and pray that they realize that what they are doing is wrong. There are other means to earn a living. And for the mastermind to grow a conscience. What good is power if you acquire it in the wrong manner? What good is wealth if you steal it? What good does it do if you don't have peace in your heart? And for the fanatics, what good does it do for you to support someone who doesn't have a conscience?

#BeKind #StayHome

Set the Bar High

I taught for a term in 2008. I was friendly to my students, but I was strict. I was tasked to teach the last class before thesis. Knowing that my students would soon join the workforce, I thought the best thing I could teach them was to always set the bar high. I pushed them to the limit by having them experience work life. I was also tasked by the university to integrate the use of GSuite (called Google Apps back then) in class. This meant I had to be unconventional in the way I taught. 

I probably shocked the students, but they told me later on that they appreciated the way I taught. Most of them ended up in digital marketing. Some came to me begging to increase their grades, but I said no. I explained to them that grades are meant to recognize the efforts you gave as a student to learn and if you got a lower grade than expected, then that meant there are things you need to improve on. 

Set the bar high with anything you do. Don't settle for less because you'll just end up disappointed. Through the years I learned to be more selective and discriminating. When making decisions, it's important to set a clear goal and determine your targets. Don't rush into things. Stick to your values and make sure your decisions would reach or exceed your goal. 

I thought about this point after watching the Jessica Soho interview. I've also started going through the interviews of Boy Abunda. I think one thing we also need to do as we choose leaders is to set the bar high. If we had better leaders the response to the pandemic would've been better, we wouldn't have been deep in debt, the budget would have been put to better use and not just go to corruption etc. We're all disappointed and that's happened because the bar was set so low. 

For myself, I'll make sure to keep the bar high and I hope you do the same. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Alien!

There's an alien plant in my lettuce pot! The plant just grew overnight in the big wave lettuce pot. I've been trying to identify it using Google Lens, but it's been giving different results everyday. I guess I'll wait a few more days so I could identify it better. 

Banana? Curry? Moringa? Tamarind?
Hopefully not an invasive plant.

Just like other aliens in my life, I have to decide whether I should keep it in the same pot, separate it or discard it. This will probably depend on what kind of plant it is. Whether it's ornamental or a veggie and hopefully not an invasive plant. My Mom would probably not think twice and just pull it out, haha. I've been a bit bored the past few days since I've been forced to rest, so forgive me for overthinking this. 

A Mom-friend pinged me yesterday to ask how I was doing. She reminded me to just chill and let the boys do heavy stuff. I told her I miss our cleaner in SG who came in once a week to clean for us. She said I could probably do it again once things get better. Keep your home happy not clean. That advise made me smile because I'm okay with the house being messy, but I get anxious when it becomes dusty.  Anyway, she was yesterday's guardian angel. Thank you Tita Dine :)

I probably need to do better at staying put. Just chilling is an alien concept to me. Whenever I watch TV, I'm usually multi-tasking. I normally sew. Sweetie told me yesterday to just rest while watching TV. It was hard and to calm myself down I put my planner on my lap. I just made a list of things I need. I eventually managed to just watch TV. With practice I'll get better at this. 

Happy weekend everyone! Double mask to stay safe :)

#BeKind #StayHome 

A Scare

I haven't stepped out for over two weeks now, so when I started feeling unwell on Monday I said maybe it was because I overexerted myself. I mopped the living room and kitchen floors. I like doing it because it gives me a good workout and is the best sweat-inducing chore. It's probably too much for me because my whole body ached until the next day. 

Strangely I started having slight fever. I reduced my activities, drank more water and used EOs. It helped, but the fever kept coming back. The ABS-CBN Foundation Benefit Concerts kept me company while resting in the sala. We monitored my temperature closely and it's always a bit elevated. I didn't really experience any other unusual symptom. 

When I woke up I told Sweetie it's probably better to do a swab, just to be sure. I had a similar incident back in September before I had a biopsy. The hospital tested me also, but the doctor said that it was unlikely I was infected since I didn't have any exposure (I was also just staying home all the time). Anyway, the CDC said to treat any symptom as COVID-19 and to test to know. So I did a swab and as expected it was negative. 

The boys have been fussing over me since it's unusual that I've been feeling extra unwell. My rheumatologist explained to me that the ESR in my blood has been constantly elevated for three years now. It's an indicator of an inflammation or infection. Whatever it is remains a mystery. I think maybe the slight fever is a manifestation of PTSD (it was triggered over the weekend) and the sadness of losing a good friend. 

Negative, whew.

Well, it is what it is, I found some Biogesic in my suitcase. Hopefully that would put an end to it. If needed, I'll go see a doctor (or teleconsult). It's truly a miracle I've lasted more than two months without seeing a doctor. I shall go celebrate and eat some maki. 

On a happy note, my plants have finally started sprouting! Except Cucumartin! Gaaaah. But happy to see progress. Woot!

#BeKind #StayHome

*It would be really useful if self-testing kits are made available for everyone. I still don't understand why Watson's requires a prescription to purchase. In Singapore they provided kits for all households and you can easily buy at the pharmacy. My friends who need to go to the office use it every Sunday night to test. 

My Statement Curtain

I wanted a pink parol, but I couldn't find any. We have a huge window that can be seen from the street, so I thought I'd just make a statement curtain. I found a cute pink fabric online and ordered 11 yards of it. The fabric actually reminds me of a pink suit I had many years ago. I think the fabric I got is normally used for clothing haha. 

My very pink curtain :D

This year honestly feels like 2020. That year started with the eruption of Taal Volcano and then the pandemic started. That year was really hard since we had to adjust to many things like staying home and being away from family. The rise of cases is making me feel like it's 2020 again. I learned a lot from that year, so I'm going to make sure I don't go through this year the same way again. 

We had planned to do something fun this month. We wanted to visit the cemetery and do a day trip somewhere. Just really wanted to get out of the house. Now that it's too risky to go out, I'm just keeping myself busy with home projects. I already made 3 curtains. Two yellow ones for the kitchen and the ginormous pink one for our front window. Good thing Sweetie and Miggy set-up my sewing nook. 

We also finally unboxed the last box from Singapore. Hooray! My motivation was to find my box of threads, haha. The last box we opened was Sweetie's toys. The box of thread was sitting in a closet. I'm now working through checking the list because the mover said there were two missing boxes. Gaaaah. It's been hard to track since they duplicated some numbers and some boxes didn't have a number. The naming convention of the boxes was also messed up. We'll see. 

I was hoping to have my Mom see the very cute curtain I made. I haven't been able to visit her for a week now. I'm avoiding unnecessary exposure for her. The three of us have been sneezing off and on the past week. It might be allergies. I also inhaled a lot of dust when I tried cleaning the top of the water tank. Ugh. So just keeping safe for now. Mom has been in high spirits whenever I call her. 

So for now, we stay home. No joyrides to spin Pokestops. Hope to finish the rest of the living room curtains this week so I can work on my blanket project. I was planning to bake cupcakes for friends, but will just delay it for now since we're avoiding unnecessary external interaction. 

Stay safe friends and praying for those who are sick. 

#BeKind #StayHome

Dinosaurs!

Pandemic dreaming is back! I strangely had dinosaurs in my dream last night. Even stranger when Godzilla made a cameo. That woke me up, haha. 

As usual I did a quick search on Google to find out what dreaming of dinosaurs mean. There are different interpretations, but a general view says that the dinosaur represents your past and it's time to leave it. Another interpretation says you may be afraid of change. 

I'm definitely still in a transition phase. Easing into my new life hasn't been easy. I'm not without problems, but I think I'm dealing with issues better now. I know I've always been intense and I'm just learning now to be more chill. One thing I've learned to do is to say no since I have to be mindful about my health. 

Or maybe the dinosaurs represent the hoards of things I still need to organize. I'm still living out of a "suitcase" because I prioritize organizing our kitchen. I still have some boxes I need to clear. Activity has been stalled because my arm has been hurting since new year. It's just getting a bit better, so hopefully resuming my wall push-ups would fix the issue. Ugh, I abhor being "fragile". 

Our neighborhood has been very, very quiet the past few days. I rarely hear cars passing by. The only sound I hear consistently is the rustling of the bamboo leaves. The zen atmosphere is only ruined when ambulances pass by. I guess everyone's trying to stay home for now. 

May you have a peaceful and stress-free Sunday, sans dinosaurs! 

#BeKind #StayHome

The First Week of the Year

The week just flew by after we had our New Year celebratory lunch with Mom. I've only been keeping track of the day through my meds, LOL. I've been writing the day of the week on my primary medication to make sure I drink it on the right day and time. #titahitz

Hello Brownie! Not mine, but she lives in Mom's house.

At this time of the year I'm normally finalizing my work goals and targets. My whole year would revolve around it and whatever I wanted to do outside of work had to adjust to it. I just realized I have a very clean slate, haha. I'm keeping things slow for now to make sure I remain stable. 

The first week of the year brought alarming news. Cases have drastically gone up and even those who have been very careful have gotten infected. It's reached our family too and all we can do is pray for each other (the Paranaque contingent remains safe don't worry). It's really best to stay home if you can. 

My project to get my childhood home fixed has been put on hold for now. I'm just praying it won't rain so that the roof won't leak and cause more damage. I told the contractor we'll schedule when things are safer. I'll also have my Mom stay with me while the roof is being fixed. She'll probably make a fuss over not having access to her garden, but her safety will be the priority. Other home projects are also on hold. Best we can do is finish organizing the kitchen and focus on planning. 

Mama Mary protect us.

I think the most productive thing I did this week was work on my garden. The bell pepper seeds Miggy and I planted before Christmas has produced 23 sprouts! The spring onion and leeks are stable now and growing nicely. I was also able to re-pot the citronella plants I got a month ago. They've outgrown the temporary plastic pot and needed a new home. I got really nice clay pots for them. 

I have gardening gloves, but I want to feel what I'm doing better so I use latex gloves.

There's a meme showing that 2022 means 2020 too. Much as the case numbers are going crazy now, I think we're in a better position to win over the virus. We all know what we need to do -- get vaccinated and stay home as much as possible. Help where we can and pray. 

#BeKind #StayHome