coco, choco, cocoa...?

We haven't decided yet what to call the latest addition to our kennel. Yesterday, after Pooh had his booster shot, sis picked up a four-month old golden retriever. True to its breed name, it's soft coat has the same color as cappuccino that shimmered as gold upon close inspection.

Cocoa made a very strong impression the moment its carrier was deposited on the porch floor. Wow, how she stank. The smell was a combination of a variety of odor, not one good which left us with a bad stomach. Rubbing its soft mane revealed a host of parasites feasting on its young flesh. Poor thing!

After resting for around four hours, off to the shower we went. How she loved the water. Since the sky was overcast, we kept it short, just enough to render the ticks giddy from the medicated soap and the smell softened to a tolerable degree if not eliminated.

All is well for now.

of feasts and famine...

Christmas would have been much happier had Sendong and the tail of the cold front failed to hit the country. Pausing to look at the real issue here might open our minds to the cause of these so called calamities. It is our doing that we suffer. Have you seen the news? In Mindanao, the flooding was clearly caused by illegal logging in the area. Look at the shores. They are littered by what remained of the trees at were cut down. I remember reading years ago that Japan's forest were so old that they have to burn them to make way to planting new trees. And that in other countries, they have these tree plantations where they get their lumber from. That way, their forests are not disturbed to the point of destruction. In Cebu just today, the floodwaters are littered with styropacks that we usually use for take out goodies. What does that say about us? We are so busy (really!?!?!) we barely had the time to prepare real food and clean after our mess. We end up eating take away from a container and dispose of them, not caring where these plastics and styrofoam end up. Our lifestyles are just way ahead of what we can afford to dispose of our waste in a way that it the consequence wont backfire at us.
Tsk...I'm not much of a current events persons but if I get my moment, I would spend my time and resources in processing these fast food waste. With a degree in technology, I just need the nerve to get back to my roots and delve into research for a change. God help me!

Note: I'm not a big earner. I hope the old clothes my bro and I managed to salvage from our closets help with the most pressing need for clothing of the flood victims.

the day after christmas

The sky was overcast confirming PAG-ASA's forecast of a low pressure building up down south so going out of town was out of the question. After a leisurely breakfast of pancake and brewed coffee at bbf's, off we went and checked the parlor at the city that we haven't been to yet. Though it looked crowded, we agreed to wait. By the end of the day, there were 8 of us the two hair techs service for rebonding. We were clients 5 and 6. They started doing our hair at 11:45 and we left their station at almost 7:00. We missed lunch. Oh, the price we had to pay to have pretty hair!!! Vanity!

a time for mourning...

I have nothing to talk about this week but work, work work. After a week's absence, work piled on my desk way above my head. Deadline for internal and external deliverable was way past due. I come in as early as 7:30 in the morning and leave at 6:00 in the evening leaving me very little time to walk the dog (Thankfully, bro filled in for me and Cuchi doesn't look so sad and neglected) yet I can still see myself plowing through all the paper works until next week..
Everything would have been easier had the shocking news of the week did not transpire. My lone office mate followed me to the hospital five days after I went there myself for consultation and some blood tests. The only difference is that I came out as an outpatient while he did not make it. So young to leave this earth. With his vast social connections, he will be surely missed. As for me, the office will never be the same without his artistic touches. He was more of a girl than I am. His covered boxes and Christmas decor hanging on the ceiling will always serve as a reminder.

The Real Tale of a TI Survivor

03 Dec 2011 - It all began the night of the third. My throat was so hot and itchy and everything uncomfortable. The gargle did not make it any better. I noticed that the runny nose was gone. My! I was up to something serious.

04 Dec 2011 - By some miracle I did get some sleep but had difficulties getting up. My body was unusually warm and my head was leaden. When I woke up again, sis was already back from mom's bearing lunch (she got me a macaroni soup which I ate with some crackers). I can't exactly recall now when the coughing started but when it came, my head ached so much it felt like it was being ripped off my neck. The phlegm that came with it was tinged with crimson, it started to alarm me but I kept mum about it. It did not happen only once but on a regular basis and each time lasted for like eternity. I tried to sleep to escape it but even with the A/C on, I felt very hot and kept on tossing and turning. In my dreams (it didn't matter that I woke up countless of time during the night to relieve myself), I was doing this rectangle puzzle game which I knew how to win but however I tried never get to win. It was frustrating and it aggravated the pain in my head. I tried to think of more pleasant things but somehow I found myself dreaming about the stupid polygon game. Thankfully, it did not return to torment me in the following nights.

05 Dec 2011 - Determined to get into the bottom of this infection, I willed myself to get up and get to mom's for breakfast hoping to catch the doctor early. Turned out that the specialist wont be in until noon. That was a very long wait. There was still a lot of waiting when we arrived at the clinic. I don't know where it came from. I mean, fear. Yeah, at some point, while waiting, I started feeling nauseous but the bright girl that I am knew exactly what to do to curb it. I inhaled big gulps of air and my vision started to clear but I felt the fear creeping down my tummy until I had to go to the toilet. There, I was torn between throwing up and do "#" to clear whatever it is that made me feel bad. Not long after, I felt sweat rolling down my forehead and the bathroom door open. Gladly, it was just mom, wondering about what has been taking me so long. Shortly after that episode, I was called in next. My BP result was hypotensive. The doctor had to borrow the spyg of the doctor next door to confirm her measurement. It stayed at 70/40. She proposed that I'd be admitted to get rehydration salts through a needle which was fine with me. However, by the time that we got to the hospital, my BP has normalised already and the doctor who attended to me at the emergency room decided that I was not to be an in-patient. She prescribed paracetamol every four hours for the headache (no wonder my headache was very much pronounced. I had mine only three times in 24 hours), co-amoxiclav twice daily and betadeine gargle for the bad bacteria. Besides the adventure, my condition was pretty much the same as the previous day. But at least for this day, I had ample supply of ice for my cold compress.

06 Dec 2011- I was wondering how much weight I have lost already. Even with the most inviting smoking hot fish stew for breakfast, I did not get to finish the serving I prepared. And it wasn't even half to what I have on a regular day. Today, I felt the medicine working. My throat started to itch again and my nostrils felt congested. No germ-filled material gets dislodged whenever I cough, no matter what amount of heaving I did. It was frustrating. When nightfall came, my misery began anew. I could only breathe through my mouth, the coughing ensued again.

07 Dec 200 - My scalp was killing me. I was still a little feverish but I really felt the need to wash my hair. Vanity escapes me. I am in great pain. Is it a sin to crave for just a little comfort? So I boiled some lemon leaves in a pot and poured the concoction into my bath water. In just less than ten minutes, I felt cold but a lot better. I had a lot of callers today. I sounded funny. A lot mannish. It's weird. Things got a lot quieter in the afternoon. And so we watched the (mis)adventure of "Megamind". It was so funny, I laughed so hard, and so began my afternoon of coughing fit. But it was a good one. This time, I felt that the phlegm has somehow loosened it's hold on the walls of my lungs, it came off easily. Sheer relief, until I heard tatay cough and found him offering me half his co-amoxiclav. Oh, what have I done?

The Tale of a TI Survivor

Caution: This is not for the fainthearted.

3 Dec 2011 - It was a typical Saturday. When I looked up to check the time, it was already past 1 in the afternoon; well past my weekend duty hours; well past lunch as well. Sis wasn't done with the salon yet but I sure am done for at least a day and a half for all the work that I have put in all morning. Pre-lunch fare was a slice of pizza. Something was odd. The dough tasted papery.

At home, there's not much to do but wait for the much hyped about LA Galaxy and Azkals friendlies (aka the Dream Cup - maybe because it was the organizers', the players', and the rest of the football lovers' collected dream to see the superstars of LA Galaxy)  at Rizal Memorial. It pays to read/watch the sports news (only if  Diane Castillejo wasn't in it. My! Listen to her!). So I paid dearly. Sat in front of the tube for nearly six hours, having no idea when or what station was the game to be aired.

Dinner came and gone. Then the game started. It was fun before it got really boring. At the fifteenth minute, I swore that if Beck wont make a goal in the first half, I'm off to sleep. Then on the 20th minute, maybe Beck got bored as well and wowed everyone with a goner from way way back. Truly, he bends it like no other.

I quit earlier than promised though. When the Azklas got that single goal, there was only one defender between the ball and Saunders. How was that possible. The last time I checked, there were 3 big guys protecting the goal, Beck included.

I remember our game against the USC varsity during the Thirsty Cup (hope we'll have the same event here in Negros). Even with the knowledge that we were not that tough a team, they never gave us a reason to feel small. They challenged us to be tougher and better players. Look at how where the girls now. 2, 3 championships in the open category and counting.