Brain "cell" damage

I was given an early birthday gift by my brother and Pia. I was told that my bro is going to hand me down his Siemens SX1. It crashed during an accidental removal of the memory card. Anyway, Pia called me today informing me that the phone already arrived together with her nokia 7610. Needless to say, I was ecstatic all day waiting for the time she gets off from work.

We agreed to meet up at the Festival Mall at 7, but she arrived at 8 because of the traffic. My sister and I were like babies given a candy when she first showed us her gadget. Oooooohhhh and aaaaahhhhh's were all we could say. Next came mine, I jumped with glee at the mall as she presented me with -- dig this-- my very own cellphone.

Then came the glitch- it won't start. The message "app. closed" keep appearing on the damn screen and it wouldn't yield to my pleadings for it to start-up. Aaaaarrrggghhh! We went to the cellphone centers inside the mall scouting for repair shops and a memory card for her nokia. Some of the cellphone techs told me it was a major crash in the system and that fixing it would mean opening the phone up and a damage of P1500 outright would be likewise inflicted on me. No way! I figured out I could figure this problem out.

On the other conquest for phone frills, Pia shelled out around P2000 bucks on a memory card only to find out later that it was the wrong kind. Another 15 minutes were lost by waiting for the refund of her payment. There was no more time left for the mall was about to close. Another bummer was when we spent a few minutes at a semi-closed Smart Wireless Center only to be told that they can't provide us with what we need. Total bad luck...

We just decided to drown our sorrows at the Superbowl Of China. Dinner was at 9:30 and comprised of spicy chicken and some wanton noodle soup and garlic rice. We waited for another 10 mins. still, no dinner yet. We were served the wrong food thrice and waited for what seemed like eternity before we can pig out. I was nearing the end of my wits hadn't it been for that funny waiter who insisted we come back for their halloween party at Sunday. I was thinking, THIS was already halloween, with all the ghouls of pessimism haunting us all the way. Add to that the rain and the fact that I still have to spend at least a whopping P3000 (fix and a 128 MB MMC) on my heirloom cellphone.

I did not want to sleep without fighting, so I searched the net for a good 2 hours only to find at GSM Forum the answer to my dilemma--- A hard reset. All I have to do is push 3 certain buttons on the phone at the same time, and presto!!!!!! Instant reformatting of its Symbian OS!!!!

Tsk!tsk!tsk! to think I would have been fooled by the technical jargons and all the bullshit those techs have explained to me. Hehehe... what do you know? I'm smarter!!!

Now I can proudly say how I thank my dear brother Patrick and Pia so much for the wonderful gift.

Thanks guys! I love you so much!

Inhalers and Ninjas

Sembreak... what every college student waits for. Now I can sleep, now I can breathe....

My son's pedia cofirmed that Skye has asthma. He has now upgraded from his nebulizer to a metered dose inhaler, the kind you see in movies being huffed and puffed by respiratory challenged people. When I told Mick about this, he was crushed. He has high hopes pa naman of his son following his footsteps and be a karate freak. That would have to wait for now since strenous physical activities are prohibited. So, for this upcoming halloween trick or treat party, I decided to buy my son a ninja costume. He was cute when he tried it out and as he was making "hiyaaaah!" notions. Sad, though, that it would take him long before he can actualize that dream.

I accompanied my sister scouting for nursing colleges. This took us a loooooooong walk and a few inquiries before we settled that she would have to take the risk at St Paul, where my nurse cousin, Ate Peach graduated. What's scary is the mall right in front of the campus. I guess I just have to let her spread her wings now and experience life first-handedly. I just pray life would be good to her. Anyway, it's her birthday today, so I guess I'll have to cut her some slack and be nonchalant about her entrance to adulthood. Happy Birthday, sis!

Be back later.... Gone to visit the nice people in white straitjackets in the room with padded walls...

Of Pirates and Ladders

Pia went to our house yesterday while all of us are just bumming around. She announced that she already recieved her new credit card from Standard Chartered so we have to celebrate it.(add to that the nokia 7610 my brother will be shipping her by the end of the month! tsk, tsk, some girls have all the luck!) So after a lot of persuasion for us to dress up, we went to Festival Mall for dinner and a movie.

Dinner was at Giligan's, a nice place where the waiters are dressed in all black tight shirts and a red bandanna. What they lack are the eye patches and they would have passed as authentic pirates! We had the T-bone steak, chicken sisig, sizzling pusit, pizza, blue marlin, and mashed potatoes. Skye was running around the place as usual, tinkering with the grand piano in between bites. Surprisingly, he had an appetite that night and he looked cute while eating large portions of his pizza. It was what you can call a full meal until Skye puked showing all the diners at Giligan's and nearby restos such as Teriyaki Boy and Superbowl what he ate for dinner. Gawd! Now, I am taking him back to his pedia since this happens everytime he runs around, even if he's not eating.

Next stop was at the movie complex just upstairs from where we ate. We voted on Ladder 49 which was my personal choice because of John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix. That one really touched me deep inside. After the movie, tears were welling up my eyes, but I don't want to be a major spoiler so you just see the movie for yourself and let's whine together later. One thing is for sure though, I now have a newfound respect for firefighters. WAAAAAHHHH!!!!!! That is one ending I really don't like coz I'm a sucker for happy endings. Skye loved the movie. In fact, he now wants to be fireman. He was shouting "Hello!!! Anybody there??!!??" at the barren mall when we were about to go home.

My hunny called around midnight. He was in his "pa-baby" voice which he uses when he did something, or wants something, or just plain "pa-cute". "Nagbuy ako X-box ha?" he blurted out. He also added that he spent $20 on a slot machine at a casino at Nassau, and won $150 which he used to buy his mean, lean, gaming machine. I laughed at him and his childish luxuries. The whole arcade just wasn't enough!

Well, well, two movies in one week! Hey, my social life is improving!

baby blues

I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I didn't get hitched so soon, what it would be like if I was still single. I really do, but not with a hint whatsoever of regret or bitterness, just plain curiosity. See, my life has been reprogrammed ever since I became Mrs. Maligtas (the surname's not nice, I know, but the guy is!). It's like the new me overwrote my past "me" file in a snap. A few years back, all I care about was me and what I wanted. Now, it's about buying what Skye wanted, when to make him stand in the corner, or teaching him his abc's and 123's.

Yesterday, we agreed upon watching a movie after our grand evaluation which our class hosted. It only stole around 3 hours of our precious time, but damn! I feel so guilty having to go out without my kid. Gene told me it was just right for us to have a little time for ourselves (gene is my classmate and a fellow young mom whose hubby is also out of the country). Nevertheless, I felt incomplete. It was like playing hooky from my mom when I was still a teen or something. I did enjoy the movie and going out with my friends, what I didn't enjoy was the sinking feeling afterwards. It made me wonder if that made me a bad mom.

I reasoned with the fact that the past Sunday was a pure Skye day. Maybe one day for myself after all these four years is not bad. I so deserve it, right?

But then, I began to like what I felt. It dawned on me that I was at last being responsible. It made me realize the gravity of the power that has been bestowed upon me ever since I got married. I remember what I said during that emotional time when I gave birth - that finally Mick and I have someone to finally call our own, someone nobody can ever deny was purely ours and cannot be taken away (I don't know if being that emotional was due to the hormones).

I don't have to punish myself for that one "me" day. In fact, it showed me right on my face how I like it to be a mom. I am so lucky I almost have everything I wanted. It just needs a brain to figure out that you might have everything you wished for too.

As I am typing this, Skye is making a monkey bar out of my arms and messing with the keyboard, and Mick is constantly in my mind wondering about how he is, but I'm glad I have them to think about.

I'm already married and raising a family, but look! I'm not complaining and never will be because this made me the better person I am today. It is happiness at it's finest.

This post is dedicated to my fellow new moms (or those with new additions):
- my sis- in- law Ate Let who gave birth to Regin Andrei last August
- my "kumare" Jem who gave birth to Matthew Zachary last October 7 in San Diego, CA
click to see Jem and baby Matthew
- my cousin-in-law Marge who gave birth to Jean Louis last October 10
- my aunt Alma who will be giving birth to "garutay" this November

one of my firsts

the other day, i just had my very first DOT (dead on table). it was 7:00 in the morning when my c.i. told me to scrub up for an emergency operation, and there he was. The patient was a good-looking 27-year-old single guy who was involved in a vehicular accident while onboard his motorcycle. the operation was very fast paced- the kind you'd see in movies during emergencies. midway into our operation, he arrested and one of the surgeons began cpr. i was trying hard to keep my composure when i saw the damages: ruptured spleen, kidneys, and liver. all measures were taken to help him survive, but because of the injuries he sustained and the blood he lost, he was declared dead by 7:30. it made me realize how precious life is and why i am right into turning down mick's wishes of buying a motorcycle. at least now, i have a solid argument.

i never thought that it would take one dead patient to make me appreciate what i have now. i no longer consider myself to be luckless. because of this patient, i now consider myself lucky coz i'm still alive.

i'm also lucky last night coz for the first time in months, i got to have at least 8 hours of sleep!