Lovin' my Friends BUT NOT my Lab Results

I had a lot of friends in high school. We didn't have permanent classmates so each year, I gain a different set of really close friends, which I somehow managed to maintain since we essentially all are close to one another. When we all went our different ways through college, I kind of lost contact with much of them, to my sadness. My friendship with Nhing, though, sort of lasted the longest and closest. We have very different worlds but here we are - exchanging husband notes. Baby notes later since I don't have one. That's another story, of course.
So I got this package the other day from Nhing who now lives in Melbourne with her husband and kids.



For a while I thought I was receiving vaccines. The bag looked very much like the kind we use to transport vaccines. How cute!


Instead, the little thermo container was full of yummy items that remind us very well of the land down under. Noy love those cheeses to death.


I love cheeses too, but I really want to rip open the Tim Tams the moment I saw them. It was so sweet of Nhing to send something I haven't tasted yet -


Sadly though, I can't eat them. Not yet, at least. Not when it got slightly worse instead of better.


Lousy picture, I know. The point is, based on these lab results, I'm still not in good shape. It's a pity, because since I started working in PGH I've actually felt that I had lost some weight. I do the Orbitrek each morning and I do an awfully lot more walking here than when I was working in Laguna. Plus, my husband and I have stopped breakfasting at McDonald's because I've managed to cook breakfast that doesn't require deep frying. This really put me down a bit, but I refuse to get carried away too much. Not when Noy and I are only a few hundred pesos away from one of these -



Another good friend of mine, Jazelyn, had some business to do in PGH the other day and decided to stop by for a visit. It was so good to see her after several months! We used to meet for coffee and shopping like once a month but I stopped inviting her when she told me that everyone at work were raring for her to finally obtain her MS by finishing her thesis.

So we squeezed in a light dinner onto her busy busy sked (she had to rush back to her lab to run some more God knows what tests) at Figaro.

We shared a bowl of (super yummy!) pasta a la carlo and my favorite, clubhouse sandwich, over gossip, sad stories, funny stories, silly stuff. We raved on her cool new haircut which worked very well. I realized meeting friends like this could be such a refreshing way to relax after work. I don't remember the last time I did. I don't even know if I did at all until then.

I tried their new Cinnamon Chai Latte, which is light and very good. Honestly though, I'd still line up for a chai tea latte at CBTL. Enough said. Maybe I'd try the one with raspberry the next time I'm in Figaro. I'm curious about the new set meals as well and I would like to know if those are good.

Nevertheless, wherever or whatever way I get my fix of chai latte, tim tam, or cheddar, I know it's always going to be better if enjoyed with a good old friend. Best if finally my lab results turn out normal next time.

First Dance

Four years ago today, Noy unassumingly showed me this video he made on his free time. There was no special occasion. He just wanted to make one.

It borders on the corny, really, but when someone makes something very nice out of very ordinary, who wouldn't feel good about it?

I was moved to tears.




Two years and a gathering of dust on the CD surface later, we thought the video would make a good background for the dance on our wedding day. We danced, and the guests could look at either us dancing or the video itself.

So we whispered more sweet nothings and danced like no one was watching...


...until he was moved to tears.

Downplayed and Happy

We met with Noy's med school buddies last Saturday to celebrate the wedding of Louie (whom they fondly call Badong) and Cat. We were late as usual, and found it weird that most of the male guests weren't wearing barong. As it turns out, they have been informed by word of mouth that the couple did not want to require their guests to be oh so formal on their wedding celebration.
Noy flinched at this, wanting to go back home and change. The church, the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart, is located in Makati and was just a bridge away from Mandaluyong. I saw several other guys in barongs, one in a coat and tie even. So that settled Noy.

I figured, maybe the couple did not want to make a big fuss out of their wedding because of the numerous natural calamities and all. The church flowers were all of white asters. You know, what's usually used as fillers are now the big star. They lined the aisle and were strategically placed everywhere else. It actually looked beautifully simple.

the lovely couple - Louie and Cat

The female entourage wore simple pink gowns. The female secondary sponsors came in their own gowns/dresses - no forceful wearing of hideous gowns by the bride here. I thought it was really practical. Untraditional, but works pretty much the same.

The bride wore her hair down. Her gown was simple and pretty. No ridiculously long train or tacky beads.

Were they short of budget somehow? I don't think so. They served an amazingly delicious lunch at the richly decorated Manila Function Hall of Makati Shangri-la. I could have eaten appetizers all lunch long, but the problem was that the roast beef was really tender and tasty and the salmon was insanely delicious. Im not a big fan of salmon but this one made me eat a whole piece. It's sad I didn't get enough seared tuna to satisfy, but the shrimp and mango salad kind of made up for it. Plus, I discovered that bamboo shoots and olives could make an awfully wonderful salad. Yum yum yum.

Noy and his med school buddies at
Louie and Cat's wedding reception in Makati Shangri-la

Badong and Cat didn't have traditions on their reception program, if you can call it that. His brother made a speech, two friends sang, and that's it. They hopped from table to table to chat with their guests and have photos taken. That was it - no games, no lousy speeches. Simple and happy.

Which reminds of Noy's cousin Greg's Dumaguete wedding, which was downplayed too. Their reception at the bride's family's beach resort didn't have much of the corny stuff, but the food was spectacular and the guests chatted endlessly since there was free seating. Anyone can come to the microphone and speeches weren't restricted to important people. There was no stage, no spotlights, no wedding cake! The couple mingled well with their guests and enjoyed every bit of their day.

"Our" table at Kuya Greg and Let's Dumaguete wedding in 2008:
guests were allowed to sit anywhere they liked, and food was everywhere

Starstruck: Christine Jacob's husband Paco Sandejas was Kuya Greg's best man

My wedding was all tradition, somehow. It wasn't downplayed, but we kept it simple and true to ourselves. I believe the guests have seen our personalities on the details, together and as individuals. Most of all, we had fun. Dowplayed or not, weddings are meant to be happy.

In the Eyes of a Cancer-Stricken Child

"Hi ma'am, kamusta po kayo? Ang ganda nyo po, ma'am!" ("Hi madam, how are you? You look beautiful, madam!") , was how two children greeted me while I passed them on my way to the toilet today. It was proving to be a crappy day at work and normally, I would ignore children who made remarks like these, thinking they either reek of sarcasm or in need of some money.

Today isn't exactly a bad hair day, but I certainly don't feel pretty either, especially when some unprofessional people expect me to perform non-doctor tasks seamlessly. I'm sure I'm not ugly, but I'm not the type who'd make heads turn, much less call the attention of two eight year old male, bald, masked kids who trotted their heavy IV stands along the corridor and happen to be cancer patients who stay at the hospital one month or so at a time.

Coming back from the toilet, they said hi again, this time purposefully tucking their masks under their chins to show off their smiles. I smiled back and decided to stop for a chat.

The first one, whose smiled faded away almost immediately, told me matter of factly that his chemo didn't push through today because his white blood cells are on the high side. He flinched a little when I touched the tennis ball-sized tumor on his left shoulder. "Dalawa na po ang bukol nya, dati isa lang sa tiyan" ("He now has two tumors when before he only had one in the tummy"), told the other kid, who gamely showed me the disc-shaped tumor the size of a regular CD at the center of his abdomen.

They let me scratch their bald heads. They held my hand. I can't think of anything else to say because I did not want to dwell on the very obvious and sad topic of their illness.

Then the happier one broke the silence. "Maganda po kayo, ma'am."

When I asked him why he thinks so, he said "Kasi po lagi kayong nakangiti tuwing dumadaan dito. Wala pong ibang tao na ngumingiti pag dumadaan dito, kayo lang po." ("Because you smile everytime you pass us by. No one else does that around here.")

And what does my smiling do to them, I asked. "Masaya po." ("It makes us happy.")

I replied with a weak "talaga?" ("really?") then hugged them both.


A crappy day. An ordinary smile. A beautiful thing in the eyes of a ailing child. A dying one, perhaps.

I said goodbye, returned to my desk and wiped a tear on my cheek. I'm never letting any unprofessional person ruin my day again.





(As some of you may already know, I now work at the Cancer Institute at UP-PGH. My clinic/office is at the second floor, near the pediatrics ward. Next to it is the toilet, which I share with 20 or so CI employees. )

A Fishy Surprise

One day last week, my husband texted me to report that he is bringing home a surprise that evening. I got excited, thinking that it was either girly stuff, or some really delicious food. When he got home, I saw him unloading, among his usual stuff, a really large plastic bag - the big ones from the palengke (market). I thought it couldn't be the surprise, but he proudly showed it to me and slowly unwrapped the thing inside with a big anticipatory grin. Here's what was in the plastic bag.


I never thought bangus (milkfish) could grow as large. I could not even look at it, much less eat it. I mean, I love fish. He knows I love fish. But I don't eat monsters that look like fish.

Apparrently, he got too excited when he saw it along the way to the clinic in Laguna and saw that it was very cheap at 80 pesos (USD 1.70) per kilo. In the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy), the fishpens in Laguna Lake were destroyed, a lot of the fish that was intended to be sold were able to swim out of their pens and ended up in the households with the flood. Hence the very cheap price. So he bought the entire fish-monster, all 3.5 kilos of it. Methinks this one is a mother bangus who lays out a thousand eggs each day.


Its eyes were larger than a one peso coin. I have a number of friends and relatives, especially kids, who liked fish eyes so much they almost quarrel at the table on who gets this part. I wonder how they'd react if they see this.

Since I could not even go near it, Noy was left alone standing (literally) at the kitchen with the fish in his hands in a "here's my surprise!" smile on his face. Of course, the smile dissolved instantly. His really sad face broke my heart. So i mustered all strength, held my breath, and gingerly took the fish from him and placed it on the sink to clean it.
But I couldn't. I really tried, you know. That's when he finally accepted the fact that the fish was just too...monstrous. For me. It wouldn't have mattered if it were tuna or lapu lapu (grouper). A bangus this size is simply too weird.
So he did the cleaning and assumed the problem of placing it whole in the freezer. He was planning to make tinapa (dried fish) out of it, so he can't cut it into smaller pieces. Of course it didn't fit flat in, so he cleverly stored it this way -


It stayed that way for two days when Noy realized I wasn't going to touch it. Noy is not a fish-eater, so he's not touching it with his non-professional hands either. So it finally ended in my sister-in-law's freezer, where it's destined to become relleno in a few days.

The Storm

Almost two weeks have passed.

I hope this one reaches out to the kindhearted souls who'd be willing to help in any way possible.
The victims need all they can get.

Home, Somehow

The past three weeks have been exhilirating. My folks from the province are in town to boost my brother's morale, who's taking the four-Sunday Bar Exams. They're just in time for their quarterly follow-up with their doctors, too. Along they brought my grandson, Gerard. My niece Gie from my cousin Ging got accidentally pregnant - you know... So here is Gerard, the current apple of our eyes.

Gerard at his Auntie Lulu's third birthday party with his Lola Mammu

Gerard and his Naynay on the way to SM Megamall

Add to Noy, the people I've mentioned above are most dear to me. Ate Ging has been living with my parents since I wasn't even born yet, so I grew up being taken care of by her. When my parents migrated to the US (then to Aklan) she became my second mom. That makes Gie almost my younger sister. We shared everything from toiletries to shoes. We both call her mom Mammu.

When they all chose to stay with me and Noy for this visit, I was literally surrounded by my most loved people in the world. It's like Christmas coming early. Gerard apparently has no business here except to keep us happy. I've never rushed home crazy like this. It's true what they say, all the tiredness goes away with a whiff of the delicately scented hair and the smile on the face of a baby. Especially if it's your baby. Well, he's almost mine. I've volunteered to be called Mama Ice (Gie used to call me Ice when she was a baby herself, and has carried on until now) while Noy is Papa Noy. And we like it.

Gerard and Papa Noy fooling around on the day bed

Gerard with Lolo and Lola at Sbarro

When I was a very new wife, I kept telling Noy how much I missed coming home from school or the hospital to our old apartment in Tondo. Mama always set the table after Ate Ging cooked (their roles interchange every now and then) and the four of us - Papa, Ming, Gie and I - would devour the food and both our stomachs and tired bodies welcomed the comfort so much. Things are quite the same now that everyone's in our house for a while. Except that Papa and Gie aren't THAT tired, and of course Noy is another hungry and tired soul to be satisfied. I'm having a grand time in that I don't have to worry about things like laundry and meals. I just wake up, play with Gerard, got through my morning rituals, eat, go to work, come home, play with Gerard, eat and sleep. How convenient!
Then again, it's more than the convenience. I mean, I can live my own life. But it just would not be the same without people who love me unconditionally. I know, being away from one's family is one big thing to deal with once one gets married. When I was single, I'd book a ticket on a whim and go home to Aklan the next day. Of course I can't just do that now. I definitely do not regret being with my husband, but I definitely miss living with my family too.

Christmas 2005 family photo in Aklan:
Mama was so much bigger while I was a little thinner :P

Since Noy and I got married, these little visits by my family pulls out all the stops - all unimportant businesses are cancelled, work takes a back seat, budgets get tickled to spoil my parents a little - stuff we don't do very often. After all, it's not everyday I can physically show my family that I love them. Living with Noy just made me appreciate my family more. And that's one wonderful thing.