Goodbye, House.

Closing time
Time for you to go out to the places you will be from
Closing time
This room won't be open till your brothers or your
sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other
beginning's end.

~~lyrics from "Closing Time" by Semisonic

We handed over the keys, and the new owners handed over the last one million peso check to my mom. It's final. Finito. The house has been sold. And we will never walk its steep stairwells, roam the dusty corridors or taste the sweet santol from the trees in our backyard.

As my sister, husband and I did our last "possession check" at the house, I wanted to cry. But no tears came. It was like taking care of an old relative in a coma, who after years of attendance, just never woke up and just died in her sleep. As the house's caregivers, we were already all cried out. No tears came.

This is what it is. The house's natural death. Or as my friend Ian put it, another hard-edged chapter ender.

Good morning Ginseng

I no longer have asthma and I am sleeping full-nights. I feel so much better!!! Although I have been put on on steroids, antihistimines and nasal sprays - I attribute my new found health to the one-day forced vacation at the hospital.

Plus the fact that the house ordeal is almost over. But I've also been taking two wonder herbal teas.

Korean Red Ginseng Tea
One of the "biggies" of the herbal world, red ginseng is a cure-all for most ailments. I drink it daily instead of coffee and now feel lighter and more energetic. Supposedly, the Korean Red Ginseng tea promotes a soothing effect on the human body and mind. It is said that due to its unique nature the Korean Red Ginseng tea promotes a peculiar state of calmness, while at the same time sharpens the mind

Hawthorne Juice
Known as an anti-oxidant and anti-depressent, Hawthorne is used mainly to support a healthy heart. The leaves, berries and flowers are rich in flavonoids and proanthocyanidins, renowned for their ability to support the normal activity and integrity of the heart. My doctor also prescribed it to help me metabolize cholesterol because I had been gaining a lot of weight.

Sickboy and Sickmom

I'm back at home, taking things easy and guess who gets an asthma attack?? Poor baby.

Hospital Scam

Just wanted to share with you this new scam we personally experienced while I was confined at Medical City. No worries, I'm okey now and back at home. Just had asthma, and the fatigue and stress probably got the best of me. I have a new arsenal of antihistimines, steriods and nebulization treatments.

Anyhow, this is more important. Apparently, these hospital phone scams have become rampant. I'm not sure if they happen in other hospitals as well, but it's best to be aware that it happens.

After we were settled in our hospital room, we got a phone call from an "operator" who asked for the patient's name for verification because my doctor was on the line and wanted to talk to me. My husband, who's the #1 cynic in the world, gave me name with major hesitation. Then, a man was transferred to the line. He asked me about my condition and he truly sounded like a doctor, mature, knowledgeable, good English. Anyway, he made conversation, apologized that he'd be late for his rounds today and if he could ask us a favor. That is, that he's helping out some foreign doctors and needs some dollars changed. If we could forward daw P15,000 to two
nurses and than he'll give us $300 when he does his rounds.

One hitch: my doctor is a FEMALE.

Andreas already knew that it was a scam but listened to the guy's entire salespitch before telling him politely he had no money with him. The fake doctor then asked if we had an ATM. Ang kapal! Ang kapal!

Immediately after we put down the phone, we called security and then we informed the nurses station. What alarmed us was that 1) the ring from the phone was an internal transfer (not from an outside line) and 2) the scam artist knew the name of our doctor, but not the gender...hehe. We concluded someone is probably going around the floor, jotting down the names of the doctors and made random calls. Our nurses later informed us that on our floor alone, 4 patients received similar scam calls, but with different ploys. Others were asked an advance in professional fees. In a matter of 2 hours or so, the medical city security had sent up extra people to monitor halls, interviewed us for our side of the story, advised us to lock all doors and also had the nurses introduce each and every shift so we were aware of who our REAL nurses were.

We were very happy with the way Medical City handled the situation and of course, we were not stupid enough to fall for such a scam. But what really upset me so much, is how LOW these scam artists will go. They prey on people who are at their weakest and most vulnerable. And when money is very tight, with the anticipation of a huge hospital bill. Some people are so despicable. Or this is a very bad indication of how bad the economy is, this Christmas season.

Sickgirl

I am now confined at Medical City Hospital. Am. Bored. To Death. But at least I'm breathing =) And a visit from my son cheered me up considerably.

Dying to Breathe

I can’t fathom how one weekend can start off so great and end so terribly. Saturday morning, my sister and I were able to clean up more garage sale stuff and donate it to a great charity. We met a new great neighbor. I attended the fantabulous wedding of my wonderful friends Peejo and Mabel. And on Sunday night --- my husband rushed to the Emergency room of Medical City Hospital, while I fought for my every breath of air. And ending up vomiting all my dinner too.

It’s 5:27AM now, and I’m still fighting for air. The attending doctor gave me the choice of admittance into the hospital or going home. Being the miser I am, I opted for the latter and now I am majorly regretting it. I had my 6th nebulization treatment in the past 36 days (not counting the three “hospital grade” nebulizations I got at the ER). And yet, I’m still fighting to get the air in. I’m currently sitting on our house’s third floor patio with Gandalf (my laptop). Up here, I can gaze at the open sky and I feel my lungs can get a little bit more air. But the wheeze in my lungs is still very audible and I think I should go to a specialist tomorrow and (maybe) get myself confined.

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Olivares

Last night, I watched "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Olivares". It was such a good movie. I rarely rarely find a Pinoy film that I can praise (and not find a million things to make pintas about), but this one was excellent from script, to acting (the young man who played the lead is one to watch out for - excellent), to direction and cinematography. Not a single frame was wasted.

My only beef was that (I read) that film was shot in digital video and later transferred to film so that it could be viewed in mainstream theatres - Hence, some generation loss and a grainy dark feel. An average movie goer wouldn't probably notice.

I never have a lot of free time and when I watch a movie I feel that I have to chose my movies very carefully. I don't want to come out out a loser (wasted P100, and more importantly, 2 hours of my life that I'll never get back!) Watch this, no regrets. You'll learn things on different levels. It reveals so much about Philippine society, our values, family vs. doing good.
Showed me why I love the Philippines and why I hate it too.

DeMOCKracy

Finally, out of the house and into a club. Somewhere in the course of giving birth and raising a child, I lost my interest for watching live band music. It wasn’t so much the music itself, crowded rooms, the loud pretentious people, and going home smelling like smoke that annoyed me. I just hated being away from my child at night, or perhaps it was the guilt evoked that I couldn’t take. But tonight was different because my husband’s band “No Respect” was playing its second gig and I couldn’t miss it. The gig was dubbed “DeMOCKracy” and was anti-GMA’s presidency, held at Freedom Bar. Indeed, my husband’s band was good and loud (in that order). They played original music, and one cover of “Opposites Attract.” And my only constructive critcism is that my husband, who’s an excellent guitar player, still needs to learn how to use a unidirectional microphone. All in all, I had fun that evening. Not only did I come home with chimney-smelling hair and a sense of pride of seeing the hubby on stage, but also with these great band photos.



These photos almost didn't make it. About 80% of them were either truncated or corrupted because of faulty CF cards. Thank you to software called Photo Rescue ($29).