A Week Shutdown

The office declared a whole week shutdown. I won't be surprised if all others declared the same thing. Monday (29th) was Barangay Elections, Thurs and Friday were Nov. 1 and 2 respectively. So that just leaves Tuesday and Wednesday. The kids are also on break (Munsci kids since last week). Since Saturday, I've been 'working' on creating some karaoke vcd's. How to create karaoke from original mp3's? I just googled it and bumped into this page. Just follow the instructions and it's easy. As for quality, it's really trial-and-error with songs. Some will sound okay and some will sound horrible. Here's the first one that I've edited. It's the song "Answer Me, O Lord" by Engelbert H.



I've created others and these are songs where I simply cannot find in videoke cd's. Actually, before this long vacation, I only planned on creating an mp3 cd of some smooth Rumba instrumental tunes for my long drives to the cemeteries. I converted into mp3 an audio copied from the cafeteria and from another cd I bought. After finally completing the 8-song videoke (after 3 days), I tried them out. Corz by that time I was SO TIRED of continually hearing the songs again and again and again that they didn't seem good anymore. Renz wanted his share of the mic and so requested his favorite, Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin by a Martin Nievera videoke cd (song #4)

Turning 'ty-five!

We had a quiet (okay, rowdy with the kids around) dinner at home for my birthday. I would've wanted a Chinese dinner out but the kids insisted on, well, what else? Jollibee Chicken Joy and Spaghetti! So, we had a kiddie dinner instead.


The saving grace was my favorite cake from Red Ribbon, the Marjolaine cake - so chewy and so good. I've never been fond of cakes but when I've tasted Marjolaine from a couple of years back, wow, I'm sold on it. Renz was pretty amused at me clapping and exclaiming my delight while enjoying the cake. Soon, they ALL started clapping. Here's the cake halfway through:


I was also pleasantly surprised that I had a gift from Dada and Renz. Wow, thanx guys! It's a rubber shoe key chain from Dada (Renz just rode piggyback on the gift thing, but didn't make it obvious). He did draw on the make-shift gift wrapper though.


Here's a montage of pics I gathered and cropped using the "flyby" mode. It's interesting how the slideshow pics behave when you pass the mouse pointer over it. I used a strip slideshow before in another entry.

The phonelines at our street were busted in the morning so I received greetings via cellphone and email. To all well-wishers, and that includes you guys at the dbabatch79 group, Dacal a Salamat.

More Meds

I went back to the ENT today who diagnosed me with Acid Reflux. I've been taking Omepron for 2 weeks already. He suggested 2 weeks more of the same coz I still have it. He also said that I avoid the following: Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Milk, Citrus, Peppermint, Fatty foods (read: yummy food). Yup, it's pretty much all that we need to survive. Just kill me already, alright doc?

After the ENT I went to the derma. It's confirmed that what I have is PLE (Polymorphic Light Eruption). It's gone now, thanx to my avoiding the sun. It's just the way my skin reacts to UV rays from the sun - like an allergy. What a downer. It's also what has been causing Pityriasis Alba. Why, of all people, does it have to be me? It's genetics, I'm told. I'm predisposed to having it, the derma said. That severely limits the time of the day that I could go swim. But still, I just consider it a minor inconvenience in the scheme of things. I'll still swim although for now I'm advised against it. All too well, coz I'm having a month off for my sore shoulder to recover anyway.

Here's me with the skin discoloration (hypopigmentation) on the cheeks. This is probly the worst that I had. Well at least, the worst that was taken a picture of.


This picture was taken in 2005. It isn't contagious and is self-limiting. I only need to use Polytar soap occasionally to get rid of the spots. Gov. Ed "Among Ed" Panlilio has it worse. According to the derma, he has Vitiligo (like Michael Jackson) and it is irreversible.

Secret to Natural Weight Loss

Ahhhh. Secrets, secrets, secrets. I even had a toastmasters speech on a secret. Speaking of secrets, I've stumbled on an article on weight reduction. It is entitled
Natural Weight Loss Plan - Best Kept Secret. A text document (pdf) of the site may be found here. The article says the "secret" is all-natural. Gandhi advocated it. And best of all, it's free! Too good to be true? Maybe, but it makes a lot of sense to me. The reason I found it is coz last night, Che accidently swallowed one of here teeth braces' brackets. Yup. She was very worried. I reminded her about chewing food very slowly and remembered this concept of chewing 30 times or so before swallowing food. With that habit, it could've prevented her from swallowing the bracket coz she'd immediately feel the bracket in her mouth. Another link of interest about Horace Fletcher and Fletcherism may be found here. The pdf text of the web page may be found here.

I saw the doc today and I was told to layoff the swimming for a month. (groan) I've also canceled/defaulted my pingpong games in the tournament. I wouldn't want to risk hurting the left shoulder again in some physical activity. Yesterday, it became sore after carrying just a few grocery items! So for today, I was prescribed Neurofenac, Vitamin B Complex and Celebrex (200mg)

Kid Scout Investiture

DH was on CIL (Company-Initiated Leave) today. She accompanied Renz to his Kid Scout investiture. Kid Scout, you say? Yeah, during my time, we only had Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. We had Cub Scouts in Grades 3 and 4. We became Boy Scouts at Grade 5. Corz at Don Bosco Pampanga, we only started elementary in Grade 3.

Here's DH and Renz after the ceremonial putting of the neckerchief. Interestingly, Kid Scouts have blue neckerchiefs nowadays. I remember the previous Ate's wearing yellow and pink neckerchiefs before. During my scouting days we only had green (and maybe some different shades of it) like what Lolo in the picture is wearing.


Later, the Kid Scouts presented a 'taktaktak' number. This is to the tune of the novelty song "Itaktak Mo" by Wowowee's clown, Willy Revillame. True to his form, Renz gave his best! The video below shows the last few lines of the song. Mayette (DH's officemate) was admiring Renz and her laughter can be heard on the background. Notice also the parent in the green blouse at the back of the kids at the left side. She seemed very amused peering at Renz's movements.



Renz was really tired towards the end but as a true sport always gave his best no matter how many times they had to do the dance. But the best part is he enjoyed himself! Did you see the big smile on his face all throughout?

Later in the afternoon, DH went to Binan to get the certificates for the apartment. This blog is currently undergoing changes. Like the new look so far? Well, it's not too different than before but there are many more features especially on the sidebar navigation.

Dance Contest Judge

Today, I was asked by Era and Mimi to judge the Yawza Finals Dance Contest. Yawza is the syllabic reverse of "sayaw" which is the local word for dance. I was completely taken by surprise.

Funny, some people (Mimi) still remember my good old dancing days. The present population are too new to the company to know about "The Blenders" and the company's ballroom dancing of yore. Maybe it's time to show these young 'uns a thing or two about dancin' (owww, my aching shoulder.)

The Two-Beat Kick

Ugh, just when I was getting the hang of the 2-beat crossover kick, I've been told not to swim for a gazillion of reasons. Well, okay, maybe just two.

1. Left shoulder problem. The office doc advised me to quit swimming for a week and take Celebrex 100mg 2x a day for the shoulder. I was also told to have it x-rayed. She suggested me immobilizing it (how the heck am I supposed to do that?). For as long as it's strained or continually used, the inflammation will not go away. Okay, I guess "rest" is the operative word here.
   
   
2. Polymorphic Light Eruption. The derma told me to quit swimming for at least a week so that the blisters on my face which might have been caused by UV rays may heal. I'm taking Zyrtec (Cetirizine) for the allergic reaction and putting on Bactroban as antibiotic. The derma also warned me about swimming before 4pm saying the sun may cause cataracts.

Well at least my 1 (or 2) week rest will kill 2 birds with one stone - the left shoulder pain and the facial allergic reaction.

There were no PE studes last Thursday and therefore no distractions. I was having fun trying to imprint upon muscle memory the two-beat kick which I thought I was already doing. It's all what I did for that day and I hope I will still have it by the time I return to the pool. The 2-Beat kick is also called by TI as the crossover kick because the legs essentially cross over each other. Here's how the two-beat kick looks like as done by Terry himself. Click on the 'Play' button in the middle of the screen:

Long Weekend

Jumper? Jumpsuit? Whatever that article of clothing is called, Renz is now finally wearing it (pic on right). This is the same unisex jumper worn by the ate's in the years past. The pic on the left below shows little Che and Karen dancing in Christmas of 1999. That was then. On the right pic, Che's got the bag infront while Karen is in the blue shoes. This was taken at SM Southmall today.


Renz lets out a big yawn while ate Dada whispers to him. I guess Renz finds the 'Secret' borrrrringggg.


Yesterday, Friday, DH and I decided to go to Quiapo for my biennial(?) eye-checkup/ refraction. It was end of Ramadan or Eid'l Fitr so we took the chance. I suppose we got there at Acebedo too early coz they weren't open yet. So we browsed around and found shops with cheaper frames and lenses. My old lenses was giving me eyestrain. The frame is all worn and the snap-on shades has plenty of scratches.

At Standard Optical, the progressive lenses could go as low as Php1,300. Whoa! These lenses used to cost Php3,500 in malls! I didn't like much the frames they had there coz I was looking frames with snap-on magnetic shades. They had them but the shades were more difficult to put on and remove coz of the position of the magnets. But they were cheap and offered at Php2,150. It was Php750 for the frame and Php1,500 for the lens.

We looked at Acebedo (now open) and found the snap-on shades I liked with the magnets on top. They were a bit expensive at Php900 for the frame and Php1,800 for the lens or Php2,700 in all. But I liked 'em and had them made. The thing I like about 'em was the ease of putting on and removing the snap-on shades especially when I'm driving long distances. I could pretty much put them on and take them off with only one hand! Cool.

While we waited for the eyeglasses to finish (supposedly at 5 or 6pm), we loitered around the Quiapo-Sta.Cruz area. I finally saw the old GoodEarth Emporium building where they sell lots of dvd's. And yeah, bought some. We had lunch at the nearby Chowking in Sta. Cruz and proceeded to Sta. Cruz Church. We walked towards the Divisoria area (whew!) and bought some pingpong balls in a shop. We went to the Eng Bee Tin shop for some hopia. We went to SM Manila where I bought a pair of extra-lightweight Planet white shoes that I could use at the office.


I suppose it's the same material that my Cracs pair uses. I'm not sure though if it's the same material that my Crocs pair uses.


After all that walking, we finally went back to Acebedo at 3:30pm. We're glad we did coz the glasses were already ready at 4:00pm. Now that's what I call good service. The pic below shows my old glasses on top and the new glasses below. The pairs are shown without the snap-on shades.


The kids were laughing at my new pair. They say it's for oldies. I said, "Well, you've seen the eyeglasses of Clark Kent in Smallville, haven't you? Well, they're exactly like those!"

First Step to ACS

Today I delivered my first speech on the road to ACS (Advanced Communicator Silver). I didn't have much time to rehearse it and so I went overtime at 10 minutes for a 5-7 minute speech!!! It's the The Speech to Inform in the "Speaking to Inform" Manual. The title of the speech is "Why Put It Out There?"

According to Doc Larry, it was the best speech from me he's heard thus far. This time he shook my hand and kept saying "Well done." He also found it informative and entertaining. Alright, granted he hasn't heard the other speeches, that's still good to hear though. His only suggestion was that the title could probly be more indicative of the topic and recommended "The Four F's and the Web". Sounds good.

Later on, we talked briefly on the blog that I created which was basically a swimming journal. This piqued his interest as he's been recently into swimming even mentioning the Total Immersion principles.

Again, Lolet mentioned my shaking/ swaying shoulders. I should video myself some time. I couldn't imagine how I looked like to her. She sez it's quickly becoming my style and that to her it just showed my passion and enthusiasm. Hmmm.

On the way home, Jess from Kimberly Clark and Vivienne rode with me and we talked much about ourselves, our interests, blogging, sports and so many stuff. I guess when you put 3 toastmasters in a car, there is NEVER a dull moment. I didn't even notice the traffic!
See all my Toastmasters Speeches online here!

The Towel

As I got into the facility today, there were kids! On a weekday? Apparently, they even had a teacher cum coach. The teacher was an elderly lady garbed in typical teacher's uniform - as expected, OUT of the pool. What is it with these instructors/coaches? I think they'd better be called dryland coaches rather than swim coaches. All they do is bark out orders and instructions. And then they make these gestures to make it look so easy. Get in the pool, lady, and show the kids how to REALLY do it. I asked one kid where they were from. Apparently they had school swimming competition the following day! He mentioned about "kabilang-ibayo" and "mabuhay" which sounded like either barangays or class sections.

Then the usual PE studes came. Since it was early, a couple of the girls asked me for help. And help they got. Unfortunately, they'd need lots of time to practice what I taught them for them to see results. Something funny I always see with the girls is when they come out of the changing/ shower room. Unshowered (they're dry as they came in), they'd ALWAYS have towels around their waists going out. They'd walk shyly, giggling towards the pool. At the deck they'd remove the towel for a seeming finale. As the towel unfolds and drops, it quickly reveals - tadah! - a pair of shorts or the swimsuit skirt. Yah, like what the heck was that towel for? (scratches head).

Shoulder Feels Better

Guess I was wrong coz there were still PE studes today. Funny though but until now so many were not familiar faces. One guy, Aldrin, was exhilirated to complete a lap after seeking advice from me. He was shouting! Apparently, he became my 'poster boy' that the rest, mostly girls asked for my help. It was all good though. I got the rest I needed. I felt that I had a good workout given my sore left shoulder. The advice in between my laps rested the shoulder. I suppose the hot water bottle I've been bringing to the office for the warm compress worked. I simply hid it under my jacket's sleeve to put it in place. But still, I'm not taking chances. I still took Diclofenac today.

Ear Ache and Shoulder Pain

A couple of things bugged me recently. My allergies and some shoulder pain.

My allergies were already bad last week and last Monday it felt like my left ear had water. I've already been taking Virlix. So I went to the office clinic and the doc (Elaine) gave Neozep, 3 times a day for 5 days. She also suggested a couple of drops of baby oil to soften the ear wax. I did the baby oil thing. But nothing happened. In fact it felt like something lodged in the ear. My left ear couldn't hear well. There was pain everytime I burped. Yesterday I went to the ENT and he basically vacuumed the wax in both ears. What a relief. He said my burping caused the eardrum to bump against the hardened wax and that caused the pain. The consultation went well. The ENT had all sorts of gadgets. He confirmed my allergies with a test. He even noticed my throat-clearing and looked at that as well (acid reflux he said).

The shoulder pain is a story of its own. The week before last, I toyed with the idea of doing rotator cuff exercises and so I looked it up. I tried some of them doing them "isometric style". And I did that for a few minutes several times. It was a bad move. Coz last week, I had trouble sleeping at night. My shoulders especially the left would have pain when I pull my arms from an overhead position in bed. The pain is on the front and side of the shoulder itself. Yesterday I asked the fat doc at the office about it and she gave Dyclofenac, 3 times for 2 days. She also suggested warm compresses. The Dyclofenac SEEMS to work and the head from the hot water bottle I brought feels good.

It's probly a good thing that the couple of episodes above occured when there were typhoons and the weather was rainy. The bad thing is I thought I gained weight with the over-a-week hiatus from the pool.

Today, the sun's out but the pool temp reminded me of the previous rainy days. The water was cooler. I only did 2 sets of 2 laps of each stroke. And I only did one fly lap. Somehow it's the only one that I'm having problems with and it happens when I raise my left arm. Well, it could've been worse coz I was thinking my backstroke would be affected as well. It's just easy-going from now on until I lose the shoulder pain.

The Joys of a 5-Year Old

Yesterday I washed the car as it's been dirty for weeks. Renz decided to help and so I let him. I got up the ladder to clean the roof while he passed to me the loaded up sponges. I later figured the guy just wants to get wet with the washing and since it started to rain, he was happy to help out. And so I just told him to ditch the shirt and he asked ate Dada for new set of clothes, towels and soap. Yup, he had his shower right there in the rain with me hosing him down. He was so darned happy! It turns out it was his first time to shower in the rain!

(After toweling off and putting on his dry clothes)

Renz: Mama, anong araw po ngayon?
DH: Sunday, bakit?
Renz: Kasi po ang saya-saya ko. Tumulong po ako sa pag-clean ng car eh. Tapos naligo ako sa ulan. Anong araw po ngayon ulit?
DH: Sunday nga!

(Renz goes outside)

Renz: Papa, kapag Sunday po, linis tayo ng car ulit, ha?
Me: Sige, eh kung walang ulan?
Renz: Eh di wala po!
Me: Eh kung uuwi tayo sa Pampanga?
Renz: Eh di po, bawal! Kasi wala po tayo dito eh. (Oo nga naman)

Later in the evening, Renz happily relates to his ates his first shower in the rain. It sure made his day!