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See You Around Karen

Friday, December 28, 2012

Today is my friend K's last day at work. After 16 years with our office, she has decided to resign. The decision did not come easily as all of us, her friends, were convincing her to stay.

Wag muna! 

Five years na lang may pension ka na kasama ang medical insurance.  

Pwede ka naman lumipat na lang ng department.

Mami miss mo kami!

None of what we said could change her mind. It took her a year to arrive to this point but arrive she did. Her mind is made up. All we can do now is support her decision and cheer her on whatever course she takes.

It's the holiday season and most staff are on leave.  On her last day with us, we had a two hour lunch at Sumo San in Megamall. No worries about the long lunch since there were no bosses anyway. I was on leave by the way but joined them along with the Twerp.  We got our orders out of the way so we could get on to talking.

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Spicy Tuna Salad (P218)

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Chicken Teriyaki (P228)

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Sukiyaki

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Japanese Fried Rice (P228)

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K joined our office two years before I did. On my first day at our department, being introduced around to everyone, she stood out as she was very friendly and welcoming. It was very easy to talk to her and to approach her if I needed help with anything. She was the one who said that she recognized me from PNB where we both worked previously. That she also worked there. I was surprised. I'm not good at remembering faces. But I did recall her after a while and I remember even talking to her. We eventually moved to other departments but kept up our friendship. I'm sure that this is not the end of our friendship. I have few close friends but those friends I keep for life. Goodluck K!

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2013 Starbucks Diary

Friday, November 23, 2012

Once again, I joined my friends in completing the sticker required for the 2013 Starbucks Diary. You might ask, like I ask some of my friends, if I actually use these diaries. Yes, I use them as notebooks for to-dos, reminders and notes. This time though, I will actually use it as a diary because my office has discontinued giving its staff yearly diaries. Sucks to use it for work but very efficient for me to have a diary for work.

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This year has a magnet closure and they come in three colors: black, white, and green. I like the white and the material used can be wiped clean in case it gets dirty. As before, there are coupons which can be used every month for a variety of Starbucks products.

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Wonderful Indonesia

Sunday, October 28, 2012

From time to time, my office features a country to get to know it better. There is a program to open the "exhibit" and after, a buffet of food native to that country. I've never attended any of the previous programs but this time, I was very interested because it's P's country.

I was surprised how interesting it was. There was a fashion show, talk from people who lived and worked there, and performers from their tourism ministry. We enjoyed the performance especially the one with audience participation, playing songs with the Angklung. Everyone who attended had a souvenir, an anklung. It's a musical instrument made of bamboo. It makes a sound when you tap or shake it depending on the tune.

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The fashion show was a hit. The native costumes were very festive and colorful. I took a picture but it wasn't clear because of the lights on the stage. Too bad. The clothes were amazing.

Of course we enjoyed the buffet after.

My friend Becky with her Batik bag and me with the souvenir with the angklung inside.

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This assorted dish is so delicious. See the dilis on the left side? That's Ikan Bilis. P always brought back Ikan Bilis with him when he went to visit Indonesia. I love it!

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This is a mixed vegetable dish. It looks boring but it's really full of flavor.

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Chicken Satay.

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Some of the clothes on display.

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It's just a preview of Indonesia's rich culture. I'm looking forward to seeing the more historic places in the country.

Fun Facts:

Java is one of the earliest places the ape-man lived. The skull of the ape-ma who lived at a time when most of Europe was under ice was discovered here.

Almost everyone in Bali has their teeth filed down. They believe that the essence of the six vices, jealousy, anger, confusion, drukenness, desire and greed, enters the body through the top six teeth. By filing the top six eeth, they are filing away their "demonic" ends. The entry of the vices are thwarted and entry to heaven is guaranteed.

Top places to see:

Bogor, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Borodubur Temple, Tagunan Zoo in Jakarta, Istiqlal Mosque, Bali and Medan.

Happy foodtripping and traveling weekend everyone!

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St. Luke's Global City

Saturday, September 8, 2012

I was admitted twice to St. Luke's Global City the past few weeks. The first was only for one day because my scheduled surgery to remove my gall bladder/gallstones was postponed at the last minute. I was already being wheeled out of my room, done all the preparation when the cardiologist said, stop, we have to postpone. I heard wheezing in her lungs. What the....? I was all psyched up to get it over with and now this. The surgery was rescheduled for the next week. Meantime, the wheezing would be treated for one week. I have to be careful with what I eat to avoid being an emergency case. Can't join my friends on night outs this week. Drinking is best avoided anyway because we might end up needing to check www.thesobrietysolution.com.


I have to say I was disappointed with service during my overnight stay but I reserved judgement until after my second stay at St. Luke's Global City, the following week. All my and my daughter's previous hospital confinements were at The Medical City and I have always been very happy with their service.


Admission was quick seeing as there was no one else being admitted at the time. Via got our number at the door of admissions office. The regular private room was P2,500. I got de luxe private room, P3,500. All rooms have flatscreen TV, refrigerator and free WiFi. You can also borrow a DVD movie to watch. The procedure itself, laparoscopic cholecsystectomy, would range from P30,000-P110,000. Gosh.


I must say everything was high tech. The bed was push button to move up and down. Via enjoyed checking out everything in the room. The refrigerator where she made ice, the bathroom, the faucets, the bed, the bell to call the nurse, the hand sanitizing dispenser, everything she could get her hands on.


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There is a pantry where we could get hot and cold water and heat up food in the microwave oven. There is a waiting room for relatives of patients undergoing surgery (below).  The facilities in St. Luke's Global City were impressive.



My surgery took three hours from the original estimate of one to two hours. The ultrasound showed a normal gall bladder despite the gallstones but during the procedure, the gall bladder was found to be very, very thick. My doctor said sometimes these things don't show up in the ultrasound. My surgery was at 9am and finished at 12. Then I was brought to recovery. I woke up from the general anesthesia at 2.30. I felt nauseus which was a side effect of the anesthesia. They gave me another hour before bringing me up to my room. On the way out of recovery, we passed Via and Tita waiting for me and we all went up together. I spent until the rest of the day and night drifting in and out of sleep. I was not allowed to eat or drink yet.


The next morning, I was told to try liquids and observe how my stomach reacted. If it went well, I could progress to soft diet for lunch. So I drank juice for my breakfast. Around mid-morning, I noticed Via was having difficulty breathing again. The day before, she started coughing. She might have caught something during their trips to the room and OR waiting area. I had Tita bring her to the ER because it progresses very fast for her. Within a day, her lungs get filled with phlegm and it becomes pneumonia.


My lunch was brought in around noon. I was still nauseous but terribly hungry. I thought I took the liquids well so I devoured the lunch. After polishing it off, the nurse came in and asked if I had already taken liquids. Huh...well, I said I had orange juice and I just now ate all my lunch because I was starving. The nausea went away after I ate so that was probably from hunger not a side effect from the pain killers. I asked the nurse what problems would I have if my stomach cannot tolerate solids just yet. She said, gas. Whooops! Right after eating I felt my tummy tighten up and bloating. But it was manageable and it was better than feeling nausea from hunger.


I stayed in the hospital three days. Checked in Sunday, Monday operation, Tuesday recovering and resting, Wednesday discharge. So how do I find St. Luke's Global City. Overall, it was fine. It's just that when I compare with the service I was used to having at The Medical City, SLGC pales.


They are little things, but they matter to me as a patient, and they do add up.




  • At billing during discharge for my first confinement, I asked for a copy of the billing statement. They would not give me one because it's fully paid by my company. Huh? At TMC there's always a billing statement in triplicate.

  • I was given a prescription of medication to take for one week. Only one copy which Mercury Drug takes for their file. TMC gives a duplicate copy so I have a copy of the schedule when to take the medication.

  • For the first confinement, I asked for the discharge slip a 1pm. I finally got it around 4pm. The second confinement, I asked for the discharge slip at 7am because I wanted to go to my daughter's pedia to have her checked despite having emergency treatment the day before. I explained this to the nurse in charge. I received the discharge slip 10am. At TMC, I get the discharge slip within the hour of asking. It's like there's a disconnect between the needs of the patient and their service. They didn't get why I was rushing the discharge. The nurse just kept repeating that it's been requested.

  • My cousin asked the nurse if we can have the gallstones after the operation. She said it's already with the lab. When my surgeon stopped by to see me, he asked if the stones were sent to me. I said no. He told the nurse to send them. It came later that night.

  • The nurses seemed tentative in putting in the IV. I got the feeling they didn't have much experience. One nurse needed five tries to put the IV in and still wasn't successful. Don't even talk about the pain while they tried five times. The anesthesia doctor had to do it when I got to the OR.

  • After the operation, my right hand where the IV was started swelling. By evening the next day, it was huge. I had asked three times before to remove it or do something with the swelling. Nobody came. When my doctor visited, I showed him my hand and asked that it be removed. He called a nurse who looked like he had no choice but to do it. I felt like the swelling scared them in dealing with it.

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  • Upon admission, I was visited by a dietitian regarding diets. On the admitting form, I indicated Seventh Day Adventists for my religion. We don't eat pork or shellfish and we don't take alcohol or caffeine. Too much alcohol consumption would lead to a need for staying sober tips. The dietitian took note of all it BUT look at what they gave me for lunch after my operation. Pasta with shrimp! This never happened in TMC.


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Like I said, overall it was okay. Considering all the hype, my experience was disappointing. It was lacking. I expected more from them. My first choice would always be The Medical City.

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So That's What It Was!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

I've been having terrible back pains starting around July 2011 coupled with bloating and tummy discomfort that felt like having an ulcer.  I did not connect the two as being gallstone attacks. I ignored the bloating and occassional tummyache and had physical therapy and later on, accupuncture treatments for my aching back.


Last July, after satisfying a late night craving for corned beef (I ate the whole can), I felt indescribable pain on my stomach and back. No matter what I did, it was excruciating. I wanted to go to the ER but Via had fever that night. The pain started around midnight. I finally drifted off to sleep around 4am. When I woke up, the pain was gone.


I went to a doctor that morning and during the discussion about my health history, I mentioned that gallstones were appearing on my annual physical exam since 2007. Since I wasn't feeling any pain, I was told to leave them alone. Apparently, all the tummy and back pains were from the gallstones culminating in that excruciating gallstone attack after eating corned beef. I was told to have surgery immediately but I hesitated. P was due to arrive within the week and we had a full schedule while he was here. I didn't want to ruin our precious family time. Besides, if I was careful with what I ate, I won't have any more pains (I hoped).


I finally had the surgery, laparoscopic cholecsystectomy, scheduled on the last week of August. I was to have it done at St. Luke's Global City because that's where my doctor was affiliated with. But at the last minute, the surgery was postponed. That would be another post because I realize this post is already several paragraphs and it's only the beginning of the story.


I'll end with information I learned from my experience.


So how do you know if you have gallstones? Well, you don't unless like me it shows up during some other medical exam. You could have it for years and not feel any symptoms.


If you do find that you have gallstones, as long as it's asymptomatic, you don't have to have it removed. What you can do is change your eating habits. Gallstones developed from eating too much fatty food. There are also cleansing diets that some people swear have helped them pass stones naturally. I haven't tried it.


If you've been having gallstone attacks, then doctors urge you to have it removed because it will keep on happening once it starts. Better have it out using laparoscopic surgery than having reached emergency proportions and having open surgery.


With laparoscopic surgery, recovery is much faster. Some people I hear even have it done on out patient basis. It's best to stay in the hospital at least a day though because after the surgery all you want to do is sleep.


I'm glad I finally had it removed. Like magic, all my pains are gone and I'm recovering quite well.

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My 10 Favorite Dishes

Friday, June 8, 2012

Do you have all-time favorite dishes that you cannot say no to whatever happens? These are mine.

I have to say goodbye to them because of changes in my life. It started with wanting a simple life some years ago and spread out to other areas of my life. It's a continuing journey with its own challenges but I am happy and at peace. One of those challenges concerns food, specifically pork and shellfish. So here I am. I had each of these dishes one last time to say goodbye.

1.  CRISPY PATA at Barrio Fiesta. This was the ultimate treat for me growing up.

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2.  CHICHARON WITH LAMAN that I eat with steamed white rice. Some of my friends cannot imagine eating this with rice. It's a snack or pulutan but I could easily have two cups of rice with a few pieces of this.

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3.  TAHONG, grilled and baked with lots of garlic and cheese. Yum!

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4.  CRAB MARITESS at Crustacia. I love crabs, boiled, steamed, with coconut sauce, however, it's cooked. My mother said, pinaglihi ako sa alimasag. When I was born, the first thing she asked the nurses was how may fingers and toes did I have because having eaten a lot of crabs during her pregnancy might have given me more than ten fingers and toes. I know. I know. It's not true. It's what old folks say. But it's one of my favorite food that I always eat with my hands and I can eat a 900 gram crab all by myself.

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5.  SPICY SPARE RIBS or Pork Chops.

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6.  HOT PRAWN SALAD at Summer Palace. There are many versions of this in Chinese restaurants but I like the Summer Palace and HK Choi versions best.

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7.  CRISPY BACON is another one that makes me eat a lotta rice.




8.  HAKAW or Shrimp Dumpling




9.  PRAWN THERMIDOR

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10.  SPICY SQUID dipped in Bagoong with Calamansi at Mann Hann. One Christmas season I was shopping by myself and got hungry. I went to Mann Hann and ordered this dish with 2 cups of rice and iced tea.

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There you are. Not the healthiest foods anyway so I'm better off without them. Don't feel sorry for me because I still have lots of favorites that I can eat like Shakey's thin crust pizza, Spinach Tofu at HK Choi, Fish and Chips at Charley's, Parmesan Fish at the Cookbook Kitchen, etc. I'll be just fine.

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Sunday Market at Centris Walk

Thursday, May 24, 2012

I like Sunday markets. There are always interesting finds in these markets. I have a friend who frequents these markets. She brings lunch from home tow work and sometimes she would share and say, I got this from the Sunday market. It's really, really good. And it is! Whatever, LONGGANISA, DANGGIT, fruits, etc. So, she was telling us how this Sunday market she went to moved to Eton Centris and it's bigger now and that we should go.

So, off we went my friend K and I with the TWERP in tow. It was late when we got there, around 10AM and it was HOT! T wasn't kidding. There was so much to see! We decided to just walk and stop if we find anything interesting. Right away I saw these long dresses that's looks really comfortable and cool to wear in this summer heat. I bought a YELLOW dress for P100. Too bad there weren't really nice dresses for Via. I did buy her one dress for P50 but well, for fifty pesos it was okay.

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Then we moved on to the food section. There were a lot of cooked food that was very hard to resist since we can smell how GOOD they would taste :) Still we restrained ourselves. We came upon the BACKYARD CHEF. I loved what this stall was selling. I bought one container of the Queso Kalabaw with Shiitake Mushrooms. I thought it was expensive but I love cheese so I bought one. It's mixed with olive oil to preserve it. The BACKYARD CHEF had other variations with of the Queso Kalabaw. I am definitely coming back here to try them all. He also had this Tamarind sauce that's good as a dip or as a salad dressing.  We were really interested in his food stuff that we asked him if he was a chef by profession. No, he said he was a retired engineer and this is his passion. I ate the Queso Kalabaw with toasted sourdough bread. It was super. I think it would also go well with crackers or to mix with pasta.

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Next we went to the produce section. The vegetables were fresh and healthy looking despite the heat. We bought DUHAT for P65/half kilo. Was disappointed though because it wasn't sweet.

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Our last stop was the plant section. K bought two indoor plants for only P100 each. When the plants at home die, which they will because they don't get enough sun and air and whatever plants need, I'll buy plants when we come back. You might be thinking why buy plants when I expect them to die. Well, a Feng Shui person told me I had to have plants in the kitchen and this part of our house that was a "portal" for spirits. I don't super believe in it, well maybe a little bit. She asked if I felt fatigued all the time which I was. Once I put place those plants where she told me to and put up some pictures of the woods and mountains on the wall separating the bedroom and the kitchen, I did feel better. No more fatigue. She said the proximity of the kitchen to my bedroom was draining my energy. Okay, so I need to have plants in the house. The lady who sold K her plants said that those thrived indoors and hardly needed sun and water. So that's what I will buy. Hopefully, we can keep it healthy.

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We didn't stay very long because of the heat and because we were very hungry but next time, we will come a little earlier so Via could try the slides that we saw as well as be able to look at  the other areas we didn't get to.

Linking up with Food Trip Friday!

Happy Weekend!

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BC Bloggers

Sunday, March 11, 2012

If you're just starting to blog and need to build links fast, join BC Bloggers. It's a link exchange that makes it easy for everyone. You get to meet other bloggers as well and exchange ideas. Read more about it here.

Joining is easy.  All you have to do is blog about BC Bloggers and have the badge on your site. More on how to join here. Come join BC Bloggers and we will all grow together.



BC_BLOGGERS

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Myeolchi Bokkeum (Stir Fried Dried Anchovies)

Friday, March 9, 2012

My cousin who's a very good cook made this Korean dish, Myeolchi Bokkeum, for us one Sunday get together. He has been learning to Korean dishes and have mastered quite a few. This is delicious as a side dish or as a snack.

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Ingredients for Myeolchi Bokkeum:


1 cup of dried anchovies

1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp. sesame oil


For Sauce:

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Kochujang

1 tsp. honey

About 1/4 cup water

Procedure:

1.  Mix the sauce for stir frying in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Heat sesame oil in a pan. Add the sauce and cook until bubbly. Add the anchovies and continue cooking until the sauce is almost gone.

3. Serve hot. Garnish with Sesame Seeds.

Linking up with Food Trip Friday!

Happy Weekend!

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Facebook Status Rant

Sunday, February 26, 2012

I've already mentioned how ridiculous I find some of my friends' facebook status posts. Some need to post a status about every little thing they've done in a day. Some write very long status messages that describe in detail what is happening to them. Still others post cryptic messages like, "just checked into medical city" prompting everyone to ask, "Why?" Ang dami talagang KSP sa mundo :)

One such FB friend posted a photo of himself on a hospital gurney. So everyone jumped in and asked, anyare? I guess he had his mobile device in his hand because he immediately replied in one word, GERD. I would think this prompted a lot of people to Google GERD. Yeah, okay, me included :)

According to medicinenet, it is a condition in which the acidified liquid content of the stomach regurgitates up into the esophagus. Okay. That's gross but it's simply acid reflux. 

 I've actually learned a lot of new things from those Facebook status posts especially when I encounter posts like this. So, okay, it might not be so bad after all. I will just have to learn to ignore those posts that are just too ridiculous and pathetic.

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Meralco's Maliwanag ang Pasko and Liwanag Park

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Meralco,  the power company, usually has really nice light displays during the holiday season and this time they had the Meralco's Maliwanag ang Pasko and Liwanag Park. We went to see it last night. Free entrance, anyone can just go in. I brought my camera to take photos but guess what, after a few shots the battery ran out. I forgot to charge it. So some of the pics are not that clear because I took them with the camera on my mobile phone. This is the entrance here. I took this photo as we were leaving actually.

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There was a train ride, again FREE! The train seats 16 people and goes round the track about 5 times or maybe a little more. It sure was fun.

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There were several structures made to look like houses and churches.

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Meralco's Maliwanag ang Pasko and Liwanag Park is really a great place to relax and enjoy the cool night air. This nativity scene is huge and this it the last photo I took with my digicam before it ran out of battery.

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And....here it's time to go home because Via stepped in some mud and got here feet and shoes soaked in mud. But we had fun at Meralco's Maliwanag ang Pasko and Liwanag Park. I am looking forward to next year's light display.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

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