Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind

June 27, 2010

My mom's family has a weekend house in Tagaytay. Built in 1997 and "lived in" in 1998, it is my parents' baby because they were the ones who scouted for the property, oversaw its renovation, picked the initial interior design. Of course, throughout the years, its "look" has already reflected the personalities of everyone in our family who considers it as a temporary sanctuary. My mom's country feel, my uncle's Middle Eastern vibe, and other trinkets from my other titos and titas. My parents religiously come to the house every weekend to do some maintenance.. dusting, gardening, etc.

The house has a split level 1st floor, a 2nd floor and a loft. It is big work maintaining a Tagaytay house, since everything is almost always moist. Molds and mildew grow quickly, paint peels earlier than expected, and iron fixtures rusts so quickly. I rarely go with my parents because the mold and pollen give me annoying sniffles.

My mom keeps the house spic and span whenever they close it up for the week. She knows the place inside out. Last week, my parents came home with a weird, eerie story. When they arrived at the house that Saturday evening, she noticed that some things weren't where they were supposed to be. Some picture frames were face down, wall hangings on the floor, some displays upturned or on the floor. She narrated this to us with my dad making "Twilight Zone" sound effects.

---

This weekend, I decided to come with them to Tagaytay. Being the wimp that I was, I asked my mom to come with me to my room. To our horror, the room looked like a crime scene!

The table held some highschool and college mementos, scented candles and
some of my frogs. Even my huge UPLB Parolan trophy was on the floor!

There was some some sort of poop on the floor so we ruled out poltergeists and assumed that it was a huge rat. We closed the door and decided to deal with it in the morning.

"Ma, rat diba -- bakit cat ang drawing?"
"Eh di ako marunong mag draw ng rat"
Ok.

Early this morning, my dad drove to town and brought home a big rat trap and some tinapa for bait. We had a fun time setting it up - warning my dad not to scream like a girl lest we lose all respect for him, hehe. It was set up in the middle of my room as he remained vigilant about any snaps or weird sounds.

By mid morning, nothing was happening. My mom and dad got impatient and started dragging things out of my room.

At the corner of my room stands Sam's pride and joy - one of the things he brought into the marriage... his drum set.

Have to live with Sam's drum set.

As my dad pulled out the bass drum, something rustled inside. And they caught sight of a tail and a reptilian face! My mom told me to stay put, Ahas!!! By that time I was sitting on a ledge far away from them, yelling at my parents not to move the bass drum because someone could be bitten. But the 2 managed to tape one side of the drum shut and dragged it out to the lawn. My dad then fetched a security guard to come inspect our "visitor".

They took out the bass' foam padding, the guard's happy voice proclaimed, "Hindi ahas!! BAYAWAK!" Bayawak is the local term for monitor lizard.




OMG. Indeed, it was this alligator-like thing, almost 2 feet long, pumped up with adrenaline. It was probably very hungry as its tummy was already collapsed. The guard casually reached in and caught it , and asked if they could keep it in the guardhouse as a pet. We obliged.

What drama! All the elements of a mystery... a plot... a series of unknown suspects (mumu, rat, snake..) a twist, as surprise ending, and a hero. What a weekend!

Back to Barracks

June 23, 2010

It was a good (almost) 2 weeks of being husband and wife. Sam came home last June 11 to join us for the ultrasound, and I didn’t even know that he was on R&R! I only found out when we were talking with some of his classmates, and I was like, “Huh? R&R ka pala?” Well, it was a surprise blessing!

What’s really great was that his break coincided with the gap in my employment contract so I had a lot of free time. I think what’s even harder than being apart for a long time -- is that whenever you get that rare time together, you just want to make up for lost time and have fun BUT have to remember to be “real” as well. There are “real world” things to face, like family finances, dirty laundry + dishes, groceries, and STUPID DMCI Agent (specifically named NEIL ZAMORA, har, let’s get that out in the open I don't care if he finds out. ). It is so hard to take our attention away from planning picnics or “dates” when you have real world issues bugging you. Sigh.

Anyway, just a recap of our semi-break! It’s semi because I had to go to the office from time to time and he also had to attend to some “official” things on certain days.

- Ultrasound! We were also given a taste of 3d-4d imaging and now we are so tempted to go for the 7-month package. We’ll see how our moolah looks when that time comes. After the ultrasound, Sam was ultra happy so he took us out (together with my parents) to pizza.

- Mistah Hanna’s wedding at the Nuestra Senora de Gracia church in Guadalupe and reception at Blue Leaf. It was such a perfect wedding… it was my first time also to see an onsite video by Jason Magbanua , ang galing! Special mention also goes to the Joy San Gabriel mini-cakes. The couple’s pre-nup pictorial concept was also creative! They were palengke photos that showed Hanna wearing a house dress (‘duster’) and husband Albert ala-jeepney driver/ kargador/ pedicab driver. So cute!

- Sad thing, we had to dip into our savings because I couldn’t come up with my half for the condo amortization due to some late salaries and fees from some rakets. Will do better next time. Funny thing, I forgot to take out my “visioning” post-it from our passbook when we took out money from the bank. The teller laughed when he saw the purple post-it that read: “GOAL: 500,000 by 2012” Heheh.

- Errand day following up DMCI, inquiring at Pag-ibig, and checking out other financing institutions. We have been under DMCI’s high-interest in-house financing for more than a year now! To think that we were promised that we could transfer to Pag-ibig Financing in less than 6 months! The agent NEIL ZAMORA keeps on stringing us around, blaming Pag-ibig’s long process – when we found out they haven’t even submitted our docs to Pag-ibig! The NERVE talaga. I will write up a separate post on this highly stressful experience. We just wish that we could transfer our loan from in-house to another entity because it will cut our monthly amort to half! That will definitely be a big relief.

- I never did get a “real” date. For me a real date means movie, nice dinner (not fast food), overpriced coffee. But it was okay! I can date myself, hehe. I can spoil myself if he’s not here. We were able to watch Prince of Persia tho, and we really liked it!!!

- Drinking milk with honey every night, reading to my tummy, waiting for the baby to kick Sam in the face (which he did, once, when Sam sang to my tummy. Baby’s got taste!) . Also worth sharing is that the baby squirms a lot whenever we get to watch World Cup matches. It’s either he likes football or he gets irritated with those vuvuzuela horn sounds.

- I get irritated but I will miss cleaning up after Sam’s clutter. We have different standards for “clutter”. I am makalat to him, and he is makalat based on my standards. But it was nice when he asked me to lock myself in one bedroom while he dusted our room and the whole unit. Yey!

- We also reorganized the bedroom to make room for the baby and baby things. Such a relief also not to have my leg banging the corner of the bed every time I have to work on my desk (I am very clumsy)

- Sam is obsessed with Flat Screen TVs. We now have a pile of brochures and clippings, and I get bored to death with his detailed comparison of specs which he insists I listen to. But we have an agreement: He is not going to buy a TV until we have solved our DMCI issue. We’ve also agreed that I will not touch or contribute to this whole TV thing. It’s HIS project.

- We also had pizza for Fathers Day. We had a huge Yellow Cab Four Seasons Pizza delivered at our house in Binan to celebrate Sam and my dad. My mom cooked spaghetti and prepared fruit salad. The dinner was shared by my uncle, our old yaya and her brother’s family. We have a big household in Binan.

- I told Sam I want to cut up my credit card. He offered to hide it instead. I am now card-less until I finish paying the installments charged there.

- Our goodbye dinner tonight was sosy. We had an office event at Conti’s this afternoon and I took home leftover Lengua Estofado and Mango Cream Pie. We just cooked rice and then shared 3 slices of pie (melted, because I took public transpo going home..) and a mug of Kopiko instant coffee for dessert. He washed the dishes because I wasn't feeling too well. I just overheat a lot these days, huhu.

- And it took me HOURS to finish this entry because Sam is still here and being so talkative about loans and TVs and what he would like to do to the DMCI guy (tear him to pieces, report them to HLURB to Tulfo and to XXX!) Now he has finally gone to sleep…

Sam will leave tomorrow AM for Elyu. I will have a cleaner house and a fuller pantry but I will miss him to bits!

Look What I Have!

I didn't want to share the photo but Sam already did on his Facebook so nainggit na ako.

With the whole family in tow (meaning my mom, dad and Sam) , baby and I went for a congenital anomaly scan yesterday, June 11. And there we found out that that the baby was saying “I love you” to the world (143 heartbeats per minute) , has intact and complete organs, a fully formed face, complete fingers and toes, and….

… his very own :tutoy:

Throughout the morning yesterday, Sam was already bugging me with short exclamations of “It’s a Boy!” – and as the ultrasound device touched my tummy , he again shouted (for good measure I guess..), “It’s a Boy!”

And lo and behold the OB Sonologist goes, “Oh yes, It’s a Boy!”

And there was my baby boy, flashing his thingie in our faces as if saying, “Yes mom, quit looking at dresses and pink strollers, because I am a boy!” Um, anak – kakatapat pa lang sayo nan, yan na ipapakita mo samin. Ano ka, porn star??

It was a fun scan, and the doctor even showed us the baby in 3D, which was absolutely, absolutely magical :-) She threw in a free profile pic in our envelope even if we got only the basic 2d package! Thanks so much!!

Hello world. I'm too young for Facebook but checkout my profile.

Last Monday

(this is a delayed post - I wrote this last Monday , June 7)

I prefer to do my groceries on Mondays, when the mall/ grocery store is not crowded (if you've been to Market! Market! the crowd can be soo overwhelming) . Monday is also “personal grooming” day when I feel like it, because for the same reasons, there are no lines in my favorite kikay places.

This morning, I decided to hitch a ride with my dad to Market! Market! so I can walk around Serendra and Boni High Street before the shops open. I usually walk around our compound but I wanted to window shop. It is very rare anyway that I go inside the shops at Serendra and Boni High so it was fine with me even if they were closed!

My pleasant stroll was interrupted by a very unpleasant call from HSBC saying that I missed my bill last cut-off so I have to pay them immediately so that my account could stay “current” – I was super floored because I didn’t receive my bill to be reminded about that. I know I should be more responsible, but heck I still should have gotten the bill! Then she went on to say that the next bill is due on June 25th BUT if I didn’t pay at least 1k IMMEDIATELY, I will get regular calls from their collections department. GRABE, I felt like such a delinquent! If only some of my utilities aren’t automatically charged to this card, I will really stop using it for convenience. I promise I’ll just fix these and finish my installments and it will be goodbye cards for me. And to think that I just settled a card problem with HSBC when they issued me another card (which I didn’t activate) and then charged me annual dues and (ugh!) late fees!

Anyway, on with my Monday… I just have 3 things to share with you which totally saved my day. Consider this a continuation of a Kikay post. On Saturday, Sam and I (if he gets to go home) will be attending one of his girl mistah’s wedding. I love Sam’s girl classmates because they’re really cool and nice, so I am excited to go to this one. She has resigned from the service (inggit!) and will be relocating to Guam end of June to be with her husband who, if I am not mistaken, is with the US Navy.

I have gained weight and I look bulkier than usual , uh-oh , so I really want to compensate and look nice for that event. I rarely get to dress up lately so I am excited to try and be pretty. So here are my highs for today:

1. Lay Bare Waxing Salon (3rd Floor Market! Market!)

I discovered this last March because I found out that their prices are really affordable and there were good reviews on the Internet. I usually do my legs on my own (hassle and messy!) so I tried Lay Bare. Their staff is fun and great (I’ve met Lyka, Camille and Danica) and will make you feel really comfortable. They also use homemade cold wax made of sugar and honey which greatly reduces the risk of your skin getting burnt. If there’s any hair left, they make sure you’re cleaned up with the use of threading.

This morning I just had my eyebrows groomed through threading (they don’t do eyebrow wax), since my legs are not yet “due”. I don’t think I can ever try a bikini or a brazilian wax because I’ve heard some of the girls in the other cubicles and it sounds soo painful. Anyway, sharing with you some of the basic prices: Half-Leg Wax = P300.00, Underarm Wax = P150.00, Eyebrow Threading = P100.00

(I will gladly go for a bikini or a brazilian if any of you first timer girls can also be there and do it too. Hehe dare?)

2. Bench Fix Lab (2nd Floor Serendra)

Thanks Kiel for telling me that there’s a Fix at Serendra!

I usually go to our neighborhood hairdresser in Laguna ( an old gay “lady” with cropped colored hair named Bonnie. He’s nice but their young gay manicurista is soo noisy, swears a lot, and talks about his boyfriends all the time. P50.00 per haircut, how can I complain?). I search for a (Bench) Fix salon whenever I have extra money and need an extra oomph of service. A haircut at Bonnie’s lasts for about 2 weeks, then my unruly and outrageously thick hair is all over the place already. A haircut at Fix can go uncut for 2-3 months.

I like Fix because I think their employees are really professional and their facilities are funky and clean. I loved my then stylist from Fix Greenbelt (Jenny) and wished that I could afford everything that she wanted me to try ( I hardly pass by Gbelt anymore) . The Fix in Binan closed down already. The Fix at Market! is always so crowded, and not too well maintained. So this morning, I discovered Fix at Serendra and decided to try it. My stylist was a young, cute (gay, I think – he said “Bakla din yata yung sa Market!) guy called Ice who told me he hopes I can grow my hair longer because he feels that it will suit me better. I told him I was hoping that I can do it too – but I just get so annoyed with the growing out stage that I just have it cut anyway.

He fixed my Bonnie-cut hair, carefully adding texture layer by layer. The result is a super nice cut that doesn’t make me look like a boy. We are going to try and grow my hair longer from now on so I promised him I won’t cut and will follow his advise to only go back to him in 3 months. Good Luck.

Haircut at Fix : P250.00 , mental note , go back to Ice mid-September before you give birth.

3. Skechers Shapeups - walking shoes :-)

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Back Issues of Wedding Magazines - Up for Grabs!!!

Hi, I'm clearing out senti-stuff from my room (have to make room for the baby and all the baby stuff, coming soon..) I'm donating some clothes and books and there are just some stuff that I want to have good homes.

I have a stack of really nice wedding magazines (old issues, but I believe articles and photos are timeless!) looking for new owners!! Planning our wedding was one of the best (and honestly, one of the most stressful) times of my life and these magazines were part of our journey!

I'm giving them away, so we just have to meet up (Makati CBD or Market! Market!) . Or if you want me to ship them to you, I'll charge you the shipping cost (The maagazines are heavy..) If interested, please email me at hanna.fernando@gmail.com or end me a Multiply/ FB message. Pls specify the issue that you want.

Here are the magazines

1. YES! Magazine "Celebrity Weddings" (Special Issue, released in 2006) , 120+ pages
- featuring weddings of Assunta de Rossi, Lorna Tolentino, Sunshine Cruz, Lucy Torres, Charlene Gonzales, Lea Salonga, Ruffa Gutierrez.... and perhaps 20+ more artistas. Fun read.

2. METRO Weddings Special Collector's Issue (Best of 2006) , 128 pages
- 115 Unique ideas from real brides, 31 Romantic, grand and fun themes, Celebrity weddings including Alunan-Aranaz, Zubiri-Tan, etc...

3. WEDDING ESSENTIALS December 2004-June 2005 Issue . 203 pages , with Isabel Roces on the cover
- Weddings 101, Miriam Quiambao's home, Fairy Tale weddings, Gown, Makeup, Invitations samples,Song ideas, photos, photos, photos!

4. WEDDING ESSENTIALS July-December 2005 Issue. 204 pages, with Valerie Bariou on the cover (this particular WE issue had two covers released, the other one had Samantha Brandon)
- Budget weddings, Reception special (venues, food, etiquette), Children in Weddings, Cakes, Bouquets, etc etc...

5. WEDDING ESSENTIALS January-June 2006 Issue, 231 pages with Jasmine Maierhofer on the cover (super thick issue!!!)
- Weddings in Boracay, Reception setups, AMAZING photos of wedding details such as cakes, invites, giveaways , etc ...

That's about it :-)

H.A.B

I'm a sucker for freebies. Especially if they come as a complete surprise :-) I was out shopping for a dress yesterday (my old dresses look lumpy already because of my preggy bulges all over, hehe) because I'm set to attend two weddings this season. I wanted to get something that can be accessorized to look formal but is also appropriate for the office. Para tipid.

I swear, the choices are so limited for nice maternity dresses. It's either they're very casual, or very... matronly looking .. or designed for the average Filipina size (which is wayy tiny). Heck, in the US , I can actually fit in "Petite Medium" clothing! I also couldn't find stretchy or empire cut dresses off the no-maternity racks.

So I wandered off to Greenbelt 5, guiltily sliding my budget scale upward. I came across the revamped H.A.B (Havin' a Baby) and LOVED their dresses. I believe some of their stuff can also be worn even if one is not pregnant! I had a hard time choosing between a shimmery formal one (which was beautiful but will look too glamorous for work) and a simple shift dress which can pass for casual/ office/ formal depending on the accessories. The staff at the store were very helpful (BTW, it's the same store where we bought our Belly Belt). In the end, I got the shift dress, which was also within my original budget :-) Am happy.



Then, the surprise came - I got some freebies with my purchase! I got a small canvas tote, two magazines (Mommy Academy and Smart Parenting), a portrait voucher from The Picture Company, a print voucher from the Stork Studio, discount cards from Baby Couture, VMV Hypoallergenics, and Fully Booked, a voucher for a trial music and play class at Gymboree, a baby feeding guide , a Caltrate sample pack.. plus a sample diaper from Drypers. Hehehe. FUN!

Luck=Happiness=You

“People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you’re fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon I, and sometimes travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings… (continued at the end of entry..) …”

I am so afraid to write about it because I might jinx things. Ah, but my mind is swimming with a lot of things and I just NEED to write about something. (With that sentence, I feel a gentle kick in my tummy. Okay, baby, you write this with me )

How does praying work? We have been so blessed lately that I am afraid that everything will go downhill from here. I feel like my blessings have reached a “quota” already, and God might say, “Oooops, tama na!” Hehe. But I am soooo thankful for a lot of things right now that my corkboard here at home has a sign that says, THANK YOU.

Reminding myself to thank God for the blessings
( -- along with the reminders to print the photos and a postcard about
a super nice stroller which costs PHP55,000 (!!!))

I’ve always believed in “visioning” and when I look back, I see that the most significant moments of my life (positive, of course) are almost always results of a childhood dream, a high school essay, or a college hope. I still have a lot of these “hopes and dreams” and may the universe will not stop conspiring to bring me these (hah, that’s not original..) I just need to remember that God has a wider timeline than my attention span.

My contract with my current job ends on June 30 – but I have already consumed the 150-day per fiscal year cap, so technically, I cannot go to work anymore. Any work I do beyond the 150 days is considered pro-bono :oP which unfortunately, I am doing a lot of. They cannot award me with another contract ‘til July 1st, but they are currently doing that as fast as they can because there’s a really important meeting in Beijing (yes!!!) that they want me to be a part of. (Mommy Note: Of course, I will first get OB clearance!)

Also, I am very excited because my papers are now being processed so I can be a “term employee”. Now, that may sound a lot like temporary, but our donor-driven organization does not “regularize”. So they just award 1 year contracts which can be renewed each year. This is totally fine because these contracts carry a lot of nice perks such as tax free incentives and medical/ travel/ life insurance for you and your dependents. It has been a while since I had company perks!

Baby, are you making mommy lucky?

I like it how my bosses are very honest with me, i.e saying. “I would like to thank you, because we know that we are definitely getting more than what we are paying for” (:Blush:). Another boss in our office also told me that my boss fought hard for the post. Anyway, I am happy, yes – but I am also nervous because I know that getting this post means more expectations and more responsibilities. I am also being encouraged to look beyond our little project and to study all the other areas of the organization so I can handle other stuff in the future. As our "biggest boss" told me during our one on one interview, "If we hire you, we would like to keep you forever. Your project is just a very small part of the whole thing, so you better check out the whole pie." (Yep, even if I already worked for them for more than a year, I still had to go through the application process.)

I say, bring it on. I’ll enjoy it while it’s not yet overwhelming. When things start going downhill (and I start complaining), I’ll look back to this day and (I hope) remember, remember – that this was something I asked for!

“ …. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward to that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don’t, you will leak away your innate contentment. It’s easy enough to pray when you’re in distress, but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments…”

- Text in blue from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Eat, Pray, Love