The Biggest Loser

I used to blame my job for my current weight. Ever since I joined my employer, I gained 10 lbs in each year of service. That's a total of 50 lbs in the last five years. Alarming, I know. That's why I decided it's high time I lose weight. I also realized that I have no one to blame for my weight gain but myself. The bank did not force me to consume all those junk food and high-cal treats (well, indirectly, they did!), but it was my choice to eat like there was no tomorrow.

This blog will document my current diet and the weight that I have lost. Am already in my second week of documentation and things do look promising. I'll try to update every week to see how I progress. And if I'm masipag enough, I'll even do the whole graph thing!

Good luck to me!

Die PLDT, Die

I have whined again and again how inefficient PLDT, my DSL provider is. And once again, they demonstrate why I hate them so much. Argh! I hate it that I have no choice with regards to DSL providers. They're the only DSL provider in my area of residence!

I am DSL-less for the past six days. I would not have mind but I have a paper that is due by Tuesday and I have to do lots of research. I have called the so-called service hotline more than once and they said they need to check the connection and they'll get back to me as soon as possible. The tech support person I talked to even said that they'll tag the request as urgent since it's been quite a long time already. Now, I have to do my researches and downloads via PLDT-vibe with speeds that leaves much to be desired. I MISS MY DSL!!!

Anyway, I created another blog with would document my weight loss regimen. I did that to spare my friends from the gruesome details of my body measurements.

I also went to my derma this morning for consultation regarding my stretch marks (since I'm losing weight, the stretch marks are coming out in full force), dark spots on my neck and nape and some allergies. Apparently, my body is reacting from the weight loss and medication that am taking causing all these skin abnormalities. Gosh, I do hope I get to lose all these weight. It'll be nice to fit into clothes that are < size 10. Moreover, if I do get married, I want to be able to wear my dream gown. And it takes a really nice body to get into the gown that I envision.

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On a positive note, my sister Cheryll, gave birth last Tuesday, to a really healthy baby boy. Miguel Lorenzo David Hermosura was born through normal delivery weighing 8.8 lbs (4 kgs). We all cringed when we learned the birth weight. The birth must've been very hard for my sister seeing how large the baby is. The baby is indeed very cute and I'm a very proud auntie again. I keep on staring at the photos admiring how handsome my nephew is. Our bloodline is also very obvious with this baby. He absolutely looks like a David!

The Start of Goodbye

I can't believe that in three month's time, my twin sister will be leaving the country permanently. Her husband (a Fil-Am), had her petitioned when they got married a couple of years ago. I received word that her K-3 visa was approved sometime this week. She just needs to wait for the embassy to call her for the interview. If things go as planned, she'll be leaving on April.

I was happy for her when I heard the news. She's been apart from her husband for more than a couple of years and only seeing him once a year. It's a big struggle for her as well as her husband. On the other hand, I feel saddened as this will be the start of my siblings' exodus to the US. My other sister will just be taking the nurse board exam this year and other exams necessary to work in the US and when she gets accepted, she'll be leaving as well together with her family. My brother also found work at as an IT person with an IT company that has a branch in the US (which my uncle partly owns/works). So it's not far that he'll be leaving as well.

My mom asked me if I would also want to follow as she'll have me petitioned. I told her that Leo wants to stay here and taking Ruth's famous words in mind, I'll stay here as well. Home is where the heart is and my heart is with Leo (awwww).

My siblings will be leaving to live their own lives with their new families. I should concentrate on doing that as well. My siblings and I have gone through much these past years, especially with the separation of our parents. I guess I got so used to taking care of them that it hurts to let go. Now I know half of what a parent must be feeling whenever their kids go out into the world and do their thing. My siblings are doing their own things and it's about time that I step back and let go.

Iyo Kailan Pa Man - The Philippine Madrigal Singers

Am a big fan of chorales and choirs. Not surprising since I used to sing with one. Am truly amazed and at awe whenever I would hear a choir sing a capella and in perfect harmony. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that the Philippine Madrigal Singer's or Madz's has a new album (produced by Philam Group of Companies). Unfortunately, the album can only be bought at the Philam offices. So I'm just content to borrow my officemate's copies (they were given copies by AIG--work related thingee).

The double CD features songs in the Filipino vernacular. The first CD is more of folk songs such as "Dahil Sa Iyo", "Matud Nila" and "Dungawin Mo, Hirang" to name a few. The first CD has 15 songs. However, I love the 2nd CD more since it has their rendition of contemporary Filipino songs. I practically swooned over "Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin" and have chosen it as my wedding march. It's such a beautiful song and I could imagine the choir singing it while I march down the aisle. It just bring tears to my eyes. Other songs in the 2nd cd are: "Bituing Walang Ningning", "Kailangan Kita", "Ikaw Lamang", "Kahit Isang Saglit", "Ikaw", "Sanay ay Ikaw na Nga", "Hanggang", "Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas" and "Pasko na, Sinta Ko".

For those who's near any Philam office, try to get a copy of their album: Iyo Kailan Pa Man... The Philippine Madrigal Singers.

A Horror Story

Well, not the unearthly kind.

While I was browsing through my Atkin's handbook, I read that not only should I weigh myself, I should also take measurements. So I went downstairs and found a tape measure and started measuring.

I started with the waist first. Before I start writing down figures, let me make it plain that I've debated for awhile whether I will post my numbers here or keep silent about them. But then, might as well tell the whole world (or at least those who would read this) so at least I'll have people cheering me on as I struggle to lose all these bad excess weight.

Friends, the heaviest that I've been was last December 2005. I weighed in at 187 lbs! I was very shocked when I saw my weight. What more when I started measuring last night? As I said, I started with my waist and I screamed when I saw what the tape measure was telling me. My waist is measured at 39". Thirty nine!!!! F*&&K Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttt!!!! Good thing my door was closed since I was cursing and cursing and cursing. If I was 39 yesterday it meant that I was around 40 something last December! OMG!!!! What have I done to myself?!!! I remembered a time when I swore I will never reach 40" and there I was. Hitting 40 and eating as if there was tomorrow. I was so ashamed of myself.

I forged on and continued on with my measurements. My chest and hips were in the 40's and my arms and thighs were in the 20's! OMG. I could not barely believe it. It gave me more reason to SERIOUSLY lose weight and to follow my diet to the letter (without cheating or taking shortcuts). I felt so disgusted with myself. No wonder am beset with all these ailments and it's a miracle that my blood sugar and cholesterol are normal. My mom has always been nagging me to lose weight and I guess she was really worried for me. We have a history of heart problems and diabetes and she does not want to lose me to those ailments. If I want to live my life better and have the chance to see my grandchildren, I should take care of myself more. No more transfats for me!

I've been rice, pasta and bread-less for a week now and I feel absolutely great! I feel so...light. I have more energy now and I love my morning walks. I can't wait till the weekend so I can go walking/running around the park. Moreover, I can't wait to weigh and measure myself Tuesday next week to see if my weight and other measurements have improved. I hope it will be a pleasant surprise. Wish me luck and please keep my in your prayers.

PCOS

Last Thursday, I decided to stop procrastinating and get that ultrasound that my OB has been nagging me to get. So I took half the day off and trudged to Makati Med where my OB is scheduled to do ultrasounds. I won't go into the details but basically my doctor confirmed what she initially thought I have. I've been diagnosed with PCOS or otherwise known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. It means that my ovaries have cysts thus my lack of monthly period. Bottomline is, getting pregnant will be a big hurdle for me and my future husband. I have to go through tests and certain medications just to get pregnant.

I was quite sad when I heard the prognosis. I don't know the cause and when Leo and I researched it, there's really no definite cause. Maybe it's hereditary or something else, but it happens. Am seeing my OB again on Wednesday to discuss our options. Pills are one, and believe it or not, medication given to people with Type II diabetes can also be prescribed. Fertility pills are given for women who are ready to conceive.

I don't know if my new diet will help my chances but I do hope so. My OB has a suspicion that I can also have hypothyroid (I do have symptoms). Am just waiting for the blood tests so I can show them to an endocrinologist.

Good news though, am lump free! My breast sonogram revealed no lumps or anything out of the ordinary that can be considered dangerous/cancerous. I am very thankful for that. One ailment is enough for me as of now.

Atkin's, Here I Come!

My mom has been a loyal advocate of the Atkin's Diet for years. When she came home a couple of years ago, she brought home Atkin's supplement pills for my use. Unfortunately, I was quite stubborn about my weight then so I ignored her advice and the pills.

Fastforward a couple of years later, I was sent an Atkin's Kit together with a book containing information and steps on how to start Atkin's. Since my future depends on me being healthy, I gave in and started to plan on how to do the diet.

I went through the book and the kit last week. It looked simple but reading the food that I can eat, it's not as simple as I thought. I need to do a lot of carbohydrates counting. It would also mean scrapping rice, pasta and bread from my diet. I was very sad at first since those three things are my favourites. I can do away with rice but pasta and bread?! But sacrifices need to be made.

I went cold turkey with my daily coffee fix last Monday. Am now caffeine-free for seven days now. As for rice, am now rice and pasta free for four days now. Unfortunately, am not too successful with bread yet. I have to have bread. So to feed my bread fix, I found low-carb bread in the supermarket which is even recommended by the book. It's kinda expensive though. 77 bucks for a small loaf!

Am eating more meat now and salad. Plus, I drink lots and lots of water! It gives my stomach an impression that am actually full with just a plate of salad. Am still weaning myself from ice cream and iced tea/juices. I bought a bottle of grapejuice which I can drink instead.

My goal is to lose 60 lbs. So far, I've lost four pounds in a week. Most of it is water probably. I saw my cardiologist last week and he's very much supportive of my decision. He even offered me diet pills (Reductil) but I haven't taken it yet. Am scared how it will affect me, now that am on a low-carb diet. He did advise me to walk more as it's the only form of exercise that I can tolerate right now. Fifteen minutes a day is about right and I can add more minutes as the weeks progress. How do I walk 15 minutes straight a day with my schedule? I decided to do this in the morning when I go to work. I can get off at Greenbelt and walk the rest of the way to the office. I timed it last Friday and it's more than fifteen minutes! Not bad! Although I have to make sure that I wear sandals or flats when I walk. I don't relish the thought of walking in my heels.

So here's hoping that I can stand by this and finish what I have started. I've already psyched myself to refuse carbs when offered and hopefully I have enough willpower to do so. Wish me luck!

Driving Ms. Sunshine (next 5 hours)

Ok, am still alive so I guess I survived my driving classes. I now know how to parallel park and do that "hanging" thing. Am so glad. I still need more practice though. Maybe next week, I can borrow my aunt's trooper--it's stick shift.

This time around, my instructor just took me around the Las Pinas area. He made sure that I can hold my own in traffic and pasaway drivers. Though I could barely understand him, am grateful that he guided me through the throng of people and jeepneys. We passed through a couple of marketplaces and malls. Not to mention being a jeepney and bus thoroughfare. I had my taste of lawless drivers and it really takes nerves of steel just to drive through the streets of Manila. I had to hold back curses whenever a jeepney would swerve to my lane or even meet me head on!

Driving Ms. Sunshine 2006 (Next 3 hours)

My lesson yesterday was only for two hours and we only stayed in the Paranaque/Las Pinas area. Since my lesson was 3 hours today, my driver instructor (a new one today) decided to take me further. Since I needed more practice in turning, he directed me into Better Living (from Sucat). If you're not familiar with that shortcut, it's a way full of twists and turns. Rest assured my turning was well-practiced there.

We got out at Bicutan and entered the service road going North. I was more confident this time and I actually reached 60 kph! I was surprised I reached that speed but felt very happy about it. Next thing I know, the instructor asked me to enter South Superhighway through Villamor. If I wasn't too busy observing the road and listening to my instructor, I would've freaked out already! I wanted to freak out more when he instructed me to go to EDSA through the Magallanes interchange. I thought I was going to have a heart attack but he encouraged me to forge on. Next thing I know, we were turning right at Boni Serrano and going to Project 4! He also asked me to make a three point turn on a busy road!!! Gah! Thank goodness the car did not stall. Haha! Success!

We went back to Paranaque via NAIA and Multinational Road. He wanted me to go through those twists and turns again. At least the car is not stalling as much as it did before. The car stalls if I let go of the clutch too quickly without pressing on the gas pedal. Valuable lessons learned today: letting go of the clutch up to its working level, full brake on busy intersections, do not swerve at NAIA and Magallanes Interchange due to the presence of the strict "chocolate boys".

Today was a good lesson. I now learned first-hand why some people complain if they drive too long. I drove straight for 3 hours that when I got off the car, my right knee was hurting like hell and I was limping. It took awhile before I managed to walk the stiffness out. Next week, we're going to tackle parking and probably practice on my "hanging" more.

My grades

I got the results of my WCE and I'm happy to say that I passed all of my exams--except for Organizational behavior that is. It's still a sore spot for me that I failed that exam. It's a non-math subject and one that I enjoyed for Pete's sake! Objective type surely sucks. This means I only have a couple of refreshers which I will be taking next term (January and March) and one subject which promises a light workload. Hopefully I'll have a nice summer.

Episode III - BackStroke of the West

Click on this link for a really good laugh.

Leo showed me this link sometime last year I just bookmarked it. I was going through my bookmarks earlier when I saw it. It still made me laugh. Go check it out.

Bert You scored 75% Organization, 50% abstract, and 52% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables. First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean. Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type. Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself. You are very organized, both concrete and abstract, and both introverted and extroverted. Here is why are you Bert. You are both very organized. You almost always know where your belongings are and you prefer things neat. You may even enjoy cleaning and find it therapeutic. Bert is a big neat freak and gets quite annoyed when Ernie makes a big mess. You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Bert is probably a bit more concrete in his bottlecap collecting addiction and his love of the weather. He does show his abstract side when he sings and performs his "Doin' The Pidgeon" song. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course. You are both somewhat introverted. Bert is probably more introverted, because he spends most of his time either with Ernie or alone. Still he has no problem being around other people in his role as chairman of "The National Association of 'W' Lovers." Like Bert, you probably like to have some time to yourself, but you do appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of social situations. The other possible characters are Oscar the Grouch Big Bird Snuffleupagus Ernie Elmo Kermit the Frog Grover Cookie Monster Guy Smiley The Count If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also if you want to tell me your favorite Sesame Street character, I can total them up and post them here. Perhaps your choice will win!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 90% on Organization You scored higher than 45% on concrete-abstra You scored higher than 33% on intro-extrovert

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Driving Ms. Sunshine (2006)

The last time I drove a car was December 2004, and I almost got into an accident. This made me forget about driving and considered not ever learning how to drive. Last month I enrolled at a formal driving school (A-1) and hopefully they would help me get over my fear of driving and really help me get the hang of it. And who knows? I might get a car plan in the future.

I arrived at the agreed meeting place at 7 am sharp. My instructor gave me additional pointers and we were off. I drove a manual silver toyota corolla (or was that an altis?).

I had problems getting out of the parking space and onto the street. It was a very busy street and I held up traffic for a few minutes since I was letting go of the clutch too early thus stalling the car. It took a few tries but I managed to get out of President's Avenue and into Sucat Road. Yes, Sucat Road. Me, a person not used to traffic and am already in Sucat Road fighting for road space with the pasaway jeepneys. I figured it's only 7 am so not much cars in the road yet. But no relaxation yet for me. My instructor told me to turn right at the Service Road of South Superhighway. That increased my pulse rate but I hurried on. Come to think of it, it was quite hilarious actually. I was travelling along service road going South at 20 mph. Whenever I would see the speedometer hit 40, I'll ease up on the gas pedal until I'm at 20 again. We turned right at Alabang-Zapote road and again, more scary jeepneys to shake my confidence. I was alright until we reached the corner of BF Resort (I think that's Pulanglupa area already) where there was quite a traffic build-up. Now I know why people don't like driving stick shift. My left leg almost developed a cramp from all the pushing and lifting and at heavy traffic, it can be an uncomfortable feeling. We drove on until we got to their driving course. I did ok until I got to the inclined curve. The car kept on stalling and I almost bumped into the wall. Good thing the instructor was such a cool character that he barely cringes whenever I do something wrong.

The lesson was only for a couple of hours and I learned quite a bit from that two hours. I have a three hour session tomorrow and I hope it can give me more practice and confidence on my driving.

Friday post

I wrote this while I was at work yesterday, Friday.

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TEMPER FUGIT

I lost my temper today. It may not be a big deal for some people but it’s a big deal for me. I consider myself good-natured and well-equipped with a pleasing personality. I seldom get angry and rarely do I raise my voice at people—whether they deserve it or not. But this morning I totally lost my cool and gave our local IT a piece of my mind. I know, I have lots of friends in the IT industry but I think I had the right to really get mad.

Last November 24, our new staff (internally hired) started. Since he already has the mandatory LAN ID’s and emails, I just requested for the transfer—and that was last November 24. I received an email that the request will be resolved by the end of the week which was fine by me. But on that day, I receive another email saying that our request will be rescheduled. Again, I have no problem with that. Then I went on leave. I just got back last Monday and much to my surprise, I saw an email that our request has been rescheduled again. I saw the history and much to my consternation, our activity was rescheduled five times. I do not think that it would take 5 weeks to transfer a Lotus Notes ID and archive. I sent an email to the officer in charge requesting for immediate resolution of our application. He emailed back and said he’ll have it done within the week. I was fine with that. However, I got an email this morning that our activity is AGAIN rescheduled for next week! I knew I had to do something so I sent an email asking for reasons why it’s rescheduled. Not contented, I called the officer in charge but there was no answer. I was very worked up by then and I knew I had to talk to someone. So I called the person in charge of assigning IT requests and asked what happened. She said that they only have one person to do the requests. I said that for the past five weeks they only have one person?! I don't think that's true. I really tried to hold onto my temper but I found myself talking and even raising my voice a bit. I told her that my staff had to go upstairs just to retrieve email and his files and it was a very big inconvenience in his part due to lost productivity and inefficiency. I could not understand why we were put on hold for so long and being rescheduled again. And so on and so forth. She assured me that she’ll give the request today and I grudgingly thanked her. Five minutes after I put the phone down, an IT guy showed up in my workstation and it took him less than an hour to install everything on my staff's computer.

I thanked the IT guy profusely. My bone of contention was the number of reschedules and the loss of productivity of my staff as well as the lack of communication. Email is a very important internal communication tool for us and keeping my staff in the loop has been very difficult. I also hated it that I had to show them my temper just for them to act on our request. It’s not the appropriate way to have things done. I even cried after my outburst—which happens after I lose my temper. My colleagues who heard my outburst were very supportive afterwards.

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DOCTOR'S ORDERS

I got the final results of my APE this Monday. Good news is that my cholesterol, uric acid and blood sugar levels are normal. My triglycerides though, are a bit high. Am already happy with that since last year, the aforementioned blood levels were high. Since our work volume is quite low, I asked permission from my boss to visit my doctors. Unfortunately, I missed the cardiologist who I was referred to, so I decided to visit my OB-Gyne instead.

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but when I got sick of UTI some months ago, I went to my HMO-accredited OB-Gyne at Asian Hospital. She's a nice doctor with a very congenial bedside manner (Dr. Regina Manahan. Would recommend my friends to her). She explains everything she does and ensures that her patients are comfortable. I was very happy when I learned that she also has a clinic at Makati Med which can enable me to see her during weekedays. So I called up her nice secretary at Asian Hospital and asked that my record be forwarded to Makati Med. She arrived on time at 3 pm and there were a couple of patients ahead of me. I still waited for an hour and when my turn came, she apologized and thanked me for waiting (now that's gracious!). We discussed my previous blood tests (FSH, TSH, LH) and she initially concluded that I do not have polycystic ovaries. However, she requested for additional tests to check why am still experiencing ammenorhea. She also referred me to an endocrinologist to check if I have hypo-thyroid something (which can also explain my sudden weight gain). She also asked me to schedule a breast ultrasound to check on the lump that was found in my breast. These are the times that I'm thankful for my HMO else I might have spent thousands of pesos on those tests alone. Although am still not happy with our current HMO. Maxicare is still the best for me.

It has been a very productive meeting with my doctor. Hopefully we can figure out what's wrong with me so if ever I decide to have children in the future, I won't have any problems. So now, I just have to finish those tests that my doctor requested and see the cardiologist on Monday (for my triglycerides).

Last Song Syndrome

Leo and I went to Ruins last Sunday where I got myself a PCD of MYMP and Bo Bice. I listened to Bo Bice first since ever since I heard his awesome voice at AI, I knew I have to have his album. Good thing I got the PCD since the album is absolutely no good. It's such a waste of his talent. I also heard a cut out of Carrie's album and it also sucks!

Anyway, Bo Bice only got one turn in my CD player then I put in MYMP. I loved all their covers and one particular song made me put it in repeat. The original version is sung by Jennifer Love-Hewitt (I still can't believe she can sing) and is entitled "No Ordinary Love". I don't know what made me play it over and over again, but I just love the song. It's a very mushy song but what the heck, I love it :)

No Ordinary Love

This could have been just another day
But instead we're standing here
No need for words, it's all been said
in the way you hold me near
I was alone on this journey
You came along to comfort me
Everything I want in life is right here

[Chorus:]

cause
This is not your ordinary
no ordinary love
I was not prepared enough
to fall so deep in love
This is not your ordinary
no ordinary love
You were the first to touch my heart
Made everything right again
with your extraordinary love

[Chorus]

I get so weak
when you look at me
I get lost inside your eyes
sometimes the magic is hard to believe
but you're here before my weary eyes
you brought joy to my world
set me so free
I want you to understand
you are every breath that I breathe

[Chorus]

From the very first time that we kissed
I knew that I just couldn't let you go at all
From this day on, remember this:
That you're the only one that I adore
Can't we make this last forever
This can't be a dream
cause it feels so good to me

[Chorus x2]

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I came home early today. Leo has a class so I had to find a way to go home early. I was ready to take the shuttle when Leo said he'll ask his sister if I can hitch a ride with them. I was a bit shy about it first but he told me it's ok. I walked to Enterprise at 530 pm where Leo's brother-in-law, Chris, works and we picked up Leo's sister, Tricie, at Citibank. Apparently, today is the rare times that they go home early since it's the birthday of their son, Jack. Good for me too since I only live a couple of blocks away from their house so they dropped me off first with me being home by 7 pm.

Happy New Year!

My previous post was supposed to be my "Year End Reflection" but I ended up talking about numbers and tarot. I'll just let that be.

Just let me talk about my weekend as I haven't been able to access the internet since my sister spent the weekend over. Since I haven't spent time with her in ages, I left my permanent spot in front of my laptop and re-bonded with her. She is, after all, my twin sister.

Last Dec. 30, I went to Mandaluyong to attend the 2nd birthday party of one of my god-daughters. That's her in the picture. Her name is Elisha and she's the daughter of my friends from SFC (Willie and Tina). She had her birthday at Jollibee and being the frustrated Jollibee-partier that I am, I went gaga when the Jollibee mascot made its appearance. I had to restrain myself from shoving the kids aside and get my photo op with the mascot. From the way parents and kids went crazy over Jollibee's appearance, akala mo si Aga Muhlach na yung lumabas. Haha. That is Jollibee's edge over McDonald's. McD's mascots just make an appearance during parties and does nothing. While Jollibee dances, poses and even wishes the celebrant a happy birthday (I've already memorized the birthday wishes. Hehe). Eventually though, I got a couple of shots. Pardon the shots though. Pics are from my cellphone camera. Am still a bit sore of not being able to celebrate my 30th birthday at Jollibee. That was my original plan, but had to scrap it due to budget constraints.

After the party, I met up with Cheryll (who's tummy seems to grow bigger everytime I see her. Good thing she's giving birth at the end of this month) and Mhon together with Claudine to do some baby-paraphernalia shopping. We shopped for baby clothes (I paid for some of their purchases as my gift for them), baby bottles and diaper bags. I also bought Chloe a dress. Claudine came home with her afterwards as she's spending the New Year here. Mhon and Cheryll dropped us off at the Ayala Terminal and we fortunately caught the last shuttle going home.

December 31, we spent the day at home. However, I spent New Year's Eve with Leo and his family. I missed my family though and felt a bit guilty for leaving them. My friends justified that I did spend New Year's Eve with my "future" family. Might as well get used to it. Besides, Leo did spend Christmas Eve with my family. And I spent January 1 here at home cleaning my room.

Returned to work today and cleaned up my workstation. It felt like Christmas since there were people who left gifts on my table. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that people go home early now since our workload have normalized. That's very good news indeed.

Five-Six

When I was in College, I learned how to read the tarot as a hobby. I even did some readings for friends. However, I stopped when I had this scary experience of feeling what one of my friends felt. Empathy or claivorance, whatever it was, it was weird. Moreover, my religion frowns on fortune telling and being the obedient girl that I am, I packed my tarot cards in its box, wrapped them in a silk scarf (to preserve the energy) and buried it under my stuff.

Even if I haven't opened the box in years, I can still remember what the cards represent and if I can remember it right (hmm...might as well check my trusty tarot book), five is not a good number. It is a number of uncertainty. Things may turn out good, or it may turn out bad. The five of wands mean obstacles. Five of cups mean sorrow. Five of swords, defeat. Five of pentacles (coins), destitution. Of course, there are ways to go around these, but nevertheless, the presence of those cards in a reading is an omen as it is.

Maybe that's why 2005 was so unremarkable. Am no numerology master, but there was a number "5" in last year's numbers so I assume it's a year of the "5". Uncertainty definitely prevailed that year. There were horrible things that happened, yet there were uplifting moments to draw us from the septic tank of despair.

On the other hand, 2006 looks better than 2005. Again, I assume this because of the presence of "6". Six is the number for balance and equilibrium. The six of wands mean good news; Six of cups entail happiness; Six of swords, journey; Six of pentacles, sharing of prosperity.

Nevertheless, numerology and tarot cards aside, I still feel that this year will be a good one. Yes, bad things will still happen, but things will turn out for the better. When you're down in the pit, there's no way to go but up.

Up, we will definitely go.