Disabled for 6 months

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If I narrate the whole story on how I fractured my leg, perhaps “Maalala mo kaya?” (weekly TV drama series in ABS CBN) might get hold of my story. Hah, as if. A few close friends and family know the bittersweet story of how I fractured my leg. During those days, my life was like a series of sappy TV soap drama. Anyway, ten months ago on July 2005, I fractured my right leg (the tibia) and dislocated my ankle. I tripped in a pavement which curved irregularly. I slipped and then heard my ankle crackle (literally sounded like firecrackers) and broke my fall on my hand. My foot dangled like it was a separate appendage from my leg. The ankle protruded. The first thought that entered my mind was “there goes my exercise”. I held on to my leg with excruciating pain and tried to align my dislocated leg to my ankle. Although I had a car, it was useless for me to drive. Alone, I brought myself to the ER of Medical City. How naive I was! I thought a cast up to my thighs would fix the fracture in no time. That freaking cast was so heavy that I had to lift it in order to move around. In so much pain. Two days later, I was whisked to the emergency room because an operation was needed immediately.

I seriously thought I would die. Being diabetic and with a heart condition, the operation was delayed until I was cleared for operation. Around 8 screws were nailed into my ankle and tibia. It felt so much better although I was still in pain. Do you know how hard it is walk with one foot? I wasn’t allowed to put weight on the right foot for 6 weeks. I had to learn how to use the crutches before leaving the hospital. We bought a wheelchair and built some ramps around the house. Taking a bath involved 2 monobloc chairs: one for my casted foot and the other for me to sit and bathe myself. Fortunately , my husband is the type of person who knows how to take care of the sick. He doted on me like a sick baby, not complaining if I had to wake him in the dead of the night to get the bedpan.

I was in my neon-green fibercast with heels for 8 weeks but I managed to entertain myself by going to the malls or restaurants. Most of our malls are disable-friendly and of course, I got a special parking place. I frequented Shoemart Makati because the 7th floor parking area of Park Square leads straight to the Ladies Section. Supermarkets like Metro Supermarket in Market! Market! even had wheelchair cart. Moving around in a wheelchair wasn’t that bad at all so long as there is a caregiver and driver to bring you around. People threw sorry glances but it didn’t bother me. I knew my disability was temporary. Whenever I visited Medical City’s Rehab Center , I notice a lot of patients who suffered serious nerve damage such as stroke victims. I knew I was going to get well so I focused on my physical therapy.


By November 2005, I was using only one crutch. The scar on my right leg looks unsightly but it is a reminder of God’s divine intervention. Today, I have a slight difficult in going down the stairs but I can walk for longer distance now. Looking back at my disability, it was an opportunity for me to take care of myself. Even if I could not walk without crutches, I continued my stationary cycling for cardio exercise. I lifted weights to strengthen my arms. I followed a healthy diet. I worked on a new online business that gave me income opportunities. Meditation kept me in a serene mode. I turned stumbling blocks to stepping stones in improving myself . It was during this period of my life that positive changes in our family life evolved.

Sometimes pain can enlighten us. This pain leads and guides us into better choices for our future.

Getting a Globe 3G Mobile Broadband with HSDPA

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button_coveragearea.jpgAs an anniversary present to ourselves, we availed of the latest 3 G capable phone promo from Globe Handyphones. This promo started May 5 and ends on May 12. So why not? GLOBE has to make their 3G capable phones affordable so that it available to as big a market as possible. Anyway, the Nokia N70 can be bought by upgrading to a 2500 peso plan or a zero interest plan for 6, 12 or 18 months using your credit card. Of course we opted for the cheaper method which was the 18 month plan. The cost of the unit with VAT included is 21,992.04 pesos ($431) or 1221.78 pesos month for the next 18 months. The video call cost the same as the regular voice call rates. I don’t know if that same rate will continue on. The rates are valid till May 30, 2006. Aww. So far, 3 G calls are just Globe to Globe subscribers. We haven’t tested the video call yet because it takes 3 days for 3 G services to be activated.

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In fitness and in health till…

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fitness firstButch signed up at Fitness First today. One disdavantage of having a lifetime membership is one gets complacent and postpones visiting the gym. That’s what happened to my husband’s lifetime membership at Slimmer’s World. He’s been a member since the early 1990’s and barely uses it. I’ve been a member of Fitness First since May 2005 and I visit the center everyday. It’s like I have to take advantage of the services and facilities because I pay 2,300 pesos ($45) every month .

After we kissed and made up after our spat, he thought of transforming his negative energies into physical workout. I think he got envious of my transformation and happier disposition. He also noticed that my arms are stronger now. Hehe, I wonder how he noticed. Was it because I carried more grocery bags?

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After our workout, I feel refreshed and bubbly. He seems to be eager to go out of the gym because of his hunger pangs. I never get hungry after a workout.

hubbyHe grins at me because he has a craving for “Gonuts Donuts“. His silvery hair glistened as I took this photo. Hubby has premature gray hairs inspite of the fact that he is two years younger than me. I barely have any white hair. He reminds me of American Idol contestant , Taylor Hicks. Unlike Taylor Hicks, hubby only got his premature gray hairs in his mid -thirties.

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Anyway, “Gonuts Donuts” have a lite version which contains 1 gram of sugar and lesser fat. Hubby orders 3 lite donuts for me. How sweet. My sweet tooth is always wrecking havoc on my weight loss management. I still think they contain evil carbos which stimulate my fats to become even more resistant to weight loss. How can I resist?

Swirling my way to Belly Dancing

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TurqSpin.gifI’ve been dying to join a [tag]belly dancing[/tag] class ever since my daughter first introduced the idea to me four years ago. Finally after signing a petition, Fitness First The Fort launched “Belly Dancing” wednesday classes. I was late for the 10:00 AM class and ended up watching the women move their bodies to Egyptian music. How exotic.

I caught up with the teacher at the locker area and she said that I can still catch up. She’ll bring colorful hip belts next week for only 700 pesos ($14.00). It costs 750 pesos in Market! Market!

I was brimming with excitement and teased my husband.

“And once I learn the rudiments, I can practice belly dance in front of you.

My second daughter overheard me and shrieked, “I didn’t hear that! How disgusting!”

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I went to the Iblog2 summit

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Even if I only stayed for the morning, I had a great time at the iblog 2 summit (view me here and here). Thank you to the organizers of the iblog 2 summit. You all did a great job. Really, a huge success in terms of registrants and quality of the speakers. (View gallery). I don’t have the figures yet but the room was standing room only . We had to get additional chairs. iblog2.jpg I happened to be the moderator of the Personal Blogging Panel and met Joel Yuvienco, Anton de Leon and Mike Abundo. They are so funny and perfectly suited for their topics. Mike Abundo innovated his open forum. He asked for volunteer bloggers to show off their blogs. In turn, Mike recommended strategies to improve the marketing effectiveness of the blog.

My daughter, Lauren just got in the room just before Mike closed the open forum. She readily volunteered her blog. Mike thinks that Lauren has too many “chicklets” in her side navigation. Guess what “chicklets” are!
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(photo courtesy of Disini’s gallery)

Lauren protested , ” But I like the “chicklets”

I couldn’t stay till the end of the summit because I had to fix some legal problems. Glad to have also met Abe Olandres and Manuel Viloria, JJ Disini, and Adrian Sison. Incidentally, Adrian is about to launch his book on RA 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004) this coming June.

And the perks: An iblog2 t-shirt and a Certificate of Appreciation. How sweet.

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Rebecca Mackinnon and Dr. Ronald Meinardus

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Laughter is the best medicine

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Even just the expectation of a mirthful laughter involved in watching your favorite funny movie has some very surprising and significant neuroendocrine/hormone effects. That’s what this paper “”Beta-Endorphin and HGH increase are associated with both the anticipation and experience of mirthful laughter,” stated. Earlier experiments showed that viewing a favorite funny video can offset symptoms of chronic stress, which can suppress various components of the immune responses, particularly those related to anti-viral and anti-tumor defenses.

No wonder my body seeks comedy shows. My hubby knows me better now that whenever the American Idol season starts, I watch it with the anticipation of great entertainment. Naturally, laughter ensues when singer-wannabes become delusionary. Hehehe.

He enjoys hearing the sound of my shrill laughter. Every night, my family and myself watch the “Jacks” Comedy channel and the late night talk shows of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” .

What I miss the most are the original jokes of my brothers, Oscar and Ruben (bless their souls!). My family of origin loves to laugh and I thought it was normal to have loud laughter and noise during dinner. Yes, I grew up in a noisy family where song and dance followed after dinner. Good thing our house was located in a huge lot and neighbors were far apart. It came as a culture shock to me when I married a husband whose family was let’s say…quiet. Not much humor. So when my second daughter took after my family’s genes , my hubby often warned her to lower her voice in front of his mother. Oh boy! That used to cause marital conflict. But that soon came to pass after I set my foot down . There is nothing wrong with laughter during appropriate times.

“Why do you think Reader’s Digest has claimed that ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine’ for so many years?”

Hubby has now learned to laugh along with us. There’s nothing like a family who laughs together.

Featured in Blog-O-Rama and other site news

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technews1.jpg Thanks Annalyn for the Blog-O-Rama interview of this blog. I received a few emails from readers who have lost a loved one and got directed to The Compassionate Friends website. I know I can’t take away their pain but by talking or writing about their grief, they can somehow ease their pain. I only got to read the paper version while at the gym early this morning.


PageRank Tool“Touched by an Angel” is only 7 weeks old , and my Google [tag]Page rank[/tag] is already PR 5 on the main page (it’s PR0 on newer entries). Sometimes I don’t understand Google. Only 10 sites link to this blog and not to mention, the domain is quite new. Anyway, this is good news because there is a chance that visitors can easily find this site by typing the significant keywords.

Unacceptable SMART WiFi Customer support

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I have three internet connections at home: SMART WiFi, Destiny Cable and a pre-paid dial up connection. See I need to be redundant with my internet connection in case one fails. I overheard my daughter complaining to SMART Wi Fi Customer Care over her slow connection. I insisted on talking to them after she filed her complaint. Ever since the [tag]SMART WiFi[/tag] was installed in October 2005, we didn’t encounter internet connection problems.

Being used to Destiny Cable Technical Support expertise for the past 7 years, I was horrified to discover that their customer care is Level 1 meaning all they do is report it to the next level. No wonder a lot of angry SMART WiFi Subscribers flood Ambot AH!. In the first place, their LEVEL 1 support should be able to troubleshoot right there and then. Imagine waiting 24 hours for some technician to call us up and then what happens next? Level 3 technician? This long wait is an unacceptable Service Agreement. In the meantime. I told my daughter to run the CMD and when the DOS box pops up to type, ipconfig /release followed by ipconfig /renew and restart if possible.

I hope SMART WiFi issue does reach Congress.

Work at Home Mom Part 1

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nook1.jpgThis is my Home-office, Business-office (HOBO) or does Small-office Home-office[ (SOHO) sound better? Whatever you call it, I’ve been a work-at-home-mom since my daughter, M was born in 1987. That’s my working station and right behind it is the kitchen which overlooks the front door of the house. It’s a small nook that allows me to be in touch with kitchen activities and family members hovering behind me.

Everyone is yelling distance away except for my kids if they are in their bedrooms. That’s because the walls of their rooms are almost sound-proof. Nothing to worry about, the Yahoo Messenger is a convenient tool for getting their attention. An example….
ym.jpgMy husband goes “What are you doing?”

“Talking to Lauren”

“you’re lazy. Why can’t you just go to her room? ” He teases.

“Yahoo messenger is faster“. I quip.

The girls had their own computer upon reaching college. I believe that young kids should share a family computer so their activities can be monitored. Not that I don’t trust them . Staying too long in the computer is unhealthy.

One of the hazards of an online business is sitting on the computer chair all day long. Not to mention getting afflicted with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I also tend to get engrossed with work that I forget the time.

 

nook2.jpgPhysical activity is limited to finger exercises which does not derive cardio-vascular benefits. Hence, my daily routine entails a two-hour gym workout in between my work. If that’s not possible, the stationary bicycle is a wonderful alternative. As I bike , I watch TV shows at the same time. Computer work also strains my eyes. Just before bedtime, placing a cucumber slices on my eyebags highlights the end of a productive day.

(to be continued…)

The Mystery of the Poisoned Water Jug

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““[tag]Poisoning[/tag] shocks best, brightest in science high school”. Upon reading the news, I could only shake my head at the cruelty of this sick joke. Kids create pranks now and then but this is just too much. My friend Cathy Babao-Guballa aka Nancy Drew , blogged about The Mystery of the Poisoned Water Jug , an inside story.

Now it can be told…”“J” was not the first victim, mind you, she was the fourth, but the worst hit, in a string of poisoning cases that had been plaguing this high school for brilliant minds over the last few months. It was only when ““J” finally hovered between life and death, did the pieces of the puzzle finally fit.

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