I’ve been going back to work everyday for the past two weeks, but I’m absent for today’s shift. I knew I’ve had allergic rhinitis attacks in the mornings since last week but yesterday I woke up with a clogged but runny nose. It did not get better with water therapy. I knew coffee wasn’t bound to help (I was told it promotes congestion) but I needed help to stay awake and focused so I fixed myself half a sachet of instant coffee. When I got home, I did nothing but sleep. Whenever I woke up on the couch, I’d complain to either Dad or my boyfriend that I was feeling so sick. My head felt so heavy, nose still runny, had a very sore throat, and I felt feverish.
In the afternoon, I got up to eat and popped OTC cold meds. After reading two chapters off A Clash of Kings,and doing two rows of crochet, I went back to sleep.
SLEEP.
I know that the natural remedy to colds is lots of sleep and lots of water. So I skipped work to catch up on sleep. Since getting back into the grind I felt like I have lost so much of it.
I worked the early shift (8PM-5AM) and mid-shifts (10PM) before but I was doing the closing shift again (2AM-11AM) for at least three weeks prior to my long medical leave. I always loved the closing shift. Being an opener only worked because we made arrangements for the boyfriend to have the same schedule as I do. When I was in the hospital his schedule got moved again and now we’re on opposite shifts and not the same weekends off. That is not helping. I try to stay up until he gets home but I just can’t. Truth is, the best time for me to sleep is 12 noon so I can get up feeling well rested at 6PM. But when I get home at 8 or 9 in the morning, I just can’t stay up. So I sleep way too early and wake up four hours later. I stay up for two hours before I get sleepy again and then try to get some more rest before I absolutely need to get ready for work. I hate that pattern but it’s become the story of my life. I hope it only takes one more week to adjust.
Right now, my back hurts a bit. It does that sometimes. It’s not too painful that I’d need to take any medicine, but it hurts enough to remind me that I probably need to be a little more aggressive in my almost non-existent effort to lose weight. And that I should also do the back exercises my therapists used to make me do. I know that getting home tired isn’t an excuse to not making time for exercising but it’s just so easy to use that excuse. I’m also always blaming the boyfriend for not being fit, my argument is that if he made time for it, I would too. But he’s not responsible for my body, I am. If he doesn’t feel that it’s urgent that he lose his belly flat, well it’s a very urgent thing for me.
Besides, if I am to do any travelling soon, I’d better get my stamina built up again. I can’t be tired after only 5 minutes of walking, can I? Too bad sleeping doesn’t miraculously slough off the pounds…
Since switching to an iPhone4 over two years ago, it’s been hard to imagine holding any other mobile phone – smart or otherwise. I loved how it felt in my hand, there were apps I’d gotten to use on a day to day basis. I was online and connected whenever I wanted or needed.
When our two year lock-in period expired and the iPhone5 was offered to us with a minimal fee, we didn’t think twice about upgrading.
Though I’ve only had my white iPhone 5 for close to six months, there have been so many smart phones released that really rivals it. Better cameras, bigger HD screens, cheaper alternatives. I did have a crush on the Nokia Lumia but it was nowhere serious that I’d dump my beloved phone.
And then via Geeky Gadgets I see this video of life-changing apps on the iOS. All the more reason to love.
Smart phones and smart apps really can alleviate quality of life when matched with the people who need them. Of course, the phone and the apps may not be that affordable for the marginalized Pinoy, but just knowing that this can happen for someone else out there, we can hold on to the hope that we can make something like it a reality for our reality too. Pinoy phone brands have come up with their own low-cost Android smart phones. Many iOS apps have their Android counterparts, perhaps the life-changing apps can too. I know that there are many talented and smart Pinoy developers out there who will see a need for something, and have the passion to make the app for it.
I’ve also become more and more interested in integrating both my phone and my tablet to make me more efficient in life. This, unfortunately, still remains to be seen.
Alfred and I are also looking forward to the release of iOS 7, bringing with it a new color scheme, and a whole new look to the icons and apps. Iphoneography is bound to be even more interesting with built in filters. The new Notification and Control Centers also look to eliminate a few swipes just to get to specific things or settings. Going through the various active apps will also be easier. Check out all the new features on the official iOS7 page.
Alfred/Dodong turned 34 on June 8. We had dinner at Viking’s at the MOA with his parents and his big brother (his eldest brother lives in Malaysia with his family). I must really have lost a bit of my tummy kasi just like people at work, the complimented me for looking better after the operation. The boyfriend still isn’t convinced though. Hah!
He had to make reservations a week in advance just to be sure we’d be seated in time for a 7PM dinner. Ang daming tao, and at least 20 people siguro were birthday celebrants. He didn’t want the crew to sing him the birthday song but we told him he can’t avail of the free birthday dinner without it.
I didn’t eat much. I only had a plate of salmon sashimi instead of the usual 2 or 3! That’s what happens when you’re not used to eating so much anymore. And when you have your monthly period. Ugh.
After dinner, we headed to his cousin’s in Sta. Cruz for a booze fest. I only had a glass of rhum cola because I was the designated driver, but the birthday boy got a lot to drink. He would have bought his kuya’s PS3 on the spot if I wasn’t there to stop him, LOL. Let’s get a LED TV first, before a console. Haha! Then we have to shop for premier TV mounts too, and then get Move, but not before getting the new shelves+workstation setup first. Hmm…
Last year we kicked off his birthday week at Wil’s Steaktown. Then we had a flat tire en route to his birthday celebration in his kuya’s Pasay bar. This year’s event went without any hitch. He was even welcomed with fireworks as soon as we stepped off the car outside Vikings.
His 33rd year was a good one, this next one could only be better. Happy birthday babe!
This is pretty much what I have in front of me everyday at work: my planner (it has a lot more writing on it now, hehe), two pens (I always have a green one handy for our audits), and my PC. Beyond my computer monitor my rowdy bunch (team) is spread out in front of me. Last night, they lined up to dance to Psy’s Gentleman. Hilarious!
It didn’t feel like a heavy week. Lots of catching up, and re-familiarizing myself with day to day processes. It was genuinely nice to be back. By the end of the week (Friday morning for me), I was excited to get to sleep in again. Haha! Also, it was the boyfriend’s birthday on Saturday (6/8) so I was really looking forward to that. The only downside is that the boyfriend and I have very different schedules now. Our rest days are mismatched. I am sleeping when he gets home. We didn’t see each other the entire day Thursday. But we more than made up for it this weekend, I think. Although it didn’t feel much of a weekend for me. I needed one more day (doesn’t everybody else?)!
The week ended at a high note. I got the chance to visit the UP Gym again. Sadly it’s not because I’d gone all fit and sporty (I wish!), but because I went to support our account’s basketball team for the company sportsfest. Our boys won all three games they were scheduled for!
Gladiators!
These boys were really amazing. Most of them had shifts on Friday night. Then they had to play three games, with one-hour intervals in between. And they went on to win each one.
3-1 win!
Next week’s game will be a tough one. I hear we’ll be up against the team with no loss record yet. Hopefully, my friends and I get to show our support again, along with a lot more others. Speaking of friends, these girls kept me company:
Hanging out with these two were among the things I missed while I was recovering. But when we weren’t teasing each other or bashing the other team like die-hard hooligans fans would, they were making an attempt at playing volleyball:
The initial plan was that Cha and I would walk around the Acad Oval before the games, to exercise. But I didn’t wake up until 12 noon that day, just as the first whistle was blown for the team’s first game. After the game wasn’t an option because it would have made me late for the boyfriend’s birthday gig. It would have been a nice day to fasten the bikes on a yakima rack and pedal around campus, perhaps another day.
So there, I had a good first week back at work and things seem to be just getting better. Oh and people were either just being very nice to me, or I must have really lost weight.
One of the older blogs on my reading list is IKEA Hackers.
From the site’s About page:
IkeaHackers.net is a site about modifications on and repurposing of Ikea products. Hacks, as we call it here, may be as simple as adding an embellishment, some others may require power tools and lots of ingenuity.
It’s community of follower submit their own hacks to be featured so contributors may be coming from all corners of the world, though I’ve not seen any from the Philippines just yet.
I’m not the DIY type (but I would be if I had the skills), and we don’t have a real local IKEA store, but the hacks are just so good that I kept following the blog. I am also amazed at the ideas that come up, and the savings that homeowners get from using various IKEA products and customizing them for their needs.
Who knows, someday when I live in my own home, I might need a hack and finally get to use one of theirs for inspiration.
I do find though that anything relating to kids on IKEA Hackers are not just adorable, but really fun to make! They’ve also featured a lot of play kitchens so I’m making sure to feature some of them here, they’re my favorites:
Now here’s one we actually can take inspiration from right now. We’ve got a mess of a kitchen counter, and an even messier porch where the actual cooking takes place. This kitchen storage and pull-out counter may just be the solution we need:
My dad also seems to be very close to deciding on getting us a flat screen LED TV. If so, we’re also going to a need a better setup for our media to incorporate the possible new wall TV mount. Good thing there’s the media storage category on IKEA Hackers for inspiration.
Do you have DIY projects at home too? Do share. Or if you’re looking for ideas and inspiration, go ahead and checkout IKEA Hackers too.
