I wasn’t able to support them in Kickstarter, but I talked about them to my parents and the boyfriend, and I would have told friends about them if I wasn’t in the hospital when I learned of them. Hehe. I need their kind of passion in my life. Deep down in my soul I know I want to be a creative, and to be one while helping other people in a very concrete way, that would be the dream job for me.

Then CraftMNL posted about Ricefield Co’s KickStarter campaign, and setting up a class with them. I knew I wanted to be in that class! I would love the chance to just be in the same room as these women, AND I also really wanted to learn to knit. I almost missed the class, I signed up only two days before the May 11 class, as soon as I saw the schedule up on CraftMNL’s workshop page.

Soon as I sent in my registration, I flashed back to the Amigurumi class I attended at their workshop in December 2012 (where I learned to make this). My next thought was: I won’t be able to climb those steps to the second floor workshop without assistance! Good thing the afternoon class was held on the first floor, no risk for injury.

Alfred had work until just before lunch time Saturday, and again the next evening, so asking him to come along was out of the question. The task of taking me to and from Makati was left on my parents. I was so glad when they said yes! I really am a spoiled old baby, haha! I was joined by three young girls in my class, and our instructor Anna from the Ricefield Collective flew in from the UK just a few days prior.

We got a printed canvas bag, DK yarn enough for the project, lovely new knitting needles, and all the stuff needed to complete our finger puppets.

It seemed so simple but I made mistakes and my stitches didn’t look perfect at all, haha!

But I learned how to cast on, cast off, and on again. And enough moves to finish my Tarsier finger puppets when I got home:

Anna mentioned that as they were campaigning for Knit4Life and the Ricefield Collective they used finger puppets because they were fun, and also it can be used as you show the K sign with your fingers. Since making this one, I made another one in a smaller size, and an even smaller one for little Amir. It’s not a puppet to him though, more like cozies for tickle fingers – to use for tickling grandma and grandma! I can imagine they’re good for taking selfies sporting a peace sign too, but I haven’t got around to do that.

I am looking forward to more knit and crochet projects, but right now I’m still working on my ripple blanket. Meanwhile, Ricefield Co is up on the mountains of Banaue working with women on their handmade knit products. You can follow them on their adventures via Twitter – @knit4life, and Instagram – @weknit4life

No More Hurting People

Speaking of peace, I came across this campaign on Indiegogo today:



A lot of us wept for little Martin Richard, the youngest victim of the Boston bombing last month. This group is raising funds by producing shirts printed with Martin’s peace artwork from school. 30% of the proceeds will help the Richard family, while 70% is for One Fund Boston. This is a really good way to spread Martin’s message of peace, and also help the victims stay strong.

We were pleasantly surprised not to see long lines at the voting precinct. I had registered only in 2009 and ended up in a different precinct from the rest of my family. But because Comelec implemented a cluster system since elections were automated, we still vote in the same precinct.

Barangay Kalusugan Voting Precincts

Just like in the 2010 elections, we went to vote as a family, except for my brother who went there straight from work so he was very early. Since the line was short, I decided I didn’t need special treatment (recovering from an operation and all) and waited patiently in line. We were all done in perhaps 15 or 20 minutes. My cousin says we’re lucky because they had to wait a lot longer. They were already done when we arrived. I guess the rain, and it being lunchtime, discouraged people from voting at the time we did.

But we really had it good. There were apparently many places in the country where voting didn’t go as smoothly as it did for us. I pray this is the last time it happens. We seriously need to have improved systems and a COMELEC who will work on it all the time, not just the year before the next elections.

Two days later, we still don’t have any of the senator-elects being proclaimed. I only voted for 9 candidates, and not everyone made it. But that’s democracy. And instead of complaining about Nancy Binay making it to the top 5, we should focus our energies on mapping out how we’ll make all 12 accountable to the people in the next six years. Instead of blaming an uninformed electorate for making Grace Poe number one and Dick Gordon teetering from number 12 to 13, let’s look at what we should do to ensure that the people can become better informed.

Political ads on TV, and the campaign sorties, were mostly how the people got to know their candidates. But those shouldn’t be the only sources of information. Netizens had some online resources, but not all of us actually took the time to review 3rd party profiles and analyses of the platforms or fact-checked debate responses. I’m just saying that no matter how sophisticated or un-sophisticated we are, the resource first has to be there, and then we need to take the time to refer to it. There needs to be an uninterested party (not affiliated with the political parties) out there who would do round-table discussions with the common folk, or maybe bring out laptops and tablets so the people can browse at material available online. But who would do it?

A group of child-rights NGOs came up with Bata Muna which was a campaign to engage with candidates to find out their stand on child-sensitive issues. That’s a good idea, I think. But then they would also need to distribute the information they gathered. In the end they did not seek to endorse any particular candidate, but they did present the candidates’ responses on critical issues. I took note of that and it helped frame who I would vote for.

Leading up to the elections you would see a lot of push to go out and vote. That’s good. COMELEC sees voter turnout at 70%. So 70% of registered voters cared enough to make their votes count. Kudos to us. But it’s not just how many people vote; what’s important is the thought-process behind those votes. Sorry, but do I make sense?

As for me, I continue to be hopeful for the country. I did my best to vote for the candidates that I feel would ensure that the future is secure, and that we learn from past mistakes. More candidates who didn’t get my vote are actually winning but that is no reason to be sad or jaded. That is democracy after all.

253rd voter

I am so proud of the kids. They performed more after the Mass, during coffee time for the congregation at the Cathedral Hall.

When I was their age, starting at around ten years old, I was also active in theater arts activities. I must say I wasn’t that much active in our own Church, but I did sort of represent us in a group of children from various churches. I belonged to the Ecumenical Children’s Theater group of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. We performed at events of the NCCP, and we also participated in PETA’s children’s theater festival for three consecutive years. I loved that time of my life.

The song featured in the video above was a theme song that the NCCP used many many years ago. We interpreted it too, and performed at the UP Church of the Risen Lord. Our teacher/choreographer at the time was also from PETA. He was very strict, and rehearsals were like workouts. It wasn’t the first time I performed (in fact, I think it was one of the last times I ever danced onstage), but it was the first time I had done anything like it. He made us crawl, not just on the ground, but over and on top of each other. Talk about loosing inhibitions. Those rehearsals were probably the most exhausting ones I’d attended ever. I wonder if anyone had bothered to take a video of us? I don’t even recall having any photos from then. Oh well.

The message of the song, Buhay na Kasiya-siya, seems to be quite timely. Election season is when national issues are at the forefront. This is when we focus on what’s to happen in the future. What’s to be left for our children, and our children’s children. It’s also the time to think about how decisions in the past (when choosing leaders) affect the quality of our lives now. The song tells us - Kung uunahin muna natin, ang kailangan ng lahat. Ang masaganang lupain ay higit pa kaysa sapat. Kung uunahin muna natin, ang sa Kanya’y mahalaga. Sama-samang daranasin, buhay na kasiya-siya. My rough translation: If we prioritize the people’s needs, an abundant land is more than enough. If we start with what’s important to Him, we will all enjoy an abundant/happy life.

It is nice to be reminded that if we focus on what’s really important, we would learn that most of the time, if not always, we have more than what we need. We just need to look around us.

How do we really see ourselves? I used to think I had a pretty healthy self image, but then I got more and more into photography and more and more people also got to toting cameras everywhere and I realized that I didn’t want photos of me taken.

Do you remember that shampoo commercial where the girl would hide behind her friends because her hair was less than lustrous? Or those series of commercials for Lesofat, tinatago ang taba?  That’s exactly what I do. I don’t hide behind people though, I normally just take myself out of the photo. I refuse to have any taken. Most of the time.

But I’ve tried to do that less and less. I’ve allowed others to take my photo. I’ve even started taking selfies. And my profile photo on social networking sites is already an actual photo of myself. I am beautiful in whatever shape or size, I know that. I may be trying to lose weight these days, but that is because I have become too heavy for my bones (being bionic now doesn’t guarantee that another slip disc won’t happen). Let that not overshadow the truth that I am beautiful. \

Thanks Dove for reminding women of all shapes and sizes, that we need to be kinder to ourselves.

Le Petit Chaperon Rouge from Olive Us on Vimeo.

My nieces and nephews are still on vacation, I wonder if they can be convinced to take on a project like this? Maybe not. Unless I drive them to it.

Speaking of summer. With the doc advising at least one more month of ‘taking it easy’ at home, I wonder if I’d ever get any swimming done? I don’t even dare think of going to the beach, just take me to a pool! If we had our own pool that wouldn’t be a problem, and I would also be browsing poolsupplyunlimited.com for whatever needs to be done…

My Internest Service is very poor lately. My Between Covers blog, along with other Blogger-hosted blogs are inaccessible. I get this error most of the time:

              (110) Connection timed out
          

Your cache administrator is netadmin@skybroadband.com.ph.

Since our last conversation, I went back to the hospital and stayed there for 2 and a half weeks more. This time, with no bathroom privileges too. That was tough. Skip this post if you’d rather not hear about it. This post is about where April’s at so it may run long.  Thank you for dropping by.

The first part of my Staycation was already for pain management and bed rest but I still forced myself to get up when I needed to do number 1 or 2, and to take showers. Of course it meant also crying out in pain after about 3 minutes out of bed, but nature calls and what can you do? The doc sent me home after 7 days with medicines and a rehab schedule. I only lasted three days at home.

Every morning I would cry out for extreme pain. It was so bad we talked about just seeing my old doctor and ask for an operation. It was really bad. On the second day we went in for a therapy session. It didn’t happen. The rehab doctor looked at my MRI plates and she was of a mind to refer me back to the Orthopedic doctor. The bulge was so big. Since the doc wasn’t due in until the next morning, she sent me back home with stronger medicines. The short ride to and from the hospital was not fun.

On Saturday, 4/13, my dad went back to the hospital with my records to consult an orthopedic surgeon. My old doctor wasn’t in, so we had to get someone else. He made arrangements for me to be admitted via the Emergency Room. Oh my gee did I make a scene when we got there. There was only a wheelchair at the ER entrance when we arrived and that was useless for me, we went straight in looking for an empty bed. Within two minutes, I was crying again. There was immediate relief once my back hit the stretcher. Not sure why it took so long but it took another four hours before we reached my new accommodations at the 5th floor. Pain medication was given intravenously while we were waiting. With the hyped pain management plan, the doc wanted to give conservative treatment another chance – let’s give physical therapy one last chance, he said. If I really don’t respond, he’ll operate.

Arm Candy

I was to have bed rest, no sitting up, and no going to the bathroom. It was difficult for me to use the bedpan, so it was diapers for me. There was no room to be embarrassed, my Mom and boyfriend took turns cleaning me up. By then I knew I wasn’t interested in admitting visitors, it would have been a little awkward, and I’d look like crap. Hehe.

I asked for strong medicine almost every 6 hours initially before I started to feel better. Therapy was continued bedside. I could get on with only oral medication. I was somewhat pain-free for two full days, I was happy! Maybe I didn’t need an operation after all. I got daily calls from my brother, but the best thing was that he brought the little guy over to visit me. He had his iPad time of course, but we also had cuddle time

Amir visits me!

Having Amir over was so refreshing. He was his usual self, bright, smart, and noisy! He had his breakfast there, and then asked for two cookies from my stash. Takaw!

But then I had a very, very bad attack. Not sure if it was that afternoon, or the next day. My entire left leg and lower back seemed besieged by muscle spasms. It was so painful I harassed the boyfriend who was the only one with me that afternoon. The medicine kicked in after 30 minutes, after I’d cried my lungs out already. Hot packs from my therapist were a huge help too. It was so bad. Because of that episode, the doctored ordered for a continuous traction for when the pain subsides. My bed was replaced with an older model fitted with a Balkan frame.

Balkan Frame on my bed

We didn’t get to maximize it though. The belt for the traction wasn’t big enough for me and it took days to get a new one. By then the doc had decided to do the operation. The pain may have subsided, but I wasn’t improving. I started to feel numbness from my thigh down to my toes. There was some peace between that worse episode and the actual operation. Watching movies distracted me. The nurse was right to tell me to focus on something else. Sometimes it just wasn’t easy, but most of the time I would wake up to a good morning. Oh I did use the thing to hoist myself up for shampoo time!

I availed of the service only twice in my entire stay because I learned a week late that it was available for a fee.  By then I had lost a lot of (falling) hair and I had so much yucky dandruff! Yes, I get them but only if I don’t wash my hair everyday. Ugh.

Once in a Lifetime – Cathy Kelly

Reading the books I had brought with me helped. I finished Cathy Kelly’s Once in a Lifetime pretty quickly but I couldn’t go type up a review just as fast. Even blogging on the iPad mini wasn’t so convenient when you had to lie down on your side all the time. Later, I picked up A Game of Thrones, book 1 of the series A Song of Fire and Ice. I alternated watching season 1 and reading the book. I’m done with the book, and still a couple of episodes left for the first season. Can’t wait for the next.

And of course, I crocheted. No photo of the work in progress though. Maybe next time.

The operation took place on the morning of April 25th. I was wheeled in to the operating room already drowsy. The last thing I remembered was having difficulty breathing, and passing out. Next time I was awake my mouth was parched dry and my chin was sore. I was out for close to five hours. When I was transferred to my old bed I realized there was a catheter attached to me (thank God it wasn’t painful).

I was wheeled in to my room and my special visitor was there, all cute and charming. He said my name a few times, and referred to ouchy (IV line). He was upset when the nurse came in but only because he thought I would get hurt. He touched my toes, my hands, and he gave me kisses. He walked all around the room. I wish I could stay awake and just watch him. But it was time to get more sleep. Sleep was vital to recovery after all.

I appreciate the good job the doctors did. I was not in much pain after the operation. Almost none. I am vaguely aware of a plate on my spine though. Strange feeling, that. Hehe. What I didn’t like was the shot of Demerol. Before knocking me out I felt it wash through my body like it was some poison. It made me extremely uncomfortable and I threw up. And throwing up after you’ve just been cut open could be an ass. So I thanked the prescription for keeping me pain-free that day, but I told the nurse not to give me another dose. Please, no.

The doctors expected a fast recovery because I was such a good patient. I didn’t meet their expectation of sitting up by that same evening though. I didn’t even try to stand up the next day, did I? But once I started sitting up two days later, it got easier and easier. What really surprised and upset me was that I still have numbness on my left foot – until today. It felt weak and I didn’t trust my leg to carry my weight. Doc says its normal because the nerve that got caught between the discs was damaged really bad. It was flattened, and only time can tell if it recovers fully. It better.

But really, there’s almost no pain now. And that was what the operation was all about. So I am happy now. Still taking it easy though.

So if anyone asks me what April 2013 was about, I’d say it was about pain and overcoming it. It was about keeping a positive attitude even when the world is reduced to one bed, and a room. It’s about how lucky I am to be born into this world as daughter to Laura and Danny, and sister to Vlady. It’s about knowing the love and support of a good man even though he can be a dick some times.

It’s not about becoming neck-deep in loans because I used up and exceeded all my medical coverage. Not even. I will have to payoff April 2013 for a long time yet, but I don’t mind. I gained more than I lost.

So hello there May! You kinda crept up on me. Let’s go.