Had two separate online arguments with grown men tonight – one a priest, the other a lawyer – on homosexuality as a perversion and the motivations behind a navy sex scandal (read story here). In both cases, I justifiably won as their arguments fizzled.
Where’s the quiet, no-confrontations-please Scout?
I’m getting feisty. I like it.
Had breast surgery yesterday afternoon. Conversation while putting on a surgical gown and a hair cap.
Nurse: Ano yung ipapa-opera mo?
Me: Um, dito. (points to right breast) May lump kasi.
Nurse: Ha?! Ilang taon ka na ba?
Me: 28.
Nurse: Talaga? Akala ko high school ka lang. (laughs)
Me: Oo. Actually, pinabili lang ako ng suka dyan sa kanto eh. (laughs)
Nurse: (smiles) Ang cute mo naman.
See, now I wonder what I’ll look like when I’m 50.
~o~o~o~
It was my first time to go under the knife, so I felt a mix of curiosity and anxiety. Ganun pala yun. It wasn’t so bad. Getting injected with anesthesia in the beginning was probably the most painful part. At one point my doctor thought I cried in pain. The truth was I chuckled after I realized it was Pacquiao’s song playing on the radio.
I couldn’t look when she made her first incisions, and fearing that I’ll move around too much because of nervousness, we covered my eyes with cloth. When my doctor finally got to the lump and had it exposed (but still attached to me), she asked me if I cared to see it. Of course, I did!
I was surprised. It was much bigger than what I anticipated. From the ultrasound results, it seemed to be flat and elongated up to 2cm. The actual mass looked more like 3cm, quite rounded, and had a long extension at the bottom.
That pink blob used to be a part of me. Huh.
I stared at the mass while my doctor carefully worked on detaching it from the surrounding tissues. It wasn’t stressful because we were talking about the latest headlines all throughout. In short, nagchichikahan lang kami. That made me feel at ease. I forgot how many stitches it took to patch me up.
I wanted to take a picture of the lump but I wasn’t able to bring my camera. Luckily, my doctor brought her brand new digicam. We gamely took photos of the odd little thing like a bunch of eager children on their first trip to the zoo. She promised to send them to me via email. I eagerly await.
Is it benign? I hope so. My doctor said it looked harmless from her experience. That’s a good sign. I’ll know for sure after 10 days when they finish analyzing the biopsy results. Whatever happens, the most important thing is early detection. Breast cancers are 95% treatable if they are still in the early stages. If you think you have a lump, consult a surgeon immediately.
as in the butchy Battlestar Galactica daredevil pilot, not the coffee chain. 10″ netbook. Asus EEE PC 1000H. got it on sale for 20K. pretty sweet.
passed down my older laptop to my sister. same thing with my wifi G router. she is a happy kid. no more begging to use the desktop with my brother.
bargaining with my mom so that she would stop working. she’s well into her sixties, but financial constraints and perhaps boredom makes her want to go to work everyday, well until midnight, 7 days a week.
providing grocery money every week to show that she can stop worrying about finances. moved the TV from my room to their room. might get cable. will buy plants for her to take care of. will get her glasses on Monday. full medical checkup to follow.
Tabby is cute and very fat for a kitten. she likes strings. Stevie is still a little thin but he’s growing well. Miming might be pregnant. again.
have liver pains. on “cleansing diet” of fruits, vegetables and tea.
compounded by sudden cold. celine is making me soup.
can’t work. watched battlestar galactica <– new addiction.
finished 5 audiobooks so far this month:
- "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins
- "The History of Classical Music" by Richard Fawkes
- "Getting Things Done Fast" by David Allen
- "4-Hour Work Week" by Tim Feriss
- "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama
installed Windows 7 on two laptops. joy!
put a huge whiteboard in the room to keep track of goals. so far, so good.
stevie still pees in the bed a lot.
That’s my old MP3 player which accidentally fell to the floor just now. It has taken a lot of punishment in stride, but all it took was a half-meter drop to break its face.
I got it January 2006, when these things were only beginning to become popular, at the prodding of my then-girlfriend. She said I was too stingy, and that I should indulge myself once in a while. She was right, and I was happy to get it then. I’ve used it sparingly since, but I’ve recently found good use for it with my audio books. Now this. *sigh*
It still works, but it’s darn painful to look at. Plus, sentimental value. And no, there’s no way in hell I’ll buy a iPod to replace it.
Most memorable things that happened in 2008:
1. Turning 28
2. Surviving my first full year as a freelance writer
3. Second anniversary with Celine
4. Adventures in Bohol
5. More stable jobs, higher pay
6. Documentary overload
7. Cooking new and delicious food
8. Caring for a pet snail and a blind kitten
9. Bonding with my parents and my sister
10. Quality time with friends
Things I’m excited about 2009:
1. Earning more, saving more (for the house)
2. Finishing the Spanish course in Rosetta Stone
3. Baking my first cake, meringue, ice cream, and others
4. Summer trip to Bicol
5. Trip to Sagada
6. New gadgets (DVD burner, laptop, external HDD)
7. Pencil sketching
8. Learning to float
9. Adding more pounds
10. 3rd anniversary
I wasn’t able to blog due to the hectic schedule and sparse Internet connection, but since today is our rest day, time for some updates.
Day 2
The whole of Tuesday was spent inside the ship (Superferry 5). At 8AM, we were at the coast of Mindoro with a nice sunny weather. It rained around the afternoon as we were approaching Capiz, then subsided by 10PM when the ship dropped anchor in Cebu, where it stayed until midnight. As you can see, I was carefully monitoring the weather because of all the accidents at sea these past few months. I had to text my sister back home about it from time to time. I’m glad our trip was without incident.
Since it was Celine’s first time to travel on board a sea vessel, I toured her around the ship, deck by deck. We took some pictures and played with the see-saw in the empty Kid’s Room. 
When night came, we went to the top deck and did some star-gazing.
I wasn’t too happy with the meals, though. Breakfast was Ham & Egg, lunch was Broiled Chicken with heavy curry sauce (nakakaumay), and dinner was Caldereta (which I’ve never liked in any shape or form). It’s difficult when you don’t have much choice as to your food source, out at sea.
———–
Day 3
Bohol at last! At 5:30AM we reached the pier of Tagbilaran. It was still dark and almost all of the establishments were closed, but we found a small eatery and had our breakfast there: a nice Vegetable Omelette for us both, with two big bowls of rice and soup, and it only cost us P32!
Then we were off to find a way to get to Loboc River, where we would be staying the next 3 days, trying our best not to get lost. It took us about 2.5 hours with 2 tricycle rides, a jeepney ride, and a short boat ride to get to the Nuts Huts resort.
It’s a beautiful place in the middle of nowhere, beside the river and between two mountains. It’s only P500/night for the standard accommodations. Food is served at the in-house open air restaurant with a fantastic view of the whole… forest? But getting there is pain, with a steep stair climb that left us breathless every time. We ordered Chop Suey for lunch, and it was one of the best I’ve tasted. Dinner was Vegetarian Spaghetti, which was equally delicious.
Rooms are named after famous films, and ours is Raise the Red Lantern. This theme is reflected thru bright red curtains, Chinese symbols, and a painting of a Chinese-styled roof. It’s about 4m x 4m, with one big bed, a bathroom, a fan, and chairs at the veranda. The walls and roof are made of pawid and kawayan, while the elevated floor is made of hardwood. The ladder is also made of bamboo.
Outside, goats were grazing and some men occasionally climbed the trees to get coconuts. There were all sorts of creatures, including snails, colorful dragonflies, butterflies, moths, and large ants.
—————-
Day 4
Thursday will forever be remembered as “Butt Torture Day”. After having a giant pancake for breakfast at Nuts Huts, we set off on a tour of the province on motorbike, with our driver/guide Oliver. But just after passing Loboc town proper, he felt pain on his back so we had to turn around and get another guide. This time, it was Manong Danny, with whom we got along pretty well.
First stop was Corella to see the Tarsier Sanctuary. We stopped several times to take shelter from the rain, and got there around 10AM. Gotta give the staff some props for maintaining the site nicely. We went inside the visitor’s area where about 10 tarsiers were hanging on the trees. We were able to get close to two of them, and I’ll upload the pics later when I get a faster Internet connection. There’s also a tarsier trail for trekkers, but we didn’t have time for it that day.
Next was the ride to the Butterfly Conservation Center at Bilar. Danny took us there via a shortcut, but it seemed even he was lost so we had to ask for directions several times. This shortcut took us to the middle of nowhere, where the roads were steep, rocky and muddy, making our butts sore as hell. It’s ok, though. We were up for the adventure. On the way, we passed by the enchanted-looking man-made forest. Celine said she half-expected Galadriel to come out any time. It was beautiful.
The Butterfly Center is a small but clean and well-built place. I enjoyed the tour where we were able to get up-close and even touch the live caterpillars (at least those that weren’t poisonous) and pupae. There was one caterpillar of an Altas Moth that was so big that I was reminded of Toby the Sleepy Cat. It eats 10x its body weight in a day! And you have to feed it properly, because if it runs out of leaves to eat, it becomes cannibalistic. Rwaaarr!
By this time we were very hungry, but heavy rain forced us to stay at the Butterfly Center for a while. As soon as it mellowed, we were off again, this time to Chocolate Hills. Even before we reached the site, you could see some of the hills beyond the farmlands. We were so excited, because it’s the first time for everyone, including Danny. However, our tummies were growling so we ate at the Chocolate Hills Restaurant, which had a great overlooking view on one side. Of course I rushed to it and soaked up the view. Childhood dream comes true. 
When we got back to Nuts Huts, we could barely manage to get down from the motorcycle, because our butts were incredible sore and any movement sent waves of pain. We gave Danny a generous tip and ate our dinner at the resort. I slept early that night because once I was in bed, I didn’t feel like moving at all anymore.
Soon to come: the biggest worm in the world, Panglao beach, and a possible side trip to Cebu.
Well, technically, it’s hermaphrodite. Still, pretty cool.
Sometimes you find the darnest things. We were just having our usual early morning walk when Celine and I stumbled upon a HUGE snail. After giggling over the curious creature, we thought about bringing it back home. But before we could look for a plastic bag or leaf to put the snail in, an old woman approached us.
OLD WOMAN: Anong ginagawa nyo dyan?
CELINE: Ah… eh… tinitignan lang po yung suso. Sa inyo po ba yun? *points*
OLD WOMAN: Ah. Ano yan, project?
SCOUT: Um, parang ganun na rin po. Kaso wala kaming lalagyan eh.
OLD WOMAN: Ay, madali lang yan. Eto, o… *gets a big leaf from her garden*
SCOUT & CELINE: Naku, salamat po!
It’s moments like this when I think, it’s nice that I can still pass for a high school student, even at 27. Hehehe. I had to hide the snail a lot while walking because we passed by two schools on the way home, and the last thing I wanted was for the kids to mob us out of curiosity. It kept poking its head out of the leaf. When we got home, somebody else was giddy about the snail. Toby!
Run, snail, run! Er…
“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” - Ellen Degeneres
Sasha looks on as Toby sleeps peacefully on the couch. Ang hilig nya matulog ng naka-ganyan. Sorry, I couldn’t resist taking a picture of Toby’s big butt.
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