A Great Day Ahead

Whew! Finally, I’m back in my shell again, eating my favorite food in my favorite restaurant with my bestfriend. What a tough day! I started my day rushing myself to our office for an unexpected task, where I was supposed to be traveling to Tagum for some lecture in one of our review center’s tie-up school. Our lecturer who was scheduled for review here in Davao wasn’t able to make it, that’s why we had to give the students a 100-item exam to make up for the missed lecture, which I had to rationalize (explain to them the answers of each item) after the students had taken the said exam. I got done with my rationalization at around 12 noon, and my lecture in Tagum will start at 1 P.M., which means I had to travel in a flash, as if I’m one of the characters of the movie The Incredibles. I scuttled my way there, and fortunately I was just thirty minutes late. I didn’t even have the luxury of time to loosen up a bit because I had to start the lecture without more ado. I stood up in front, talking nonstop for three hours. At past 4 P.M., at last I’m done with my hectic day.
To pay off with such a stressful day, I eased up by dropping by my aunt’s house. We spent time just having a light talk. I compensated my exhaustion by “binge-eating.” Hahaha, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a bulimic person. It was just my way of rewarding myself. And I really had a great time.
Now I came to believe what a friend of mine used to tell me. She said that don’t say you’re happy because everything’s fine. It is better to think that we are happy because even if everything sucks, we are doing just fine!

Free At Last!

For nearly two years now, I have been in a relationship that was full of ups and downs. It started great, but of course, I would believe that all boyfriend-girlfriend relationships begin in a happily-ever-after genre. As time went on, each one’s lapses became a reason to clash. Open communication, meeting halfway, apologies, reconciliation, and promises were made to keep such relationship. But I guess if something is not meant for you, whatever means you take to have it, it will still end up slipping out of your hands. As a woman, I would love to be my man’s priority. Who wouldn’t want to be? But it’s a sad fact when there are other things or people who come first. I don’t put blame on those things or people, because it should be him who has the initiative to realize that being in a relationship denotes that you have an obligation with your significant other. It makes you less of a person as a girlfriend if he puts priority in fetching others instead of you, or if he has to just drop you off somewhere to give a ride to another. Don’t think that I’m too shallow. This is just one of those grounds. They are too many to mention, though.

I may sound in grief, but mind you, I’m not! I am more than joyful that finally, I got to realize my value as a person again. I am in high spirits that I was able to free myself from tyranny. Hahaha!

Best Friends

I have always found it astounding seeing a father and a daughter treat each other as best buddies. My cousin and his daughter were spending leisure time just hanging around playing their favorite music. With a guitar and a keyboard, this smart little girl was having wonderful time learning from her father how to play such instrument. They look so cute together! It’s amazing to witness that my cousin's interest in music reflects in his daughter at such a young age. She just cannot contain her excitement being taught of different tunes and melodies, and pleading for another attempt to be able to do it right.

It’s cool to have friends, yes I know… but nothing beats to have a father for a bestfriend.

Yummy Cheese!

When was cheese invented?

Countless countries claim the glory of having come across this delicacy. As per word of mouth, cheese was said to be discovered by a rider embarked with milk contained in leather pouches which came from the stomachs of young cows. To his disappointment, the milk became sour and had turned into curd. But surprisingly, when he tasted it, he liked it very much.

Strangely, there could be some truth in the legend of the cow’s pouches about rennet, a digestive juice found in the stomach linings of calves, which separates milk into curds and whey. As we all know, cheese is produced by the coagulation of casein, a milk protein from cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. The milk is curdled through acids, like lemon juice or vinegar. The solids produced are then separated, pressed and shaped to its final form.

Chocolates

Did you know that in the beginning, our favorite chocolate drink was found to be a cold bitter beverage? The Central American Indians called this cold sugarless drink “cacahuati.” It comes from a finely ground roasted shelled beans of cacao, or cocoa tree. Carolus Linneaus, a Swedish botanist and taxonomist, gave cacao its scientific name Theobrama cacao, which means “cacao, food of Gods,” in Greek.
How do we make chocolates out of these beans of a cacao tree? As these beans are ground, a free-flowing ‘juice’ called chocolate liquor is obtained. This is where all kinds of chocolate products come from. In the early 1500s, Spanish explorers found this cold beverage too bitter that’s why they sweetened it with sugar and preferred to serve it hot instead of cold. The Indians, on the other hand, called it “chocolati” to differentiate it with the cold beverage “cacahuati.” ‘Choco’ for warm and ‘lati’ for beverage.

Septic Shock

Septic shock…the number one killer in the Intensive Care Unit, according to research. Sepsis is a serious medical condition which results to multiple organ failure, and eventually, death. It is caused by a decreased tissue perfusion and oxygen supply to the body as a result of bacterial infection. The bacteria spreads to the bloodstream, a condition called bacteremia. Toxins are then released by these bacteria which cause cells in the body to release substances that trigger inflammation. The body’s response to infection causes an abnormally high temperature with chills and weakness. Blood flow to vital organs such as the kidneys, lungs, heart, and brain decreases. As it gets worse, body organs begin to malfunction and blood pressure drops. Treatment should not be delayed. There must be immediate administration of antibiotics, oxygen, and large amounts of intravenous fluids to increase the amount of fluid in the bloodstream, thus increasing the blood pressure.

I can attest to this because my mom, too, was once a victim of sepsis. More than a year ago, my mom had cellulitis, an infection of the skin and underlying tissues. For days, she experienced fever, chills, and redness on her right leg, and eventually it became painful. She didn’t give it much attention until such time that she can’t bear the pain on her leg and she began to really feel weak and sick. We admitted her to the hospital and just a few hours had passed, she became so weak and almost had no life. Her blood pressure went down to 70/50 mmHg. She was delivered to the intensive care unit and was found out that she already had sepsis. She was given strong doses of antibiotics, albumin, oxygen, and different fluids intravenously. She endured such grave condition for almost a month in the ICU.

Looking back, it is truly a pain to remember such ordeal. But I guess that I should rather be glad that it had already passed and my mom bravely surpassed it.

Is it the Person or the Habit?

Oftentimes, when we get separated with the person that we used to spend time with, we find it difficult to move on. We yearn for the things that we usually do together. We find it unusual to go to places alone…feels weird when there’s nobody to share your stories with…or it seems strange when you feel like grabbing your mobile phone and text somebody, but you’ve got no one to send it to. But hey, come to think of it. Is it really the person that you are longing for? Or you just miss doing the things that you habitually do.
Truth is, it is only US, deep within us, who knows the truth. Nobody can say it for us. It could be the person because of how we feel for that the person, or it could be the habit of being with that person that had developed in us, and we just got used in doing it. How bizarre.