New Year, New Look, New Life

Posted by wandergirl on January 9, 2012 No comment

It’s 2012 and while some people are busy executing their New Year’s resolutions, I started the year by getting a new hair cut. The day after January 1, my schedule became notoriously hectic. My daughter’s nanny sent a text message to us that she couldn’t be back soon because she was sick. I’m not someone who easily takes things at face value so I was naturally frustrated with her reason. Then I reminded myself that we just entered a new year and there’s no point to over-analyze the situation. That left me more than a week of juggling my time between doing my work, maintaining the household, and taking care of my toddler.

Seriously, it was very challenging and there’s been more than once I’ve seen myself extremely exhausted and occasionally mad. But at the end of every day, it makes sense that it’s a good time for me to really bond with my daughter who generously calls “Mommy” and say “sorry Mommy” and “Thank you Mommy” every now and then.

On the weekend, I had the luxury to do the grocery by myself which also meant some personal “ME” time. My husband stayed home to watch over our daughter. Before heading to the supermarket, I dropped by Ricky Reyes salon at SM Southmall and had my hair done. I had hair keratin treatment to cure my seriously ill and damaged hair. See, I recently colored my hair light brown only to end up applying black the following day. Obviously, that drastic move made my hair rough. Worse, it increases my hair fall.

The keratin treatment was great and I got massage. I love the hair cut, too. My stylist created a layered bob cut look, which gave more volume to my thinning hair. I felt better afterwards. My daughter smiled as she peered to my hair. The new hair cut eliminates more than five inches long of my hair, which was okay for me. I didn’t mind the drastic change because it went really well.

And of course, with the new hair cut must come a new life. Okay, this part doesn’t have to be done radically. I learned that I’m not really very good at following resolutions. So, I wanted to deal with the very obvious ones. First, I’ve been a hypochondriac for the last couple years in my life. It seems to get worse so I needed to give myself a peace of mind. Perhaps, I needed to get myself busier at work so I won’t have anymore time to think that I suffer some forms of illnesses without proper medical diagnosis.

I have a nice planner/diary already for 2012 and I resolve it’s not just going to contain my financial goals and budgets. I’ll have some time to doodle approaches to improve my life this 2012 as soon as my daughter’s nanny arrive tomorrow. I’ll keep the approaches realistic; so that means, “reduce rice intake” will never be in any way a part of it. I’ve nothing against dieting and other really strong resolutions. People have different attitudes and lifestyle. Popular resolutions would normally include dieting, but in my case, I’d first work on my attitude about weight obsession.  Obsessing about my weight gives me more stress than thinking what I should be eating during meal time.

2012 is the year of the Dragon in Chinese horoscope. I am a Monkey sign and accordingly the 2012 is going to be a great year for me. I knew that, I just have to work on executing my approaches to achieve greatness and abundance, and I can’t wait for what I’d accomplish for the year :)

Soothe Your Body at Body Tune

Posted by wandergirl on November 6, 2011 No comment

Body Tune SM Southmall

On Saturday I had the luxury to try the Balinese massage at the Body Tune in SM Southmall, Las Piñas. It’s been over a year since I had my last body massage. And if not for the tremendous stress and backaches I was experiencing for the previous weeks, I would have probably forgotten that my body also needs some pampering.

It was my first time with Body Tune. I usually had my massage at Tricosmedx in Trinoma. But ever since our move to Las Piñas I rarely have the opportunity to go to Trinoma. In fact, I no longer remember the last time I was there. Nevertheless, in my attempt to relax my aching body, I decided to check whatever spa or massage parlors are near the village. Two of those that came up in my Google search were Ton Ton Massage and Body Tune. And because we usually do our grocery at SM Southmall, Body Tune became the most convenient option.

Body Tune is located at the ground level of SM Southmall. As soon as you enter the establishment, you’d be greeted by the ambient interiors and aromatic air. There’s the typical spa music that serves as a background to keep you relaxed. Since I’ve tried Swedish massage many times before I decided to indulge in another type of service – this time the Balinese massage. For PHP 801.00 I got a fully body, 1-hour massage using the anti-stress oil. The other oil options include relaxing oils and muscle pains.

I was led into a dimly-lit room, passing a small, narrow hallway. Personally, I don’t find anything special about the room. In fact, I think theirs is very small that my masseuse has to literally move the bed in the center so she can move around while massaging me. I had more than once heard her banging the walls so she could shift from place to place. The room has a clock and a built-in locker to store your belongings. I was expecting to be given a hanger for my clothes as I changed into a pink robe, but there was none. So I just folded my clothes neatly and placed them inside the locker. The room wasn’t dim enough to encourage me to shut off my eyes. I also find the sliding door with a small gap that you can somehow take a peek at the hallway. But I like the fact that it was quiet. I never heard the other masseuses nonchalantly chatting with each other. I guess it’s because they have a room where they can stay together when they don’t have customers.

In all fairness to my masseuse (name is Kat), she did a good job in softening all my stressed nodules. I just had too much in my upper back…no wonder, I kept complaining about back pains from time to time. As soon as we’re done I checked the clock and I was happy she really exhausted the time. Kat even offered me a glass of hot tea, coffee or juice which I politely declined since my husband and I are going to eat afterwards. I was handed a tray with hot towels and a tip envelope. The service included the use of sauna and shower but I decided to just wipe myself with the hot towel because hubby was sure to complain if it takes me more than an hour (it would mean more waiting for him…lolz). I felt better as if I unloaded a huge baggage off my body.

On a side note, I felt a bit sore the following day. It’s because for someone who doesn’t regularly exercise or go to a massage often I made the mistake of choosing hard massage. Okay I learned that the hard way…it was a stupid mistake. If only I knew about that earlier I should have opted for the gentler type, such as the Swedish massage.

Body Tune offers a handful of massage services, body scrub, body bleaching, hand and foot care, facial treatments, etc. I don’t mind going back but I’d be happy to try Ton Ton Massage next time. Body Tune is found in most SM malls, including:

SM Southmall
Lower Ground Floor
Tel: (02) 800-9038

SM City North Edsa
5th Level, The Block
Tel: (02) 442-0018

SM Megamall
5th Floor Bldg B.
Mandaluyong City
Tel: (02) 634-3082

SM City Fairview
Upper Ground Floor,
Main Building
Tel: (02) 936-5768

SM City Bicutan
2nd Floor Bldg B,
Parañaque City
Tel: (02) 776-5261

SM  City Sucat
3rd Floor Bldg B,
Sucat, Parañaque City
Tel: (02) 788-0677

SM City Marilao
2nd Floor, McArthur Hi-way,
Brgy. Las, Mardao. Bulacan
Tel: (044) 238-8066

SM City Dasmariñas
Upper Ground Level
Tel: (046) 432-3163

SM City Bacoor
Lower Ground FIoor
Bacoor, Cavite City
Tel: (046) 417-2432

SM City Pampanga
2nd Floor Main Mall
Tel: (045) 961-6389

SM Mall of Asia
2nd Floor Main Mall Arcade,
Pasay City
Tel: (02) 556-0086

SM City Batangas
6th Floor
Tel: (043) 783-2476

Market Market
3rd Floor, Bonifacio Global City,
Taguig
Tel: (02) 886-7459

 

What You Need to Know About Urticaria

Posted by wandergirl on October 23, 2011 No comment

Yesterday I had my follow up check up with my dermatologist regarding the skin rashes that appeared all over my body beginning Monday. On Wednesday I had my initial check up wherein I was prescribed to take Iterax and apply the Petroleum Jelly and Diprolene (Betamethasone) mixture on the red blotches on my skin. True to form, what I was having is Urticaria, which is commonly known as Hives.

Urticaria or Hives

According to the ACAAI (American College & Allergy, Asthma & Immunology), urticaria is a skin condition that affects an estimated 20 percent of the population at one time or another in their lives. It is characterized by itchy, swollen red welts that may last from a few minutes to several hours to several days to several weeks. The inset image is one of the urticaria cases I found on the web which resembles exactly what I experienced beginning Monday.

To be honest, I never had this kind of skin allergy ever since. Although I had eczema which appears whenever I’m stressed or when I eat chocolates urticaria is fairly new to me. The red blotches appeared on my thigh on Monday and in only a matter of hours have quickly spread all over my body.

There are two types of urticaria, such as acute (short-lived) and chronic (long-term). Urticaria is often triggered by allergens, such as insect bites, pollen, pet dander, as well as foods including crab, nuts, eggs, and milk. It may also occur as an allergic reaction to soap, detergent, and makeup. Additionally, emotional stress can maneuver urticaria or hives in other people.

If I am to backtrack the events before I started having the rashes, here’s what I can remember:

  • Friday: I ate baby ribs, pasta, and some seafood at T.G.I.Fridays as part of my sister’s birthday celebration.
  • Saturday: I had pasta w/asparagus and tacos from The Pancake House.
  • Sunday: I had crabs for lunch and grilled fish for dinner

I could say it must be the crab fest I had on a Sunday, but my dermatologist dismissed crabs as the culprit. First, I’ve eaten crabs, shrimps, and other seafood before but I never had any allergic reactions. Second, the allergies occurred the day after, wherein I’ve already eaten other stuff which I don’t have allergies either. My dermatologist concluded that it must be the soap I was using. I was told to switch back to my old Dove soap (extra sensitive). As of today, the hives have somehow disappeared with the help of the medications I was prescribed to take and apply, as well as with the Dove soap I am using. Maybe I should stick to this soap for years or else I’d have those depressing hives once again.

Acute urticaria can last just one day or as long as six weeks, whereas, chronic hives can last for longer than six weeks. I came across a blog wherein the blogger is suffering from urticaria for 10 years already. Not a good lifelong disease, is it? In my case, my personal conclusion is that my urticaria was triggered by stress, over consumption of coffee, sudden and drastic change in diet, and the use of a wrong soap…hahaha. I’d have to say emotional stress accounts for nearly 90% of the circumstances. So I’m promising to myself that I’ll stick to using Dove soap, reduce my coffee intake to one cup per day, and do my best not to worry and over analyze everything :)

Symptoms of Urticaria

Urticaria starts itching, followed by swollen red welts. The symptoms can appear on any area of the body and often change shape, move around, disappear, and reappear over short periods of time. The bumps—red or skin-colored “wheels” with clear edges—tend to come on suddenly and go away just as fast. To know more about the signs and symptoms of hives, you can visit ACAAI or MedicineNet.com.

 

Related Posts:

Skin Allergy and Rashes

Signs of Aging

Toddler Hit and Run in China

Posted by wandergirl on October 20, 2011 No comment

It was my sister who originally told me of the news about the 2-year old girl who was run over twice in China. After checking my Yahoo! email I saw the headline Outrage as bleeding China toddler left on street in the Yahoo! News and I was curious to read and see how it happened. It was truly a horrifying video and looking at it makes me sick; not to mention worried about my own daughter, as well as my other nieces and nephews.

The video shows the toddler walking on the street when she was hit by the white van, crossing over the child’s dainty body. The child was helpless and three passersby were caught by the CCTV camera to have just looked without helping the poor kid. When finally, one good Samaritan came to the girl’s rescue, dragging her to the side of the street. I can still vividly imagine the soft body of the little girl bending like a piece of paper when her rescuer tried to lift her.

I didn’t bother to post the video here because it was just too much. How could these people just look at the child in that state? Reports have said that these passersby claim not seeing the child because it was too dark in the area. Really? The toddler’s rescuer was named Chen Xianmei, who’s a 57-year old mother herself who hails from Qingyuan, Guangdong province. She said she heard the little girl crying and saw her with blood on her mouth and neck. Sure the place maybe quite dark but were the passersby also too deaf to even hear the child’s cry?

Whatever happened to some of the people in this generation? Last I heard from the news is that the little girl is recovering well. Hopefully, she could thoroughly get through of her painful ordeal very soon. To the rescuer, we can only hope there’s more like her. And to the passersby…ah, it’s just hard to comment about them…lolz. I’ve read some comments that the parents of the child are the first to blame. But I guess it isn’t no longer important to start pointing fingers. Instead, the incident must be regarded as a living example that parents should always keep an eye on their children especially on those who are too young and small to even fend for themselves.

Skin Allergy and Rashes

Posted by wandergirl on October 20, 2011 No comment

Physically, my skin has always been one of my biggest challenges since I was a kid. I would develop certain types of skin allergy that would require me to take or apply specific medication. Sometimes I’d wish I’d have darker skin so that when I have skin allergy it wouldn’t be very visible or that the scar wouldn’t be so devastatingly obvious. At least that’s what I have always thought.

Very recently, several rashes sprung out of nowhere from all over my body – thighs, arms, legs, and neck. I tried taking some pictures of them but my camera doesn’t seem to cooperate. Skin rashes started to come out on my thighs by Monday. I ignored them thinking they might have been caused by the Johnson’s Bedtime Baby Soap I was using. My daughter experienced itchiness when she tried to use the soap earlier; thereby prompting me to switch her back to the white one which she normally use. Came Tuesday, the rashes sort of spread on my thighs and arms. They were not itchy at all. They were just a bunch of red blotches. However, by late afternoon I noticed they have gone on my legs, back, and neck. I started to panic so I decided to have an appointment with my dermatologist the following day.

By Wednesday morning, the rashes have spread, sparing only my face and chest. Thank goodness, they didn’t reach those parts yet. It was more than 3 years since I had my last visit with my dermatologist – Dra. Ma. Victoria Dizon in UST Hospital. She was quite surprised to see me again and asked if I was having the same old problem in my skin. I said it’s different this time and showed her the skin rashes. She asked me what soap I was using. I told her I started using Safeguard soap for the last 3 weeks and also tried Johnson’s Bedtime Baby Soap for a day. Before that I would only use Ivory and Dove. Three years ago she recommended I use Dove extra sensitive after I had eczema appearing on my skin. Anyway, the mere mention of Safeguard took her by surprise. According to her, I made the mistake of using the soap and that I should only be using Dove extra sensitive. I mentioned my eating of crabs on a Sunday and let her know that the rashes started appearing Monday. However, she dismissed that the skin rashes have something to do with the crabs I ate.

I was already about to topple crabs on my favorite food list. But I was relieved when Dra. Dizon told me that they have nothing to do with the skin allergy I was having. It must be the Safeguard soap I was using, saying it’s not a good soap at all. I was prescribed to switch back to Dove extra sensitive. Likewise, I needed to take Iterax tablet 3 times a day for 4 days. Apparently, one of the side effects of Iterax is that it’ll make you feel really sleepy. It somehow worried me because even though I work from home, I work 10 hours a day. Yesterday, I took the tablet and in just 30 minutes I felt the side effect already. In fact, after taking one tablet in the evening I was already in deep slumber just an hour after. I also noticed I was more temperamental – perhaps, another bad side effect for me. On top of that, I need to apply a mixture of Petroleum Jelly and Diprolene (Betamethasone) on the affected areas.

I’m scheduled to have another check up this coming Saturday. I hope that the red rashes will somehow diminish by then. As of today, so far they are under control. And I made sure I bought more than a handful of Dove extra sensitive soap since it’s pretty hard to look for them. I’m hoping against hope that I will be completely free of any skin allergy, because to be honest, I’m fed up of having to constantly apply ointment or cream on parts of my body. But I guess it’s impossible to dream about that since it’s in my genes. I read somewhere that there’s no cure for skin allergies that are already part of your genes. So I guess the only thing I can do is control it.

Stress-free Weekend

Posted by wandergirl on October 16, 2011 No comment

This weekend is perhaps the best weekend I’ve ever had for quite sometime. In fact, it started as early as Friday when my sister celebrated her birthday at T.G.I. Friday’s in MOA. Since it was a payday, it didn’t surprise us that there so many people milling around.

On a Saturday, I made it a point not to work so I can play with my kid before my husband and I did our grocery. The best part is Sunday because we had a very special lunch menu composed of ensaladang manga and crabs.

my all-time favorite ensaladang manga

Buttered crabs

Alright, the picture may not be appetizing at all, but what I’m saying is that the food really made my day. I mean it’s like we were dining at Dampa seafood restaurant. It was such a treat for me because for the last 13 days I’ve only been eating rice for lunch. But today, I ate rice for lunch and dinner. For dinner we had inihaw na tilapia. I didn’t take a picture of the dish anymore because I was already too tempted to even bother with a camera.

It also helps that I didn’t work for the weekend because for the last couple of weeks I’ve always been extending my work hours even on the morning and evening of Saturdays and Sundays. It feels damn good to just enjoy the weekend – as in laze around, play with my daughter and make myself bored. Although I always try not to work for the weekend, most of the time my own efforts would fail me. No wonder, I’ve been experiencing some pains throughout my body…lolz.

Maybe next time I must try to turn off my cellphone and never to come near the computer – no checking of emails and FB, and no blogging :)

Philippines Placing 3rd on the Miss Universe 2011

Posted by wandergirl on September 19, 2011 No comment

Days before the Miss Universe 2011 pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil I already conditioned myself to wake up early on September 13 (September 12 in Brazil) to make sure I won’t miss the live telecast on STAR World. Unfortunately, on the day of the pageant, we had to rush my daughter to the hospital very early in the morning due to pneumonia. It was already 6 PM when I learned from the news that our very own Shamcey Supsup made it to the 3rd place. And guess what, we were settled in one of the private rooms of UST Hospital while watching the news feeds of Miss Universe 2011 highlights. But thank God, I was able to run across the encore episode around 10 PM on the cable channel.

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup after being called as one of the top 5 finalists

There’s no doubt that Shamcey Supsup has made all the Filipinos across the globe gleaming with pride. She looked every bit of a beauty queen and her so-called Tsunami walk is simply gorgeous. Came the Q & A portion, she managed to answer with relevance and grace even without the help of an interpreter. But even with her stellar performance, she only landed as 3rd runner up. So, what could have gone wrong?

I’ve read several commentaries saying that she could have perfectly nailed the question if she omitted the last part of her answer where she said “If the person loves me, he’ll love my God, too.” Some are saying that the sentence negates the essence of her overall answer; whereas, others insist she answered better than everyone else in the top 5 finalists. Even Lea Salonga, who happens to be one of the judges, was criticized for her question to Miss Angola – saying it was the easiest and dumbest question ever raised in the Miss Universe pageant.

To be honest, even if I ran late in watching the pageant, I would have to agree that Miss Angola is beautiful and had gracefully aced the Q & A portion. She’s very pretty, sashays elegantly, and speaks in a calm and confident tone. Of course, we’d be rejoicing to the highest heaven if Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup was crowned Miss Universe 2011; but placing 3rd runner-up isn’t bad at all. Miss Philippines Venus Raj placed 4th runner-up on the 2010 Miss Universe – who knows what’s in store for us in Miss Universe 2012. In between varying opinions, we can only be grateful for the accomplishment of Shamcey Supsup and we can only hope we finally bring home the Miss Universe crown soon.

On Turning One Year as Home-based Contractor

Posted by wandergirl on September 2, 2011 No comment

Forgive me but this is a long overdue post. I should have squeezed it in on my July archives but obviously I was just too excited with the Hong Kong trip then that I only focused on blogging about it and in completing all my deliverables. Came August I was still catching up with all my pending work so that left me with no time to blog except very lately.

The thing is, July 8 marked my first year as a full-time home-based contractor. That’s right, I survived my first year on Odesk and I am just grateful I still have my clients’ trust in me.

See, when I decided to become a home-based freelance writer, I knew it’s going to be a huge gamble. But I didn’t realize it’s going to be full of surprises and a lot of fun, hard work, patience, and everything else. Obviously, I’m just so passionate about writing, though I couldn’t say I’ve got it all perfected. Before Odesk, there were only very limited topics I’d be comfortable writing about. Now, after one year of creating content for different clients, I can boast I’ve tried my hand and forced my brains to write on topics I would otherwise refused. I won’t even categorically mention them all; but one thing’s for sure, they were ultimately good testing grounds for me.

One of the most important thing I’ve learned in my online work is being loyal to your clients. I mean, I’m not the type who’d grab every writing opportunity that comes my way. I’m always mindful of my work bandwidth and I knew that aside from doing my job well, another way to maintain good relationship with the client is to  prioritize what needs to be prioritized. Truth is, I did learn a lot of things from my online work but I’ll probably create a new entry for that to share with other people who might be interested to try a different world :)

Now that I have successfully turned one year on being an Odesk contractor, I just feel a lot more motivated in doing my job. I value my clients and I just simply love the work I’m doing!

BER Season Officially Begins!

Posted by wandergirl on September 1, 2011 No comment

Effective today, the BER season has officially started! And that could only mean two things for everyone: work harder and save more. I haven’t prepared my Christmas list yet, but I guess that has to come in a month time. If a non-Pinoy gets to read this entry, s/he’d probably think I’m crazy for thinking about Christmas this early. But that’s very Filipino, isn’t it?

Somehow I am already looking forward to non-stop bazaars and sales, here, there and everywhere. It’s not as if I am planning to splurge heavily on gifts but who knows! But to be honest, I am more excited this year than the previous years’ Christmases. For one, I don’t need to haggle for a vacation leave and beg my boss to allow me not to report for work on Christmas and New Year’s eves. Likewise, I won’t be compelled to sleep and wake up earlier. These are absolutely the wonders of working from home and I’m loving it.

So going back to the BER season, I bet – just like me – people are busy as a bee in their money-saving project. In my case, I’m not planning any out-of-town trip until after New Year. But I’m sure that could change depending on my mood…lolz. But seriously, there’s Christmas to look forward to so I’ll try to get motivated by that. In the meantime, let me just say…Merry Merry everyone :)

Signs of Aging Or Is It Something Else?

Posted by wandergirl on August 31, 2011 No comment

One of my pet peeves is when I’m feeling something wrong with my body or health. When that happens it’s just so hard to draw a fine line between being worried and being paranoid. A few months ago my eyes started to blur…thanks to Odesk work, my eyes are no longer as good as they used to be. I decided to have my eyes checked in one of the optical centers in SM North EDSA and from there my suspicion was validated. I ended up buying eyeglasses with -50 lens on both eyes. Not contented, I decided to have my eyes checked by a specialist in UST Hospital and true to form, my eyes have been badly affected by too much computer use. Huh, that’s just so great! I was prescribed with vitamins for my eyes and eye drops, which after several weeks I stopped taking and using.

Fast forward to today, just a little over 4 months since my last check up I asked hubby to come with me to get a new eyeglasses because I feel the grade of my eyes just increased. We dropped by at  Ideal Vision in SM North and from there I found out that my left eye is now at -100 and my right is at -75. Wow, am I really experiencing this at 31?! I’m quite alarmed but I don’t want to set myself in panic mode. Of course, I’m having Myopia and I guess that’s better than having a Diabetes, right?

See, I want to pacify myself and good thing my health-conscious father has blood pressure monitors at home, as well as a digital blood monitor. I had my blood pressure taken just to be sure and also my glucose level checked to see if my blood sugar is fine or if I need to ditch drinking my ever-favorite Coke. Several minutes after, dyaraaaaaaaan…contrary to my earlier prediction that I might already suffering from hypertension and diabetes, my blood pressure is 95/63 which meant I have low blood pressure and my blood check showed my glucose level is within normal range.

Somehow I am relieved but it also makes me wonder if those are exactly what you feel when you’re getting older. Oh goodness, I see there’s really no escape to aging :)