Another Year

It's been almost a year since I posted this. Sadly, both issues are still unresolved.

The problems we have regarding reproductive health remains unaddressed, and worse, the anti-RH "advocates" seem to be getting more ignorant about the issue while at the same time becoming more aggressive in their advocacy. What a dangerous combination.

Justice is still elusive for the victims of the massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. I remember the overwhelming emotions that people had when this heinous crime came to our knowledge. Today marks the anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre. I hope we don't see another Nov 23 like last year's in our country's history, and I hope we won't have to wait another year before justice is finally served.

Numb Left Arm

Ok, I got a huge scare when I woke up yesterday morning. My left arm was completely numb. I couldn't move it at all, not even a twitch of a finger! I tried holding it and slapping it with my right hand but I couldn't feel a thing, it was like my right hand was hitting an inanimate object. Then, I lifted my left arm up with my right hand, but it just fell straight down. That really, really, really freaked me out. I tried slapping my upper arm until the feeling went back again and after about a minute, I started to get the pins-and-needle-pricking sensation on my arm and I was finally able to move my left arm again.

Then, earlier this evening, I met up with my college friends to have dinner at ROC in UP Bahay ng Alumni (good food, but they have very small servings). I told them the story, and then Joan told me a similar story about someone who had numb arms too. It turns out the man (who was in his late 50's) had a mild stroke. And yeah, was. So as soon as I got back home (after having some great desserts at Wicked Kitchen, where Gluttony and Sloth rocks!), I googled about getting numb arms while sleeping, and most results seem to say that it's a common problem caused by a compressed peripheral nerve. So I guess there's no reason to panic just yet and I'll just wait if it happens again before checking with a doctor.

I just thought I'd blog about this so that just in case something bad (or worse) happens to me, I've got it documented.

Polar Opposites Don't Push Away

I condemn the Ampatuan Massacre.

It's the work of barbaric monsters. Something like this should not go unpunished, and should not be forgotten. This shouldn't be handled with kid-gloves just because the main suspects of the crime are allies of the president.

It's sickening that this was done, and for such a shallow reason as the illusion of "power". I condemn the Ampatuan Massacre and I condemn all political war clans who hold such abusive power.

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I support the Reproductive Health Bill.

Because it can prevent this:

Official estimates put annual abortions at 400,000 to 500,000, and rising. The World Health Organization estimate puts the figure at nearly 800,000, one of the highest rates of unsafe abortions in Asia.

Seventy percent of unwanted pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion said Jean-Marc Olivé, the country representative of the World Health Organization. One of four pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion, according to Pro-Life Philippines, an anti-abortion group.

According to the Department of Health, nearly 100,000 women who have unsafe abortions every year end up in the hospital.

The Philippines, with its high population growth rate (2.6 percent) and low rate of contraceptive use (an estimated 35 percent) also has an increasing number of teenage pregnancies. As many as 17 percent of all unsafe abortions are done on teenage or young mothers, according to the Department of Health.

Compounding the problem is the fact that 36 percent of Filipino women become pregnant before marriage and 45 percent of all pregnancies are either unwanted or ill-timed, according to the World Health Organization.

The source of that quote is the article Philippines abortion crisis from The New York Times, an article that was written 4 years ago but is sadly still valid today (and whose figures are likely with even worse now.)

The RH Bill will help prevent unwanted pregnancies and all the troubles that are attached to it. It will help couples plan their family's future, and help them attain these plans by making the means more accessible. It will help educate people on how to act responsibly when it comes to their reproductive and sexual health.

Because that's what education does, and that's what this bill brings. What it doesn't bring is narrow-mindedness on issues and ills that are actually affecting hundreds of thousands of Filipino women and men.

I support the Reproductive Health Bill and I will support the politicians who bravely take a stand for it, even if it means they stand against the political blackmail that the Philippine Catholic church is sending out.

Da da da, da da, Da da da.

Great song, awesome voices.

Randomly stalking people while singing? Sounds like a great idea while walking around the streets of Paris.

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And here's another good one. Great old school song sung by a great old school voice.

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Been watching the 15th season of the Amazing Race on Studio 23. They broadcast it via satellite, so it starts on time, and with no commercial breaks. Best way to watch TAR! Only six teams left, and I like all of them. It's been a pretty good season so far, they've been to Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Dubai. The last Dubai episode was AWESOME.

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I had another bout with the flu 2 weeks ago which lasted for more than a week. Never went to the doctor though so I have no idea what kind of flu I had. What's annoying is this is the 2nd time I've gotten the flu this year, after paying for flu vaccine earlier. Before the vaccine, I've gotten the flu maybe once or twice in my life.

Thanks, flu vaccine. You were worthless.

I Am now The Jack Bauer Power Hour

So yesterday was an awful day to have a birthday... After getting an allergic reaction to the pain killers, I went back to the hospital to get treated. I went to the ER where they gave me two shots (on my arm and on the vein in my hand.) After getting the shots, I fell asleep for a bit till the doctor woke me up and signed my release form, along with the advice that I can't eat seafood, chicken, dairy products, and chocolates. I also can't drink soda AND BEER for 1 week. dammit.

Good thing my mom cooked spaghetti and adobo and my dad grilled some ribs. My favorite comfort food. ;-)

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Another set of (former) office friends got engaged last weekend. Congratulations Camille and Marlon! I smell a Baguio wedding! :D

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So the good news (about me, of course...) is my eyes aren't swollen anymore, and even if the pain killers made my eyes swell, it actually worked because I got to sleep without being woken up by the pain from me rubbing into the rashes. AND I get to work from home until I'm not contagious anymore.

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Finally, in honor of my 24th birthday, I'm changing my byline from:
Random Spittings of a frustrated musician/writer/tennis player who has yet to meet his quarter-life crisis (or if he has, then this frustrated musician/writer/tennis player has a terribly short life.)

to:
Random Spittings of a frustrated musician/writer/tennis player who has yet to meet a quarter-life crisis he didn't vaguely blog about.

(It's the truth!)

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Now playing: Portishead - We Carry On
via FoxyTunes

Happy fucking birthday.

Just a short summary of how my day has gone so far:

I woke up at 4 am because I was feeling pain from the rashes from my shingles. I had a hard time going back to sleep after that. Went to the doctor after having lunch (spaghetti that my mom cooked, since she knows that's my favorite) to get my shingles checked and got prescribed an anti-viral drug and pain killers by the doctor.

So I took the pain killers because the rashes (which weren't really rashes anymore but were blisters on my upper back and chest) were really painful... And it turned out that I'm allergic to the pain killers, so now my right eye and eyelids are swollen, just like what happens when I take aspirin and ibuprofen..

And the day isn't even close to ending yet.

Happy fucking birthday.

Other Food Products, #4

Damn It. So apparently Lotte Koala Biscuit (Family Pack)(Chocolate Filled)(Double Chocolate Flavor) is contaminated with Melamine. I ate a whole pack when I was in Hong Kong a few weeks ago.

Well, the bright side is, this buys me a viable excuse to go on endless sick leaves from work.

Officemate: Absent ka na naman? Tamad ka talaga.
Me: What? You're calling me lazy? Don't you know what I'm going through??? My kidneys are failing because of the Lotte Koala Biscuit pack that I ate 3 weeks ago! I'm so sick my piss is milk chocolate and my shit is shaped like koalas!

Anyway.

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The Amazing Race 13 premiered last Monday am here in Manila. The 13th season's first leg had teams going to Brazil. Woohoo! I'm a huge TAR geek so I'm happy the show's back. However, the premiere wasn't as exciting as I thought it could've been, partly because the tasks weren't that hard, and partly because the Married Beekeeping senior citizens were so slow and unexciting, their elimination was basically a foregone conclusion. Last year's premiere was awesome, because really, it's hard to top braying donkeys in Ireland when it comes to comic relief.


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Now playing: Massive Attack - Live With Me
via FoxyTunes

Circadian Rhythms

Now I know what's wrong with me. Thanks, wikipedia!



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Now playing: Sigur Rós - Svefn-g-englar
via FoxyTunes

Kurt Cobain and KC Concepcion

OK, I'm watching a Kurt Cobain biopic on HBO right now, and it's been going on for 14 minutes but no one's said a word yet. Did the producers put a tight leash on the script so that they could spend more budget on making the actor look eerily like Cobain (or his hair at least)? So it's worth paying thousands to the hair stylists instead of the writers, I guess. No wonder those people go on strikes.

Ok, minute 17. Somebody finally speaks (Kurt answers the phone and someone talks. Kurt never says a word. Maybe the actor playing Kurt doesn't know how to talk?)

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I've been out on leave from work for two days now. Damn health problems.

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Ok, back to the movie, Kurt (who's being called Blake in the movie) is talking now. I think I'm gonna tune out before Kurt offs himself (or before Courtney Love kills him, however this movie decides to end things.)

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I got to meet my brother's nephew (by way of his wife's brother) last Sunday. He's 9 months old and doesn't know how to speak yet, and he's a cute kid. What makes him cuter is he has a crush on KC Concepcion (yes, this KC.) He literally stops whatever he's doing and gets a big smile on his face whenever KC appears on TV (whether its the shampoo ad, or the vitamin ad, or any other TV appearance.) Even if he's playing with his toy car, or when he's on the verge of crying, it doesn't fail. The moment KC is on TV, he stops and looks at the TV and does nothing but giggle and stare at KC. 9 months old palang yan ha.

The kid has good taste.

*On a shallow note, woah I just found KC's multiply site! Blog! Pictures! Videos! Shit, obsessed stalker mode to infinity na 'to! =D j/k

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The Kurt Cobain film on HBO is called Last Days by Gus Van Sant (who also directed Good Will Hunting.)



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Now playing: The Dresden Dolls - Good Day
via FoxyTunes

Health Concerns and Things That Bother Me.

My right eye is twitching a lot lately. I wonder what that means? Am I slowly losing muscle control on the right side of my body? Is my reflex growing weaker? Can't handle the caffeine I'm pumping into my body everyday? Sign of nerves and anxiety? Did a small insect get inside my eyelid? Spore infection? Have I become a hypochondriac?

And while I'm at it, my shoulders make a clicking sound (just like when you crack your knuckles, only with a much lower tone, probably because it's coming from a much bigger joint) every time I shrug my shoulders. Does that mean I have to stop shrugging my shoulders each time I hear a fucking ridiculous and annoying statement from a person I hold only a slight to no respect for? Or should I just risk the possible calcium loss on my bone mass instead?

Nose close to the ground, that's my technique.

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Now playing: Damien Rice - Delicate
via FoxyTunes

What A Way To Go

The end of my 2006 and my 2007 has so far sucked, big time.

1. Dec 25 2006, I got a fever and my head really ached.

2. A few days later, the fever went a way, but the headache remained, and as a bonus, I started coughing like my throat wanted to gut itself out of my body.

3. A few days later, I went to the doctor, was given an anti-biotic prescription and went home. After getting back to my hous, I slept for about two hours and guess what I saw when I woke up... I forehead and ears have turned red and were itching so baaad... Then the itching and redness spread to my arms and legs and started to turn into rashes.

4. The next day, the rashes disappeared, but the tonsil-slashing coughs were still there. I have so far missed three days of work. (woohoo)

5. Yesterday, I started doing better and went online to work at home. Then later in the evening, I was surfing the internet when inexplicably, my laptop hanged. and crashed.

Thank you, 2007, you are being so good to me.