koko & everything else

koko & everything else

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

My Birthday Bucket List

Little less than a month from now, I shall be turning 25. I’m a quarter passed life… my good friend even went through a what you call “quarter-life crisis”… but for me turning 25 meant a year closer to the END.

Okay, don’t freak out. I am not EMO… it’s actually one of my motivations in life. I believe that the more I think that there’s an END to this life, the more I get things done. It drives and pushes me to my limit and even more, coz I kinda feel like the clock’s ticking and the end is just around the corner.

I am not insane. Well, you can say I may be a little cuckoo to obsess about death. But I just don’t want to end up being stuck in a coffin and everyone at my funeral couldn’t even think of anything that I’ve accomplished. I would want to say that at least I have tried and did one thing successfully. Even just once would be enough to make me happy and just experience LIFE.

Sandra Bullock also believes in that, she tries anything even once and that includes eating a Jalapeno chili, the hottest chili ever found in Mexico (I think). And even Angelina Jolie somehow does the same thing. She also feels that she’s running against time, and that she must do things NOW coz she may never get another chance. And look at her now, UN Ambassador of Goodwill. I think being a little insane could actually take you somewhere. And that’s me now.

So at age 25, I have prepared a list… like that in the movie, I have my very own BUCKET LIST. But unlike in the movie, I am not planning to do it on my 70’s. Instead, I’ll be starting early… 25 is perfect. You’re legally and morally an adult (and society expects you to be one). You are old enough (and earning) to do things without asking your parents’ permission (or money), and your body not young enough to break a bone and not old enough to break a hip.

So here goes my BUCKET LIST… (Listing it randomly and some of it are marked DONE)

1. Eat something exotic (and that includes snake, reptiles, insects, etc)
2. Sky dive
3. Explore a cave… DONE
4. Climb a mountain… DONE
5. Climb a bigger mountain
6. Try a water sport … DONE
7. Learn a water sport
8. Dive with sharks
9. Swim with a huge marine life… DONE (whale shark)
10. Have a baby
11. Have at least three houses
12. Own a motor boat or a yacht (why not)
13. Learn how to sail
14. Drive a race car (Nascar, F1 or even F3)
15. Build a charity shelter for animals
16. Put up my own restaurant
17. Put up my own resort
18. Own a beach house
19. Road trip… DONE
20. Dinner with a big time politician or business tycoon
21. Learn an extreme sports
22. Get an award for business
23. Get published for a literary piece
24. Get an award for a literary piece
25. Visit the Amazons
26. Travel to exotic places
27. Ride an elephant
28. Own at least 1 luxury car
29. Swimming pool at my home
30. Run in a local fun run
31. Have at least a million dollars in savings
32. Eat a whole family-size pizza on my own
33. Be financially stable before I reach 30
34. Join a triathlon

It’s not done yet… but I could work on this list for now… Hmmm I wonder how long it will take to accomplish everything. HAHA!!!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Relationship FAQ: Partner with the same or different profession?



This has been one of the most frequently asked or pondered questions when it comes to relationships. Should we or should we not date someone with the same job? I am not Doctor Love and I am no expert with relationship tangles as well. But based on experience… I think for me, I would rather be with someone who is not doing the same work as mine.

Although, it may seem so ideal that you date your co-worker or colleague just because you might be able to spend more quality time together being in the same turf, it might result to long term disasters when not cautious.

SCENARIO #1: Your partner is your boss
Advantage: If your boss is really head over heels in love with you and is clouded by that emotion, it might mean a step or a lotta steps up the career ladder. Or the least would be, you could get a little here and there rest, get away with the little things, just because your partner got your back.
Disadvantage: Your other co-workers may think of a lot of bad things about you including the S-L-blank-blank word. Or your boss (coz he/she might be too guilty to function) may be tougher on you just to prove to your other co-workers that you don’t get special treatment for dating him/her.

SCENARIO # 2: Your partner works the same “job” as you
Advantage: You may enjoy a lot of things in common coz of pursuing the same career. You may even be finishing each other’s statements by now. And everything is clicking the way things you would want to click coz you are just so alike.
Disadvantage: It gets boring. You get stuck with the same world. You wouldn’t get a piece of what the other half of the world may be doing. Your conversation topics would be so redundant that you will end up fighting on little things like who gets to take a shower first.
ANOTHER DISADVANTAGE: You may likely be sharing the same workload, same duration of work time that you memorize by heart what the other’s schedule might be. That if the other one, even try to take a little more time on work… you might freak out and even think that your partner is lying, cheating or drifting away.

These are just some of what might happen in the process. And I know, it is not something you look forward to. Just to show you why I would rather date someone on other fields, here are some of the advantages.

- No one would think the other is smarter or dumber
- No one would get bored of the same topics coz you just wouldn’t end up
doing the same thing
- You and your partner wouldn’t disagree on a sensitive “work” issue coz most
of the time, you are clueless with what he/she is talking about that you
end up just admiring how smart your partner is for knowing such a thing
- You are going to have a lot of compliments from your partner of a JOB DONE
coz he/she is also clueless of what you do
- You wouldn’t get into debates coz you wouldn’t really be debating over the
same thing
- When the other messes something up at work, the other would be very
understanding and supportive coz he/she will never be part of that failed
work
- And lastly, your partner cannot scold you for the stupid things you like to
do at work

But of course, there will also be disadvantages, like big efforts on the quality time part coz there is a big possibility that you don’t share the same work load and schedule. But then, with great effort and advanced technologies like using the phone, email, webcam, text messaging and so on, your quality time may be longer than you would expect. And it is actually an advantage coz you will miss each other and when you get to see each other… There would probably a lot of sweet nothings on your way.

Too sweet? No, just PRE-DIABETIC...



A few weeks ago, I was taking everyone to the hospital… making sure they were in tip top shape… worrying that their health may be in danger…

A few weeks ago (but later than what I mentioned before), I felt so tired, exhausted, dizzy and my head almost felt like exploding. Then I got a blood pressure reading of 70/30 something… that was way too low…. Just ask anyone…

I got so freaked out with it… that I convinced myself that it was time to see the doctor… for myself… this time. But first, I went straight to the laboratory to have my blood tested…

Complete blood count: Check!
Lipid Profile: Check!
Fasting Blood Glucose: Check!
Thyroid Function Tests: Check!

Yep! Done it all… I was even freaked out with the size of the syringe that the lady at the lab brought out… Good thing though that the lady there was so gentle I didn’t even felt a sting when she pricked me.

I think it took a couple of days before I finally got my lab tests… that was also grocery shopping day for me. So before heading home for the results… I went shopping.. for food! Yep something I love… something that I’m excited for!

I swore… I thought all I needed would be a little ferrous sulfate dose… coz I really believed that I may just be a little anemic. So I was shopping guiltlessly for hours before finally seeing the results…

By the time I got to see the results, it was dinner time. But then, before I even took my first bite. I opened the envelope from the lab… and there goes my nightmare!

Everything was actually fine… I wasn’t even a little low on RBC… I got most of the stuff normal… Except for two things… HDL count (so called good cholesterol count) and FBS (fasting blood sugar).

HDL was a little low… but not exactly to be panicked about. But when I saw the results of my FBS… I felt my heart pumped so hard and so fast that I couldn’t even drink.

I thought I just misread it or something. But it was so real that I quickly grabbed my phone and started texting my friend who happened to be studying medicine. When my phone beeped, I grabbed it as fast as a flash of light and read what she thinks about it.



Then, the scariest message ever, “might be pre-diabetic”. She suggested that I better see a doctor fast.

I am 24 years old at the moment just turning 25 next month. And at this age, diabetes would be far from what I was expecting. I have never felt so scared. I have a little knowledge with the condition. Aside from the fact that diabetes is in the family history, I even wrote for a magazine that tackled it. So in terms of basic knowledge… I knew just too much not to get worried.

That very next day… I went to the hospital. I didn’t want my mom or my yaya to be with me. That’s just how I do things when I get scared. I don’t want those people who took care of me since I was a kid to see how freaked out I am.
I went to the hospital and searched for an endocrinologist or diabetologist available. I was gulping on Gatorade on the process to ease the tension. Then luckily, there was one available who was said to be one of the best in that hospital.

As frugal as I am, that moment, I never even thought how much I may have to pay just to see that doctor. All I wanted was to know for real what was going on.

As I waited for my turn, I was looking around to check out other patients. It hurts to see that the patients I was waiting with are as old as my own grandmother. And the irony was, my grandma had even normal blood sugar.

When my turn came up, the doctor’s secretary even got surprised to find out I was the patient. And she asked how young I was. I mumbled my age and just smiled weakly.

My doctor was actually very friendly. She asked all sorts of things. And she was checking out my results. She said, I shouldn’t be too worried… although in all honesty, she said that it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do something about it.

For one, she gave me a BIG NO to iced tea. Wow… my all-time fave drink. Gone. Then she asked if I was a coffee drinker. Of course, I was. So limit that to two cups or less a day. Then exercise… uh-OH…. I confess, I am as lazy as a sloth when it comes to exercise. The most work-out I do is walking from my bedroom to the bathroom and back. So… she suggested that I do at least 30 minutes work out a day. Then for rice… half would be enough. No more sweets on a daily basis… here and there would be okay as long as it’s gonna be just a bite. Then soda… only those with no sugar… and I can only drink that at most three glasses a week. More veggies, fish, fiber and fruits. That’s basically it.. if I remember correctly.

Then… yes… medication and regular blood sugar check. I had to take meds daily to prevent the progression to diabetes. And blood check… at least once a month for now till our next check up… which is in November.

Two weeks had passed since my first visit to the diabetologist. And I just recently got my blood sugar test again. It went down favorably… more than expected actually. But I am still trying to limit everything I eat… since exercise is far from reality. I still can’t manage to bring my body to moving so much especially in the morning. So I just try to check and be very careful with whatever that goes in my mouth.

Although I think I can deal with this better than most have expected out of me, but the thought that at age 24… I got into this mess… well it was a tough lesson that I’ve learned the hard way. Ever since, everybody has been telling me to watch what I eat… but I didn’t listened… coz I thought being the non-smoker and seldom drinker that I am would be far from such illnesses. I really thought that being young could mean being invincible by such conditions.

I was wrong. So for now… on my third week of diet and getting better actually with the balancing act, I still don’t exercise and still running away from the mere sight of an icy cold iced tea… But at least I am still exhaustingly coping with it… and though I know putting myself in this situation actually meant one step closer to full blown diabetes, at least I am trying to delay it… BIG TIME… as much as I can actually… and it has been taking a lot of self-control and discipline… something that I really didn’t think I was cut for.