My little boy is sick

Again... For the nth time...

I swear, this is already freaking me out. His cough has been on and off for the past month and his uncle pedia has advised us to have his chest x-rayed to see if there are any infections.

Were scheduled to have it tomorrow. I wish the little boy cooperates.

U.S. Presidential Politics ... OMG!

McCain and Obama clashed over taxes, war and the economy in the first of three debates. The financial crisis shifted the initial focus from foreign to domestic issues.

Left behind

I was enjoying life.

But lately, with the course of events that happened to me, I am often left asking what have I done wrong to be in this place. I felt I am left behind. I am left behind.

It breaks my heart. This isn't about my family. This isn't about my friends... This is about me. Of who I am. Of what I am.

I never felt so small in my entire life but now...
I am left behind. By everyone. By time.

I want to surrender but I know somebody still believes in me. Somebody still needs me.

I pity myself. I am crying out loud.
I am left behind.

I learned

To finally accept that if it's not meant to be
No matter how hard you try to reach it
You will never be successful on it.

I'm trusting HIM.. I know HE has better plans for me.

Windy Alternative

One of the fastest growing segments of the power sector, wind generation capacity is expected to more than double between 2006 and 2011 worldwide.

Run for the Impressions!

A Visual Talking "Run for the Impressions!" bonus ... $1,000 total ... we want you to be one of the lucky ones!!

Products with Melamine

You may want to know. This are the list of products tested by Centre for Food Safety in HongKong as has been detected to contain melamine. For the complete list, check here.

1. White Rabbit creamy candies
Manufacturer: Shanghai GuanSheng Yuan Food General Factory
Address: 220 Cao Bao Road, Shanghai


2. Natural Choice Yogurt Flavoured Ice Bar with Real Fruit
Manufacturer: Shanghai Yili AB Foods., Ltd
Address: No. 269 Beidou Road, Minhang Zone, Shanghai P.R. of China

3. Yili Super Bean Red Bean Chestnut Ice Bar
Manufacturer: Shanghai Yili AB Foods Co., Ltd
Address: No. 269 Beidou Road, Minhang Zone, Shanghai P.R. of China

4. Yili Bean Club- Matcha red bean ice bar
Manufacturer: Shanghai Yili AB Foods Co., Ltd
Address: No. 269 Beidou Road, Minhang Zone, Shanghai P.R. of China

5. Yili High Calcium Milk Beverage
Manufacturer: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd.
Address: No.2, Jin 3 Ave, Jinchuan Development Zone, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China

6. Yili Bean Club- Red bean milk bar
Manufacturer: Shanghai Yili AB Foods Co., Ltd
Address: No. 269 Beidou Road, Minhang Zone, Shanghai P.R. of China

7. Yili Prestige Chocliz - Dark Chocolate Bar
Manufacturer: Shanghai Yili AB Foods Co., Ltd
Address: No. 269 Beidou Road, Minhang Zone, Shanghai P.R. of China

8. Yili Pure Milk
Manufacturer: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd.
Address: No.2, Jin 3 Ave, Jinchuan Development Zone, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China

9. Yili Pure Milk
Manufacturer: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd.
Address: No.2, Jin 3 Ave, Jinchuan Development Zone, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China

10 Yili High calcium low fat milk beverage
Manufacturer: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd.
Address: No.2, Jin 3 Ave, Jinchuan Development Zone, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China

11. Nestle Dairy Farm UHT Pure Milk 1L (Catering)
Manufacturer: Nestlé Qingdao Limited
Address: Weihai Xi Lu, Laixi City, Qingdao, China

12. Four Seas Cake (Strawberry Flavour)
Sole Agent: Four Seas Mercantile Limited
Address: Four Seas Group Building, No. 1, Hong Ting Road, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

I just wish our own BFAD will release their own list soon. This is really, really scary. We are not buying any dairy products except the little boy's infant formula which, Thank God!, is listed here as one of the products that do not contain melamine.

What's happening to the world?

Ano ba? First, there were issues of lead content sa mga trusted brand of toys. Then the BPA content in most of the well-trusted feeding bottles we have. Now, there's this melamine issue naman with milk. The next thing we know, even diapers will have chemical content na that can be a risk to our kid's health, etc etc.

Wala na talagang safe for kids nowadays. So I guess, just being vigilant is all we can do to have our kids safe. Hay...

Lil photographer

My little boy is... in the making. He always insists to hold our point & shoot camera and snap here and there. Here are some of the pics he had captured. We can't even correct him whenever he shoot as the cam is his, no touching.

 

Lookie...

 

  

DQ lover

I am. But I think there's another one on the way... the little boy. He particularly instructed me to "one two tlee" him (his way to tell me to shoot him) everytime he feeds himself. Believe it or not, he was able to finish the regular size blizzard without my help. Everytime I try to scoop, he'd tell me "Joshua yan." You judge if he's a camwhore in the making now.

Hubby's early Christmas loots

My boss has a contact in the Adidas office and he gave us an info that there's a sale on their office. I informed him to get me two pairs for hubby. Few hours after, he arrived with the shoes I ordered. You won't believe that I bought it in a super duper cheap price. The Superstar1 costs P900+ and the Feishu2 costs P400+ only. Great deal, isn't it?

 

 

I won't be buying him any gifts on Christmas na. Hahaha! Paging hubby, where's my Malindi? LOL!

Sunday work

I'm here at the office rendering a half-day OT for a migration of a database that needs our LN support. The little boy and the daddy is in the office too, in the working mom's room. Hehe!

Your Eyes, Your Mind ... Primetime TV - Fall 2008

Settle in, fire it up, enjoy ... Primetime TV (8 -10PM) ... do you watch shows during that time, do you record some and watch others, do you record 'em? it's Primetime because advertisers not only want our eyeballs, but they want our minds ... our minds are there for them to imprint their messages upon ... our minds guide our purchases ... do you feel used, or is it OK for them to pay us by giving us the TV show?

To buy or not?

After seeing my son enjoy the Little Tikes seesaw (or whatever you call it) in his Tito pedia's clinic, I am now thinking of buying one for him. The husband, though, says he is too old to have such.

 

The husband thought of buying something like this instead.

 

Now, I’m thinking which one should be the best for the little boy? I already scouted for the price of each and they only differ a few hundred bucks. We are not going to buy this soon though; we are short listing it as one of his Christmas presents.

And Ming-Ming too!

The little boy hasn’t outgrown his addiction to Barney and Spongebob. They still are number one in his fave shows, I guess. Though, he has found another one that caught his attention. He had once caught a glimpse on “Wonderpets” and been singing “And Mingming too!” and “What’s gonna work? Teamwork!” days after.

So to avoid the wailing and pleading “sama work” to me, what I usual does is to allow him to take a bath with me after eating breakfast. I will then give him his milk while he watches the show. While he is stuck watching the show, I am then be busy preparing to work. I was wondering though if there are available VCDs or DVDs of this show. I haven’t seen one yet.

PS. The LSD (last song syndrome) applies to me so I’m caught singing “Wonderpets, wonderpets we’re on our way…” here in the office, LOL!

BPA in feeding bottles - another update

New health risks linked with plastic in bottles

CHICAGO – The first major study of health effects in people from a chemical used in plastic baby bottles, food cans, and a host of other products links it with possible risks for heart disease and diabetes.

It suggests a potential new concern about the safety of bisphenol A, or BPA. And because of the possible public health implications, the results "deserve scientific follow-up," the study authors said.

But the study is preliminary, far from proof that the chemical causes heart disease and diabetes. Two Dartmouth College analysts of medical research said the study raises questions but provides no answers about whether the ubiquitous chemical is harmful.

The findings were released to coincide with the researchers' presentation of their findings at a US Food and Drug Administration scientific advisers' hearing.

The FDA has the power to limit use of BPA in food containers and medical devices, but last month released an internal report concluding that BPA exposure is not enough to warrant action.

Since then, another government agency released a separate report concluding that risks to people, in particular to infants and children, cannot be ruled out.

Past animal studies have suggested reproductive and hormone-related problems from BPA. The new study is the largest to examine possible BPA effects in people and the first suggesting a direct link to heart disease, said scientists Frederick vom Saal and John Peterson Myers, both longtime critics of the chemical.

They wrote an editorial accompanying the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Still, they said more rigorous studies are needed to confirm the results.

Vom Saal is a biological sciences professor at University of Missouri who has served as an expert witness and consultant on BPA litigation. Myers is chief scientist at Environmental Health Sciences, a Charlottesville, Virginia, nonprofit group.

BPA is used in hardened plastics in a wide range of consumer goods including food containers, eyeglass lenses and compact discs. Many scientists believe it can act like the hormone estrogen, and animal studies have linked it with breast, prostate and reproductive system problems and some cancers.

Researchers from Britain and the University of Iowa examined a US government health survey of 1,455 American adults who gave urine samples in 2003-04 and reported whether they had any of several common diseases.

Participants were divided into four groups based on BPA urine amounts; more than 90 percent had detectable BPA in their urine.

A total of 79 had heart attacks, chest pain or other types of cardiovascular disease and 136 had diabetes. There were more than twice as many people with heart disease or diabetes in the highest BPA group than in the lowest BPA group. The study showed no connection between BPA and other ailments, including cancer.

No one in the study had BPA urine amounts showing higher than recommended exposure levels, said co-author Dr. David Melzer, a University of Exeter researcher.

Drs. Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice said the study presents no clear information about what might have caused participants' heart disease and diabetes.

"Measuring who has disease and high BPA levels at a single point in time cannot tell you which comes first," Schwartz said.

The study authors acknowledge that it's impossible to rule out that people who already have heart disease or diabetes are somehow more vulnerable to having BPA show up in their urine.

"There's a small possibility that there's some other factor that's explaining this and it's not due to BPA itself. We've done everything we can think of to exclude that possibility, but it would be nice to get more direct evidence," Melzer said.

The American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group, said the study is flawed, has substantial limitations and proves nothing.

"As the authors themselves note, they do not conclude that the presence of BPA is causing adverse health effects — they merely noted a statistical association," the group said in a statement.

But Dr. Ana Soto of Tufts University said the study raises enough concerns to warrant government action to limit BPA exposure.

"We shouldn't wait until further studies are done in order to act in protecting humans," said Soto, who has called for more restrictions in the past.

An earlier lab experiment with human fat tissue found that BPA can interfere with a hormone involved in protecting against diabetes, heart disease and obesity. That study appeared online last month in Environmental Health Perspectives, a monthly journal published by the National Institutes of Health.

Government toxicology experts have also studied BPA and recently completed their own report based on earlier animal studies. They found no strong evidence of health hazards from BPA, but said there was "some concern" about possible effects on the brain in fetuses, infants and children.

Several states are considering restricting BPA use, some manufacturers have begun promoting BPA-free baby bottles, and some stores are phasing out baby products containing the chemical. The European Union has said BPA-containing products are safe, but Canada's government has proposed banning the sale of baby bottles with BPA as a precaution.

Snagged here.

No updates... yet

Sorry for not updating my blog. I've been very busy with my laziness, LOL!
You read it right - I don't blog since I don't have the zest yet to blog and blog more. I simply enjoyed lurking on other blogs, though. I'm so tsismosa, that's why. Hihihi!

I wished to go back on blogging soon. I need to earn extra as Christmas is fast approaching.

It's TV Time 2008!

Leno's leaving Tonight, Idol is adding a fourth judge, and there are a bunch of new shows.

Top Five Music

The Top Five shows us the most poular music ... so, what is popular music?
From Wikipedia.com: "Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media."

Dollar exchange

When my dad arrived last Tuesday, I told him not to exchange his dollars yet. True to my words, the exchange rate of peso to dollar shoot up to P47.95 - $1. I know, I shouldn't be happy as this means bad economy yada yada yada. Gawd! I can't resist, ang sarap magpapalit ng dollars ngayon, LOL!

Shrimp galore

My dad (Papa) arrived in Manila last Tuesday with 7 kilos of shrimp. Imagine, we feasted for two straight nights with it. I also suffered dyspepsia (indigestion) after pigging out. I hated drinking tea but never had the chance to complain when the husband prepared one for me while scolding me not to eat shrimp that much again. I was like a little girl being scolded, I'm telling you. And the little kid was sweet enough to touch my tummy and caress it while I was growling with pain.

I would still eat shrimp, if the husband is not around. Hehehe!

Sickies and their meds

As a mom, we get worried every time our kids became sick. Of course, we’d directly ask our pedia for medicines. But sometimes, I often get hesitant to ask my pedia most especially in the wee hours of the morning. They need sleep too, that I understand. Good thing, the ever reliable Internet is there. What makes life more easy is the free online clinical solution from Epocrates. They have the latest and updated new disease database that includes condition overview and risk factors, treatment approach, tests to order, national medical society guidelines and more. Also, they too have integrated drug reference guide with critical prescribing information on more than 3,300 drugs, including dosing, interactions and health plan coverage. Now, I need to check their site for Augmentin medication description.

“This announcement was paid for by Epocrates.”

Air21 update

Ok, I promised the part 2 of my horrifying experience with Air21.

Come Monday, I expect to arrive in the office with the package received by my colleague. FYI, I reported to work at 1pm. The seller was already following up if I already received the package. The answer was still a big NO!

By 2pm, I called their customer service following up about the items but I received their usual "package is in transit yada yada yada."

By 3pm, I called up again. Once again, I received their usual answers. I was so busy at work then as there are switches in our data center who went down so I wasn't able to focus calling them up every after 30 minutes.

By 4pm, I am already pissed. The items are still not around. I was screaming when I called them up - not so loud as I don't want to make a scene in the office - explaining to the customer service that if they treated the items with urgency, I should have received it. Did I make a point on this? I guess. I know I'm making a point on them. The guy on the other line told me that I'll be receiving the items before 5pm. I counted on his words - well, not really - I just said I'll count on his words.

By 5pm, no signs of the courier. Gawd! I'm so mad at that time. The seller and I were calling them up every hour for the updates. I even asked the names of the courier as I am definete that I'll be filing a complaint once I received the items.

6pm, 7pm, no items arrived. This was the time when there was a heavy downpour of rain. I called them up again and they were asking me if they can drop off the items with the guards on duty as they can't assure me that the items will arrive before 8pm. What?! So this is what they call with urgency, huh? I'll be in the office by 10pm but I told them that I'll be in the office by 8pm only and I demanded to receive the items before 8pm. Sorry is all they can say.

Before 8pm, an OIC from Air21 called by mobile telling me that the courier is already on the way to the building. Half past 8, the items arrived. As I am already stressed with all the buzz that happened with these guys from Air21, I asked the courier to write his name on a piece of paper.

Aba?! Biglang naghugas kamay agad! He told me he wasn't the courier who was assigned in this route and he was just asked to deliver the items to me. Hmp! No, I insisted to write his name.

To date, the seller is asking for an explanation letter from Air21 what transpired last Saturday and Monday.

I was so persistent with this, and I can see you'll all laught at me when you'd learn that the items were simply... BURT BEE'S RES-Q OINTMENT and BEESWAX LIP BALM. I let myself be stressed and fuming mad because of these items. Hahaha!

Papa is coming home

Papa (my dad) who worked in Saudi will be arriving here in Manila tomorrow. I just hope the little boy still remembers him as the last time they were able to bond was when the latter was just six months old. The little boy knows him by name and he talks with him every single day whenever my dad calls my mom. Everytime he hears an airplane, he'd say "Bye bye papa, ingat, ubong ko apple juice." See how simple the little boy's wish is.

Of course, I am teaching him how to ask something else aside from the apple juice, LOL!

PS. I'll be blogging my horrfying experience with Air21 soon.

dNeero-ites want to know!

Questions in this convo come from the User Questions asked in our last five convos. Our peeps continue to amaze us with their insight into the core of dNeero conversations ... keep it going!!

Air21 is no EXPRESS

Let me just vent out my anger!

I ordered at Ebay yesterday and the seller was kind enough to ship the items the same day. I am expecting the items today before 5 pm as I'll be leaving the office by then.

I gave a specific instructions to our guard to notify me once a courier from Air21 arrives in our floor. By 3pm, no courier yet. So I called their hotline asking where the items are. They said the items are already out for delivery.

By 4pm, I called up again asking where the items are. They said that the courier was in our floor at 12:30pm but the office was close. What?! The agent said there were no guards on duty. I said that's so impossible. In the first place, the receptionist of the building wouldn't allow them to go up if our office is close, right? They said they need to verify yada yada yada. I said I want an update after 5 minutes where the hell the courier was.

5 minutes after, no call from Air21. I called them up again and said that their operations dept are calling the courier.

Few minutes later, Air21 called. They said if there is someone who can receive the items for me - like the guard on duty. I said if that was the case, I wouldn't have asked them to deliver the items by 5pm, right? I was so pissed. I asked them when can they deliver the items today and they answered me with their usual I have to verify yada yada yada.

Argh! I need to wait til MOnday before I can lay my hands on the items. Gawd!

Motherhood at it’s best

My son loves this song so much. Even if he’s doing something else, whenever he hears this on TV, he’d stop so that he can sing this.

So enjoy this song from NIDO commercial. I definitely agree on this.

Nothing else can compare than being with your kiddos.

Ayan, senti na naman ako. Naiisip ko na naman ang frustration ko to be a SAHM.

You’re my number one
Look at me mom
Shining like the sun
Bright as the day
You're my number one
And there's no treasure
That I will cherish like you
And when I smile
They all see you glow
And they all know
You're my number one
My one and only joy
Is to give you my love
My one love for you
I give through and through
I see you and the signs that bring joy
That all the world can see so clearly
Look at me mom
Shining like the sun
Bright as the day
You're my number one 

 

Paypal money withdrawn

With all the buzz around EON problems with paypal, I still gave it a shot though. I withdraw my money August 25 and was credited to my EON August 28. That was so fast! Geezh! I wonder why mine was like that? Ain't I such a lucky gal?

Now, I was wondering if this actually happened because I haven't grab any opps for months. Hahaha!

Decent sleep and potty training

I gauge the little boy's and proudly say that he is 80% potty trained. Getting ready to say bye bye nappies. This has been the perks of my night shift. I was able to be on-hand in training him. Though I get to grab just 4 hours of decent sleep a day, it's nothing compared to his achievement on this. What I usually do whenever I arrived home early morning is to get a sleep as the little boy is still in dreamland. By the time the little boy wakes up, he'd wake me up and we'll remove his nappies and wash. He'd changed to shorts then I'll let him play while I try to get a sleep again. From time to time, he'd wake me up by creating whatever noise. Gawd! I get irritated all the time and so often in the verge of shouting at him and losing my temper. At lunch time, I'd let him get messy while eating. He'd take his bath afterwards and put on his clothes. He's so independent now that even choosing clothes to wear is not anymore a task for mommy but his. I'd give him milk (oh, he gets his feeding bottle in the fridge and his can of milk too) and while watching cartoons, I was praying so hard that he'd doze off to sleep. Around 2 or 3 pm, he'd get cranky as a sign that he'd soon be hitting the sack. I'll carry him until he falls asleep. That's the only time I can finally take my sleep too. For four weeks, this has been my daily regimen. And for four weeks, the little boy is wearing nappies at night only. I always remind him to tell me if he needs to pee. He would and he'd run to his potty, pull off his shorts, and while standing and holding his "tenten" will pee. He'd wiggle his tenten afterwards and come to me so I can pull his shorts back on. This is also the same whenever he do #2. The only difference is that the electric fan should be pointed towards him whenever he does #2. Weird, don't you think?

Removing his nappies at night time is a different concern. I am still unsure if he can still control his pee.I know he would eventually. Mommy isn't in a hurry with this so baby take your time , huh.

2008 Movies

Good year? Bad year? Who really cares ... we just want some entertainment ... to get out of the home, have the lights go down, see the upcoming trailers, be told to turn off our cells, and then settle in to having the big screen take over for a couple of hours.

** McCain runs with Palin **

Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, was named by John McCain to run as the Republican's Vice Presidential candidate ... it is conservatives who think they have seized the political advantage.

No Sweat

Today's miracle sweat-wicking micro-fibers hide a dirty little secret that serious athletes know about. They?re great at wicking away moisture. But they embed perspiration residue deep into the fabric. The result: musty, stubborn sweat odors that linger no matter how hard you try to get them out.

BER month

Yehey! I can smell and feel Christmas. Only 114 days to go before Christmas. OA as it may seems, I must admit I still do act like a kid during this season. I feel giddy happy. I so love the ambiance now.

*****

And if you may notice, I am alive!!! Still kicking!!! Bwahahaha!!!

This is the longest time I was hiatus from my second world, blogging that is. I lost my zest when the proxy that we were using was officially killed and that all the sites that I frequently visit was blocked. Just imagine how the long dreadful nights at work I experienced last month. Thank God I'm back to day shift now. I felt I am enclosed in a box without anything to do. Everything has limits. I got bored so I simply blog hop from time to time using a web proxy. My internet report would surely show up how many hits for surfaz I had.

Anyways, I do hope I can squeeze time and get chances to update every now and then. I've got tons of kuwentos from the little boy's milestones in potty training, my very first experience in withdrawing money from paypal, and seeing Richard Guttierez. Hahaha!

Eat healthier, not cheaper

By just about any measure, global food prices rose significantly over the past two years. It's not your imagination. Eating right is costly. In fact, you may pay more than $30 more per day on food if you make healthy choices.

Happy talkie, talkie ... Visual Talking

"What the heck are you saying?" Ever heard that before? Maybe Visual Talking can help. It's like the Twitter of PowerPoint presentations. Combine words and pictures to communicate -- it's that simple.

In your user question please consider asking something about a current event and how/if VT would apply, e.g., "Should the Olympic athletes use VT to help communicate?" or "Now that Britney has her bod back, should we send her VT messages to get her to quit smoking?" or "Should Homeland security include VT as part of their interagency communications package?"