I decided to do the re-tinting of my car while Typhoon Kristine hasn’t made landfall yet. The sky is overcast but no rains yet. I’m maximizing my free time so better do what I can do before disaster strikes.

Why did I even reach this place? Well, I’m having the re-tinting at my nephew’s second car accessories shop (my cousin’s son) so that I’m assured that the job is done well. His first shop is nearer my place but is not yet protected from storms so cars may get wet.

I was asked if I want the entire windshield tinted. I initially said yes when the shop guy told me I can convert my halogen headlamp to LED. A quick Google research showed me that there is no clear-cut law on LED headlamps but this Reddit thread told me that if I do that without changing the entire headlight unit, then it would make me the number one asshole on the road. The old housing is made for halogen lamps that reflect and scatter light to make it brighter in the dark. While halogens look dimmer on the street, its reach is farther than that of LED lamps. So if I don’t change the housing, the stronger LED lights would reflect and diffuse the light, blinding the driver of the car ahead of me and the driver of the oncoming car on the opposite lane.

Ergo, I would become one that I hate most on the road. I hate those cars with strong LED headlamps, especially that I have astigmatism. They blind me at night on the highway.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t look good for me here in Southern Luzon as the typhoon moved lower, with the eye estimated to hit Cagayan Valley Region and/or Central Luzon. Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog could be placed on Signal #2 or #3 if northeastern cold winds pushed it down further.

Ooops! Our provincial government has just cancelled classes for this afternoon and tomorrow. It seems like the eye of the typhoon is lower and would hit Metro Manila, based on the satellite image from NOAA. No clear eye or the center is disorganized (it means it’s not a supertyphoon) but the rains are scattered and will hit a large swathe of landmass.

The whole of Luzon is now under Signal #1.

---

I was planning to drive to Makati on Tuesday night for birthday dinner with friends or have it Wednesday night and book a hotel because I have a conference on Thursday at Marriott the following day. Nope, Kristine erased my plans because she would be pulling the winds from the southwest and the cold front from the northeast.

Another Kristine to spoil everything. 😑

---

I just got back from driving Twin I to school. Yes, at 3:30 am. They are going to a provincial competition for science and technology writing. A sort of journalism competition and call time is very early. They needed to be at the venue at daybreak for some prep work. I packed my daughter a bento box for lunch and made a hamburger sandwich for another meal if needed—at 2:30 in the morning. 🥴

I’ve driven the same road at the same time at 3 am 24 years ago, on the way home from a gig from another city. I was 20 years old; I was still on the way home at this hour. Of course I was often inebriated and it proves that God was always guiding me as I haven’t figured in a driving accident even if the alcohol level in my blood was questionable. I was like this every night or every time we had gigs. Now that I’m 24 years older, I just realized that I was just one wrong turn away from being another fatal driving accident statistic, especially in the zigzag highway my bandmates and I braved in those days.

How times have changed. I never thought that 25 years after, I—a rocker party girl—will be driving the same road to bring my daughter to school so she can be in an inter-school competition for journalism. I never would have imagined that I will have a daughter that would be chosen by her school for something that I would have wanted for myself when I was her age.

I told her to just enjoy the experience and winning is not the goal—it is a bonus. The joy of being with other people with the same talent as you have and meeting new friends from other schools is more precious. I had competed in science fairs when I was 15-16, which allowed me to fly to Cebu and be given a special award by the Dept of Science and Technology. I met a life-long Cebu-based friend there and funny how things turned out—neither of us pursued a career in science. He became a lawyer while I became a journalist.

The special award was cherry on top; the real reward was meeting other people from Manila Science (MaSci), Philippine Science (Pisay), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, and UP Diliman. Even though we were competitors, we became friends and we had hung out in the hotel pool and basically messed up the pool because we dipped there just wearing our shirts and shorts. We hired a taxi to bring us to a spot that overlooked Cebu City at night, like their version of Padi’s Point or Cloud 9 in Antipolo. We laughed our asses off, we made a lot of noise—we were basically being kids.

I told my daughter that awards are just that, awards. They’re just a trophy or plaque. But the experience of being there with like-minded people is priceless and you will carry it with you forever.

---

If only I could watch this… Benedict Cumberbatch looks amazing in this. He and Jonny Lee Miller switch roles as Frankenstein and the creature. Good theater performances fill my soul.

When was the last time I watched something on stage? It has been a long time since. Rak of Aegis was the  last local one I watched and Hamilton was the latest one. I wasn’t able to catch PETA’s latets production, One More Chance, because I was so deep into my troubles with work.

I need to chill. See a play or a musical.

Well, I braved the public with my pockmarked face. I didn’t have any choice since I had a dentist appointment and I needed to pick up my gold necklace for repair.

Good news is that my dentist said there was no need to excise my impacted molar and the pain was coming from the inflamed soft tissue beneath the second molar. He said it was because the said molar was bearing the burden of all the chewing as my left upper molars are out of action for now. He already cleansed my right second molar so inflamation should die down albeit slowly because of my elevated blood sugar. So this morning we prepped my upper left molars for the bridges. My birthday gift to myself—they’re expensive.

But the veneers that I would be preparing for are more expensive. They’re going to cost me pretty money… Enough for a downpayment for an SUV. 🫠 Upon seeing my xray, my dentist said braces would not correct my lower incisors because the canine incisors are already fixed (root canal) and the tendency of the front incisors is to go back to their current positions. In short, my teeth are non-adjustable. 😩 Then veneers it is.

I initially planned to go to a spa and hot spring resort but I don’t think the management of those establishments would believe me that my pockmarks are cauterized warts. They might think I have monkeypox. So I will stay home in the meantime until the scabs have disappeared.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Forevor & Always (@forevor_and_always)

Maybe I should shift to showbusiness reporting. Maybe I could get an Andrew Garfield of my own and not just Garfield the Cat. These two make me feel kilig. 🥰

Wohoooo! I don’t have to deal with bullshit right now. Last night I spent 3 hrs finishing that IT compliance training so IT would stop emailing my boss that I haven’t completed the training yet.

I spent the entire morning doomscrolling. I know, I know, that’s the dumbest way the spend my free time but my brain just wants to be dead for a few hours after spending my Monday and Tuesday chasing people on my phone and via my pc. Aside from spending 3 hrs on compliance training last night, I also had to deal with an editor outside of east Asia who doesn’t know about estate planning by family corportations that involves IPO and its tax implications. At 8 pm when I’m supposed to be off. 🤦🏻‍♀️

So I can be forgiven for wanting to be brain dead this morning. Now I need to walk to my old dentist to have a crown that has gotten loose reattached and deal with my painful impacted wisdom tooth.

---

I got a new dentist and he’s good. (My old dentist has doesn’t have clinic in the afternoons and on Thursdays). He explained things to me really well and he didn’t go straight into drilling holes into my tooth and whatnot. He did some scaling first and checked my second molar next to my impacted third molar to initially investigate why it was hurting.

His other clinic with dental Xray that can do panoramic scans is quite far from where we were so he referred to me to another nearby clinic for that said Xray. Within minutes, the Xray was emailed to my new dentist. I’m going to have my second molar opened if there is an abscess or he could go straight to excision of my impacted wisdom tooth tomorrow morning.

I have too much dental work needed but I had delayed it in favor of my mental health recovery. I also became busy with building my house and then with Twin A’s health. My dental work took a back seat. Now I’m paying the price. The odontectomy that was supposed to be done during the pandemic has now become an emergency procedure. Then there’s the matter of the loose crown that will now become a bridge. Or rather four bridges will be made. I didn’t have an implant made before because I needed to deal with the impacted molars first. I had been too busy in  the last six years to bother with it. When all that is done, I will have my lower teeth braced to address the gaps. Or veneers can be made. I have to weigh the pros and cons with my dentist.

My sister-in-law referred me to him today and immediately called his clinic. He is a Filipino-Canadian dual citizen and decided to come home to open clinics here in our hometown. He has a lot of foreign and balikbayan clients, who sustain his practice and allow him to offer affordable services to those who need it.

After my dentist visit, I went back to the derma clinic to have my warts cauterized.

I have had my facial warts cauterized before but I again neglected this regular skin maintenance because I had been so preoccupied with other things and people in the past six years. By the time that I had started to take care of myself, my facial warts had already multiplied and reached my neck and chest area. I have skin tags as well, which is thought to be genetic and associated with polycystic ovary syndrome 🙋. Also might be caused by elevated sugar and insulin resistance 🙋

I now have a stinging sensation on my neck and chest area. I look like a plucked chicken with hives. It will take 7 days before my skin returns to normal. This is the reason why I timed this visit to the derma during my week-long personal time off. I don’t have to face the public while I have temporary pock marks.

My friend, who’s a lawyer in Singapore, messaged me yesterday as she contemplated about going back here in our hometown. She was the one who was hell-bent on getting PR status in Singapore. Now she’s changing her tune.

She said she’s tired. She wants peace in her soul. She feels hopeless about her status, divorced in Singapore but not recognized in the Philippines. She dragged herself into dating hell. Now she wants to retreat to our hometown.

I warned her that she will be shocked because her fast-paced life in Singapore as a lawyer for a global firm is very much different from the slow and quiet life we’re leading here. She might get frustrated since our hometown is for people who are settled and are no longer looking for a love life or excitement. Those who have come back home are those who are looking for peace and quiet, those who want to have a tranquil life.

She is still hoping to get a partner even after her failed marriage and series of broken relationships in quick succession. She admits she couldn’t live alone.

I told her to stay in Singapore for a bit and just come back here when she’s firm with her retirement plans. Because she might get shell-shocked with how boring it is here. I said I drive to Metro Manila at least once a week to give a little complication to my life, to annoy myself with carmageddon, and for some retail therapy. After subjecting myself to the toxicity of the city, I come back home with renewed appreciation for the provincial life. Then the cycle goes on.

---