My cousin told us today that she will undergo mastectomy soon to remove cysts in her breast that are thankfully benign but they’re growing (???). She also felt that her menstrual period has shortened and wildly irregular so that’s the next thing that she should be focusing on, she said.

We’re the same age but she’s a few months older than me. She’s single while I already have kids…I don’t know if that makes any difference.

This reminds me that I should pay attention now to my body, aside from the exercise part. Meaning I should have my executive check up soon. I will be asking for a time off on my birthday week to visit my gynecologist (in my hometown; she had been my doctor since college) and I will also request her for a cardiologist referral and for an executive check up. I haven’t done anything yet to address my high triglycerides, LDL, and uric acid (i.e. meds to keep them low). I need to know if I had any clots after my serious bout with Covid last year because what was worrisome with my experience was that I had long haul Covid symptoms.

In the meantime, I need to keep going with my exercises so I will not end up as a blimp again.

I had to content myself with indoor workout because it rained. At least I burned 240 kcal today and I was not just sedentary.

I had to use my screen and webcam to monitor my dumb bell exercises because I don’t have a full-length mirror in my room. The form is more important than the speed of the curls and lifts so I need to keep my shoulders straight, arms tight/clipped. You can only do that if you see your reflection so you can correct your wrong posture or form. We used to do some weights when I was still playing football. We also did aerobics to improve our footwork.

As I said before, I intend to live beyond 42 years old so I need to be disciplined about this. My children cannot rely on their dad for anything if I die early.

Speaking of which, I got incensed today because of his hare-brained idea to drive the girls from his province to Manila via my old small car. I mean that’s nuts. I doubt its reliability on long trips like that (800 km++) because he does not maintain cars well. The original plan was just I would let the girls stay with their paternal side in Shangri-la Mactan, Cebu (the girls’ airfare paid for by his siblings) then they would come back to Manila after four days. But noooo, he didn’t even tell me that they are going to be whisked away from Cebu to his province to stay longer for Todos los Santos/Dia de los muertos (All Saints’ Day/All Souls’ Day). However, only the airfare from Cebu to their province will be paid for by his siblings and since he doesn’t have money, he can only drive back to Manila with them.

That’s 48 freaking hours. In bad monsoon/typhoon season.

He doesn’t even think about the safety and comfort of his own children 🤬

Yeah, we used to drive from Manila to their province for Christmas when the girls were smaller but we had stops and spent the night in Legaspi or Naga plus we took turns in driving. But the experience was always exhausting because the ferry that shipped us and the car from Sorsogon to Samar (vice-versa) was ALWAYS delayed by 6-12 hours because of scarcity of trips or bad weather. And we drove using my big car.

And if we go by what Twin I has been reporting to me about the condition of my kei car when they get fetched by their dad, I highly doubt if they will not break down along the highway. We’re talking about very rural highways. The last time they were with their dad, she said there was no airconditioning. 😤 I could no longer get mad because it’s already beyond my control. I painstakingly took care of that car when it was my daily ride because it was so convenient to find parking space for it and I can easily slip in between bigger cars in really bad traffic. Plus it was economical so there is less guilt when I drive all around with just me as a passenger.

I told Twin I to tell her dad that if he doesn’t produce plane tickets from his province to Manila for the girls, I will not even drive them to NAIA for their flight to Cebu.

So he told Twin I that they will just leave Cebu and fly straight to Manila.

I talked to his youngest sister (who’s in California) on the phone this afternoon to tell her my concerns about the girls’ safety and the ridiculousness of that plan. She saw my point and agreed that they shouldn’t be doing a land trip.

I’m very sure that my BP shot through the roof when I was hyperventilating and I had palpitations when I learned about that stupid plan. So I called my mom to release my pent up fury. She said, “Well, it’s you who said that your ex-husband is more evil than your friend L’s ex-husband. So what do you expect?”

🤬

Another thing that alarmed me today was that my electricity consumption cost me PHP 1,500 more this month because of my Instant Pot use. I mean, everything was constant from last month to this month. And if you compare my consumption with last year’s, the September 2022 bill is still higher even though my fridge in Sept 2021 was still the old one that was already so inefficient.

So no, I don’t think I would be using that for simple dishes again. If I have enough lead time, I’d rather use the slow cooker. I will only use the Instant Pot if I don’t have enough time to make the meat tender. Besides, I should lay off the beef since I should consume less red meat.

Good thing I have my stress relievers…