Source: https://sunshineandrobins.wordpress.com/2018/06/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 14:53:32+00:00

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When I was a little girl, I remember always asking to wear my Mom’s jewelries or my Dad’s heirloom necklace. Jewelries and accessories made my eyes shine with glee when I lay my hands on those sparkly things. My Mom would always remind me that when I was around two years old, I kept on begging to have my ears pierced and I felt so “grown up” when I finally had them.
I guess it’s karma for my insisting to have them early because my ears developed an allergy for gold earrings. My lobes would swell and get wounded so I stayed away from those things unless absolutely necessary. Even then, I would remove them after a few hours. As I grew up, I lost that fondness over accessories. I either just wear a necklace or a bracelet, but never the whole shebang.
Lately though, I have rediscovered my penchant for gemstones or crystals. I used to love reading about them as a kid and wondering if their so-called healing properties were real. I am not sure how a stone could make one more tranquil or relaxed but what I am sure of is that they are pretty things, regardless of whether they are impregnated already (with added materials) or in their pure state. So, when I discovered the Caged Crystal Jewelry Making Workshop hosted by Maartsy, I made it a point to make sure I could attend it.
After attending church service, I went straight to the workshop. An hour early there, I saw Ms. Benj of @penumbra.ph (the instructor) preparing the materials to be used throughout the workshop. She was as pretty as her jewels and charms! It looked like she really made sure to prepare everything we will need. We had tools, handout, and a buffet of crystals and charms to use that afternoon.
Ms. Benj was very hands-on in teaching us, going around the table to make sure we were getting the instructions from the manual right. She would make it a point to show everyone our finished work of art every time we would complete one. I think she taught us a total of six ways of caging crystals.
My most favorite is this tree of life style I used on a very adorable heart-shaped rose quartz. It looked so feminine and sweet! I paired it with a long chain because I have not tried wearing long necklace pieces. I figured, I should try experimenting on wearing such kind.
I had so much fun bending and looping wires that I forgot all my worries at work that day (deadlines coming up). All I could focus on was the design I was trying to make. And despite struggling with the silver wire that was a little too thick for comfort, I was so happy that I was learning how they made those pretty accessories I would see from online shops in my IG feed. It was not easy but I was glad to know doing it was not too difficult for me not to manage.
I went home with the accessories I made and some extra wire. I remembered the amethyst crystal I bought not so long ago and tried to apply my learnings from the workshop by caging it in my remaining gold wire. The result was so cute! I guess I now have two favorites.
I realized how much I loved creating stuff with my hands. I may not find happiness in drawing or painting because I was not gifted in those areas at all, but I found that I enjoy creating stuff with my hands like when I bake or when I mix up some concoctions. This was not any different. I loved it so much! I found the process therapeutic for a reason.
Products of my hard work.
Do I recommend this workshop? Yes! Whether you’re a girl or a guy (yes, we had a male participant that day), learning how to turn crystals into wearable accessories will not only be a good pastime but might also turn into an income-generating activity.
You cannot create a beautiful piece in one or two twists of the wire. You have to be patient when working with it especially when you have to loop them around.
Some designs can be intricate and will require careful and calculated maneuvering of the wires. The thicker ones are tougher to bend into place. I even cut myself a little bit in the process. But, that should not stop you from enjoying this activity.
With practice and time, you will be twisting and bending wires like a pro to create beautiful crystal cages to house your favorite gemstones.
There is no such thing as an ugly design but you can let your creativity flow in this activity. You can twist and bend the wires in multitude ways and no work can ever be exactly the same as another. You just have to trust yourself and the design you are aiming to create.
I am glad to have found another activity that I am sure to enjoy doing. I am already scouting for sources of materials to make accessories for myself and for friends and family. I am pretty excited about what I can create once I have all that I need.
It started with a stye back in 2016. It’s going to be a loooooooooooong story.
I do not know how I got it but I did. I went to my eye doctor to get a prescription because apparently, even if your eyes are red and swollen because of a stye, the pharmacies won’t sell you any medicine. The doctor prescribed an ointment to put in my left eye a couple of times a day. I was on an out-of-town assignment in Tarlac at that time and that meant doing audit with one eye closed.
One day though, I was so damn sleepy for no reason and the eye that had a stye kept on closing shut. It was weird because I was not putting on any ointment anymore because the stye was gone the day before. But my eye had other plans. It kept wanting to remain close. The next day, a terrible headache followed.
After one week of having terrible headaches as soon as I woke up, I knew something was wrong. My left eye won’t stay open for more than a few minutes (with blinking, of course) and the headache became worse when I try to stop it from shutting close. My head felt like it was being sliced in half and I would cry in the middle of work because it was just so painful. At times, it would feel like there were mini electric shocks going through my head or a hundred mini stabs in a matter of seconds. I also saw splotches of color floating around.
So, I searched for a neurologist (let’s call him Dr. V.) from the hospital closest to my work. The first thing he asked me was if my family had a history of aneurysm. It scared me because I had an aunt (mother side) and a cousin (father side) who both died from aneurysm. He took my blood pressure and it was a soaring 140/80! He ordered me to get a brain MRI and MRA right away. And Lord, was it expensive!
The hospital staff involved in my MRI and MRA scan were all pretty awesome people. They made sure I was not worrying too much and assured me that all was going to be well when I go through the process.
I think I had to wait going 2 to 3 days before the results came out. It felt too long for me. Finally, I got to know my results were ready and so I rushed from work to the hospital to get them. My hands were shaking at that point because I was worried about what I was going to read. Still, I opened the envelope and read the results. My world came crashing down. It read “2mm outpouching arising from the A2 segment of the left ACA. Possible small aneurysm.” It instructed to go see my doctor immediately.
At that point, I was already imagining about my head being split open and my blood getting everywhere. I was so damn scared. But, after reading the results, Dr. V. just said, “It’s just 2mm. It might be nothing. Let’s try a CT-scan with contrast.” He reassured me that aneurysms that small should not make me think of the worst possible scenarios just yet because they aren’t usually very alarming.
Another scan. This time, it was much more expensive than the first. I maxed out my HMO coverage already and had to pay with my own money. I did not know anymore if my excruciating headaches were from whatever medical condition I had or from the stress of having to pay for medical bills.
The CT scan experience was not as smooth as the previous procedure. For one, the staff who had to test whether my vein from my right arm could take the amount of dye they had to inject managed to burst it. All because she would not listen to me to use my left arm instead. The next staff to take her place used my left arm, confirming that there’s no difference if they used my left instead of my right arm. Anyway, the dye felt very warm and I even thought I peed and wet myself during the procedure. I was so conscious about it but I couldn’t do anything about it because I had to stay still. Thankfully, it was just the dye that made me feel that way.
Another three days later, I got the results. It negated the results from the MRI and MRA. I was aneurysm-free! Dr. V. ruled it as a migraine with aura. I was told to stay away from a lot of stuff like caffeine, red wine, MSG and cheese. Cheese! Well, aged cheese. He told me mozzarella was okay. Whew! And, he did tell me to stay away from Chicken Joy (Jollibee’s signature fried chicken). Humph!
The medicines that were prescribed to me were topiramate and orphenadrine citrate paracetamol. However, the headaches still kept on coming at the most inconvenient times. It hurt worse and getting up to go to work was extremely difficult. To top it off, my boss could not understand how painful a migraine was.
A week or two later, I had go to Surigao and Cebu for audits and was away from home for around 2 months. At that point, Dr. V. has already added pregabalin in the mix of meds I had to take.
Because the headaches were becoming worse while I was still in Cebu, I had my mom go to Dr. V’s clinic to try if we can talk over the phone and get him to prescribe me something else. At that time, I have also started throwing up. I was also worried I might get addicted to pregabalin because I read that some patients get dependent on it. Dr. V. was laughing and teasing me that if I got addicted to it, I’ll be the first person in the history of that drug. He increased my pregabalin dosage and told me not to worry about dependency issues. It should not be a problem.
The problem was, the higher pregabalin dosage was knocking me asleep. I could not work properly and it was a very stressful period in our work. My team leader and I would stay up until 3 in the morning because we had to juggle three types of audit all at the same time. And so, as painful as it was, I had to stop taking pregabalin.
When I got back to Manila, I went to see Dr. V. again. He changed pregabalin to gabapentin. He did warn me that it will take me around four days to get used to gabapentin. That same night, after taking gabapentin, I had a crazy dream that I was a medical student and Dr. V. was my professor/superior. He was throwing all his medical books at me because he was so angry that I forgot to check on a patient. So, that patient ended up in coma. I was crying and told him it was his fault for prescribing me a medicine that would make me lose focus and that he should be understanding because I was having daily migraine attacks. So much for my dream of being a doctor. At least Dr. V. got a laugh at it when I told him about it.
The combination of topiramate, gabapentin and orphenadrine citrate paracetamol seemed to be the perfect mix for me. I noticed a huge improvement although I would still get terrible headaches from time to time that lasted for hours. The mini stabs and mini electric shocks in my head dramatically reduced.
It took me eight months before the daily headaches stopped. At one point, I woke up to realize I could not see anything from my right eye. Granted that it was dark in the room at night, my left eye could still make out some images but my right eye could only see pitch black. I thought I was going blind. Turns out, it was still related to my migraine.
It was a difficult eight months for me and my pocket. My medicines were crazily expensive even if I only bought the generic kind. Check-ups were also costly. Still, I was glad I had a doctor who was kind and patient towards me.
To date, I still get an attack from time to time but it does not last for more than two days anymore. I can enjoy my caffeine fixes again but some Chinese foods that are packed with MSG still give me migraines. I guess it’s going to be a lifetime of making sure I stay healthy and staying away from my other migraine triggers.
Migraines are not just simple headaches. Some people just take it lightly (take my former boss for example) and think you’re just acting up or making excuses. So, the next time someone says they have a migraine attack, please think first before making a curt remark that might make it harder to the person to feel better. You might not be able to imagine the pain they are in.
I was raised a Catholic. I went to Catholic schools from grade school to college. In my high school years, I happened to often be assigned to be the commentator for mass celebrations. I am not sure if that’s what you call that role but I basically led the people in their responses and I instructed them when to stand, sit or kneel. When I wasn’t doing that, I was in the choir.
However, what most people did not know was how detached I felt every time I was doing it. Okay, maybe not the part when I sang with the choir because I liked singing even if I was far from being an awesome singer. Still, going to mass was something I didn’t voluntarily do. Growing up, most of my mass attendance were because of the first Friday mass celebrations in school. The rest were for special occasions that called for a thanksgiving mass or something of that sort. It felt mandatory.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in God, I pray (mostly in my head) and I base most of my decisions to what I grew up thinking was right. But, I didn’t feel like I fit in. Because of that, I would feel ashamed when asked if I went to church on Sundays and I would say I don’t. I would feel like I am this delinquent child of God who would rather spend time at home than go to His house.
But lately, I’ve been feeling that I should do something about my faith. I just do not know whether I should be doing less of something or more of something. I do not know where to start. Granted that I’ve always relied on God and Jesus through everything I had to go through, I felt a compelling need to know or discover more than what I grew up with.
Last Sunday, I went to a Christian church service where my third cousin was serving as the pastor. I have never heard him speak about faith until that day. The last time I saw him was eighteen years ago when we had this huge family reunion and I don’t even think he knows about my existence at all (although he was my Facebook friend in my old account that I recently deleted). All I knew was that if I was going to a Christian church service, he had to be the pastor on that day. So, I braved myself to send him a Facebook message and prayed to God for him to notice that message and reply to it because, yeah, Messenger has a separate storage for messages from non-FB friends. By God’s grace, he replied and I made it a goal to see how he leads a service for myself.
Their whole service was so much different from the Catholic mass celebrations I grew up knowing. But for some reason, I didn’t once feel like an intruder or asking myself what the heck I was doing there. I felt like I was supposed to be there and that recent events were all leading to that day when I would find myself there. My cousin was so awesome in his sermon. I was not bored at all and there were parts of his sermons that were not even his major points but managed to hit me close to home.
I left the assembly place feeling as if a bunch of questions I had suddenly had an answer. Although, more questions also came up but figuring out their answers will be for another time. It was a wonder how one church service could make me realize so much about myself and my fears.
I’m going back this coming Sunday to see if it still feels the same. I want to see where this will lead me. Whether I will convert or not remains to be seen. I want to grow spiritually and I shall do what I have to do in order to achieve that. All I know is that at this moment, what I still hold most important is that no matter what we believe in, what is important is that we treat each other with love.
Being a doctor was my dream and I wanted to be the best neurosurgeon I could possibly be. I didn’t end up being a doctor who cures the sick. Instead, I am searching for defects to “cure” in my audit/compliance assignments.
But, I had another dream. I attribute it to watching to many shows about detectives while I was growing up with Criminal Minds having the most impact. I wanted a job that deals with solving criminal cases, catching crooks and getting justice for the victims. However, this is not a dream I have every intention of pursuing in real life. I do not have the makings of an awesome detective/FBI agent.
While I am not a huge fan of Korean dramas, I just got hooked on this new show: Partners for Justice. It’s about a warmhearted rookie prosecutor (Eun Sol) relying so much on her intuition and a grumpy former surgeon (Baek Beom) who is now a medical examiner performing autopsies. It’s both my dreams in one story!
What makes me love this show? The plot twists have always been unpredictable. They always manage to ties the ends together in a way you’d never expect. Yet, in the end, it made the most sense.
It also looks like the show will develop the character, showing their motivations and what makes them who they are. I am glad they did not start with a flashback of the characters’ lives. Instead, they give you a look into their past little by little, getting you to relate to them one story at a time.
The supporting characters also make the story even more interesting. You got a lazy assistant, a detective so infatuated with a pharmacologist, a senior prosecutor who harbors so much anger for the lead male character and so many more!
I don’t want to give any spoilers here but one of the reasons I love it too is because it does not look like they’re going to turn the story into a love story anytime soon. I mean, I am not against the prosecutor and the medical examiner ending up together if that is in their plan. However, it’s already episode 18 out of the 32 episodes planned for this show and it has not shown any sign of a love interest between the two main characters. That’s good because it’s the crimes they are solving that’s got me hooked.
This show airs every Monday and Tuesday. On each day, they air two episodes at roughly thirty minutes each. I love it so much that I sometimes get impatient waiting for the next week to arrive because I want to know what happens next. I will watch this show until the end!
It’s been a little tiring spending time on social media. A lot of people have been more open about their prejudices and distaste for anyone or anything they feel are “beneath them.” Comments sections are mostly filled with arguments, name callings and harsh words. I wonder if they are the same to people they talk to in person.
It’s not nice to think too highly of ourselves. People who have opinions different than ours are not automatically dumb, stupid, crazy or weird. People who are not as smart as we are cannot be simply regarded as imbeciles. People who do not look like us are not naturally ugly. People who do not share the same interest as ours are not undoubtedly boring.
Let’s be more forgiving and more tolerant of our differences. We have to accept that in one way or another, we all need each other.
We cannot always look at other people as beneath us and that dealing with them is an act of stooping down. It’s so lonely at the top. More so when the pedestal we think ourselves are in were just made by us.
Harry Potter was a huge part of my life. It’s the series that got me hooked on reading books. Those seven books turned me into a bookworm.
Every new book or new movie release was something my sister and I always looked forward to. We did not splurge on luxuries when we were younger except for books. When we read, we got transported to a different world that became our escape from the realities of life.
I was truly excited when I heard about this new game: Hogwarts Mystery. I made sure to subscribe to the newsletter to know when it’s already available for download. I couldn’t wait to see what adventures were in store for me in that game.
Currently, I am in my second year at Hogwarts. I thought I got to choose the character I wanted from the books but it appears that the game is set years before Harry Potter was born. Only the professors and Hogwarts staff are the familiar characters so far (although I know Bill Weasley will soon make an appearance).
It pains me so much because no matter how I try to love the game, I find it boring. I was expecting exciting challenges and mind games or something. But, it’s almost the same thing over and over again. All I needed to was to keep on tapping on my screen for lessons to be over, trace figures to cast a spell, and keep on tapping during duels. Not much variety so far.
Energy takes so much time to get reloaded too. Most of the time, I’ll start a challenge, use up all my energy, wait for it to refill by getting work done, and then completely forgetting about the game.
I am not sure if I’ll continue playing this game at this rate. It makes me so sad because I normally love anything related to the Harry Potter universe.
I haven’t found the perfect house for me. Currently, we’re renting a condo unit that is very convenient and safe. But, a part of me still wishes for something that is our own. You see, when you’re renting, you’re bound by the rules of the lessor, making the house feel simply just a house and not a home.
When I have time to daydream, I think about my dream house and what I want in it.
Thanks to Harry Potter, I grew up loving books. They were the best companions during summer breaks and they allowed me to be transported to other places using my imagination.
We had two large bookshelves at our old home but I felt like they were never enough for all the books I wanted to read. Even though these days, e-books are more convenient, there’s something about holding a real book, touching its pages and smelling the combination of ink and paper that still makes it a more enjoyable experience for me than reading from the screen.
I want my library and study to be a place where I can withdraw from the world and just do my thing.
I want a room with a large TV that’s perfect for playing video games, watching movies and doing karaoke.
We didn’t have much video games growing up. We only had the first generation PlayStation that my dad won in a raffle. The games we had were only the games that came along the prize. Still, we’re grateful to have those.
I loved playing Tekken3, Front Mission 3, Grand Theft Auto 2, Syphon Filter and Harry Potter 1. I also played Resident Evil 3 but it used to give me nightmares.
I want the room to be a place where you can blast music or heighten the volume of your movies or games without disturbing the whole house. It’ll be perfect for when you have guests over.
The love for cooking and baking runs in my family. We love feeding people! There’s a certain happiness in preparing food for others that I cannot explain.
If you frequent my blog, you’d know I love baking. I love it more than I love cooking (which I should really improve on). It has always been my dream to have those large ovens that have a stove on top. Oh, the treats I can make with one! I can bake several batches at once!
I will also need lots of room for equipment such as my dream stand mixer. A food processor and power jucier would also be nice to have so I can make tons of stuff from scratch. Also, an ice cream machine would be amazing to have because my Mom loves ice cream so much!
I want a large kitchen because I want a large storage too for my ingredients. That would mean a large pantry and large fridge and freezer that I can organize the way I want. I can already picture tons of storage containers with labels of names and expiration dates!
Lastly, I want quality pots and pans!
I am not so picky anymore with the rest of the house although I’d like each bedroom to have its own bathroom so there’s less waiting time in the morning because there’ll be no waiting for your turn.
A piano would be nice to have in the living room. A spacious dining area will be awesome so we can invite people over.
But, I don’t like gardens. I hate the smell of wet soil after the rain and I dislike creepy-crawlies and insects that a garden will attract.
For now, all of these are dreams. I shall have to work very hard so I can turn these to reality. What’s more important is that the house does not become simply a house. It has to be a place that its residents can look forward going home to.
In the meantime, I enjoy playing Design Home on my phone. With this game, I get to design houses and imagine that I am designing my own. Through this game, I get a picture of what I want and do not want.
I have discovered that I love space. I hate having too many decorations and whatnots. I like classic or timeless pieces for the furniture.
The game will allow you to design different parts of the house. You get to “earn” from your designs so you can buy more stuff for the next project. You get to win items too if you reach 4 stars from the voting. Truly an enjoyable, relaxing game!
What’s your dream house like?

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