Conversion of a nerve impulse to a muscle impulse occurs through a complicated process.

At last. I finally got to jumpstart my studying.

I spent 4 hours today at the nearest Barnes and Noble, sipping my tall coffee frapp, and digesting two chapters of Brunnstrom's Clinical Kinesiology.

It was touch and go for a moment as I almost gave in to the overwhelming impulse of taking a break and thumbing through some magazines after just half an hour of muscle physiology.

But I held on.

And before I knew it, Mr.A was by my side to pick me up and I've not only read, but comprehended, a total of 38 pages full of kinetics and neuromuscular physiology.

And the only lingering evidence of that highly taxing mental activity of mine is this headache and my newly acquired appreciation of the anaerobic and aerobic activities.

So I say, bring it on!

Today, the future looks promising.

Yep. I've had a change of heart. After a long and soothing talk with my hubby, I am not so afraid anymore.

Oh, I still have the jitters about embarking on to the wonderful world of the employed here in California. I just managed to put everything in perspective.

Maybe it's having a lil confidence on my abilities, easing the pressure I was putting on myself and taking things one at a time that made all the difference.

Or maybe it was because we spent the afternoon at Six Flags Waterworld. After all it's difficult staying down while playing in an H2O wonderland :0)

***

Yesterday was V2, today the Tornado.



*Pics from the Six Flags Waterworld site

Suddenly, the future looks frightening.

Ever get those days when everything appears so uncertain? When instead of looking forward to so many new things, you just see the strangeness of it all? When starting over again seemed such an impossible feat? And instead of embracing change, you just want to shut and lock the door on its face?

Today has been that kind of day.

I guess receiving my employment authorization card in the mail triggered it.

Suddenly, I'm on the verge of a whole new world again. And I'm afraid of not making it.

I survived Vertical Velocity.

Imagine riding a roller coaster. Now, take away the floor of the coaster, make the turns tighter and launch it backwards at a speed of 70mph in 4 seconds.

That's V2.

And the only way I was able to survive it gracefully was due to the fact that I kept my eyes closed for most of the ride (most because Mr.A managed to trick me into opening my eyes for a few seconds while we were hanging upside down:0P). Killjoy? Maybe. But it's better than puking my guts out while alighting :0P

*Picture from the Six Flags Marine World Site.

***
We took home new friends.

There's Shouka, the killer whale. We got her because the lady at the I-Will-Guess-Your-Age booth thinks I'm 34. Freaking 34! WTF.

She said she exaggerated because my seemingly youthful appearance was very misleading. But still, 34? :0P

Then Bart came to us after Mr.A was able to shoot the ball inside the barrel. Easy sounding game but it was hard.

And finally, there's hydrocephalic Tweety (big, big head!). I won her in the shooting contest. Emerging victorious among three 5-year olds and two teens.

***
Spoiled Princess alert.

Oh, and if you see a somewhat erratic driver on I-180 driving a dusty black Civic, with a menagerie of sea creatures at the back and a spoiled princess alert, honk to say hello.

That's gonna be me and Nognog :0)

Meet Nognog.

My 2005 black Honda Civic VP sedan.

He's just a few weeks old and we're still on the getting-to-know-you stage. You know, more than acquaintances yet still not bosom buddies.

We've had a few spins around the city. And so far, we've been liking the time we spent with each other. So much that we've finally decided to take our relationship to the next level last Sunday.

The freeway level.

Although I was nervous about it, holding Nognog with clammy hands, he didn't fail me. Actually, he amazed me (and helped me amazed myself in the process). He was understanding and patient all throughout. Not minding the death-grip I had on him, he was very good company, listening and following my minutest request until we reached our destination and back.

Proving that he and I can be the best of friends.

Oh, yes. I can feel it under my new-driver nerves. This friendship is destined to go places :0)

***
Of course, more than my and Nognog's friendship, the real credit goes to my husband, driving-instructor extraordinaire!

Bibi, thank you for trusting me enough with your life and limb (not to mention with the spanking-new car :0P). Maybe you saw a me at >60mph that I haven't imagined before. Whatever your reason, I thank and love you for it.

Back to the grind.

I can't believe that after almost 5 years, I'm back to this again :0P

Sigh. But I don't really have a choice. I need to take the boards here so I can practice my profession.

It would have been easier if I don't love my profession. Or if even if I do love it, monetary concerns would prevent me from pursuing it. But that's not the case.

Lucky, lucky me to love a profession that is really lucrative.

And all that's keeping me from practicing the profession I love and earning from it is the NPTE.

I know, I know. I should just stop whining and get on with the studying.

Undulate.

Undulate v. & adj. *v. have or cause to have a wavy motion or look. *adj. wavy; going alternately up and down or in and out.

This was the goal at the end of my first (75-minute) belly-dancing class last night.

That and making your butt beat like a heart (no kidding!).

Looking at my weak attempts at the end of the class and comparing them with the instructor's sinuous undulations and rhythmically beating behind, I'm sure that I'm as far away from that goal as San Francisco is to Malate :0P But I did come to a few conclusions.

One, that I am pathetically tight (can't even reach my toes while long-sitting!). Two, that I am embarassingly out-of-shape (my feeble attempt at lower ab crunches? 4 reps :0P). And three, that I want to undulate like that even if it kills me or I tear my abdominals, whichever comes first!

I left the class feeling like my whole lower half went through a wringer. But there was also hope in my heart. Hope that with the help of my newly purchased 10-class dance card, my butt could then start beating.

*photo from Suhaila.com

I hate the Half-Blood Prince.

(Serious spoiler alert.)

I hate him for his unfair treatment of Harry all through the years.

I hate him for his treachery to the Order of the Phoenix.

I hate him for using his superior wizarding skills for the Dark Arts.

I hate him because, through the years, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But most of all, I truly hate him for killing Dumbledore.

I hope Voldermort kills Snape soon.

***

Book VI broke my heart.

How can a book with so much love in the air at the start, end in such a desolate way.

I couldn't believe that after doing in Sirius, Rowling would also kill Dumbledore. But then, I guess it was the only way that Harry would ever find the strength to face Voldermort.

Until then, I mourn for Harry and his greatest loss yet.

My kind of Saturday.

Shopping and dinner with my hubby :0)


Went around Macy's, Union Square and found sexy, sexy shoes at less than $50. Quite a steal judging from the average prices of most of their stock.

As you can see, it's the quintessential strappy heel. I am such a sucker for high and sexy heels! Can't seem to get enough of them. Plus this one is ultra-comfy (well, as comfy as any high heels can get :0P).

I can almost see myself wearing it during my first visit to Vegas. Hmm. The fountains at the Bellagio and satin shoe candy. What more can a girl want? :0)

Oh, but the night's high didn't stop there. It continued on with our scrumptious dinner at the Metreon.


The Firewood Cafe surprised us with its low prices, adequate servings and oh-so-delish dishes.

Mr. A and I had their Mushroom Pizza, crispy, thin crust with a delectable topping of sauteed shiitake, oyster and crimini mushrooms with caramelized onions in tomato sauce, for starters. Then we shared a half-order of Honey-Dijon Glazed Chicken with the Capellini Pasta. The pasta, tossed in the seemingly simple sauce of garlic, Roma tomatoes, basil and olive oil was a refreshing partner to the meltingly succulent meat of the chicken.

And as a big mustard fan, I proclaim their Honey-Dijon Glaze to be smooth perfection.

All that for just under $30! No wonder I'm singing Firewood Cafe's praises! It's hard to get a decent and satisfying Italian meal for that kind of price, and in San Francisco, no less!

All in all, this was really my kind of Saturday.

Can't wait!

Tatlong tulog na lang...

***

Three new photo albums are up. You know you want to visit them :0)

• San Francisco Zoo


• Rose Garden


• Ocean Beach & Pt. Funston
  

Seemed like forever.

1st Row(L-R):Arrival at SFO, Yerba Buena Garden, SF Zoo
2nd Row(L-R):Pier 39, Sta. Cruz beach, Ghirardelli Square
3rd Row(L-R):Going to Gilroy, Waiting for the fireworks


Has it been just three months ago?

Three months since I cried brokenly while I waited for baggage inspection at the NAIA. Three months since I first glimpsed the rolling hills and foggy bay of Northern California.

Twelve weeks that started with homesickness and strangeness, slowly developing into familiarity and comfort.

Suddenly, Manila, and all the memories associated with it, seemed so long ago.

Life does go on.

nerdy post ahead

I am so excited about finally getting a library card!!!

I've been planning to get it ever since I got here but I needed some form of ID with our address on it. Anyway, yesterday, I finally got it!!!

Spent almost an hour browsing through the nearest library, looking at what they have to offer. What's so nice about this is I have access not only to the nearest library, but to the entire county's library system! That's 23 libraries! For free!

That's not all, they have an on-line system that lets you browse through the entire collection, reserve the books, magazines, even videos, that you want and have it delivered to the nearest library for pick-up. How cool is that?!

Ok. I know my third-world country roots are showing here but I ask again, how cool is that?! :0)

I wanted to borrow so many things yesterday but I ended up going home with Nabokov (Lolita) and Morrison (Sula) with The Devil Wears Prada as rest in between. :0) Also got GH and O Magazine for some recipes.

I'll probably be back before the 3-weeks due date. Needless to say, my boring days are over. :0)

Start disclaimer: Allow me to say that I get as excited when I get a pair of sexy heels, a yummy shade of lipstick or even the perfect top for my body shape. End disclaimer.

4th of July (my first!)

We spent the 4th of July long weekend at home.

Oh, we had ambitious plans at the start of the week... like driving down to Hearst Castle, going to Big Sur or even just to Point Reyes. But practicalities (and laziness :0P) took over so we ended up staying at home and catching up with chores.

I did a week's worth of laundry and Mr. A vacuumed the whole house, even deep-cleaning the carpets. We also watched TV, hang out at Barnes, window-shopped at Target. He even convinced me to play video games.

We played TETRIS and I sucked. We played BUST A MOVE, I still sucked. We went to BUSTA GROOVE... and you guessed it, I sucked big time :0P No surprise since I can count on one hand the number of times I've played video games in my entire life. :0P

Then Mr. A invited me to play MORTAL KOMBAT II. I was ready to give up but I didn't want to be such a sore loser so I gave in. And ended up beating him. Hah!

Don't ask me how I did it coz I don't know! I just kept pushing buttons with no semblance of strategy or technique whatsoever. He kept saying it was pure luck (tsamba kumbaga) but 6 consecutive losses? I DON'T THINK SO! hehe :0D

The weekend may sound boring but times like these are what I really treasure. I still consider it a privilege to be able to do 'normal' couple stuff with him. Maybe it's because we came from a long distance romance. Whatever, I just hope I won't ever lose this gratefulness over just being with him.

***

We went to the city (in our part of the world, that means San Francisco) on the 4th itself to catch the fireworks show.

We left the house at around 4pm, stopped by Jack in the Box for shakes and curly fries to fuel us for the drive and proceeded to the big city :0) Good thing coz even though going into the city itself was relatively fast and easy, getting to Pier 39 (where the show was) was not. I think it took us almost an hour just to get through Embarcadero! Traffic was at a snail's pace and there were soo many people! Parang Ortigas kapag may midnight sale ang Megamall, Galleria at Shangri la!

Parking was easy when we finally got to PIER 39 coz we opted for the (really expensive, as in taga) $25 parking lot near the bay. To keep my kuripot self somewhat satisfied, Mr. A assured me that it will give us front row seats to the show.

Since we still had time to kill, we went around PIER 39, browsing through gift shops and people watching. I got a porcelain heart charm with my name on it and Mr.A bought us beanies. We saw all sorts of people, some looking very much like the tourists they are and others, very much the locals. There were people dressed as if going to the beach and people dressed as if going to the prom, stilettoes and all.

We also had time to catch the CRYSTAL GEYSER show of Big Al(catraz). It was sooo cheesy that it's funny! hehe :0D

For dinner, we got corndogs and a bread bowl of chowder to share. We ate in the car, listened to music and basically just hang out while watching the number of people in the parking lot grow. (Seemed like my hubby was soo right about parking there!)

Five minutes before the show was scheduled to start, we went out of the car (the scene by then was like Star City or Boom na Boom during Christmas time!) and shared in the atmosphere of anticipation.

Finally it started. There were red ones, green ones, white ones, purple ones, yellow ones and blue ones. Some were showers of light while others were explosions. Some seem so high up that I thought the airplanes passing by would get caught in them while others looked so near that I could reach out and touch them. There were times when only one color would fill the sky and times when you'd think that a rainbow just burst out in the seams.

And every one of them was magical.

I felt like a kid seeing fireworks for the first time. In fact, everyone there was a kid that night, ooohh-ing and aaaahhh-ing and clapping hands in delight.

It was over too soon. But the memory of watching such beauty while wrapped in my husband's loving arms would stay with me for a long time.

Good times really. :0)

Happy 4 years, Babe!

I've waited 23 years to meet the guy of my dreams, another 2 years and 8 months to marry him and a total of 3 years, 9 months to finally be with him.

Ours was a long-distance romance that culminated in marriage, and finally, togetherness.

You're the best thing that ever happened to me, babe. I love you!

Ikaw lang. Lagi.

***

Spent our anniversary weekend at the beach and at the heart of California wine country. Details next time :0)

Oh and our pic was polaroid-o-nized here (got the link from her... thanks, Maya!)

R and R 001

I heart Tootsie

Raving about...

Our afternoon walk in the park. Cruisin' around the neighborhood in a sexy new car. Three new books on my nightstand (The Virgin Suicides, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, The Jane Austen Book Club). Buying the HP Book 6 in advance, at 40% off the SRP. Lots of gift cards to see us through our poverty-stricken days (due to sexy new car :0P).

Ranting about the frickin' prickly heat rash that I have.

Leche! Halos dalawang dekada ako sa Pilipinas na hindi tinatablan ng bungang araw! Kung kailan na nandito ako sa Amerika, saka ako nagkaroon. Labo, men.

what matters most...

It doesn't matter that I don't have a Cali license yet. Or that I probably have to wait 48 years before I get one. :0P

It doesn't matter that we'll be doing some tightening of our belts the next few months. Or that it'll be fall already before we can do Vegas.

It doesn't matter that I'll probably be turning my brains inside out to come up with new dishes to cook. Or that it'll be some time before we can eat out again.

Nope. Those things don't really matter. What matters most is the fact that...



I HAVE A NEW CAR.

Overdrive

Last Wednesday, I drove home alone :0D (This may not seem like such a big deal, but for me, it is!)

Here's the story behind that milestone in my life:

We had to take Tita Mommy's car (my MIL) to the service center for an oil change and a smog test. After Mr.A's work, we picked the car up at the Park and Ride where Tita Mommy leaves it every morning (she carpools to the city) and left the CRV in its place..

After our errand, Mr.A was wondering whether to go straight home and pick up Tita Mommy (she took the bus home that day; she doesn't like driving the CRV) so she can drive us back to the Park and Ride to get the CRV or... we could go straight to the Park and Ride and I could drive one of the cars home.

Me to myself: I could. I could? Can I? OMG. I could, couldn't I?!

I'll spare you the rest of the dialogue I had with myself. Suffice to say, I mustered enough guts to do it. Looking back, I'm not sure who was more nervous, me or my husband hehe :0P

It felt soo good and soo... I don't know... liberating?... to have that kind of freedom at your fingertips. I'm still going to wait for my Cali license before I start driving regularly but I'm glad I took that first step :0)

Grief

"I'm ashamed to admit how hard I'd worked over the years to keep from thinking about Satsu, and my father and mother, and our tipsy house on the sea cliffs. I'd been like a child with my head in a bag. All I'd seen day after day was Gion, so much so that I'd come to think Gion was everything, and that the only thing that mattered in the world was Gion. But now that I was outside Kyoto, I could see that for most people life had nothing to do with Gion at all; and of course, I couldn't stop thinking of the other life I'd once led. Grief is a most peculiar thing; we're so helpless in the face of it. It's like a window that will simply open of its own accord. The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver. But it opens a little less each time, and a little less; and one day we wonder what has become of it."

- from Memoirs of a Geisha by A. Golden

Tootsie

Tootsie, our baby for the meantime :0)

Since Mr.A and I don't have any plans of having kids yet for the next 12 months, Tootsie serves as the resident 'baby' of our household. And we went through some parenting pangs this afternoon when we took Tootsie to the pet clinic.

Tootsie's been licking and licking and licking her right front paw that it turned into an angry bright red already. Since she wouldn't let Mr.A nor I touch it to see what's wrong, we deemed it necessary to go to the clinic.

Turned out that our baby had a foxtail stuck in her paw. There was also one in her right hind paw, and one in her neck. It was painful seeing her squirm and whine while she was muzzled and Mr.A was holding her down so the doctor could pull the painful culprits out. I almost cried watching her try to get loose (I'm such a sap! Just imagine when I'm a mom already :0P) while the doctor injected her with antibiotics to stop any infection that might occur.

But it's all good. The doc was thankful that we noticed it early enough. Later would have meant giving the foxtail a chance to get under her skin and she would then need sedation to take it out. We just need to give her oral antibiotics,with a clear lotion and betadine for the affected parts for the next 7 days.

Tootsie's not too happy about it though. She's not allowed to go out the backyard now since our backyard is infested with foxtails :0P This mean's she'll be stuck inside the house with me. Poor baby :0P

Past, Present, Future

10 Years Ago, I...
* was still a naive, impressionable iskolar ng bayan.
* carried a cat bag with a mangled cat inside for most of a semester.
* fell for a friend and ruined a good friendship :0P

5 Years Ago, I...
* gave up a moneyed career as a med rep to pursue my real calling.
* passed the Philippine Physical Therapy Boards.
* travelled from Pque to QC thrice a week for a low paying job that I enjoyed (go figure!)

3 Years Ago, I...
* celebrated my first year with Mr.A.
* was stuck in jockland, pampering mostly spoiled athletes who treated me as a glorified-masahista with a degree and a license :0P
* started blogging.

A Year Ago, I...
* got married in a civil ceremony.
* went to Boracay and Sagada for the first time.
* was still in grad school.

This Year, I...
* went through the nightmare of immigration and lived to tell the tale.
* moved to another country.
* am finally living the good life with the one I love :0)

Yesterday, I...
* watched Episode 1: The Phantom Menace on DVD, just to freshen up my memory for Episode II and finally, Episode III.
* got my chika fix of the month when I called up Ate Jo in Manila.
* started reading Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire.

Today, I...
* woke up at 11am.
* spent most of the day surfing the net at Mr.A's office.
* tried a new dish for dinner (calamari and prawns sauteed with mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and sweet Thai basil) and loved it!

Tomorrow, I will...
* drive up to Sacramento with my husband.
* finally meet up with a former grade-school classmate.
* attend my first Filipino Fiesta here in California.

Still with my hubby at his office (actually, a laboratory). He's catching up on work that piled up this week... quite possibly because he always goes home early to take me to my appointments :0P Thus, I'm returning the favor and keeping him company.

Plus, it's easier staying here, surfing the net and having him within my view rather than staying at home, surfing the net and having to worry about his not being home yet.

Sigh. I am such a wife hehe :0P