Neysuh on the Spotlight

Midnight Floral

I am obsessed with bodycon dresses lately. I think I’ve been wearing a lot of varieties. The reason is because it looks very slimming. Cinch it with a belt and it adds another illusion that you have a smaller waist.

Contrary to popular belief, my waistline is in between 25 and 26, depending on how much I ate before. Haha. Since I’m petite, most of my friends always thought that I had a waist as small as 23! Nope, it’s just an illusion because I’m tiny. Just look at this picture for example. I look like I have a very small waist (thanks to the belt!).

I bought this online at Apartment 8 Clothing. If you like any of their designs, go to their Facebook page and send them an email at lifestyleonline8@gmail.com. They have a lot of trendy and affordable pieces. If you want to try on their clothes before purchasing, they also have a shop at The Ramp Glorietta. 

Right after I saw this photo today, I realized that my sling bag doesn’t really go well with the outfit. But it doesn’t matter, I wore this whole ensemble today anyway. Well, minus the heels before we ate lunch because my feet was killing me. This is 5 1/2 inch, you know. 

Another weekend has passed. Yesterday, I spent it with my bestfriends here at our house. Marxi and Sharon paid us a visit and we also had more than an hour swimming at Metrogate Silang clubhouse.

We watched the horror film, Sinister. It was a good scary movie, but something that wouldn’t leave me sleepless at night. Yes, matapang pala ako. Haha. I haven’t watched scary movies for a long time so I was nervous before playing the movie. I guess I have to challenge myself more into these genre again. Haha.

Nayj also went to the church with me today. I really appreciate it. :)

Week One

When I graduated BS Computer Science in Mapua back in 2008, I always thought I would be a programmer. I wasn’t aware of what kind of jobs my course would offer, but since I was programming in my whole life in college, I always thought it was my path. Well, I tried to be one but I realized it was not the right fit for me. 

I then became employed in production support and the rest was history. (Akala mo naman ang layo na nang narating. Haha.) Anyway, we have a lot of new people in the team already and they are starting to train our applications one by one. All of them have production support work experience beforehand of at least two years. At first they were kind of intimidating because they know a lot about the industry we are working for (some are even ITIL certified), but after a while, I am now looking forward to work with them. I knew I’ll be learning a lot from each one of them. One person knows a lot about databases, the other about scripting ,etc. I still don’t know where my forte is (I guess I’m a Jack of all trades? I wish!), but I’m still striving to be one.

I am not the type of person who is very friendly so I’m afraid that I could be perceived as suplada or anti-social at first. So I try to find something in common that we could talk about. After a few days, I think we’re all starting to be comfortable with each other. As of now, the total headcount in the team is now twelve and there are only three girls in team. I hope the number will increase in time. 

Sometimes, my tasks aside from transition and training will collide with each other that it gets overwhelming. I also get pressured on how I could train all these new faces. I never could describe myself as an expert because I only learned all these technologies and tools when I was already working. I was able to teach some tools that we use last Tuesday and I was really hoping they did understand what I was talking about. *fingers crossed* 

We still have a long way to go but the first week of training was good. I learned a lot of things as well because a lot has changed in our environment and applications for the past three years. Minsan hindi ka lang nagtuturo pero may natutunan ka rin sa kanila. Can’t wait for next week to learn new things again.

And I hope I’d stop on getting too overwhelmed with tasks at work. Pero after doing it all, I realized it wasn’t that hard to do anyway. :)

Blue Ink

I think I’ll forever love blue in everything. I never knew this color would look good on me but it just does. Or maybe my attachment to it will not fade anytime soon.

I bought this dress on the day of my birthday at Forever 21 in MOA. It’s very classy and it’s something that I can wear at church, in the office or a simple lunch with friends. I’ve received a lot of compliments with this dress so I’ll probably over use it. Haha. It’s also very slimming, yes?

It’s also perfect to show off these awesome heels from Primadonna. When I was finally able to walk properly after my surgery, I asked my father to accompany me to SM Dasmarinas because one of my agenda was to get my first ever underarm wax session, which was totally worth it by the way, and to get these pair. Ever since I saw it on Primadonna Facebook page, I said this would be something I’d splurge for my April 30th pay. Yay :) And I just couldn’t take it off since I tried it on.

I can’t believe its already been a month since I turned 26, got bumped from behind in Molino Blvd, got Mika fixed and now she’s back. This is how she is now since her damages.

The before and after. And yes, the mechanic was very confused on how he’s going to put the “Vios” and “G” back in the trunk so nagkapalit sila. Haha. But that doesn’t matter. I’m just so happy that I can drive this precious car of mine again. I still remember when we claimed her from Drench Autoworks, sobrang naka-smile ako the whole time I was driving until I got home even if it was just a short drive.

It’s been a while since I drove and I did drive yesterday to MOA for our late Iron Man 3 date and to Greenbelt for one of our barkada’s daughter’s birthday. Grabe, when you’re getting older, pa-mature nang pa-mature yung ina-attendan mong events. What’s next? :)

And sharing with you a bunch of outfit photos I took this week.

A simple white tee and a blue skater skirt from Kirin Kirin.

Bare-back peplum top from Soiree (SM Department Store), black skinny jeans from The Landmark and red flats from Parisian.

Nautical cropped top from Forever 21 and my over-used skater skirt from Kirin Kirin.

Oh and another thing, thank you to everyone who’s been asking me how I’ve been since my surgery. I’ve never been better. I was really blessed to be healing very fast and I am very surprised myself. Nothing is impossible when you believe. I’ve been joking everyone that I haven’t undergone any surgery, nag-bakasyon lang. Haha. Hindi raw kasi halatang last week lang nasa hospital ako. God is good indeed. I’ll forever be grateful for what he has done to me. 

I, again, had a very blessed Sunday.

False

Like most people, I always expect for the worst. If we don’t, we get disappointed because we expected a lot more than we hoped for. It’s not that it’s bad. But I guess the result of it is thinking or worrying too much. Not only would it affect you but with the people around you.

My last surgery last October was breast mass excision and I thought it would be as easy as the first. Well, I had complications which was totally my fault. I took a shower and accidentally poured water on the wound which resulted in hematoma. It took me weeks before the surgery wound got normal and healed naturally. When I had my surgery last Friday, I expected for the worst.

• My inguinal lipoma could also be hernia. FALSE.
• I would feel the pain of the surgery. FALSE.
• It would take me days before I could walk. FALSE.
• My surgical wound would result to hematoma. FALSE.
• I won’t be able to wear shorts or bodycon dresses for weeks. FALSE. (Since it’s healing normally now. Yay!)

These are just a number of things that I was worried about. And yes, after all the worst things I could ever think of, most of them are FALSE.

I still remember when I was in the recovery room and when I woke up, my bladder was really really hard but I don’t feel like peeing. You know what I thought?

• Having a lipoma excision would result in difficulty in peeing. FALSE.
• I have hematoma on my lower abdomen that’s why my bladder was hard. FALSE.

The thing is, having spinal anesthesia would take a long time to wear off. And your lower body would also take time to respond to your regular body flow. The nurse suggested me to put in warm compress so I could feel the need to pee. And I was thankful that I was able to pee after about five minutes of concentrating. I wouldn’t want them to use a catheter on me (Gasp!). 

I’m doing better now, better each day actually. If I could look back, expecting for the worst is not only applicable to surgical experiences but also with our whole life experience. With whatever challenge we face, academics, work, relationship, etc., mostly we do expect for the worst. But sometimes, it affects us so much emotionally that we have people around us get too worried.

Sometimes we forget to think positively and remember that someone up there will help us and be with us no matter what. In whatever challenge we face, you’ll know who will always be there for you. I was able to prove that when I was in the hospital for days. I appreciated the words of encouragement I received through text, and the people who gave an effort to visit me in the hospital even with just an hour of their time. 

I guess it’s human nature to be so worried but we sometimes forget to surrender everything to God and he will do all the rest. Can we stop worrying? Of course not. But let’s keep on thinking what’s true so we’ll stop believing what’s false.

I was released from the hospital at 12.30PM today. After all the hassles of having an international insurance company (but it was all worth it when we got the copy of detailed breakdown of the hospital expenses), we finally got the clearance to go home today. We were waiting for it since 8AM in the morning.

Okay, so last Thursday, I got half day off of work and arrived home in Cavite at about 2.30PM. We went to IIRR para sunduin si Ina before we went to Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang. I was scheduled for a lipoma excision at 1PM the next day and all through-out, I was keeping a straight face, pretending to be strong since this would be my third operation since 2011.

At about 12.30PM the next day, the nurse and two doctors dropped by my room para sunduin ako to the Operating Room. And that’s when the tears started to flow. Of course I’m afraid, I think it’s because I’ve been expecting the worst after experiencing hematoma as a complication after my last breast mass excision. So I started to pray. To my readers, if you are undergoing an operation, please do yourself a favor and NOT read any online surgery experiences because they will always be the worst case scenario.

After my operation, I could only tell myself, “What was I even worried about?” It went well. It went better than I expected actually. Although I did spent four hours in the recovery room, but all I wanted was to go up in my room and see Nayj because I knew he was already waiting. It took a long time before the spinal anesthesia wear off. I think it’s the same kind of anesthesia they use for CS patients.

My parents left early because Ina has an early flight the next day. They were able to talk to my doctor and I knew how worried they were. They checked me out in the recovery room twice but I was still asleep. Nayj was in perfect timing because he was able to catch up with my parents before they left.

My first night was the hardest because I couldn’t get up. The surgery wound was still fresh so every turn I do in the bed really hurts. My back hurts from all the sleeping and I always wake up every hour. So much for being in the recover room for four hours. Kuya Mark, Ate Katsy, Marxi and Sharon were my visitors that night and they witnessed how a mess I was with all the crying I did. Super maga yung mata ko.

The next morning, I can already walk a bit with small trips in the bathroom since I always wanted to pee like every minute. Nayj was there to help me overnight and even woke him up at 4AM to help me get out of bed. The nurses were very helpful (although I did experience having a misplaced IV on my left hand that it kind of started to swell. Boo). 

My visitors for that day was Kuya Jop, Ate Kate, Tito Sosing, Tito Ding and Tita Ellen. My father came back to stay for the night as well. I was doing better. Going to the bathroom was no longer a hassle for me. We are also expecting to be discharged early in the morning but because the LOA was taking a long time to be given to the Billing, we were able to go out of the hospital at 12.30PM. 

I miss home. I missed my room. I need to stay at home for a week before I could get back to work. I hope that before the week ends, I could already go out because I knew I would be bummed here at home. 

Thank you for everyone who prayed for me. Indeed, God has healed me and I will be better in the coming days. :)

I Need Your Prayers

I don’t know how to start this because right now, I am feeling nervous and anxious. I haven’t told anyone but family because I don’t want to be bombarded with questions, but I do think I should because I really need everyone’s prayers. And I do know that friends will keep me stronger.

I have an upcoming surgery on Friday at 1PM at Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang. It’ll be a Inguinal Exploration / Lipoma Excision (possible Mesh Herniaplasty) on the left groin area.

I noticed this fatty tissue since 2011 and had it checked. It wasn’t anything serious until October of 2012 when I had a second ultrasound and the finding was it’s a herniated fatty tissue. We all know hernia isn’t a good term we all want to be associated with. Since October, it has grown its size when I had my recent ultrasound a few weeks ago. My doctor (the same surgeon for both of my breast mass excision) suggested that it needs to be removed. According to her, I have to stay in the hospital for three days so I have a feeling it’s not just a regular surgery. I have stopped reading anything on the internet regarding lipoma excision so I won’t be thinking too much. Plus, it wouldn’t help me at all anyway.

Please pray for my surgery and fast recovery. Thank you!

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“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:13

Langgam

I asked my boyfriend for a favor to print some documents for me since I don’t have access to my personal email in the office. When I picked it up this afternoon, he handed me the envelope and didn’t allow me to check what’s inside. He said he was in a hurry because he has to finish something at work. I kissed him goodbye and left. When I was just a few steps away, I checked the envelope and saw a small note inside. I felt super kilig and I was smiling until I reached the bus stop. Every person I passed probably wondered why I was smiling like an idiot.

It’s been a while since I saw his handwriting. The last time he wrote me a letter was when we were still in college. He even wrote me a poem once. The note inside was short but really really sweet.

I love how his sweetness is always unexpected but super kilig! I love you Nayj Fabros :)

Family Matters

I always look forward to that day when I finally get to meet Nayj’s parents. I even daydreamed that I get to meet his mom when we graduated college. Nayj’s mom is in Israel so he grew up with his Tita’s care since he was little. Tomorrow, I’ll be meeting his Tita and Lola formally for dinner. I am excited but at the same time nervous because I don’t know what to expect. 

I hope everything will go well tomorrow. But before that, I’d have to go for a doctor’s checkup, then I’d have to pickup my paycheck at work. If I still have spare time before 5.30pm, maybe I’d finally have a chance to go to a salon since my hair needs a little pampering, and maybe add a bit of color.

- - - -

Some pictures from tonight’s coffee night with the family. Sagot ko dinner since I celebrated my birthday a week before. Ina wasn’t here yet so it was a week delayed. Then Kuya Jop treated us for coffee because he had a salary increase last week too.

Kuya Mark and Ate Katsy were a bit late so humabol lang sila sa coffee. The topic of the conversation was either the planning of their wedding or the expected addition to the family, the future first apo and my first ever pamangkin - Giada/Guiseppe :)

Knuckle Purse

Yesterday, while Nayj and I were strolling around Greenbelt, I saw a bunch of stores on SALE and one of them was Topshop. I mentioned this before and I don’t really shop at Topshop because the prices are really out of my budget for a piece of clothing. But when they are at 50% off, it was really sulit because the quality of their clothes are really nice.

I bought this dress at 50% off, and I made sure to fit them before purchasing. There were other three dresses I was thinking of buying but this was the only one with the perfect fit and fabric. I always love skater dresses because it really looks good on my petite frame. It’s not too mature and not too young, perfect for someone who just turned 26. Ah, how time flies.

The dress is made of velvet fabric with aztec prints which you can’t really see clearly in the photos. I was quite hesitant to wear this out because I thought velvet fabrics are really hot if you’re not inside an air-conditioned room. You know how hot in the country is lately. But I was very well-ventilated while I wore this today. I can almost imagine wearing this in the office this week.

My shoes were from one of my favorite online shops, Asian Vogue. I seldom buy shoes recently because my mother told me that I already have a lot and I need to use all of them. If I have to buy a new one, I’d have to dispose one because our shoe rack is already filling up.

Now, look at this awesomeness!

Ate Kraut gave me this today when we arrived at church and I instantly fell in love with this knuckle purse. I’ve been seeing a lot of these and I didn’t know I was gonna own one. This was one of the best birthday gifts ever. Isn’t it so badass? My brother even approved. Sabi niya, pag daw may nang-bully sakin, may weapon na rin ako. Haha :)

Today Was Perfect

There are days when things don’t get to be the way you expect them to be (just like last week’s), and then there are days when God is so good to you, you can’t stop grinning like an idiot. 

Nayj and I are planning to go to Profriends main office in Mandaluyong to file a complaint on why the construction of our house was very slow. Since March of this year, the progress was only at 5%. We are worried that it could be delayed. Yesterday, we asked our sales agent (who is very awesome by the way especially her after sales), on the progress of our house and I was surprised that it’s now at 30%. At first we were hesitant to believe her so we decided to drop by today without any plans, because we have to see it to believe. Good thing she was available too.

We went to Bellefort Estates office at 10.30AM and met up with our sales agent. We entered the village and saw a lot of houses being constructed and then finally, we saw our future house from afar. I was so happy to see a structure already, hindi lang hukay and lupa. How I wish I could take pictures! Guards are everywhere. The wall cast panels are already there. Plus, may kapitbahay na rin kami. Everything was going as planned and I was so relieved that the construction is ongoing. I couldn’t help but smile. I could see Nayj’s face and he was also smiling. I squeezed his hand as a sign of relief.

It feels really good that we are about to see our house unfold before our eyes since this is an investment that we both agreed to commit to. We sacrificed almost half of our salary just to purchase this house and it’s already been a year since we started paying. Whew, I never thought I could purchase a house as early as 24. It was before my 25th birthday when I signed the papers last 2012. Isn’t it cool?! :)

That morning, I knew it was going to be a great day indeed. The rest of the day was my date with Nayj and all went well. He makes sure that I’m happy all through out the day. I miss him already, separation anxiety. On Monday, I am also looking forward to meet his lola and tita. I haven’t met them personally so this is a great step. :)