A few months ago, I decided to quit my job, because I have enough. I felt unappreciated and it is already toxic at work, I am not feeling happy with what I am doing already. Those who know me, know what I mean.

Anyway, quitting made me my niece’s caregiver which isn’t a problem at all, but when I quit working, my father lost his carpentry job, and his employer went to Manila for personal matters. With this, my younger sister worked alone to support the family of five, it was not too burdensome at first, but as the day went by, our finances were going down the drain, and whatever small savings we had were slowly deteriorating. My mother started to show signs of stress, was short of patience, and was always nagging and angry at everything, maybe because of the problem of budgeting.

One of my immediate supervisors at work, encouraged me to return to the office by applying through the boss, with the problem arising at home, I did and to cut the story short I can work in the office with different responsibilities and a bit different environment.

Working was great, there were few overtimes, but it was good. Fast forward, the election came and a lot of changes happened, the office had a budget shortage for wages of job orders, don’t ask me the reason and how the budgeting is done because I don’t know either.

Being good at your job doesn’t matter, all job orders were lay-off and only a few or a handful were asked to return first, those who hold a special place at work. Right now, we are still waiting if we will be called/hired again and in the meantime I am jobless, I found a time to write again.

Most people in rural areas run to quack doctor when something irritable grows in their skin like allergies, bumps cause by air and insects. When an itchy bump grow in my face I treat it with ointment for skin irritation rather than going to quack doctor like what my family has told me but the itchiness didn’t subsides so I have asked my mother to verify if the bump is a pimple since I can’t fully see it, she said it was indeed a pimple.

A few days passed nothing has changed the bump is still quite itchy so I scratched it without hesitation until it grows bigger, so I immediately search online for alternative medicine aside from using coconut oil and creams. Through searching online I have found out the benefits of oil and turmeric. Coconut oil is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, and nourishes skin cells to inspire softness while turmeric kills bacteria on and beneath the skin’s surface without damaging healthy cells or drying the skin out. According too, to Taiwanese study, coconut oil was found to be the most effective carrier for the curcumin (turmeric) to enter the skin cells. Since I have only small amount of coconut oil I have asked my mother and sister when they went to town to buy me old coconut as well as turmeric in the market.

A coconut oil is made from cooking the coconut milk, I crushed and cut fresh turmeric and mixed it with the coconut oil and treat the itchy bump in my face but since I scratched it a lot, the bump isn’t a simple bump anymore, when I checked it in the mirror it looks like a fungal infection already. I treat with the mixture I have made and the itchiness subsides a bit and it is drying overtime but there is new tiny pimple blisters growing again and the affected area is becoming even larger once the bad skin is treated. Annoyed with the outcome and how my face looks like that I can’t even go to church without putting band aid in it.

One day, when it itches again I rub salicylic acid without hesitation. The burning feeling made me crazy that I didn’t stop until it hurts a lot without thinking I am treating my face, part of my skin that everyone can see. After treating it with salicylic acid I treat it with pure coconut oil after few days the skin dried out like how it looks like in a wound but a new itchy pimple grew beside it so I treat the new bump with salicylic acid again and it is gone but a new itchy bump grew at the other side and what I did this time is different method I treat it with a crushed garlic for a few hours.

Treating fungal infection is very irritating, sometimes I have wondered where did I got it from, I bath every day and clean our house regularly that my family is even annoyed with me for being clean and germs freak. So I guess I got this from interacting with our cats especially it is my nature to pick and bring home abandon kittens from the street, or buying used clothes from thrift shop because according to some health articles that I read online if your immune system is weak you can easily get it from animals or individuals who has it including their personal things.

Well, I have found out too that the coconut oil with turmeric is a good treatment for ant and insect bites after using it to treat my ant and mosquito bites.  Coconut oil and fresh turmeric when mixed together had a foul smell overtime so I wonder if dried turmeric is better than fresh ones.

Originally posted at my health blog on January 29, 2016

The pandemic made the world stops, it cleans busy roads and made people to stay home.  Anyway, after three years of not celebrating town fiesta, finally Odiongan was able to held one, simpler than the previous celebrations. Simpler in the sense, that there is no street dancing today and there is no Kanidugan Festival dance competition.

The highlights of today town fiesta is a float parade participated by clusters of barangays and some government agencies.  The town parade almost didn’t take place because it rained that day, and it is still drizzling when it happened.

Well, I really have no plans of going to town and watch the float parade, but thinking it was a first for my niece, we did go to town for her to see the floats and people. We went there, when it was already starting and we decided to find a good spot and location where we can see the whole parade without skipping anything.

[ Some floats have dancers to make the parade merrier and festive.]

There are only few floats, there are more people and groups who joined the town parade, especially fraternities and organizations, there was a short program in the town plaza after, but we didn’t see it anymore, we went home right after we saw the tail of the parade.

As you can see, the rain didn’t stop the people from going out, because the parade was already a big event after three years of community quarantines, as you know Philippines is still not mask free, and maybe there are still unreported cases until today. Well, who  will have the guts to report you are sick, by the way? Even me, maybe I will not tell anyone I have symptoms when I know that you and your family will be isolated without food to eat. LOL

The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating. It  affected so many lives,  many mourned the loss of loved ones to COVID-19, lots of people struggled with the effect of the virus, some people developed depression and anxiety.

It was around mid-August when I already felt very toxic at work, I was so tired and it was really hard for me to start moving in the morning, I loss a little bit of weight due to anxiety and I became sickly and had aches everywhere.  I wasn’t happy anymore, working became a burden and not anymore an enjoyment.  Then, one day I realized that enough is enough and I can’t do it anymore so I left my job to baby sit my niece, one month after, our whole family was quarantined.

Some of my officemates went worried about me, quitting at work while there is a pandemic, but they knew my decision was for the better.  Maybe because I am a little survivor I started selling facemask online among my Facebook friends, I started with $20 capital which is I loaned from a coworker for my mother’s medical certificate, from the rotating savings among the employees. Yep, instead of returning the money before the one moth deadline, I have used it as a capital.

Selling facemask was the only option I have to earn money at home while looking after my little niece, at first I felt so embarrassed posting my items on my personal Facebook account, because there are a lot of thoughts and what ifs, what would be my teachers, friends, classmates reaction if they found me selling online?  When, I started earning a little and some friends started buying, I lost all of my inhibition and posted my mask publicly instead of privately.

Well, with the pandemic almost ending I know that I have to sell other items soon, as wearing facemask will surely be not be mandatory anymore.

Months after the pandemic started gardening and planting flowering plants became a new trend among homeowners and my mother was among those people who got addicted in planting and collecting flowering plants.

Day by day, my mother’s flower collections is increasing and getting bigger because my sister always bring home some cuttings from friends, members and colleagues. Then barter exchange became a trend in the Philippines, my mother bartered with our neighbors to have more plants in her garden and watering them become a tedious job for me and for my mother so buying an outdoor hose is a must for us, so I search for flexible and quality garden hoses online.  I found many options, but Eley water hoses caught my attention having many good reviews among buyers and users. It is dubbed as one of the best garden hoses as it excels in almost all aspects, strong and durable, light and flexible and can last a lifetime which mean we can save money from buying this kind of hose.

Eley water hose is also safe in drinking water, kink resistant and leakage free. The last garden hose we bought didn’t last long as it was cheap and not dependable.

With the rainy season, a lot of bugs, insects and ants in the field moved to a dry place so it is not surprising to see crawling ants in the corner of your house and get insect bites. I have previously blogged buying a cream to alleviate itchiness brought by insect bites. It was very helpful to avoid scratching and such.

The first time I felt something itchy in my leg 3-4 inches from my sole, I saw a small pimple in it that looks like an ant bite, I started putting cream on it but I have noticed the itchiness gone and keeps coming back until a group of three pimple marks developed. I scratched it from time to time and no matter how many times I put a cream it keeps coming back maybe because I always have my feet dirty when I am outside. One day, I felt uneasy that I keep scratching it, the old red pimple marks was gone but a new itchy red marks grow and when I looked at it closely I noticed something strange after thorough scratching, the red mark is forming like a circle.

[Photo credit: © Biophoto Associates / Science Source]

When I showed it to my sister and mother they said it is “buni” an allergy you get from eating too much chicken, they told me to avoid eating something fishy like sea foods, chicken and eggs.  So for few days I have avoided eating those things, they said I need it to be measured by going to a quack doctor then I will be given a medication.

To avoid the hassle of going to a quack doctor I have searched online for home medication,  I have found out the cause of this is fungi,  yes it was a fungal infection and not chicken allergy like the belief of the old folks.

Ring worm is caused by fungal infection in the skin and can be acquired through dump places like the bathroom and from people having this type of infection; it can also be acquired through pets like dog and cat. I have first thought I have got it from staying outside, in our outdoor faucet where I always soak my feet when washing dirty rags and our pet bowls especially it has been raining lately, and flooding but then I remember every time I sleep at night it was my habit to put a cushion in my feet and when I wake up in the morning a cat is sleeping in the cushion at my feet so I have thought I’ve got it from them.

Anyway, the medication that is useful for this type of fungal infection were coconut oil, turmeric, garlic and etc.,

Calmoseptine cream was also good for fungal infection as written in the packaging, since I have started putting cream in the infection in my leg it alleviate the itchiness and redness, but since it still occasionally itch and I have found more alternative medicine for it, I have tried it in different days. I first tried garlic, by cutting it in half and rub it through the mark, then the next day I tried rubbing salicylic acid which is a bit painful but surely the itchiness stops and faded a little. To take care of the skin and have the mark to disappear completely we cooked coconut milk to make coconut oil as a new alternative medicine.

Originally published on Herzline/ Sep 2, 2015 at 02:45

A friend had contacted me this morning asking if I want to work a sideline job, he operates a courier service in Tablas and he needs an operator. Answering queries from clients and working with the riders. Actually, beforehand we already joked him to hire us (his friends) when his business prosper in the island, so I guess that is why he offered me a sideline job.

We talked about the operation, the service charge and etc., then when I accepted it, he asked how about my job which I replied the service is still new so it is not to busy yet, not too many client requesting for riders so it will not be a problem since there will be no meeting yet in the office too and I seldom stayed inside the office as I run various errands outside. He then said, he wanted someone to work just from home, to focus in the operation since he has no office yet, which I replied that he is needing full time operator and not a sideline job, which made him laugh (lol) for his mistake.

In the end I declined the job, since he can’t figure out yet how much I am going to earn being an operator and what he need is actually a sideline fulltime (lol).

Early morning today, while an officemate and friend brought the incoming communication in the office, aplogizes and asked me not to feel bad for not being allowed in their office, she said they were also told not to standby, before I was told by MJ not to do be there. I just smiled and says it is nothing. It was actually nothing, but then I felt something in my gut.

That day, before I was told. Big Boss saw me inside the office using my phone connected to the office wifi. I was there because my boss instructed me to open her email, download the proposal, their utility bills and have them printed,  I was there working and not just sitting like most normal workers do in our workplace (lol). I admit, that it is my norm to standby upstairs, but I only do it after working my ass of and when I am not busy or during lunch break, and even if I stayed there, I don’t just sit and scroll. When I am requested upstairs to do something like going to other office to pick-up or bring documents I followed, and most of the time I offered to answer the telephone.

Anyway, my early errand for today is to do some grocery shopping and when it was completed brought them to my boss house together with the incoming communications they need for the zoom meeting.

When, I went to their home. My boss handed me an ecobag with six Chicken Luncheon meat inside, I was instructed that two of them was mine and then other four goes to the regulars, which made me thankful to her for the little gift.

I just seated in my seat when I received a new text on what to do, I combed my hair first and wipe my sweat before going outside again, I have been perspiring because of the hot weather outside.

It is lunch break right now and I am able to update my blog, I decided to buy and subscribe to magic data offered by Smart Communication so I can browse the internet without going and being connected upstairs when my boss asked me to do something online, and so I will not be mistaken too dilly dallying upstairs. Lol

The local transmission and on-going contact tracing resulted for us to work in skeletal schedule; we worked three (3) times a day per week. At first, I didn’t like my schedule because my friend and I have a different work schedule, but upon realizing I will have a long weekend, I was happy with it.

The first two weeks was very tiring, because there are a lot of things to do on and off the office. My office mates, initially avoided being in contact with me, because they said I go out a lot running errands, so I might be a virus carrier without their knowing. To make things worse I was banned or asked not to go upstairs and stayed in the upstairs office too, it was fine because I can still go upstairs when Mam N was not around (lol), but just a week ago the office was totally closed for everyone with VM’s advice just to be safe, because two (2) government offices were in lock down because of positive cases among the employees.

We did some repacking of goods in the office, actually we helped. Everyone received a sack of rice from their bosses that day, except for me and as expected my office mates teases me a lot and I just smiled with them.