Neo Amitiel

We (Buboy, Tatay, Nanay and Weng) went to Pangasinan last Saturday to visit Neo. We were lucky to miss Frank by a few hours. Anyway, here are the first pictures of Neo, he's barely four days old.







-tita chebong :o)

I am now an Aunt

My brother is now a daddy and I’m officially an aunt! I was so happy when I learned that Mae, Jun-Jun’s girlfriend was pregnant… and now that she’s given birth I’m nothing but euphoric!

This morning when I learned that Mae was at the hospital and already into labor I got very nervous and excited at the same time. All I prayed for was a healthy normal baby for them. Baby Neo was born this morning. His daddy said he’s handsome. I can’t wait to see the new baby God sent here on earth. And I can’t believe how happy I am for them and the baby. It was like I never felt sad and mad and jealous and sorry for me ever in seeing some other couple have their baby. I am surprise myself. I hope and pray that baby Neo will grow up healthy, good and smart. And I pray that his parents become the good parents that they are meant to be for him. And of course I also pray that God will send us our own kurly miracle soon… because I never doubted that He will…

-chebong

I'm writing again

My former editor texted me two weeks ago and ask if I can write again as he has lots of load. I said I can probably handle one regular article (400-500 words) a day but not more since I’m back to my regular job. I thought it was just for a few days but I’m still writing for him now. I can’t believe I’m managing to do this.

It’s pretty nice actually, not because of the money, as the pay is so cheap I won’t even be able to buy a headband on a single article. I’m just glad to be writing. I’m still hoping to able to regularly write on this blog. I hope I’ll be able to express my thoughts and feelings through words more. Someday i'll get there...

-chebong

movies! movies! movies!

Last night Buboy and I went to watch Sex and the City. I love those girls. I finished the series and I have my own copy of all the six seasons. Buboy knows this so he just has to say yes to me when I asked to watch it on its first showing day. I enjoyed the movie very much. Buboy said it’s very predictable. Yes I agree but it’s also very entertaining. It’s the same Sex and the City that I loved watching years ago. I got to have a copy of that too.

Speaking of movies, we watched Indiana Jones last week and Iron Man a couple of weeks ago… both on its first showing day. They too were very entertaining, though it was a bit weird to me that this Indy movie has an alien twist to it. And Iron Man… now that’s a different story. Unlike Indiana Jones, I never heard of Iron Man until Buboy started talking about it since he heard Hollywood is making a movie of it. I was ignorant about this super hero that I was surprised I liked the movie. I’m even looking forward to its sequel. Buboy has written an amazing piece on it.

Moving on to comic super heroes… I’m patiently waiting for Hulk. Not because I’m a fan of this incredible hero but because I’m a fan of Edward Norton who will be staring on it. Another film (from comics) I’m looking forward to seeing is the second movie of Hellboy. We saw the trailer last night and it was amazing. I have no doubt that I’ll enjoy it like I did the first one.

I'm sure Buboy and I will be going to Metrowalk this weekend for some DVD’s to watch at home. Also, I’ll be meeting with Diane for my bag hook. These and the prospect of sleeping until lunch makes the weekend wait seem unbearable.

-chebong

Summer outing

Tomorrow we are going to Buboy's company outing. Tomorrow is my company outing too. We decided to join Buboy's & skip mine. Come to think of it, i'm not much into company excursions. I have been working for more than 10 years and have only joined a company summer trip once, twice if you count another outing of Buboy's two years ago. I'm just not comfortable. Years ago it was because of my legs but these days it's because of my tummy. I love going to the beach. I have loved it since I went to Boracay with my college friends so many years ago. Being with close friends and family in a swim wear doesn't bother me much, but being seen with all my imperfections by people who don't really know me is a bit too much for me to handle. I guess having Buboy beside me helps, besides i'm going to his outing (not mine) for the 2nd time, it must mean something.

Speaking of outings, our college barkada trip to subic is postponed indefinitely. It was supposed to be an excursion with our families. But putting it together is not as easy as organizing outings when we were all single. Times do change. But I really hope we can fix something up soon. Our yearly get-together is not enough to keep up with what's happening with all of us. I don't want us to out-grow each other, it's the saddest thing that could happen to a great friendship.

-chebong

4th wedding anniversary

Today is our wedding anniversary. We have been together for 10 years now, 4 years as husband and wife. I still can’t believe we’ve been together that long. Sometimes I even forget I am married to Buboy! Now don’t get me wrong. I take it as something positive. I mean, at least I know I’m not getting bored with my husband. Our life has not become ordinary and he has continued to be interesting to me. Believe me, I still get excited over meeting Buboy after work and still feel like we're on a date every time we go out. We have been together long enough to grow up together that it is amazing we still discover lots of surprising things about each other.

But not everyday is a sunny day for us. Buboy and I are but (very) ordinary couple after all. I’m just glad to have lots of happy moments that drown up the bad ones when needed. I know we’ll continue to stock up on positive experiences to will last us our lifetime.


And yes Mec, the best is yet to come.

-chebong

How do you know that God loves you?

I know I’ve been yakking about how Buboy and I want so much to be parents and how I’ve been going through the challenges of infertility. I may sound frustrated and sometimes even desperate, and I do feel that way too sometimes. But generally, I feel blessed. I have a great, loving and supportive husband and an extended family that cares for us. I have a big network of friends from every angle of my life. I have work. And I am happy. I guess I’m contented enough that sometimes, if not often, I forget to pray.

But there are situations that automatically prompt me to call on God and HE never fails to make HIS presence felt. And it comforts me. I don’t know really how it works. I just call on HIM to send the Holy Spirit to help me get out whatever mess I’m in and HE’s there!

Here's the prayer I always sing inside my head when my heart starts to beat so fast I can hardly think. I learned this from school a long time ago that I’m not even sure if I have the words right. Nevertheless, this prayer has never let me down. Not even once.

“Come Holy Spirit I need You.
Come Holy Spirit I pray.
Come in Your own special power.
Come in Your own special way.”

Sometimes I like to think that God sends me little troubles to remind me of HIM. But then again, I also believe that God is there to help us get through the bumps we (stupidly) set on our life. These are the little everyday miracles that prove of God's love for us.

-chebong

Family outing '08

First weekend of April, my family and I went to Ilocos. It was a return for Buboy and me since it was one of the places we visited during our two-week tour of northern Philippines early this year. Pagudpud was one of the highlights of our trip then and since it is summer, we decided to go back and bring my family along. Pagudpud is also a great venue for the pre-nuptial pictorial of Juvie and Benny so we brought Gene, the photographer, to the trip too. Of course the Higop Gang won’t be complete without Mox so she left her precious little bubbles (her dog) to the care of someone else during our 3-day trip.

Buboy was the only driver of the trip and I’m his ever efficient co-pilot. I swear I have improved my map reading skills since our January escapade (of which I’ll write about too… soon). Pagudpud is roughly an eleven hour drive from Manila, that’s exclusive of stop-over for some stretching. We left Pasig around 10pm on Thursday and arrived at Laoag in time for breakfast and some last minute grocery purchase the following day. Pagudpud greeted us with its midday sun. The place is wonderful! It’s definitely a breather because you can see more beach than people unlike Galera and Boracay on summer. The rest of what remains of the day was spent for the pre-nup pictorial at the beach and the windmills.

Saturday was beach day! Even though Buboy was dead-tired the previous day, we actually woke up early to enjoy the beach with the rest of the gang. Even Nanay and Tatay had fun waddling on the sand and sea.

Sunday is again a hectic day for everyone as we prepared early to leave Pagudpud and visit other parts of Ilocos. My parents are big Marcos fans so we just had to bring them to Batac to see the Marcos Museum.

We also went to see the majestic Paoay Church.

And of course Vigan. Nanay and Tatay actually celebrated the mass at the Vigan Cathedral… in Ilocano. I don’t think they understood anything. Then we strolled down the historic cobbled street of Calle Crisologo and did some shopping.

It was after dinner already when we started out for Manila. We arrived in Pasig almost 6:00am. Naturally, we were all tired and sleepy by then, especially Buboy and me who had to stay awake during the long drive back.


It was a fun trip. I was especially happy to see that my parents were able to endure the long drive and actually had fun. For me, the hero of the trip is Buboy. He made the trip enjoyable. He was awake more than 24 hours of our first day and more than 24 hours again of our last day. He never complained and he never frowned. He kept his cool and had fun with the rest of us. Now that defines a vacation hero in my dictionary! Thanks so much love. Iloveyousomuch!

-chebong

i'm back

I haven’t written anything here in a long while. I bet the few friends who read this blog is thinking I’ve stopped writing. Well, a bit I guess since I get to spend time with Buboy and then I went back to working fulltime. But there are actually a lot of things I should be writing about because Buboy and I had a really wonderful vacation. I’ll try and write about that really SOON. Right now, I’ll just try to get back…

Anyway, we heard over the radio this morning that the Vatican released a NEW set of Seven Deadly Sins. Yes, they can do that and I don’t mind really. I just noticed that unlike the original list, the new one is more specific. This makes me wonder, have we really become insensitive and indifferent that the church has to spell it out for us?

Oh well, so much for my first entry this year. I promise myself to write at least a couple of times a week from now on.

-chebong

The stress of being fertility-challenged

I came across an article written by Lani Montreal. I don’t really know who she is, but I relate well with her words.

Fertility IS a very personal thing for me too. I can’t help but cry every time I hear of someone pregnant. Don’t get me wrong. I love babies. Every time I see one, I smile… I long to touch them and play with them and sometimes to those I see on the streets, care for them. It’s just saddening to think of others having them while we are having such a hard time to make just one. What bothers me more however, are the way people around us are asking how our baby-making project is going on or they give us unsolicited advice and tons of comfort words which do not really serve its purpose… at least not for me. It gives me more stress to answer them or to smile and nod at them than anything about getting pregnant. It is so stressful that I started to detest going to gatherings especially with relatives or even go to work.

Yes, I am a fertility-challenged woman. It was hard for me to believe it then but I have accepted it now. Buboy and I have been married for more than three years and we’re still trying to make our first baby. We have sought the help of modern medicine, alternative medicine and of course God. We tried everything of what our resources can handle. Yet, our little curly-haired gift has not yet arrived. We have not given up though. We are not giving up. Buboy said we are going to be mom and dad someday, even if it means having to adopt. And that is fine by me. And that should be fine with others too, right? Frankly, I am starting not to care.

-chebong