Keeping a Doctor's Appointment.....

last tuesday i underwent a regularly-scheduled procedure.... but this time done at a different hospital and performed by a different doctor..... my colonoscopy. whereas 2-1/5 years ago it was performed by Dr. Chante at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, this time it was performed by Dr. Naval at the Medical City Hospital in Pasig City. the reason for the change? mainly convenience..... since the Medical City is nearer to our meatshop.

the colonoscopy was scheduled for 1:00 pm at the hospital's ambulatory surgery unit.... and so i waited for jon to come home from work before we went to the hospital together. i would've wanted to go to the hospital alone but the doctor forbids going home or driving home alone after the procedure. besides, he requests that someone be with the patient during the procedure so that he can explain what he was seeing and doing. (i was also able to see it later because the entire procedure was recorded on dvd..... a copy of which i have in my iPod Touch.... how cool is that??? hehehehehehehe!!!)

during the 45-minute procedure, 3 small polyps were removed from the lining of my colon and according to Dr. Naval last saturday, they were all benign.... thank goodness!!!

my next colonoscopy is scheduled two years from now.

Happy Birthday to a Fellow December-born.....

glitter-graphics.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JC!!!

and a

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

Happy Birthday......

Happy, Happy Birthday......to ME!!!!

hehehehehehe......

369 days.....

369 days.....

the number of days that i've been "smoke-free".

369 days.....

the number of days since i had my last cigarette.

369 days.....

the number of days since my lungs started getting fresh oxygen once again!

369 days.....

......................and counting!!!

Wish granted......

in seven days' time, i'll be celebrating the end of my 5oth year on this planet and the start of my 51st.....how fast time flies!!!

i wished for something.....and i just got it!!!

i'm Touched!!!

Body art (?)....hehehehehehe

at last, the pictures of my new tattoo ( and how it came about) are finally here!!! there was a slight change though in its location..... whereas, i said in my last blog that i'll have it done on my left arm, the final design was actually done on my right..... the reason being the orientation of the design itself.

and so.... again i present my latest tattoo as it developed into its final form. (for those who do not wish to view such graphic material, you may stop viewing the photos now.)

1. last photo of my right arm without a tattoo:

2. Tattoo artist Ricky Sta. Ana preparing the design template from a picture projected on his lap top:

3. Design template and outline transferred to my arm:

4. Tattoing the outline with black ink:

5. Filling in the design with black ink:

6. Filling in with colored inks:

7. It's all done!!!

8. Two days later:

9. Seven days later: (today actually!)

so, there you have it! i'm really very happy and satisfied with how my latest tattoo turned out 'coz not only did i get the design i preferred most, i also believe it was done perfectly! in fact, because i've been wearing sleeveless shirts everywhere since last week, i've been getting a lot of compliments about how beautiful the tattoo is from friends as well as from strangers.... even in the malls!!! lol.

to those who tried to guess the final design, i'm sorry noone got it right.... mabelle though had the closest guess.

and kuya, i can't promise this'll be my last tattoo.....'coz i do want a japanese design too.... to remind me of my 4-year stay in tokyo!!!

Body art....Part 2

it's 8:02 AM. in a few minutes jon and i will be leaving for skinworkz at cartimar. i'm having a tattoo done on my left arm. below are my top ten choices (in order of preference) for the tattoo design. depending on how well ricky sta. ana can do it, i'll choose the final design at his workshop. can you guess what design i'll finally have??? guess now and we'll see later if you got it right!!! of course, i'll show the final design later!!!

Body art.....

last sunday, jon and i left the meatshop for a while and went to SKINWORKZ at cartimar in pasay city to have our latest tattoos done. the shop is owned by ricky sta. ana who is the present president of the PHILTAG (Philippine Tattoo Artists Guild); as such, we are assured that the methods and procedures performed there adhere to the department of health's guidelines on running a tattoo shop and doing tattooing..... because as a microbiologist myself i'm pretty much aware of the dangers of getting tattoos from unsanitary places and untrained personnel!!!

here are some pics (in proper sequence) of how my latest tattoo came about..... for those who do not wish to see such photos, you may close this window now!

1. drawing the design by ballpen and stencil:

2. the finished design:

3. tattoing the outline with black ink:

4. the finished outline in black:

5. Putting in the colors - blue:

6. putting in the colors - red:

7. the finished tattoo:

the tattoo i got is what i have envisioned it to be. i'm very much satisfied with it.... and compared to my first tattoo (which is a green gecko to cover up a rather big appendectomy scar) this one was not as painful even though this was entirely against bone! the reason for this maybe because tattoing technology has improved since i had the first one 3 years ago.... for instance, tattoing needles used nowadays are finer than say 3 years ago.... and therefore results in less tissue damage and less scarring.

footnote: i got my first tattoo from AVATAR in Malate, Manila, the shop owned by the then president of PHILTAG.

Pepsi anyone??? I guess not!!!....

what do these photos have in common??? you're right......i'm in every one of them!!! bwahahahahaha!!!

when one is in the store every single day, there comes a spot in the store that becomes one's favorite....for me, i guess it's anywhere as long as the coca-cola cooler is in the background!!!

after all, i'm not a self-confessed coke (light) addict for nothing!!!

No to diesel fumes!!!

ever since I quit smoking last December, I’ve gained approximately an additional 30 lbs. in weight. because of this (plus the fact that I was diagnosed with hypertension also last December), I’ve been very eager to work out more regularly than before….in the hope of getting rid of them unwanted pounds.

i still work out in the mornings….except that now I don’t do it together with the aerobics group at the mandaluyong city hall park….



nor with the aerobics group at the barangay kapitolyo park.

i now do it at the gym at slimmer’s world international at SM megamall!!!

the reason for the change in venue? It’s this article in the New England Journal of Medicine on increased risks of diesel fumes on heart patients. “They found that inhaling diesel fumes while exercising changes the electrical behaviour of the heart, implying that air pollution reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the heart during exercise.”

Remember, both the parks where I used to do morning exercises are surrounded by roads frequented by diesel-powered jeepneys (more so the former than the latter)….and the air around metro manila itself is polluted by diesel fumes….hence it’s not wise anymore to exercise outdoors!!!

Of course, I still get to use my aerobics t-shirts in the gym!!! Hehehehehe