December 14 - 20, 2009: Celebrations

It is a crucial week for everyone as this is the week that school requirements have to be completed before the long Christmas break. Some of my students are going away while I relish the thought of staying home for the holiday. It was to be a long and difficult week for everyone as midterms have to be given before we can party on Saturday which was set so as not to conflict with school skeds. As always, students openly talked about my nose-bleed causing exams like I wasn't there during the exams. Prior to the exams, I distributed my Christmas gift, an erasable ballpen, to the delight of my students. The objective portion of my exams should be strictly no erasures. The pen practically invalidated that rule.

We had our institutional party in the office in the middle of the week. It was to be a modest celebration due to the recent calamities that have befallen us. A mass was celebrated followed by a simple merienda cena. The main event is the recognition night for outstanding performers in the Department. If last year was marred by cheating, would this year be any different?

For one, the leeches in cahoots with the HR office are still actively involved in the selection process. As to how this happened beats me. We are supposed to be a planning office, why are we doing HR work! As to why the higher ups are letting this happen is beyond my understanding. Maybe, they just don't want to rock the boat.

What is to be expected with them at the helm? They can't win another time I am pretty sure of that...... sobrang garapal naman niyan if they do it again. But I am sure they will ensure that their friends (if they have any) or those they hob-nob with for favors would win.

Actually, I left the party early pretty much like last year. Rather than subject myself to aggravation, I indulged in therapeutic window shopping at nearby World Trade Center, the biggest bazaar you could find. Similar to my experience last year, I breezed through the entire bazaar aisle to aisle in record time. Inside, I would see familiar faces from the party and we would nod in silence acknowledging each other's presence and smile as we seal a compact of silence about each other's absence from our celebration.

I would have classes in the evening..... I had no plans of buying anything unless it really is a good find. There is an ATM inside WTC which makes shopping so tempting. I intentionally did not bring enough money but just the P800 in my wallet to avoid shopping. However, the pull of merchandising with all the wares displayed is too much to bear for a recovering shopaholic. I was down to my last P30 pesos that a booth owner was trying to still fish from me.... just enough for my bus fare to school. Still, I have not seen the entire center so I hurriedly scoured the last remaining aisles. I found another interesting item, wind chime, which I collect. I haggled with the shopkeeper and she gave me a good price. I told her I have to withdraw money and will be back. When I reached the ATM, there was along line of people queuing for more shopping money.

This time reason prevailed....... I had to forego buying the chime or I will be late for school. I left whimpering because I missed my chance. I rode a bus going to school and paid my fare with my last remaining money. Reaching Makati, I had to withdraw money from the first ATM that I saw. I went to school like nothing happened. I proctored my midterm exams and went home immediately after.

The following day I had to take some time off work to give my midterm exam for the other subject.

MS celebrated his birthday on Friday and I took a leave from the office. They are having their Christmas Party. Like in previous years, I brought some food to add to their Christmas fare. MS is given a portion of the party for his birthday celebration and his classmates would gladly oblige. I would try to be as invisible as possible taking pictures during their party.

We went home afterwards. We have actually hatched a plan with his sisters. We would be going to the Noel Bazaar at WTC in the evening and have dinner somewhere. MD had her cheer-leading practice and we have to wait for her. It was early evening when the kids and I headed for the Noel Bazaar.

I thought it was going to be a pleasant experience but the kids were exhausted from school work, practices, and the parties. They were grumpy once we were in. We did our shopping just the same but not as enjoyable as what we had at Cuenca Ayala Alabang. It was almost 11pm when we finished shopping and headed for the exit.

We still had one more thing to do..... have dinner to celebrate MS's birthday. At that time, there are aren't too many choices. We agreed to stop at any resto that is acceptable to everyone. As we near home, the restos are all close. Except for the 24 hour fastfood restos, there is not much choice. We initially agreed on chowking until i thought about the tapsilog inside the village. When I mentioned it, the girls' eyes glimmer with delight. MS was sleeping and was not a party to the decision.

We came to a stop at the tapsihan inside the village. It's nothing pretentious but the usual tapsihan where you sit, get served, pay, and leave in an al fresco setting. We took our seats and ordered tapsilog, of course. My mouth is watering as I recall the experience. MS ordered hotdog with egg. He hasn't quite acquired Mummy's and the girls' exquisite taste for the ordinary. The service was fast. We ate equally fast. I paid our meal. Soon, we were on our way home. Tired and sleepy, everyone retired to his and her own rooms.

The following day, a Saturday, my dam, Hershey, has been showing signs of whelping since morning. I was nearby to give her a hand. Everyone is watching her. Hours passed and she still has not whelped. I was worried that she will do it in the evening. I would be attending our school party. I briefed my helpers on what to do in case she whelped.

I did my usual chores while waiting for Hershey to whelp. By late afternoon, I got ready to go to my party as I repeated instructions on assisting Hershey. I was about to go when my helper called out to me that Hershey's pup was already coming out. Good timing Hershey, as usual. I expected I would be delayed and made calls to several people as follows:

a dog buyer I am meeting in my office prior to the party
a couple of friends who will hitch a ride with me to the party
the vet to tell her to be on stand by

As I do this, Hershey wouldn't whelp like the other times i assisted her. The puppy would not come out. I decided to tell the vet to come over. While waiting, I was still assisting my dog. In my party clothes, I was slumped on the floor cajoling my dog to push as we rubbed her tummy and I pulled her thingy. The vet was caught in traffic. After more than two hours, the first pup came out..... alive. Thank God!

People were calling me. I kept telling them i would be out as soon as one pup is out.... but I couldn't leave. I told the dog buyer that maybe she should just proceed to my home. Luckily, she agreed. Soon, the second puppy was coming out. It was breech.......... oh no. Hershey had a hard time. I was so into it myself. I asked MD to call the vet to update her on the status. After much effort, the second puppy came out........ but he's gone. It felt bad because I saw that puppy moving just minutes ago.

Soon, the dog buyer came. I had to meet them somewhere in the village. I brought them home, settled our transaction, and they left with the puppy.

The vet was already at my house at this time. and I could breathed a sigh of relief. One more puppy came out.... alive. I told the vet I had to for to the party and excused myself. I am confident that Hershey is now in good hands so I can leave.

I thought about the best way to get to the venue and decided not to go through SLEX expecting bad traffic there. I took airport road instead and went out to Roxas Boulevard and entered EDSA. Luckily, I was right on track. The whole trip including weaving and maneuvering took just about an hour. Along the way, I would text our administrative head to include me in the grand raffle where a TV set is the top prize telling her I was on the way. I actually felt I had no chance of winning based on previous experience but still I had to make sure I am in the raffle for the heck of it.

The party was almost over when I arrived. People were assembling their loot, I mean gifts. One would get a huge box to put all his gift. I was given one gift as a consolation for my effort in getting there. I joined some games and group photos and had a quick bite. Soon, guests started leaving. I was among the last to leave.... just so I could spend some more time or my party clothes would have not been optimally used.

Going home, I drove leisurely thinking about my day. When I got home, I saw Hershey nursing her new-born pups though our glass door. I thought I saw two pups and when once I got inside I saw four puppies happily sucking away.......... It was a sight to behold.....as once again, a circle of life begins......

On Sunday, I was too tired for anything else............. But I had to fetch our pom, Poochie, from the vet's clinic. She gave birth to two pups who died eventually early this week. It's her first time to whelp. We were saddened but thankful that Poochie is alive and well.