A couple days ago, I pulled out of my local coffee house, which just happens to be in a relatively upper middle class area of Suburban Detroit. As I’m driving towards the exit, I happen to glance at the L.and Ro.ver that was parked next to me and saw this bumper sticker on the rear window:
So yet again … does anyone else see the irony in this picture?
Okay … let’s see. Hmmm …. the fact that this person is driving a gas-guzzling SUV that probably requires the premium, high octane fuel probably gives insight as to why he/she is for war. But the irony of this, is that L.and Ro.ver, while once owned by one of the “Big Three” US auto companies, was recently sold to … da da da dum … an Indian car company, which …. wait for it … is called Tata Motors. (God, I just love writing the word “tata” and not have it be in reference to my b**bies!)
Yeah, I’m lame. But TGIF and hope everyone has a great weekend!
Alright … I’ve postponed this long enough. If it’s one thing that Filipinos are good at and known worldwide for is procrastinating. I mean really … why else would we have our own “time zone”? (Okay, so Filipino Time is not exactly a zone, per se. Rather it’s a … I don’t know … a philosophy? Lifestyle? Cultural trait?)
Anyway … a fellow blogger I met in Blogger Town (you know, the place next door to Fac.ebook and Mysp.ace?), Joanne just tagged me about a week ago and it was about gosh-darn time I get to it. And because she’s also “Flip“, I figured she might forgive me for following the typical Filipino Time protocol. So here goes …
1. Why did you start your blog?
Well hmmm … I’ve always just loved writing. It’s a way for me to express some creativity and allow me to vent. Back about five years ago, when I was deep in the heart of my IF journey, my Mom had made a simple comment that I should start writing like I did back in high school and college, using the letters I wrote to my cousin as an example. My cousin and I wrote letters much like the two characters in “Beaches” did. She was, in essence, my “living journal” at one of the most confusing and hormonal times in life.
Now, I’ve been somewhat of an inconsistent journler all my life; always starting one but then losing interest in it after awhile … which is why I didn’t start this blog until just over a year ago. I had finally gotten to the point where stuffing my feelings to “Save Face” just got to be way too much. I had to let it out somewhere. And because I wasn’t able to share this confusing and hormonal time of my life with anyone close to me … well, it only seemed natural to put it up on a blog to see if anyone out there could even begin to understand the kind of emotions I was going through.
2. Howdid you come up with your blog name?
Well … I suppose it’s much easier to send you here to read about my name. Much easier than having to cut & paste. And you get the added benefit of not having to read it again if you’ve already read it.
"Living Journal" Cousin, Dr. Brother & Me, circa mid-1970's
3. Do your friends and family know about your blog and what do they think?
Amazingly, yes. Not all of them read it, but they know about it. The one thing that I’ve found really great about having my family read it, is that they can finally be able to realize just how much of my life has been about my infertility and how hard IF’s emotional toll has been on every aspect of my life. Filipinos tend to avoid talking about difficult issues such as drugs or divorce or … gasp … infertility. This goes back to the whole “saving face” thingy and the extreme loneliness that becomes part of it. By putting my blog out there … well, I’m still able “talk” about my infertility while still being able to show up at family dinners or other social functions without feeling as if I’m “broken” or “weak” or just plain “out of control.”
As far as what they think … well some of my IRL (in real life) friends have posted comments to show their support and agree (or disagree … I love getting perspective from other people) with what I’ve written. As for my immediate family … My Mom, as I’ve mentioned in passing before does read it … albeit inconsistently, as she confessed to me. My MIL (whom I truly love and respect) has admitted to reading my blog, which again, is a good thing. She has, in fact, told me many times that she never truly understood how and/or why I felt the way I did until reading my blog. I also know that my (currently) pregnant-SIL reads my blog … and I’m sure that what I write may have hit many-a-nerve with her. It isn’t meant intentionally or maliciously to hurt anyone’s feelings … it is simply my thoughts, my feelings, my way to vent. I don’t think Dr. Brother or Dr. SIL read this blog, but I could be sorely mistaken. And I know that Hubby reads it. If anything, he’s the one that will reach out and hug me when he sees the sadness in my writing. Or laugh with me about some of the silliness I write.
Mmm ... Yum!
4. How do you write posts?
I guess it varies on my mood from post to post. Mostly, it’s just me writing about me in the first-person perspective. Other times, when I’m trying to be vague, I’ll take on a third-person narrative … but if I start writing like The Rock talks … someone should just virtually slap me. “Can you SEEEEEEE … what the EM is writing?!” 😛
5. Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?
Thankfully no trolls. And thankfully no unkind comments. I do get some unsolicited comments with some sort of “sales angle” that WordPress sometimes misses … and those I will delete. Otherwise, I’ve found that any person that has commented on my blog has been extremely nice and empathetic. I’ve “met” some really cool internet buddies this way. And I hope to continue to do so. So for those that might just be lurking … please please, pretty please … I’d just LOVE to “meet” you!
6. Do you check your stats or care how many people read your blog. If you care how do you increase traffic?
Yeah, I admit it. I’m a sucker to see how much my blog gets viewed. I don’t know why. It’s not like this is some sort of “popularity contest.” Really, I just want to know whether or not some one finds some interest in what I’m writing. And I’m hoping that perhaps someone else might find comfort in knowing that they’re not alone in what they might be feeling.
I really don’t do anything to increase blog traffic. I hate the thought of placing ads on my blog. Because even if I do like my electronic “toys” and designer “duds,” I’m still a “respect mother earth” and “there’s gotta be a better way” liberal at heart who absolutely hates mass production and consumption.
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So that’s that. I might be a little “late” in responding to this meme, but if there’s yet another thing Filipinos are good at … it’s making sure that they follow through in any promises or obligations sent their way!
Now …. hmmm. Who do I tag? I think I’ll ask twoPINK! and kcmarie122 to be the next victims. But don’t feel like you absolutely have to do this just for me … ’cause i’d hate to think that I “guilt-tripped” you into doing this.
Guess it doesn’t help that the “electric” sharpener is actually battery-operated.
Goes to show the inner workings of Nurses in an office setting … 😛
In any case, it’s amazing how going away for a short weekend can throw you completely behind in reading blogs. I mean seriously … I’ve got quite a list of posts that I haven’t been able to read since last Friday. And that doesn’t even count the ones I’ve “starred” to get back to once I came back from Chicago.
So this is just a little late here, but Happy Easter to you all. I didn’t get a chance to post on Easter as it’s been a pretty busy week. But of course, that didn’t stop me from stuffing myself with too many Peeps that I am officially done with that marshmallow treat for the year.
Easter Sunday was spent with family. First up was the traditional Easter Sunday Mass with the parents at the church that I went to grade school. (Unfortunately, the grade school has since then closed.) As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not exactly a “practicing Catholic,” meaning I’m not one to go to mass every weekend. Not that I don’t have a strong belief in my faith, I just don’t think that having to go to mass every week best demonstrates how I practice the teachings of God and Jesus that I was taught growing up. I guess you could really call me a “Lazy Catholic” in that sense. But ask me if I believe in and practice the principle of “Treat others as you would like to be treated,” you bet I do. That’s the part of my faith that I strongly believe in.
But imagine Hubby & I walking into the church just as the mass was about to start. We’re looking around for my parents, as we agreed to meet there. Finally, we find them about 5 rows from the front, and sit in an area that’s in direct eye sight of the parish priest. So as a cell phone goes off just before the first reading, I happen to see the priest do an almost imperceptible roll of the eyes as the reader at the lectern makes the brief announcement to make sure that all cell phone volumes are turned down.
And that’s when I make a grab for my purse to make sure I turn my phone volume down. Imagine, if you will, my cell phone going off in the middle of mass. The sound that would be coming from my purse, coincidently located under my chair, would be singing “Devil Inside / Devil Inside / Every single one of us / The Devil Inside.”
Yeah, a song from one of my favorite bands, INXS. Good thing I was with my parents and my Aunts & Uncles from my side of the family were attending mass at another church at the same time, because that’s the ringtone I assigned to them. 😛 I’m sure that the parish priest would have luuurved me … and my poor Mom probably would have died of embarrassment.
After mass, we headed over to my Uncle’s house (my Dad’s brother) for lunch. My two other Aunts (Dad’s sisters) and their daughters were going to be their too (one of which drove NINE hours from Chicago this past Friday in the midst of a snow storm). I specifically mention that this was my Dad’s side of the family because out of the five siblings (his other brother was in the Philippines), three of them have had either a heart attack or open heart surgery (both, in my Dad’s case). And because heart disease is known to be hereditary, the two other siblings are now terrified that they will also be susceptible to these same issues. As my Hubby & I sat at the “kids'” table with my two younger cousins, we all couldn’t help but laugh at the conversation going on in the next room. “How high is your cholesterol?” “How much exercise are you doing?” “When’s the last time you went to the doctors for a routine check-up?”
And don’t think us “kids” didn’t notice that instead of a nice, big, juicy, fatty Easter ham as our main dish … we had a healthy broiled fish. Yes, that’s right … fish. And it’s not like we didn’t (as “good Catholics”) just finish 6 consecutive Fridays, plus Ash Wednesday, eating fish.. But yes, us cousins couldn’t help but laugh.
After lunch, Hubby & I set up our Wii console on my Uncle’s large screen TV, and the games began. The cousins played a bit of Wii Sports and eventually got the “elders” involved as well. The youngest of my cousins actually “boxed” against my Uncle … and WON. This same cousin also beat this same Uncle, along with my Mom and our Aunt in bowling. And my other cousin? Well, she helped us FINALLY get past Slash in the medium level of Guitar Heroes III (and for that, Hubby & I are incredibly grateful!).
Overall, it was a pretty fun day. Probably one of the best Easters we’ve had in a while. And quite honestly, one where I didn’t find myself obsessively thinking about how unfair it was that I wasn’t able to participate in all the child-related events (-ie- Easter Bunny pictures, Easter Egg hunts, dressing up the young’ins in the traditional Easter Sunday best) surrounding this holiday.
One of my favorite things to have around Easter time are Peeps. Yeah, I know … all that marshmallowy- sugar … but I just can’t resist!
So imagine my surprise when I found these at my local pharmacy. How awesome is this to combine both Easter AND St. Patty’s Day?! Yep. Had to buy them …
Of course, I was at the pharmacy to pick up my latest dose of Lupron. Ugh … with all that’s happened this past month, I didn’t even get a chance to look for a new OB-Gyn. Must. Put. That. On. Things-To-Do. List. Immediately …
But first, must wish everyone out there a Happy St. Patty’s Day! May the luck of the Filipino-Irish (hah!) be with you all.
