MRI for my Sore Knees

My knee problem was worse than I thought.   Upon advice of the doctor, I underwent an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) procedure yesterday.  

I was aghast at how expensive MRI prices are!   Here is a comparative costing of a plain right knee joint MRI in a few hospitals in Manila:

The Medical City:  P15,000

Cardinal Santos: P9,000

UST Hospital: P6,940

De Los Santos : P5,000

I didn't bother to ask Asian Hospital, St. Luke's and Makati Med anymore because I am pretty sure they would charge over P15000.  Notice how wide the price range is.   And take note, this is only for one knee.   Both of my knees are aching, but the doctor said one knee MRI is fine so I wouldn't have to pay double.

Too bad I didn't get a health insurance last year.  I was about to, but then I thought that I might be working again soon and a personal health insurance might just become redundant with employee health insurance benefits.  I wanted to take the cheapest MRI but I was a bit wary of the quality in a hospital I am not familiar with, so I decided to go for UST.  

I was a bit worried at first that I might become claustrophobic when they finally put me inside the tube.  They just shoved me in halfway.  It was just my knee after all that needed a reading.   It wasn't scary at all.  I was in fact comfortable and I didn't even have to wear a lab gown.  I was just lying there ready to doze off, except for one tiny problem.   They provided me with a headset so that the music could deaden the loud sounds of the equipment.   

Unfortunately, the station was set at 90.7 FM Love Radio.   Oh boy, was it so annoying!   The DJ (and his irritating laughter), the commercials, and the music playlist were just plain wrong for me.  I am a jologs person but that was just too much.   To prove my point, I had to listen to a song with these lyrics:  Hoy Boy Kulot, bakit mo sinulot ang syota kong maharot".   And that line was repeated over and over again and it is stuck to my head till now.   

Music aside, everything was okay and I already have the MRI results now.   There were a few findings including an ACL tear, mild cartilage degeneration, moderate joint effusion, and other highly scientific jargons that sound Greek to me.    

I am crossing my fingers that the problem is nothing serious that would require arthroscopic surgery, cause a huge dent in my wallet, or make me say goodbye to hiking, Chalene Johnson, and my tennis racquet for good.  

Macarons on Fat Tuesday

Today is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. 

Today is a day of celebration of excesses, of gluttony, of indulgences... the last hurrah before the Catholic community embarks on a 40-day period of abstinence.

With a good excuse to pig out in mind, I shall now be gorging on one of life's better pleasures:

Macarons

They are not your usual coconut muffins (macaroons), but the French variety.  The French Macarons are made of powdered almonds, egg whites, sugar and flavored creme ganache.  If you haven't tried this famous french pastry, then you are missing out.   It is almost like a merengue because of the light external crust, but it is definitely not airy.   Inside it is like a soft, chewy cookie that has a sweet nuttiness to it.  And the flavor and the filling make it so much more lip-smackingly good.

Before, I only know of one place that retails and serves macarons here, Bizu Pattiserrie.   They have over a dozen variety and my favorite flavors are mint, lemon, pistachio, chocolate and orange.   Each piece is rather pricey at P35, or P265 for a box of 8.  I can easily finish an entire box in one sitting but I try to restrain myself.   I have to savor each bite and make my P265 stretch longer than 30 minutes.

Good thing, Delifrance has introduced its own macaron line. They have about 5 flavors and each macaron retails for only P29, or P79 for a box of 3.     The last time I had a Bizu macaron was about a month ago and I remember that Bizu's version is much more dense, the Delifrance version seemed less packed (which probably explains the price differential). Taste-wise, they are all yummy to me!

So today, Fat Tuesday, I will be true to the holiday name.  I will be fat from macarons this Tuesday.  I guess this means that I will have to abstain from macarons throughout the lenten season.  

John Lloyd - Sarah vs. Richard - KC

Of late, 2 love tandems have been hyped in Philippine showbiz:

(1) John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo

(2) Richard Gutierrez and KC Concepcion

Photos courtesy of wikipedia and pinoyfansclub.com

Both teams have their sophomore movies out this February: You Changed My Life for John Lloyd and Sarah, and When I Met You for Richard and KC.  Both are marketed as the date movie this love month.

We know that there is rivalry here, after all, one movie is from the Kapamilya network (via Star Cinema films) while the other is from the Kapuso network (via GMA films). 

The 2 love teams' rookie movies were shown last year. While I don't have the actual figures, I am pretty certain that the gross receipts of the John Lloyd-Sarah movie (A Very Special Love) far exceeded that of the Richard-KC movie (For the First Time).    

I say this because of the feedback I got from friends, colleagues, family and everyone else who cares for local showbiz in my circle.    I have heard of a lot of people raving about A Very Speical Love, at the same time, a lot of people disgusted by For the First Time.    Moreover, the number of those disgusted by For the First Time is nowhere near those who expressed that they had no intentions of ever watching it.   My good buddy, Ivan, even said, "I will not watch that Richard-KC movie even if they pay me. And yet, he expressed intentions of seeing A Very Special Love, and he eventually did (I think).  

Interestingly, the same holds true for the sophomore movies of these tandems.  I don't know a soul from my circle who watched When I Met You, and yet I know a lot of people planning to see You Changed My Life.   

I wonder: What works for the John LLoyd - Sarah tandem, and what doesn't for the Richard - KC tandem?

I guess, first, I have to qualify that the circle wherein which I operate is largely the middle class market.   And that is what stumped me.   I would think that KC Concepcion, being the daughter of probably the biggest star in the Philippines (Sharon Cuneta), would have a broader market appeal (Class A to E).   BTW, Richard is also from a showbiz dynasty. Concurrently, I would suppose that Sarah, being an outsider in the showbiz dynasty , would find more affinity from the mass market, not the middle and upper income market. But that is not the case based on the sample population that is my circle.   

So what is the logic behind this?

Is it chemistry?   In my opinion, there is no more chemistry in the John Lloyd - Sarah tandem than there is in the Richard-KC tandem.   We know that John Lloyd is with a long time girlfriend (Liz Uy), and Sarah is just too young for him.  Meanwhile, the Richard-KC tandem is too contrived.   I guess the public is aware that chemistry is being feigned for the sole purpose of selling the film, and the public does not expect any real love to develop off the big screen.

Is it the story line?  I don't think so.  All are romantic chick flicks, hence you wouldn't expect any great plot in all the 4 movies mentioned.  I think everybody expects to see the usual hackneyed scenes and hear the cliched lines.  Nobody is expecting real film making genius here.   The movie titles should be a dead give away already.  After all, what would you expect if the film makers didn't even think hard to come up with a title and just borrowed those song titles you hear on love radio?   

Is it the leading men? I guess Richard wins in the hotness category (but personally, I prefer John Llloyd because he can pass for a normal, everyday cute looking guy, not drop-dead gorgeous like Richard).   But John Lloyd wins in the acting category.   I think Richard is an eye candy, but John Lloyd has real acting prowess that actually moves you.  I would say that for a romantic movie, good looks and good acting are equally important.  So, at this point, we are even steven for the 2 love teams. 

Is it the leading ladies? Both are old in the showbiz industry, yet both are relative neophytes in acting.  Additionally, both girls have very good reputations in the industry. Both are Ms. Goody Two Shoes in the relatively liberated world of showbiz. 

BTW, I read in many blogs that people are distracted by KC's hair in her film and TV appearances.   She definitely needs hair pins to prevent her hair from covering her face and stop her from doing that irritating hair flipping.  Likewise, notice that Sarah's hair is too big and puffy in her movies.  Therefore, both have had bad hair day moments.    Incidentally, I have heard that a lot got turned off by how "maarte" KC was in her movie.  I really can't say because I didn't watch her films (and I don't intend to).  

So what does it all boil down to?   I honestly do not know and I will not jump into conclusions.   I think the middle class market is just outright discriminating and will choose to patronize or boycott a product or service (movies included) because it simply feels like it, without even feeling the need to explain the logic behind the choices.

If you think you know what ticks and what does not tick for these 2 love teams, please feel free to comment.  As for me, I am trying to be a true blue Kapamilya here and I hope I earn brownie points for this.

One of Life's Many Ironies

One sad truth in my life is this:  Either I have time or I have money.  I can't seem to have both at the same time.   

I was out last night with my buddies from Shopwise and we were talking about taking an out of town trip for the gang. There were many options floated: Boracay, Camiguin, Pagudpud, even Bangkok and Hongkong.  Since I am not working, I can definitely fit all these in my schedule.  Unfortunately, my savings barrel is going to run empty should I do so.  I am living off of my savings, and therefore, I have to practice frugality.   

If i do get a job, I would be back to the usual humdrum routine of work-home-work again.  I will have my regular stream of income but my life will be such a bore.   Again.   

Now that I have all the time in the world to do all the things I've always wanted to to do (travel, learn a new sport, shop, take a language class, hang out with friends, read books, watch foreign films, etc), I cannot do them because I simply cannot afford them.  Doing many things these days is rather expensive.  How ironic isn't it?  I bet this is life's way of telling me I can't have my cake and it eat too.  

Diet Mountain Dew, Where are You?

I am a huge soda fan.   I cannot live without softdrinks.   I realize how much sugar and calories are packed in one can or bottle, so as much as I can, I stick to the diet kind.   

But I love Mountain Dew.   I love it for the citrusy flavor.  And it's a pity I cannot find Diet Mountain Dew anywhere here.   Does anybody know if there is a store that retails this locally? Better yet, maybe I should call on Pepsi to sell these items here.  Calling on Pepsi, can you please carry the Diet Mountain Dew line in the Philippines?  Please, pretty please? Photo courtesy of diet-blog.com

Job Interview Blues

In the past week, I've had 3 job interviews, 2 of which were for the same company.

To be honest, I am not actively searching for a job.  In fact, I had no intentions of going back to the rat race again this year, but somehow I found myself updating my resume, wearing those blazers I haven't worn in ages, and making my way to the Human Resource department.   I guess I am just grabbing opportunity as it presents itself.   Maybe it is serendipity?   

In one of my interviews last week (this is for an non-life insurance firm), I was made to wait for 2 hours before the HR head got to talk to me.  While waiting, the HR assistant wanted me to take a qualifying exam, which I refused to take.  Yes, I was being a little difficult there.   

I told the girl, "NO, I am here ONLY for an interview and I will NOT take that test".   

This raised a few eyebrows from the other applicants in the room, and frankly, for managerial positions up, I do not think an exam is necessary.   Moreover, the last 2 jobs that I held didn't require an examination, so I was pretty confident I was not being unreasonable nor arrogant.   

After about 2 hours of waiting, I was finally called by the HR head.  And the first thing she said was, "Tell me something about yourself".

OMG!

  

That was what I had to wait for?   That was not the first time I have ever been asked that question in an interview, and yet I still think that is a lame question, a question posed by someone who has not done his/her homework of reading your resume in advance. What did she expect me to answer? Things that are already in my resume?   

I seriously wanted to answer, "Can I start by telling you that I HATE that question and I don't think highly of people who actually pose that question?"  

Of course, prudence got the better of me and I was able to restrain myself, forced a smile and summarized my professional credentials in 2 minutes or less.

I don't know if that is a standard HR interview question and if at all it has psychological basis.   Just how do you answer a question like that?  Do you steer off track and mention things not in your CV? Do you intimate interesting personal details that will reveal your character?  Or do you take the safe route and just state your qualifications in a nutshell?  Can somebody please tell me?

I am reminded of my first job panel interview about 12 years ago.   I was being interviewed for a management trainee position for BPI.   

I remember a lady in the panel asked me, "What appeals to you more, a writing job or a marketing job?"  

I answered, "Marketing job" in all confidence.  

Then a fellow from the panel asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

I didn't know how that question was relevant, but I still replied and said, "No".  

Then the lady remarked, "It seems to me you want a marketing job but you can't even market yourself".    

I was dumbfounded.  

You see, I was just 20 years old then.  I was young, intimidated and inexperienced.   How could I have a have a witty retort?   But boy, do I regret not being able to answer them back. 

I should have said "It is a seller's market, there are a lot of buyers wanting a piece of me, so I take my time to make price move up".

But I was caught off guard. My brain temporarily shut down at that critical moment.

Oh, the plight of people looking for jobs!  I wish I were more successful in business so I wouldn't have to put up with silly questions like these in job interviews.   

Murray defeats Nadal (Again)!

In the news today:  Andy Murray beats Rafael Nadal in the ABN-Amro tournament in Netherlands.   Photos courtesy of espn.com and sportsillustrated.com  

It is almost sweet for me.   I hope it was Roger Federer not Murray who beat Nadal.   But I don't mind.  It's like Federer was living vicariously through Murray. 

To be fair, luck was on Murray's side because Nadal suffered from a knee injury at the beginning of the second set.  You really have to hand it to Nadal for being a true sportsman for not retiring and deciding to continue on with the match despite his pains.   

Despite the bonus of an ailing Nadal, I think Murray deserves credit.  He did win the first set after all (6-3).   Could it be that the world number one has found an achilles heel in Andy Murray?  Nadal still holds a 5-2 win record against Murray, but those 2 losses came from 2 important matches (2008 US Open Semifinals and this ABN-Amro Final).  Oooh, this will be exciting to watch.