Tagging along on a Photoshoot for Top Gear Philippines

March 10, 2012

In Patrick's line of work, sometimes you have to compromise and combine work with pleasure, especially when he has to work during the weekends.  On this day, he was scheduled to interview a cousin, Jan Paul (technically he is my uncle by blood relation but he's younger than me so we just call each other cousins for simplicity), because his car will be featured in the magazine for their Japanese Issue.

So, while they're busy with their work, the kids were busy with riding their bikes and just having a terrific time.  You don't have to worry about them bumping into other bikes like you would if you go to Quezon Memorial Circle.  You also won't worry about other cars passing even though technically we're in the parking lot.  It's just nice to be out and about in the park, enjoying the sun and the breeze, eating your morning taho.

I love this shot :)

Love the sun on her face :)

 What better way to end the photo shoot/bike trip than with tapsilog at Rodic's :)

Dylan's fever scare

February 08, 2012

Often when the kids get a fever, I don't panic and immediately go to the doctor.  I know that it takes 2 days for a fever to break so as much as possible, I just give the kids paracetamol to keep the fever down and observe.

It was initially that way with Dylan.  His fever started last Sunday and we attributed it to his mild cold.  It went on till Monday which made him miss his classes.  Tuesday, he was feeling a little better, the fever has broken, or so I thought.

Wednesday morning, his fever was back and that was the time I became concerned.  I remembered that when Den had dengue, her fever was on and off and she didn't show any of the usual signs of dengue, like the rashes.  When we took her to the hospital, it was only a suspicion of dengue but it turned out, she was lucky we brought her that day because her BP was already crashing.  She stayed in the ICU for about 5 days that time.

So you can imagine my fear when Dylan was showing the same signs.  Patrick missed work for this on the off-chance that Dylan had dengue, someone had to go home and arrange for his stuff to be brought to the hospital.    His doctor, Dra. Violeta Mendoza of the World City Medical Center, advised that he have blood tests and a dengue test done just to be sure.   It was a good thing that Dylan was covered under Patrick's health plan at work and we didn't have to pay for anything.

If you look at this picture of Dylan and his daddy, he doesn't look like he's sick. :)










Here's a scanned picture of the laboratory tests done on him.  It was for a complete blood count, Platelet count and NS 1 Antigen.  It only took one needle prick to get the results for all the tests.  I admit I was nervous when we went to the laboratory because I wasn't sure how Dylan will react when he sees the needle.  But he was a very good boy and he didn't even cry when the interns proceeded to find the vein in his arm.  They had to do it three times because they couldn't find the vein on either arm.  When they decided that they will use his right arm, they immediately went to work.  It was also good training on their part not to show the needle to Dylan until the last minute when they were actually going to prick him.  Imagine if other kids immediately saw the needle waiting there on the table, I bet they'd be thinking too many horror stories :)  Dylan flinched a little when he felt the prick but he didn't jerk and he didn't scream or cry either.  Good Boy!! :)  When it was done and they put cotton and tape on the prick, he moved like an old man, like his arm had the whole weight of his body hahaha

Since we had to wait for 3 hours for the results,  we first went to Cubao to pass the time. We ate at McDonald's.  It was funny to watch him eat because he refused to use his bandaged arm :)  Eating was a chore to him at that point :)  We just went around Ali Mall to see what's new, and there were a lot of new developments, like new shops that weren't there before.  It was good to see Cubao getting revived.  Patrick felt like he was running full circle because his dad used to bring him there when he was a kid and now, he's a dad and he's bringing his kid to Cubao :)  I felt the same way.  Cubao was the destination for families during Sundays after church when I was a kid too.  :)

Anyway, we got the good news after we got the results.  Dylan didn't have dengue.  His fever was mostly probably viral, according to his doctor, which apparently can last for 5 days.  His blood work didn't show any signs of infection so he wasn't prescribed antibiotics either.  He was just advised to rest and take it easy and stay away from other sick people LOL  So that was a huge relief!!

At home, Dylan and Patrick just stayed in bed reading Top Gear! :D

For more information on dengue, here's what Dr. Eric Tayag of the DOH, said about the symptoms of dengue:

• High Fever
• Rashes
• Vomiting
• Stomach pains
• Nose bleeding
• Low Platelet count
• Difficulty in breathing

Test driving the new 2010 Subaru Legacy Station Wagon

November 21, 2009 - One of the perks of Patrick's job at Top Gear Philippines is having the chance to test drive new cars and review them for the magazine.  His first test drive run was with a Honda City and he took that to Subic (on assignment too).  This November, he was able to bring home the new 2010 Subaru Legacy Station Wagon.  This car is like Stanley's junior sister, by almost 15 years. She's blue, she's big, she's wide (almost too wide to fit in the garage which wasn't exactly built for her girth) and she's so powerful just the hum of the engine is going to drive you nuts.

Naturally, the kids were excited to ride it in and we took it for a spin going to Greenhills where Patrick had to cover another event.  Here you can see just how long Sally (that's the name the kids gave the car) is relative to a Kia.

You can see how spacious it is inside, from the backseat and even in the cargo hold:

But, see, I don't know any of the specs of this awesome car and even if Patrick tells me, I still wouldn't understand.  All I know it's still AWD with its boxer engine (this I know because we have a Subaru Legacy too), the front seats have some sort of mechanized thingy that you can custom-fit to your body in 16 different ways and it's ultra-super fast given it's size.  It's size is deceptive, very much like you'd think it's heavy and slow but you'd probably end up with your mouth wide open when you challenge it to a race hahahaha At 100, the engine is barely whispering.  At 140, you sort of hear it speak.  At 200, there's a growl.. imagine it at its top speed! woohoo!! but of course, you can't drive it that fast here hehehe

IF we had the money, we'd buy it right here, right now.  It's such a great car and even tops at safety standards and what-have-yous.. Look at their smiling faces :

SALLY, we love you! :D