Life Update: I bid good bye to my Gallbladder

This was my hospital bed

Late March of this year I was diagnosed with a stone in my gallbladder. I did not want to go under the knife for it so I try the medication first. Which was a bad choice if you did not want to change your diet. Long story short, I wasted 6 thousand pesos and I still had to go under the knife to get it removed.

The medicine did not work as according to the surgeon the type of stone orientals has are the type that can't be broken down as it is no just cholesterol but it is a mix of bile salt and sometimes calcium.

So it was set, June 29 I have to get it removed.

I was told to go for a second opinion but to be honest I did not want to. Once it will be a waste of credit from the HMO and two I know that if I don't get it removed now it might produce another stone in the future. I just want to get things over with.

It's now July 3 it has been two days since I got out of the hospital. I will feel weird and dizzy. I can only wash my hair and sponge bath myself. After all that I feel normal as if nothing was taken out of me. I'm only reminded that I'm missing my gallbladder when I feel my wounds aching.

There will be changes in my diet as I can't have pork, beef, dairies and fatty food. So, yah here is to be trying to be healthy for reals!

This is me a day before the surgery

How do you answer the question, "Are we okay?"

I don't really know after all, okay for me is not a state of something. It is not positive nor negative unless you add the tone of your voice to it. You need to factor in as well, how your listener will take it. We are so used to getting okay as a good reply when in fact there will always be more to it.


Take the photo above as a sample, one of them can be asking if the other is okay. The simple answer will be "yes, I'm okay." The question should be "How are you holding up?" or "Do you think we can find something here we can use to stay afloat?" This might be overthinking for other but this is a better question than the one on the title. There is more concern on those question.


What if there are really close to somewhere safe, "Are you okay?" is fine as long as there is a follow up like "can you still swim towards the shore or boat?"


Whatever the situation don't settle for an "I'm okay!" or "We're okay." reply.

I'm drowning

Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash

There is so much to do all of a sudden, and so much to pay...

I think I have a new job starting soon. But there are requirements that might put it on hold. Like the background check, apparently, the school may no talk to the third-party background checker if they do not provide the right papers like the complete TOR and diploma. I don't have those with me as I still have a balance to settle.

Now, with all these things plus the jitters of a new task and the already crazy status of my life. I seriously feel like I'm drowning. Before writing about this things makes me feel better but right now, nothing. Nothing is making sense and it is not helping. I really just feel lost at sea and I'm about to accept that I will be going soon.

How can people stay afloat in this mess? Is this depression?

Loving Vincent: The Truth

The truth is no one will ever know the absolute truth! This movie showed me that. To some Vincent van Gogh was crazy, to others he was a genius painter, he was also described as someone normal and still to others, he was one lonely soul.

I will be talking about what I remembered from the film so, if you have not watched it I suggest not to read this if you do not want to be spoiled.

Let's talk about the production of this movie first. Over 100 artists worked on the 65,000 frames of the movie with oil paint. It was partly funded through Kickstarter. It is the world's first full-length movie made with oil paint on canvas.

The movie starts with Postmaster Roulin looking for his son, Armand Roulin. He asked him to deliver Vincent's last later to his brother, Theo. The timeline was a year after Vincent's death. What followed will make you think about what it feels like to be treated like you are a madman and what it is like to be alone even if you are with a lot of people.

Armand after looking for some time found out that Theo is also dead. That information came from Père Tanguy he was the paint supplier of Vincent. This is also the part that shows that as a child Vincent did not win the favor of his parents. The postmaster's son decided someone else should keep the letter so he went and tried to meet the one that looked after the health of Vincent, Dr. Gachet. After arriving in Auvers-sur-Oise, he found that the doctor was in Paris.

While waiting for the doctor to arrive, the young Roulin asked around about the deceased painter. Finding information and stories that made him think, maybe Vincent did not kill himself; that maybe someone killed him. This was after the fact that his father got a letter saying that the painter felt well and is calmer, 6 weeks before he took his own life.

The movie ended with the postmaster and his son reading the content of the last letter for Theo, now in the hands of his widower. She has copied the letter for them to be able to read for themselves. It sounded like the suicide note that was needed to solve the mystery of his death. That Vincent did kill himself to be with the stars.

This is my truth you may not agree with me and that is alright. We have different beliefs after all. This is a good movie to watch. It can help you know more about Vincent van Gogh and also help you see that there are not just two sides to a story.

Patay na si Hesus: Movie Review?

Patay na si Hesus trailer

Patay na si Hesus is a story about a family traveling from Cebu to Dumaguete to attend the wake of their estrange head of the family. Each member dealing with personal issues. There is nothing like a road trip to resolve internal conflicts. 

This movie was initially released in 2016. It gained popularity this year, as one of the entries in Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino. Starring Miss Jaclyn Jose as Iyay, the mother of three. Hubert is the eldest has Down Syndrome; Jude formerly known as Judith Mary is the middle child; and Jay the youngest and is currently a freeloader.

Because it is funny

This movie really made me feel like I was with them during the trip. It has the right mix of random characters that you have most likely encountered in your life like, Mary the partner of Jude that was cheating on him. It may not happen to you directly but I'm sure one way or another you have heard a similar story from friends or friends.

There are situations that seem so real as well. Hubert has been getting special attention from Iyay as he has Down Syndrome. However, he has proven that he does need that attention. He is most of the time being shown like by their neighbors and even in Dumaguete, he quickly finds someone that thinks he is cute. Hubert is confident even if he is dimmed as different.

Given that Iyay is your typical mom so I won't talk about her too much. Let's focus on Ms. Mailes Kanapi as Sister Linda, Iyay sister-in-law. She is like you random aunt that does not know when to stop. She can embarrass you unintentional or intentionally. 

This was a funny adulting movie. Not for kids even if there was a kid in the movie. At the end of the day, you will cry more if you lose someone that has been with you for the longest time. I hope I did not put too many spoilers.