It All Started With Da Missing Tsinelas

I never got into the "tsinelas craze." I even remember buying new flipflops since my feet gets "naninibago" with the feel of the rubber, especially on the part where the material contacts the middle of my big toe and 2nd toe. Brand was never a priority, whether it's a brandless one or a good ole' trusty Rambo.

My first fas-yonable tsinelas purchase was in Greenhills. I was 6 month pregnant then and my feet were screaming "Mercy!" from all the walking I did in my not-so-comfy sandals. Normally, I would have worn a more comfortable pair, but at that time, my feet went a size bigger (from pregnancy-related manas--NOT fat, mind you!) and I was such a cheapo to buy new sets of footwear. I was still halfway through my Christnas shopping list yet my feet appears like it's going to burst out of my sandals. The Congressman noticed it too and asked me to stay near the wall (at the back of Wan Ton), so my big tummy won't be dragged by passing shoppers. He want back with this cute heart-y flipflops with the work "HAVANA" printed on the thong part. 

My left Havana tsinelas. He's currently single now.

I wasn't aware at all that it's a Havaianas knock-off. All I care about is my feet being happy and ready for another round of shopping. But what a surprise! At the end of my shopping stint, the heart designs on the slipper came off and guess where they all went---sticking on my sole and heel. A few days later, one of the Havana duo suddenly became missing! Hindi lang design ang nawala, buong tsinelas na! Several tsinelas later, the lone Havana tsinelas is still in the shoe rack in my parent's house--as if waiting for it partner to return.

Another fas-yonable tsinelas purchase was a Banana Peel pair which was a sudden purchase from a department store during our last minute shopping trip before leaving for Boracay. The Congressman and I were on our way to the parking lot when I remembered that my battered reflesole-ogy (the ones with pointed thingies on its surface, pang-reflexology daw according to the vendor in the palengke where I bought it) tsinelas are not Boracay worthy. That pair was something like the one pictured below, albeit a lot cheaper looking.

The Congressman gave me THE LOOK and I know I have to grab the first size 7 tsinelas I can find and pay for it in 3 minutes tops-- or else, I would have to commute going home. It was a green flowerey pair---obvious na hindi na pinili since I'm not a green person. It's pretty expensive compared to my past tsinelas purchases--almost 200 pesos for a pair. And to think it's not that durable---the bottom part worn out in no time (Ganun na ba ako kabigat???!!!).

My last tsinelas purchase was not really a purchase at all and was unintentional. There was a skechers warehouse sale in Tektite, and since it's just in the ground floor of our building and my mom has been making "parinig" that she needs new gym shoes, I decided to check it out. I bought a pair which eventually did not fit my mom so the next day, we went back to have it exchange for another pair. The new one she got was cheaper that the one I bought her so we need to purchase another item worth P300 just to even it out. The cheapest I could find was a pair of black Skechers flip flops with a dicounted price of P399 from the original price of P899!

That accidental purchase made me realize the big difference between branded and the generic flip flops that I used to have. The Skechers pair lasted almost a year without visibly wearing off. It was sooo comfy that the Congressman would often steal it whenever he wants to go somewhere wearing flip flops--and take note, he wears it despite the flowery design! He mentioned one time when he was being a tsinelas thief again that he could understand why people are now going ga-ga over the more expensive flip flops because there is a big difference in the comfort and durability over the cheaper ones.

Unfortunately, my beloved Skechers pair was stolen while I was in the steam room of the gym 3 days ago. Never was I so devastated over a loss of a tsinelas. The Congressman was equally sad too-- he has no more tsinelas to steal. I'm using my Crocs Cleo right now but it doesn't have the comfy & homey feeling of my old flip flops. I may have been lamenting on this too much that the Congressman promised he'd sponsor my next flip flops purchase (only I'd expect him to steal it again).

Now, I'm torn on the different flip flops around: havaianas, ipanema, dupe and sandugo. Ok, ignore the last one! Of course, since the Congressman said he'll pay for it, pipili na nga naman ako ng bonggang bongga!

So for the flip flop addicts out there, help me decide. I don't care about the kikay designs, I'm after the durability and comfort. Sa mga estudyante ko na kumi-kick back sa pambili ng dental materials para pambili ng havaianas---justify your crimes! 

New Year Scare

Perhaps one of the hardest things a parent would endure is to see his or her child in danger. All the while, the Congressman & I seemed to have below average parenting skills (the Congressman once gave Robyn beer so she'd never think of drinking beer when she reaches her teen years-- so far she gives this repulsive look at every beer bottle she sees). But that incident on the very first day of 2009 will forever be etched in our parenting CV.

Robyn developed low grade fever in the afternoon of December 31. I felt bad for her since we cannot bring her out to see the lights from the fireworks. Anyway, Robyn's what we can call a "low-maintenance kid," something that we later realize, we took advantage of. Tired from the night before's new year celebration, we were all sound asleep when I woke up to the sound of Robyn vomiting. Usually, I get irritated whenever she vomits since it would mean changing our bed sheet again. When I turned on the lights, I was shocked to see my daughter gurgling in her own vomit, her body racking with convulsions. At an instant, everything became a blur to me. I later realized that I was probably in shock for a good 10 seconds or something. Then I zapped back to reality seeing my husband crying while carrying our daughter's unconscious body downstairs.

It was the first time I experienced real emergency--the last thing I remembered considering emergency was when the alginate I was mixing was turning from violet to white, faster than I expected. My mind was spinning on what to do first: grab a bag, turn off aircon, put on a bra (for Pete's sake!), lock the door! All seemed to happen in an automatic, sort of robotic way.

The drive to the hospital seemed hours for me. I was trying to wake Robyn, trying to get any response from her, that she's still OK. At that time, I wanted to cry but the Congressman beat me into crying first so I guess someone's got to have 2 good eyes to look at the road for the nearest hospital. I was scared for my daughter and scare for the Congressman too. It was the first time I saw him that vulnerable: sobbing, driving and cursing, all at the same time. In 5 minutes, we were in the nearest ER, not our choice of hospital, but we thought if we bring her all the way to Medical City, it might be too late. Robyn looked that scary. 

At the ER, Robyn was stripped off her clothes and was given oxygen and cold sponge bath in seconds. The doctor in duty told me that we had to bring down her fever and stop the convulsions first. It dawned to me that Robyn was conscious, contrary to what I thought earlier, but she was having convulsions due to high fever and was in no way to respond to me. As I helped the nurses bring down her fever, I was still trying to make her look at me, to get any form of response will do. I found my self singing one of Robyn's favorite songs, the "I Love You" song--that of Barney, even if I secretly hate Barney and his punga voice. Soon, to my wonder and delight, Robyn sang with me in a loud booming voice. Hay, I suddenly love Barney.

Fast forward. We eventually transferred to Medical City when Robyn was stable enough to be transported. She was diagnosed to have had benign febrile convulsions and had to stay in the hospital until she's fever-free for 24 hours. Normally, the Congressman would be really bummed being in the hospital for 4 straight days and missing the left-over ham that we usually have for breakfast the morning of January 1. But he later told me that he could not bear not be with Robyn after that incident.

What happened to Robyn may be just a simple case of high fever. But that incident taught us a lot of things. It took us 5 days before we were able to talk about what happened. Also, that was the only time I got to cry-- I wanted to cry the moment I say Robyn in such a sorry state but for some reason I couldn't. As the Congressman and I recall that morning, we realized the feeling that you'd lose your child in a split second. I was grateful that I woke up to see Robyn vomiting, should I have slept soundly and woke hours later, it would have been a different story. The Congressman claimed he never sobbed that hard in his life. I ribbed him for crying like a baby, he laughed at me for almost running outside with just a bra for my top. To summarize, we cried, laughed, cried again at the same time. Crazy.

But one important lesson the incident taught us, it made us appreciate our daughter a thousand times more. Never will we underestimate a fever ever again. And whatever ruckus Robyn would cause in a day, no matter how many times she wets our bed in a week--she'd always be an angel to me. Hay, it dawned to me that, seriously, I AM A PARENT---it sucks, but seeing my daughter makes it all worth it.

Robyn obviously irritated with her Robocop hand