pack that bag

The Expectant Father and my doctor’s check up book both tell me that I should be packing the hospital bag just about now. obedient reader that I am, I am packing. One bag for mummy (and daddy) and another bag for the little one coming.

Have decided that my long-standing Neil Pryde messenger bag will be our baby bag stand-in until we decide we really want another bag for baby. it is comfy, sturdy and roomy, and does NOT look like a baby bag. In it we have placed

            ~ a change of clothers (tie-side top, shorts, booties, mittens and bonnet)

~ a pack of Pampers brand newborn nappies. We also bought a pack of EQ since the salesgirl at SM said that was their most popular brand. But for some reason the pampers one appeals to me better)

~ cotton balls (in lieu of wet wipes)

~ receiving blanket

~ little bottle of alcohol (germs! germs!)

In my bag (which happens to be another Neil Pryde bag --a skid-proof, water resistant sailing duffel—both were freebies when I covered the Philippine Hobie Challenge before I moved to Cebu)

            ~ my cotton kimono

            ~ pajama set with overlap top

            ~ my 8 year-old Habagat toiletry kit with my usual weekend supplies (shampoo, conditioner, face wash, cotton buds, hair ties, body wash etc. )

            ~ pack of modess brand overnight feminine pads

            ~ bra & knickers

            ~ comfy Guess? gym pants

            ~ cotton button down polo

            ~ contact lens case & fluid

            ~ tshirt and spare boxers for BBB

           

being a veteran of "your flight/ferry leaves tomorrow" means my toiletry kit is half packed most of the time and i can pack with utter lucidity and minimum weight. but notice the number of items for mummy versus baby. Its true. let’s start life simpler, shall we? 

Fete de la Pregnant (part II)

Fete started at 4pm and ended at midnight. It wasn’t too different from many live events that I’ve handled before that required strict timing and coordination with the parties involved (performers, coverage, hosts, sponsors etc.). however, the main difference is that previously, I covered a lot of ground on foot, walking around the backstage area, across to the soundbooth, and anywhere else I might be needed. This year, I had to remind myself that I am 7 months pregnant and had to take it easy. 

I stationed myself at the side of the stage near Café Laguna—coincidentally the designated entry point for all performers headed for the stage. I ordered bibingka, palitaw, buko juice and sago’t gulaman from Café Laguna and settled in. I remembered to phone rather than run off to the person I needed to talk to. Took it easy. Enjoyed the music. I think baby did too.

Btw, great performances by the 560^th Airbase Wing Command, Urbal, and Sheila and the insects. 

the only real hiccup happened after we packed up. we got home after 1am and i realized i did not have my laptop with me. we had hooked it up to the projector to show commercials and such, and Sam (the friend who borrowed it, as well as BBB and i) forgot to pack it up. gah. we did not have the numbers of the actual projector people but Sam promised he would get on it, and he did. there were moments during the program when i looked over at my laptop and thought (must remember to bring that home). gah. maybe pregnancy brain is true after. 

cartoons on the blankie

still working on "to buy" stuff and hied off to SM for that. the strange thing is, i caved in and bought the baby-something with a cartoon character in it. 

i am not a fan of winnie-the-pooh. but i ended up with that character on a blankie/towel, a bonnet and booties from the disney display. what did attract me was that they looked to be quite well made and had a good cotton feel compared to the other items available. and the character print was mercifully done in a very non-descript beige against white. more like the color scheme of the classic a.a. milne stuff and not the disney-fied version. 

so hello winnie-the-pooh

june 20 sm 

blankie 299.75 

bonnet 69.75 x 2 

booties 59.75 

wash basin 129.75

nasal suction thing 79.75 

nail set 69.75 first years 

total 778. 25

Fete de la Pregnant (part I)

When I was in Manila, friends and I would attend the staging of Fete de la Musique, the world-wide celebration of diversity through music. There were always several stages in one venue, each one dedicated to a genre or style of music, so there was rock, world, blues, reggae/ska, etc. The first one I went to was at the now burned-down Republic of Malate, then at El Pueblo in Ortigas, and the last one at Eastwood City in Libis, and i think there's another year i went that i cannot pin down clearly. It was always a great night of rushing from one stage to another, and watching one act while worrying if you were missing something better at another stage. There was always a great sense of being one because of music (cliché! cliché!) and a festive carnival atmosphere brought about by walking around with friends, drink in hand. 

Last year Alliance Francais de Cebu (and the Arts Council of Cebu) asked BBB and I to help them organize the first ever Fete in Cebu. It was an acknowledgement of our extensive network in Cebu’s music scene, thanks to this magazine we publish that focuses on Cebu’s “music, arts, and the scene.” We gladly obliged.

We’re doing it again this year, at the Terraces of Ayala Center. We are again in charge of the band line up and directing the program.  On top of that, I am again writing the continuity script. Event is tomorrow. I’m writing this as a script-writing break. What a life. Writing as a break from writing.

shopping for baby has begun

it has officially started. gone is the desire to make and embroider baby clothes. i simply did not have time to spare for that. so i have been to the shopping places here to buy newborn-sized stuff and other basics as listed in "the expectant father." 


there are only 3 department stores i care to shop in. 
1) Rustan's with their mini-stock of items. the size of the rustan's here in cebu is a joke compared to the multi-level one they have in makati. even the harrison plaza one was better. but i can save that for another write up.
2) Metro Ayala Department Store. from my multi-tasking production experience which included buying props and wardrobe items, i discovered the Metro is quite good for choices, as long as you can get past the mint green uniforms of the sales staff and the weird square islands they have as payment counters. 
3) SM. their tagline says "we've got it all for you." not all, but they do come pretty close


decided to stick to plain white as much as possible. no issues with color matching, no dyes, no cartoon characters, plain utilitarian white. i myself wear a lot of white. and black. there was a time when my daily wardrobe consisted almost entirely of black and white. i digress


so my stash (accumulated over 3 trips) include: 


june 6 sm 
total 2465.50 most infant clothes 80/pc (these are tie-sides, shorts, sleeveless tops that button at the shoulder, etc. the generic SM branded ones are pretty good to me)

june 7 metro 
wash cloths (pack of 4 = 69.75 x 2), booties (4 pairs each 17.75), mittens (17.75 x3 pairs), shirt & short set (120), onesie (135) total 518.75

june 9 sm 
face towels 104.25


i realize i haven't actually bought at rustan's, just browsed through their stuff. i'm still at the comparison shopping mode for them because much as i like the options at rustans (in the other sections too, not just the baby stuff) it seems they're priced slightly higher. they tend to stock special high end items that appeal to parents with big budgets (judging from the brands they carry  like Dr. Brown's, and items that are more design-orientated)