it's been a while since I last posted here. Been concentrating on Multiply. But I miss my LJ. I miss being here.

time again to remind you all to view my multiply site.

http://nikkayap.multiply.com/

comments made about my fat ass will be enough reason for me to "not friend you na."

i'm sitting here in my former classroom, in pure shock of the stupidity of the teacher who took my place during my extended maternity leave. seriously.

she has re-arranged all my stuff and now i can't get cleared because i can;t find stuff that i had properly put away before i left.

i swear, what kind of idiot would hire someone who'd just had a nervous breakdown to teach KIDS?

so we turned down the teaching jobs in indonesia because i did not feel ready to leave my family behind and i thought it was too early to take tybalt away from his grandparents. and the pay wasn't too hot either.

we moved on, and made plans. paul has been interviewing at different places and i've started the application process to contunie my masters in education.

then...

paul and i got an email message yesterday from the principal at the american school in jeddah, saudi arabia. big money, awesome benefits, pretty housing, and jobs for both my hubby and i.

on the downside, women get treated like crap there and there is no religious freedom (read: i could get into trouble for doing the sign of the cross in public).

what to do?

so, a lowdown on the past few months:

1. i had a baby.
it was a pretty awesome experience. not as much pain as i'd anticipated, there was more discomfort that anything else really. thank goodness for the drugs. i was scared of the needles, but for me as long as they remained unseen, they're ok. i gave birth at asian hospital in alabang. the birthing center there is really cool. not to hospital-like. the birthing room looked like a hotel room with medical amenities. labor took 17 hours from my first contactions till little tybalt popped out. i started my labor at 1:30 am and didn't get to the hospital till about 2:30 because i wasn't sure if those were really contractions. duh... 3 minute "tummy aches" every 7 minutes. i should have known!

2. paul and i lost our jobs
yup. at the same time. and our house. and our medical insurance. 10 days after the baby was born. yes, that sucks. no, we could not do anything about it. so now we're moving back to manila and need to find jobs. whats worse is that we have to move into our parent's places. i'm considering taking my masters so i can spend time with tybalt. we were actually offered jobs as teachers in indonesia, but had to turn that down for family reasons.

i guess thats it for now. i don't really know what else to say. ask me questions. i'll answer.

thats what i've decided to call it, a "life transition." it makes things sound nicer than they really are.

paul and i will be moving back to manila at the end of may. we don't know where we'll work or where we'll live.

so if you know of any job openings for us, please give us a heads-up.

I gave birth to Tybalt Alexander H. Yap on Feb 3, 2007 at 9:30 pm. He was 5 pounds 13 oz, 51 cm long.

Since I have no clue how to post a picture here, go see my multiply site at http://nikkayap.multiply.com/

Ok, I'm seriously looking for help.

If you can donate or know someone who can donate blood for me, it would be a great help.

Blood donors DO NOT NEED TO BE A PARTICULAR BLOOD TYPE. They should be healthy, 120+ lbs. and not have a history of malaria, diabetes, hepatitis or the like. Donors will be tested before actual donation. Tattooed and pierced volunteers welcome! (tats and studs should be at least a year old)

Please, please... if you are willing to donate, please proceed to Asian Hospital in Alabang and go to the Blood Bank. Just give the name Veronique "Nikka" Hugo-Yap. There is no charge.

Thanks guys.

i've been so sad today. i thought it was just hormones, but i realized tonight that i really miss paul. he's up in subic and i'm on maternity leave here in manila. my days have been filled with errand running, and tomorrow i will find myself with all my errands done.

so i guess i'll just wait to go into labor.

it was my mother-in-law's birthday today and i went to dinner with the whole family... needless to say, it was torture. i felt so beat-up by the end of the night. i had to endure being told that our hospital choice was not a good one, served shrimps (i'm allergic), told i had to go to lipa, batangas on sunday (hello! i could go into labo at any time!), questioned about the baby's name, THEN my mother-in-law goes into a slew of miscarriage stories. not just ANY kind of miscarriage stories, but she told me all about a woman who'd been waiting to go into labor when her baby died in the womb. later on in the evening, when my little boy started kicking, i didn't let her put her hand on my belly.

after dinner, they all wanted to go off for dessert. i know it was self-pity at that point, but i really wish they'd picked a place that had SOME kind of sugar-free item on their menu.

i really miss paul, i need him to take care of me.

Atlantis Productions will be holding auditions for AVENUE Q!

WHEN:
February 20 (Tuesday), from 11am-5pm.
Registration begins at 10:30am.

VENUE:
Ground floor, Oppen building
349 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City.

PREPARE:
- 16 bars of a musical theatre song
- Bring either a piano score or minus one
- A current photo
- Complete an audition form
- Be prepared to sing in different voices

AVENUE Q begins rehearsals in July and runs August til September.
For more information call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187.

i'm officially on maternity leave, waiting for labor and the baby. i've got most of my errands done, but each day i'm faced with new things to do. today, i'm going to take the dog to the vet, take the baby clothes and blankets to the laundry, and get a pedicure.

i know i have a few more things to do, but the buntis-brain disorder keeps me from remembering a lot of stuff.

oh... LJ friends, i need a blood donor or two. i'll most likely need a transfusion after/during the birth. so if anyone considers themseves healthy and fit.. and brave enough, just leave me a message.

so i've been in manila for about 2 1/2 weeks now and i've been neck-deep in family activites, doctor appointments, errands and attempts to rest. thats what a vacation is after all, a failed attempt to rest.

i'd love to see friends i've lost touch with, but with the pregnancy coming close to the end, the college crammer in me is taking over. i have not had time to find a birth class, and i just bought a stroller today. luckily, my parents, sister and in-laws have been trying to fill all the needs a first-time-mom has. i actually had a pre-natal massage last night, but it left me more sore than when i got there.

tomorrow, i have to see my OB. i'm not all that excited to see her becasue this marks the begining of the end... of something like that. i have to see her every week after this. makes me kinda nervous because the baby will be here so soon. and we don't even have a name for him. our gift registry at rustans just says "baby boy hugo yap." hope no one thinks i'm naming my son "hugo." heheh.

my family is having a baby shower for me on saturday. i'm kinda stressed out about it because of family politics and all that crap. i want to help out with preparations, but know that i have to limit the work that i do. so i'll make a pasta sauce, then be sent to my room. thats all i'm allowed to do... or at least thats the agreement.

being in manila is so stressful. my OB told me a few weeks ago that i really have to take everything easy because the baby's placenta is aging prematurely. that means i could have the baby earlier than the expected feb 8 due date. i don't really mind, as long as i don't go into labor while at my last week of work in subic. that would really suck. all the preparations go down the drain.

now my barely coherent post is over.

( my xmas stocking )

I guess i've done my job well, 7 out of 10 of my ESL students are moving up to the next level. As pleased as I am, I'll miss them, and feel bad for the 3 who were left behind.

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I've learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

-Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

there are these teeny-tiny moments that just make me smile. no real reasons, except that i was there to witness them

- watching my ESL students play scrabble (and using more than 3 letters for a word)
- seeing the same black miata at 7:30 each morning
- looking out over the football field and seeing the sprinklers turn on
- catching my hubby staring at me
- street lights coming on as we pass by
- someone apologising for eating a sweet in front of me

Date:	2006-12-12 05:26
Subject:	countdown
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper
Music:	We Can Work It Out - The Beatles

a few more days till Christmas vacation begins. we've got exams to deal with and i need to finish instructions for my substitute. but i can't seem to get a lot of work done, vacation has already taken over.

*does a little dance*

so, days after the world's worst baby shower, i find myself in a bit of a pickle.

what do i write on the thank you notes?

Date:	2006-12-08 00:51
Subject:	heartbroken
Security:	Public
Mood:	disappointed

Last night, I had to endure a really bad baby shower. Maybe I'm being selfish, but everone was so inconsiderate. It was announced here at work over a month ago and they had a lot of time to prepare. Everyone who was invited knew I have gestational diabetes, and when I saw the pot-luck food list, there was only ONE THING I could eat! I was disapointed then already, but kept optimistic.At past showers for other co-workers, there were games, favors, party hats and the pregnant woman was treated so well. I got to the party and the majority of the drinks were booze. They were smoking and drinking. I had to ask the host if I could have a glass of water, since there was none available (it was outdoors). During the meal, they kept pouring drink after drink and smoking stick after stick. I had to move several times to find a spot where I was upwind. Later on, I opened presents and after the first one, people lost interest. They were in little groups chatting with each other. What upset me was one woman who thrust her gift at me and begged that I open hers first because she had to leave. Apparently, everyone had the same idea. As soon as I was done opening one present, I had to say goodbye to the person who'd given it. Needless to say, there were no games and nothing fun at all for me. It really broke my heart because I thought they'd put so much time and effort into this. They even made me cut the big chocolate cake for everyone. Not an easy thing for someone with GD.

I don't mean to sound selfish, but the only good thing that came out of it was that I got some things that I needed for the baby.

Maybe its karma for yesterday's post.

Look at your friend lists, pick a few of your favorites and nominate someone you think I should add to my friends list.