The Home Series #1

Being at home the past few weeks made me realize that even at home, you should expect the unexpected.

I thought the afternoon was going to be a relatively boring one. As usual, I planned on spending it in front of the computer, with nothing but iTunes to keep me company.

Suddenly, my sister-in-law came in the room and asked me if I wanted to have some puto to snack on. Not being able to say no to food, I immediately accepted the offer and followed her into the kitchen.

There, I saw my mom busily moving around.

"We're going to have a tea party!" she announced excitedly.

I looked over to the kitchen table, and saw that true enough, she had three table settings all ready for a tea party. When my brother announced from the garden that he would join us, she eagerly set another one of her pretty place mats on the table, and reached for another teacup for my brother.

The sudden inspiration for this strange occasion was her newly purchased teapot from Daiso, the 88 peso store. Yes. Her new teapot from the 88 peso store started this all.

Before we sat down for afternoon tea (three out of four of us still in our pajamas), my mom asked me to take a picture of her hard work. Then she wondered if she should prettify it further with a vase or flowers or something. Of course, our eagerness to begin the "party" won in the end, so we sat down and began to drink our tea. With our pinkies up, of course.

So there you have it. An afternoon tea party with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law. There were no flowers on the table, but there were pretty place mats, a pot of Japanese cherry tea, puto, kiwi, fruit & nut bread, and a LOT of enthusiasm.

I wonder what's in store for tomorrow. A mad hat party, perhaps?

Moping.

Hi! My name is Kris and I'm a Home Shopping Network addict.

No, I've never actually purchased anything from there, but boy, I've drooled over too many products.

There's something strangely addicting about the fake acting and such excessive, false enthusiasm over such simple products. Annoying, but addicting.

On most nights, I fall asleep to the soothing (and I repeat, annoying) voices on the telly, trying to sell me things I didn't even know I needed. Hairbrushes, chopping and juicing machines, cleaning solutions, vibrating slimming mechanisms and other extremely random items.

Oh, but last night--I found IT. The solution to all my problems. Well, at least the problems I'm bound to have when I've started a family and have my own house.

This is the SPIN & GO (or at least, it looks like it. I can't seem to find a photo of the real thing online!).

This is the answer to all your cleaning needs. You can use it for high ceilings, under furniture (you can move the handle up to 90 degrees!), on cars even! According to one woman's testimonial, her cleaning time shortened from more than an hour to only twenty minutes! Wowza! Now THAT's a product!

I. was. floored. The science behind it is genius--and they really paid attention to the cleaning needs of today's housewife.

And for only P2,995! It was originally P500 more, but they slashed the price, and even threw in an extra mop head. Now THAT's a steal.

And I admit, I texted JV (who I think was also watching from his house) that I wanted to buy one eventually. He said we'd see. Yay! :P

The only negative thing I have to say about their ad was that they showed clips of people sniffing their old, wet mop heads. Although I know they did this to prove a point that the SPIN & GO dried quickly and had no smell and dirt on it, therefore not being a breeding ground for bacteria like the other wet mops left in a corner... but did they really have to smell their mop heads? Who does that?!

What really bothered me, what I couldn't understand, is that right after the SPIN & GO, there was an infomercial for this:

This is the STARFIBER. It doesn't have nearly as much to brag about as the SPIN & GO. It's nothing new, right? The SPIN & GO on the other hand... ahhhh.

Up to now, I can't understand why they would put such competing products side by side. They already said the first one was revolutionary--the first of its kind--so what about this one?

Talk about conflicting.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep before I could find out more and judge for myself which seemed to be the better buy.

Although really, I think the SPIN & GO is the way to go.

Poltroon.

Okay, so pretty much everyone (who has to drive for me) knows that I can't drive. Is that a flaw? Yes. I'll admit it--I'm scared. I'm a nervous rider. So sue me.

Unfortunately, that's not why I'm admitting I'm a weakling.

Let me tell you a story.

For the past couple of days, I've been having little anxiety attacks when it would be time to sleep and turn off the lights in my room. It's not that I'm scared of the dark or anything... (well fine, that's another story).

You see, one evening, I stood up from bed to turn off the lights by the door of my room. When I was about to press the switch, I noticed that there was a long strand of hair stuck behind the light switch. After a couple of seconds, I realized that there were TWO strands of hair caught between the wall and the light switch. And then. It hit me.

IT WAS A COCKROACH.

The so-called "strands of hair" weren't moving, and I knew that the vermin was dead. But just knowing that there was a cockroach right there--right under that thin light switch panel--holy crap. No words could ever describe the mixed feelings of disgust, panic, and fear.

The annoying thing is that I kept forgetting about it--until it would dawn on me during the evening that I hadn't asked anyone to take it out. I would always curse myself for being so stupid, turn off the lights as carefully and quickly as I could, swear I'd have it taken out the next day, and go to sleep.

This afternoon, I finally remembered to tell my dad about it. He took a look at the ferocious insect, laughed at me, and let it be.

Thank God I asked one of the helpers to get it out. Tonight, my wall is cockroach-free. My light switch is accessible. I'm free.

The thing is, I have another problem.

There's another cockroach that's been appearing in my bathroom for the past three evenings. The first night, I saw it in the shoe cabinet (mental note: wash slippers with alcohol tomorrow). Of course, being the brave soul that I am, I closed the door and ran.

Last night, I saw the cockroach crawling on the chair in my dressing room. I made sure the closets were shut, closed the door, and ran. I poured half a bottle of alcogel on the chair this afternoon.

I also asked the helper (who saved the day by getting rid of the first cockroach) to leave a can of RAID in my dressing room. Tonight, I would be prepared. I would be brave. I would be ready.

But tonight, I saw it scampering about on the bathroom tiles. I hopped my way back to safety. I looked around for the can of RAID... and didn't find it.

Panic.

And this is the story of why, at 3:30 in the morning, I went downstairs to pee.

Angel.

Happy birthday, sweetie.