Sa prisinto ka na magpaliwanag...!

I hate explaining myself to anyone especially if I know that my actions are void of any malice. It's an ordeal for me therefore to ride the public train every morning. As you already know, I am in my second trimester of pregnancy and as such I have earned the privilege to ride the "off limits" section of the train reserved for senior citizens, handicapped, employees, officers of LRTA, women with children below 4ft., AND pregnant women. The problem is, at this point of my pregnancy, I don't look pregnant at all. Sure I appear bloated or busog but definitely not pregnant. The last time I tipped the scale, which was a week ago, I weighed a frail 112lbs. That already includes the 3 1/2 month old person inside my tummy. So you can just imagine my "acting" skills whenever I attempt to ride the special section in the LRT which honestly I myself find ridiculous. Because I don't look preggers, I try so hard to protrude and project my tummy just so I can get past the guardia civil manning the train. And everytime, and I really mean every single time, the guard would scrutinize me like I was some kind of a criminal.
"Hindi ka pwede dito," to which I would meekly reply while pointing to my tummy, "Buntis po ako."
This is exasperating and frustrating at the same time. But I don't want to blame these guards who I know are just doing their job. Besides, they haven't and will never experience being pregnant so how the hell will they know if a woman is pregnant especially if she's only in her first trimester like me? Perhaps they don't have a choice but to take our word at face value, believing in our innate sincerity. Unfortunately, there are people who are just so makapal ang mga pagmumukha. I have been a witness to countless encounters wherein these unscrupulous women who try to sneak past the guard to get prime seats during rush hour. Can't they read the sign? Or they just choose to be ignorant?
Haayy, some people just don't learn.

Thank you...

This goes out to all my friends who read my previous post and prayed for the fast recovery of my husband and wished me well on my pregnancy. Thank you!

Well I have a good news to share (altho I don't know if this is any better than the last post). My husband does not have German measles after all! It was a false alarm, thank goodness. I'm just a bit annoyed because we had to wait for eight days (and sleep on two different houses) only to find out that the rashes on his skin were not measles. But hey, am not one to complain. I am too happy that Argel is back.

So let me share to you why we came up with such conclusion in the first place. About two weeks ago, my sister-in-law's mother contracted measles (altho I don't know what kind). Her mom and the rest of the family lived just across our house where they also have sari-sari store. Argel frequents this store almost everyday to buy yosi (see...I told you to stop smoking) and this is where the story begins. About a week after we learned that my sister-in-law's mom had measles, Argel came home one night with fever and rashes all over his back. At first, I thought he was just allergic to saw dust (as a result of the 3-day renovation in their office). The following morning, he went to the doctor to have his rashes checked. He was never sent home for the next eight days. However, the doctor was puzzled because the rashes kept on coming even after a week. If it were German measles, the red spots would be fading by now. Argel had a Rubella Test to find out if he had the German measle strain. We waited two days for the results. Good news: he didn't have the measles. Bad news: he had pityriasis rosea. It's a type of skin disease with unknown causes and unknown cure. Doctors say that these rashes come out of nowhere, fester the skin from 6 weeks to 2 months, then vanish. Strange we thought. Where did he get it?

Anyway, at least we know that it is not contagious. But just to give you an idea, I have posted a picture of what pityriasis rosea looks like. (Pasintabi sa mga kumakain) I know my husband will kill me for posting this but this is NOT his photo. I got this from the net.

Will I survive?

I feel like crying this very moment. I just learned that my husband has German measles. Yes, it's no big deal if I was NOT on my first trimester of my pregnancy. All moms out there know that pregnant women are NOT ALLOWED to get sick during this stage, much less with German measles. In the United States, expecting moms who contract this viral disease undergo "therapeutic abortion" without any argument because the chances of delivering a healthy child is very slim. Babies whose moms had measles while they were still inside the tummy are known to have congenital heart diseases, deformities, and other abnormalities once they come out. It's really scaring the shit out of me because for all I know, the strain may be incubating in my body for the past days that I have been exposed to my husband. The doctor said that the incubating period is 2 weeks before it finally manifest into reddish spots similar to allergies.
Now, half of the sad story is the doctor has advised my husband to stay away from me for at least a week to avoid any complications during my pregnancy. And because the virus travels by air, I must not be exposed to the air he breathes. I know that is impossible if you live in the same house and so, with all my begging and objections turning to nil, Argel has decided that he will be sleeping at his uncle's house for a week leaving me and the kids alone for seven days. We've never been separated for that long. I don't want to even think about it right now because I might break down to bits. It's already hard to be sleeping on different beds, what more if you were in two different houses? I may sound so melodramatic here but I can't help it. I am already missing my husband. And the kids, I know they will be asking about him and will also beg me to go see him. Nakakapanlambot. So please, please, help me God.