Not-Quite-Smooth Criminal

Nakalimutan ko pala ikwento ang Manila leg ng vacation namin last April.

Sharkteeth attended a writing workshop in Pasig, but before the event, she wasn't feeling well na. Tuesday after we arrived from Baguio, nilagnat sya. I thought it was just fatigue from the trip, saka naulanan kami nung last day namin dun, pero pagdating ng Thursday, she was all poopy as well. Good thing she wasn't vomiting. She thought na baka dahil sa carinderia food nung last day namin sa Baguio. Possibly. I was a bit hesitant to let her go sa writing workshop, but since she seemed to be doing better by Friday morning, gora na kami. We were supposed to meet her ninang before the workshop, pero naka-ilang rescheduling din kami.

Anyway, we ate at Robinson's Forum before I checked in sa hotel. Aba, di pa kami tapos kumain, sumasakit na naman tummy nya. Poor bebe. After I checked in, we proceeded to the venue and signed up and all. She was feeling better naman na daw. Whereas last year her school had may delegates to the writing workshop, this year, they were only three, and she was the only girl, so sa dorm, isinama na lang sya sa mga delegates from the North.

I then went to Makati to meet Leah, who treated me sa isang pasta place sa Glorietta. (Thank you, Leah! Ano nga name nung restaurant?) It was so yummy. Dapat kasama si Diane, eh wala. D-R-A-W-I-N-G. Hehehehe! Joke lang, dear Diane! Matagal-tagal din kaming nagkwentuhan ni Leah, then lipat naman kami sa Vanilla Cupcake. Then Sharkteeth suddenly sent me a text saying she wasn't feeling well. Alam nyo naman ako, may hypochondria na, may paranoia pa. Hahahaha! Nagmadali talaga akong umalis. I was not even sure kung nakapag-goodbye ba ako kay Leah. Kahit surge rate ang Uber, pinatos ko. S didn't wanna leave sana, pero I couldn't let her be alone that night. Baka hindi lang ako makatulog sa pag-aalala. Pinilit ko syang mag-stay with me sa hotel.

Nung madaling-araw na, balik na naman sya ng balik sa restroom. I decided to bring her to the hospital na lang. Buti na lang, malapit lang ang Medical City. It was our first time there, and maganda yung place. Still, hospital pa rin. Kahit gaano kaganda, I'd rather na hindi pumunta dun. Very efficient ang staff. Pagka-submit ko ng health card namin, ni-admit kami sa rehydration room sa ER. Thank goodness she wasn't vomitting, so there wasn't any need for an IV. She only had to take oral rehydration fluid. And oh, I had to catch her poop for examination, para ma-determine kung viral or bacterial. If the latter kasi, she would need antibiotics. Eh para namang tukso -- kung kelan kailangan, saka wala. I was LITERALLY waiting for shit to happen. Tawa kami ng tawa ni S kasi whenever she felt like going, we'd troop to the restroom, with me crouching by her side, my hand extended, waiting to catch her poop. Ah, the *privileges* of being a mom! Alas, shy type yung poop. Nung una, kami lang sa rehydration room. Then, another child was brought in, appendicitis-suspect. The mom was freaking out. As in sinisigawan na yung nurses. Afraid kami ni S. Eventually, ni-admit na kasi nga parang appendicitis. We couldn't decide if we should check out na, kasi nga no poop pa rin for examination pa. Then may dumating uli, a toddler naman. Same case as S. Then the toddler pooped. As in projectile yata. Kalat-kalat sa bed. *Sorry, TMI.* Di kinaya ni S, naduduwal, lumabas ng room. Seconds later, di ko na rin kinaya. After that, we decided to leave na lang. The hell with poop. Like I said, TMC's staff are very efficient. In less than 15 minutes after I asked if we could leave, they prepared our bill and we were able to leave na. Pinabaunan na lang kami ng container if case may makuha kaming stool specimen.

I brought S back to the school and nag-stay na lang ako dun for the rest of the day, just in case may, uhm, "repeat performance". That night,  nakitulog kami sa Quezon City, but she seemed to be better na. I brought her back sa school in the morning, and I went home to my parents' place to rest.

Come Monday, I picked her up, and in the evening, we met with her ninang, my dearest friend M. Kulang yung kwentuhan namin -- happy news, sad news, commiserations, triumphs. So bitin! You know how it is with good friends, right? You don't see each other for a very long time, and yet when you see each other, you just pick up from where you left off. Kilig na kilig si S kasi binigyan sya ng autographed copies ng Alice-Miranda books and a signed poster. #HappyKid

♥♥♥

On to our trip home.

Alam nyo naman ang Team KoKo -- laging may sablay pagdating sa trips. Hehehehe. Diba I bought ceramics? Well, as expected, overbaggage ako. The day before our trip home, I asked TheHusband to buy for us 15 kg of baggage allocation. Nagkaka-problema sa communication kasi he left his phone with me. There was a lot of going back and forth. Then sabi nya okay na daw.

Pagdating namin sa T3, we had five bags with us. I thought I'd check in the two biggest ones. Nung i-issue na ang boarding pass, wala daw kaming baggage allocation, according to the ground steward. She was asking if I was going to purchase baggage allocation. But it was so much more expensive than prepaid allocation.

"Ma'am, bibili ba kayo ng baggage allocation? Kasi excess baggage na kayo," she repeated. Hehehe, I LIED.  Me (airily, trying to be nonchalant): "Ay, no need na. I'll just have them picked up and shipped via CebuPac cargo." *Liar, liar, pants on fire.*

I wasn't about to shell out a ton of money para sa baggage namin. But I couldn't leave them either. Sayang ang mga cutie ceramics!!! I toyed with the idea of throwing out some of our clothes, but didn't. Shipping it with CebuPac cargo was out of the question kasi gipit na sa oras. Saka sobrang traffic! (Ibang level na ang traffic sa Manila! Di ko kinaya! #Dumaguetefied)

Punta kami ni S sa isang corner and repacked everything. I don't know how we did it, but we were able to fit five huge bags into four. (#Talent) Sabi ko kay S huwag syang mag-rekla-reklamo or magmukhang nahihirapan sa buhat-buhat nyang backpack and maleta pagdaan namin sa guard kasi baka ipa-offload yung gamit namin. Eh na-conscious si Kulet. She plastered a fake smile on her face that will only make you suspicious. Hahaha! Thankfully, nalagpasan namin ang final check, even with a 15-kg overbaggage. Grabe. Pinawisan ako ng malapot. Parang kriminal lang. Saka, grabe ha, parang matatanggal ang braso ko sa buhat-buhat kong bag. Pati maleta ni S, buhat ko.

Suspect 1

So there. Lagi na lang, lagi na lang...