SJCS MANILA BATCH 82 HOMEPAGE

Notes from YLB: Thanks very much for the feel-good vibes and reflected kudos generated by the batch New Year party, and profuse apologies to Doc Lily Yu Giok Sing, Rodney Uyan and Johann Tan who we inadvertently omitted in our last post.

Dear batchmates, batch and kabatch :

Funny when you have a bit of time on your hands. The past few days, I underwent a rare-as-a-meteor facial, had a fossilized tooth extracted, and found out that I needed a new pair of spectacles for my nearsighted peepers.

The fact that I had a few discount vouchers, holiday promos available, and overruns of eyeglass frames also had a bit to do with the unexpected indulgence.

Easiest muna, which was going for a facial.

First, the facial attendant applied a gel which i suspected was going to coax all the excess oil and dirt out of the pores of my face, something that was quite overdue for at least three-quarters of a year. In fact, I dont remember anymore treating my countenance to this type of treat.

Next, a contraption very much resembling (on a smaller scale) the robot in Space Family Robinsons was directed to my face, most probably to blow steam into the pores that had just been excavated. I was supposed to lie perfectly still while the attendant took a much - needed break. Evidently, she had been doing facials galore the whole day long, and my mug was just one in an assembly line of dozens for that day.

Lastly, the real work. Using a metal device with a hole at the end, she began "picking" the blackheads that had recently accumulated on YLB's forehead, cheeks, and especially nose with the efficiency of well, a seasoned blackhead picker. It smarted of course, but the somewhat reassuring thought of looking better, cleaner, and more confident somehow took most of the sting off.

This episode reminded me of all those oily-day faces we had in high school, with our the oil from peanuts and chichirya literally oozing out of our pores, not just from us but from the rest of our omnivorous HS mates. We have had the good fortune of being relatively pimple free (in spite of, not because of,our diet) throughout our stay in Hogwarts, but not everyone has been as lucky.

The dental adventure was a bit more problematic. Suspecting that she was doing it for my layman's ignorance,I nodded stupidly while the dentist explained that she could "save" the second to the last right lower molar in my rapidly declining population of teeth, using root canal, covering it and relying on a little more hygiene vigilance on my part, but all these were still no assurance that the said tooth would last, say a year or two beyond the procedure. To be quite frank about it, she surmised that the tooth staying the same for 5 years or more would be a minor miracle. The choice therefore was easy. Sige na doc, tanggalin mo na.

15 mins after the first anesthesia shot (the needle and intrusion into the gums were already unnerving, but i realized that these were essential to a painfree extraction) , we sat around making small talk, before I realized that she was waiting for the juice to numb an area from somewhere near the back of my teeth to my lower lip. Being the scaredy cat that I am, I immediately told doktora that maybe i needed another shot of juice just to make sure? It only took a moments hesitation before she saw my deer-before- the-headlights expression and decided to hit me with another syringe.

Particularly grating ( literally ) to the surface of the teeth was the instrument the good doctor used to remove plaque, as it looked like a miniature fisherman's hook, and the grating sound reverberated to the innards of the tingling lomi that served as YLB's brain cells. But I could tell that i really needed the cleansing, as i could see red flecks reflected in the visor of the tooth doctor.

I have to warn you that my teeth have this tenacious attitude of never saying die until the last possible pliers pull. I still had recent memories of a dentist mag-asawa tag team of teethpullers, with the hubby hugging on to the wifey's waist while the latter was pulling for dear life on my last decayed molar, not unlike the losing team in a tug-of-war. This extraction wasnt going to be much different, as I was already beginning to see the start of beads of perspiration forming on my dentist's brow. It wouldnt have surprised me to see her plant her feet on my cheeks for extra leverage, but all throughout she kept her demeanor professional , didnt ask help from her assistant ( who looked ready to assist with a second pair of forceps / pliers ) .

It wouldnt have bothered me TOO much if the good doktora hadnt said phrases like "you're not a bleeder, are you?" and "we may have to SECTION the tooth" (choice of words was quite colorful), and this bit of TMI had the effect of pre-traumatizing me for the actual procedure. I learned that if I just closed my eyes and imagined I was a thousand miles away, I would last through it .

(at this point it became a bit deja vu for me, but does anyone recall the Chinese kidz story told about this giant turnip pulled by an entire family, singing pa luo po, pa luo po, hei you hei you pa luo po ? For some reason that image, with the companion ditty, kept going round and round in my mind, except that instead of the giant turnip, a giant TOOTH bloody and surrounded with swollen gums, was the crop. . . hope no one got grossed out, ha? )

We also felt it was long term karma for pointedly ignoring the concerned voice of our school dentist, many years ago, that we were launching a serious challenge for Judenite Cavity Champion of The Year. Each time, we conveniently forgot the mimeographed letter pointing out that dental work was due on our slimy mouth. And here we are, reaping the whirlwind.

The visit to the optometrist was almost anticlimactic. We had to make ehem and wait a while till the other customers were gone, before asking the staff if our old records were still there ( and remind the doctor that we had an old discount promised to us ). We ignored the raised eyebrows while choosing the cheapest frames available, and nodded dumbly while we were told that our myopia had worsened a few clicks. OK lang doc, basta makakita pa rin

Again, we have to make mention that, after thumbing our nose at so many bespectacled batchmates through the years, it is now our turn to look nerdy. Indeed, what goes around, comes around. So to all those guys and gals who had to endure taunts from batchmates, YLB included, its now your turn to laugh.

YLB
NOel

PS . "TMI" borrowed from QueenHedy's lexicon of terms - "too much information"