Online doctor's apppointment is the new norm

I noticed last May 20, 2020 (Wed) that I was running out of Metformin (my maintenance medicine for diabetes). I sort of panicked, I had no choice but to give 'online doctor consultation' a try.

Actually pino-prolong ko talaga eh. Few weeks ago pa dapat ako nagbook ng appointment pero dahil may hesitation ako, I called my pharmacist and asked if they could give me an 'emergency prescription refill.' Pwede kasi yun kung ang request mo eh yung maintenance meds mo talaga. Binigyan naman ako pero good for two weeks lang (normally for 30 days eh), then the pharmacist instructed me nga to get a new prescription via call or video appointment.

By the way, wala na nga pala kaming family doctor kaya floating kami ngayon. Our doctor Dr. Sahil Jain, who I really like and feel very comfortable with, went back to Toronto na yata for good. We thought temporary lang, na magpa-paternity leave lang siya nang medyo matagal, but then the other doctor at their clinic advised me to look for another family doctor na. Hay, ang hirap! Tapos natapat pa na pandemic, nag-semi close ang mga clinics. Nandito na rin kami sa Aldergrove ngayon kaya dapat dito na kami makahanap ng new doctor, kaso nga alanganin pa dahil hindi advisable pumunta sa mga clinics at hospitals ngayon (unless emergency) dahil sa Covid-19.

Hence, the proliferation of virtual clinics. Kahit naman daw sa Pinas uso na rin ang online consultation.

Grabe talaga ang hesitation ko sa online consultation, ewan ko ba. Mas gusto ko syempre ang face-to-face. Pero dahil prescription lang naman nga ang kailangan ko, walang ibang magagawa.

I've been seeing a lot of "doctors online" sites dito sa BC (just google online doctors canada/BC) pero dahil itong VivaCare ang medyo familiar sa akin (dahil nagki-clinic sila sa mga Walmart), sige ito na lang.

Ang dali lang palang magbook. You just need to ready your Personal Health Number (PEN). Pili ka lang ng date at time na gusto mo. Sobrang daming available dates and time, hindi kagaya ng sa physical clinics na pahirapan magbook. I chose a 3:45pm appointment the following day (May 21). I just chose the "prescription" option nga pala tapos nilagay ko yung mga medicines na kailangan ko.

NOTE: If you're not a BC resident, they will charge you $150 pala for the consultation. Shaiks!

 I received an email afterwards, providing me a meeting link.

The next day, I received another email reminding me of my appointment.

And 28 minutes before my appointment, may reminder na naman via text. 

Tapos after aroun 3:35, may nagtext again, saying: "the doctor is available now." I was waiting na rin naman so clicked the meeting link in the email.

I first talked to a receptionist/nurse who just verified if I am indeed Celeste Blanco. Tapos tinransfer nya na ako sa virtual waiting room. A few seconds later, kausap ko na ang doctor, who I thought will be female (kasi babae ang name ng assigned physician sa email eh).

The consultation only took a few minutes. After saying hi and hello, he just asked me kung kelan pa ako nagstart magtake ng Metformin at kung may allergy ako sa mga gamot na nirequest ko (I also asked for my cholesterol meds). He also asked me kung ano ang current blood sugar ko, I answered that I haven't had it checked yet because I am afraid to go to the lab. But I am sure that it is high because I've been eating a whole lot more during this quarantine period.

And it's done, ifoforward nya na raw yung prescription to my pharmacist. I put my pharmacy details nga rin pala when I booked my appointment. I chose the pharmacy located insider our kapitbahay-grocery store Frescho para malapit lang.

Before we hang up nga pala, I asked him if he could access my file kasi may gusto akong itanong about my gallstone surgery (Yep, I have gallstones! Ang daming sakit noh?). Ang sabi nya walang access ang telehealth doctors sa ibang health records namin. Ganun pala yun.

Hay nakatapos din! The experience was not as 'dreadful' as I thought it would be pero syempre mas gusto ko pa rin ng normal face-to-face consultation. Pero baka nga ito na ang "new normal" talaga sa ngayon. But I admit na mas madali ito kung prescription refill lang ang kailangan, ang bilis eh. Walang kahassle-hassle. Very accessible din ang doctors, kahit within the day pwede.

I called on the pharmacy after and asked kung naforward na sa kanila yung prescription ko. Yes daw. I asked my husband to pick up my medicines na lang para hindi na ako lalabas. So easy!

NOTE: We actually don't pay anything for our prescription medicines. Pinapaluwalan lang namin tapos pinapa-reimburse online sa health insurance provider namin. Ia-upload lang ang receipts tapos after a few days, papasok na sa bank account namin yung reimbursement. =)

Property Tax 2020

Hay, another big gastos! We received na our property tax notice two days ago, kailangan ng magbayad on or before July 2, 2020.

This is one of the drawbacks of owning a house, may property tax na kailangang bayaran. Naalala ko tuloy when we were just renting in Surrey, ang dami naming extra money lol. Rent at electricity lang kasi ang binabayaran namin. Naisip ko na nga rin noon, what if hindi na kami bumili ng bahay forever? We can save a lot! Pero syempre at the end of the day, doon pa rin kami sa magkaroon ng sariling bahay. Iba ang sense of ownership eh, parang feeling mo may lugar ka talaga sa mundo. Pero syempre, you have to 'pay' to experience that feeling.

At eto na nga, it's the time of the year again. My husband opted to pay our property tax once a year na lang para isang gastusan na lang. Pwede rin kasing gawing monthly yan para hindi mabigat (katulad ng ginawa namin sa previouse house namin sa Edmonton).

Are you curious kung magkano ang 2020 tax nitong humble abode namin? Sige disclose ko na tutal wala naman gaanong nagbabasa nitong blog lol.

It's $1,841.86 or approximately Php73,000+.  If you divide it in 12, $153.49 (Php6,140) per month.

Actually dapat $2,686.86 talaga ang tax pero mayroong Home Owner Grant dito na tinatawag wherein makakadiscount ka ng malaking amount if you use the property as your primary residence. Kaya ayun, nakatipid kami ng $845.

Nagkausap kami ng friend ko from Edmonton and I was shocked that they are paying $3500+ yearly tax for their single detached home na may value ng at least $100,000 less than our townhouse. Ang alam ko kasi, based sa assessed value ng property ang tax. So ibig sabihin mas mahal property tax sa Alberta kesa British Columbia?

Ooops, by the way, every year we receive din a Property Assessment Notice. Nakalagay dyan kung magkano na ang current "value" ng property mo at dyan din bine-base ang tax amount syempre.

The value of our townhouse decreased by 5% this year. In general, bumaba talaga ang value ng lahat ng properties ngayon due to many factors -- law of supply and demand, government policies in home-buying, etc. Tapos siguro next year mas bababa pa dahil sa Covid?  Pero ayos lang yan, wag na lang pansinin tutal hindi naman ibebenta pa. Tataas uli yan later on.

Looking forward to more pasyal in the future

I first showed you our fridge magnet display here. Pero ni-relocate ko na siya sa ibaba, malapit sa front door, late last year kasi medyo magulo pala sa mata kapag nasa may tapat ng kitchen counter. Hindi bagay sa 'minimalist' interior design ko.

Anyway, my son is currently obsessed with our small (pa lang naman) travel magnet collection. Palagi yan nakatitig sa magnets, kabisado na nya nga lahat. He's into places na kasi these days (he also loves looking at our world globe), napapanood sa youtube at ABC Mouse. Ang dami na nyang alam na countries/cities -- Paris, Japan, Malaysia, Africa, Arizona, India, Indonesia, Mexico, London, etc. -- and he would always ask us kung nakapunta / kelan kami pupunta sa mga yun.

Hay, sobrang sarap na sanang mag-travel ngayon! Nathan is already 5 1/2 kaya mas madali na syang isama at talagang interesado na siyang mamasyal. Kaso naman, kung dati eh time (and budget na rin syempre) lang ang issue, eto ngayon at dumagdag pa si Covid. It's now very uncertain kung kelan ba uli magiging safe ang mamasyal, ang pumunta sa airport at sumakay sa eroplano.

This year, two international travels na namin ang hindi natuloy/matutuloy. We were supposed to go to California last March 20 to attend my sister-in-law's wedding pero ayun at naghigpit na nga a few days before our flight. Tapos this July 8 naman sana ang uwi namin uli sa Pilipinas pero syempre hindi na rin matutuloy. Hay! Kung kelan pasyal na pasyal pa naman ako! Syempre hindi naman na bago samin ang pumunta sa California at Pinas pero I was looking forward to going to places there na hindi pa namin napupuntahan syempre (like Legoland!).

Kahit dito sa nga sa BC, ang dami-dami pa naming hindi nae-explore. Although unti-unti na nilang binubuksan ang mga public parks, ang hirap pa rin mag-enjoy kung nandyan pa rin si Covid sa paligid-ligid.

Tsk, so pano na nga ba? Nathan's very excited pa naman to buy more magnets. His goal daw is to full this whole wall with them.

When this pandemic is over, I will really make sure na mamasyal kami nang mamasyal kahit sa malapit lang. Sa totoo lang medyo tinamad din kasi ako the past years eh, mas ginusto ko na lang mag-mall palagi. Pero katulad nga ng sabi nila, we should invest on experiences and not on material things. Tama naman (pero material girl din talaga ako kaya hindi pwedeng walang shopping hehe). Tapos who would have thought na mangyayari ito, na mare-restrict sa travel ang mga tao. Ni hindi kami makapag-Jollibee sa Washington kaloka! (FYI, closed ang Canada-USA border sa ngayon at kung sakali man na lumabas ka ng Canada, kailangan mong mag-quarantine ng 14 days pagbalik).

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PS: I will buy at least two magnetic boards pa sana sa Ikea soon kaso hindi na available! Waaaaaaaaah! Gusto kong maiyak! Sana magre-stock sila. Sana talaga.

Hearts in our window

Last week of March 2020. One time while walking around our residential complex, I noticed that some of our neighbors have already put hearts on their windows. Naaliw ako. I was already familiar with the concept -- wherein people are decorating their windows with hearts and messages of hope to remind others that we are all in this together -- kaya natuwa ako na may gumagawa na rin pala nito sa community namin.  Syempre kelangan naming maki-join. Unang project ko ito sa gitna ng pandemya. 

At last, nagamit ko rin ang sangkatutak na colored papers na pinagbibili ko dati pa, karamihan mga bitbit ko pa from Pinas. The hearts kasi have to be colorful, hindi puro red kasi magmumukhang pan-Valentine's hehe.

I printed hearts on these colorful papers and cut them perfectly. I am telling you, OC ako sa cutting. Talent ko yan eh.

At syempre dahil kailangan ng rainbow to symbolize optimism that this Covid-storm shall also pass, I asked my son to color a printable rainbow template. 

I can go all out (just like some of our neighbors) but I opted for simplicity. Gusto ko medyo malinis lang tingnan at may pagka-minimalist kaya ayos na ito.

March 31, 2020. Almost 9pm na nang magsimula kaming magdikit ni Nathaniel. Night owls kami eh. I was happy na very enthusiastic din siya sa project na ito.

And here it is! Honestly, we were so thrilled! Nakakasaya pala talaga ng puso ang mga ganito!

Day time look. 

Actually inisip ko pa if we'll add more hearts pero ok na yan. Tipid-tipid din sa papel lol.

We put the remaining 10 heart cut-outs sa back side ng townhouse, sa may sliding door. I let Nathan tape them kung saan nya gusto (with a little guidance, of course).

And taraaaaaaaan! Ok naman din hehe. Again, hindi na namin dinagdagan ang hearts para hindi naman masakit sa mata. =)

It's already May 26, 2020 at almost two months na silang nakadikit sa bintana at sliding door. I have a feeling na magtatagal sila dyan... at least until next year, when the pandemic is over hopefully?

I took pictures of our neighbors decorated windows and I'll post them here soon! If you haven't done this project yet, baka gusto nyong subukan? I am telling you, it's so worth it. =)

Our temporary study area

I just want to show you our temporary study area now that Nathan's not going to school (physically). We live in a 3-bedroom townhouse that's big enough for us three but we don't have an extra place in the main room para gawing study area other than this. Ayoko sa sala kasi nga nandun ang toys and TV. Ayoko rin naman sa taas (in my 'me' room/office) kasi hindi ako makakapag-multitask doon. I spend most of my time in the kitchen kaya mas ok na dito na lang kami sa dining area para nga makagawa ako dito sa baba while Nathan is doing his homeworks.

We also temporarily put the new printer here para hindi na aakyat kapag magpi-print. But we'll bring it up once the school year is over.

Buti na lang hindi ko pa nabibilhan ng "something" (a cabinet, plant, or shelf) yang side na yan ng dining area. Naghahanap na talaga ako nang ilalagay dyan bago nagka-pandemic eh.

By the way, that teal cart is from Ikea (Raskog utility cart). It's one of the first things na pinabili ko kay Ford when I immigrated here in Canada kaya matagal na sa akin yan.  Super sulit talaga.

Here's my super kulit student.  Nakow sana talaga ok na ang lahat by September para makapag-normal schooling na siya uli. Hindi ko na kaya 'to hahaha!

A reminder for someday of today

I saw something like this in IG kaya ginaya ko. Just a simple reminder for someday of today.

We are still in the midst of Corona virus pandemic. Sana pwedeng ifast forward na lang ang mga araw at buwan, para pwede ng ilook-back na lang ito.

Stay safe, everyone! Unti-unti na uling binubuksan ang mga lugar at establishments not because the virus is gone but to save the dwindling economy. Let's all remember na nandyan pa rin sa Covid, patuloy na umaatake. The first wave is not even done yet pero nandyan na ang banta ng second and third wave. Basta let's be vigilant. This too shall pass.

#stayathome
#practicephysicaldistancing
#wereallinthistogether

Mother's Day 2020 Celebration

May 9, 2020 (Saturday). To continue our previous Mother's Day steak tradition, syempre nagpa-steak si Mayor Coblancs noong Mother's Day weekend. Walang steak for the past two years kasi nasa Pinas kami. Ngayon lang uli naulit.

I would normally prefer to eat out na lang when we need to celebrate para iwas-luto at ligpit na (saka masarap kumain ng hindi mo niluto, aminin!) kaso naman... nasa kalagitnaan tayo ng pandemya! Sarado ang mga restaurants.

But still,  dahil may okasyon nga, sa "labas" pa rin kami kumain lol. Thankfully, maganda ang weather. By the way, Sabado night na kami nagcelebrate para walang pasok si Dad kinabukasan.

My only request to Dad this Mother's Day was that chocolate cake. Ilang weeks na nga kasi akong nagke-crave sa cake na yan. Hindi siya mura at $40 (I bought it from my suking Pinay baker) pero keri lang... Mother's Day naman eh! Mother's Day! Haha!

Aside from (well-done) steak, we also had mussels, macaroni salad, and buttered veggies. Busog na busog na kami at sobrang sulit. Mas mura talaga kapag sa bahay lang kakain.

Sa totoo lang, sanay naman kami sa social/physical distancing haha. Lagi namang kaming tatlo lang ang magkakasama. Pero talaga, I am grateful kasi I am blessed with a small but happy family.

Thank you, Daddy Ford and Nathan! I love you so so much!

My 6th Mother's Day! I am far from being a perfect mom pero alam kong alam ng anak ko na mahal na mahal ko siya. Mama's boy nga yan eh! =)

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Here's the 'steak tradition' I am talking about: