DAY 19 (Community Quarantine)

  PINEAPPLES- I bought pineapples that according to the vendor came from Pillila Rizal. I was thinking of buying apples or oranges but I have seconds thoughts about imported fruits.

     First, they are  foreign fruits and the Filipinos have thrived without them. We have a lot of native fruits that are cheaper and tastier.

    Second, they are imported from China and many western countries avoid importing fruits from China because of the traces of harmful chemicals found in them. Of course I am not sure that local pineapples are not treated with chemicals but knowing that they did not travel for days to get here, at least there are chances that no preservative are sprayed on pineapples skin. At least there are less.

    I  used to have allergy to pineapples way back in my teens but now I don't have it anymore. It is one of my favorite fruits and I eat it all the time despite the rashes that develops. I guess the frequency of eating had a homeopathic effect on my anti bodies and they finally gave up. 

     I planted the top of fruit on pots. I have six of them and If I have the space I would have planted more.

     I think these pineapples are more than a year old. Still waiting.

    WASHING MACHINE- My mother has been telling me, quite a few times may I say, to buy an automatic washing machine. The one where you just load the dirty clothes, turn on the the timer and the water, watch TV, then come back to fold the clothes.

      My washing machine is almost two decades old. I bought it at installment plan for a year when I was still working in Makati City. That's four years of college, two years teaching in the private school, and a decade in the public school service. I'd say it is about 18 years old. I had it repaired twice.

    Of course I can buy a new machine but I love mine and I am afraid I may not be able to fix simple problems like a loose switch or a clog drain on a new hi tech unit. I think it they have brains of their own, artificial intelligence or something. 

   I like it old school. Operating my Sharp twin tub is like going to the gym.

     1. Putting the dirty clothes into the washer and out into the basin engages the core and leg muscles.

     2. Rinsing clothes is an arm wringing action that involves the arm muscle group from the wrists to biceps, triceps and shoulder muscles.

    3. Sitting down and standing up while rinsing engages the core, the back muscles, and the legs.

    4. Usually I do four or five loads, that's about an hour or hour an a half of low impact steady state cardio workouts.

    It may not look glamorous like riding a recumbent stationary bike, or walking the mill, or doing zumba (not that these are bad) but it's killing two birds, saves money while doing low impact exercises.

    If you are wondering why there's a terra cota pot in there, it's my stool. I used to have a plastic one but the seat was cracked. It kept nipping my butt and every time I stand up it's biting and sticking on my shorts like Jaya my pet dog that have not seen me for days.

    Anyway, it's of the right height but a bit hard to sit on.

    CIRCUMTULI- It's summer, circumcision time for boys. I don't know if there will be one this summer because of the virus. I do hope there will be one because circumcision is a right of passage among boys. It is when boys start becoming men.