Twenty years ago, the ozone layer depletion resulting to global warning was so far-fetched and so technical that it was considered a domain for scientist only.

I remember that it was a favorite topic in essay writing contests for the Science Month Celebration when I was in high school. Twenty years hence, we are not just reading about it in scientific journals or encyclopedias or hearing about it on the news, we are actually feeling its effects.

In the past few years we heard of the phenomena “La Nina” and “El Nino.” This is basically what is happening with us today. In Luzon, they are already saying Novenas asking for rain while the rains in Baguio are accompanied by ice (hailstorm). While there is no rain in Luzon, in Mindanao some mountainous areas are experiencing landslides due to heavy down pours. And, according to government authorities our freaky weather may result to water rationing, food supply shortage, and an assortment of calamities.

The reviews and predictions of scientific authorities are gloom and frightening. We have been urged to take better care of our environment twenty years ago and even earlier. Now we have more than enough reason to heed the call.

    I have a nail fetish. When I meet a person for the first time, my eyes would usually stray to his/her fingernails. And I can’t seem to help sizing the person by the state of his/her nails particularly its state of cleanliness. I so, so dislike nails of men that are untrimmed and those of women that are long but dirty.

    In my dating days, I get automatically turned off with a “prospect” that has long, untrimmed nails. Because, personally, I think that the condition or the degree of the cleanliness of a persons nails somehow tells the kind of person he/she is.

    I read an article about nail health and surprisingly I learned that our nails do not just protect our fingers. They are more importantly indicators of a person’s state of health.

    According to the article, white nails are an indicator of liver disease. Partially-white nails indicate kidney disease. Diabetics usually have yellow nails with pink at the base. And so on.

    Healthy nails are owned by a healthy person.

    Are you healthy? Look at your nails. . .       

    Becoming pregnant was the scariest and most exhilarating experience I ever had in my life.

    Pregnancy gave me a whole new perspective of life. I am both scared and depress, and excited and happy at the same time.

    How did I know I was pregnant? Instinct, pure woman’s instinct. But like most woman who did not plan of getting pregnant, I did not want to acknowledge that I was pregnant.

    However, I observed that my sexual appetite dropped to a negative, as in “nada.” I had to put 100% effort to making love but my husband still complained about my being “cold in bed.”

    I cry at the lightest provocation and meaningless jibes especially from my husband. And, my tear glands seemed to have suddenly doubled their supply of tears.

    The most exasperating of all signs is becoming sick (as in wanting to vomit) at any given time of the day. The usual smell (of perfume, sautéed garlic or onions) and taste (of fried egg and fried dried fish!!!) would seem to twist my insides.  

    I finally accepted my being pregnant after the fourth week. The denial and exasperation was  replaced by feelings of awe, excitement, and a deep sense of peace. It felt very right to be pregnant, to be in love, and to be alive.

    I read all the materials I can get my hands into about pregnancy and motherhood. I wanted to be fully prepared to take on this new role in my life.

    My son is already one year and eight months old, but I still have that feeling of awe and the deep sense of peace. Becoming pregnant took me and my husband a step deeper in love. It wasn’t just, “I am pregnant,” it was “We are pregnant,” because he totally shared with me the experience.