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Leap Year and February 29

Here are some interesting facts about the leap year:

People

Famous people born on February 29 include*:

• 1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549)
• 1792 – Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (William Tell, The Barber of Seville) (d. 1868)
• 1896 – Morarji Desai, former Indian prime minister (d. 1995)
• 1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)
• 1924 – Al Rosen, American baseball player
• 1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero, former president of El Salvador
• 1960 – Richard Ramirez, American serial killer
• 1960 – Anthony (Tony) Robbins, American motivational speaker
• 1964 – Lyndon Byers, Canadian hockey player
• 1972 – Antonio Sabàto Jr, Italian-born actor
• 1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
• 1980 – Chris Conley, American musician and songwriter/composer

Events

Events that took place on February 29 in history include*:

• 1692 – First accusations began during the Salem witch trials. The trials occurred in Massachusetts in the United States, where more than 150 people were arrested and at least 25 people died by hanging, torture or during their prison stay.
• 1848 – Neufchatel declares the independence of Switzerland.
• 1940 – Hattie McDaniel was the first African American actress to win an Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as “Mammy” in Gone with the Wind. The movie won eight Oscars.
• 1944 – The invasion of the Admiralty Islands began as United States General Douglas MacArthur led his forces in "Operation Brewer". Troops surged onto Los Negros, following a month of Allied advances in the Pacific. This event was one of the highlights of World War II.
• 1952 – The first “Walk/Don't Walk” signs were installed in New York City.
• 1964 – Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser received her 36th world record. She was timed at 58.9 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle in Sydney, Australia. She was the first female swimmer to win gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games (1956, 1960 and 1964).
• 1972 – The Carpenters received a gold record for the hit single Hurting Each Other. The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo of siblings, Karen and Richard, who produced a softer style of music in an era when loud rock was in demand. They were one of the best-selling music artists in the 1970s.

I do not know any of the famous people though and I am only familiar with the Carpenters in the events.

Here are some myths and folklore for February 29:

Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Society doesn't look down on such women. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th. It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year.

CALLING ALL SINGLE LADIES, THIS IS YOUR YEAR TO PROPOSE!

There is a Greek superstition that claims couples have bad luck if they marry during a leap year. Apparently one in five engaged couples in Greece will avoid planning their wedding during a leap year.

Avent Feeding Bottles

My first purchase for my baby was bought with my internet money from blogging. Isn't it nice? Some site accepts paypal money but they do not deliver at a non-US address like Drugstore.com, I can't edit the account so I tried to look for another site and found www.allaboardtoys.com.

On the day that I purchased this online, another internet money came through my paypal account and it was too late because I should have used all my money to avail of the free shipping.

All in all, I earned a total of $70.00 in blogging since I started in October. I've been looking for other opportunities but it seems that there are limited opportunities and I am quite busy these days.

Birthday Gift from Kiyo

Got a late birthday gift from one of my online student in Japan, Kiyo. He usually buys his things online and just maybe this is his first time to shop at a regular store. Sanrio pa, funny isn't it?
He gave me a calendar book, a cellphone chain and an ecological bag which is very popular in Japan. In Japan they will charge you for every plastic bag that you purchase so you better use an ecological bag, similar to the green bag at Hypermart and at Rustan's. They discourage the use of plastic bags because it is harmful to the environment. I wonder when are we going to adapt these measures?

Ramiele Malubay on American Idol

• Age: 20
• Hometown: Miramar, FL
• Favorite Quote: "If you're hated, you're doing something right."
• Audition City: Miami
• Musical Influences: My musical influences would be Aretha Franklin, Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, Lani Misalocha, and Regine Velasquez.

Another Filipina makes it to the American Idol but I think she is not that good because she sounds like any other female singer ( Sarah, Rachel, Karylle, etc) here in the Philippines. I may be desensitized with all the songs I've been hearing from the radio. Especially when she sang "You Don't Have to Love Me", reminds me of Lani Misalucha without knowing that she really likes Lani.
I have to agree that she has an outstanding performance. Now I am wondering what will be the next song that she is going to sing? What voice range? Can she do pop? Is she a versatile singer or can she sing a Christina Aguilera song? How about fast song? She needs to practice and not confine herself with the songs she is familiar with.

APAS and Immunophenotyping Cost at PGH

I am an APAS (Anti-phospholipid Antibodies Syndrome) case and I thought of posting the charges and cost at PGH to have your blood tested if you are positive for APAS.

For those who are trying to get pregnant or having difficulty because of miscarriages do not lose hope, there is a way medyo expensive nga lang pero worth it naman. Everything for the baby, right?

Here are the names of the test and the costs:

1. APAS Anti-phospholipid Antibodies
autoimmune problem - treated with aspirin or low does Heparin. I am
positive for Activated Partial Thrombo time so I am taking aspirin. You need to take this test twice to see if the medicine works, if it doesn't work you may need to inject yourself with Heparin? (not sure)

(cost of test at PGH, 4,500)

This test includes:
Lupus Anticoagulants ( values /results)

1.Kaolin Clotting Time
2.Activated Partial Thrombo Time
3.Dilute Russel Viper Venum Time

Anti-Cardiolipin Antibody (ACA)
4.lgG
5.lgM

2. Reproductive Immunophenotyping
auto-immune and can
also detect leukemia, test for natural killer cells also has a role in
promoting cell growth in the placenta, so if ever you have this, there
will be a problem with the cell growth
(costs 4,500)

3. ANA (Anti-nuclear Anti-bodies) If you are positive
with this your placenta has a tendency to weaken and inflamed.
(cost 2,000)

4. ATA (Anti-thyroid Antibodies)
I'm also positive for this so I have to take prednisone, it has been studied that this can be a cause of infertility because it can cause a thickening of the endometrium based from my research not from my Immunologist.

(cost 1,500 - 2,000)

BZ Week

It's the middle of the week and I am already tired, I have a lot of pending write ups for my blog, just so I will not forget it. I will list it down:

1. Sunday event - Something Fishy at Eastwood
2. U-turn slot closed at Eastwood
3. My birthday gift from Kiyo
4. My valentine flowers from Irwin
5. Update on my Pregnancy
6. Esbilac substitute milk for the puppies

OK, so for now, I have to find time to do that, good thing this Monday is a holiday.
I have free time to do all that.