Robusta

I aim to write more often about a newly discovered interest. As much as I'd like to call it passion, I feel like I should earn it, if i call it that-- a passion. You see, like most late-30 somethings in the internet, I started getting interested with plants. 

Okay, houseplants. Because saying I like plants in general is killing it (the term, not the actual plants), I mean kingdom plantae is a kingdom. I have to tell you, the last time we had plants was when we moved to a new apartment in Manda. (ohhh...I did write about this before)

So yes, I was a plant killer in my other Manda life. There are actually many factors that led to this, and one of them involved being so busy with work and homelife (I gave birth to P2 while I was in the end of the semester. but hey-- I still managed to sit in of my classes' finals exam. two weeks post partum). I remember looking for particular plants then-- marigolds, because I read that they are great mosquito repellents. I thought my kids would need that. I am a mother first of all, so expect that most of my decisions are based on the protective instinct.

Which brings me to these--houseplants plants. We're in the middle of the pandemic, and I remember a week before Easter Sunday when I began worrying (because that's part of my job) about what will become of us, especially my kids, in this crisis. And while I worry a lot, I am also a doer so I thought of ways to address some of my concerns. One of which is the air we'll be breathing in our small condo unit, and more often because we'll have to be holed up in there for weeks. I also thought about post-pandemic, of how we have to make sure that our air is in good quality so that there will be less allergic reactions. In short, we needed something to purify it. 

Air purifiers in amazon abound, and at different price points. There are advertisements for personal air purifiers, something that you can hand around your neck, something which efficacy sounded like those balance bracelets which were all the rage in the past, worn by NBA players which turned out to be just expensive jewelry.  I am not yet convinced by this contraption, but you'll never know, when things get really stressful by school opening in September you might finally see me giving in. I bought a portable purifier for our car. My initial line of thought was airplane travel, especially a long flight, and saw these true HEPA purifiers that can be powered by usb. So there.

I can't really think of anything else better in purifying air than plants. I am not even sure those portable canisters I bought has true HEPA filters in them, but I am sure about plants.

So Easter Sunday, my first batch of leafies were picked up by the husband. After reading about houseplants, with keywords 'first timer', 'hard to kill', and 'low light' I was able to make a selection. It was scary at first as I don't want to do 'plant killer part 2'. But given that these are indoor plants I was able to monitor/ fuss about them more. And I enjoyed doing it. I enjoyed looking at them, making some small talk (cos why not), I relished the idea of spending a quick time with them everyday. I asked the kids to pick their his/her plant, just to get them involved as well. It was a routine I enjoyed doing.

If you know me better you'd know I don't choose things randomly. "Para necesitar, y para mira" is one of my mottos. Which brings us to plant #14. I keep seeing these rubber plants (this and the flf) on anything design related, only to find out that wowza--a rubber plant can do the purifying job of all my plants combined. So I emailed our local nursery to inquire about a ficus elastica, and replied with a 'we don't have one, but there's a robusta burgundy and two variagated here'. 

I have no idea what a robusta burgundy looks like, and variated sounds too complicated so hell yeah, I did what I do best-- I researched. 

I ended up with a ficus robusta burgundy just in time for my birthday. Maybe it comes with age, but I've started to like the term robusta. Robust, like sturdy, uncompromising, strong and healthy. If there's something I'd wish for myself as I turn a year older, that would be it. Now, our former neighbour in Holland V in SG, a nice Mongolian gentleman has tried to associate me with the term robust before. NO KIDDING.  We shared a lift ride and he said something about how I am an ideal wife because I am robust, and that I should take that as a compliment. I'm sorry, but I did not take his advice that time. I did not like it, and it did not help that we just watched Genghis Khan. I just gave him a baffled look, I was too confused to say anything nice. I told J about it (he was still my boyfriend then) and boy did he laughed.