The Old Blogging Days

So there's been a lot of brouhaha in the blogosphere the past week due to a Tupperware incident. Nothing like good old tsismis to bring out old bloggers to converge in Plurk. There's been several incidents in the last few years and I usually just take it with a grain of salt. Kanya-kanyang trip naman yan and well we all have our own opinions. The only thought about this incident is just to provide a tip when attending events (or just generally when you go out) -- use ziplock bags! It's not bulky and you can always have one or two in your bag if you need to take out food.

Some bloggers mentioned about the Taste Asia food fest we had a couple of years back. I realized after doing a quick search on my Google Photos that it's not just a couple of years -- it's been ten years! The first event had about 150 bloggers and if I remember correctly more than 70% of those who attended blogged about the event. What we did was entirely an experiment and the arrangements we done purely on trust - provide the food, we'll invite blogger friends to come over. The goal of the evening was to provide an opportunity for bloggers to meet and sample the food at Taste Asia. It was originally meant for just 10 bloggers, but the list grew longer and SM said, "Let's do 150!"

It was an awesome event which resulted in the formation of long term friendships. I met a lot of people that night and it was super fun. I think it worked because we all just came together to learn about each other and what we blog about. It was just like your high school writing club where everyone was focused on their own niches. There was no competition, just pure respect for each others work.

Tech bloggers from that era.

Nung naki-pa-pic ako with the travel bloggers.

I guess it was just pure serendipity that provided that opportunity to me. I had no idea then why SM wanted to meet me. What they pitched to me sounded like a good way to bring people together and that's why I agreed to do it. It cemented my reputation though that I'm a "blogger". I still view blogging as a hobby for me. I don't see it as means of livelihood for myself (uhhh I only get Adsense payouts every few years hahaha), I leave the revenue generating activities to the experts. I ended the Taste Asia events because I learned that there were others who started to earn from it and the brands had different expectations as well. My goal was community building that's why I decided not to continue doing it. I am forever grateful though to SM for providing that opportunity because I met awesome friends that have been around in the last ten years.

Taste Asia 1 Photos
Taste Asia 2 Photos

*This post is dedicated to AJ and Coy. Missing both of you a lot. 

All We Need is Love

The world seems to have gone mad. The negativity seems to be constant. I wonder though if things were the same in the past and if the negativity is just amplified by the current platforms we are using. The world is much more connected now compared to the past. Information is just at the tip of our pointy finger (that's what I use on my phone). Are the amount of bad things happening today the same as before or much more? (The nerd in me wants to try to quantify it, I just don't have time to do research).

The Beatles song "All You Need is Love" sums up what I think we should all be reminded about.

"Love, love, love 

Love, love, love 

Love, love, love 

There's nothing you can do that can't be done 

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung 

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game 

It's easy Nothing you can make that can't be made 

No one you can save that can't be saved 

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time 

It's easy 

 All you need is love 

All you need is love 

All you need is love, love 

Love is all you need"

I remember when I was a kid I gifted my Mom with a tiny signage that read, "Do all things with great love." She placed it in the bathroom and it was a constant reminder for me to be mindful about my actions. I have retreated a lot of my public online activities especially on social media because it's been causing me a lot of stress (my number 1 enemy). I wonder how we humans can just show more love to each other... I think if we did we'd be able to lessen all the anger that's going around and hopefully the world will be a better place. 

Truefaith!

Truefaith has been one of my favorite bands since I was in college. I stumbled into their music while I was working on my PolSci thesis. I was meeting with our barangay's SK chair when he mentioned that the SK chair for Marcelo Green Village (Eugene Marfil - he's now officially part of the band)  was the brother of Truefaith's lead vocalist. I told him I had not heard about them and he promptly gave me free tickets to the gig. My thesismates were so happy we got free tickets. We went and that's when I fell in love with their music.

The song that got me hooked on Truefaith.

I was really ecstatic last week when I saw Medwin guest at ASAP. I always listen to their music either on my iPod (my very old one) or through Spotify. I collect their albums and bought new ones when my CD collection went underwater due to Typhoon Ondoy. How I wish I could go home and watch their concert on July 22 at the Solaire Theater.

Truefaith is one of the bands that has stuck to their brand of music. If you listen to all their albums their sound is consistent. They are unique and I like the fact that they don't follow trends. When you hear their song you know it's Truefaith. And more importantly, they always come out with original music. I'm looking forward to their new album which is set to come out in August/September this year.

I wish they visit Singapore and do a show here! =)

How I Keep My Composure

The last few months have been hard for me. I was getting sick from too much stress. I had to visit a doctor almost every week to work on my asthma. It was getting really bad and things culminated last Sunday when I had to be brought to the emergency room (aptly called A&E in Singapore). It took about four hours before they discharged me. I missed attending our quarterly review. I felt so miserable because I haven't been able to breathe properly in the last few months.

My family have been very supportive. I know they have been extremely worried about the state of my health. They are the ones who keep me afloat. It would have been easy to just give up and just make a mess of myself, but my boys have made sure I always keep my composure. That's why I love them to bits. They have been my constant guardian angels.

Very few people can detect my moods. Just a handful can determine if I'm going through something. I really appreciate my friends who check on me when they know I'm not doing well. I see them as my guardian angels since they usually steer me to the right path of thinking. I'm a worrywart and when I spiral down that path it eventually makes me sick. My friends don't know it, but they usually say the right things to remind me to respond instead of reacting.

I think I finally turned around last Tuesday. My family and friends have been praying for me. I think I'm back to my old self after having some Jollibee last Wednesday. I just hope and pray though that I will be able to manage my stress better so that my health can improve. Please pray for me too :)

The Way to Answer the Why

Taipei City

I loaded up hours worth of work to do on the plane for my flight to Taipei today. I have stuff figured out and just needed to put things in writing for our quarterly report. I didn't make a dent. My brain has been uncooperative the last few days since I've been sick. Fever does fry ones brain.

Ended up watching "My Ex and Whys" and it was the perfect movie for me to detach. I'm a LizQuen fan and I try to watch all their movies through TFC. I loved the movie because I related so much to it.

Many people now only know me and Sweetie. They don't know that there was so much drama in my life before he found me. I was pretty much like Cali before I met Sweetie. I had lost all hope to find my one true love. I had baggage and I was angry. I was untrusting and didn't entertain suitors. People in my previous work used to call me the ice queen behind my back.

I guess I got tired of it and eventually tried to see if I would find the right one. Ara Mina's character (Cali's mom) explained this very well. Why should we continue to try to find love? Because we live for love and if we don't try to find it then we would have lost our chance to love and be loved.

When I look back at my past I realize that I needed to go through all of it to understand and accept what was best for me. I can now look back fondly at the past -- the good and the bad -- because it's part of who I am today.

Maybe someday I can put all these experiences to good use and help others heal. :)

Cultivating Silence

I hid in my shell in the last month and a half. I have not blogged. Limited use of social media. I would read posts of family and friends just to keep updated, but posted sparingly. I thought it would just be good to take a step back and just "listen". I did this for two reasons: (1) as part of my Lenten sacrifice; (2) to recharge and detoxify from all the negativity. I also felt I was unproductive and helpless. I needed a reboot.

It was a slow painful process since I've been used to a daily routine -- wake up, reach for the phone, check social media, comment, post, do it again until I realize I'm running late for the bus. I timed myself and found out that I was spending way to much time online outside of work. So I started to limit time I spent online outside of work. I thought about getting out of social media but it's so far the best way to keep in touch with family and friends and it's a means for me to keep in touch with the communities I manage. So the limited time I spent online I just read, liked posts, commented and shared posts. No new content from me.

I call it "disentaglement". I was caught in a reactive maze and I had to get out of it. You read posts, get all worked up, comment, re-share and end up not really doing anything. I needed the silence to re-focus and become productive again. By late March I was a bunch of nerves preparing for our quarterly review. I was freaking out because in my own mind I didn't do well for the first quarter. My output wasn't at the level I expected. The stress was making me sick.

I was in a daze while presenting my reports because of the meds my doctor gave me. The good thing though, I was only stressed because of work. The added external stress from external negativity (I emphatize too much that's why) was no longer there.  As my Mom advised whenever I had to face a "test", remain calm. I did and I passed the review. I actually received more work to be done, but they said it's a good thing (haha).

Since Easter I decided to post again since I want to keep in touch with family and friends and let them know that I'm still alive and a busy bee as ever. I'm glad I went through the exercise of cultivating silence. As our coaching mentor taught us last year - growing and leading isn't about speaking your thoughts all the time, listen and ask the right questions.

Feeling anxious? Unproductive? A mess? Maybe you just need to disengage for awhile so you can go back to the spot where you can be your old productive self.

And, of course, pray. 

Panorama Photos of Beautiful Views

It's finally Friday! I know my posts the last few weeks have been quite heavy so I thought I'd share some beautiful view I've had the opportunity to see in my travels.

Boracay sunset. 

Crystal Cove, Boracay. 

 Good Shepherd, Baguio City.

Singapore at dusk. 

Tokyo view from Roppongi Hills. 

 Singapore from Esplanade.

View from Vivo City, Singapore. 

Sydney, near the Maritime Museum.

Sydney. 

Subic.

San Francisco. 

Palawan. 

Kamakura, Japan.