Vacay Soon?

Sweetie has some travel fund that he has to use already because it's expiring. It's from refunded bookings from 2020. It's easy to book, but our main concern is safety. We then checked the DOH COVID-19 tracker to check the number of cases by province. You can now look at data by province and by city. They have also included occupancy rates of hospitals. 

Of course, you can never predict what happens in the future. Things can change so fast with the virus still out there and with strange variants cropping up, the best recourse is to do your vaccinations. Aside from the DOH data, we've been watching vlogs and asking friends also about their recent travels. 

Bohol, 2019.

Sweetie tentatively booked some dates. He said he can re-book it anyway if the situation is not viable. We're looking at visiting Bohol again since we felt our 2019 vacay was bitin. Maybe Coron? Or El Nido? Or Dumaguete or Bacolod since we have friends there. We wanted to visit Cebu and Davao, but we felt maybe it's too early to visit more populated places. There are other places we want to visit, but want to go first to what's familiar.

I can't wait to feel sand again on my feet and be refreshed by sea water. And drink fresh mango shake and eat yummy seafood by the seashore. Oh boy, now I want to go out of town this very minute! Haha. Still a lot of adulting stuff to do for now, so will have to wait. The heat will also just force me to stay inside, it'll be best to delay for now. 

Have you guys gone on vacation? 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Focus on the Truth

A friend told me I should write about what I feel, what I'm thinking about. He said that when I re-shared a post he made. I realized then that I have to do more since I have family and friends who are still deeply embroiled in the lies perpetrated by the dictator's son and his minions. It is exasperating and frustrating.. I cannot understand why they do not believe in facts. They even continue to share pages and sites perpetuating fake news. 

The election season just runs for a few months. Our family and friends will still be our family and friends. I must admit, I am not a very patient person. I told myself though it's more important to keep my relationship with my love ones intact than answering back the lies they have been (maybe unknowingly) sharing. It's been really hard. 

I just finally watched "The Kingmaker". It an honest third party view of what happened to our country. My heart broke again and again while watching the documentary. From thousands killed during martial law to thousands killed because of the drug war. Not to mention the billions robbed from our coffers. Watch the film and understand why you shouldn't support people who would treat you as mere objects. 

I have resolved to keep sharing the truth. It may be that my loved ones are stuck in their echo chamber and only see fake news and lies. I hope they also see why it's important to vote for someone who has the right values and the right qualifications. I wrote about how I would assess candidates in 2016 and it's still useful since the job description hasn't changed. 

If you follow the news, you'd see similar activities from martial law happening now. The loans that we are still paying for through our taxes. The debt though has ballooned to 13 trillion and will be paid again by citizens through tax. When I was an OFW, I was only taxed 15% as a foreigner. If I worked here, my employee income would have been taxed at least 32%. Have you ever wondered by Singapore is able to do that even though their population is only 5.86M compared to 109.6M in the Philippines? 

I hope we can just focus on what is real and what would really be good for the whole population. Let's not allow just a few families to benefit from all the hardwork we give through our taxes. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

  

What Grocery List?

I've been ordering our supplies online since we got home. It's hard since not everything is available online and oftentimes there are things that become unavailable. Some items I had to purchase from the shops of brands on Lazada/Shopee. The delivery cost piled up. 

Yesterday, we finally went to a supermarket! We had a grocery list and Sweetie said we shouldn't stay long. It was still relatively early so foot traffic was light. Doing groceries in person is much more fun. Well, we ended up getting more than what was on the list! We really missed our grocery runs. 

After doing groceries we just got takeaway and went home. We're still wary about dining out. Still need to take care since the virus is still out there. The government has also been warning about a new surge if we don't take care. Well, it was a good experience for us. We'll probably resume our outdoor exercises if it isn't too hot. 

One of the things I learnt from the pandemic is to celebrate simple joys. Grocery shopping in person achieved! <3 <3 <3

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

A Brief Respite: First Staycation in a Long Time

Went on a one-night staycation last night with the boys. We were honestly avoiding a possible brownout which the utility company said may or may not happen. We haven't been out as a family since December 2019, so we thought it was a good time to try. 

We just went to the city next to us. I had second thoughts about it tbh, since it's such a hassle to pack an overnight bag. Anyway, after some delay, we finally checked-in around five in the afternoon. Waited for the sun to set and then we decided to walk around to get some take out. We ended up at Angrydobo. I convinced the boys to try it since I got to try it back in 2019. The food was certainly tasty and it made the boys happy.

There was an always open McDonald's across the hotel. When we were in Singapore, we used to have midnight snacks at McDonald's. I told the boys we should go get some ice cream at midnight like we used to. We were all in pajamas by 11, so that did not happen hahaha. Maybe we'll do it next time. We were just so full from dinner and Sweetie got some cake also from Conti's. BR.

We're back home now. It was just a quick getaway. I realized it was a much needed break from our daily routine. It was my first time to reach my daily step count goal. I definitely needed the push so I could regain my strength. The staycation also did wonders for my mental health. I've been unwell the past few weeks (post-booster) and it wasn't boding well for my mental health. The brief respite broke the downward spiral of my spirits. My mind has to be well so the rest of my body can get better. 

If you need a break, just go and do it. It doesn't have to be far away. You can break the monotony in many ways. Just make sure to follow proper health protocols, remember the virus is still out there spreading. 

And now I go water the plants. 

Have a great day everyone!

*BR - baboy reflex. Learned this term from my niece. 

Home Improvement: Reducing Heat

A huge chunk of my time has been spent solving issues at home (mostly at Mom's house). One of the items on my check list was to reduce the heat at our home. I noticed that at night our living room and dining area would still be very warm even with fans. The heat that goes up to the ceiling apparently goes down at night according to Architect Ed (watch his video on ventilation). 

Architect Ed has several suggestions on his video how to reduce heat. It's ideally implemented though during house construction. I don't have budget to get a floor mounted airconditioner. If I did that would also increase electricity cost. We do have enough windows for air to come in. We realized though that the issue was the glass windows were bringing in and trapping the heat inside the house. Mom's jalousy windows bring in more air than our modern sliding windows. 

Our windows made us feel like we were inside an oven. It wasn't good also for our things and I had to move my medication downstairs where it's cooler. I saw an ad a few months ago for window film. It works like car tint. After months of weighing pros and cons we finally decided to have our windows tinted. They explained it's used for heat reduction and privacy.  We prioritized heat reduction. 

Kuya Francis, Kuya Jayson and Kuya Danilo worked really fast yesterday. They finished the windows upstairs yesterday. I was cooped up downstairs while they were working, so I just got to see their finished work after they left. And wow, I immediately felt the difference. It was definitely cooler and the area did not feel like an oven late in the evening. The kitchen also felt cooler this morning when I prepared breakfast. 

It's just been a day so we'll see how effective it is in the coming days. The tint also helped reduce the glare of the street light across our bedroom. We've been using block out curtains the past few months to keep the heat out and block the outdoor night light. Now maybe we can use normal curtains, we'll see. 

Now that we've reduced the heat in our home, I can probably move on to other home issues haha. I've been trying to figure out how to bring in more air to Mom's house. Some of the improvements they made in the last two decades, blocked air from coming in. Ahh, it's a problem I listed for the architect to think about. Gotta get better though so I can work on it. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Inspired Artistry, Beautiful Performances by Filipino Artists

I found the list of candidates I voted for in 2019 last week. I looked over the list and realized not one of the senators I voted for won. I preferred to go home to vote because I always knew I'd eventually go back. A friend who used to live in Singapore told me it was really very hard to transfer her voter registration. She said it was like registering for the first time. Good thing I followed my Mom's advise and just went home to vote. 

Miggy missed voting during the 2019 election and good thing we went in late 2019 to have it reactivated. I checked our profiles the other day and he's marked active, whew. My Mom though, who never missed an election, was tagged "under review". I'm checking now what that means because I'm sure she'll be upset if she's not able to vote. 

It's a busy day here at home. We're having our windows tinted to help reduce the heat. I'm as usual cooped up in the craft room. I discovered videos of artists supporting VP Leni and Senator Kiko. Here's some I've come across:

Bukas Palad Music Ministry flash mob at EastWood Mall

Liwanag sa Dilim, All Stars

Dancers for Leni

Ito ang Gusto Ko by Arkin and Elmo Magalona

(Now I finally know who Arkin is! Hehe).

Hey Moonshine now has a video of their new song, Ipanalo Natin 'To (Spotify link below)

And there's many others like Yeng's version of Liwanag sa Dilim, Rosas by Nica del Rosario, Saranggola ni Leni, theater flash mob (and more on Audie Gemora's YouTube channel), a new song from my friend's band, Hey Moonshine, and there are many more from individuals and groups who have been inspired to show their support through other performances. (Happy to add more to the list!). I watch inspiring videos for good vibes. My "artistic" contribution is my pink vintas quilt throw pillows (see above) which I hand quilted two months ago. 

Only a true servant leader can inspire so many people to come out and express their support through song, dance, cooking/baking for others, providing free transpo during rallies... Only a true servant leader can bring out the best in us and remind us that there is hope. And it is within reach, but we have to make sure that the rest of those we vote for will support her. I now have a good idea of who I will vote for in the national level, but now I need to spend time to see who I should vote for in the local level. they're strangely not really campaigning in our area, so I need to research. 

I panicked a bit last night when I saw a supposed drone shot of the sortie of an opposing candidate. I immediately checked out if there were corroborating posts. The drone shot just came from one person and was picked up by media. The police claimed there were 100k attendees, but strangely there was just a handful of posts from attendees. I saw more posts from people in the area complaining about the noise. Were they not proud to attend? The hashtag didn't even trend and I only found more posts when I searched for the name of the venue. I just found it strange that people weren't sharing their support online. Well... dedma, it's truly better to focus on the task at hand which is to do house-to-house campaigning. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

xxx

Team Bahay! The Exciting Part is Coming!

We were once again team bahay for the #PasayIsPink rally yesterday. Started watching at around 4 in the afternoon and stayed on until the end. I had to shift from one platform to another, but eventually watching the livestream on YouTube became stable. They probably had a hard time connecting to the internet because of the huge number of people. 

I would have wanted to be there, but I'm stuck in an 80-year old's body, haha. I've "attended" a couple of rallies online and I keep watching because I learn something new every time. I also don't want to be "left out" from big things that could happen during the sorties. Last night's rally was amazing and it was still early when the "sibuyas" was brought out. Here's a list of my favorite moments:

• The sectoral snippets. The representatives from Manibela and environment defenders immediately made me cry.
• The beautiful song Jolina sang with the Bukas Palad Music Ministry
• Bayang Barrios leading the Pambansang Awit
• Gary and Gab Valenciano's performance
• VP Leni and Sen. Kiko's speech
• Jim and Buboy of Apo Hiking Society singing together again. I really looked forward to this! 

I know that the whole sortie can be re-watched on YouTube, but throughout the rally I'd take photos of what was happening. I've been doing that across all the rallies and I'd also save photos of the drone shots. Looking at the photos bring me so much hope. 

I am truly hopeful that we will win and steer back the country to the right path. I don't even want to entertain any thoughts what will happen if we don't win. Praying hard everyday for VP Leni and her team to succeed and always be protected from any harm. 

Do make sure to check if you're voter profile is active. Do this now because from experience, the website usually gets super busy a week before the elections. You can check it here: https://voterverifier.comelec.gov.ph/voter_precinct. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

xxx

True Inspiration For All Comes Once in a Lifetime

My mentor, Dr. Ned Roberto, gave me this advise many moons ago. He said to always have a "mentor" at every point in my life. The mentor you choose need not know that he is your mentor. You just need to observe and pick up skills/behaviors so you can learn. He also said you can have multiple mentors at one time. I followed his advise since then and I learned a lot through the years. 

And upon us is someone who is providing inspiration for all of us. She has been through a lot in the last decade. She lost her husband because of a tragedy. She's been ridiculed, insulted and trashed by politicos and trolls. She has admirably withstood all of it and is now fighting for all of us. We all naturally get angry, but her response has been "Mas radikal ang magmahal" and to focus on the goal. 

I was reading tweets until the wee hours of the morning. It's been heartening to  read about house-to-house campaign experiences, people providing free food and freebies during rallies. She has been bringing out the best in us. That is true inspiration and rare. The only other time I have seen our country come together was when Ninoy's death pushed people to overthrow the dictator. 

Of course, I am referring to VP Leni Robredo. She has become our inspiration and our hope for a better future. And today we show all our love for her because it is her birthday. Happy, happy birthday Madam VP. May God continue to bless you and protect you and your family. I pray every night for you and your team, so that we may win this fight. 

And yes, VP Leni is now one of my "mentors". :D

For everyone attending the #ArawNa10To People's Rally and Street Party, please take care and enjoy! 

P.S. Belated happy birthday Rocco!

Artwork by Robert Alejandro. He has graciously allowed anyone to use his Leni-Kiko artwork to be used by anyone.   

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

I Wish

I wish I could attend the rally tomorrow! I've been following the plans of the contingent of Scholasticans attending the rally. Aside from planning where to meet, they have also been sharing tips on how to survive the rally. I'll just join online and hope the internet will be stable. 

I've been spending more time offline this month. I've been doing things that make me happy so I could recover faster from the booster shot I got. Yes, recovery has been very slow. I've been doing activities to push myself and develop more stamina. On Monday I puttered around my tiny garden. The lettuce I planted in January hasn't really grown (both in soil and the hydroponics set-up). I'm not entirely sure why, so I decided to plant a new batch. Surprisingly, the seeds sprouted just after two days. Here's how it looks today -

Hope this would be a better batch.

On Tuesday, I worked on my memory quilt. Slowly piecing it together. I decided to take a photo of each shirt I used. I realized each one holds so many memories. It's something I could probably blog about since I never really wrote about what I experienced within 15 years. I did start writing a book about it. Still thinking whether I should continue it. Anyway, I hope to finish the quilt blanket this quarter. 

Wednesday was a busy day. We had to do adulting tasks for our three homes. It's hard and I realized managing an "ancestral house" (that's what the engineer called Mom's house since it's over 50 years old). Learning a lot though and I told Miggy to move us to a smaller home when we get older. If you are a homeowner and want to keep your home, make sure to have a budget to fix things at set times. 

I had to rest on Thursday because I had too much activity on Wednesday. Spent most of my time sewing and just sprayed neem oil on my plants. Also decided to proceed with our investment to use solar energy. It will save us a lot of money in the long run and it's one of the items that has a clear option to reduce cost. 

We were supposed to do some adulting stuff again today, but I feel I need to rest. Miggy and I have been watching "Our Great National Parks" on Netflix. It's the show former President Obama is narrating. It's interesting to watch because it shows how nature can recover if it's given space. They also show some never before seen animals. It's just 7 episodes and we're almost done. I plan to watch "Is it Cake?" next. 

For the weekend, will plan some family time and plan to watch the rally online. I wish though they'll also stream it on YouTube since it's more stable than watching livesteams on FB, plus it's easier to cast on TV. 

Will It Be Worth It?

Kuya had solar panels installed at Mom's house over a year ago. They did the day set-up only. That means it only covers her consumption during the day. Kuya wanted Mom to use the a/c during the day whenever she wants. So far her monthly electricity bill has been halved. I expect it to go lower since the occupants have been reduced. 

Our electricity consumption has increased in the past month because of the summer heat. The boys have been keeping me in a cool room to prevent heat exhaustion. Kuya mentioned we should get a solar set-up so we can save money. He promptly introduced me to his supplier, Mark. 

To determine how many panels we'd need, Mark asked me about our consumption. From there he was able to compute how much average electricity we need per day. The nice thing about it is you can sell your excess energy to Meralco. 

Computed the cost and I think we should be able to recoup our investment within 24 to 30 months. Potentially less if we're able to sell the excess energy to Meralco (dunno how much they pay you though). Using solar energy will also be good for the environment. It will reduce our carbon footprint also and I don't have to feel guilty about using a/c all day. 

As with any purchase we make, I'm still fussing over it. I think it makes sense though to make this investment since electricity is almost 20% of our monthly expenses. It is a significant chunk and at least we have this option to eventually reduce (and maybe make zero) the cost. So maybe we'll do this (too bad we can't do this for our condo unit).

Let me know if you have any experience about using solar energy for your home. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely 

 

Busy Bee

Busy day today taking care of things for our homes. Really need to work on our to-do list. I hope our home can be organized properly by my birthday. It may be a tall order, but I hope we can finally remove all the boxes by then. We're also working on getting our old home cleaned up so it can be useful. We have a lot of Marie Kondo-ing to do! 

Well, to be honest, my day didn't start well. I was already stressed within 30 minutes of waking up. The shipping company that brought our stuff from Singapore just dropped a huge tax bill on our lap five months after they delivered our items. We had asked about the dues after our items were delivered, but they said there wasn't any bill anymore. We also didn't hear back from them after completing the delivery in late November, so it was a huge surprise to receive a huge bill (more than 2x of what they originally quoted). Gaaah, Sweetie's taking care of this for me. Just super disappointed in the shipping company. 

The beautiful trees we passed on our way to our other home helped calm me down. There's really something with nature that makes you feel everything will be alright. As my friend, Ms. Myna, posted the other day, "There isn't enough room in your mind for both worry and faith. You must decide which one would live there." I choose faith. 

I was happy though to hear that friends found yesterday's blog post on what I did to my GSuite Legacy accounts. I shared it because I felt other users like me were procrastinating about it (haha!). I fixed my accounts the other night on a whim so I could tick it off my to-do list. I was glad to find out it didn't require me to do any cash out. Yay for small wins! 

Well, must chill and rest for now. Tomorrow will be another day. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Goodbye GSuite Legacy Edition, What I Did to My Accounts

When Google Apps (changed to GSuite, now Google Workspace) was introduced over a decade ago, I immediately signed up my domains to avail of the free service. The accounts you can create for your domain was bottomless and it was so easy for me, a non-techie, to manage. I even made how-to guides way back.

I always knew the free edition would end eventually. You cannot imagine how upset I was when limits were put in the Edu edition. Of course, it is a business and you can just imagine how many resources are needed to run the service. The pandemic probably played a huge role in speeding up the demise of the free edition. I've honestly been procrastinating about my accounts, but Sweetie reminded me about it last weekend.

My past life, so if ya have any questions. 
Go to the Google Workspace Help Center hehe.

Ended up working on my accounts last night. I've been using my GSuite legacy edition accounts mainly for my blogs and I use the rest of the features every so often. I didn't even think about moving to another service. I trust the system (Google Workspace) and it's easy to use. I didn't even nag Sweetie to help me upgrade to the paid edition. You need to watch out though for updates on the UI because Google changes things often. I'm used to it. My only advise is... don't be scared to click on stuff and if in doubt, go through the Google Workspace for issues. 

As I was doing the upgrade last night I discovered that Philippine based users get a 70% discount and if you sign up now you also get 4 months free! Here are the steps I took when I upgraded (some tips included):

1.  Log-in to the dashboard using your admin account. 

2. Make sure you accept all the required terms and conditions/legal and compliance stuff. [Click on the @ sign on the left side and go to "account settings"].  

3. Once done, remove any unused accounts on your user list because you're going to be charged per user. 

4. Update your billing details. I had left this blank for the longest time, so I finally did last night. 

5. Click on "Learn more" on the banner on the top of the dashboard page or follow the links sent to your email by Google Workspace to upgrade your account. GSuite Legacy edition users should follow the steps found here. Click on "Upgrade now".

or

6. You will be shown a pop-up to review the prices. Click on "Place order" and then you can select which edition you want. I just got the "Business Starter" edition.

Make sure to switch country to Philippines so you get 70% off.

7. Make sure to switch the country to Philippines because the default is the US. Here's how the price looks when it's under the US:

More discount if you sign up under the Philippines:

8. Charges will essentially start in August. I upgraded my accounts now so I don't have to worry about getting the plug pulled in June. 

And yes, I'm paying for it since there's no free lunch and I used it for free anyway for more than 10 years now. I also didn't want to bother migrating to another service since my set-up is just for me. It would probably cost me more if I migrated. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

It's Sew-Time!

Jumped out of bed when I woke up because I'm excited to work on my t-shirt memory quilt. I started working on it in 2019 during a break. It's my collection of Google shirts I used for 15 years. My shirt size leveled up through the years. I was an extra small when I started and that progressed haha. I was truly an achiever because I gained the Google 10 multiple times! They adjusted it to Google 15 after a few years because it's true, you'll really gain at least 10 pounds on your first year. 

I asked help from Miggy last weekend to arrange the cuttings for me. I normally go to him to make sure that the colors of my quilts are appropriate. He has an eye for it (skills honed from being an animator). Here's what he came up with:

Miggy agreed I should use maong-like fabric for the borders. I thought it would be nice to match the shirts with maong since that's what you wear with t-shirts. I look forward to finishing the quilt blanket since we really need a new blanket haha. Each shirt comes with many happy memories of trips and events, I never parted with any of it because it holds so many memories. Hope to finish it this quarter!

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

He is Risen! Time to Rediscover the World

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a good Holy Week. I just spent it at home with family. It was a good time to reflect, reset, recharge and remember how much Jesus loves us.

In the last few days I realized I need to up my efforts to get better. I was gaining momentum last month, but things went haywire when I got my booster shot. Stepping out in unfiltered air has been very difficult for me. To be honest, I enjoy just staying home, but I have responsibilities. I know Mom wants to see more of me. We could probably bring her to the house until I get a bit better. 

I was ecstatic yesterday when Sweetie said we could go on a joyride. It was a joyride like no other because we were able to go to Alabang! Traffic was light and the parking angel immediately gave us a space after entering the parking area beside Makati Supermart. I only wanted to go to Fully Booked and buy spaghetti at Makati Supermart. We were in and out in an hour (Miggy was already texting after 45 minutes hahaha).

 

I would have loved to hang out at Fully Booked longer. I haven't visited a bookstore since 2019. I wanted to remove my mask so I could smell the books! Haha. I didn't so I just bought some books so I could smell the books at home, hahaha. Which reminds me, I need to watch out for Big Bad Wolf PH heehee. 

Of course, we couldn't resist getting some Krispy Kreme doughnuts after visiting Fully Booked. It reminded me of that time when I did a gig for them together with Mica and Az. I loved doing it, but Sweetie is much better at social media than me. My muse does not want to be tamed. Oh boy, the doughnuts were amazing! I think it's been three years since I had a KK original glazed doughnut. I also strangely liked their iced mocha more than my usual SB white chocolate mocha. 

The highlight of the trip to Alabang Town Center was getting my favorite spaghetti at Makati Supermart. The last time I had it was on my birthday in 2019! I got two orders of spaghetti. I ate one last night and I'm going to eat the other one tonight because why not. I forgot to ask if we could order online and just get it via Grab Express. Since I've been able to get my favorite spaghetti, then next would be my favorite burger -- Dayrits!

And that is how I'm rediscovering the world. I just need to remember to bring my inhaler though hehe. 

P.S. Here are the contact numbers of Makati Supermart Coffee Shop in case you're a spaghetti monster like me! I just copied the numbers from their menu, let me know if it doesn't work. :)

Alabang - 8850-7687; 0995-1343233

Unimart Capitol Commons - 8652-1832; 0905-4973035

Unimart Greenhills - 8721-0594; 0945-1402784

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely  

Reflect, Reset, Recharge and Remember

I remember those days we used to spend Holy Week in Camangui, Pasacao. My parents would forbid me from swimming after 3 in the afternoon on Good Friday. This extends to Good Saturday and explained to me that Jesus is dead and it's dangerous to do anything. Of course, I followed what they said and would just do other things. 

I do remember there wasn't really anything to do back then. There wasn't anything on TV, cable did not exist yet, the radio wasn't to be used. You just had to bear the week in silence. You weren't allowed to do anything. Things got a bit better when I was a teenager because I was able to participate in the activities of our church. I was also able to do Visita Iglesia with friends. 

In the  past decade I was either in Singapore or here and we'd just spend it at home. We were never really keen on going on a vacation during Holy Week since that's what most people do. We'd enjoy the silence in the metropolis with everyone gone. We might go on a joyride today, just to go around and spin Pokestops. I'm treating it as a reward for surviving the nasty booster shot I got two weeks ago. I think I'm finally back to normal now. 

With cable and online streaming sites, the silence I used to observe during Holy Week is not the same. I just kept myself from posting on social media. I now know that the best way to be silent is to just stay offline. It's the best way to reflect, reset and recharge and remember that Papa God loves you. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

 

Good Friday 2022

 

Always remember, God loves you. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Maundy Thursday 2022

 A blessed Maundy Thursday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

What If

I was ecstatic to see many friends pass the bar exam.  Wow! Most of them chose to become lawyers on top of their existing degrees and work experience. I truly admire them for doing that. It's really hard to work and study at the same time. I did that when I took my masters. A former manager (one of the VPs at G) asked me to pursue my doctorate. I promised her I would... it hasn't happened yet. Haha. I don't know if I have the energy to pursue a doctorate at this point. 

Today's OOTD is my Kulasa #kakampink shirt <3

If I followed what Daddy wanted, I would've been a lawyer. I took double degrees that's considered as pre-law. I disappointed my Dad and my professors because I didn't pursue it. I just felt it wasn't the right path for me. Maybe if I was allowed to run in the SK elections, maybe I would have taken a different path. Maybe I would have attained my dream to be mayor of my city. 

That's the what if, but I chose a different path and I don't regret it. I feel I was where I was supposed to be in the last 25 years. I also know I'm in the right place now. What I have experienced in the past two decades is unique and I'd like to believe I was able to help in my own little way. 

I don't like dwelling on what ifs because I believe in trusting the Lord to navigate your life. I gave up the struggle when I felt things weren't going the right way. Things righted when I lifted up everything to Him. I'm glad I did because I never second guessed whether I was doing the right thing. I always knew I was following His Will. 

Have a blessed Holy Wednesday everyone. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

My Blood Type is Milk Tea

I honestly don't feel like writing today, haha. I have those days when my brain just refuses to cooperate and it's one of those days. I'd rather work on my summer curtains than blog. I think it happens to everyone and I remember there were days also when I had to push myself to work. I normally motivate myself to get moving by dangling a reward in front of me. Today I'm motivating myself with my favorite milk tea if I finish this post. Yes, it's alright to bribe yourself once in a while. 

Should I grow my hair long again?

We're getting our home cleaned today. Asked Gab if he could send his angels. I was getting frustrated about some areas of the house that I couldn't clean myself (the windows and sliding doors). Any small exertion triggers an asthma attack. So I got help and I look forward to finally seeing the rails of the windows and sliding doors clean. I always get Gab's angels because they are so thorough. 

I've been staying mostly offline lately. Things are just so toxic because of the upcoming elections. I still read the news and check what's trending, but I don't allow it to affect me. By focusing on the goal to help my chosen candidates win I'm able to avoid getting stressed about what's happening. I'm just doing what I can to help (download the Leni 2022 app if you need ideas on what to do). Just pray hard and do what you can. We will win. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Download the Leni 2022 app -

Be a #Kakampink! 

Android: https://t.co/KFFP69LAcC 

iOS: https://t.co/py6nyjCJQK 

Use my invite code: JPY866

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely 

Moving On and Conquering Pain

I'm honestly thinking twice about getting another booster shot. The effects of the booster shot affected me physically and mentally. Whenever I get sick my spirit gets sick also and last week felt like six months worth of post-PE symptoms compressed into a week. Yes, it was that bad. My lungs were on fire for three days. Then it all stopped suddenly and I slowly got better over the weekend. The first two doses of the vaxx felt like a walk in the park. 

Anyway, what's important is I'm better now. I'm still experiencing odd asthma attacks, but I'm fighting it back. Last week felt like Geralt fighting the striga, the weekend felt like the sun finally rose again. That's how I deal with pain and stress. I look it in the eye and I tackle it. Whatever I went through last week seemed to have killed off the pain I've been feeling since I left my beloved job. 

Welcome to our messy fam room!

Leaving the job I spent 15 years of my life on was really painful. It felt like I was breaking up with someone. To be honest, I couldn't even wear my Google shirts. I would, but rarely, because it felt heavy. At some point I even told Sweetie to stop wearing them when we were still in Singapore. Well, last Saturday I purposely wore my favorite red "uniform" and it felt okay. Today I wore a the 2012 Android Dev Camp shirt and it feels okay. To me it means I have conquered the pain. 

Time is all I needed to move on. It's been a year since I decided to leave. They held onto me though until November, hoping I would change my mind. I'm still being recruited to do stuff for them, but my health wouldn't allow it. I like my life now and whatever energy I have I'd rather spend it with my family. It is a limited resource, so I have to prioritize. 

Live, love, learn, forgive, let go and be grateful. Life is fleeting, so accept what it is you have and pray hard for guidance. 

Happy Monday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

The Farmers Made Me Cry

When Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan approached Sen. Kiko Pangilinan during his speech I thought something was up. I've watched a number of the rallies online and she never did that in past rallies. After awhile she interrupted Senator Kiko and told him that the San Nicolas farmers were there for him. Sen. Kiko turned his back and was obviously full of emotion. I started bawling then. 

Photo by Team Kiko/ Earvin Perias

In the past few weeks we saw politicos endorse VP Leni, but not Sen. Kiko. To me that was infuriating because these politicos were obviously enablers of bad regimes. These endorsements are half baked because they're voting for VP Leni for president while supporting a different candidate for vice president. I do not believe that these endorsements are sincere. They just did that to protect themselves and protect their amo. I will not vote for these enablers. They are not truly serving the Filipino people, but only their own interests. They should be flushed out of the system. 

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan said it is okay with him. He will do whatever it takes for VP Leni to win. You'd see him staying at the back whenever these endorsements happen. He would also skip some rallies to give way for these endorsements. He just does what's best for the citizens. It should hurt though. Being set aside that way like you're just a pawn in a game. 

Photo by Team Kiko/ Earvin Perias

The endorsement of the farmers made me cry because it's symbolic of what we all want. We want VP Leni to win and succeed. This will only happen if she has the full support of government and that includes Sen. Kiko and both houses of congress. The farmers also showed us that this fight is really for them, those in the laylayan. And I'm grateful that they came for Senator Kiko because I think he needed it and we needed to be reminded that this fight isn't just for all of us. 

We can do it! If you need ideas on how to campaign, download the Leni 2022 app ☺️ 

Be a #Kakampink! 

Android: https://t.co/KFFP69LAcC 

iOS: https://t.co/py6nyjCJQK 

Use my invite code: JPY866

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely 

Be Purposeful

When I retired I told myself I'd just play things by ear. I would just do whatever I felt like doing everyday. It left me feeling unproductive. In the last 15 years I always had annual and quarterly goals. It was for work, but that's what helped me be purposeful. I thought I could do away with it. 

We watched The Witcher 2 this past week. Yennefer, a sorcerer, lost her powers at the end of season 1. In season two, her goal was to get it back. Eventually, she realized that she needed to find her other purpose. She got back her powers after sacrificing herself to save someone. 

In our very messy family room. 

Since I'm living a different life now from what I used to, I thought I could just do away with what I'm used to. I've yet to learn how to merge my past with my present. I thought I could just slip back to my previous life, but I'm different now and I have to bring all of it with me as I move forward. 

And so moving forward, I'm going to create quarterly "OKRs" so I can get things going. That will also prevent me from being too sedentary. It's time for me to set aside my frustration over being limited physically and embrace the new me. 

Here are my OKRs for this quarter (in random order):

1. Health. Get back on the exercise bike. Gain more independence.

2. Home. Get things going to get cabinets done. 

3. Mom's Home. Also get things going with the architect. 

4. Adulting. Finish organizing all the docs. 

5. Family. Go on R&R and visit Dad. 

6. Hobbies. Finish summer curtains and start working on new collections. Harvest something!

7. Nutrition. Slowly move into a more plant based diet. Make sure it's safe for me (due to some medicine restrictions). 

8. Cooking. Learn 3 new seafood dishes and cook at least once a week. 

9. Baking. Bake at least 3x a month. 

10. Spiritual. Don't lose sight of Him. 

This is just an initial list, I probably missed a lot of things. One thing I learned about crafting OKRs is you need to be specific. Goals should be steep, but reachable. I've done away with moonshot targets since I got sick because it doesn't work for me. My mantra since last year is to do better at least 1% than yesterday. It is easy to get frustrated when you have physical limitations, so it's best to build on success than overstretching. 

Most of my goals are more "internal". I still need to develop my strength so I can have more stamina to do more. Hopefully next quarter I can expand my activities more. 

Happy weekend everyone! I'm just grateful for now to be back up after getting my booster shot. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Ant Invasion! Four Full Months in Our New Home

The pesky ants haven't left our home. We managed to ward off a huge amount of them with a mix of homemade and store bought insect repellant. We realized that you need different solutions for different ant varieties. We got most of them, but a particular set of ants destroyed our brand new split type aircon. Good thing it's still under warranty, so the service center changed the mother board at no cost. Whew! 

Just realized we've been in our new home for four months now. The hot summer season forced us to find a cooler space to stay during the afternoons. We fixed up my craft room and it's been the perfect spot in the afternoons. 

I was stuck in the bedroom since I got my booster shot. Finally got out today and stayed in the basement. I also checked out my plants and saw they've been happy with the rain. I'll have to find the energy to re-pot some of the veggies to allow them to grow more. 

We were sad to find out after the heavy rain from the past few days that the chicks were gone. Miggy thinks it's due to a predator (likely a cat). They were yellow vented bulbuls and we're really sad they didn't survive. Miggy said that those birds produce chicks thrice a year, so we'll see if they make more in July.

Four months in our new home. Four months of new memories. It's a new quarter, let's see where the hot summer months bring us. We were hoping to do a day trip to Tagaytay, but with the recent phreatomagmatic eruptions we decided to delay it. Maybe we'll go North, we'll see :)

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Vitamin Sun

I'm probably hideously pale again. I've been cooped up in the bedroom since Saturday. Thought I'd be able to venture out already, but my body is still weak from the effects of the booster. I'm just glad my lungs don't feel sore anymore. The past six days feels like months of post-PE recovery compressed in a week. It's not fun. 

I get my daily dose of sunshine when I water my plants. It's a sacred time for me. I used to abhor watering plants, but now I like it because it calms me down. It makes me happy when they are happy when I give them something that spurs their growth. Ahh, the joys of being a plantita. 

I was feeling down again because of the effects of the booster shot. It really got me. I'm concerned that it may have a lasting effect on my body. I don't want what little stamina I have reduced. I got a different kind of vitamin sun today. I'm grateful to have friends who are bundles of energy and joy. 

A friend pinged me today and we talked about growing mushrooms. It was a good reminder for me to focus on getting well so I can do what I want to do. It was the boost of sunshine I needed. So today I will start on regaining my strength. I'll start with getting Mom some groceries (online of course), restart doing wall pushups and make a proper meal plan. Tomorrow I hope I'll manage to stay in the craft room during the day and maybe water the plants. 

One step at a time :)

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

A Pink Bench

We've been working on fixing my craft room since February. I thought it would be nice to have something I could lie down on when I get tired. The room though is very small so I decided to get a bench. Tried looking for one in online furniture shops, but I couldn't find the color I wanted and most were quite expensive. 

Reached out to the shop that made our dining chairs and they said they could customize it for me. I sent them an idea of what I wanted and the measurements. The bench was done in less than two weeks. I would have gotten it sooner if they stuck to the delivery time (no midnight deliveries for me sorry). 

The bench was finally delivered last Saturday when we got home from the mall. Sweetie re-organized the craft room and I immediately tried it out. I only got to enjoy it for awhile since the effects of the booster shot suddenly hit me. I super love the bench though and I'm happy I requested for it to have storage space. I'm just on the fence about requesting it to be tufted, but it's growing on me. 

Love, love <3

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

The Logic of Peace

Before going to sleep last night, I came across a tweet by Pope Francis. He said, 

That led me to read about Cain and Abel to understand better what he meant. I know Pope Francis tweeted it in the context of what is happening in Ukraine. The tweet spoke to me. I realized there's a lot to learn from his message. 

I cried buckets when I saw Pope Francis in Rome! I felt the same love surround me when I saw Pope John Paul II on World Youth Day 1995.

They say hurt people, hurt people. That is true and that's what we all do whenever we are hurt. I see this a lot everyday on social media. It's election time and it's gotten easy for people to throw mud to each other. I have been trying my best not to react anymore since it's not going to help anyway. It also brings a lot of stress and I've seen many friends quit social media because it's affected their mental health. 

Pope Francis made me realize that the source of my stress is from thinking like Cain. You cannot douse fire with more fire. The way to kill a fire is with water, thus you must deal with it by acting in peace. And if you continue to do war or lead with that mindset, then you can end up like Cain wandering in the desert waiting to be killed. 

I'm grateful for this tweet by Pope Francis because it helped me understand an issue that's been plaguing me for decades now. I realized that there are things you can never get back. The best way is to let it go and let it remain a memory. 

Let go. Let love. Be at peace. 

P.S. I'm feeling much better now after experiencing the effects of the booster shot. I still need to regain my strength and stamina. Hope to be back to normal in a few days.

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

First Mall Adventure Since We Got Home

I'm still weathering through the effects of the booster shot. I've ticked off all the possible effects. I'm just thinking it's really working for me and my body will be battle ready after two weeks. Missing Mom though since I haven't been able to VC with her. 

Since the vaccination center was located at Megamall, we were able to break our mall fast, LOL. We've been avoiding crowded places so that meant no trips to the mall. 

We arrived an hour before the mall opened. It felt surreal to be in a mall. I was honestly dazed and had to hold onto Miggy/Sweetie the whole time. I've been having spatial issues since I had my second PE and I get cross eyed when there are many people walking around. The will to go around was strong, so I just walked slowly.

After getting vaccinated, we had breakfast at CBTL. It was a rare treat to dine out with the boys. After that we got more food! We got takeaway at Racks since it's been years since we dined there. It's one of our favorite goto places with our parents.

Of course, we just had to visit one of the shops. We went to Old Navy. They had really good discounts, so we ended up getting some shirts. The biggest budol of the day though was at Mercury Drug. I got one quarter worth of meds. The bill didn't look pretty. 

I probably ran on adrenaline the whole time we were out. I was still feeling perky until about 4 in the afternoon, then the booster shot took over my body. A lot of friends said it takes about three days before you get well. I guess I should reschedule some of my appointments this week since getting better is taking longer than expected. 

Happy Monday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Not Fun

It hit me with an uppercut after 8 hours and it brought me down since then. And I thought I'd weather through the booster shot with no issues just like Mom. 

Sweetie's been taking care of me. He made sure I kept hydrated and warm. I probably kept him up because I was shivering all night and had a terrible non stop headache. I was scared I'd clot again because I started cramping ugh. 

I told myself though that my body was armoring itself to battle the virus in case I get it. The fever finally broke after my ASAP nap and hope it doesn't come back. Sweetie said I'm still a bit warm, but I look much better now than last night (I must've turned green again lol).

Going to rest for now and will just blog about our mall adventure tomorrow. Happy Sunday everyone.

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Boosted!

Miggy and I finally got our booster shot. It was delayed for a long time. My doctor required me to get Pfizer since it's safer for people like me. I got help from a friend to find a non-hospital vaccination site and our vaccination was scheduled after a few days.

Since the vaccination center was at Megatrade Hall we decided to go really early to avoid the mall crowd. Arrived at Megamall before 9am and was in line at exactly 9. The process was quite easy and I think it helped that I printed all my documents as well. We were done in less than an hour. Woohoo! Thanks Mandavax!

It's been almost 8 hours since we got our shots, Miggy's arm is hurting more than mine right now. My arm feels like something is biting it, but it's not as bad as the symptoms from my first dose. I'm just icing it for now and I'll just rest for now.

Tomorrow I'll share the experience of visiting a mall for the first time since we got home. 

Happy Saturday everyone!

Thanks so much L.A. and Mandavax for taking care of us ❤️

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely