I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
I thought I'd use the title "Three White Hair" today because it's what made me laugh out loud today. I was chatting with my seatmate when he said he was so sad. I asked why and he said he had three new white hair! I burst into laughter because he sounded so serious! I told him he should treat it as wisdom hair.
White hair = Yoda = wisdom! Yaaaas!
I definitely have more than three white hair. A huge chunk of it came out only this year. I also have multi-colored hair, but I think it's largely due to my health fluctuating. I don't know about other cultures, but it's a belief back home that white hair can be caused by stress. Inuuban na ako dahil sa hirap ng buhay! (My hair is turning white because life is hard!).
I used to pull out random white strands I would see. Now I'm just leaving them in there to wear as part of my "evolved" self. Much like how Gandalf evolved as Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White. As I told my seatmate, treat them as your wisdom hair.
Brother Bo's video today is a great way to look at obstacles. This year has been full of obstacles for all of us, but it depends on you how you treat those obstacles. Lots to learn from this video, go watch :)
I realized today that there's been so many changes to my body this year. I thought that my body would have a boost this year since it's been 7 years since my heart surgery. It didn't happen and I realized that as you age these are some of the things you can expect. There's no way your body is going to be the same and you have to work harder to keep it in good shape. I'm happy to share that I'm feeling much better compared to a week ago.
My doctor was right, it takes time for your body to go back to normal after a viral infection. You can't wait around though for your body to miraculously go back to normal, you need to work hard to get back your stamina. I'm so grateful I have the most patient physiotherapist in the whole wide universe.
One thing we miss most this year is traveling. My plan this year was to travel more, explore more and make more happy memories. It took us awhile to feel comfortable to book a staycation. We finally did when we saw two friends go on a staycation at Marina Bay Sands Hotel. This encouraged us to go and book a weekend stay.
The day finally came for our staycation and we both realized we were not used to packing anymore. We had to look for our travel stuff since we haven't packed since the beginning of the year. If you're staying at MBS do follow their advise to fill-out the forms online and book your queue number before you come to the hotel. That would save you a lot of time.
After check-in we just rested a bit and then got some supplies from the mall. We were so excited we forgot to pack some water and snacks (the perils of not traveling for 10 months haha). We learned though that we should have booked restaurants prior to coming. We wanted to try Spago, but it was full. Luckily the staff called us back and said they had an available table for us. We sat outside (our preference) and enjoyed our first dinner. More about what we ate at Spago here.
We've always seen MBS from afar, but it was our first time to go up the structure (yup, only now after living here for 9 years!). After dinner we went to the Sky Deck to check out the view. I've been to many tall buildings, but this is the first time my knees almost gave way probably because it was an open air deck. It felt really different from enclosed sky decks. We got a 360' view of Singapore and it was beautiful.
The next day we had brunch at Adrift. It was a great gastronomic experience (what we ate blog post here). We chose the Chef's Way so we can experience different dishes. What made our brunch more fun was the crew of the restaurant. They were so friendly and efficient. I'm thinking maybe we can swing by again before Christmas. Adrift is love, love.
It was a warm day so we just hung out in the room after taking a walk around the mall. We had a wonderful nap (a.k.a. food coma) and was re-energized for dinner. Encountered the same problem on booking a resto, but found out you can get takeaway from Lavo. We were still quite full so we just got some pizza and pasta. We didn't eat that much because we were scheduled for the pool at 8pm (another thing you should book early!). The late night pool date was perfect because there weren't that many guests and we enjoyed our dip. It was refreshing since the last time we were able to go swimming was in late March.
Our last interesting experience was the buffet at Rise. We booked it a few days before check-in. It was also always full, but we luckily got a slot for Sunday lunch. It's a different buffet experience since you just sit and ask the staff to just bring whatever you want from the menu. We had a great experience since the crew were also very friendly and efficient. We definitely missed eating at a buffet place. It was so different from how buffets used to work, but we went home super full nonetheless.
Details about the food we ate are over at Lakwatsera Ako. Check out the posts -
There are days it's hard to get out of bed. Days when I don't feel so motivated. Days when I feel lazy. This happens usually when I don't have enough sleep or when I didn't get a good night's sleep. In the Philippines I hear this question asked a lot, "Para saan ka gumigising?" (Who do you wake up for?).
Of course, I wake up for my family, but when I need the extra boost I think about my primary work stakeholder, the teachers. Yesterday, I was smiling from ear to ear after a meeting because a consultant praised the event our teacher community is hosting this weekend. He said his friend from an international school told him about it. I told him the recognition should go to all the educators who worked hard to put the program together.
Through the years I have had the privilege of meeting and befriending passionate teachers across the globe. They are the busiest people, but they still find time to help others learn more. They give their time so selflessly so that others may learn. Just thinking about my teachers inspire me a lot.
Be inspired and learn from the Asia Pacific Google Educator Groups this weekend. They have put together an amazing line-up of learning sessions. You can check out the details here or check out the session list by language -
I must admit, when I went off to college I really did not know what I wanted to become. I originally wanted to take anthropology. I've just always been fond of learning about the past and how it has shaped who we are today. And that curiosity has stayed with me until today. The first thing I did when the pandemic was announced was to do some research on how they survived and got back up from the Spanish flu. I super love watching documentaries and history feature films.
My plan though got derailed and I ended up taking two degrees that were supposed to help me prepare to become a lawyer. I only realized what I really wanted to do when I was in my junior year in college. Too late to shift. I decided to finish my studies and started planning how to steer my career towards what I really wanted. I started taking my masters degree a year after I graduated.
I firmed up how I wanted to steer my career when we had marketing classes. I super loved the idea of becoming a product manager. I slowly began to understand what skills I needed to develop to become one. Midway through my studies I joined my Mom's company and helped her to export her product. I learned a lot during that time since you need to learn everything when you're a business owner (I was the business owner's only staff outside of our workers).
Unfortunately exporting our product became unfeasible and Mom decided to close her company. I was without a job and I started selling baked goods to sustain my studies (and Miggy's). I realized it was time to put into action my plan. Armed with experience I applied for two jobs. One was to become a marketing manager for a furniture company and the other was to be a product manager for an exporters directory.
I failed miserably when I interviewed for the furniture company because I got super nervous when they immediately put me in front of the company president. I went home really sad, but was determined to nail my next interview. My Kuya counselled me to over-prepare so that's what I did. I got the job.
And the skills list that I made I started to check it off. I never said no to a project, no matter how hard it would be I would just do it and treat it as a learning experience. And that's how I picked up the skills I needed to keep moving forward. I basically treated my career as a huge learning experience while doing something I enjoy. I went through ten jobs until I found one where I continue to learn everyday.
I realized now it was not so much about identifying a "title" you'd want to have on your business card. It's really more about gaining more skills as you go along. My director told me that if I wanted to move to my job I could be a GM already. It's not what I want though since I still enjoy what I do. I think as much as I didn't earn the original degree I wanted, I'm living it and more. And you'll be at the right place when you let God lead the way for you.
I thought I'd post this tidbit since one of my anaks recently asked me advise about moving forward with his career. And he pointed out that I gave him a good idea to ponder on. I guess my perspective has been this way because my Ate and Kuya told me when I growing up that if you end up working on something you love doing, you'd never work a day in your life.
I went to see my doctor the other day to get the results of the DVT and IVC scans I did last week. I also raised my concerns about how I felt after I had physiotherapy last week (the one that triggered the post "It's complicated".
I really wanted to move forward from the setback so I immediately got back on the horse last week. My physiotherapist monitored everything and we only did 4 minutes on the bike and other light exercises. My body's reaction a few hours after was bad. I barely slept and my whole body felt like it was being pricked the morning after.
My doctor said, "Please send my congratulations to your physiotherapist." He said that if I felt pain after the session it meant the exercise was working. I was honestly surprised with his reaction! Because it was my first time to feel that kind of pain and I thought it was really concerning.
My doctor said it's normal that my stamina isn't back yet after having myocarditis and it may take 3 to 6 months before things normalize. It was a nasty virus after all. He said I was on the right track to get well since I'm doing the needful -- eating properly, sleeping 8 hours and exercising. Nothing to worry about since my heart and lungs are fine. And the good news is my scans came back clear so I'm now transitioning a less evil medication.
So today my physiotherapist gave me the option to take things slow. I chose to get back on the horse immediately. I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow, but I think it's better for me to just keep going to get back my stamina and continue my quest to be better. Pain must not defeat me!
Spotify has a summary of what you listened to for the year. Saw this earlier when I used the app to play some Christmas songs after my last meeting. I needed to be in the right frame of mind to write several contracts*.
I looked through the "wrap" and it included a list of the top 5 artists I listened to in the past year. I showed the list to Sweetie and he pointed out that I have watched 4 out of 5 live in concert. I immediately looked at the list and asked my friends to guess who I haven't watched.
So who haven't I watched?
The Piano Guys
Most of my friends guessed The Piano Guys. If you did, you're wrong! Haha. I watched The Piano Guys on September 25, 2020 in Singapore. It was a surprise from Sweetie. The amazing music of The Piano Guys helped heal me and continues to do so until today.
Backstreet Boys
Some also guessed the Backstreet Boys. It was the last biggest concert I watched before the pandemic happened. It was also another surprise by Sweetie! He bought tickets just two days before the concert because he heard good reviews about the concert. It was on that day that I said goodbye to Menudo.
Truefaith
Ahhh, my all-time favorite band. I'm sorry to say, but I love Truefaith more than the most popular Pinoy rock band. Of course I got to watch them because I got free tickets from Eugene Marfil (Medwin's brother) who used to be SK chief of their barangay (story here). Anyway, that's how I got to watch them.
Juris
Of course I watched Juris when she was part of MYMP. Twice hehe. And the second time was a surprise by Sweetie! The sappy story on how it happened is here. The first time I watched with my friend Mabel (I've completely forgotten about it, thanks to my blog now I remember!). I love Juris' voice and that's why I still listen to her songs to this day.
Ben & Ben
I haven't been able to watch a concert in Manila for a long time now and Ben & Ben hasn't visited Singapore yet. So it's them. I haven't watched them perform in person yet. I'm subscribed to their YouTube channel and that's how I've come to love them.
If you noticed, most of the concerts I watched was a surprise from Sweetie! That's because Sweetie is the founder of Titikpilipino.com. It's a multi-awarded website on Filipino music and I was starstruck when I first met him (teehee!). The website is offline now, but you can check out some of the photos he took of Filipino artists back in the day on the Titikpilipino Instagram account. Hopefully someday Sweetie can surprise me again to watch another concert!
Ben & Ben, please come to Singapore when it's safe! We'll definitely watch your concert!
*This is where my legal management degree comes into practice haha. Dad would've been proud.
Yesterday I was telling my doctor how my usual day goes working from home. He was surprised how much I do in a day and asked several times how I cope. I told him we've been so busy this year and we all just had to cope. And then he asked me again how I cope and told me too bad I have a very hard job. We laughed and then he told me what he has experienced working with Filipino medical workers.
#OFW
He said it's been a joy to work with Filipinos. "All of them just do what is needed with a smile." He then asked whether this ability to cope is something that is taught to us in school. Or is it because of the water (of course he was kidding). I had a similar conversation with my manager last year. He noticed that when we promise to deliver something we always do. We are also always on time for deadlines.
I didn't really know how to answer because I noticed it's just in-born in us. We just do what we have to do and make the extra effort when needed. I said that it's probably all of us experience disasters growing up. Typhoons, flooding, earthquakes don't choose who to strike. I remember when I was in school we were all stranded in school because of flooding. We coped by all moving to classrooms in the upper level, rearranged the desks, ate whatever the nuns gave us and slept on the floor until we could go home.
It may also be the stringent training provided in school. We were taught to do well and work hard. We do that for our family. If there's one thing we always worry about it's being able to provide well for our families. So when we end up working abroad we give all our effort to do well. And for the medical workers here in Singapore, the Filipinos are really the best. The nurses who took care of me after heart surgery were Filipinos, the medtech who's been taking my 2D echograms is Filipino, CT scan? Xray? Blood tests? All Filipino.
My doctor said it several times how amazed he is that Filipinos always do well and cope very well especially in stressful situations. He even compared it to his country and said it's definitely different how we cope. I concluded by saying that's the Filipino resilience and spirit. We're just naturally that way because of the conditions we live in.
I know the term "Filipino resilience" is something we're starting to hate, but I think it's something we should hold on to. It is a special trait we have that shines abroad. The Filipino spirit just keeps powering on.
