There is Life After a Beautiful Career

I didn't tell anyone when I was thinking about following the recommendation of my doctors to retire. I even told Sweetie about it when I was already half-way through my decision. I didn't want to alarm or worry my family about my plans. I prayed and kept praying until I felt at peace with my decision. 

I had a wonderful career. Working at an international tech company was my 11th job. I stayed there for 15 years and had a very unique experience. To be honest I still don't know why they chose me over the highest executive of a bank. I had my quirks, but I think the job fit me like a perfect glove. 

The decision to leave was a very tough one. It was very obvious that my body needed to rest and it would die if I continued to batter it with so much stress. It was very hard to leave because I couldn't imagine what my life would be. 

What helped me was to remember my original goal before I joined the company. I told myself I'll just complete my top 10 wish list for my country, have Miggy finish his studies and then go back home. Miggy completed his studies in 2019 and I completed my check list by August 2020. Remembering what my goals were made it easier for me to disengage and embrace the recommendation of my doctors. 

It took awhile to fully disengage and accept my new life. My life is quieter now and I'm happy living it with my boys. We live very simply and have been focusing on what's important. I have also stopped asking God what my purpose is now. It's very obvious! My purpose is to remind people to focus on what is important. Pray. Be happy. Love. And serve. 

Breathe. 

“Friends, do not be afraid of silence or stillness. Listen to God. Adore Him in the Eucharist.” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Lettuce Disaster!

A few days ago I finally transplanted the seedlings. I had to wait a few more days after I mixed the soil. I followed the planting guide provided by Ramgo for lettuce. Spent four hours carefully transplanting the seedlings to it's new pots. The stems were pretty sturdy so I felt confident they would live. 

I was disappointed the next day when I saw more than half of the lettuce had wilted. I checked the soil before I watered it to make sure it wasn't waterlogged. It was almost dry, so I proceeded to water it. The next day, all the lettuce had wilted, huhu. The only one left standing until today are the bell peppers (or sili, I'm not sure since I didn't label the packet haha). 

All gone :(

Oh well, I was so disappointed since I was really hoping the lettuce would grow. I'm not giving up! I'm just going to wait a bit and find time to plant new seeds. I'll probably plant them in the pot with mixed soil so I won't have to transplant them.

And, yup, the basil also did not make it. Boo. 

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Brunch at a Cozy Cafe in Sta. Rosa

The rare times we go out we like having brunch. We've been exploring places in the south to avoid traffic and throngs of people. Found a cozy cafe in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, called Three Monkeys Brews & Bites from an article listing good brunch places in the south. Since it would be a bit of a drive, Sweetie messaged them to check if they have ample parking space and to reserve us a table. 

The cafe is located in a more residential area. It would be easy to miss, so best to use Google Maps to find it. We waited a few minutes to be able to park. Breakfast folks were just leaving when we arrived. We were early for lunch, so we practically had the place to ourselves. 

Every time we visit a place for the first time, we always ask for a list of their bestsellers. I got the tapsilog since it was on top of the list. Miggy tried the longganisa. Sweetie got a sandwich and we also got pizza to try. We also all had coffee since it was brunch. The food was delicious and we'll likely visit the cafe again.

One thing interesting about the location is it used to be a church. The staff told us Fr. Caluag used to celebrate mass there until the pandemic. The other half of the place is a museum and a school for teachers. The place is indeed calming, probably because it used to be a church. 

They also have good outdoor seating. They have a lot of plants and herbs outside and a nook where you can play board games (which you can borrow from them). They said they're still continuously doing improvements. Do look for Ms. Tapia if you have a chance to visit. :)

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Floppy Disks and Diskettes | Vintage Tech

I thought all my disks and diskettes were washed out during typhoon Ondoy. Apparently, some were still intact and Mom kept them. We found them while sorting through her stuff. Oh, just realized the younger generation probably did not experience using disks and diskettes. They are what we used to store data and apps. 

Nowadays, most people use the cloud or external disk drives/USB. Before USBs though we also used CDs to store data and apps. I remember using Kuya's computer. If you wanted to type a document, you'd have to insert the application diskette on drive A, then your data storage diskette on drive B to save your file. You'd have to exit both the app and data diskette if you wanted to use a different application or play a game. 

By the time the 1.44MB floppy disk became available, MS introduced built in apps. Most of my disks just contained data, unlike the bigger floppies which could only hold less than 1MB of data. Today's photo files wouldn't even fit the 1.44MB floppy disk, haha. Nowadays, you can easily have more than 100GB of free storage in the cloud. You won't need special storage boxes since everything is up in the cloud. No need to have physical back-ups. 

Well, Sweetie bought a disk reader. He successfully opened some of my diskettes. We're trying to see if one of our older desktops can read the bigger floppy disks. Sweetie also found his stash of disks in his childhood home. His data is more useful than mine. Too bad we couldn't open the file of Dad's book on Subdivision Laws. I hope I have it somewhere in my files.

Also found my old logo programming diskette! 

Sweetie's programs are hardcore though.

I have no idea what we'll do with our piles of disks. We also have boxes of old CDs. You can't really keep these things forever since they eventually become unusable. I remember I spent a good part of my break in 2019 backing up my CDs. We're just figuring out how best to dispose of it. We'll probably shred it first before disposing it for privacy. 

Have you found any of your old disks? 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Don't Forget This in Your Wellness Journey

I must admit, at one point in the past few years while battling chronic illnesses, I let myself go. I stopped putting on moisturizer and lotion. I didn't even bother to put VCO on my hair which I do every few weeks to keep my hair shiny. I had been religious with moisturizer after a friend in Japan got me face mask. She said I needed to moisturize more.

After that, I asked help from a high school classmate to teach me how to properly take care of my skin. She gave me a list and since then I religiously used the products. During the pandemic though and when I had my second PE, I slacked off. I was not motivated to spruce up since I was feeling unwell and just cooped up at home. 

A few months ago i told myself I had to work on my looks. They say, "If you look good, you'll feel good." So I started religiously moisturizing again. I've also been putting some VCO on hair every few weeks. I also shifted to organic (and earth friendly) soap shampoo and conditioner. I only noticed yesterday when Sweetie and I stepped out for errands that my skin and hair look better. 

My doctors have also been complementing how I look. They say I look healthy and not like someone with chronic illnesses. I told my doctor, "If you can't perform, japorms!" (A quotable quote from Marc Macalua circa 2008). Well, I guess that's why Grab hasn't approved my PWD discount application...

Don't forget to take care of your skin and hair. Aside from using moisturizer/lotion/VCO, don't forget to hydrate, sleep well and eat nutritious food. 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Organizing My Craft Room

My craft room had gotten very messy the past few months. We stationed my sewing table in the family room so I've been working on my projects there. My craft room soon became a storage space. I finally got around to organizing it last weekend and removed the gardening stuff that accumulated on my table (former dresser, now cutting table). 

I asked our decluttering coach to skip the craft room since I want to organize my supplies myself. I organized my fabric stash by "category". I'm the only one who understands how it's categorized, haha. I remember where I could find each fabric. Sometimes I just sit in front of the cabinet and look at the fabric for inspiration. 

I know there are better ways to organize my fabric stash. I just sorted them and folded them to fit my cabinet. I recently joined a "quilting/sewing room" group to learn how others organize their rooms. I learned that a lot of quilters use comic book boards to store their fabric. Apparently, fabric fits the board perfectly when you fold it.

I took a look at my stash and realized the best approach I could take is to do it by section. My boys won't allow me to stay in there until the wee hours of the morning (haha). Miggy even reminded me not to do so much when he saw me folding some fabric yesterday. Here's what I have so far folded.

And here's the fabric I'll be using for my next project:

I realized I have a threshhold for mess. I can tolerate some, but when it piles up I have a hard time thinking. My sewing table in the family room is also messy. I use the table for sewing, pulmo rehab, writing and sorting through Mom's stuff. It's been cumbersome to measure and cut fabric on it. I cleared my sewing room so I could also work there as needed. 

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Sulit Buys

I gave in and bought some stuff this past week. I've been careful with my purchases and determine whether since I don't want to accumulate things that would just clutter our home. I usually add items to the cart and let it sit there for a few days before I buy anything. If it's still there after a week then it's something I don't really need. 

Well, I gave in and bought some items (some online, some in-person). Here's some things that have been useful:

Solar Lamp/Flashlight

I got this for PhP114.40 and have been using it for a few days now. My gardening corner loses light as soon as the sun sets. I got this to help tide me over when I go overtime re-potting plants. It's small, but provides a lot of light. Since it's portable I can also bring it around the garden with me when I need to check something at night. 

Planter Stand

This is my third time to buy this item. It's easy to assemble and has so far been sturdy. The other two I bought more than six months ago and it's so far stable (even with random cats fighting). You can buy it from PhP84 to 99 depending on the shop where you buy it. I might buy more soon. 

Cute Cat Bed

I originally thought this was a bad buy since Grogu and Mando ignored it when they were tiny kittens. We kept it inside and just brought it out again last week after Brimsley and Mando got spayed. Surprisingly Mando liked it and has been using it everyday. Grogu, Pikachu and Eevee usually join her whenever the weather gets cooler. (Got this for PhP287.74)

Rechargeable Akari Fan

The Ace Hardware staff had to do some hard-selling of this to me, haha. I was looking at a cheaper Ace Hardware fan that doubled as a flashlight. I wanted it since it could get warm whenever I do some gardening. Sweetie bought the Akari fan for me (that's why I ended up buying the solar lamp). A neighbor warned me though that it's not good. So far it's been working well for me. The fan lasts 5 hours on medium and I used it for two gardening sessions already. I guess maybe the others didn't check the batteries first when they bought it. 

No Brand Butter Cookies

We gave this out last Christmas and got good reviews from our friends. We opened a can last week and was surprised to see that the cookies are packed by eights. We actually liked it and told the boys that it tastes a bit like animal crackers (remember those that can in red and green packaging?). The canister will be useful for me once we finish it. The No Brand cheese balls are also addicting, haha. 

#BeKind #StaySafe