Delays Can Be Good Too

The past two days have been very busy for me. I talked to so many people. More than the number I've spoken to in the last month. It's been challenging since I've had to take it really easy. I think I've made good progress in the past few days. I hope I will consistently progress. 

I looked at today's GodWhispers again for some inspiration. This was the message --

I wanted to blog before I left for physiotherapy, but I couldn't find the right words. I ended up delaying my blog post lol. Indeed the day got better and I found joy. 

A friend messaged me awhile ago to let me know how much my communities are flourishing. I was told the same thing yesterday. I was so happy to hear this bit of news. I feel so grateful that they're all coming together and doing what they do best -- help other teachers learn how best to use technology for learning and student engagement. 

I never worried about them because I know they are all good people and will continue the advocacy even without me. I learned through the years that taking a big step back oftentimes helps bring forward the best talents. My recovery may be delayed, but it's definitely brought about a lot of improvements. 

I am grateful :)

CB///347 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/10 #StayHome #BeKind 

Filling Up the Tank

When I was a child part of my bedtime ritual was saying my evening prayers. I'd be on the bed on the floor with my Mom beside me prodding me to say my prayers properly. I still remember those moments clearly in my mind. Funny, but I still say same prayer before bedtime.

In the last ten years that I've lived far away from my Mom, she'd always remind me to pray. She always had a stampita or a book for me whenever we'd see each other. She's been able to let us all go and live in other countries because she's always believed that with God's grace we'd be always be okay. 

I've always known that aside from healing from my physical illnesses, I also needed my heart and mind to heal.  I only realized that I was spiritually dry last month. My efforts to last year was not enough. My tank had run empty. 

I'm not really big on talking about my faith. I prefer to serve and be of service. I was at my happiest when I was part of our parish community when I was growing up. That was the biggest part of me that I lost when I moved to Singapore. And probably why I ended up in this desert. 

The important thing is it's never too late to come back. As Pope Francis said in his homily last Sunday, "God's love is forever". I am grateful I have my family, my friends, and spiritual advisers who have been providing support (and there's YouTube that has a whole bunch of things you can learn from!). 

The tank is starting to fill up. It's where I am getting the strength to fight back and get well. He will heal me :)

CB///340 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/3 #StayHome #BeKind 

Envy and Being Content

I think there is a delicate line between being content and envy. When you are content it is easy to be happy for others. It is easier to appreciate the achievement of others and give praise. I think it's only human to be envious too.

Growing up my parents taught me how to be content. I learned this lesson when my collection of stationaries* were stolen in school when I was in first grade. Me and my classmates would trade stationaries and keep it on a folder. Our bulky school bags were made heavier because of our collection. Anyway, so my collection got stolen. I cried buckets! I told my parents about it and I remember my Mom explained to me why people steal. She said it stems from envy when you are not content.

I still buy stationary, usually cute pads but I use them for making lists. Here's one nice set that was gifted to me by one of my Mom's friends a few years ago. 

Through the years there were constant reminders for this lesson. I guess that's also the reason why I'm not really ambitious. I've been letting the Lord lead me where I should be. Lately though I've been wanting something. It's been stressing me out also because I've been wanting it to happen now. Someone who I met with this morning over Meets mentioned about being content and that effectively snapped me out of this thing I want. I know it will come in time as long as I pray for it.

Envy also causes one to become selfish. Sometimes when you want to control something badly you end up just thinking about yourself and  not what's good for others. Sadly I've seen this happen to good people and it's really painful to witness. And even more painful when you get sideswipped when envy leads ones actions.

Be Kind.

*Do kids still do this nowadays? When I was a kid collecting nice stationaries (i.e. Hello Kitty cute pads) was the in thing to do.

CB//146 #StuckAtHomeDay/176 #WFH101 #StayHome #BeKind 

Did You Panic Buy?

Earlier Sweetie and I went out to buy some groceries. While buying some items for my Mom we talked about the panic buying for toilet paper that happened over a week ago. We're still a bit baffled about why that happened. Sweetie also told me that he read an article that said there was someone who ordered 800 kilograms worth of groceries online.

Of course I'm concerned also about our supplies at home, but I don't see the need to stock up on so many things. I've been through so many calamities - countless typhoons, coup d'etats, volcano eruptions - and I never saw my Mom buy too many supplies. I never saw her panic in any of these situations.

When the Taal Volcano erupted last month I was honestly quite unprepared. I had enough food and water and medication at home, I just didn't have an air filter and masks. We were able to "seal" our tiny home, but what really worried me was my Mom since you can't really seal her home from outside air. When I had the opportunity to go out to the mall I immediately got all of us an air filter. It really helped because it was so hard to sleep wearing a mask.

So while in line at the pharmacy I realized that given any situation there's always a way to cope. And the most important thing I learned from my parents is faith. The day after Taal Volcano erupted a friend reached out to check on me and when she found out I didn't have a N95 mask she immediately sent two for me and Miggy.

Panicking is a natural human reaction, but as the government and experts always say, "When you panic buy, you will be taking away supplies that others may need" (they say the same for masks). I also believe that we just need to be calm and have faith that God will take care of us.

A blessed Sunday everyone! 

Disappointment, Yoda and Confoundables

Disappointment is truly not my cup of tea.

If Dad was alive he'd tell me sternly to just get on with it. I will, but please allow me to wallow in hopelessness for 5 more minutes.

It's one of those days when you just want to crawl in a hole and curl into a ball. It's counter productive though and this is what Yoda has to say -

Forgive me, I just found that quote online. I don't think the quote is an actual quote from Yoda, but it makes a lot of sense. If I cling to the disappointment I'm feeling it's just going to ruin the rest of my day. And time is gold, I don't really want to waste another second wallowing in disappointment.

It's just so hard to let it go when people you were counting on disappoint you.

How I wish that place called "Tacsiyapo" is just around the corner. The last time I was there was 8 years ago and I'm not sure if it still exists. Tacsiyapo is actually a bad word in a local dialect and the place is where angry people go to. For a small price you can throw stuff like plates, glasses and even a TV! The feeling of breaking something when you're frustrated is amazing. I let out the angst a bit by catching Pokemon and zapping confoundables on Harry Potter.

It wasn't enough and that's why I'm writing this blog post. Writing after all calms me down almost instantly. The hugs from my boys also helped a lot.

And now I've run out of steam. What about you? What do you do to be un-disappointed?

(My photo above was happy me before my day went blah...).

PS I wrote this post last night and just publishing it in the morning.

Jarring January

January has been a pendulum of emotions, more because of external factors. I think I have reached the objectives I set for my break.

Kuya taught me in one of the NLP sessions he did for me that to move on from pain you need to realize what you learned from it. After you turned the bad memory into black and white, crumple it and throw it away. I left everything I didn't like in 2019. January though was jarring. If I was going to describer January as a sound, it was jangling, like a child hitting random piano keys.

Just keep swimming!

It's just a few more hours before Fabulous February rolls in. I'm really hoping it would be a fantastic month. Before the clock strikes midnight I thought I'd list down some of the realizations I had in January.

1. Be always prepared. Calamities happen and one should always have provisions at home (I have two homes, plus Mom's! Arghhhh). I need to find the girl scout in me again.

2. You don't need to do everything. Don't beat yourself up if you don't finish something within the day.

3. When you don't want to, just say no.

4. Relax, everything will be alright.

5. Do the things that make you happy.

6. Stop just planning for the week! It's time to plan for the future.

7. Dream even if you have physical limitations.

8. Be grateful every day.

9. Love yourself. Don't feel guilty when you need to take a break.

10. Always remember to let God navigate your life. 

Dear 2020

Dear 2020,

I know we started off on the wrong foot, but things got better on the second week. A page turned and I felt I was ramping back up. It took me a month to get to that level. I was so happy about it I made an effort to go out with my son for a fun Sunday date. After hearing mass and having lunch I read about the Taal volcano eruption. I thought about buying additional supplies, masks and an air filter and actually passed by those stores to check, but it did not occur to me that the ash would reach us.

Things started going downhill when the mall had a brownout while we were waiting for our ride. Then ten minutes into our ride I had an asthma attack. It was when I looked at the sun when I realized I should have focused on preparing for what was going to come. When we got home we immediately harvested our laundry from the roofdeck and closed all the windows. We even covered the aircon to prevent ash from coming in and Miggy said we shouldn't use the aircon that night.

The ash started falling just after sunset. We had settled in the living room to listen to the news and I called my Mom to warn her about the ash fall. I couldn't sleep because I was having a hard time breathing. I wore a mask and eventually dozed off. I woke up early the next morning and immediately checked our balconies through the glass door.

The ash fall wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (I experienced the 1991 Pinatubo ash fall). Checked the news and Phivolcs announcements, looked for ways I could help and checked on Mom. I had to remind her not to go out because she mentioned she did some gardening that morning! She mentioned that the roof was cleaned up already and they only got a pail-full of ash (it was 5 sacks in 1991).

It was a huge struggle for me since I have severe asthma, but I can't imagine the pain of those severely affected. I had to find other ways to help since I had to retire from doing crisis response because of my health. It was frustrating, but I knew I had to take care of myself so I don't get sick. That same week news about the novel corona virus was ramping up. I also started monitoring it since we were due to fly to Singapore. The issue blew up the week we were set to go back to Singapore. It's a huge concern for me because I previously caught the other virus back in 2001 (passed on to me by family who flew in).

Prior to the eruption there was the issue in Iran, the worst locust invasion in Africa in the last 70 years and many other issues. January hasn't even ended yet and it feels like the whole year has passed already. I've been doing a lot of reading and I can't help by compare how other countries have been managing issues. Sadly in the Philippines the leaders are more focused on other things and they have been making decisions that are not pro-Filipino. It's truly heartbreaking and I pray things will change since a lot of Filipinos depend on the government for help.

So dear 2020, I hope things will be better in February because honestly I'm looking forward to 2021 already. Please help pray also for all the doctors, medical personnel, police/military, volunteers and everyone helping in these calamities. That they may have strength to help more people. 

Crossing Over

My doctors are right, stress really wears down my body and I really got a bad beating the past two years. I've been on break for a month now and I'm happy to say that I think my body finally had a much needed rest. I'm still fragile (I sprained my thumb just moving empty boxes!), but I've been able to do my back exercises everyday. I hope I can ramp up a bit with my exercise regime so I can be stronger. 

Writing has also helped me calm down a bit. My brain was mush last week. When I was a child my Mom gave me a hardbound notebook. She said I should write in my diary whenever I was happy, sad or angry. The activity always calmed me down and I figured towards the end of 2019 that I needed to write again. It's been ten days and it's working like magic. Yay!

Still have a lot of things to sort out, I hope and pray that things will improve more soon. 

Finding Dad, Finding Me

I've been starting my day with my back exercises and it's been better for me to keep moving around than just sitting all day. I'll probably conk out in a bit since I did quite a lot of laundry and chores today. In between though I've been watching "The Witcher" with Miguel and transferring loads of photos and old writings from super old CDs. I found three (yes THREE) boxes of CDs at home and Sweetie's homework for me is to transfer them to an external HD.

I came across some videos from 2004. I found videos of eating at Wendy's with my Mom and Dad. My Dad was still so healthy and was his usual jolly self. I was interviewing them about how they found the food. I don't even remember I took those videos and luckily I took the pains to save them on a CD (the proper term is "burned them on a CD"). The videos are very grainy, but to see my Dad moving, smiling and talking made me miss him so much more.

I opened only a few random video files. The video with Dad was the second one I clicked. I guess it's his way of reassuring me that things will be okay. My Mom said that since Dad passed away he never let himself felt. For me he usually pops in whenever I need him. I guess my friend Juned nudged my Dad because he's been popping in all over the place since November. I always thought it was because he wanted me to check on something, but I only realized the other day when his business card just popped out of nowhere that he's probably telling me that things would be okay. He used to do that a lot for me. 

Last year I made myself so busy to bury the pain of losing a good friend. I realize now I never gave myself time to grieve the loss of Juned. I've always been a warrior. I cope with pain by being productive. I was trained to be that way growing up. Finding Dad in an ocean of data reminded me that he brought me up to be a strong person. Not the wimpy, morose person that I've been the last few months. I know there's still a lot of struggles along the way, but I will hold on to this reminder while I rest and rebuild myself.

Love you Daddy.

Do the right thing

I'm not perfect, but one thing I learned from my parents is the value of doing good. Growing up I saw my Dad fight bad things. I will never forget that time we had to spend a few days in Baguio because of death threats my Dad was getting. I know because I answered one of those calls at home (landline days).

I didn't know how to react so I just told the caller, "Wrong number ka" and just put the phone down. Immediately told my Mom about it and the next thing I knew we were sent packing to leave for Baguio. This was why my Mom never wanted my Dad to be involved in politics. She knew it was the quickest way for her to be widowed. And this was also why she did not consent to me running for the Sangguniang Kabataan.

I have gotten myself in so much trouble over the years. I just cannot tolerate wrong doing especially if it impacts so many people. It eats me up and the stress has been affecting my health. I asked my Dad once why I seemed to magnetize these issues. He told me that it's probably a mission of mine to get things straightened out. Yes, until today I always end up walking in situations where I end up being a troublemaker.

I was telling a friend earlier that oftentimes it's just me being naive and sharing thoughts about the right thing to do. That thought eventually snowballs into getting the issue resolved. People do get hurt along the way and I'm sorry for that, but I think I'll continue to do this as long as it will help many more people.

I was just happy to share some thoughts today because a huge thorn just got pulled out of my side today. I realized that as long as you follow the right path, things will be resolved. This thought sums up nicely to Google's company motto, "Don't be evil" (Alphabet says "Do the right thing").

If we all followed this slogan we could probably have a better world. 

Do What Makes You Happy

I haven't been blogging that much since I've been afflicted with invisible illness. I look physically okay, but my insides have been going bonkers. It's not been easy to resolve since the issues are more mechanical, not really something that's easy to fix with medication. It's not been easy for me, I have to give myself pep talks every day.

Yesterday a friend reached out to check on me. She remembered that I had gone through a procedure last Friday. She probably wondered why I was so quiet on social media the last few days. I told her I was unwell and had to go home from work. I thought I could already manage, but ended up limping all over the place and was very tired for a short amount of time. My day brightened up when my friend pinged me. She acknowledged my pain and just reminded me to do something that made me happy.

Something lit in my mind when she said that. I know I keep telling friends to look up when they feel anxious about something, but I forgot to do it for myself. After having our brief chat I kept telling myself, "Do something that makes you happy." I realized that my work makes me happy and I ended up doing as much as I could yesterday. Finished with work I started to think about a special project I want to do for friends who are getting married soon.

I thought I'd write this quick post to thank my friend who gave me a timely reminder. It pulled me away from the abyss I was falling into again after the medical mishaps I've been going through again. I was supercharged today and barely took a break (which is bad I know!) because I was so busy. I'm going to get some rest now and think happy thoughts. 

Technology and the Last 10 Years

I read from a post of a friend that writers/bloggers/publishers have the responsibility to invoke new thoughts for the reader. It served a good reminder for me to be more thoughtful about what I blog about. I'm now midway through my 30-day challenge and I must admit that there are days that I don't feel like writing. I end up forcing myself and just sharing what I experienced for that day (like YFSF yesterday). Those posts don't necessarily provoke any meaningful thoughts for the reader. So I told myself I shall try better.

Yesterday a new Miss Universe was crowned. There was a lot of talk online about the performance of our candidate and how she had answered the Q&A. I chose not to watch the whole show and just read and watch snippets online. Hubby chose to watch the Royal Rumble and the top 6 was just announced when I woke up. The contest though made me think about the greatest change in the last 10 years.

Technology.

Technology has changed how we live. My surgeon said that it's like we have a phone stuck on our hand all the time. We are always looking at a tiny screen for updates and information. Getting information at an instant is good. It's the information age where you don't really need to remember much because you can just easily search for information. The dark side though is we are so easy to judge with just snippets of information. I could go on and on about it, but I think it's really up to us individually how we wield this power and how you process information.

It still boils down to your values.

What about you? How have you been using technology?

How to Always have a Good Day

There are good days and there are bad days. Today was a great day. Based on my post yesterday, it wasn't a good day yesterday. I guess it really depends on which side of the bed you wake up on.

I've been having bad sleep the last few days, possibly because of the medicines I have been drinking to cure my sinus infection. Phil told me earlier that the meds should put me to sleep. I said I don't know why but my brain has been hyperactive the last few nights. My EENT will not be happy because he said that one must have good sleep every night. And to have that you should breathe freely (of course he's an EENT). My cardio would say, "No stress. Have a happy heart."

To commemorate today's happy day we decided to go to the beach to breathe in some fresh air. It's been a grueling work week for me full of ups and downs and being sick does not help. Since it was Friday the hubby suggested we go to the beach to relax, breathe fresh air and then have a good dinner. So off we went to Sentosa. We had a nice good walk at the beach side and had some snacks (Jaybucks!) by the water. It was a nice refreshing way to end the work week.

I try to meditate as Meng taught us, but my mind always wander off. It takes me awhile, but it eventually calms me down. What makes me happy and perky though is when I become thankful. I start being thankful with simple, tiny things (cute lady bugs count!) and then work my way up to the big stuff (like being alive!). What floors me though is when I wish happiness for others. Counting blessings will bring you out of any rut you are in :)

Happy TGIF!

How do We Bring Things Back to Order?

In elementary school one of the things I remember our teachers kept reiterating was the good values that we have as Filipinos. We were taught that Filipinos are always hospitable, family oriented, have debt of gratitude (utang na loob), being respectful, being simple, hard working, humorous, religious and the bayanihan attitude. On the flip side, there's also the bad stuff - crab mentality, being boastful (mayabang), ningas cogon, bahala na, Filipino time and gossiping. There are many more.

I never thought I would have the opportunity to work for a foreign company. I always thought that I would just be based back home. I assumed that being the youngest I would be the one to stay home with my parents since my siblings both live abroad already. Opportunity came and I found myself working with a diverse set of people and eventually found myself living far away from home. I found that Filipinos always put their best foot forward when abroad. It is when we show that we are hard workers. It's also when we are at our charming best. It's also when we always follow the rules.

When I went home last Christmas I noticed that we do tend to beat/ignore the red light (a lot of jeepney drivers do this). Pedestrians not following the signs. Throwing trash everywhere. And it's not just in Manila because I saw these things happen also in other cities in Northern Luzon. In the compound I live in Manila, my neighbors oftentimes rant in our FB group that there would be others who would just let their pets do their thing and then leave the dirt after without cleaning up. Or when others would just leave trash lying around to be scavenged on by cats. It's sad. It's really, really sad because we all want to have peace and order, but we do not follow these simple rules.

I wonder how we could bring back what the ancient barangay represented. The time when being part of a community meant being helpful and being good neighbors. I know it's going to be hard because life is hard especially in the city (i.e. getting to and from work is a daily struggle), but maybe if we love our neighbor a bit more, maybe we can bring things back to order.

Acceptance

Acceptance can mean a lot of things. It can mean it's suitable, adequate, tolerance, and perhaps to some it may mean defeat. I started thinking about this word when I read about a friend experiencing some health problems and he's been having a hard time about it.

Back in 2008 I contracted pneumonia which resulted in heart failure. I was constantly coughing for about a year because the water in my lungs just wouldn't go away. When it did my immune system had deteriorated a lot and all my allergies were activated. I couldn't eat chicken, chocolate, couldn't drink Coke and cockroaches (even their smell) made me feel like I was dying. There's no cure for heart failure but there are ways to help ones allergies. So I saw an allergologist, Dr. Canlas of Makati Med. Being the best allergologist in town the line was long and I waited for about 3 hours before I could see him. I thought I was going to pass out while waiting for him, good thing Sweetie was there for me and told me I would get better after I see the doctor.

So after getting pricked 40 times to test for allergies the doctor rattled off the stuff that would trigger my allergies. He said though that the first step to getting better was accepting the fact that I have allergies and that I would need to adjust how I live. I was feeling sorry for myself then because I was so weak, I could barely eat and I couldn't do anything anymore. I thought then that I was probably dying a very slow death.

That was the first and the last time I saw Dr. Canlas, but the advise he gave me on that day made a huge impact on how I live today. Acceptance doesn't mean defeat. It means that you can face challenges in a mature manner. It means being flexible and adjusting to what you have. I know I have a lot of limitations because of my heart, but it doesn't mean I cannot do anything anymore. It also means I just really need to be smart about the choices I make so I can still do what I want and like doing.

The Last 20 Years

I was reading news about Pope Francis' visit this morning and the headline by USA Today caught my attention - "Pope Visits the Philippines After 20 Years".

It seems just like yesterday when I spent a night in Luneta for World Youth Day 1995. I was very active in our Parish then and was a youth leader. I jumped at the opportunity to join WYD 1995 to be with my friends and to see Pope John Paul II. Aside from the amazing experience of seeing Pope John Paul II the thing I remember most is the song "Tell the World of His Love".

The last 20 years of my life have really been "interesting". I spent a good ten years healing from the wounds of my youth and figuring out what I wanted to do. The next ten years was spent mostly on learning the ropes so I could get a better and stable job. The last five years was spent struggling to stay alive. I feel much better now and the quality of my life and what I could give my family is what I always hoped for (I still wish I could just live in Manila permanently though).

God only gives you what you can bear and the path I threaded in the last 20 years has been a crazy one. All my heartaches healed when I finally gave up and just had God navigate my life. After that was the journey to fix my physical heart. I remain joyful despite these struggles and hope that I can be more fit so I can be of better service to others and be a better Mom, wife, daughter, servant.

What about you, how did the last 20 years been for you?

Teaching

The other day at a meetup teachers shared how long they were in service, how they learned how to use a computer and how they started to use technology in the classroom. I had to get up myself and tell my story.

I told them that I was the youngest in the whole group when it came to academic teaching. I had taught a term in my alma mater. I was tasked to teach OrgCom. I had 2 major tasks: (1) Re-do the syllabus from scratch; and (2) test how to use Google Apps for Edu in the classroom. It was a herculean task for me since it was my first time to teach an actual class. The only other teaching experience I had then was substituting at my friend's nursery school and doing trainings at work. I realized then how hard it is to be a teacher since (1) you have to be at least 2 steps ahead of your students; (2) you have to study non-stop; and (3) you need to manage your time to a tee. Boy, it was really hard especially since I also had a full-time job.

It was my brother who taught me how to use a computer. I think I was about 9 years old then. He eventually enrolled me in logo programming class and gave me his old desktops as hand me downs. I was already in college when my parents got me my own desktop. I've been through the green-screen monitor and floppy disks. Hard drives were not available yet back then so you had to make sure you have at least 2 drives so you can run MS-DOS then replace it with the app and then use the other drive to share your files. Eventually my brother handed me down another computer so I had a monochrome screen which was later on replaced with a colored monitor (it cost a whooping PhP17K!!!). I learned how to use a Mac when I was doing a freelance job at Shell when I was still in college.

I was lucky my alma mater was the first school to get connected to the internet so that's where I learned. It wasn't really taught in class, but I learned mostly through trial and error and by asking questions from friends. I guess it was really curiosity that really helped me get through my second task when I ended up in the academe. And I found kindred spirits at the teacher meetup when they shared how they learned how to use the computer and how they eventually found a way to use technology in the classroom.

Spending a lot of time with teachers in the last year made me admire teachers more. It's a profession that's purely motivated by passion to serve others. It's also a huge responsibility to be tasked to shape the minds of students.

Hopefully someday I'd be able to teach in the academe again :)

Time Flies

Oh how time flies! And it's time for me to fly again after almost two months of avoiding the airport (and well I had to renew my passport).

Can you see the heart island?

It was quite a sad day for me since I'm leaving my boys again tomorrow. How I wish I could move back soon! I just need to be a bit more patient since some things need to be fixed.

Today's homily was a good reminder for me. The priest said that we are never alone because God will always be there. I found comfort in those words and his reminder that "there is a time for everything". I can just hope and pray that my prayers will be answered soon.

It's February! Time for love! Time to fly! Time to level up stuff!

Be Thankful!

I've been feeling homesick the past week and haven't been feeling well because of a viral infection. I decided to hear mass in the morning today and was surprised that the mass was celebrated by an archbishop from the Holy See! What a rare treat I thought since the last time I heard mass celebrated by someone from Rome was when I attended World Youth Day (Pope John Paul).

It was a great way to start Advent, a reminder to start preparing myself for Christmas. The first I usually take is to be thankful of all the blessings and challenges that I received in the past year. I mention challenges also because it helps build character and a firmer faith.

Many years ago I fell into a rut. This was the time things felt like everything was falling apart in my life. I knew the only way I could get out of the hole was to get myself out of it. The best advise I got back then was when I read a book by Bo Sanchez (I don't remember which one coz I think I've read most of it). He said that when you're stuck in a rut one of the best things to do is count your blessings.

At first I had a hard time listing down one blessing. I soon realized that blessings do not come only in huge packages, but could be simple things. From one a day my blessings list soon multiplied to three, five, ten, twenty etc. and I was soon back to my normal perky, cheerful self.

So now that I'm feeling a bit blue this is what I'm going to do. Today's blessing though came as a huge package for me. The GDG Philippines community who did a Sanitation Hackathon the whole weekend in Manila, Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga. Their initiative together with GBG Philippines would surely help many people :)

Be thankful!

Dream in Galactic Proportions

I thought I'd take another stab this month at blogging everyday since I've totally neglected my blog in the last few months. I can't believe it's been a year since I moved to Singapore to take on a new, challenging role. I must say I've been on a roll the past year and I've done quite a lot of things that are certainly outside of my comfort zone. I can honestly say my heart stopped beating a couple of times due to anxiousness, but I'm happy that I've met a lot of new friends across the region (and beyond!).

I dedicated most of the year to work (even weekends), so I'm really finding it hard to step on the brakes to take a break. I've been getting a lot of scolding already from my good doctor to have my condition fixed (he's been at it for about 9 years now). So I finally said yes and now making arrangements to take a break from my adventure so I can do more next year. I'm hoping though I can spend more time at home in Manila because my boys need me.

The past year has been one huge adventure for me. It didn't feel like I was working at all since I really like what I do. One thing I realized the past year is outside the box that I live in is a whole galaxy and one must dream in galactic proportions. I don't know how many miles I've traveled this year, but I've been to so many new places, met a gazillion of new people and done projects I never thought I'd do (or survive!).

Last year I prayed to God to give me a new mission. And He did. I just need to take a break for awhile so I can continue and finally live a normal life ;)