Astonishingly Amazing April

I thought April would be a chill month where I could rest and recuperate. Turned out to be a very, very busy month! The good thing about it I end the month on a good note. I was able to do 5k+ steps today! The last time I was able to do that was in early February. 

That's a big deal for me because my average step count was only 2k per day at the beginning of the month. I used to average 6 to 8 thousand a day when I used to go to the office. At least 10k when I travel. It's been hard for me because I feel like I'm always carrying a heavy backpack uphill. That's why I walk very slow. 

I'm getting a bit more clarity now on what I'm going through. I did a number of tests in the last two weeks. It's been exhausting, but at least I'll soon find out what can be done to improve my quality of life. In the meantime I still need to stay home to rest and recover. 

Happy to end the month on a good note. Changing my mindset to improve at least 1% a day helped a lot. I spent a lot of time praying and focusing on where I want to be. Circumstances also forced me to strive harder, but I've been reminded to take it slowly. 

With faith, things can only get better :)

CB///Yr2/20  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/47 #StayHome #BeKind  

Donut Fail - #SpreadTheHappiness

There's a #spreadthehappiness thing going on in FB the past couple of days. Friends have been posting this request -

Joining the bandwagon donut flop please. If you’re reading this, even if we barely talk, please tell me a memory you have of me that makes you smile inside. Afterward, you can make this your status. You’ll be surprised by the memories people hold of you. Life is hard especially during times like this. So #spreadthehappiness

I've been answering some I come across because I know happy memories help a lot during this time. We've been confined at home so there's been no opportunity to make new memories. I did a similar happiness project last year. Friends started to share photos with their memories. I thought it would be a great idea to create a photobook out of it. 

Whenever I feel blue I just open the photobook and go through the happy memories my friends shared to me. It always gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling :)

CB///Yr2/19  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/46 #StayHome #BeKind  

Guess What's Back

One of my favorite things to do before was listen to the radio. I got this hobby from my parents who used to listen to their favorite station. If you're from the same generation you probably listened also to this radio show every Friday.

One of the Philippines' most popular radio shows is back! Lovenotes by Joe d Mango! Last night while looking through YouTube, Sweetie found this video by Joe d Mango announcing the return of Lovenotes. 

It was surreal to hear Joe d Mango's voice again. Apparently he left radio 14 years ago and moved to Canberra (source). I guess he'll be posting new episodes on his YouTube channel. He has some videos from 5 years ago and we listened to one episode. We couldn't help but chuckle at the episode. I guess because we're older and experienced now. 

Well, we hope he'll continue with the plan to post new episodes. He did mention you can send in your love problems to an email address (it's mentioned in the vid). 

Would you listen to Joe d' Mango again? 

CB///Yr2/18  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/45 #StayHome #BeKind  

Hidden Angels

The past few days have been difficult for me. I've been worrying about what the medtech told me after my scan. I wish she didn't say anything to me since it just left me anxious. My Kuya says that it is dangerous to entertain ideas of the worst things that may happen to you. If you think something bad will happen to you, it may happen because you entertained it. 

My doctors have always been careful about giving a diagnosis. They know I'm a fighter and they'd rather I focus my time on getting better than worrying about what could happen. It took me days to shake off the worry (also the reason why I've been so lazy to write). My doctor today reminded me that I'm a trooper. I've been through so many humps in the road and I would manage this beautifully. 

And God always sends angels to help you along the way. I re-read the message of one of my high school classmates today. It was a good reminder to focus on what I want my future self to be. A prayer was answered yesterday by another angel to proceed with what I want to do. I'm grateful for the angels that come into my life unexpectedly. 

CB///Yr2/17  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/44 #StayHome #BeKind  

My Last Physio Day

It was my last session today with my physiotherapist. It's a super sad day for me because Wendy took good care of me since I started seeing her. She's shown genuine care for me and made sure that I had the appropriate exercise I could manage. 

I believe she's one of the angels that's been sent for me. She's going back home this weekend and I hope she'd be able to accomplish what she's set out to do back home. I have to wait for my consultation with my doctor on Wednesday to know whether I should continue my PT. In the meantime I'll do the exercises on my own for now. 

Farewell Wendy, I hope to see you in the mountains when the pandemic is over :)

CB///Yr2/16  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/43 #StayHome #BeKind  

Sundays

Sundays will always be family days. I remember when I was a child we'd hear mass on Sundays. My Dad would always buy me ice cream after hearing mass. Then we'd go home for lunch. Things changed when I became active in our church and our choir would serve on Saturdays and Sundays. My family expanded then and we'd spend weekends together. 

I super miss my choir family. In the last decade I've only been able to see them sparingly. Last time I saw them was in 2019. We had a get-together at my Mom's place and I surprised Papa Ray when I flew in to be in his birthday party. 

Things have changed so much. Most of us have our own families. A number of us moved to other countries. Some are still back home, still serving. I look forward to the day I could go back home and continue serving. And I look forward to the day we can all be together again just like old times. 

CB///Yr2/15  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/42 #StayHome #BeKind  

Time Machine

Would you go on a time machine to go back to the past to change a choice you made?

I was watching an episode of Orange is the New Black last night. Lolly Whitehill was building a time machine. When she walked out from the gathering inmate counselor found her inside the time machine she was building. Lolly explained she wanted to go back in time to change some decisions made by government. They went on to talk about what they would do if they could go back in time. 

Would you go on a time machine? I was fascinated with Back to the Future when I was a child. I watched it again and again on VHS. It was interesting to think about going back in time to change choices you make. I never gave much thought about it for my own life, but more for history. It was only last night I asked myself, "What would I change if I could go back in time?"

For selfish reasons I think what I would just change would be those times I got sick and how I handled it. That was what immediately came to my mind last night because of the coming bad results of my scan. I'm bracing myself for the worst. I know though I should focus my time on praying for the best. 

I wouldn't have worried about it, but I felt quite concerned when the medtech told me it's not looking good, God bless you (and I don't think she's Catholic). My selfish reason is I want to grow old with my family. 

I'll probably be this antsy until I see and talk to my doctor next week. In the meantime, I'll focus on looking at the future when I'm old and gray with my family. I'm looking forward to tbe day when we could all go to the beach again, eat bottomless sushi and ravish many pots of spaghetti. 

CB///Yr2/14  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/41 #StayHome #BeKind