'Tis the Night Before School Starts

Hey, Friend.

Tomorrow there will be five of us logged onto the internet. Jay and I logged on for work, and Iya, Sary, and Jesse logged on for their online class orientation. This is going to be a new experience for everyone and we are going to put our internet service provider to the test. And that's not the only thing that will be tested. Also to be challenged is our patience with technology, with each other, and with ourselves.

Yesterday I said I wanted August to be a month where I was more present, more mindful. Well, today wasn't one of those present and mindful days. Tomorrow might be better. Plus it's time to start reading again and walking at home. Exercising both mind and body seems to be essential these days in order to survive.

Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully one that is better than today.

Here's hoping for the best...

August, Please Be Kind

Screenshot of one of my entries in
DayCount.

Hey, Friend.

It’s the first day of August. 145 days since the world stopped. At least that’s what it seemed to me. What we thought was a week of class and work suspension because of an unfamiliar virus has turned into almost five months of working at home due to a global pandemic. While some of my other friends have been busy and productive doing art, kid-friendly activities, cooking, baking…I think I’ve been running on auto-pilot.

Yes, I’ve cooked a bit, learned to make puto from a mix, done lots and lots of interpreting work, managed to keep things going with work, but if you ask me how I did it I don’t have any recollection. Auto-pilot. Mindfulness was not my thing these past months. Plus for every whatever I’ve done that you would think was productive, I’d have a list of tasks that I have yet to attend to. Even now just thinking about that list is starting to put me on edge.

But it’s the first day of August and I’d like to be more present this month. More deliberate with what I do with my time and where I put my energy into. Less of multitasking and more of concentrating on one task at a time. I know doing several things at the same time is something many people can do but it’s time for me to accept that I am not one of those people and when I decide I am going to be doing something then I need all my attention on that. This is my intention for this month.

Oh, and August, please cooperate with me on this one, it’s been an exhausting 145 days. Please be kind.

Trying to keep it together...

33 Days

Hey, Friend.

On the afternoon of March 9, a Monday, we were sent home and we were told that classes had been suspended for the rest of the week. The growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country had alarmed the Manila City Mayor, who was in London at that time, by the way, and this was the best course of action that he could think of. Well, maybe because that was what the other city mayors did earlier that day. We all hoped that things would get sorted out by the end of the week and that come Monday all would be back to normal. Well, it's been 33 days.

33 days of uncertainty. 33 days of anxiety. 33 days of "the new normal". Supposedly all the introverts are thriving in this environment. I doubt it. After all, this social distancing isn't happening on one's terms. It's being thrust onto us.

33 days. And truth to be told, no end in sight.

Let's just hang in there...

Book Thoughts on The Girl Who Drank The Moon

"It is the word that could not stick in your mind, but it is the word that defines your life. As it has defined mine."  ~ Grandmama Xan, The Girl Who Drank The Moon

"Knowledge is powerful, but it is a terrible power when it is hoarded and hidden."  ~ Ethyne, The Girl Who Drank The Moon  

Hey, Friend. 

This book was magical, but it was not just about MAGIC. For me, the story was about loving another in such a great way that you willingly give up your life, your future, for this other. It was expressed in the love of a mentor for a student, a grandmother for her grandchild, and parents for their child.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (image above from Goodreads) was my first read for 2019 and although it was a slow start, it had a great finish. A witch taking abandoned babies from the forest and giving them to loving families. A girl enmagiked as a baby because she mistakenly drank from the moon and whose magic grew to be so strong that it had to be locked away, hidden from her memory, until she turned 13. A mother forced to give up her child and then locked away in a tower, called crazy by the town, but who was always, always looking for her child. A young man once forced to take a child from its family, now having to give up his own. So many interesting characters in this book whose lives cross with each other, so much love between them.

My favorite character in this tale is Ethyne, a cheerful, positive soul. She did not allow sorrow to overwhelm her, she sought knowledge, and she was a strong woman who went up against a system that no one else even thought to question. But what really endeared her to me was that she wanted knowledge to be shared, given to others, and not just kept between an elite few.

Like I said, this book had a slow start but it had me crying towards the end. If you’re the kind of reader who likes neat happy endings, you won’t get that here. After turning the last page I found myself staring into space for a little while, with a slight ache in my heart. In my opinion, that was the best feeling-at-the-end this book could have had. 

Experiencing readers' separation anxiety...

The Year That Was 2018

Hey, Friend. 

I haven't written in a long while and that's because life happens. Truth be told, I'm not even sure why I insist on continuing to blog when there are so many things that need to be done "in real life" but here I am. The year will end in a little over 30 hours and I thought it would be a good thing to look back and acknowledge that I've grown. Even if it seems like I haven't.

I got this idea from a friend who, more than a decade ago, would do this every year. I wonder if she still does this? It's 40 questions to answer about the year that was. Here we go...

1. What did you do in 2018 that you'd never done before?

I walked along the Great Wall of China. I was actually on top of the Wall. Something we would only talk about in history classes and I never thought I would get to visit but I was there. And all that culture? It was amazing.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I haven't done New Year's resolutions since 2014, instead I started coming up with a word that would guide me throughout the year. Although last year I wasn't able to come up with a word. :( This 2019 my word is BETTER. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes! :) R to a baby girl and A to her third baby boy.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No. But a number of my friends' parents did and that was always so sad.

5. What countries did you visit?

The US and China.

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018?

The discipline to be consistent in developing good habits.

7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

October 24. Sary broke her leg and she had to have an operation done to put a metal plate and pins. A month later we were back in the OR because her scar opened up and had to be sewed back up. As of this writing, I'm actually panicking because her leg is curving outwards after some days of walking without the crutches and she says it hurts to move.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I moved to a different department. After holding onto a post for nine years it was an achievement to move forward.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Having such a cluttered home.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My Garmin watch since it has a run/walk interval timer. It's going to be a really big help in preparing for that marathon next year.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Definitely Iya for being such a brave and helpful eldest child.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Our President. 

14. Where did most of your money go?

To the kids. For their tuition, daily needs, and other expenses. And especially Sary's hospital bills.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The NMUN-China event.

16. What song will always remind you of 2018?

I don't really listen to the new songs of the year. 2018 will remind me of 90s songs because this year my high school batch celebrated our silver jubilee and it was a flashback to the 90s.

17-19. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? Sadder. I have a child in pain.

ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner.

iii. richer or poorer? Richer, despite the unexpected medical expenses because I've paid off debt.

20. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Spend time playing or just hanging out with the kids.

21. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Screen time. Computer. Netflix. Phone. Television.

22. How did you spend Christmas?

With Junjay's family in Negros Occ. We spent the morning up in the farm and the rest of the day at the home of his parents.

23. Did you fall in love in 2018?

No.

24. Who got together and who broke up?

Oh no. I wasn't really paying attention to these things.

25. What was your favorite TV program?

Madam Secretary and How To Get Away With Murder. And then there's Grey's Anatomy.

26. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Hate is too strong a word even if this person is being really, really difficult -- so, no.

27. What was the best book you read?

The Art of Racing in the Rain.

28. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Ben and Ben.

29. What did you want and got?

I wanted to sign up for The Bull Runner Dream Marathon and I did.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

Ready Player One. I enjoyed it but really it's because I don't remember other movies I've watched this year.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 42 and I spent the day travelling to Beijing, China.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

If I ran more. Went home earlier from work.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?

The teacher look. As always.

34. What kept you sane?

Massages.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Our VP, Leni Robredo!

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

The competency of our current President. I mean, I really, really, really tried to make it all about the issues but he is just so infuriating.

37. Who did you miss?

I missed quite a number of people. People who were really only just there but we couldn't find the time to meet up. That's got to change next year.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

Not new people because I've known them for some 25 years now but have never really talked to them or shared stories. The best "new" people I met this year are my high school batchmates during our silver homecoming. Reconnecting, making new old-friends was a blast.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018.

I need to be honest with people, even if it scares me and it hurts them, because I care about them.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser. You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger. You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together. All I know, all I know is love will save the day. ~ Des'ree

So that was 2018. Here's to a better 2019 for all of us. :)

Gearing up for the year ahead...