tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21464199424672421602024-03-12T16:47:56.612-07:00Read. Write. Travel. Connect. MeditateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-47061572048070392812021-04-16T21:20:00.001-07:002021-04-16T21:20:06.821-07:00Why I left law school to be a stay-at-home mom<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KNDSW4WjXe5bOXCQ-nhMp9V62W7_MBcY8Lyf6iBuvECYSpUh6qT5mdvsDAEhf2mkQUF08Sysq062q-sOD7IUJqbFP1GmDhBl8uhyphenhyphenTmlxZr2jHh1NXlSKy5hRYmZCXS6SX6ofXEnduqo/s2048/Breastfeeding+Alicia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KNDSW4WjXe5bOXCQ-nhMp9V62W7_MBcY8Lyf6iBuvECYSpUh6qT5mdvsDAEhf2mkQUF08Sysq062q-sOD7IUJqbFP1GmDhBl8uhyphenhyphenTmlxZr2jHh1NXlSKy5hRYmZCXS6SX6ofXEnduqo/w400-h300/Breastfeeding+Alicia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I only have three semesters left in law school (I’d have graduated this sem if I didn’t stop) so when I opted to be a stay-at-home mom, a lot of people could not understand our decision. I think the confusion stem from the wrong notions about childcare. Many people view childcare only within the context of physical care. As long as the baby is fed, cleaned, put to sleep, entertained, given physical and material needs, everything is well and good. BUT childcare, and parenting, are so much more than this. <br /><br />In our family, we follow gentle, respectful parenting approaches and the Montessori principles/methods, among others. NOT saying this is the best parenting approach. Just saying this is what we want for our child and our family. And being hands-on in raising our child enabled me and my husband to ensure that these are applied to our son. <br /><br /><b>Use of Language</b><br /><br />According to studies, we shouldn’t over praise nor give shallow praises (e.g. very good) to children since they may develop the wrong notion that they are already good enough, thus hampering the development of a “growth mindset”. Just saying “very good” doesn’t really tell them what they did well that that merits such praise so there’s no point for reflection nor lesson that they can apply in future endeavours. It’s too shallow compared to saying “you did it because you didn’t give up and you strategised and used a platform to help you climb”. <br /><br />With unnecessary praises, children may also learn to work for applause instead of appreciating, enjoying and learning from the process. As adults we know how detrimental “working to please” could be because, well, it’s a futile and empty cause. <br /><br />We don’t go around ordering our child. We make sure he knows he has options and that his choices matter and are respected. “Would you like to give mommy a kiss? No? Okay, I respect that. Maybe next time when you feel like it.” This will teach him that consent is crucial esp. when it comes to his body. “Would you like to help mommy do this or that?”<br /><br />We don’t baby talk. We talk to our child the same way we talk to adults for the sole purpose that we want him to feel respected and treated as an equal so he’d gain confidence in himself. But in retrospect, I think it has helped him with language development because at 1.5 years old he can already say a lot of words, sometimes surprising us. <br /><br />Studies reveal that saying yes or using positive language creates a positive effect on a child’s brain (read The Yes Brain Child book). So instead of saying “don’t eat that stone”, we say “It seems you want to eat, let’s go eat banana!”<br /><br /><b>Freedom of Movement</b><br /><br />We make sure he’s given freedom of movement even if it’s so exhausting for us to do. Movement is crucial for a child’s overall physical, mental and emotional development. It’s part of their growing up process for optimum development, which is also why we didn’t use a crib or anything that can constrain him. <br /><br />We also don’t help him right away so he will develop problem-solving skills but more importantly so he will fully own his achievements and gain self confidence. Many parents would tend to do everything for their child. A child crawls to a toy, the parent will pick up and give it to the child. And when they grow up we wonder why they can’t think on their feet or do things on their own.<br /><br /><b>Follow the Child</b><br /><br />We follow our child’s interests as long as he won’t get hurt or hurt others or harm the environment, which is also why he is free to play with mud because it will strengthen his immune system and give him lots of sensory experiences which are both important. <br /><br />We don’t impose our interests on our child. We want him to feel his authentic self is accepted, his interests respected. We set up invitation to play but whether he will play or not or how he’ll use the material is all up to him. <br /><br />We don’t force anything on him including food. We follow baby-led weaning so he’s been eating and drinking from a breakable glass by himself since he was 7 months old. We decide on the time and food to serve. He decides what to eat or how much. <br /><br />We didn’t let him listen to ABC or Number songs because really, he has zero interest to learn those right now. All he wants is move and move and play with mud! He will learn the alphabet or count when he is ready, at age 7 maybe? Who knows.<br /><br /><b>Emotional Regulation</b><br /><br />We help him learn to deal with his feelings by letting him cry. We don’t say “stop crying or boys don’t cry”. We say, “you can cry as long as you want, mommy is here it is safe to cry. You can stop when you are ready”. Also, we help him process his feelings and let him know his feelings are valid by giving it a name. “You look sad. You might be angry. It seems you are frustrated, I understand, it’s really frustrating when you have to sit on your car seat for a long time but it’s what’s safe for you.”<br /><br />Whilst we label feelings to help process them, we are careful not to label him as a person both in positive and negative terms. We don’t tell him you are so smart, or you are naughty, or you are this or that. We are all growing and changing so giving ourselves certain labels hamper that or unnecessarily limits our strengths and capacities. Saying you’re so smart might make a child overconfident and averse to change or feedback which is a negative consequence. <br /><b><br />Dealing with Power Struggles</b><br /><br />Toddlers are naturally “inclined” (not stubborn) because that’s part of their development. But we also have to set limits to keep him safe. We make sure we tell him why he can’t do this or go there. He may not be able to speak well but he will understand or learn to understand. It’s important for them to know why they are not allowed to do certain things because if they won’t understand why, they’ll just keep doing them anyway. <br /><br /><b>Dealing with Mistakes/Messes</b><br /><br />We let him witness the consequences of his actions or let him take accountability. He spilled water, we let him clean it up. But we never force him. If he won’t clean up, we model by doing it ourselves. He will eventually learn, it’s a process and we are not in a hurry. <br /><br /><b>Lots of Nature Time</b><br /><br />We want to make sure he gets as much nature time as possible. Many nannies are scared to bring kids outdoors for fear that a child might get injured because children are naturally inclined to move and engage in risky play outside. Some are just really lazy to follow the child around. <br /><br />Also, I want a lot of skin-to-skin even now that he is bigger. Studies show the many benefits of skin-to-skin especially for newborns. I also want to exclusively breastfeed him until he is ready to wean, he will decide on that. And being together all the time is convenient when you are breastfeeding. <br /><br />I read a lot on parenting and child development since 5 years before I got married and even so, I still find myself struggling to overcome my old conditioning and the effects of how I was brought up and treated not only by my parents but all the adults around me. It takes time to incorporate what I learned from books into our daily life, which is why I was concerned if a nanny won’t be able to apply these things even if I’d tell them so. And so I opted to do it myself by staying home and raising our son myself. <br /><br />Although, I won’t discount the role of my husband who is equally hands-on with our child. He would look after our child from the moment he wakes up so I can enjoy slow breakfast or do some work. Then the moment he comes home from work he’d look after our child so I can also work until our child sleeps so my husband only gets to rest when our child is asleep or we both work after he sleeps. <br /><br />I’ve shared a lot and these aren’t even all that we do with our child or all that I’ve read. I just wrote what came to mind. But in reality, there’s so much more that we do to make sure our child grows up with a healthy psyche and develop the innate capacity to do things on his own. According to Maria Montessori, children have absorbent minds. They soak up everything in their environment, the language, the culture, the attitudes and personalities of the adults around them and all these factors will affect the formation of his own personality and the values he will live by. That’s why we want to be a great part of his environment during these formative years by being there to model to him attitudes we want him to emulate. </span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-81632827262782654862021-02-07T06:43:00.003-08:002021-02-07T09:08:27.925-08:00Our child's "forest picnic" birthday celebration<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPs6VuDuov-1lLDK_qVIZOQe7YuxP7FJL2IU8GjKhQeazDkR4-qQ69e7JAtuWm4C3xbniif5cQwzEr4FKKW-WbrydmQNDNzKrJ32M3uTXdH9OlBWgJvyRvo06Ydc4LGPzwp8Vq741Hhc/s1334/EWQR8105.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPs6VuDuov-1lLDK_qVIZOQe7YuxP7FJL2IU8GjKhQeazDkR4-qQ69e7JAtuWm4C3xbniif5cQwzEr4FKKW-WbrydmQNDNzKrJ32M3uTXdH9OlBWgJvyRvo06Ydc4LGPzwp8Vq741Hhc/w225-h400/EWQR8105.JPG" width="225" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span>This year, we were forced to stay home by the pandemic. Shaking hands and hugging are discouraged. Social distancing or rather physical distancing is encouraged. Gatherings are prohibited. And so, many of us are left celebrating at the confines of our home and not able to invite family and friends over.<br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span>Even without the pandemic though, me and my husband already knew how we will celebrate our child’s first birthday. We wanted it to be simple with just a few kids around. We wanted for him a simple, small, specifically tailored for children event where they can truly have fun while being mindful of their need for rest. <br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A “forest” picnic at our backyard with the sound of the chirping birds was the bes t option since we cannot yet go to the beach. We planned for an event where:<br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span>- There are no balloons because we are trying to raise an environment-conscious child. We want to normalize not having balloons in our celebrations. Even our wedding did not include balloons. Whilst we cannot fully get rid of plastics in our life, we are trying to remove the non-essential plastics especially those that can only be used once and cannot be recycled.</span></span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>- We don’t buy materials that can only be used once such as tarpaulins. The ONE banner was passed on to us by a friend whose son used it for his first birthday. We were more than happy to use it for our mini-tent set up. Also, in the future if we ever buy party decorations, we will either use it on several occasions or pass them on to others to maximize its use and minimize purchases of new ones.<br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">- The food table is low enough so that every child regardless of age can independently access the food and choose what they like without needing help from an adult. I used recycled boxes covered with old curtains as our food table because we don’t have tables low enough for the kids. The empty boxes worked well, though unfortunately I wasn’t able to take a photo of the set up. </span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>- Various toys and books for all ages are provided so every child can freely choose what to play with or read.<br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>- An area is available for them to lay down or rest whenever they feel tired.<br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>- They can help in some of the preparations while exercising their creativity and having fun. I let them help in arranging the flowers that will be placed on the food table. <br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">- The food includes healthy options presented in an appealing way. In fact, the party was so simple we only served fried chicken, pancit, cake, and fruit barbeque.</span><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEqfBO3oHQbLAC0HguoKnnGvnzPCfSziMvodGg0bse6_k2Bb41GyhTxy0cg0TuEsu5-9hkJQPDW9QbE8JopLhexuQzbeZ6OHIfrmnAU4a3h2bBseTPC0Zm86QyIm0wNICcmkHRAVot_U/s2048/IMG_0643.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEqfBO3oHQbLAC0HguoKnnGvnzPCfSziMvodGg0bse6_k2Bb41GyhTxy0cg0TuEsu5-9hkJQPDW9QbE8JopLhexuQzbeZ6OHIfrmnAU4a3h2bBseTPC0Zm86QyIm0wNICcmkHRAVot_U/w400-h300/IMG_0643.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyXBjo4u3kInNhqT7iimdGtJO9J75Dy1ODgEpkfjE2DmRYDxo15nOLt2HQunMQdr08OLFjRtBz0KuZRKxoLA88S3-Cx9Ld_gIC7B-dXHgxCZiA5WP1LiVfP6SGvHCiNewq21SI3Fwg5c/s2048/IMG_0648.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw488XGhowxKA0s9Vygupnipis10qxUGxhTxWZMjqZjVjI7G31tbFOH4XqDT1Mz0dJYzqqbuaOLWxQzcNDIRygfh0wCbfcL8JOnQjIDNO9x3-o8Ea6sPXol3VNUxZMHzn2U2Pac24qFyI/s2048/IMG_0750.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw488XGhowxKA0s9Vygupnipis10qxUGxhTxWZMjqZjVjI7G31tbFOH4XqDT1Mz0dJYzqqbuaOLWxQzcNDIRygfh0wCbfcL8JOnQjIDNO9x3-o8Ea6sPXol3VNUxZMHzn2U2Pac24qFyI/w300-h400/IMG_0750.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07PuvfHTLSA4hidGHPT-UPoiGmtxueYeYkPHveeu_dulUPfibd9XXxFQ0mtx3C8kmC4teQG5d7LJTxLD1hOjHTlHOHOe4tSFedCsJWd8KwUfQVgO_K7Dim1XtnM-e8AsxU85CycJ0lhI/s1920/IMG_1283.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07PuvfHTLSA4hidGHPT-UPoiGmtxueYeYkPHveeu_dulUPfibd9XXxFQ0mtx3C8kmC4teQG5d7LJTxLD1hOjHTlHOHOe4tSFedCsJWd8KwUfQVgO_K7Dim1XtnM-e8AsxU85CycJ0lhI/w266-h400/IMG_1283.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxFMhHXDBTofmuF83dZFfclcHKMsdzRIQYMBunda54pbiIcszfyeM5mrZUuN10J9XuEBGDS_Y-f6KY9At4o-Ffb7GJ4O14DmFVw8Y9qsyLmVpCS1ietTobNl-JE8z6Ebq883tTO5I7BA/s1920/IMG_1269.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxFMhHXDBTofmuF83dZFfclcHKMsdzRIQYMBunda54pbiIcszfyeM5mrZUuN10J9XuEBGDS_Y-f6KY9At4o-Ffb7GJ4O14DmFVw8Y9qsyLmVpCS1ietTobNl-JE8z6Ebq883tTO5I7BA/w266-h400/IMG_1269.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXGm8lO9YehkgZhpNLGF3fwTuVWt0LK3WK2xzrpDyMHKx0TmLX7RRirqjgcM6wNTmXIBfIFPWEUL96ElRgj_0eZyPN2QM-d9VIRpqyBSwYYqBlUMG-AlllHnvcGtLBgugE4f7_ax0iKg/s1920/IMG_1271.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXGm8lO9YehkgZhpNLGF3fwTuVWt0LK3WK2xzrpDyMHKx0TmLX7RRirqjgcM6wNTmXIBfIFPWEUL96ElRgj_0eZyPN2QM-d9VIRpqyBSwYYqBlUMG-AlllHnvcGtLBgugE4f7_ax0iKg/w266-h400/IMG_1271.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhygAR6DdMvkusIjYCjBhiZNglNQVGCKxunC0VMNVJX3gmkBfpCbHTC6faPeENZ1Ohm9mJmm4UTrCH7Q1nseXljJtzX5MXrQQbqyIOTkGDz_oL0xP5PVyDjl_QPK0UKBAiRbtRmurA7SLA/s1920/IMG_1298.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhygAR6DdMvkusIjYCjBhiZNglNQVGCKxunC0VMNVJX3gmkBfpCbHTC6faPeENZ1Ohm9mJmm4UTrCH7Q1nseXljJtzX5MXrQQbqyIOTkGDz_oL0xP5PVyDjl_QPK0UKBAiRbtRmurA7SLA/w266-h400/IMG_1298.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>I baked our child’s sugar-free birthday cake so he can actually eat it as much as he likes. During this pandemic, I baked a lot as was everybody else I think. At first, I thought of ordering a fancy cake from an established baker but a cake can be extremely expensive, which is understandable because it takes so much time and effort to make one. I wasn’t keen on spending that much money for his birthday cake and also, we only really need a simple cake that we all can enjoy so I decided to bake it myself instead.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkzuA8bChTfWZy6-FTPgCGi9i86uTD_4cyUiUdOCCH5rwr-C8wsZSsuJFhauFEyINHyzS_0JA8Y6ZJMh_w1MQ8jiNmX1Wc3U9D_3zlPU4X4xhrWptCrDfO_Wwy-r54EEuJrqBgv2rI0g/s1920/IMG_1287.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkzuA8bChTfWZy6-FTPgCGi9i86uTD_4cyUiUdOCCH5rwr-C8wsZSsuJFhauFEyINHyzS_0JA8Y6ZJMh_w1MQ8jiNmX1Wc3U9D_3zlPU4X4xhrWptCrDfO_Wwy-r54EEuJrqBgv2rI0g/w400-h266/IMG_1287.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPpduxBASpbhirvh8_N9S0hOQ0D-uANxNlFB8YbsNxQ8RqcELfTn-BG1W6Y0mY-93rcnskZMgu1thhGKXKVH2p93gyQm_sS5IrGlUhLWyD3oF6yTh0tK8bMXqqxBMuI9slGGe54xaIu0/s1920/IMG_1381.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPpduxBASpbhirvh8_N9S0hOQ0D-uANxNlFB8YbsNxQ8RqcELfTn-BG1W6Y0mY-93rcnskZMgu1thhGKXKVH2p93gyQm_sS5IrGlUhLWyD3oF6yTh0tK8bMXqqxBMuI9slGGe54xaIu0/w400-h266/IMG_1381.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxfn6lICZHo-DNTmWYBt298Fv-qKdKc8AHQ-JxxyDITZY7rB0zjm_IPiM_KfQxIsP0-LellQFa_JhHdQ03SnH0WxvpEQ4mzJnqeqnLCwLC8mL7ipOYo0kTwS5YwILBHt72lTvCUR03Hw/s1920/IMG_1386.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxfn6lICZHo-DNTmWYBt298Fv-qKdKc8AHQ-JxxyDITZY7rB0zjm_IPiM_KfQxIsP0-LellQFa_JhHdQ03SnH0WxvpEQ4mzJnqeqnLCwLC8mL7ipOYo0kTwS5YwILBHt72lTvCUR03Hw/w400-h266/IMG_1386.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUnIWcFZkO0C2GRNYJaWl4D8T_4RmzjguBso7YEu4bch4wSBrNXH2j6KQsN421b0RuuhjdnJ30NCa4zxz1MgD6kYIGuyXpY4BdVCddHXALW6b7tSLU83EwLwMKrrsb_hCMQe8A1wJpOs/s1920/IMG_1393.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUnIWcFZkO0C2GRNYJaWl4D8T_4RmzjguBso7YEu4bch4wSBrNXH2j6KQsN421b0RuuhjdnJ30NCa4zxz1MgD6kYIGuyXpY4BdVCddHXALW6b7tSLU83EwLwMKrrsb_hCMQe8A1wJpOs/w400-h266/IMG_1393.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOz7ZPM5jPIPy1UXt1a-khdjuWXaRGfukpycqOP2LlfQjPJdU2s9JceydnoQaZW4-Fx93PMhGmt9ZIQa8Q3XxpkQpkOJKQj6c-FdfR3I4wfCyi4qfmO48iy1Q6On5jc6WBX7WAxtMYBrI/s1920/IMG_1345.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOz7ZPM5jPIPy1UXt1a-khdjuWXaRGfukpycqOP2LlfQjPJdU2s9JceydnoQaZW4-Fx93PMhGmt9ZIQa8Q3XxpkQpkOJKQj6c-FdfR3I4wfCyi4qfmO48iy1Q6On5jc6WBX7WAxtMYBrI/w400-h266/IMG_1345.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio03UjkLVyxgocqPtI7qsbV9dtvLkuO27FnvTN1pK6Icieyb_MQ7n2YweYDYtZhhCh4OJaPZFB1T3Ay6zALJ-rELx9WOj_jYskIp3vvlPndeJ49GxTT-JTtTewNwiA6htFC2vbCSsTEUI/s1920/IMG_1347.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio03UjkLVyxgocqPtI7qsbV9dtvLkuO27FnvTN1pK6Icieyb_MQ7n2YweYDYtZhhCh4OJaPZFB1T3Ay6zALJ-rELx9WOj_jYskIp3vvlPndeJ49GxTT-JTtTewNwiA6htFC2vbCSsTEUI/w400-h266/IMG_1347.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvspZwXD8nFuJuB3N2oenEK2QklHV1WvJP4cNA-5ljsZMRmHGkMEG66Nwq2Ny_nxktuh5AM4vmhkfEdcFhSbPS9k1qoO7_OxlriBrILjwRx9Ybt_DIiPoF6aityph4w8vH_M0pDhklgaI/s2048/IMG_0894.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvspZwXD8nFuJuB3N2oenEK2QklHV1WvJP4cNA-5ljsZMRmHGkMEG66Nwq2Ny_nxktuh5AM4vmhkfEdcFhSbPS9k1qoO7_OxlriBrILjwRx9Ybt_DIiPoF6aityph4w8vH_M0pDhklgaI/w400-h300/IMG_0894.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>I also baked cake for the adults who weren’t invited because we only invited their kids. I baked 10 cakes to be given to every family and let their kids put on the icing. They had fun designing their cake as much as we had fun watching them get creative!<br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our hope is for our child to grow up valuing relationships and experiences more than the glamour of an overly decorated party. This isn’t to say that throwing a huge party is wrong. I mean, why not if you have that much money. What we hope for is to normalize simple celebrations in our family, whilst also hoping others would be inspired and get the pressure of throwing huge parties off of their shoulders. I know some people who feel sad thinking they failed as parents because they cannot give their kids fancy parties and that’s what we hope to change, to assure them that whether you can afford it or not, it’s okay to celebrate as family in the simplest way possible. </span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Someday, maybe next year even, our child will get to have a say or decide on how he will want to celebrate his birthday. Hey may opt for a huge party or just the three of us, we’ll see. For now, we designed his first birthday celebration in such a way that he can truly enjoy his day and not get stressed out by being carried and passed on by lots of guests which is usually the case with adult-led parties. I’ve attended huge toddler parties and I noticed that some kids were forced sit on the adult’s laps for photo ops even if they were already tired or sleepy. We didn’t want that for our child. It’s his birthday so we wanted it to be relaxing and fun for him. There was no long, tiresome photo shoots which is also why we didn’t have much photos taken on that day because we were busy having fun. <br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Lastly, the budget that we would have spent on a huge birthday party (or his monthsary celebration) was used to <a href="https://momofeverychild.blogspot.com/2021/01/renovating-old-storage-space-into.html" target="_blank">renovate a former storage space into a playhouse</a> which was actually a better way to spend because our son, and our cousins, are able to benefit from the playhouse for several years to come. </span></span></span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-9002762005770175692021-01-18T17:46:00.002-08:002021-01-18T17:53:39.932-08:00Renovating an old storage space into a playhouse<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bjx8iawqEql40MuMoFyMzaCb18rfYByfD7cbm1lJT4rYyLJDvxM8AfsxjIrO-Crk1ZYyguQLGFxDYD8dfmjGaK5dsfjjRmI72uBWr8uG9YoFXMirXinLexjA3Iv9heDENNNbDIfRpjQ/s2048/IMG_7138.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bjx8iawqEql40MuMoFyMzaCb18rfYByfD7cbm1lJT4rYyLJDvxM8AfsxjIrO-Crk1ZYyguQLGFxDYD8dfmjGaK5dsfjjRmI72uBWr8uG9YoFXMirXinLexjA3Iv9heDENNNbDIfRpjQ/w400-h300/IMG_7138.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have this
space at the ground floor of our ancestral home we call “<i>pinsa</i>”. It was
used by our grandparents in the olden days as storage space for farm harvests
and farm machinery. Then it became a storage space for anything broken or empty
that we cannot throw thinking they might still be of any other use. It’s a typical
Filipino trait, keeping even empty jam jars or empty cookies cans. <br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After I gave birth,
we decided to live at our ancestral home so we can raise our child in a rural
environment, away from the noise and pollution of the city. We had our <i>pinsa</i>
cleaned, and used it as our hangout place. We would take naps there on a hammock,
or work because it’s cooler than anywhere else in the house. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Then our child
began to watch TV. We gave him freedom of movement, allowed him to choose his
own activities, and enabled him independent play. Sadly, whenever a certain
sound from the TV would capture his interest, he would stop playing and start
watching. We value and protect focus and concentration so much so that whenever
he is focused on something, we would wait before we talk to him. We also kept
him away from gadgets so we were concerned when he started to watch TV for a longer
stretch of time. We knew we had to find him another space to play away from the
TV as we cannot turn it off when others are watching. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;">At first, we were
hesitant to spend on the renovation of our <i>pinsa</i>. But then I thought, I
left law school to be a stay-at-home mom so I can personally look after our
child and ensure he is given lots of opportunities to independently move and
explore, and be raised in a loving, gentle, respectful way so why have second
thoughts on spending money to keep our child off the screen? I mean, I can earn
that money again but I cannot bring back our son’s childhood. So the renovation began...</span><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After over a month
of work, our 40 sqm <i>pinsa</i> which used to be a dusty, messy, old place transformed
into a beautiful playhouse. I particularly loved the combination of the modern design,
and the antique wooden beams. I only see this on Pinterest before but
now we are actually spending most of our time in it. Join us over at Instagram –
follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/momofeverychild/" target="_blank">@momofeverychild</a> – if you’re interested to be part of our journey of living
at an ancestral home with a mini-forest, and surrounded by lots of birds and
animals, together with our Siberian husky named Skye. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Right now the playhouse is "Christmassy" because Christmas if my favorite time of the year. I grew up enjoying the sight of Christmas lights and Christmas decors. Sometimes, whenever I'm sad, I would think of Christmas and I'd feel better. I'm hoping our child will grow up having the same feelings about Christmas. </span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8fnEznQUyn3a5EOwQ2P7B_ptm3txAoenWp64n-Hywik6V0odJb7ioofA7gnmn_-AimvEEWV9SMtyEwwgSvhL8NiMAVC5vTpazIGbGBnkoNgG37wwI-DqTkD7el54-D1uoM-FsTh30VM/s2048/IMG_7134.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8fnEznQUyn3a5EOwQ2P7B_ptm3txAoenWp64n-Hywik6V0odJb7ioofA7gnmn_-AimvEEWV9SMtyEwwgSvhL8NiMAVC5vTpazIGbGBnkoNgG37wwI-DqTkD7el54-D1uoM-FsTh30VM/w400-h300/IMG_7134.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJ83lhE0D1WPNQlMBuJKOQOrH59xpO0kGtoo2Im4E6PSEsOwZKpowiWB37elZ1XvzGIEfr-1_axKoBhMlX1X__J8mmiHJ88n7EUkiK8pQR9aVAuDsXn92BdEmI2VW2M3Ja58rlTh-3Ns/s2048/IMG_7137.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJ83lhE0D1WPNQlMBuJKOQOrH59xpO0kGtoo2Im4E6PSEsOwZKpowiWB37elZ1XvzGIEfr-1_axKoBhMlX1X__J8mmiHJ88n7EUkiK8pQR9aVAuDsXn92BdEmI2VW2M3Ja58rlTh-3Ns/w400-h300/IMG_7137.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOWE1LHEb_Hy6XxXGBWRhcPfniRoXCdNNoDMj6dnCch72HQGGq4Is6R3WUNy4uuuCUk0zzjxyW1EkehNFi31HMzJcO2spStBEy5Ry9ufK5k-JI2xJJGJ2j84F2PMYuCxf1MZk3ldJZwI/s2048/IMG_7139.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOWE1LHEb_Hy6XxXGBWRhcPfniRoXCdNNoDMj6dnCch72HQGGq4Is6R3WUNy4uuuCUk0zzjxyW1EkehNFi31HMzJcO2spStBEy5Ry9ufK5k-JI2xJJGJ2j84F2PMYuCxf1MZk3ldJZwI/w400-h300/IMG_7139.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We had child-sized furniture made to ensure our child and other children can easily access the
sink or get their toys. In Montessori, it's essential that toys and other materials are made accessible for children so they can choose their toys and activities themselves. When our child is of the right age and shows interest,
we will put our oven there too so we can bake together. Right now our sink is still a bit high for our son. We had it made that way so he won't keep playing with water. He'll be able to comfortably use this when he's a bit older and is already able to understand that we shouldn't waste water.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6Jln4W07goZmRjs1Q2IzqOpx_mIuzgsYCasDLB8ZXEytfgClVF157Fq_oHqgnv8wns7uYZm-T0kCaxBL1c0-dxGNuS4se4P0e2c4ZooIuJu6kwFrsLS5hz5Kktro9dx2AtbBzZAPTnQ/s2048/IMG_7054.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6Jln4W07goZmRjs1Q2IzqOpx_mIuzgsYCasDLB8ZXEytfgClVF157Fq_oHqgnv8wns7uYZm-T0kCaxBL1c0-dxGNuS4se4P0e2c4ZooIuJu6kwFrsLS5hz5Kktro9dx2AtbBzZAPTnQ/w300-h400/IMG_7054.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxaotqbMC6AbO7PFMimkVHrrEfFhS6qpInXkzCBfRp8-sA9A-VfTWzuCBH1e7zaH8jj63QMf95SZlNM96AxDWy9dCOmkGvwApNtHLHjK8k0a4gsQrWWnA7SiapbAwSLLjtL0LEPf6ato/s2048/IMG_7053.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxaotqbMC6AbO7PFMimkVHrrEfFhS6qpInXkzCBfRp8-sA9A-VfTWzuCBH1e7zaH8jj63QMf95SZlNM96AxDWy9dCOmkGvwApNtHLHjK8k0a4gsQrWWnA7SiapbAwSLLjtL0LEPf6ato/w300-h400/IMG_7053.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPsodIun2ZA2Qs9qLvOpkIZwr43m3KZ59vldS8nffd8Spq0w_49PBPBlZFZDqqUm54RwqMsqzbV8_CGXLJ32eMj8E3DjezuWRA25PrCxaWYOVMKfnT8ZhrOuMm8qjpbC-lYxdAGYUuWM/s2048/IMG_7075.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPsodIun2ZA2Qs9qLvOpkIZwr43m3KZ59vldS8nffd8Spq0w_49PBPBlZFZDqqUm54RwqMsqzbV8_CGXLJ32eMj8E3DjezuWRA25PrCxaWYOVMKfnT8ZhrOuMm8qjpbC-lYxdAGYUuWM/w300-h400/IMG_7075.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8tb0O_2kCL33wr-RfbwfCNxkTFCKyVDpjPAY59SDCwDoPIs4CDWnyw2ZINN7qfOwhC2E090S5oBwg4VH74-oIJcFNuWnG8WB_sLu9LRDj7cWWZbxYzECy-aSw0wAm1Uf4LP0oc24SH0/s2048/IMG_7291.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8tb0O_2kCL33wr-RfbwfCNxkTFCKyVDpjPAY59SDCwDoPIs4CDWnyw2ZINN7qfOwhC2E090S5oBwg4VH74-oIJcFNuWnG8WB_sLu9LRDj7cWWZbxYzECy-aSw0wAm1Uf4LP0oc24SH0/w300-h400/IMG_7291.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We also had his table and chairs made so he can sit their comfortably. The table is low enough so children can access food themselves. When we had a small family gathering last Christmas, I was so happy to see my 2-year old cousin serving herself with food for the first time. She looked at every food on the table and helped herself to some serving of those she liked. That is the kind of independence we want our son to enjoy.</span></span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbTcrG840TuFaG9TE9urXeC-RGUf2na_Y9viKCitl-EWi9Tx-mc7dAHOPmSW8CtS98r_15eM7-_EVNI8FHuydJhRpzf2gFgBomEmhk7G6L8tenXiIscVtpuJVrXtV972fJGMtK0frjls/s2048/IMG_7095.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbTcrG840TuFaG9TE9urXeC-RGUf2na_Y9viKCitl-EWi9Tx-mc7dAHOPmSW8CtS98r_15eM7-_EVNI8FHuydJhRpzf2gFgBomEmhk7G6L8tenXiIscVtpuJVrXtV972fJGMtK0frjls/w300-h400/IMG_7095.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmRPahtwlRs-ra_Pap41o6nZf_7Bo2tM1zt2ocI-3rhSopvMJlt9S6ABM4EWv0dfNkdfPzUt2XnSu6hhcl8uoLlQUyOrQbt9Q8qwsPDzLUA5cCZnXLtV1ZL8n0HNqTyeGMsOp70VFAUk/s2048/IMG_7071.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmRPahtwlRs-ra_Pap41o6nZf_7Bo2tM1zt2ocI-3rhSopvMJlt9S6ABM4EWv0dfNkdfPzUt2XnSu6hhcl8uoLlQUyOrQbt9Q8qwsPDzLUA5cCZnXLtV1ZL8n0HNqTyeGMsOp70VFAUk/w300-h400/IMG_7071.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We dedicated one corner as his reading and napping nook. This is my favorite part of his playhouse because it has an outdoor view and there's a mango tree across from it where the collared kingfishers frequently hop. It's so relaxing here that the adults decided to put up not one but two hammocks! </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt60xjrG3S61FZUqgb0_-sdy7FomROypZMObbIZQ7bksVN3vONO6NuNZ1dnYB-SZ4RebDEUxNMM2JQExsaWXj-uQOdEqzlDN2rRUaQXL5W2gZzy4XUVtZN4hhhkcyk29UJHy3WLU6L01s/s2048/IMG_7100.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt60xjrG3S61FZUqgb0_-sdy7FomROypZMObbIZQ7bksVN3vONO6NuNZ1dnYB-SZ4RebDEUxNMM2JQExsaWXj-uQOdEqzlDN2rRUaQXL5W2gZzy4XUVtZN4hhhkcyk29UJHy3WLU6L01s/w400-h300/IMG_7100.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Hs3X5rJXMyqzK0JGJWQ5GN-VELgoFGcnFXIIeW8-uCOKtU5msvtHvtDYX-jLI4Wn-ygcBgfNCdJO6de718T5YT8NpkKWEETozLt3FfbaDSShFYGv6CIdEZKWoVLfCn6qHl_NiQ6B_dE/s2048/IMG_7105.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Hs3X5rJXMyqzK0JGJWQ5GN-VELgoFGcnFXIIeW8-uCOKtU5msvtHvtDYX-jLI4Wn-ygcBgfNCdJO6de718T5YT8NpkKWEETozLt3FfbaDSShFYGv6CIdEZKWoVLfCn6qHl_NiQ6B_dE/w400-h300/IMG_7105.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoXdqjKVz8ZIENJ2tGpYNWBhx2XM22nr_L2A5ykPA85LJvHqQpSFx0ftfjTED2au7PPGkAzbPuZ3I81Am80HG4AWOwfwQJZhLjPK9GD3ZvliNCuKHkfEoMjTwA0OWMGWqphENdQFHD5s/s2048/IMG_7107+%25281%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoXdqjKVz8ZIENJ2tGpYNWBhx2XM22nr_L2A5ykPA85LJvHqQpSFx0ftfjTED2au7PPGkAzbPuZ3I81Am80HG4AWOwfwQJZhLjPK9GD3ZvliNCuKHkfEoMjTwA0OWMGWqphENdQFHD5s/w400-h300/IMG_7107+%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsK2jT2qpKh9INiHX-9NIcVut1tscTc_fhOFywVL-EJZLbll4rH0oCREwFx-72haaMnHSlGjBjBduUpEsdgMpv395Hadm-PN0OeP8OrPMKPy5wuF0ookW7YSetspkDTLGzVwHUA8W4IoM/s2048/IMG_7146.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsK2jT2qpKh9INiHX-9NIcVut1tscTc_fhOFywVL-EJZLbll4rH0oCREwFx-72haaMnHSlGjBjBduUpEsdgMpv395Hadm-PN0OeP8OrPMKPy5wuF0ookW7YSetspkDTLGzVwHUA8W4IoM/w400-h300/IMG_7146.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmxdHtkCALmZxZYmbaUSW9r3aun3UWaBgw16sxhXvWFB_VEYd7bM-UIgYSL4Wmz1ZQrBjD6V0fhlH2w0bNUdrCEUOIet6EQldrI_6WaKsbaKQ7EnOu6qBMsYFA_R3AM7LZJiNKypEQyY/s2048/IMG_7325.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmxdHtkCALmZxZYmbaUSW9r3aun3UWaBgw16sxhXvWFB_VEYd7bM-UIgYSL4Wmz1ZQrBjD6V0fhlH2w0bNUdrCEUOIet6EQldrI_6WaKsbaKQ7EnOu6qBMsYFA_R3AM7LZJiNKypEQyY/w400-h300/IMG_7325.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprynTUCun7DiFuRQJOLK5gFHaQCoTBBfHF1bzxScBiQxyQlQDH7c37F8m5OvvjftN-IrlgXiPtHiA3uLIQMfQoGc6wWZewXI5wsZPY8NwCOSVADLrYx8uCJlKULLPh80mXlJNQfWpsvk/s2048/IMG_7131.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprynTUCun7DiFuRQJOLK5gFHaQCoTBBfHF1bzxScBiQxyQlQDH7c37F8m5OvvjftN-IrlgXiPtHiA3uLIQMfQoGc6wWZewXI5wsZPY8NwCOSVADLrYx8uCJlKULLPh80mXlJNQfWpsvk/w400-h300/IMG_7131.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G2ZTUgpcxgoH3Sk9zItdFSx86Qt_SXLKUOcJYU6dN7JOKesN3l_GFhYNAldPH32qI5EFp_kIX6uKSdkZ9LLudclayE7hmPXhr_YLaIIr-zDh00G87o7kGELtlpsUZGcnKCmnZ51GF3g/s2048/IMG_7119.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G2ZTUgpcxgoH3Sk9zItdFSx86Qt_SXLKUOcJYU6dN7JOKesN3l_GFhYNAldPH32qI5EFp_kIX6uKSdkZ9LLudclayE7hmPXhr_YLaIIr-zDh00G87o7kGELtlpsUZGcnKCmnZ51GF3g/w300-h400/IMG_7119.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg300GnhjNHLsQz2qOs5oYs9FXmv_4a_w5F2zh1eO2iMGYsmrYveto_NZLxETgjRNeh9m6lv7COtwvEnHEkWvseuniJctTZCnvpJHge2yLVxF0t9uSHdp1xTvk7YyVP2gVYlJT1f5M-Lcs/s2048/IMG_7402.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg300GnhjNHLsQz2qOs5oYs9FXmv_4a_w5F2zh1eO2iMGYsmrYveto_NZLxETgjRNeh9m6lv7COtwvEnHEkWvseuniJctTZCnvpJHge2yLVxF0t9uSHdp1xTvk7YyVP2gVYlJT1f5M-Lcs/w300-h400/IMG_7402.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The playhouse has a toilet with a child-sized furniture and tiny toilet bowl. We had the
floor designed this way so it won’t be slippery for children. And it’s got a
nice outdoor view for the adults to enjoy too. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HwwyjZgfWhwMEsqRu8zRGnNe-nmk2zNpfTxlYwsWvlA_z_W18CjNDJMtseLbDnFHA2hksOFp08CS3SB5HWO0SohixFWovDu-jUurXTMXqXEdsfPJxZhw6l8Yc-FSEvvVY3uAkJL5AGk/s2048/IMG_7155.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HwwyjZgfWhwMEsqRu8zRGnNe-nmk2zNpfTxlYwsWvlA_z_W18CjNDJMtseLbDnFHA2hksOFp08CS3SB5HWO0SohixFWovDu-jUurXTMXqXEdsfPJxZhw6l8Yc-FSEvvVY3uAkJL5AGk/w300-h400/IMG_7155.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMQ54DMqx4NYsELIybciRF3KLv_kZkCYaB6vIc4wiBm-IRFFIXMSMgeqiN923OeXcdl_RzMNY2rBINnUH5nbPqZpFf4ZAJ1UGuDaGA6PhG99tmFceHkIoK1CZzUuFmY72sbRxs9NI4Fs/s2048/IMG_7152.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMQ54DMqx4NYsELIybciRF3KLv_kZkCYaB6vIc4wiBm-IRFFIXMSMgeqiN923OeXcdl_RzMNY2rBINnUH5nbPqZpFf4ZAJ1UGuDaGA6PhG99tmFceHkIoK1CZzUuFmY72sbRxs9NI4Fs/w300-h400/IMG_7152.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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{page:WordSection1;</style></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qE-8nh80KLBiym6Oww593J4DeFGtSrEVmDaWLkVFLrkChST_znv5Tge75Ie_YLL5YoF7fytmMc5z8RstLPtt9OKTcSPj2p-QkvV2pFB7lnklFwnjZJC3OprnxSnHPnWB9nphCbpLLiw/s2048/IMG_7153.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qE-8nh80KLBiym6Oww593J4DeFGtSrEVmDaWLkVFLrkChST_znv5Tge75Ie_YLL5YoF7fytmMc5z8RstLPtt9OKTcSPj2p-QkvV2pFB7lnklFwnjZJC3OprnxSnHPnWB9nphCbpLLiw/w400-h400/IMG_7153.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk5wT34o907g5UaOpXpspD07HLoNBoOQUaIKFuacRAkoyonOrIK3vCUaXkT9RWa96dSYZ4md4vl1fm5hB-XcbTqL8RFADhTlRNH-7D-ba201xD2pODc3kkCgFOz9oli7JfmggmqEpuWk/s2048/IMG_7154.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk5wT34o907g5UaOpXpspD07HLoNBoOQUaIKFuacRAkoyonOrIK3vCUaXkT9RWa96dSYZ4md4vl1fm5hB-XcbTqL8RFADhTlRNH-7D-ba201xD2pODc3kkCgFOz9oli7JfmggmqEpuWk/w400-h400/IMG_7154.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">We also bought child-sized house stuff like this broom that only cost P25, garden tools and others. These are easy to use independently by our child without frustration because they're small. We are still on the lookout for other child-sized materials so will be happy to get any recommendations. </span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ioaWzwn-Dqb-DPRtBArw-BbZz9b0mUTTR7xYtMwAZAs1bdfZU-0zYGfqopnffA0NXHBPuagauPoYed6BqSaBvSl_ecmoJlYWWz2x2OabrOIFx8VwMR_QUsjHccMEtQVDFYrrQVk8nQM/s2048/IMG_7141.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ioaWzwn-Dqb-DPRtBArw-BbZz9b0mUTTR7xYtMwAZAs1bdfZU-0zYGfqopnffA0NXHBPuagauPoYed6BqSaBvSl_ecmoJlYWWz2x2OabrOIFx8VwMR_QUsjHccMEtQVDFYrrQVk8nQM/w400-h300/IMG_7141.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8Qi7Z1c_nFgpirfK9desUOhc8jC3pzkn4lY10AR06kpuDLkB1WXmw_fzRlXjYqvjmthATB16YX5svR7KnhbXJ2z9nMun7B58FypNdnmlXbFoe6fDPhD0qO55q9YMkZgHPYZbk1yfeyY/s2048/IMG_7147.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8Qi7Z1c_nFgpirfK9desUOhc8jC3pzkn4lY10AR06kpuDLkB1WXmw_fzRlXjYqvjmthATB16YX5svR7KnhbXJ2z9nMun7B58FypNdnmlXbFoe6fDPhD0qO55q9YMkZgHPYZbk1yfeyY/w400-h400/IMG_7147.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglM6SSfMSjDxhNob5MtwhK9bZVGTUdVUBRNtChnNx2o_4f6VB0s5P0LH6B2TVH2tNeYxpusWZ8U8l4ZGD9ttgRFxpBcmTj7L1q_Q2wWq3G0mCXE_SL0DeQBmCAm-PYq4NCiuMoKrNTUco/s2048/IMG_7150.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglM6SSfMSjDxhNob5MtwhK9bZVGTUdVUBRNtChnNx2o_4f6VB0s5P0LH6B2TVH2tNeYxpusWZ8U8l4ZGD9ttgRFxpBcmTj7L1q_Q2wWq3G0mCXE_SL0DeQBmCAm-PYq4NCiuMoKrNTUco/w400-h400/IMG_7150.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I bought most of the stuff in our playhouse from Shopee. Send me a message over at Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/momofeverychild/" target="_blank">@momofeverychild</a> if you want to know the seller of a particular item. We are also on Facebook at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/momofeverychild" target="_blank">Mom of Every Child</a> where I share parenting, family, relationships, mindfulness, healthy living and other interesting articles. And if you're interested to see how our <i>pinsa</i> looked before we renovated it, I'll be posting its gradual transformation at our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwiUC9rUBe_knVkAP8NvM2w" target="_blank">Youtube Channel</a> once I'm done editing because I'm only really able to work when my child is asleep, so please bear with this momma. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Our "playhouse veranda" is not yet done so it's not pictured. Also, my husband and siblings like to hangout and work here too so I dumped their stuff at one corner (not pictured). This playhouse has much more space once those are done and the stuff organized.</span><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-24844500177894749512020-08-07T08:28:00.004-07:002020-08-07T09:10:04.557-07:00Birding: My Quarantine Hobby<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ygPKv0xnkwjAj_T92A4HN8lvDyIkbo0trryFmc1V-zRueNsowQi83BK3wa1MhEdNYsgnbrPpiXyc0wGQA6_E6ZI-uI-EDlOs3_wvsohi3uC1mIxKjW_iw6vetwYVBUjAmP6wcEhfKKk/s2048/DSC_0221.NEF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ygPKv0xnkwjAj_T92A4HN8lvDyIkbo0trryFmc1V-zRueNsowQi83BK3wa1MhEdNYsgnbrPpiXyc0wGQA6_E6ZI-uI-EDlOs3_wvsohi3uC1mIxKjW_iw6vetwYVBUjAmP6wcEhfKKk/w512-h342/DSC_0221.NEF" width="512" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The novel coronavirus caught us all off guard. All of a sudden, we found ourselves locked up in our homes for months. I feel for those who live in the middle of mega cities, in small condo units or apartments with no access to nature for some “unwinding time”. Fortunately for me, I live in our ancestral home in a rural area surrounded by trees it feels as though we live in the midst of a mini-forest.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">At the onset of this pandemic, I found myself often anxious. I kept reading the news and checking the number of cases. I constantly worry for my son because he is still very young, his regular vaccines are not even completed yet. I knew I needed to rise above my paranoia because I have to protect my son’s psyche and me being in that state will negatively affect him too. Children can absorb our energies. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">So, I found solace in birding.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face="" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJNip_vI7Q64dPyAGgR_er9fb0owqbtvcKn9VxgOOkhum_vzaZ14j1_wGh9FGGNv59La4u5jkC-EyY2vjR6pXpYajYfxIgCn5AnJEkDgAEEQPrdJIL46LJL1zY1KLsptrwnAGApf-ztA/s2048/DSC_0168.NEF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJNip_vI7Q64dPyAGgR_er9fb0owqbtvcKn9VxgOOkhum_vzaZ14j1_wGh9FGGNv59La4u5jkC-EyY2vjR6pXpYajYfxIgCn5AnJEkDgAEEQPrdJIL46LJL1zY1KLsptrwnAGApf-ztA/w512-h342/DSC_0168.NEF" width="512" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We have lots of birds around. Listening to them has been a part of all my waking hours. Last April though I began to seriously pay them the attention they deserved. Inspired by someone I follow on Instagram, I started birding using my DSLR camera. We’d often go for an afternoon walk with our son anyway so I asked hubby to look after our son while I excitedly look for and chase birds. They are everywhere! In fact, they are regular guests of the pomelo tree across my working table so I would place the camera on that table for easy grab in case there are birds I’d want to look at closely. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I found that birding, looking at birds very closely through a binocular or in my case a DSLR camera, is a totally different experience than just watching them with our naked eye. I saw a collared kingfisher hop on a mango tree and found nothing special about it until I looked at it through my camera and saw its magnificent dark blue feathers, its huge beak, its overall grandeur. And it’s beautiful! Another yellow bird I have yet to know the name looks so tiny but when I saw it through my camera, I found that the black feathers on its neck would actually glisten and turns blue when it moves. Watching it makes me extra giddy! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEzxVBGmgPQ7ED4wJyZmPqmhUAwzor9rNlFOKCF4eMfCnSSFpw7nBGi_tpY-DJYtTsIE6mGw-Kyhngj9F1u2n5IWiJcptUVi-wPzVM5ku2yKT2kjCT6kguoFNjHVQ4oU9CSG8Aaodbfw/s2048/DSC_0024.NEF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEzxVBGmgPQ7ED4wJyZmPqmhUAwzor9rNlFOKCF4eMfCnSSFpw7nBGi_tpY-DJYtTsIE6mGw-Kyhngj9F1u2n5IWiJcptUVi-wPzVM5ku2yKT2kjCT6kguoFNjHVQ4oU9CSG8Aaodbfw/w512-h342/DSC_0024.NEF" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-CJwRWiIZbBzBbAkJ292Xg_iCaxf-DA_dnm3LPo5CjTiL9H0phUJLLwTzkw66qn-bVcbHDe2MVKdrKJY6P2cfGpAQ9sPOUF5xWh0p6Yqoo3TcLL9wpaM2d19IqRVn3xCIxuHDa95_mU/s2048/DSC_0209.NEF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-CJwRWiIZbBzBbAkJ292Xg_iCaxf-DA_dnm3LPo5CjTiL9H0phUJLLwTzkw66qn-bVcbHDe2MVKdrKJY6P2cfGpAQ9sPOUF5xWh0p6Yqoo3TcLL9wpaM2d19IqRVn3xCIxuHDa95_mU/w512-h342/DSC_0209.NEF" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUGWnPjtmxT_2Mf02y9B4TmrUjV1mshkjWz7tjIhnZJmOwIFAv0UJ2UjToYsJcM_vOU0QlbnSjhsNPaXtHybNkNUvGV1jGfBh_rwVy2mSfkLKnuogxDQpLFLK23ZmvSbMMOmnV8d2cy0/s2048/DSC_0074.NEF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUGWnPjtmxT_2Mf02y9B4TmrUjV1mshkjWz7tjIhnZJmOwIFAv0UJ2UjToYsJcM_vOU0QlbnSjhsNPaXtHybNkNUvGV1jGfBh_rwVy2mSfkLKnuogxDQpLFLK23ZmvSbMMOmnV8d2cy0/w512-h342/DSC_0074.NEF" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJt_N1V7vD8D1xqrjhwNOA08WoM62BusxYnQbeIBiU1JNp5xqTiLoG6WXjhF9W9NdTyxW6qhFbBvta4sPaOJxH3x-EAFljSrd55t6SNc536ixVXQt1akkDlN_glvKlMiTh0-wLV0CAAI/s2048/DSC_0051.NEF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJt_N1V7vD8D1xqrjhwNOA08WoM62BusxYnQbeIBiU1JNp5xqTiLoG6WXjhF9W9NdTyxW6qhFbBvta4sPaOJxH3x-EAFljSrd55t6SNc536ixVXQt1akkDlN_glvKlMiTh0-wLV0CAAI/w512-h342/DSC_0051.NEF" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-x24bW4jSTIemng3WoPMN8SGlDgvC6NGHprvqQw_rXkOjgh3zRG6qHw7hNYmwJSof13HBGx9EmmrfbtnekOnFGS0ChXh8dTmIOUh5j1o1D0VpXRdcCcLIrGqjcHGyRvPpHMVVarNkF08/s2048/DSC_0088.NEF" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-x24bW4jSTIemng3WoPMN8SGlDgvC6NGHprvqQw_rXkOjgh3zRG6qHw7hNYmwJSof13HBGx9EmmrfbtnekOnFGS0ChXh8dTmIOUh5j1o1D0VpXRdcCcLIrGqjcHGyRvPpHMVVarNkF08/w512-h342/DSC_0088.NEF" width="512" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I also discovered that the Asian Glossy Starling have red eyes! I didn’t know it before I used my camera. It looks so pretty with its black feathers accented by its red eyes. They’d usually hop high up on the coconut tree so until now I have not taken a good shot of them with the limited reach of my camera lens. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>“Birding made me live in the present moment.”</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Aside from getting to see the details of the birds’ physical appearance, I gained lots of benefits from birding. In searching for birds, I became more attuned with the present moment. The usual clutters of my mind would tend to disappear because I would focus on listening intently for any sign that there is one nearby. It also enabled me to move more. Our usual walk is short but if I’m birding, I tend to walk much farther and much longer, sometimes until twilight. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>“Birding is meditative.”</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Birding brought me a different kind of joy. It’s meditative in a sense that my eyes and ears are focused on finding them instead of my mind just drifting away at times, unconscious of the sight and sound around. As a result, I became more relaxed afterwards. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">It is such a privilege for me to have this kind of environment and activity at a time when the uncertainties and fears brought by this pandemic tend to paralyze us.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Wherever you are right now, I hope you are finding hobbies and activities that can divert your mind from this predicament that we are all in. For some, it can be extremely challenging to stay positive but now more than ever we need to protect our mental health. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">May we find joy in the tiniest of blessings and the simplest of things.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-58016804244514181662018-09-13T20:09:00.000-07:002019-02-27T22:20:32.739-08:00The 3-year old 3km marathon runner<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Last week we organized a marathon, a fundraising activity to support those who will be taking the November bar exams from our school. The month-long preparations felt like a marathon in itself, especially for students who were actively working on this event while juggling it with their day job and law studies.<br /><br />On the day of the race, we had to be at the venue by 3:30AM, never mind that we went home at almost midnight to ensure everything was in order. Like any event, there were lapses and confusions with some participants ended up arguing with our secretariat head. It was all too overwhelming for our tired and exhausted heads.<br /><br />Then came this teeny tiny little 3-year old, wearing the tiniest shirt with the race bib almost occupying her entire upper body. She was all smiles as she approached the finish line, no trace of physical exhaustion. At first I thought she was only made to run from a few meters away. Perhaps when her mom –I assumed the lady who ran by her side was her mom but I don’t know for sure – was about to reach the finish line, they had the three-year old girl ran with her. But I was told the little girl did run for the entire 3 kilometres! And she was not the last to arrive either. I was stunned.<br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I could not stop looking at and admiring her. When the adults reached the finish line, you could see their tired faces despite their smiles of success. But the little girl, that cute innocent soul just kept smiling with a smile that has no trace of regrets, of that ‘why am I doing this to myself but I love it at the same time’ kind of face. It got me thinking, why is running something burdensome for some adults but for children it is pure fun? Really, what is wrong with us lazy adults? And she kept running around the plaza still, even after we’ve finished awarding the prizes, where she got the Youngest Runner Award.<br /><br />I can’t help but wish I had her spirit. If we were not the organizer, I would have ran myself but I was sure along the way I would also keep cursing myself for imposing that challenge until I reach the finish line where I can forget all about the pain and just relish success. But still, along the way, I knew I would have complained and regretted and felt bad like I most often do when faced with difficult tasks, even if at the back of my head I am loving the challenge.<br /><br />That little girl reminded me to just enjoy despite any discomfort, to think of it as play, to have a mindset that looks at the fun, good side of it all instead of dwelling on which part is uncomfortable. I have been planning to run for a long long time but never quite found the will to do it. Thanks to this little girl, my mindset is changing. But yeah, it takes a 3-year old to slap me on the face and make me realize how lazy I had become not only in running on a marathon but most importantly in running for my life goals.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-39601850292563315212018-08-22T20:33:00.000-07:002019-02-27T20:35:03.341-08:00Surviving my ‘no soft drinks for a year’ challenge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love soft drinks. When I was living abroad, not a day would go by without me having a glass. In fact, I would usually have a can of coke during lunch and dinner; none in the morning because I don’t eat breakfast most of the time. I used to think that I will never survive without them. My soft drinks intake was only curbed when I was studying in Australia during winter that I would prefer hot beverages.<br /><br />When I came back to the Philippines, I would find myself always craving for cold soft drinks because of the warm weather making me constantly in need of refreshments. I am fully aware though that it has absolutely no health benefits. On the contrary, it will only wreak havoc on our health. Still, how can we ever resist?<br /><br />This year though, I finally vowed never to drink a single drop of soft drinks for the entire year. I was hoping that if I could do it for a year, maybe — just maybe, I could do it forever. That was one of my New Year’s resolutions and the only one I was able to keep, unfortunately. Looking back, I would never have imagined myself resisting the urge for almost 8 months but I did! I am pretty proud of myself for having had the strength to say no to an extremely cold glass of coke on a hot summer day at the beach after eating too much meat. Can you?<br /><br /><i><b>How I managed to keep up with the challenge</b></i><br />I don’t really have any brilliant strategy to share though; nothing extraordinary. Making the commitment was the first step. It was my commitment that served as the pillar of this self-imposed rule. Then I took the challenge on a daily basis, telling myself <b>‘not today’</b>. I found it extremely difficult during summer when it was too warm and I craved for that all too familiar refreshing comfort from a cold can of soda. But every time I am tempted, I would gently remind myself that I did not go this far for nothing and that my commitment is stronger than the damaging temptation. It also helped that I told people I was on this challenge because it held me even more accountable. Before I knew it, days turned into weeks and weeks into months and now I am almost 8 months into the challenge. Yes, 8 months without a single glass of any soft drinks. Instead, I settled with cold water or fruit juice.<br /><br /><i><b>Inspiration from a book</b></i><br />There’s this book that I read every year. I wrote about it <b><a href="http://sanitykeeper.com/book-will-read-every-year/#.XHdkd4gzbIU" target="_blank">here</a></b>. In the book, there is a fable about a Sumo wrestler wearing nothing but a pink wire cable covering his private parts. The pink cable represents the power of self-control and discipline. Alone, each tiny wire that makes up the cable is flimsy and weak. “But, together, their sum is much greater than their constituent parts and the cable becomes tougher than iron. Self-control and willpower are similar to this. To build a will of iron, it is essential to take small, tiny acts in tribute to the virtue of personal discipline. Routinely performed, the little acts pile one on top of another to eventually produce an abundance of inner strength.”<br /><br />Every time I am tempted to have soft drinks, I would remind myself of this lesson from the book. I am hoping that these tiny steps at discipline will strengthen my grit and enable me to make other greater personal commitments that I can keep. As the book says, “When you continually practice the ancient art of self-government, there will be no hurdle too high for you to overcome, no challenge too tough for you to surmount and no crisis too hot for you to cool down. Self-discipline will provide you with the mental reserves required to persevere when life throws you one of its little curves.”<br /><br />Buy your copy of the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062515675/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mhabello-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062515675&linkId=63a41c4acbd6206b234b01c28fde7d9a" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-48189847713093317332018-06-01T20:48:00.000-07:002019-02-27T20:49:26.570-08:00How thirsty is your food?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My husband Omar Piamonte Jayag, an agricultural and water resources engineer, took a break from preparing his 3-hour presentation for an environmental resources management seminar to be attended by over 200 participants and asked me this question, “how much water do you use everyday?” It seemed to be an easy question to answer. I estimated about 3 buckets of water for shower in the morning and wash up in the evening, 2 liters to drink including juice, tea or coffee, maybe another bucket or two for all the dirty jobs in the toilet, a few liters for cooking meals, another couple of buckets for washing the clothes and dishes. Basically, I mentioned the obvious water necessities which literally require me to use water directly. However, I cannot be more wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Omar then introduced to me the concept of water footprint. Unfortunately, despite my desire to live an environment conscious lifestyle, it is rather a shame that I have heard of this for the first time. Water footprint covers not only the water we use directly everyday but also those that were used in making our food or the products we use. For example, a slice of bread requires 10 gallons of water; that is the total amount of water needed for growing the wheat and sugarcane, raising chicken for the eggs, manufacturing the flour and sugar up to the baking process of the bread. That is a lot of water for a single slice of bread! In the Philippines, every person uses an average of 3,800 liters of water daily.<br /><br />There are several data available online that shows how much water is needed in producing our food and basic necessities such as these infographics. Aside from our own, we also have to consider the water footprints of various sectors such as the industrial, medical, tourism, education among others to deepen our appreciation of how reliant we are to water.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #edf6fe; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Sorts Mill Goudy", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Photo from www.wwfindia.org</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYKAwks9hc-11NkXmAIAEiQlq4oIhSfCiPml4mTFDujMhCMxrA2KcFGQM_NN2EFxkT100VbhnB6aPpR_yZ5fw_Rx_17wPIsapctQKVze8EYZZhxw4FvwS68uNtUD6t79BcVpg5S33Gwk/s1600/Valentines-Day-Water-Footprint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="612" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqYKAwks9hc-11NkXmAIAEiQlq4oIhSfCiPml4mTFDujMhCMxrA2KcFGQM_NN2EFxkT100VbhnB6aPpR_yZ5fw_Rx_17wPIsapctQKVze8EYZZhxw4FvwS68uNtUD6t79BcVpg5S33Gwk/s640/Valentines-Day-Water-Footprint.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #edf6fe; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Sorts Mill Goudy", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Photo from www.circleofblue.org</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMERuUJ2De1RzluYuoA7nyUOE5eizLh6h_5Ad-Wo5NyqN_OzeBlcmAX_CQSl9GBfZ66u0AfsSV-vDG8ObwNWOPJKLDQBfVjv0d6hH_tEcJ4rX_wt5l87OJU7GX-skcZV1EC9EKAQXViS0/s1600/Water-Foot-Print-of-One-Meal-768x510.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="768" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMERuUJ2De1RzluYuoA7nyUOE5eizLh6h_5Ad-Wo5NyqN_OzeBlcmAX_CQSl9GBfZ66u0AfsSV-vDG8ObwNWOPJKLDQBfVjv0d6hH_tEcJ4rX_wt5l87OJU7GX-skcZV1EC9EKAQXViS0/s400/Water-Foot-Print-of-One-Meal-768x510.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #edf6fe; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Sorts Mill Goudy", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Photo from https://foodtechconnect.com</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, according to the World Water Assessment Programme 97.5% of the earth’s water are salty and only 2.5% are fresh water. Of these 2.5% fresh water, 68.1% are in glacial form, 30.1% are ground water and only 1.2% are surface water where most of the water we use are sourced. What is more disheartening is that according to Omar not all of the available 1.2% surface water are safe to use at present because several rivers and lakes are already gravely polluted.<br /><br />We are currently facing a water crisis with billions of people not having access to safe drinking water and a quarter of the world’s population face water shortages. In the Philippines despite the existence of several rivers, lakes and other surface water sources, majority of the population still face water shortages with several barangays frequently experiencing water supply interruptions during the day. Families are left to make do with what little water they can gather early in the morning with containers and wait until evening when water supply can run through their faucets again.<br /><br />There is an urgent need to conserve water. Whilst experts in the field such as my husband are working hard to provide people with sufficient and safe water supply, we have a crucial role to play in water conservation. We need to be mindful of our lifestyle and reduce our water footprint because the agriculture sector uses up to 70% of the global water supply. Our food are extremely thirsty and we need to ensure they get enough water otherwise we will not only get thirsty ourselves, we will also run out of food to eat. Indeed, water is the oil of the 21st century.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #edf6fe; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Sorts Mill Goudy", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Photo from www.seametrics.com</span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-23520554462702698502018-05-27T20:52:00.000-07:002019-02-27T20:53:42.730-08:00Romanticized stories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning I unfollowed several accounts on Instagram, mostly from travelers with well-curated photos. I love Instagram. It is one of my sanity keepers. The beautiful, creative photos give me joy, make me forget whatever negative feelings I was going through even though only momentarily sometimes. This morning though, looking at those travelers’ photos felt suffocating. The photos were oh so lovely but looking at them made me feel disconnected with reality. It made me feel like I was a recipient of a capitalist brainwashing movement about what life should be. Clicking that unfollow button gave me a breath of fresh air.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><br />I have nothing against people who post travel photos. In fact, we have one family account where we share some of our travel photos. And I’d still like to follow travelers who have ‘authentic feeds’ or those who make me feel connected to them just by following their journey around the globe. Such kind of people are the reason why I enjoy Instagram, where I’d feel I am traveling with them, learn from their experience and where I don’t have to deal with toxic political posts. The account I unfollowed were those that by just looking at their feed you’d know they spent so much time editing the photos and that the main motive was to earn money, where it seemed like you are leafing through a magazine that earns so much from telling you what you should be doing or buying.<br /><br />The internet has transformed our life in various ways. Information are now easily accessible but so as propaganda. It has become difficult to identify truth from lies. Friends or family gathered together where each one is on their mobile phone has become a normal scenario. Each day we receive an influx of information that at the end of the day some of us may feel mentally exhausted but our knowledge bank is left empty.<br /><br />And then there are these so-called ‘successful people’ who have interesting stories to tell. There is this single mom who left a lucrative corporate job to pursue a different career she is passionate about, there’s that dude who let go of a scholarship many of us can only dream of to paint, there’s that lady who sold everything, left a promising job in fashion to travel the world. Many of us are inspired by these kinds of stories. We become empowered to also face our fears, to follow our heart to succeed. But sometimes, these stories just like the well-curated Instagram accounts are so romanticized and well-crafted we are left in awe with the best part, the tip of the iceberg but in truth much of the not-so-pretty details are left untold.<br /><br />That lady who is living a nomadic life is telling us we should leave everything behind and follow our desire to travel without telling us how to save for our retirement because hers is already secured by millions of inheritance from her parents. That single mom is telling us to leave a good corporate career path to follow our passion because if she can do it while raising her child alone then by all means we can too! What she failed to tell us is that she has a wide network and connections gathered from years of work at the corporate sector which helped her navigate her new career path, something many of us don’t have. That dude who left a promising life in the academe to pursue his passion in art is telling us that not all that glistens is gold, that we should always follow our heart but failed to tell us that while he can use that angle to create his brand and glorify his profile, we don’t have the same support system, skills and connections that he has to succeed if we opt to let go of once in a lifetime opportunities.<br /><br />Stories carry the soul and legacy of every generation to the other. Stories help us endure the most difficult of times. Stories are inspiring, empowering, provoking. As they say, ‘a pen is mightier than a sword’. But some stories mislead us into the wrong path. Some make us question our choices, our capacity, our life. Some stories are so romanticized they make us believe we are nothing, that we are living in mediocrity, that we are superficial because we don’t have the audacity to do great things.<br /><br />What many fail to appreciate is that they are already living inside one great story that is their destiny. Their stories are full of hardships and simple triumphs but when told through the lens of a storyteller, their story of genuine love, strength and endurance would inspire a thousand others. Their stories are so authentic that they would see nothing but raw, unglamorous life. But when you ask them to tell it, only then they’d learn to see their life with new eyes, only then they’d realize that theirs is an authentic, unique story worthy to be told.<br /><br />These are the stories I want to follow; stories that are not romanticized; stories that are pure and true they make me feel connected with the rest of humanity.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-4410267466121362962018-02-06T20:57:00.000-08:002019-02-27T20:57:23.142-08:00The happiness list<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLMyZt3yR1aSwyhH9xoURggvVkj5ZWecynDsAamtp-2fRurgNZs1qG7A0-J3w6_UeXXLEV8jC5n8d2L6BJBaGQZs2CljWfVr3qPaREJSjXahhyphenhyphenAi6nyxqUIZuH6pJOe-K-r51FhOMfI8/s1600/Sunset-in-Macabug-Ormoc-City-Leyte-768x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLMyZt3yR1aSwyhH9xoURggvVkj5ZWecynDsAamtp-2fRurgNZs1qG7A0-J3w6_UeXXLEV8jC5n8d2L6BJBaGQZs2CljWfVr3qPaREJSjXahhyphenhyphenAi6nyxqUIZuH6pJOe-K-r51FhOMfI8/s400/Sunset-in-Macabug-Ormoc-City-Leyte-768x768.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s been over a month into the year of the dog and we are entering that period when the new year’s frenzy gradually subsides and we slip comfortably into our old patterns. The list of resolutions found the end of its fleeting life, more fleeting than that of the cherry blossom petals. At the tail of this transience comes the influx of sentiments anent to a drab life. The feeling of boredom would set in and when it does, slacking is most often the inevitable consequence.<br /><br />I am beginning to succumb to the pull of my comfort zone, to stay where everything is all too familiar. But a part of me is determined to resist the old habits and remain on track towards making positive changes this year. To rekindle my spirit’s fire I decided to make a list of things that make me happy, the simple things that we often don’t take notice of because we are too fixated on those that are not within our grasp. So here’s my happiness list<br /><br />* waking up to the sound of chirping birds<br />* waking up to or dozing off with the sweet lullaby of falling rain<br />* smell of soil when it starts to rain<br />* warm ginger, lemon and honey tea with the right sweetness<br />* reaching 10,000 steps in a day<br />* feel of my skin after a good scrub<br />* mild sweet scent<br />* smell of an infant<br />* smell of an infant’s breathing<br />* hubby’s caress on my back and scalp<br />* hubby’s head and body massage<br />* finishing a book<br />* finishing my reading list ahead of the timeline<br />* getting a high score in an exam when I expected to flunk<br />* receiving a book gift<br />* stargazing under a clear starry sky<br />* a magnificent sunset<br />* a delicious meal<br />* an upbeat song<br />* doing yoga and meditation against the temptation not to practice<br />* writing on my journal every night before going to sleep<br />* resisting the urge to drink soft drinks and alcoholic beverages beginning this year<br />* sound of a child’s laugh<br />* sight of a child’s sweet smile knowing it was because of me<br />* driving a car (it’s like sedative)<br />* icy-cold drinks, a bag of potato chips and a good movie<br />* reading on a hammock by the beach or with the sound of the rustling leaves<br />* flat tops chocolate<br />* long morning coffee time<br />* comfy white sheets<br />* Blueberry cheese Belgian waffle<br />* Jollibee’s cheese hotdog<br />* writing a blog<br />* a pretty photo composition<br />* finding an insightful article to read on Facebook<br />* my mom’s home-cooked food and snacks<br />* getting messages from friends<br />* waking up before sunrise<br />* taking a shower first thing in the morning<br />* climbing a hill and enjoying the scenery down below<br />* a walk by the beach at sunset<br />* the feeling after thoroughly cleaning the room and having taken a shower right after<br />* warm baths<br />* seeds beginning to sprout<br />* vegetable plants growing healthy<br />* seeing the first bloom of my flower plants<br />* smell of roots when weeding<br />* getting eight hours of sleep<br />* listening to Nicolas Jaar’s Mi Mujer on repeat mode<br /><br />My heart is full after writing these and realizing there are so much that I am thankful for, so much to be content with. Indeed, just thinking about the simple things that make me happy gave me the needed boost to keep making the most of my time, to keep going and smelling the roses. Definitely, these roses aren’t found on the couch.<br /><br />What about you? What are you most grateful for this year?</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-17966090726035234092018-02-05T20:59:00.000-08:002019-02-27T21:00:33.432-08:00In memory of a friend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some people come into our life like the fragrance of a flower carried by the breeze. The smell is fleeting but it can linger into our memory long after it is gone. That is how my friend Lee has been to me. We met in law school although I can no longer remember the first time we saw each other. What I remember to be our first interaction was after our class in criminal law, we just went through another round of recitation which can be a ‘traumatic’ experience commonly experienced in law school, he gave me a comforting smile as if to say we are all in this together or we are all on the same page. The next day he borrowed my book on Statutory Construction to have some pages photocopied.<br /><br />We don’t belong to the same group of friends, me and Lee. In fact, I only see him during classes because he was always in a rush. He would come in late and leave right after class was over. I never had the opportunity to get to know him but I remember that each time I did see him, he was always smiling, always in a good mood. On rare occasions when he came early, our conversations were all about school, that he might miss our midterm exams for an official trip. He often sent me text messages asking for class updates and the things he missed when he was absent. It was from him I learned that there are several available reviewers online. Before our final exam in criminal law, he brought a reviewer that is not accessible online and allowed me to photocopy it. Despite not seeing him much, his constant text messages and those intermittent interactions full of encouragements and ideas gave me a feeling of closeness to him, something that I don’t have with some of my other classmates.<br /><br />One uneventful day while still nursing my cough I learned that Lee has gone into a coma. Aneurysm, they said. Only miracle can save his life, they said. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I tried to recollect the last moment I saw him. It was after class, we just smiled at each other as we walked out of the classroom as I was talking to my other classmate. He sent me a few text messages in the days that ensued. I even felt guilty because at one point I thought why couldn’t he just come to class instead of asking me all the time how did it go. But I reminded myself that I don’t know what circumstances he was in at the moment so I should not make any judgment. Instead of waiting for him to ask, I then sent him a message that our grades in Statutory Construction and Legal Research were out but I didn’t get a reply… because in that instant he was already unconscious in the hospital bed.<br /><br />There’s something about death or the possibility of dying that promptly brings us to the present moment, that enables us to reflect how well or badly we are spending the precious time we are given. I wondered how Lee spent the remaining hours of his conscious life. Did he enjoy the beautiful sunset the day before? Did he wake up to savor the warmth of sunrise, the cool morning breeze or that peculiar sound only heard in mornings? Did he take a few moments to relish his last meal, to savor every taste? Did he give his wife and six children warm hugs and sweet kisses? Did he tell them how much he loves them? It’s so sad to imagine that he spent his last day lazily, feeling sad about the past that he cannot undo or worrying about the future not knowing that such future isn’t ever going to come to him.<br /><br />Thinking about it does change my perspective about tomorrows, as it always does with every death of a loved one. Unfortunately, such feeling of being in the present moment is so momentary it fades sooner than the mourning period is over. How easy it is for us to drift into our usual habits and forget to appreciate the mundane yet priceless moments before us.<br /><br />Whatever you are doing right now, take a pause and allow yourself a few deep breathes, inhaling contentment and exhaling whatever negative feeling you are carrying at the moment. Whisper some words of gratitude to the universe, whatever it is that you are most thankful for. Give your sweetest smile to the first person you’ll bump into. And remember, we don’t know what tomorrow brings but we can change how we live today.<br /><br />To my dear friend Lee, I may have missed my chances of telling you what an awesome person you are, I hope I made you feel that you matter somehow. When I visited you at the hospital, I learned from your siblings that aside from working as a full-time Literature teacher, you also teach during weekends at the Licensure Examination for Teachers Review Center. All these you did while attending a demanding law school. On top of these, I learned you were in the process of opening a restaurant and was looking for a chef. Oh, how I admire your hard work. You are someone who truly appreciates the time you were given and made the most of it. But most importantly, you brought up your kids so well, I’m sure someday you will be proud of them. Rest in peace, my friend. You are remembered fondly.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-34917288333661536832018-01-14T21:05:00.000-08:002019-02-27T21:16:32.808-08:00Exercise everyday with these easy hacks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtrJeJplrrA9ZS75sLKw4cc84k1A_BFMry8ZwWzeiyOkZ5zfdtdFrqDZV3XQQtXdWjcyn-VgsE4ueEyhk3oPh3MnurpLJ8_Y5v7S1MkeRn2hieAa2Fb_8SX0ASgPrS3GUZf2x5-2fG4w/s1600/sanity+keeper+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtrJeJplrrA9ZS75sLKw4cc84k1A_BFMry8ZwWzeiyOkZ5zfdtdFrqDZV3XQQtXdWjcyn-VgsE4ueEyhk3oPh3MnurpLJ8_Y5v7S1MkeRn2hieAa2Fb_8SX0ASgPrS3GUZf2x5-2fG4w/s400/sanity+keeper+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I previously wrote about <a href="http://sanitykeeper.com/important-new-years-resolution-often-miss/#.XHdrnYgzbIV" target="_blank">the most important new year’s resolution</a> that we most often take for granted, our health. My attention was brought to this realization one day by a sickness which sabotaged all my activities laid for the several days that ensued. Then and there, I made the commitment to prioritise my health.<br /><br />What seemed like an easy goal though is – in reality – an overwhelming task. I found it challenging to identify time to exercise. Whenever I’m immersed in a certain work, it was all too easy to make excuses not to exercise. In addition, I haven’t been fully well since the day I vowed to make health a priority. I have been nursing a cough which never went away, probably because I was reluctant to take medicines. I took vitamin C, ensured I am well hydrated, took ginger and lemon tea, and ate more fruits and vegetables so I’m gradually feeling better but still not fully recovered. My illness made my body feel heavier; so I got lazier.<br /><br />Inclined to overcome my repugnance with exercise, I ascertained what made it feel overwhelming. I realised it was because I had this notion of an ‘ideal workout’. I think about long yoga sessions, kilometers stretch of jogging route, a treadmill and the likes. This tendency to set an unnecessary high standard holds true with other plans. Setting a high standard is not wrong, in fact we should aspire to achieve this in everything we do because the world deserves our best. What makes it wrong is when it hampers our growth; when it becomes a cause of our paralysis.<br /><br />Some things take time to develop. Excellence is not achieved in one attempt but rather after a long process of trial and error. It’s the same with exercise or of being healthy in general; small everyday efforts can lead to notable results. Instead of aiming to do my ‘ideal workout’, I began to think about small ways that I can exercise. These ways aren’t like those exercise hacks suggested online which still involve ambitious, abrupt change of attitude that can get overwhelming and paralysing. Mindfulness helped me identify these pockets of opportunity which include the following:<br /><br />* Walking instead of driving or taking a cab<br />* Doing some yoga poses while watching television<br />* Doing some lying yoga poses during days when I don’t feel like getting out of bed<br />* Doing some dance moves or belly dancing while cooking!<br />* Doing some stretching anytime, anywhere during the day<br />* When stuck in traffic, doing some breathing exercises or stretching poses such as eagle arm, ear to shoulder/neck rolls and shoulder rolls<br /><br />These are just some ideas but when we continue to go on our day mindfully, I’m sure we will find more ways to move our bodies. Doing these simple steps will eventually lead to a positive change to our health. When we feel healthier and more energised, doing the ‘ideal workout’ will no longer feel overwhelming but a source of joy.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-42205121529621479142018-01-09T21:15:00.000-08:002019-02-27T21:15:28.957-08:00Reviewing my week changes my perspective of tomorrow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Working in a non-profit organization for over five years taught me the importance of setting concrete goals and establishing a monitoring and evaluation system to help us keep track of our progress and steer us back to the right track should we veer, among other things.<br /><br />In one of the workshops I’ve attended, I learned about the Theory of Change and the process of identifying a specific goal, how to break it into long term and short term plans, and how to create a timeline on a yearly, monthly, weekly and daily basis to ensure that what we do every day will contribute to the realization of our ultimate goal. I thought then that such process can also be applied to our personal goals. But since I decided to not think about ‘big plans’ yet at the moment because I still don’t know what it is I really want, I will instead focus my energy into making sure I <b>spend each day doing the things I am passionate</b> about and hopefully in the process I will be able to figure out what ‘big project’ I want to pursue.<br /><br />The ‘big project’ I was referring to is something in addition to becoming a lawyer. Becoming a good lawyer requires one to study diligently so I make sure that each day I also allocate some time reading law books and cases aside from doing my other passions.<br /><br />Now, here’s the thing. Some people don’t even know what they are passionate about. I am the opposite. I enjoy taking pictures, writing/blogging, reading, knitting, cooking, baking, meditation, yoga, video editing – a lot! That’s why it can also get frustrating trying to identify which one I should focus on. So instead of asking myself what is it really, I will just attempt to do them and see where the process will lead me. Thus, being mindful of how I spend my day is the first step at ensuring that this year will not be another wasted year spent mindlessly.<br /><br />So how do I know I am on track? On January 1, I began to journal my daily activities, learning and realisations. Sometimes I would write whenever I feel the urge particularly when something came up that I didn’t want to forget but most of the time I would write before going to sleep. The first time I did it on new year’s night, I was appalled to see how little I accomplished that day. The nights that followed were filled with the same dismay at how I was not able to maximize my time. I was particularly disappointed when most of my day was spent on delays – when I had to go through a delayed boat departure, delayed van departure, or long queue at a mall counter.<br /><br /><b>What are you tracking if you don’t have a specific goal?</b><br /><br />It’s not that I totally don’t have a goal. I don’t have specific goals such as opening a business venture, publishing a book, winning a Pulitzer award or what have you, but I do have a goal and that is to <b>mindfully spend my day</b> doing the things I am passionate about. My daily journal keeps track of this. Am I doing the things I am passionate about? Or did I spend the day slacking?<br /><br />I then came up with an idea of having a weekly review of my activities. This is what I meant when I said in my previous post that it’s not necessary to make grand plans for the year because identifying one’s goal is a process and being mindful of how I spend my day is the beginning of the process. True enough, when I began to be mindful of my day, I came up with ideas I would not have thought about before and one of them is to do a weekly review of my activities. The weekly review is designed to help me celebrate my little victories, identify my weaknesses and assess areas for improvement.<br /><br /><b>My first week of January 2018</b><br /><br />I am happy to report that I successfully avoided soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. I plan to continue not drinking them for the whole year. What happens next year is yet to be determined. Vowing never to drink them until the end of time is such a huge goal which will only make me too overwhelmed and overwhelm leads to failure. The key is to make short-term achievable goals first then cross the bridge when I get there.<br /><br />I was also able to read 40 pages of civil cases on New Year’s day! This was such an accomplishment given my tendencies to avoid work or school work during a day of celebration. And because I was able to do that on a special day, I was able to encourage myself to spend time reading law books every day no matter the duration.<br /><br />Unfortunately, aside from those two key wins, my week was uneventful. There are definitely more areas to improve. I did yoga just once – for only 30 minutes – though this was also because I was feeling sickly for three days. I felt nauseous then better the following day then suddenly hit by a cough the day after. In fact I was supposed to do my weekly review yesterday but my body felt extremely heavy I ended up sleeping most of the time. I wrote just one article. Did two sessions of 10-minute meditation which was a total shame! And I didn’t finish reading a single novel; I’m not even halfway done!<br /><br />Overall, my week wasn’t fully maximized. My study time fell too short even though I knew I could have spent more time on it. The same with meditation where a 30-minute session in the morning and before sleep would have been totally achievable but I just didn’t do it. The yoga failure I can forgive because I was really feeling awful though I have to give myself some credit for being mindful of what I eat and drink.<br /><br />Hopefully this week I will be physically healed and will be able to spend my days better than last week. One thing is for sure, this weekly review is very effective at drawing my attention to how lazy I was, how I’m not able to fully appreciate the time I was gifted to spend; it is a good motivation to keep going and to keep changing for the better. I knew I’ve been good at wasting my time in the past but reviewing my week like this gave a whole new perspective. There’s something about it that gives me that needed boost to actually, really change.<br /><br /></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-17974311394331847332018-01-06T21:27:00.000-08:002019-02-27T21:28:24.579-08:00Most important New Year’s resolution we often miss<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s that time of the year again when most of us are revved up to start the year fresh, make New Year’s resolutions and plans for the whole year round. There’s just something about new year which screams renewal, hope, chances and new beginnings; it fills our spirits with optimism and drive.<br /><br />The first three days of my year was spent on visiting relatives and traveling. I was out and about with no regard at being productive because I was on full holiday mood and my days were meant to be spent on making memories and quality family time. Yesterday was supposed to be the day I was to begin executing my plans. I sat at my study table in the morning and jotted down my day’s to-do list. I was committed to making that day productive.<br /><br />Executing my plans doesn’t mean I have a whole plan laid out for the year. In fact, I don’t have any plans at all, except the plan of making this year different. I still don’t know how to do that or what I wish to achieve this year but I believe that it’s a process. And going through the process involves being disciplined on how I spend my day. I want to ensure that my day is spent doing the things I am passionate about, things that make me happy and fulfilled. I hope that through this process, I will gain a clearer perspective on where I want to go, what I want to be and how I will make my existence meaningful.<br /><br />It’s been a cliché how the internet particularly social media has created these delusions of what an ideal life must be. I want to live an authentic life and I can only do this by being mindful my life’s unique purpose – as each of us has our own purpose of being, different from the others, solely our own destiny. So how do I remain true to my personal calling? I don’t know but living mindfully each day is the beginning of the process.<br /><br /><b>What’s the use of a thousand plans when you have an unhealthy body?</b><br /><br />Yesterday, my attention was brought to a very important realisation. Committed to making the day productive, I immediately began to read one of my textbooks after I was done with my to-do list. Fifteen pages down, I began to feel nauseous followed by a throbbing headache. I don’t know what its cause was. So there I was, in bed capable of doing nothing except nurse my headache; and there it hit me that above all else, our health is our most important wealth. Without a good health, what use is there of all our plans when we don’t have the capacity to execute them?<br /><br />Today I woke up all better, thanks to hubby’s good massage last night. I’m now ready to continue with my ‘be mindful and productive each day’ goal. But, on top of that, I will make my health a priority. It doesn’t even have to be through an arduous workout routine. It just simply means I will be careful with what I eat, drink enough water, get enough sleep and do some daily exercise/stretching and meditation.<br /><br />Oh, and being productive doesn’t also mean doing so much hard work because being still and just spending the time doing nothing is a productive activity in itself. I wrote about it in another blog post here.<br /><br />Happy New Year! May your 2018 be filled with good health, peace of mind, and lots of love and happiness.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-19361929470180169772017-11-30T21:37:00.000-08:002019-02-27T21:40:33.194-08:00A fairy-tale come true<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A royal spring wedding is coming. The frenzy has just started and articles about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have inundated the internet even before their engagement was officially announced. I am one among millions of fans who eagerly read articles that came my way. Whilst many anticipate the wedding day with much gusto, excited to have a glimpse of the bridal gown and all, I am more excited about what Meghan –an advocate of many good things—can do as a princess.<br /><br />I am a recent Suits fan. I’ve only watched the series few months ago. I’ve read articles about Prince Harry dating a Meghan Markle but didn’t care one bit until I realised the lady he was dating was Rachel Zane of Suits! I was all eyes since then. Being a law student, Rachel Zane inspired me in several ways which made the person behind the character interesting for me too so I started reading about Meghan and found that she is more amazing than Rachel Zane. My politics is aligned with hers – at least from what I’ve read thus far.<br /><br />She is a feminist, humanitarian advocate and actively voices out issues facing the marginalized communities. Her experiences growing up as a mixed-race woman, having a black mother, and living in a white supremacist society obviously helped shape her consciousness as an advocate but it was her choice to use her standing in society to raise awareness and take action against social issues that made me admire her. I’d like to believe that her advocacy will not change once she becomes a princess but rather, the new role will provide her with better opportunities to continue her advocacy.<br /><br />On a side note, the upcoming royal wedding undeniably made me nostalgic of the time I spent in London. I was volunteering with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) for three months in Newham, London in 2008. The experience though short opened my eyes to a different reality. I grew up thinking that rich countries like the UK don’t have to face problems experienced by third-world countries like the Philippines. This notion changed when I saw a beggar sleeping on the street in winter. And I’ve seen the same in Sweden too. <br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We were also told to not stay at the park late because some African volunteers in another community were assaulted by a ‘white gang’ of young people. I’ve met a refugee from Afghanistan who barely spoke English and was all by himself in London. We may have struggled with language but I did understand that he was missing his family so much. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had one activity where we were to identify social problems in the UK and our British counterparts shared that neighbours barely talk or know each other; a stark contrast in the Philippines where everybody knows everybody even those from different towns. There was a need to get people to talk and inculcate that sense of community – at least in London. There were various youth centres available in Newham alone that catered to the needs of young people but not many youth came. Instead, you’d read articles about them getting into a fight or involved with drugs.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every nation face problems unique to its society and culture but in the grand scheme of things, nations have more similarities than differences. Globalization and the increasing technological advances rapidly blur borders. Problems faced by one country likewise pose a set of complex problems to its neighbours and even those at a distance geographically. Now more than ever, there is a need to catalyse global citizenship and encourage cooperation among advocates. And this is the reason I am thrilled that Meghan Markle is going to enter the royal institution –the British monarchy at that. I hope she will become a unifying figure in our continuous battle for a better world. Her love life may be one we can call a fairy-tale come true –a modern Cinderella—but I hope that her story won’t end at the wedding like most fairy tales do but rather open a new chapter of a princess working hard to save lives and the Mother Earth.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-15558570885612938722017-11-26T21:51:00.000-08:002019-02-27T21:58:08.827-08:00Spontaneity led me to an unforgettable adventure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was a day just like any other day that had gone by except that I woke up later than usual because I was on leave from work. I’ve spent the past days on meditation at a forest monastery and other me-time which comprised mostly of cleaning and organising my room whilst also doing some internal cleansing. I have four more days left before I go back to work and I had no idea what to do with those remaining days. It was during those bored moments that my impulsiveness struck again because the next thing I know, I was in a train going to Aranyaprathet where I’d cross the border to Cambodia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The decision to travel to Siem Reap didn’t involve so much fuss. I just got up from bed, scroll on my Facebook newsfeed, and exclaimed “I’m going to Cambodia!” I didn’t see any Cambodia-related posts on Facebook. I just thought Cambodia is the nearest I could travel given that I only have four days to spend. All I did was check what time the train leaves from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet, packed and headed to the station. I was literally backpacking contrary to most of my travels which involved dragging a stroller to the airport, a pre-arranged pick-up and a booking to some five-star hotels. The change was a breath of fresh air. I was ecstatic! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was the first time I travelled without doing any research. I didn’t know where I’d stay, how do I actually get to Siem Reap or how much it would all cost me. I just sat at the train and enjoyed the scenery. I’ve always loved long train rides. It gives me the chance to just live in the moment and soaked it all in, the scenery, the sounds, the smell of places we passed by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We arrived in Aranyaprathet at about 5PM. I asked someone how to get to the border but I was having a hard time getting a ride. I was also concerned that evening was approaching and I didn’t know if there are places for me to stay for the night on the other side of the border. I decided to spend the night in Aranyaprathet instead. I found a place which only cost THB200 (approx. USD 6) though they didn’t have air-conditioning but at least there was an electric fan. I dropped by backpack, took a shower and went for a walk around town to explore and find dinner. I liked it in the province with its slow-paced lifestyle in stark contrast with Bangkok.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was going to take the bus to Siem Reap but I met two travellers, an Italian guy and Argentinian lady, who were also going there so we hired a cab instead and paid 20 US dollars each. Since I didn’t know yet where I’d stay, I got off with them and walked through the streets to find accommodations too cheap that you’d never find them on the internet. I found one at the end of the street from where my two companions were staying –their place has been booked up—and got a room to myself for only $10 a night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I rented a bike that cost only $1 a day and spent the afternoon and evening exploring Siem Reap with it. I was extremely scared whenever I went on a busy street because I’ve never ridden a bike in a long time. But I was determined to overcome my fear so I went on. When I got tired of roaming around, I found a cozy place to drink and people-watch before I headed to the evening market. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQ40LeMm75gIcIkEc9y5vwU1ed4agbzN4ecAcKmlthekIGXe_we_yo2xUVCn1Fd_yJ-VtUFp3PPv-oqWtSslNdIxkGx8FlpegS2hwi1mPNgzN1gDcgv4Vl8kkY4vpSh7OnAuCrEMXbOQ/s1600/Pub-Street-Siem-Reap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="956" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQ40LeMm75gIcIkEc9y5vwU1ed4agbzN4ecAcKmlthekIGXe_we_yo2xUVCn1Fd_yJ-VtUFp3PPv-oqWtSslNdIxkGx8FlpegS2hwi1mPNgzN1gDcgv4Vl8kkY4vpSh7OnAuCrEMXbOQ/s400/Pub-Street-Siem-Reap.jpg" width="397" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0K24HSe8oT4eWzH3boTt5CrHRClKOvApSxGx_wpOEZu29rEbdHFo7msWHwchLr0pNuXrNodFTSY1NE6TmyVDOMRtufuHmoDCm7_KskeMQ6vYCNQMD5YD9p_1hcMlTxkWExIv4RTCLv8/s1600/Siem-Reap-evening-market-e1511711722979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0K24HSe8oT4eWzH3boTt5CrHRClKOvApSxGx_wpOEZu29rEbdHFo7msWHwchLr0pNuXrNodFTSY1NE6TmyVDOMRtufuHmoDCm7_KskeMQ6vYCNQMD5YD9p_1hcMlTxkWExIv4RTCLv8/s400/Siem-Reap-evening-market-e1511711722979.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next day I explored Angkor Wat Complex by bike and spent only $1 as compared to the $10 tuktuk. If you’ve ever been around Angkor Wat Complex, you’d know how crazy it is to bike your way around with all the muscle pains afterwards because it is so huge! Still, I had so much fun exploring it by bike because I could enjoy the scenery better and it made me feel more attuned with nature. The second time I went was with colleagues, we had our tour guide provided by the Parliament and a comfortable ride but the experience was nothing compared to the fun I had with my bike.<br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPfLbJ2CBCAYTYfzmzNbB1w0AoVKW3HkVcSAVXikmspwt8czwIUJ0WUkRwf18uOExAhJUqBW5Z569Zj56zyBKJhhUpu9GrJpJmkkaEdjTp4DiEzLowvc9K2o4-2FnoiQV2fzoNjL6w7E/s1600/how-to-explore-Angkor-Wat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPfLbJ2CBCAYTYfzmzNbB1w0AoVKW3HkVcSAVXikmspwt8czwIUJ0WUkRwf18uOExAhJUqBW5Z569Zj56zyBKJhhUpu9GrJpJmkkaEdjTp4DiEzLowvc9K2o4-2FnoiQV2fzoNjL6w7E/s400/how-to-explore-Angkor-Wat.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve always been fascinated with ruins and the nostalgic feeling I get when around them. And by nostalgic I meant that feeling of deeper connection with the past, the wisdom that ruins exude and the amazement at the sight of a masterpiece. I was particularly thrilled to visit the spot where they shoot the film Tomb Raider in Ta Prohm. <br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9T39sBBdGEfTue-bRifSl-RxV79RQtfgK_MxzmgcfhyphenhyphennJ3SNuHQPeQmp9nofQmYrRsr-8azv2dvQczuvHb3bkiBA8FEybzZ-nuslbeqGP4R1Cg9pHZ8tSJhqh_mgTRo6ERWEVFjQDzIY/s1600/Tomb-Raider-Ta-Prohm-Sieam-Reap-Cambodia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9T39sBBdGEfTue-bRifSl-RxV79RQtfgK_MxzmgcfhyphenhyphennJ3SNuHQPeQmp9nofQmYrRsr-8azv2dvQczuvHb3bkiBA8FEybzZ-nuslbeqGP4R1Cg9pHZ8tSJhqh_mgTRo6ERWEVFjQDzIY/s400/Tomb-Raider-Ta-Prohm-Sieam-Reap-Cambodia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zzk8WTkFjVo9pMH6tudJqEqcH-S6FGT47QrL3RF3rIjQ-NeLDozzBsJTc2hIuhQK6MZ4LOO-jLgh83fQXOvNCClYd5aAB6paMiTjsLiJwYEP3FdmVB_xB46II7VRTnIzQG7ZHZlsrSQ/s1600/Monk-at-Angkor-Wat-Temple-Sieam-Reap-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zzk8WTkFjVo9pMH6tudJqEqcH-S6FGT47QrL3RF3rIjQ-NeLDozzBsJTc2hIuhQK6MZ4LOO-jLgh83fQXOvNCClYd5aAB6paMiTjsLiJwYEP3FdmVB_xB46II7VRTnIzQG7ZHZlsrSQ/s400/Monk-at-Angkor-Wat-Temple-Sieam-Reap-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLHRFmxENIQTPTBU3PWUk2xvF6mZZBUm_DFu3FXszrcDwhdgJ2niGFWSi4t1kPQHqGWgIQ9wf-7mReHRPR8NSSYel020YCKW7t1ITY_x5-jMuvAeilJ1lXssZC616XSympi58PMuSOAM/s1600/Details-Angkor-Wat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLHRFmxENIQTPTBU3PWUk2xvF6mZZBUm_DFu3FXszrcDwhdgJ2niGFWSi4t1kPQHqGWgIQ9wf-7mReHRPR8NSSYel020YCKW7t1ITY_x5-jMuvAeilJ1lXssZC616XSympi58PMuSOAM/s400/Details-Angkor-Wat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlEhzX_yAZsOzEqjLxdfu6o5PnZ2g6Jz9YkWPKpeYyRTod2hpvEdLgxEN8rAk-pUIIhQ_bvyyJbnZaUkhrNVqahEccQzceJcZwbGXKoBMCrzgOFwLIYnbUsYW4laOiICcQOEBqaW4piI/s1600/Angkor-Wat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlEhzX_yAZsOzEqjLxdfu6o5PnZ2g6Jz9YkWPKpeYyRTod2hpvEdLgxEN8rAk-pUIIhQ_bvyyJbnZaUkhrNVqahEccQzceJcZwbGXKoBMCrzgOFwLIYnbUsYW4laOiICcQOEBqaW4piI/s400/Angkor-Wat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvB0zKdCR5cxKyUXDnueemQwoiGzXwE-3W_-18If_YbvoeGyk1HT2NPBv9iRXkGBGATk25s46P7_2qZVHsHZDRn7qRAoAhtUtNKaKYCwx2L_BVbVf2GGhKpKRUzJ0Py3JhgfFyEfs1QI/s1600/Bayon-Angkor-Wat-Cambodia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvB0zKdCR5cxKyUXDnueemQwoiGzXwE-3W_-18If_YbvoeGyk1HT2NPBv9iRXkGBGATk25s46P7_2qZVHsHZDRn7qRAoAhtUtNKaKYCwx2L_BVbVf2GGhKpKRUzJ0Py3JhgfFyEfs1QI/s400/Bayon-Angkor-Wat-Cambodia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My most adventurous experience though happened on the way back. It started raining and there was no sign of it ever stopping. I was concerned because I have my passport and DSRL camera in my backpack but if I would wait for the rain to stop, it may not stop until dusk. I placed my passport inside the camera bag and wrapped the bag with the scarf and placed it at the bottom of my backpack. I then stacked the chips and souvenirs on top, hoping heavens that the bottom part will remain dry. I pedaled and stopped to rest then pedaled my way back for almost two hours before I reached my accommodation.<br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCgOYBeLOTE00iDN318-07ghOT17Tz3RVqguXpDm4Ui7-sPd6-0bO7Sp0-jK_foSnNKM_rJGDrriWBYmMPrFO1bm8YAdnN1ElZMdYcEyTjAUjv92EauerFEuVLEUC_yY4vHu3vyRjuco/s1600/Biking-around-Angkor-Wat-complex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCgOYBeLOTE00iDN318-07ghOT17Tz3RVqguXpDm4Ui7-sPd6-0bO7Sp0-jK_foSnNKM_rJGDrriWBYmMPrFO1bm8YAdnN1ElZMdYcEyTjAUjv92EauerFEuVLEUC_yY4vHu3vyRjuco/s400/Biking-around-Angkor-Wat-complex.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was exhausted. I can no longer feel my legs. But I was extremely happy. For some reason, the experience felt extremely liberating. My passport was safe. My camera got a little wet. The rest of my bag was wet but I didn’t care. I was happy and I never felt as alive in a long time. I took a long warm bath and took some rest before I headed out to have dinner and hopped in the bus that left Siem Reap at midnight and brought me back to Bangkok before lunch the next day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the best things about traveling unprepared is that you are forced to talk to people. I was thrilled at the idea of letting things unfold without giving much thought into its preparations but I was more thrilled to be interacting with people. Humanity is indeed full of kindness if you open your eyes to it and especially when you are a stranger at the receiving end of another stranger’s benevolence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My spontaneous Siem Reap trip was one of my most unforgettable experiences. I didn’t spend time planning it so there were no unfulfilled expectations, no overthinking or what have you. It was all spontaneous and because of that, it was filled with surprises.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-24229108038353216252017-11-10T22:00:00.000-08:002019-02-27T22:00:53.243-08:00Let your soul take refuge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUvaik0Sjlc41T8kUOSVJWN3hr0e_iRjXy8Ear4w7LZkvRpUgEW3B12YePiT6il3TTQuojfz0hn9pkvtYMK2tFmxXerAr92UaDmJpLQlZL1Qp2HyX6sP-jp79s46hwd6b81qwMAsdgUU/s1600/Yoga+sunset+spirituality.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUvaik0Sjlc41T8kUOSVJWN3hr0e_iRjXy8Ear4w7LZkvRpUgEW3B12YePiT6il3TTQuojfz0hn9pkvtYMK2tFmxXerAr92UaDmJpLQlZL1Qp2HyX6sP-jp79s46hwd6b81qwMAsdgUU/s400/Yoga+sunset+spirituality.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The last few days have been extra challenging for me. I’ve had 8AM-8PM classes that left me exhausted. I am sick with cough and cold. My head feels like I’m carrying an extra pound between my shoulders. Yet, I had to drag myself and go to school.<br /><br />There have been some internal chaos as well. My sense of compassion has been put to test but leaned towards failing. Such internal battle, more than anything, left me paralyzed I ended up wasting precious time which I should have devoted to studying for next week’s final exams.<br /><br />In my hopes to catch up with studies, I came to this coffee shop early. I’d probably be here for the rest of the day. The café just opened. I am their first customer. When I entered, I was greeted by worship songs so familiar every beat of my heart knows the lyrics. After giving my order, I sat in a corner and just let the music soothe my soul.<br /><br />I am not an atheist because I still believe in a power greater than anything that’s holding up the universe. However, for several years now I stopped associating myself with any religion though I was born and baptized as a Roman Catholic. I evolved into a being that values spirituality more than religiosity. Besides, all religious teachings boil down to the same values of love, respect, compassion and so on.<br /><br />So, I am doing away with the religious practices. I don’t go to any mass, albeit I try as best I can to manifest my spirituality through my actions towards others. Right now though, these Christian songs touched me in an oh so familiar way. My restless soul suddenly calmed down as if a storm had just stopped and everything around is quiet.<br /><br />It’s a feeling I don’t want to interpret or analyze using my religious skeptic mind. I just want to savor the moment while it lasts.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-25650797994321794342017-11-06T22:05:00.000-08:002019-02-27T22:47:41.443-08:00I gave my hubby a huge floral bouquet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our life can get extremely monotonous at times it feels as though we are treading a long winding tunnel with no end in sight. Whenever I feel this way, I try to think of quirky things to do that can fire up my day.<br /><br />It was a chilly spring afternoon. I woke up from a nap. My then boyfriend –now my hubby—was still asleep. It wasn’t an ordinary day sucked up by monotony. Rather, it was a happy time of being reunited. However, at that moment in time I felt a tinge of melancholy because I was going to leave him in a few days’ time and go back to work in Bangkok. I couldn’t even make it to his birthday which was only two days after my departure. While I sat by the window, I gazed at him breathing calmly in deep slumber then I turned my gaze outside where the grasses and trees were beginning to enliven springtime.<br /><br />I wanted to make his birthday special even without my presence but not in a typical way. Suddenly, I was struck with an idea. He would never have guessed that on his birthday, a bouquet will be delivered at his doorstep. I immediately placed my order online before he woke up.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVu6IvMEyl9jBD0Kjt_7ZmgRqbwyUWy9rxStE5_P2d_YbqSxqMGA_wXCV2x-rowJOsFzg9ulZIIxD3sO9hBShP1IseoyNLh-0KOB_K-W4JerdHUH8YA2FSaANvJihOA-HU1lmAfKK9bs/s1600/Best+gift+for+hubby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="884" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVu6IvMEyl9jBD0Kjt_7ZmgRqbwyUWy9rxStE5_P2d_YbqSxqMGA_wXCV2x-rowJOsFzg9ulZIIxD3sO9hBShP1IseoyNLh-0KOB_K-W4JerdHUH8YA2FSaANvJihOA-HU1lmAfKK9bs/s400/Best+gift+for+hubby.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Andddddd the big day came! We were talking on Skype. The buzzer sounded. He bid adieu thinking it was his friend Mark who came to have lunch with him. But to his surprise, it was the delivery lady handing him the sweet smelling bouquet of orange daisies, roses and lilies. He came back online right away to share with me his confused reaction which amused me to bits. He couldn’t quite find the exact words to express how it made him feel. He was of course happy but he seemed to be feeling something else that he cannot put a name on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I guessed it was because men are not used to receiving flowers. Most men spend their lifetime never getting one. Whilst women love receiving flowers, men – those very few who experienced being given one– may just don’t know how to actually react. It was an interesting experience for me as well to find out how men are when it comes to receiving presents normally given to women.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Someday, when my day becomes another draining monotony, I would do it again. I’ll hand him the bouquet and see how he’d react myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What about you? What bizarre things do you do when life is a standstill?</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-46137551194475357712017-09-12T22:08:00.000-07:002019-02-27T22:09:30.787-08:00It’s okay if all you did today was breathe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFbqTkPSEil73aVqSbQ_m0CinUxd5gbHa_JnoOTcLn3y5NY_zC1DpdEmrirCnMQo1gz6cNeJiCLvSYcGMTWSwuI6F8htSQ0MDjIsDZEXvGIdM2iJHWlAyrTnfAHDj7dayXNupQv5LoBw/s1600/Relax-in-a-hammock-have-coffee-and-watch-the-sunset-e1505189517500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFbqTkPSEil73aVqSbQ_m0CinUxd5gbHa_JnoOTcLn3y5NY_zC1DpdEmrirCnMQo1gz6cNeJiCLvSYcGMTWSwuI6F8htSQ0MDjIsDZEXvGIdM2iJHWlAyrTnfAHDj7dayXNupQv5LoBw/s400/Relax-in-a-hammock-have-coffee-and-watch-the-sunset-e1505189517500.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I once saw a quote that said, “it’s okay if all you did today was breathe”. I keep reminding myself of this piece of wisdom whenever I feel anxious for not being “productive”. What does it mean to be productive anyway? Ahhhh, it’s the same as asking what it means to be successful. There are no definite answers but many people struggle in going beyond what society portrays as being productive or successful.<br /><br />Movies show us people juggling several things at the same time. A woman cooking and looking after the baby while talking to someone on the phone. A working lady jumping at one meeting to the other, folders in hand and a cup of coffee on the other. There are meetings over breakfast because the day is too occupied that the only time to squeeze that one meeting is during breakfast. We have been conditioned to adapt to this lifestyle to feel a sense of belongingness to the “productive” group. We are made to feel that life is wasted or that we are lazy if we are not busy.<br /><br />The problem with this never ending ‘busyness’ though is that it deprives us of precious time for reflection. It’s so easy to get caught up with the habits of multitasking and feeling productive but at some point, we would realize that we are getting nowhere. Many people have reached a point of identity or emotional crises after suffering from burn-out and realizing that their constant chase for productiveness has brought them no meaning, no sense of purpose, and no clear direction for the future.<br /><br />As I lie in a hammock, feeling the breeze against my cheeks and listening to the chirping birds, I thank heavens for the opportunity to be still, to breathe in life and hear my soul speak. I wish I had done this more often before. I was caught up with the overly glorified busy lifestyle that I neglected time for reflection and retrospection. I learned that such ‘busyness’ had, in fact, blurred my idealism. I began to question and got skeptical about so many things, thinking they were the problems of the world, when in fact the problem was me and my lack of direction and sense of purpose. Ticking my to-do list was not the same as having a life purpose. No matter how much I’ve accomplished in a day if I don’t spend time to reflect and redirect myself towards the right path, those daily accomplishments were nothing but futile.<br /><br />The shallow sense of productiveness has resulted to plenty of outputs but most of the time has never brought quality outcomes. That’s why it felt like living in circles, doing a myriad of things day by day but never reaching a milestone. We owe it to ourselves to spend time to just slow down, to just breathe. Maybe during these moments of silence, our sense of purpose will be crystallized, our direction made clearer and our daily pursuit of productiveness will no longer be barren but full of promises and meaning.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-52242191273798977612017-05-09T22:18:00.000-07:002019-02-27T22:20:11.756-08:00The day I circled Divinubo Island<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My previous work and even life at grad school involved a lot of traveling and most, if not all, of those destinations were packed with tourists. This is what made our trip to Divinubo Island special because we were the only tourists in that small island town. Within a day, we were able to circle the island, climb at the old lighthouse and drink fresh coconut juice while interacting with the locals.<br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgY-a8G3-IWROTcfGa6oWPHFIUfDc1aN2xF2Ne4Ua0lJOcEsrjL_x_PFcTLAKtp4xobGBSyzf9pFsicV0NM3OoDRP_CEFab4t-Ps8NzdZjuBBqWBp9h4kfvo2FpeZSzRR35IkoDvSYJ9Y/s1600/Eastern-Samar-island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgY-a8G3-IWROTcfGa6oWPHFIUfDc1aN2xF2Ne4Ua0lJOcEsrjL_x_PFcTLAKtp4xobGBSyzf9pFsicV0NM3OoDRP_CEFab4t-Ps8NzdZjuBBqWBp9h4kfvo2FpeZSzRR35IkoDvSYJ9Y/s400/Eastern-Samar-island.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Divinubo Island is only 15 minutes by boat from Cogon Lalawigan in Borongan City, Eastern Samar. If you are lucky to catch the scheduled boat trip, the fare is only PhP14 (approx .28 USD) per passenger whilst special trip costs PhP300 (6 USD) per way, though after 6PM it will increase to PhP500 (10 USD). There are two resorts in the island though when we were there, both were unable to accommodate us so we slept at a hostel in the city and went to the island the next day. The island is so tiny it only takes 1.5 to 2 hours to circle it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />The locals knew we were tourists the moment we docked on their shore (the island is small after all and everyone there might know everyone) so they suggested we take a guide who could lead us to safer tracks. Our guide was 72 years old Manong Moloy. We gave Manong Moloy PhP300 as a gesture of thanks for his time and generosity. He pointed to us the areas affected by typhoon Yolanda in 2013. We also saw the on-going construction of accommodations. I can imagine that in a few years’ time, the island will be flocked with more tourists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />Divinubo is not what I had expected at all. I imagined an uninhabited island with just infrastructures catered for tourists. On the contrary, Divinubo island is, in fact, a small town with a primary school, several houses both native and modern, wooden and concrete. The island’s beautiful surprises, however, are found around it. We went at low tide, the perfect time to explore. The scenery was beautiful and I extremely enjoyed watching schools of fish on hollow areas with clear, turquoise water. My iPhone’s photos can never do justice to such magnificence but here are a few of Divinubo’s beautiful scenery.<br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXahLgv9aevaLa7IBB2kSUMcWFFQUp89BW5VJpM1UTIvCKEmvg8zgK8yIeeGDcvGghyphenhyphenwJ5Z-owucqJ55iZEPx85Dk-wpW_Ooo788N3FN-cUQToGmU9-Ew4z_s6dLq2jq7m5M-EhaQkvK4/s1600/Divinubo-island-Borongan-Eastern-Samar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXahLgv9aevaLa7IBB2kSUMcWFFQUp89BW5VJpM1UTIvCKEmvg8zgK8yIeeGDcvGghyphenhyphenwJ5Z-owucqJ55iZEPx85Dk-wpW_Ooo788N3FN-cUQToGmU9-Ew4z_s6dLq2jq7m5M-EhaQkvK4/s400/Divinubo-island-Borongan-Eastern-Samar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioH6PZGFXXPg9qg_WU2X76ZceWMnkoWXWiEkK316Q0N2W3C-llq_v_m7_w3SJVO1gqYxm1O5u5Sy1s_TmRvB0ajFYCbNNKM86AhbL9B8mLBFp2i62gCPdTwOrNUhUtZLYSsVUzK39Ze5A/s1600/Divinubo-island-rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioH6PZGFXXPg9qg_WU2X76ZceWMnkoWXWiEkK316Q0N2W3C-llq_v_m7_w3SJVO1gqYxm1O5u5Sy1s_TmRvB0ajFYCbNNKM86AhbL9B8mLBFp2i62gCPdTwOrNUhUtZLYSsVUzK39Ze5A/s400/Divinubo-island-rocks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEWJ1Xs_7eBqjiwF83Iuw77DtIO3HdZhN2HqSDMrxHWJDLyEd9AU3VflJAo5N6FbihRweSzUdPooggpr_7wYH8UsiXwV5KjnzpMhqUZTjtdbpF0iDcpbZHwLxep6_CjmLPFs1IXNhR4A/s1600/Divinubo-island-rock-formation-Eastern-Samar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEWJ1Xs_7eBqjiwF83Iuw77DtIO3HdZhN2HqSDMrxHWJDLyEd9AU3VflJAo5N6FbihRweSzUdPooggpr_7wYH8UsiXwV5KjnzpMhqUZTjtdbpF0iDcpbZHwLxep6_CjmLPFs1IXNhR4A/s400/Divinubo-island-rock-formation-Eastern-Samar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Tips: Circling the island involves climbing on the rocks and walking on slippery areas so wear appropriate footwear. Travel light. The sun can be extremely hot so wear a hat if you are lazy to bring an umbrella. And never forget your sunscreen!</i></span></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3GLkM9haSyPAe8FokdlukNM5HYzvbdiHWOflHwYuy-T0vQ3-UKKgocMR3HufLXTTLl5oQpS9YW5GvyaV6jKo0gzl12cWEtxdmv0Q_4Nc2BgNA5QDGJH5qZhLYxiTTXcdIQ08GzPBko0/s1600/Borongan-Eastern-Samar-island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3GLkM9haSyPAe8FokdlukNM5HYzvbdiHWOflHwYuy-T0vQ3-UKKgocMR3HufLXTTLl5oQpS9YW5GvyaV6jKo0gzl12cWEtxdmv0Q_4Nc2BgNA5QDGJH5qZhLYxiTTXcdIQ08GzPBko0/s400/Borongan-Eastern-Samar-island.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KaL85N2RPboxWcShN8VSx4yTNbQbYRj18j4ICZWIOkX3zhWGaFGJCdEQiHVAM07ZDciaFzfvgDb0mV7l3hOpYdkZ8oZO5ApQGnNkhEgeDKX0uEXI-FmwhqLwNR3EcFTCsNtJ5FwzV1Q/s1600/Borongan-Eastern-Samar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KaL85N2RPboxWcShN8VSx4yTNbQbYRj18j4ICZWIOkX3zhWGaFGJCdEQiHVAM07ZDciaFzfvgDb0mV7l3hOpYdkZ8oZO5ApQGnNkhEgeDKX0uEXI-FmwhqLwNR3EcFTCsNtJ5FwzV1Q/s400/Borongan-Eastern-Samar.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div>
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYF9vNPk44bhESmfmij1FuQ4lHtPAO8yeQp7jICy88Pct1LFSPUh0wYImjOP3G6JaqSUfxVHbeTN2tguyGEnDpvUjjSn28g9WZDMqP9TW7qHSuyuFap9CXW10moOd4Qh8JBPXRrpSMPU/s1600/Island-to-visit-in-Philippines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYF9vNPk44bhESmfmij1FuQ4lHtPAO8yeQp7jICy88Pct1LFSPUh0wYImjOP3G6JaqSUfxVHbeTN2tguyGEnDpvUjjSn28g9WZDMqP9TW7qHSuyuFap9CXW10moOd4Qh8JBPXRrpSMPU/s400/Island-to-visit-in-Philippines.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-86150204909639590452017-04-01T22:38:00.000-07:002019-02-27T22:39:28.968-08:00Meditation retreat at a forest monastery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkoCmvuFY9wcnTxFRCUagcxqvgswiTFLb4H9nKsVGDyZbmyhAMH5AiAeIxzJXMANdJBmwmi5KTlSsHvJnpAWG1N3d5HlPbdcptOoIZYG-qLMK7pmBb4jzcHyguTG1x1AMRLvJHMoOuqA/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-aerial-view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="640" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkoCmvuFY9wcnTxFRCUagcxqvgswiTFLb4H9nKsVGDyZbmyhAMH5AiAeIxzJXMANdJBmwmi5KTlSsHvJnpAWG1N3d5HlPbdcptOoIZYG-qLMK7pmBb4jzcHyguTG1x1AMRLvJHMoOuqA/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-aerial-view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #edf6fe; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Sorts Mill Goudy", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Photo by Fong Kin Houng</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>“I want to live like animals, careless and free like animals. I want to live. I want to run through the jungle the wind in my hair and the sand at my feet…”</i> the song went on and on, set on repeat mode, as I cleaned up my dusty room the moment I arrived from my 5-day meditation retreat; the same way I listen to it now while I write. It has been over 2 years since I went up to Ubon Ratchathani, northern Thailand to meditate at Wat Pah Nanachat – International Forest Monastery yet I can still remember how I felt then. It takes 10 hours to travel by train to Ubon Ratchathani so I decided to take the evening train to reach there in time for breakfast. That way, I can eat at the temple for free and slid myself into their daily routine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I emailed the monastery to ask for permission to stay there and gave them my schedule. I was surprised at the swift reply. The train from Bangkok has an air-conditioned cabin with bed. I brought a book to read in case I can’t sleep. After a few pages into the world of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, I closed the book and looked out the window, gazed at the starry sky. I used to use the pseudonym stargazer in my teenage years. The noisy sound of the train gradually became a lullaby as I fell into a deep slumber. I woke up before sunrise and was amazed at the view when I looked out the window. We were passing along a farm, then thick bushes, then a barren land; such beautiful greenery of plants and trees. I was enveloped with calmness and contentment at the sight of the simple and peaceful life at the countryside. I silently gave a prayer of thanks.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfe-Ow7CgJbZvBpZ8EKXUfN_zAnG3unX8bjWBgTq5XOPgLhA4UdoBVTz5Crt3Kak33CdT4rrSmE_Cs7Zz2TZHL8V5vnJl-bgvxIcwmZSM0PhT5F3dmNVpuj7JpFoNerNmoaGXyQ4tWLsA/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Ajahn-Chah-quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfe-Ow7CgJbZvBpZ8EKXUfN_zAnG3unX8bjWBgTq5XOPgLhA4UdoBVTz5Crt3Kak33CdT4rrSmE_Cs7Zz2TZHL8V5vnJl-bgvxIcwmZSM0PhT5F3dmNVpuj7JpFoNerNmoaGXyQ4tWLsA/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Ajahn-Chah-quote.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The monastery is surrounded with quotations like this<br />Photo by ธีรรัฐ เชี่ยวสกุล</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Getting off at the train station was a bit chaotic with people in a hurry pushing their way through the crowd. The atmosphere was the same as any other province, less dense and chaotic as Bangkok yet still busy and noisy. I could not wait to get into the monastery. Upon entering the entrance of the monastery, I could see trees lined up on each side of the road. They were high with thick canopies. It was as though we were entering into a forest. After all, Wat Pah Nananachat is called the International Forest Monastery. I felt a sudden change of emotions; the calmness and contentment I felt upon waking up engulfed me once again.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cM0vBXMp1ekbt0Mgh0geqTed2rQ_85buLl68w_9O4KVZHUhuz7FzaYFm2IVA22_VveuCr2tXAJBXh4mFVCOjL5y_W0HwNVkpyzBI4woHaiYxwi1ojkClzQIj5Jtot7pr3BJfRoJTMmA/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Forest-Monastery-Entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cM0vBXMp1ekbt0Mgh0geqTed2rQ_85buLl68w_9O4KVZHUhuz7FzaYFm2IVA22_VveuCr2tXAJBXh4mFVCOjL5y_W0HwNVkpyzBI4woHaiYxwi1ojkClzQIj5Jtot7pr3BJfRoJTMmA/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Forest-Monastery-Entrance.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Mitchai Khankaew</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I have anticipated, I reached in time for breakfast. The only female meditator, Li from China, ushered me into the dining area. Breakfast was the only meal we can have each day so everyone ate as much as they can though we had to keep in mind that we cannot waste food so we were to take only what we can finish. After breakfast, we helped in cleaning the area. Soon after I went to meet the monk to be briefed on the rules of the monastery. It was rather simple, not really rules but a set of daily routine and guidelines. We were to wake up at 3AM to join the morning chant and meditation. Afterwards, we were to clean our designated area. Mine and Li’s was the chapel nearby. Though we swept it every day, there were always lots of fallen leaves around because it is surrounded with trees. We were in a forest after all. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYmx3QBosR9Gjq-CauA-YwRv6UdV6yKH-rdyyWL1uGtHmyETUYAezfW74kMGKkwIuozElXRm9auwi3OavGOx4NSE6WsoigKnwfOol0HsItWjslypbXJLU_kHrjr5_I4YiJ-5SPpCTCTo/s1600/Food-Wat-Pah-Nanachat-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="640" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYmx3QBosR9Gjq-CauA-YwRv6UdV6yKH-rdyyWL1uGtHmyETUYAezfW74kMGKkwIuozElXRm9auwi3OavGOx4NSE6WsoigKnwfOol0HsItWjslypbXJLU_kHrjr5_I4YiJ-5SPpCTCTo/s400/Food-Wat-Pah-Nanachat-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just some of the food; there were much more! Thais are very generous at giving alms to the temple<br />Photo by minxianlim</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6LOCaeEUKkiX7YGURBWLsHPYSGJy8IlRpiqt4N3NDXxZSrjRrYoQFp-uvn2DfcZq_RL56pZPe1aQMwv8YHi-RhrlsQ96bb5UZNi6JyutE7G6XYS5A1FC35ZWo755fbwr-xvy4jToB4Y/s1600/Breakfast-Area-Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Temple-Thailand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="960" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6LOCaeEUKkiX7YGURBWLsHPYSGJy8IlRpiqt4N3NDXxZSrjRrYoQFp-uvn2DfcZq_RL56pZPe1aQMwv8YHi-RhrlsQ96bb5UZNi6JyutE7G6XYS5A1FC35ZWo755fbwr-xvy4jToB4Y/s400/Breakfast-Area-Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Temple-Thailand.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast area & kitchen<br />Photo by 余锦盛</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNe3OFdBd6KThWJ-IYbVB1QOkGD_OZuHHy81WyidivVF_MNlbz5SJmf1WnCzr6FuyN9jCGzykGhjL679vHs04JqAnOL3AiNVT6wvCoP7yzyCyjEHi86RGoVQIRe8lFtVldDrxssG8dnoQ/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Forest-Temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNe3OFdBd6KThWJ-IYbVB1QOkGD_OZuHHy81WyidivVF_MNlbz5SJmf1WnCzr6FuyN9jCGzykGhjL679vHs04JqAnOL3AiNVT6wvCoP7yzyCyjEHi86RGoVQIRe8lFtVldDrxssG8dnoQ/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Forest-Temple.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The temple we cleaned every morning. I also meditate here.<br />Photo by 余锦盛</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After cleaning we helped prepare breakfast brought by monks from their morning alms round then we cleaned up the kitchen afterwards. I also experienced cleaning the toilets. After all the morning chores, the day is ours to spend. Since it is a monastery that welcomes meditators and not a formal meditation retreat house, there is no rigid schedule nor meditation coaching. I realized that eating only once gave me enough time for other things. It felt extremely liberating to not think about meal time and the confusion that came with it over what to eat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first thing I do after breakfast was take a shower. We did a lot of cleaning in the morning so I wanted to freshen up before going to the chapel to meditate. I could not sit for hours and hours meditating so after an hour or so of sitting meditation, I would go for mindful walk though most of the time I would just nap at my kuti. Every afternoon at 4:30PM we were to go back to the kitchen to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. Soon after, we were to attend the evening chant and meditation. One of my best moments at the temple was watching the rain as it washed over the trees, its droplets create a ripple once it touches a small swamp while holding a hot cup of coffee. In that instant I realized how simple happiness can be.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnP-zICr5TjrKOw1o78xJT986CqIJXTLNINEMy_bCQh1-uxkLnuA1SxemgTq8RgxB1xl6c9qEFoHPoN7DzzenDHlOfugF97l76eF38HcJGPP1NyzHBRssgLgjcYoiIr7cxLAGzyRDW_AE/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Temple-Ajahn-Chah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="912" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnP-zICr5TjrKOw1o78xJT986CqIJXTLNINEMy_bCQh1-uxkLnuA1SxemgTq8RgxB1xl6c9qEFoHPoN7DzzenDHlOfugF97l76eF38HcJGPP1NyzHBRssgLgjcYoiIr7cxLAGzyRDW_AE/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Temple-Ajahn-Chah.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the temple where I meditate<br />Photo by Fong Kin Houng</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only Dhamma books were allowed in the temple which we can borrow from their mini library. I also had to surrender my mobile phone. We were to dress in white shirt and white trousers and were not allowed to wear jewelry, make up and perfume. The women’s walled quarter was far off from the men’s, and was as usual surrounded with lots of trees. Walking from there to the temple for the 3AM chant was a scary experience but I made it anyway.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjww-mBzbmB-KIfK2o78HFoY-pqZWVs5Xcy8D8cMAOtoAruanggFWccPnY-0f_76jGHslIeyxtGz6_2uFyUrpmqoAGEPVb4MLA5ybbRXX051Gaj-oRCq1PNIJBn-dmp_P7FYnNBYFQeoxw/s1600/Womens-quarter-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjww-mBzbmB-KIfK2o78HFoY-pqZWVs5Xcy8D8cMAOtoAruanggFWccPnY-0f_76jGHslIeyxtGz6_2uFyUrpmqoAGEPVb4MLA5ybbRXX051Gaj-oRCq1PNIJBn-dmp_P7FYnNBYFQeoxw/s400/Womens-quarter-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Path towards the women’s quarter<br />Photo by minxianlim</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Q-uH63XmZ5IUVlDYULuChjeWjiDZtoEOGtUmJp5O-L0jSVVcAu9MTzxghY2iyo9sWINegM9geXoKe1Mp_b5de_Mb0pC7SSKmWxl3FdW6G4CP7vnWPRdhEzs-sSQqKuuONhrqDFZAGiU/s1600/Womens-kuti-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Q-uH63XmZ5IUVlDYULuChjeWjiDZtoEOGtUmJp5O-L0jSVVcAu9MTzxghY2iyo9sWINegM9geXoKe1Mp_b5de_Mb0pC7SSKmWxl3FdW6G4CP7vnWPRdhEzs-sSQqKuuONhrqDFZAGiU/s400/Womens-kuti-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Women’s kuti<br />Photo by minxianlim</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImN-nQaS1StOZx_3maWtXIDr0yI_r4WXCRulaWW3tMqo2mW4CzTpjKJpx_Lrezp9oE_9CKGgvNCX-chnAUBKv20EC4JMTtMI5dDvlRUNRlnxbKQDlZDKL7H3fCtYsidX7RyegcafV19c/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Temple-Thailand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImN-nQaS1StOZx_3maWtXIDr0yI_r4WXCRulaWW3tMqo2mW4CzTpjKJpx_Lrezp9oE_9CKGgvNCX-chnAUBKv20EC4JMTtMI5dDvlRUNRlnxbKQDlZDKL7H3fCtYsidX7RyegcafV19c/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Temple-Thailand.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main sala or meditation hall<br />Photo by 余锦盛</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the evening, I found it difficult to sleep because of the noise created by crickets and other forest insects. Sometimes I could hear a sudden thud on the roof of my kuti. I also later read from a blog that the kuti where I stayed actually had a dead person’s ashes on it! So glad I didn’t know while I was there otherwise I would have gone mad! Though it explained why I could not sleep and felt strange in it at night. At first I thought it was because I was uncomfortably sleeping on the floor with just one tiny pillow (not complaining, just wan’t used to it). I read a lot of Dhamma books before bedtime where I developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of Buddhism. I found Buddha’s teachings practical and easier to grasp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One evening we sat with the Abbot, a German who’s been a monk for over 20 years. In Buddhism, it’s so easy to understand the hierarchy among the monks. Those who have been ordained the longest sits at the top of the structure. During that session, we were allowed to ask questions. One novice asked, <i>“How can you forgive someone who wronged you if you can still feel the pain?</i>” His answer was something I had not heard of or read before. “<i>If you think about forgiveness, you are placing yourself above the person. That is your ego getting in the way. Let go of your ego. Let go of the pain. That person may be suffering himself anyway.</i>”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the day of my departure approached, I found it more and more difficult to leave. I knew I was there to learn about letting go of attachment as one of the tenets of Dhamma but I was growing attached to the place. Probably because ever since I can remember, it was the first time I experienced being so at peace, contented with the life I had even if I only ate once a day. I woke up each morning not thinking about any worries, unfinished work nor the future, there was no internet and constant inundation of information.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Life was at its simplest at the temple. The daily routine may seem boring but on the contrary they made my day stress-free as I didn’t have to fuss over what to do next or how to make my day productive. Going through the routine especially the sweeping of the leaves at the bot (women’s meditation hall) was extremely therapeutic. It made me understand why a lot of self-help books suggest having a morning routine; it makes it easier to go through the rest of the day once our mornings are stress-free.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8dxraG98ammPNK-6p3tzST98R3ue4Qfoa8DYZDVnoK1HAC8tUMnghMgM2hZ_hafnIUgRtQrzqnRLIYIR1l0jFnO33vvivIqwimGlg65I-lem0r6HQMmEmMRBER1BzTqcUfGVRsZGBNao/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nananchat-Forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8dxraG98ammPNK-6p3tzST98R3ue4Qfoa8DYZDVnoK1HAC8tUMnghMgM2hZ_hafnIUgRtQrzqnRLIYIR1l0jFnO33vvivIqwimGlg65I-lem0r6HQMmEmMRBER1BzTqcUfGVRsZGBNao/s400/Wat-Pah-Nananchat-Forest.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Pornthip Sanguanmoo</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEYy0wOuXJPZ1i7QcOydXTu7CBOYJUW6r-WlO1_tT4opVZfSIO0tRrIx9mmGRieAPCgdhJjAPseQYCT1BtwxYFtvI2rvkhA51s_Dvp11nqIzHD0yhWB0YqGBP22R3FKE5WJMKtCZykN8/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-International-Forest-Monastery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="960" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEYy0wOuXJPZ1i7QcOydXTu7CBOYJUW6r-WlO1_tT4opVZfSIO0tRrIx9mmGRieAPCgdhJjAPseQYCT1BtwxYFtvI2rvkhA51s_Dvp11nqIzHD0yhWB0YqGBP22R3FKE5WJMKtCZykN8/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-International-Forest-Monastery.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by 余锦盛</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4Qauj7BnnWfNyV-Ut6yMfeunWf9vO1HUGXvL3x953YTZhtnNVelstaSMrLv7p0MaU1GDxyhBorLZVQ9A7j_i_HFL3983HRvMqpEY1ZLUfXIjlm22XI7pAxdGMSle_EROhMaDIEYGYtc/s1600/Walking-meditation-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4Qauj7BnnWfNyV-Ut6yMfeunWf9vO1HUGXvL3x953YTZhtnNVelstaSMrLv7p0MaU1GDxyhBorLZVQ9A7j_i_HFL3983HRvMqpEY1ZLUfXIjlm22XI7pAxdGMSle_EROhMaDIEYGYtc/s400/Walking-meditation-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Fong Kin Houng</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32Ux-MjVnie6AARXIGlTWF13ldg5bWqyAaOuOV9A5ErrCUyOqX5fsR4noLBu0trGv4Q78XRh77xCX-GIt6rAxayUafFZHyiSuoBuHmmTshFy4MRDcRhxYJUhfGLPLf4gDQa9Chk9IXuI/s1600/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Thailand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32Ux-MjVnie6AARXIGlTWF13ldg5bWqyAaOuOV9A5ErrCUyOqX5fsR4noLBu0trGv4Q78XRh77xCX-GIt6rAxayUafFZHyiSuoBuHmmTshFy4MRDcRhxYJUhfGLPLf4gDQa9Chk9IXuI/s400/Wat-Pah-Nanachat-Thailand.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by 余锦盛</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tMB54jfbpP_TLd9dYCtj32ovRcM68JV2Y3Sq2PYE_C4Y8yqTHuL2Tf9ZlDddL_LKSxaJs4HH5l-BWorhgeTF1ekV-bjPmNt2TQv4PeG2sl8ou6DcFme72L2M0vJ_KRnAN9DsfH85bU8/s1600/Meditators-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="960" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tMB54jfbpP_TLd9dYCtj32ovRcM68JV2Y3Sq2PYE_C4Y8yqTHuL2Tf9ZlDddL_LKSxaJs4HH5l-BWorhgeTF1ekV-bjPmNt2TQv4PeG2sl8ou6DcFme72L2M0vJ_KRnAN9DsfH85bU8/s400/Meditators-Wat-Pah-Nanachat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the main sala or meditation hall<br />Photo by Fong Kin Houng</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My experiences during meditation sessions were rather too personal so I shall not be writing about them. However, I have to say I was not able to empty my mind of any thoughts even for a split second; meditation is not about that so there is no need to pressure yourself into achieving such a state. I struggled at first but as the day progressed I began to feel at ease. At the temple, all the negative emotions I was feeling gradually disappeared. Even past painful memories that still hurt whenever I remember them didn’t hurt anymore no matter how I tried to provoke myself into feeling the pain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My experiences at the monastery were one of the best I’ve ever had; the emotions it made me feel, the stories shared with fellow meditators, and the opportunity to live in a forest. It was the only time in my life when the past and the future didn’t matter at all and I wished that feeling will stay as long as I live. Unfortunately, things are always different in reality, though what I felt at the temple were also real they just didn’t stay that way. Still, I am forever grateful that I experienced how it felt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.watpahnanachat.org/" target="_blank">Wat Pah Nanachat</a> (Wat = monastery, pah = forest, nanachat = international) was founded by Ajahn Chah to enable foreigners who do not speak Thai to enter into monastic life. Most of the monks at the monastery are foreigners. The monastery practices Theravada Forest Tradition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />P.S. I lost all my photos of the monastery so I used other’s photos instead. Lesson learned, always have a backup.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-24146598052113141802017-03-24T22:42:00.000-07:002019-02-27T22:43:19.096-08:00My ‘I cannot do’ list<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2Hg2EkwuMZY65GMoWfmEyCOJVvCLghHsvLqASiGgFoeE1Te7Mp32Ty2v1csdVc_0lzizDiDqPSWJzIgEfNMwDnTsQJHSeqSn_AB70fMUvh7RlQnjqDJH0Ys2ouSCb7YgZtV_2YeIUzY/s1600/Knitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2Hg2EkwuMZY65GMoWfmEyCOJVvCLghHsvLqASiGgFoeE1Te7Mp32Ty2v1csdVc_0lzizDiDqPSWJzIgEfNMwDnTsQJHSeqSn_AB70fMUvh7RlQnjqDJH0Ys2ouSCb7YgZtV_2YeIUzY/s400/Knitting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whilst many people have their ‘list of things to do before turning 30’ or ‘1000 things to do before I die’ or what have you, I on the contrary have a list of things I was sure I cannot do. One these things is knitting. Strangely, I already concluded that I can never knit even before I got my hands on it. Just by looking at a knitted sweaters or a scarf, I could not imagine the intricacies of making such a masterpiece. I thought, even if I could make one with the guidance of a teacher I could never do it the second time around on my own, so why bother? It was my colleague who made me realize how wrong my assumptions were.<br /><br />We were in a taxi, stuck in traffic in Bangkok. Me and my colleague went to the Thai Immigration to process my visa renewal. Knowing that we will either have to wait for a long queue at the Immigration or get stuck in traffic, she brought her knitting materials. It was in that moment while waiting for the taxi to move an inch that I intently watched her knit, her hands skillfully moving along with the needle and yarn. It was then I realized it isn’t so difficult after all. In fact, it looked super easy! Surprisingly, I also felt so relaxed just watching her knit. It felt as if all the stress I was feeling suddenly disappeared, washed away by a wave of calmness.<br /><br /><i><b>Scientific benefits of knitting</b></i><br /><br />I decided I will try to learn how to knit. Before I left the office that day I searched for knitting shops in Bangkok, determined to start right away. It was then that I stumbled upon articles about the scientific benefits of knitting. I learned that knitting is indeed therapeutic and is in fact included by psychiatrists as among the activities they give to clients battling with mental issues. A woman who suffered from depression also recovered with the help of knitting. It is the process of making something, of seeing it coming close to completion, of seeing progress each day that makes knitting a good outlet for those depressed or felt stuck in life. Also, the process of using both hands when knitting improves motor functions and cognitive health.<br /><br />These new discoveries made me even more excited to learn how to knit. I already felt the calming benefits of knitting by merely watching someone else do it so there is no doubt I will enjoy doing it myself. Indeed, knitting became one of the best things I loved doing. It puts me into a meditative mode. Instead of scrolling on my phone when I am free, knitting provided me moments of online detox. Here is one of the scarves I knitted which I gave to my cousin as a Christmas gift. I was so thrilled to see her wear it in her trip to Paris.<br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQROvFT-b4GvTx8ccgOYcJ62Azhjg3sJoGT_oM3B_RMUZWqzlGrgdGfP0WNo9huNeRwhZ27OjmCrVvnRz9IwhAyE3jXnPzOhEEWexC3ZlaTM9eX8Ws_M0pzNemkyj3_mHRv9vO1ZVQ4sc/s1600/Knitted-red-scarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQROvFT-b4GvTx8ccgOYcJ62Azhjg3sJoGT_oM3B_RMUZWqzlGrgdGfP0WNo9huNeRwhZ27OjmCrVvnRz9IwhAyE3jXnPzOhEEWexC3ZlaTM9eX8Ws_M0pzNemkyj3_mHRv9vO1ZVQ4sc/s400/Knitted-red-scarf.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
It’s been over a year since I stopped knitting, when I moved to Australia for grad school. It was only now when I saw my cousin wear the scarf that I am reminded of my love for the craft. I shall find myself purchasing some good yarn anytime soon and knit again. Oh, and I shall review my ‘I cannot do’ list as well and see which ones I can start learning. I’ve already ticked knitting off and now I am in the process of learning how to drive a car. Life is full of possibilities and the way to start is to change our mindset that we cannot do things.<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-86054872675956985862017-02-16T22:45:00.000-08:002019-02-27T22:46:47.250-08:00Before you quit your job, go travel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Few months ago I spoke to a friend who wanted to quit her job. Quitting is not difficult but what made her hesitate was that she hasn’t found a new job yet. Many people experience such quandary especially with our constant use of social media nowadays, it’s easy to compare our life with that of others and feel we need to be somewhere else or having something else or whatnot.<br /><br />What I noticed though from our conversation was that whilst she was determined to quit her job, she didn’t know what she truly wants to do. She had several options in mind but she didn’t have clarity on how to make the transition. She wanted to pursue entrepreneurship but she didn’t know what products or services to offer. She wanted to pursue the arts but that would mean starting from scratch. These aren’t all bad things, after all a lot of people succeeded by taking risks. In her case though, she didn’t have enough savings to support her through several months which scared her from quitting.<br /><br />Another thing I noticed in her is that her frustrations weren’t all coming from her job. We all experience some bad days at work and at times people –who may just be going through tough times – are rude. Sometimes routine jobs can get painfully boring. At times problems arise one after the other leaving us burned out. But there are several ways to deal with these circumstances and turn things around if you have the proper mindset and positive attitude. The challenge comes when the problem isn’t the job itself but us. That’s when I suggest you travel.<br /><br />Traveling has its way of healing whatever negative feelings we carry. If we are so bored of a life of routine, traveling breaks this monotony and stimulates our senses. The experiences we will encounter while traveling can melt negativities away. Traveling can remind us that there is more to life than feeling bitter and unhappy; that there are things far greater than ourselves but that what we do – no matter how menial it seems sometimes – contributes to a bigger picture, to a larger cause.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv010RNioeZe4DmlgmgS8N1hndCrKradgdUtpPEgMxWVXAdeLdkHwbdBjWTzUg43Je22O2QVHsIqGwd4UtDcQ8WukX9HU2ps2CtAWrsdJAJkHxDHLfjhKLpqA3pml99YeSJkhM7rClV0/s1600/Karen+Tribe+Woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv010RNioeZe4DmlgmgS8N1hndCrKradgdUtpPEgMxWVXAdeLdkHwbdBjWTzUg43Je22O2QVHsIqGwd4UtDcQ8WukX9HU2ps2CtAWrsdJAJkHxDHLfjhKLpqA3pml99YeSJkhM7rClV0/s400/Karen+Tribe+Woman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a lot of people though, money can be a hindrance to traveling. However, as the cliché says, “we work to live not live to work” so if you reach a point where you feel that life was sucked out of you then money should not be so much of an issue. You are not going to spend your hard earned money extravagantly anyway because going for a short trip should not be expensive. You can travel to a nearby place or a different country, it’s all up to you. There are a lot of information available online on how to reach your destination without breaking the bank.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back in 2011, I was suffering from burnout. It seemed as though I could not feel any positive emotions. A delicious meal doesn’t taste good. I keep blaming work for my unhappiness. One weekend, I traveled to Chiang Mai up until the borders of Myanmar. I went on full online detox while traveling so I can fully savor the experience. It was only for two days but I felt significantly better. On my way back to Bangkok, I took the train because other than it was way cheaper than flying I just love long train rides; it gave me an opportunity to pause and just enjoy the countryside scenery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I didn’t go on that short trip up north and committed to undergo an online detox, I would have resigned from my job in no time. I was glad I did. I felt rejuvenated after. When I came back, I also removed my work email from my phone and noticed that I felt more relaxed and positive after.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When my friend confided to me about her urge to quit, I told her to travel. And so travel she did and now she is still working at the same job. When she is not working, she is out strolling at a nearby park or traveling to nearby provinces. With camera in hand, she captures the beauty around what seemed like a mundane place to those who only exist.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-73907369475754738642017-02-13T22:51:00.000-08:002019-02-27T22:51:49.832-08:0021 days self-love challenge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Tomorrow is the day when love is celebrated across the globe, Valentine’s Day. Regardless of its historical accounts, Valentine’s Day as we practice it in modern time is a day for couples or for people with someone to love; so much so that it has become the day when roses and chocolates get so expensive. Those who are single often joke that they’d join the firing squad because they don’t have someone to spend it with. For me, I want to celebrate Valentine’s day this year differently.<br /><br />Few days ago, I collapsed after jogging for less than 15 minutes and a week after I was down with fever and body aches. I realized I’ve been living an extremely unhealthy lifestyle and needed to look after myself better. According to one of my favorite books, it takes 21 days to create neuro-pathways that develop a habit. So I shall call this exercise the 21 days self-love challenge where each day I would devote 2 hours for self-nourishment, which is 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. If you’re up for the same challenge, join me! It will be fun sharing our experiences. <br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNdJDnuGADSpPFBbRbzVz8nA3U8Yqca9CyFM0Ez1_6tRvo67Yizi-lvEk3HTdvbV1vLp7FkkHqvOjYt58oxm5WqJMvFNwjYfC2p8H14vk4mcZ0hiW5TS4CIPBp-e8vrqDN1xH87mQYl4/s1600/Sambawan+Island+Biliran+Province+Philippines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNdJDnuGADSpPFBbRbzVz8nA3U8Yqca9CyFM0Ez1_6tRvo67Yizi-lvEk3HTdvbV1vLp7FkkHqvOjYt58oxm5WqJMvFNwjYfC2p8H14vk4mcZ0hiW5TS4CIPBp-e8vrqDN1xH87mQYl4/s400/Sambawan+Island+Biliran+Province+Philippines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here’s how I will schedule my day but of course you can start at a time of your choosing.<br />
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6:00AM – wake up time, drink ¼ cup pure calamansi juice (strictly no water or it becomes acidic)<br />
6:15 AM – sit for 15-minutes meditation<br />
6:30 AM – yoga for 30 minutes<br />
7:00 AM – my normal day can begin (shower, coffee, breakfast, etc)<br />
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Throughout the day, I will also make sure to drink a lot of water, pause for a quick 5-minute meditation whenever I feel the need for a break and increase my vegetables and fruit intake.<br />
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My evening self-love routine will start at 9PM because I want to sleep by 10PM; that will give me 8 hours of sleep.<br />
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9:00PM – gadgets away, read a book with warm milk or chamomile tea<br />
9:45PM – sit for 15-minutes meditation<br />
10:00 – lights out, zzzzzzzz<br />
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It’s a pretty simple morning and evening routine, really, but it will surely take much discipline to follow. I know I will regret not doing it and my alter ego is not very kind. So fingers-crossed, tomorrow is a new beginning and if there will come a day that I’d fail, I’ll just start back again. Join me! Join me!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-4174167566400431532017-02-02T22:54:00.000-08:002019-02-27T22:54:19.130-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdDz9K9QVtwKkpxPQYIUuZ_Y4L8D4lHRekXlXvBIT8IKEVGU_psoajaNlhr_X4E84x4w4kwa99PUGTSo7KjSJfMRxlZ09ovKisQoqIFgUDnHtwhS95h8A_GkL1i2qBwHS9rRQ-L9gtac/s1600/Calligraphy-quote-inspirational.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdDz9K9QVtwKkpxPQYIUuZ_Y4L8D4lHRekXlXvBIT8IKEVGU_psoajaNlhr_X4E84x4w4kwa99PUGTSo7KjSJfMRxlZ09ovKisQoqIFgUDnHtwhS95h8A_GkL1i2qBwHS9rRQ-L9gtac/s400/Calligraphy-quote-inspirational.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calligraphy by Alma May Hilot Pilvera</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the last few months I spent interacting with people from different backgrounds, two dominant personalities stood out. It’s probably because I am at a point of identifying a new path so I paid particular attention to these traits.<br /><br /><b>The innovative</b><br />A friend who developed a farm in a small island said that when they began, it was impossible to farm in the area because the soil was too sandy. But that problem didn’t stop them from achieving their plan, instead they created the soil through composting. They then placed retaining walls to keep the soil from eroding.<br /><br />Another friend works online, her only source of living. She found that coding skills could get one more jobs at higher rates. Unfortunately, there are no coding courses available around where she lives so she took free online coding courses instead and practiced by herself. She isn’t there yet but she definitely is a few steps closer to her goal. It’s still better than nothing at all.<br /><br />My cousin is planning to get married in 2018. These days, calligraphy is a huge thing when it comes to wedding invitations and signage. Due to high demand, commissioning one to do the calligraphy can be extremely expensive. A set of invitation with watercolor graphic and calligraphy text can cost PhP300 (approx. 6 USD). So instead of paying a hefty amount, she decided to learn calligraphy herself! In fact, the photo above is her very first attempt and yet it looks pretty already! How cool is that? Way to go May.<br /><br /><b>The slacker</b><br />These are those who have future plans or knew what they want but are putting them off for a later time. I’m not saying this is always wrong. I understand there are certain things that should be set aside because there is a right time for them. However, in some circumstances, utilizing available time to prepare for the much-awaited perfect moment can be essential.<br /><br />A friend went to grad school without any idea for his dissertation. He said he will figure it out when he gets there. When he started the first semester, he said he will figure it out the moment he takes the dissertation course. When he finally got down to writing his proposal, he realized that he needed ample amount of time to review existing literature and do preliminary readings on the issue he wanted to work on. He panicked and regretted not doing some readings during his free time before he started school.<br /><br />Another friend wanted to be an entrepreneur. She was envious of her entrepreneur friends who seemed to have it all figured out and have full control of their time. Whenever she is not motivated in her job – which happens most of the time by the way — she would say things would have been different if she is an entrepreneur. Finally she resigned from her job, took a few months vacationing and then the much awaited “right time” presented itself. However, the painful truth dawned upon her that she doesn’t know what to do yet, which field she will venture into or what services she will offer. She spent additional months doing research which made her feel trapped into a web of challenges and uncertainties until finally when she is able to identify the business she wanted, her savings have been exhausted and she need to work again to save for the capital. Not only that, she needed some skills for the business so she has to spend the weekdays working and the weekends on short courses to gain those skills. Had she spent her time in the past preparing for the right moment, she would not have started from scratch.<br /><br />Stories like these remind me of the cliché that<b> the only thing that’s fair in this world is time because we all get the same amount of it. The only difference is how we use them.</b> I’ve had my share of confronting challenges to achieve goals as well as periods of procrastination. What matters to me now is that I am becoming more aware of the things I want to invest my time into. I can never bring back time I’ve wasted but what’s important is to live the present moment and make the most out of it. This is something I want to remind myself every day.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2146419942467242160.post-37556727463981401672017-02-01T22:58:00.000-08:002019-02-27T23:00:04.329-08:00A Taste of Interior Design<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’ve always had this interest in interior design stemming from my love for all things pretty although it’s not until recently that I’ve actually got my hands on it. My cousin asked me to furnish her empty condo and told me specific things to buy so I’m not so sure if I can call that interior design. But since it left me so giddy to see an empty place transform into a pretty habitable one for the first time, then pardon my misnaming the process. Besides, even if I was told what items to get and she was the one who decided which one to buy after I sent her photos, I am happy to say that she picked all the items I recommended except for one furniture. Here are some of things I learned from the process for those of you who have no experience yet.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s not all pretty work</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I like looking at pretty interior photos on magazines and online but it never occurred to me that the process to achieve such a masterpiece can be painstaking. When we arrived at the condo, since it was my cousin’s, the first thing we did was clean up as it has gathered a lot of dust from more than a year of being left aside. I then proceeded to the first step of the work which is to get ideal measurements of the furniture. That part is easier but looking for the ideal designs that came with those measurements is the tricky part. It would have been a little easier if we have some stuff custom-made but that’s out of the question at that point and since the condo is in a city that I am not familiar with, it’s also difficult for me to find and manage the carpenters. I made do with what’s available after exploring several malls and furniture shops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><b><br /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is important for the client/owner to be able to visualize your ideas</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before I went window-shopping, I bought a red masking tape to outline the size of the furniture at the spot where they will be placed. This will ensure that my cousin who is now in California is able to visualize how big or small they are and how much space is left for her to move around once they are installed. I sent her not only measurements of the furniture but also the distance between them. I also had my companion stand on those spaces so my cousin can get a better perspective. When I had photos of the furniture from various malls, I placed them over the photo of the empty condo so my cousin can imagine how the area will look like once the furniture is there. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Harmony is key to achieving a cozy ambiance</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are several elements to consider in interior design and I must confess that I don’t have background on any of them nor made the effort to actually learn them prior to working on my cousin’s condo. I just trusted my instincts and well my eyes. I made sure things are in harmony with each other. To do so, I made sure the colors are not in contrast with each other which is why the condo ended up with gray, white, brown, black and a bit of accent colors. I admire designs that are bold with red and black colors or lively with rainbow colors but oh how my eyes hurt when I see houses that have a mixture of different colors and patterns (imagine a blue patterned floor tiles, pink patterned curtains, and green and yellow patterned sofa all in one living room!). My cousin’s personality is one that speaks of classic elegance hence the choice of those colors for her condo. I also have to credit my mom for suggesting a gray curtain, which placed everything in order.<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDPhL5aoLau09HbsaPDBG8hOiKISXaWyvxqnSOh5gEMUpNIKTzOe8C1jKStSoGIDvC89HowaGwe-3K3sp2fwU5g-R11CWPeTPGSZzyV-H10nRaaYNmvSCnaoaALks_u0_XgmLuAWJVkU/s1600/Interior-design-gray-tone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDPhL5aoLau09HbsaPDBG8hOiKISXaWyvxqnSOh5gEMUpNIKTzOe8C1jKStSoGIDvC89HowaGwe-3K3sp2fwU5g-R11CWPeTPGSZzyV-H10nRaaYNmvSCnaoaALks_u0_XgmLuAWJVkU/s400/Interior-design-gray-tone.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixgYAx4ftqoCMDR5toM7golZAnSmz1B9ozDldh9v7Imcw713Zjuywj17PiteNys1pKP-vyJ2xCZxC0fH6_ncQw4hvD1IkZOMXHYIeilLopWzWEXbVIW3lDpBB8JpD9sWgr0FEkBfPq7rA/s1600/Bed-interior-gray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixgYAx4ftqoCMDR5toM7golZAnSmz1B9ozDldh9v7Imcw713Zjuywj17PiteNys1pKP-vyJ2xCZxC0fH6_ncQw4hvD1IkZOMXHYIeilLopWzWEXbVIW3lDpBB8JpD9sWgr0FEkBfPq7rA/s400/Bed-interior-gray.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4FbRuJM4EF896TMvk8GUIrNzuJXeLorqto1ulhXDUdmEguBoaboeDERK0PN5NuVZSVEyxVXZ54SLdczoLbixbcWt73IWBu6FRlPolnoJfxfzhWaEQDfhz5_0ixEbUsbhu_XGkwHfArU/s1600/Interior-design-beginner1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG4FbRuJM4EF896TMvk8GUIrNzuJXeLorqto1ulhXDUdmEguBoaboeDERK0PN5NuVZSVEyxVXZ54SLdczoLbixbcWt73IWBu6FRlPolnoJfxfzhWaEQDfhz5_0ixEbUsbhu_XGkwHfArU/s400/Interior-design-beginner1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I know my experience was very far from the real interior design thing and that it didn’t give me much knowledge and skills to qualify for a career change but still I consider it essential to my growth. It made me able to exercise my creativity on a level that considers and meets another person’s preferences. It allowed me to navigate an area that I don’t know much about but that didn’t stop me from making things happen.</span></div>
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