IT’S THE FOURTH OF JULY, and I am feeling hopeful. Not that I’m an American celebrating Independence Day, but because looking back, I’ve had a couple of milestones that took place on July 4. There’s a quote in The Alchemist, “Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely…
QUARANTINE CHECK-IN
IT’S BEEN ALMOST A MONTH OF QUARANTINE. Almost a month of not being able to go out, meet up with friends and family. A month of anxiety and fear and worry. A month of always telling my mom I love her. Like everyone, I have a hundred and one things to do once quarantine is…
AND ALL THESE LITTLE THINGS
A LIST OF RANDOM THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN MAKING ME HAPPY BECAUSE THERE IS MUCH TO SMILE ABOUT. 🙂 Yes, I know there are still a lot of not so nice things happening around, but you can either focus on the cons or find the upside. Tonight, I choose to write about the good. So,…
2 YEARS AGO: RAMBLING ABOUT THE ONE
A COUPLE GLASSES OF WINE, your best friend since forever, a girl friend who’s seen you during a very important life phase, and an ENFP kindred spirit who knows shit about you – all potent reminders of how life could’ve easily played out differently. The truth is, it could’ve easily, EASILY, played out differently. Sleight…
CHINESE NEW YEAR 2019
XIN NIAN KUAI LE! Ever since celebrating my first legit Chinese New Year in Singapore, I’ve come to appreciate Chinese New Year as more than a day off work and have actually looked forward to CNY season. However, being back in Manila and not being Chinese (although my 6.4% Mainland China Chinese and 7.1% Broadly…
I’M THIRTY!!! (FLIRTY AND THRIVING??)
SO THERE IT IS, THE BIG 3-0. One of my good friends, Arnold, said my hashtag should be #thirtyflirtyandthriving in honor of the movie 13 Going on 30. I laughed and said no way, coz a) CLICHE and b) THIRTY, yes.👵🏼 FLIRTY, always.💃🏻 But THRIVING? That’s the big question mark. There are days that I…
TODAY, I WILL BE SAD
TODAY, I AM ALLOWING MYSELF TO BE SAD. I will loosen the tight grip I’ve held on my heart and let the pieces come undone. I will admit that all along I’ve feigned ignorance on the cracks, pretending that if I squeezed the pieces tight enough, it will be whole again. Today, I will allow my…
MISSING SINGAPORE: A NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST
WANT ANYTHING FROM SINGAPORE? My mom’s text read. I gave it some thought before ultimately replying “Mmm, no.” Truth is, there were a hundred and one things I wanted from Singapore but nothing my mom could check-in on her flight back to Manila. It’s been over a year since I was last at the Little…
ON ADDRESSING MY ANXIETY
THIS MORNING, I WAS GREETED BY ANXIETY. I normally would’ve brushed it off with a change of environment and getting a literal move on, like swimming or driving around, but as luck would have it, the bug I’ve been fighting off the past week has fully manifested. I considered drowning the nagging feeling by scrolling…
FOCUS ON THE GOOD
I’M SITTING IN THE LIVING ROOM WITH A BAG OF CHEETOS BESIDE ME and I’m thinking to myself how pretty sweet life is. Mind you, today is a WEDNESDAY, meaning I woke up faced with the perennial debate of whether or not I should get out of bed at an ungodly hour and drive to…
THEN GIVE ME TRAGEDY
WHEN MY EX-BOYFRIEND TOLD ME HE WAS SEEING SOMEONE ELSE, I felt the wind knocked out off me. I felt I was punched in the chest and I was literally gasping for air. I knew it was inevitable and yet then and there, I felt utter panic. It took me some time (and some glasses…