A Year and Some 50 Books Later

I can daresay that it felt like a new year. Goals have changed, priorities were rearranged, relationships are strengthened while new ones are formed and the career was rebuilt.

From my last post, I did go home to Davao and stayed there until January of this year. While there, I managed to finish the task I set out to do for the family. I also read some books, saw some movies, drove some trucks (sedans are no good in our part of the country), shot some guns, attended weddings of friends and baptisms of my friends' kids, bonded with my nieces and a nephew and even played "mother" to a niece whose "ate" left because she got pregnant. So much has happened in my personal life which greatly impacted my professional life. 

my babies: (L-R) Cleo, Yo, Jaimee, Ayesh

Team Davao Oriental (rifle category)

burn from an empty shell caught in my eyeglasses right after it was expelled from the muzzle

At a Mitzi's wedding

Some of the guns I practiced on (I'm a pistol shooter but surprisingly, archery principles apply in rifle shooting0

Back then, I merely dabbled, not fully practiced my profession. I accepted some pro bono cases, gave out legal advice to people who sought it, and extended assistance by way of referring them to experts (especially correction of entries in the birth certificate). 

On the whole, I never regretted having slowed down in this highly stressful profession. It only made me realize what is it that I don't want out of life, and worked out my wants from there. The time made me more appreciative of what I have, but also gave me the capacity to let go of what (or who) I don't need in this life. That span of time was really a lightbulb moment for me. 

The greatest birthday gift I gave myself was moving on from associate to advocate. At the moment, I am part of a team of young idealistic Filipinos working towards making the country healthier in reaffirmation of the right of everyone to the enjoyment  of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. 

thank God

yo's fever has subsided and the same goes for the tonsilitis. he is now busy playing street hockey, riding his bike which he wants to dispose of so he could get a bigger bike and just being his usual mischievous self.

thank God and thank you all for the prayers.

time flies

being part of that important milestone in your life is indeed a privilege. i thank you for considering me worthy enough to pin that rank and for making me its keeper. don't worry, i have kept that pair of vix in a secure place.

it has been 3 years since your graduation. another year to prove to the taxpayers that they have not been shortchanged.

congratulations bylog and the rest of the Sanlingan Class!

recreational sunday

yesterday, after waking up late at around half past ten in the morning, i have already laid my plans for the day.

first would be brunch,, after all, 10:30AM na.

next, the mandatory general cleaning to clear the dust that has accumulated over the week. otherwise, i would be besieged by sneezing fits and the allergic rhinitis would be triggered. di na naman kasi napadala ni ate ang sinasabi kong nasal spray e.

next, of course is the weekend washing of accumulated laundry. hindi lang nitong week, pati pa ung last week. haha.

in the midst of wringing my clothes, my brother and sister-in-law with the nieces arrived. they have just attended a children's party, which ironically only 5 kids as guests and the rest were grown ups. since they have forgotten to tag me along (i don't know if it was deliberately done or they were just so considerate knowing that i have tons to study). anyhow, to appease me, they tagged me along to watch a movie, The Spiderwick Chronicles. since i was with my nieces, we were all wary of goblins and other magical creatures after having watched the movie to the extent of buying happy meal with toys featuring the magical creatures from the movie as well as a monocle of some sorts which allows one to see them magical creatures. hehe, feeling bata rin ako.

i just love the feeling when i'm around kids, especially the nephew (my half-man) and the nieces. therapeutic talaga and rejuvenating.

by the way, the boyfriend's aunt just gave birth to a girl. since his aunt already had 2 boys who were left in the care of their tito whom they idolize so much that they also want to be soldiers when they grow up, was truly elated. congratulations tita and tito! :)

when we got home, the two girls started pulling out my coloring books (i have these at home not for them but for myself, hehe, but they usually use up all the pages so parang kanila na rin) as well as the colored pencils, highlighters, and what have you. after which, i paste their doodles on my wall. just so i have something to look at when i need inspiration.

sadly, they cannot stay a week because the girls still have classes. so, at around 4AM this morning, they went off in time to catch the school's flag ceremonies at 7AM.

when they left, i couldn't go back to sleep. i instead opted to finish a book i have long ago started reading but never had the time to finish. when i finished the 231-paged book, i was left wanting to read more. Margaret Atwood's Surfacing is disturbing in its accuracy and bluntness at depicting the twenty-first century human being. it sent shivers down my spine. so i wanted to cap the reading with a lighter one. since i haven't finished reading HP7, the paper book edition (i have already read the e-book version), i continued reading it from where i left off. since the book is s heavy and requires me to sit down to read it, i gave up and had some sleep.

what a happy sunday!

remind me

1. that i am still alive and kicking
2. that i still have a lot of things to do - foremost among the list is to study for the finals
3. that i cannot change things which are beyond my power to control, to rectify and to eradicate
4. that i can only work with what i have
5. that i should not rely on other people to provide for me except for the people who are really under a legal and moral obligation to support me
6. that i cannot change reality, only my attitude towards it
7. that i am just human
8. that i should just LET GO and LET GOD because it would be so assuming of me to try to resolve something as big as this
9. that i still should be grateful because everyday is a blessing
10. that i have more people who really care - thank you bylog
11. that there are still things which i can do and i should just focus more on that
12. that there really is a TIME FOR EVERYTHING