Today I thank God for the gift of friends.

My mother used to tell me that I was a very friendly kid. Apparently, I was so friendly that I get to have new friends anywhere we went, even during jeepney rides. As I grow older, I slowly started to become who I am today: My weird, introverted self.

I remember the time in my life when I thought of why I never get to belong into any circle of friends. True. I was a part of a group during grade school and high school days, but I still felt left out from time to time. 

Now, when I look at these people, I realize how blessed I really am. What I lack in quantity, I definitely got in quality. I can’t help but be filled with joy with the knowledge that I have them, through thick or thin, ups or downs, full tummy or not. Treasure: that’s what they are.

“We’re all a little weird, and life’s a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call It love.” – Dr. Seuss
 

Today, I give thanks to God for the blessing of travel opportunities. The past year of my life has been filled with them that I, myself, can’t believe that I managed to do all of it… where did I get all the finances to support all of them (Especially while paying for the house)?

But then, I did ask God to amaze me— and He did more times than my pebbled mind can count.

This year before my third decade, I visited several places that made me feel like a child and an adult at the same time.

TAGAYTAY WITH MEANIES (MAY 2017)

Following my depression last year, I hungered for alone time: Away from family. Away from work. Away from it all. This is why when my meanies’ planned for a staycation in Tagaytay, I didn’t think twice about it. While technically not alone, it gave me time to reflect… just to rest and think things through. Talking to them also helped me lot. I don’t care if this officially made us a “Tita.” It helped me get through the dark times. Our fellowship will always be something I’m thankful of. The nice view and cool, fresh air? Just a bonus.

BAGUIO WITH THE FAMILY (November 2017)

After a deep heart to heart talk with my sisters, this year’s vacation in Baguio has been much better, more fun and much more memorable. 

Two of my kiddos were added to the family. Antoneth and Angela joined us. We rented a house just outside of Camp John Hay and explored leisurely around. There’s a time for my kiddos and me when I toured them around the city.

Then there was family time when we visited Café in the Sky for the first time!

We also held Angela’s baby gender reveal and Ate Ivy’s birthday celebration.

It was a blessed few days indeed!

SENSECAMP IN KAHARIAM FARM BATANGAS (JUNE 2017)

In a complete work of fate, I met one of the entrepreneurs who own Sun E Trike in Batangas. I was just looking for a couch to surf, to end my summer in a blast, when he told me about the SenseCamp in Kahariam Farm, Batangas. SenseCamp is a meeting of Social Entrepreneurs organized by MakeSense Foundation.

It is a real blessing indeed to meet people from all parts of the world who seek to make a change— simple things like business through recycling, building sustainable cities, and innovating junks.

It’ll be nice to work full time for organizations such as this. But, oh well… one can hope.

SOUTH KOREA WITH SIJEI (OCTOBER 23-29, 2017)

The past year has been a rollercoaster ride. I enjoyed the smooth, straight paths. I felt the rush and nausea brought by being high. There were many times I thought I would fall— but then there were times when I was the one who wanted to let go. I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish this birthday post. I tried several times but it always felt wrong. After two months, I finally broke free of my funk.

The past twelve months were tough. Looking back, I now know I couldn’t have been able to survive it if I didn’t have God and the people He used as instruments that kept me from breaking apart. Now let me tell you about my rollercoaster ride and what I learned from them.

Around my birthday last year, I met my childhood love again. I was happy because ‘what are the odds’, right? However, in meeting him again, I met challenges. He had someone. Albeit I didn’t really know about it in the beginning, the outcome was still the same. Many people were hurt in the process. It was a little late when I saw what God wanted me to see. You see, after the disaster and the fear brought by my last relationship, I prayed to God. I prayed that if it is His will for me to be with someone, He would send me a man I can serve Him with. Otherwise, I’d rather be on my own. Now I know that in the joy of seeing the boy I once loved, I became impatient. In turn, I lost tracked of God’s plan for me. And though I would always treasure our memories and our friendship… that is all it will ever be. My impatience caused broken hearts and broken trust.

When I started teaching, I always prayed for God to use me as an instrument in changing the lives of my students. I wanted to make a difference in their lives. As much as I wanted to pay forward all the good things that happened to me, I also wanted to help them in ways that no one was able to help me before. What a big prayer indeed! It was so big that when God gave me His answer, I felt like I was struck by a wrecking ball. These kids He sent me? They are wounded. Some of them had scars so deep I didn’t know how to keep up. Financial problems. Abandonment. Neglect. Bullying. Sexual abuse. Name it. For a long time I tried to help them. I listened to them and comforted them. To be honest, I got so exhausted emotionally. Still, two of them turned from me. They broke away, listening to the words of the world and it hurts to realize I couldn’t do anything about it no matter what I do. I learned that we could only do so much in helping other people. In the end, it will still be their choice if they would break the bonds that chain them to whatever struggle they are experiencing.

Unfortunately, a drawback was that their nightmares woke my own. Faint echoes of my dark past slowly crept back. I know Christ has freed me. He freed me from that moment in April 26, 1996 when I tried to end my nightmare by getting the sharpest scissor fro ... Read more »

Where do I start? Have you ever felt so happy and blessed that you turn into a blubbering mess of joy? That is exactly how I feel these past few months of my life. It was far from perfect— it has never been like that. But it’s full of things I am very grateful for, things I only received because of Him who loves me more than anyone else.

This year started with plans of limiting travel as my sister (and travel buddy) wanted to focus on paying loans and saving money. God has other plans though. This year has been full of unexpected travel opportunities that are both welcome and overwhelming.

Bicol Tour (April 29-May 4, 2015)

Because of the generosity of the Fornias Family, we were able to enjoy the beauty of Sorsogon, with a side trip to Albay. We were able to visit the Cagsawa Ruins, view the Mayon Volcano while riding an ATV, chill at Amor Beach Farm, swim with the Whale Sharks of Donsol, sightsee at Bulusan, play with the pinkish sand of Subic Beach and ride topload going to Matnog.

Baguio City (November 15-18, 2015)

Because of my involvement with the 2015 Sapateros Festival in Marikina, I was not able to join my family when they left for our yearly Baguio vacation last November 14. But tired or not, nothing was able to stop me from following right after our event finished. Together with our ampon Angelica, we took the bus and headed straight to our cottage in BCC.  However, this vacation was very different than what we had the past years. This time we didn’t invite anyone. We also didn’t visit too many tourist attractions. This time, we just enjoyed quality family time and rested away from the hustle and bustle of work and life.

Subic (January 7-8, 2016)

Visiting Subic has never been a top priority. But I was really glad to join the freshmen tour at Subic. The stay at the Subic International Hotel was anti-climactic but we did enjoy the shows at the Ocean Adventure.

Ilocos Tour (January 14-17, 2016)

This was my third year visiting the region and it still looked beautiful in my eyes. Although the heat was no joke, the 4 x 4 drive at the sand dunes was phenomenal.

Banaue-Sagada (February 7-10,  2016)

This has been the one of my favorite tours in 2015-2016 (apart from the Bicol Tour and the Northern Mindanao Tour). I still can’t get over the experience of constant fog and rain shower coupled with the extremely cold weather and topload jeep ... Read more »

I don’t’ even know how to begin with this post. The past 24 months of my life had been full of ups and downs. It passed like a blur that I sometimes wonder if I really lived through it. Twenty-seven years. It’s odd though. When I think of the number, I feel old. When I think of my life as a whole, I feel younger.

I had a great birthday celebration last year. Everyone in the family (sans my father) took some time off of work. We went out. We had dinner. We had fun at the mall. This year, in contrast, was spent at home. I waited for them to come home. We had spaghetti and barbeque while watching some random show on TV. It didn’t matter what we did though. Every person close to me knows how a party girl I am not. But I guess staying at home gave me more time to think about things that I normally wouldn’t dwell on. Hopefully I get to share them with you in the future.

The past year has been a blast! And the funny thing is— I just know it will get better and better.

• I was a little hesitant in accepting the tourism instructor part time job offered to me at PLMar last summer. Mainly because of my grad school experience last year. It was traumatic and I didn’t really trust anyone there. After praying about it, I learned that most people in the department were from my Alma Mater PUP. Talk about nepotism. I didn’t really care though. I trust this people. So I gave it a shot. And I am mighty glad I did. I met wonderful people in here. It also gave me more travel opportunities. Late 1^st semester we visited Laguna and Quezon, and Camarines Sur and Albay. I can honestly say that I enjoyed the company I was with as much as I enjoyed the places we visited. (That is saying something since we got an awful tour operator for the Bicol Tour). Laguna and Quezon I am already quite familiar with. CamSur and Albay were a completely different story. I am still amazed at the beauty that is Mayon Volcano. At that point, I didn’t care if it has a perfect cone shape or not. It is beautiful— hands down. The ATV driving experience at Cagsawa is also an unforgettable experience. Last time I tried riding a motorcycle was when I’m in 4^th grade. Try doing that with a bigger vehicle along a rough mountain path with river crossing. Definitely unforgettable.

• After a weekend of rest, my sister Ivy and I went to Baler, Aurora. This time with my AC ecotourism students. Water activities scare the shit out of me but I loved relaxing along the pure black sand beach. The high waves were glorious. I didn’t even have to fake swimming. (LoL) Forget surfing (Since I&rs ... Read more »