A Sharing

There's no better or other way to say this, so I'll just make a go at it:

Yes, you read that right. I'm going to Japan to study their language - intensively - for a year! Finally! Finally! I've been holding it in for weeks, and I leave in a couple of days. Everything is surreal, and sometimes I still can't believe it's true. For the past few weeks, I held small parties at home and went to different dinners with friends. I even cooked for some of them, and it's one thing I will miss. As much as possible, I wanted to get as much as time with people I care about before I leave. Today, I'm running a few errands and will be visiting our province to spend time with my cousins, uncles, and aunts.

On Turning 23

I love taking pictures. It's a hobby that I truly treasure. But when my 23rd birthday came upon, I wasn't able to take any blog-post-worthy picture (except for my birthday cake above, which I almost finished before taking a picture). I don't know what happened. Maybe I was just too tired because I still had class the afternoon before the party. Maybe I was just too preoccupied on thinking how I'm going to finish all my requirements for the term. Or maybe, I was just to filled with happiness and contentment that I didn't bother documenting any of it. I was just too busy being in those moments.

Turning 23, honestly, doesn't seem to be big of a deal as any of my past birthdays. I didn't put any effort in planning for the party. Maybe because I have my mama, cousins, and friends to help me out. But it didn't felt stressful as it did last year. I was even more stressed with school than the party.  I don't know why but there were a sense of relaxation through out that night. I truly felt loved and cared for. I didn't ask much, but I got more. And for that, I am truly thankful, especially for the people who greeted and for the people who came and celebrated with me. If I had all the treasures in the world, I'd share them with you guys. But I'm broke and all I can give is my heartfelt 'Thank you'. Hope that's enough. :)

December Wishes

It's finally December! I love, love December. Despite being nearly broke and having second thoughts about my life choices, December never fails to lift my spirits up; maybe because it's my birth month or because everything seems so festive. When this time of the year comes around, I feel like every one has the right to make all the wishes they want and truly believe that they can come true a hundred percent. I do have a lot of wishes right now, mostly for my career and some material wants. However, right now, I feel like I want to give all my wishing rights to the victims of typhoon Yolanda. Yes, I know that it wouldn't help in changing any of their circumstances, but I believe that prayers and wishes truly work. Of course, those needs to be paired with real and tangible efforts. Every action made to help the victims is already a wish come true. I do have a few plans for this Christmas like donating some of my old clothes and toys, and I'm aiming to have them ready before Christmas. School is still driving me crazy, but a few hours of my time wouldn't hurt, especially since it's all I can give. I hope you're doing your part too, dear reader. If you can't (and I understand because we all have our own circumstances too), a little prayer or a single wish might go a long way.

Feel Good Saturday: July Vacation

Every summer term (in the US), every team in our office gets a month off; we call it our "Retainer Period". Last year, I was off the whole of August (which was almost canceled!). For this year, I have July for my vacation. I'm dearly praying my vacation won't be canceled, as I have many plans that I want to push through. Last year, I wasn't able to keep up with my plans. But this year, I vow to make things happen. So I give you, dear reader, an addition to many of my lists one again! Here are my goals for July:

• Learn how to drive - My mama just resigned from her work. I use to carpool with her, but now, I'm on my own, and there will be a car at our house free to use. So I'm glad I got over my fear of driving last year 'cause I'm ready to take over that car.
• Get a driver's license - I wouldn't be able to take over that car without this! haha!
• Lose some lbs - This is never absent in any of my lists. I admit that I've been living a unhealthy life recently, and I realized now that I need to change. I once read that a person is weak if he cannot change a bad habit.
• Finish half of my reading list - I've been collecting, collecting, and collecting books - from bookstores, book sales, etc. But the amount of books collected is increasing more than the amount of books being read. I need to do something about this.
• Make multiple Divisoria trips! - I really love going to Divi, and I'm sure you already know that. If you don't, let me show you here and here.
• Go to our company outing - Yes, our company hold our summer outings very late
• Go to Eiga Sai - July is the Japan-Philippines Friendship month, and they held free Japanese movie viewing every year!
• Clean my room - I don't sleep there recently. My bed is filled with clothes, shoes, and books - both old and new. I don't know how it happened.
• Post some of my DIY projects I did recently
• Blog, blog, blog~!

These are just a few, but I feel like a month is not enough to do all these. I'm still hopeful and determined more than ever. Wish me luck!

Feel Good Friday: Finishing Something

Since I had a very good Friday, I'll guess I'll make it a habit to make Feel Good [insert day here] posts. Anyways, today, I was able to finish my quota. It may sound simple, but it is definitely not.  I'm a writing consultant, so I deal with lots of reading everyday, and we have quotas every week. Before, I can finish 23 essays maximum on a single day. But for the last few weeks, I don't have any motivations or momentum to work. Finishing 10 essays was even a struggle. Since it's Friday, I wanted to finish my quota already, because one of my New Year's resolution was to never work on weekends again. The thing is I had to finish 16.5 essays today. If 10 is a struggle for me nowadays, 16.5 was just too much. But - I did it! And finishing something difficult feels really, really, really gooooood. Now, I hope this feel good feeling carries over the weekend.

To end this post, here's one picture found by my friend from 9gag that really made me laugh today:

  

 P.S. I'm a big fan of Harry Potter, so reading these comments was just hilarious, especially when you remember when the line "USE YOUR WAND, HARRY. YOUR WAND!" was used. But no, I haven't watch the movie "The Woman in Black". Soon, I hope.