@Pichi28

@Pichi28 30 April 2022

Eh giving up on the thought of posting one last article for the last day of april. Will... Sleep instead hahaha. See you all a little later. Ans cheers for good work this april to everyone! Hope to read and interact with you guys even more for May! Let's go! Goodnight for now!

@Pichi28 29 April 2022

Of Capes, Tights and Superpowers ***Back in the day, some ten or twenty years ago, I was a heroine.*** Yes. Yes. They say heroes do not always wear capes but when I do turn into the super heroine, I felt like I was wearing a cape. But unlike the super heroes we know with super powers and everything, I was not one like super heroine who "saves the day". I do not save the day. Matter of fact I do not save anyone ***let alone myself.*** There is, after all, an alternate reality to every scenarios that lives or lived only in our head. *****That Time I Flew... the alternate reality***** Everyone dreams of flying. Let me rethink that when someone else says otherwise because of their fear of heights in the comment section. It was 3 in the afternoon. We were going to a friend's birthday party on my brother's bike. I did not want to bring mine. I was wearing a neat dress and biking to the place would be too much effort. I'd be sweaty. I don't want that. My kind brother offered me a ride. My brother was pedaling hard going uphill. I was his passenger riding with him standing on the step nut attached to the rear wheels. `(Slight Trivia: in our place we call it "angkas". Apparently I cannot find a picture of what it looks like or the proper term of how is it really called. "Tandem Ride" is so far from it. "Riding pillion" does not come close either. So is it only Filipinos who do it?)` I was holding on tight on his shoulders. And then he screams, "Oh now we're going down hill! This is going to go fast!" He sounded terrified. That fright cascaded down to me. His effort of going uphill picked up momentum when we were going downhill. I had to think fast. The breaks aren't working. He can't slow down to control the speed. It is going to be a real frightful downhill ride because it is a full stretch down until the village's end. The house we were going to is just ahead in less than fifty meters. That means he needs to slow down so we can make a proper turn to the drive way or we will skid down and it will not go pretty on either of us. Tumbling down a grassy hilltop is far better than tumbling down on solid, middle-of-the-afternoon asphalt (or is it?). I imagined the scraped knee, elbows and faces of two kids and a broken bicycle. Possibility of broken bones, check! That means they would either be going to the hospital or showing their injured faces to their playmates who are going to the same party they are going to. *That cannot happen. I cannot let that happen.* I had a bright idea. I jumped up and next thing I knew I was floating. Took me a second to control my flying skill. I had to do it fast because my terrified brother is near peeing his pants. He cannot show up in the party with a wet front and a scratched up face and elbows and torn pants. I took a dip down and overtook the bike. Landed in front of the bike and faced it. I placed my hands steadily on the handle bar. Placed my feet flat on the road to serve as a break. I felt the friction of the asphalt on the soles of my shoe and to my feet and that was hot. The bike slowed to a stop. My brother stopped screaming as well. Luckily, he did not pee his pants. The soles of my shoe were smoking but we were safe. We stopped exactly in front of our friend's garage. Safe, unscathed. That day I saved both me and my brother. ***Back in the day, some ten or twenty years ago, I was a heroine.*** *THE Reality* My brother had good acting skills. He was driving slow when I come to recall it now. It was up hill. He was driving slow. And he will not pedal fast on a downhill. But brothers as all older brothers would be in scaring their little sisters, he said he was going to go fast. Trusting that I was, and with active imagination of how things will happen, making a quick conclusion from the if-then-else scenarios I played in my head, *I decided to jump off the moving bike before we went downhill. I had to go home instead and cool down my anger toward my brother at that time a bit. Get changed and walk to the party instead.* ***Back in the day, some ten or twenty years ago, I was a stunt woman...*** *That was a good prompt. Made me jump into the past and alter life's events. and laughing my head off.* Prompt was taken here: *https://www.grammarly.com/blog/things-to-write-about/* And the prompt I picked was this one: I did not quite follow the whole prompt. It's just that when I read "reinvent a childhood memory" I got images of stories of my childhood that I would like to play around with. Revisiting memories from childhood can make you laugh and can make you laugh even more had you considered other things that may have happened - possible or not. Go check the other prompt ideas. :) And have fun while creating your story! *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 28 April 2022

Happy with Happiness You know you are watching or have watched a good film when even after it is done, you still feel like the real here and now is part of that movie. One of those days that I was looking for anything to watch in Netflix, I landed with "Happiness". I was intrigued that one with harmless and seemingly light title can be about zombies. I further got intrigued when the genre flashing on the top left said, "violence", "substance", and "suicide". How could that be "happy"? Yeah? So I proceeded to watch it. Five episodes down and I am super hooked. I told my friend it was one of those series that I would be losing track of time with. I can watch it straight at night and not realize it is already morning. Yeah that happens when I am hooked. It was an illness outbreak post-COVID scenario causing people to turn into zombies hungry for human blood. I think the fact that they set the story after the controversial world-wide pandemic and playing on that also global fear that vaccinated people may turn into zombies made it catch attentions. What made the people turn into zombies is another point of intrigue I think. They turn into zombies when: they take the certain med that was meant and failed for pneumonia but seemed to help takers with their attention, stress, etcetera. They get infected via a bite from the zombie They got scratched and that progressed the virus to their system hitting the brain. One symptom of getting the infection is that unquenchable thirst. The thirst that can only be stopped if they drink human blood. Drinking water would only make them even more thirsty. So that one has an effect on me. I caught myself one time staring at a mug of water on the table in front of me. I had to condition myself that no I am not infected because it is just a story. That made me laugh that I had to check on myself for real. It also got me checking on people around me if they are infected! Then I had to shake myself off that thoughts. There was a scene where they were checking if any else among them is infected via letting everyone see and smell blood. Seems like teasing and testing if anyone will turn into a zombie by some characters cutting themselves (really not suitable for kids) and going around the room in front of each one to show the blood. That lures out the zombie in anyone because they are thirsty for blood. So while that scene is playing I am also checking myself if I would turn into a zombie. I meant via staring at the dripping blood on that scene. Not real blood. So it is kind of mental for me to be doing that looking back. I stare at the blood dripping, feel for my pulse and heart if it gets excited at the thought and size of fresh blood. Then I laugh at myself because I am not infected but I AM AFFECTED. That one is gold the : AFFECT. I think I have had the same engrossed effect with one of the Transformers movies. I imagined all cars I'm driving along the highway will anytime become a robot. Even cars that were parked. And another when I watched "The Purge". I had that feeling that at some point that events in the movie CAN happen in real life. So am I happy with Happiness? Yes I am. It has a family, love, aspect in it and they incorporated that in the cure aside from the antibody. Once infected, you seem to have more will power to hold your thirst for blood in if you are thinking of a loved one or protecting a loved one or family. Seems a good take there. We sometimes think better, fight more, make better decisions when we think of our loved ones. it took me back to one remarkable conversation. I had one serious conversation with my brother a long time ago. We were talking about what made you "not do" what you wanted to do when you were "rebelling"? My brother's answer was he thought of our parents - the pain he might cause them. That made him "careful" during his dark days. The reason to stay sane. The reason to keep on. The reason to not give in. But that of course can also lead to the weirdest decision-making ever . But thats for another topic. For now, I am happy with how Happiness turned out. *What have you watched lately that has an affect on you making you think the scenarios may be possible and may also be happening already?* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 26 April 2022

Shake for Questions How many times have I said I love Google? Just type in anything, et voila. You have something to write about. What did I type in this time? Well, I have been thinking about the magic 8-ball for some twenty minutes now while I am waiting for whatever I am running to end so I can make a report and finally get off my work chair and continue with my "Happiness" series. There was this toy invented in the late 1940s to early 1950s. But I only got to see it back in elementary when one of my classmates brought in one for everyone's fun time. This is a fun toy to play with. It kind of makes you believe it knows a lot of things. The way it works, at least with how my friend demonstrated it to us: Whisper a question to the ball. Any question (i.e. will I and Oscar end up being together?) Shake the ball. Wait for its answer to any of your questions serious or not to flash in replacement of the 8 mark on its face. I was hoping I could find an online replica of that thing. But then I realized asking the 8-ball a question and getting a random answer is not quite of a prompt that I can write about. I wish it will be asking questions instead of giving answers. So instead, I typed in the usual and have them random questions pop me up something to make my mind wander about and my fingers jump from one letter to another. This link said they compiled 2022 best random ice breaker questions. I am pretty sure most of these questions have popped up already in most of our previous writeups. But let's see. Maybe, if I get the chance to review the questions and my previous answers, I might be surprised that I may have a different answer sometime. Let us surprise ourselves then... https://www.quizbreaker.com/ice-breaker-questions#if-you-could-icebreaker-questions Cool question. I am thinking *flying, being invisible, mind control, read minds, move things?* I am settling for flying AND moving things. Flying for travel. Moving things for cleaning around the house. That would be, oh, so nice. I will have a very clean place every day and no sweating about some days I cannot do chores because adulting has it that you have to work 8 hours at least a day leaving you with few hours to tend for chores, few hours to sleep and few hours to catch up on non-adulting things (i.e. continuing koreanovela) What song would I pick and why? Tough one this one. But just on top of my head, I'd go for any song by Pink. Just because I cannot really think of any song. But a little trivia. One time I planned to throw myself in to a music school. I had to pick one piece to play and sing. I had my friend who plays guitar tutor me to play this song by Christy Nockels. *DO let me know if the video below is blinking on your end because it is blinking on my end.* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUv5sECZeBc Never got to audition and never got to proceed with the plan to throw myself to music school because again, adulting has it, regular work started to get busy and they threw me off to the client's land. I ain't gonna say no to travel. No, sir! A waffle maker. A dishwasher? A microwave? A waffle maker. Yes final answer. A waffle maker. Maybe I could have picked coffee maker but then again that is already me so let's try to pick another identity. I do not have a waffle maker and I imagine that one will be really hard to clean up. But being a waffle maker, will surely always make anyone smile. Child to adult, guaranteed. Then add to that my "moving stuff" super power from previous question, then I'd be the cleanest waffle maker ever! Oh, but an hour is not enough. But if I'd be given an extra hour for a free time everyday, I'd use it for extending sleep? Lols. Most likely. If I spend it on chores and hobby, it will only add to that feeling of "not enough time" still. So I'll use it to rest. Let us pick one last item... Funny this is in the list. Just when I was done sharing that I am currently having this Strange Cravings I shared some time ago ? https://read.cash/@Pichi28/strange-cravings-b343bf6d So my answer would be, at the moment, if I get endless supply of food it would be BEEF KEBAB, roasted onions and tomatoes, basmati rice, garlic sauce, and oh yes do add some steak, yeah? Now I am thinking of ordering that in. *Getting through today! Yeah! how's your day? I'm thinking maybe I can use a magic 8-ball and follow it with its hunch with regards to investing on whatever coins and I will document it? Yeah? Or not. But let's see if I get to be crazy enough to do that some how.* Hold up. Ofcourse I am kidding and that is not a wise train of thought to adapt either. So don't. © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise... Question source that I will definitely revisit: https://www.quizbreaker.com/ice-breaker-questions#if-you-could-icebreaker-questions

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@Pichi28 26 April 2022

Methinks.... Noise is having a glitch

@Pichi28 24 April 2022

No Juice Today Thanks to yesterday! I have no energy to carry out Sunday. Haha. What was *your* plan? *****The Plan***** I messaged my best bud yesterday. I told her I plan to go face to face service finally supposedly today. Then go shopping a bit after since I am already out. I was going to ask her if she would like to meet up after and catch up on some stuff. Then I realized I have a support work around midnight so that plan will depend on whether I get to wake up early enough to prepare. Even then, I still had that hope in my heart that I just might be able to wake up early. *****The Reality***** What happened with the plan? It got foiled. I normally would be throwing things in frustration (not true I'm a very harmless, non-violent creature except for what I allow myself to do inside my head - thoughts I mean) but I do have an acceptable reason for not being able to carry that one out. I stayed indoors today. Mostly in my room. Outside only to eat. Outside now because it was no longer as hot as a while ago. *****What Happened***** You see, there are plans that push through, and plans that get foiled. *How do you react when your plans don't pan out as you want it to be?* I am a type A person. So if there is a plan, it has to happen or I am going to be hard on myself. But this time, it is different. i've learned a long time ago that some plans will not push through and *that is fine.* Mine got foiled not because the plan had holes in it but because I have to let it go for a far more important thing - rest. Not that I am not getting enough rest for this weekend. Sometimes, our body says, "rest some more" in a very odd way. I was having sumptuous dinner of something breaded and Japanese. That was an awesome dinner. I had to put aside the Kani Salad, though, because it tasted too salty for me. Just before my last two spoonfuls of my dinner my sneeze fest started. I am not sure if it is something I ate or because the weather suddenly became hot but something triggered my rhinitis. And it was not stopping. Normally, it stops after some time but this one planned to stay on so I prepared my antihistamine and planned to take it after the support so as not to feel groggy and be able to communicate properly to client and teammates. But the non-stop sneezes and the runny nose made me decide to take the antihistamine. And i just need to battle through sleepiness which will be far easier than the runny nose and the sneezes. The sneeze fest alone is tiring. The runny nose is annoying. But something else happened. You know how sneezing a lot can really cause some shake in your inner ear, right? So does blowing your nose. So my sneezes comes with the need to blow my nose after or even sometimes stick a tissue there for a while. I suddenly felt different. After looking down on my phone to check on something and re gaining my proper position of looking forward, the earth slowly swayed. I know what that is a sign of - a vertigo is coming. Moments later, cold sweat started to come out from my neck. I was sweating even though I had the fan steadily blowing in my direction. I had to look for my vertigo meds which is supposed to be in my main stash. My top must-brings: Antacid Antihistamine Betahistine To my frustration it was not there. I had to ring up my brother to help me get one though it is already late. Thankfully, my brother is a night owl as well. I was maintaining that head position where I won't feel the world spinning. I told my colleague about it and told him I can't even dare to take a short nap while waiting for our time to execute what we need to execute for fear that when I wake up, the world might spin uncontrollably. The med I bought came and I was able to pull enough strength to muster meeting up with the delivery, pay and take the med. That was a double-dose of knock out : antihistamine and the betahistine. So while I was doing my support work I was struggling to keep my eyes opened. After sending out the report, I placed my laptop back on the table and made sure I have the proper position in bed and slept through fine around 2am. Woke up at 7am still groggy and seconds later was dozing off again. i remember thinking of breakfast that time. Next wake up time was 12pm in time for lunch. I have to eat something even though I am not up to it. I was still sweating cold that time. I was able to move around with no incident or head position where the world starts spinning. Thank God. But even after that sleep, my body is still worn out. So it was a forced rest day for me. I still feel tired. Which is mostly the case for when my vertigo attacks. But definitely better than when those sneezes started. I think that was the trigger there. How was your Sunday? © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 23 April 2022

No Sense of Time Time check... My eyes started looking for a clock. The television is on and I was hoping to get the proper time check there unfortunately this CNN I am watching is broadcasting live but from the other side of the world. It says 3:22 pm in Washingon. Silly me. I am using my phone as I am typing this and I have the time right there in the upper left corner! Apparently the time difference between Washington and Philippines is roughly 12 hours. Feel free to correct me on that one, I am writing close to being groggy now that I decided to lie down on the bed. *The clock ticks* *Not waiting for any tricks.* *For years it had a steady gait* *Yet we still want it to wait.* --> a little wordplay in my head What am I doing up and writing at 3am? Two reasons: One I want to get this thought written down before I lose it Because I, again, had a case of *NO SENSE OF TIME* I stayed mostly indoors. Because there is a war outside. What war, you say? War of temptations to spend and I have already placed myself in a pile of bills to pay for next month. So I already ran out of credit line to splurge. I took a peek around 5pm to take a glimpse of the sunset clouds. But there was none. My next glance or peek outside was around 6pm only because I heard a dog bark. The bark was so macho, it called for me. The next thing I knew, it is already three in the morning. I guess when you coop yourself indoors, look away from the clock, you don't get to witness what happens outside and the time. I remember similar scenario years back. Bunch of my friends thought of going to a casino as an after-party . While we sit and do the slots machine taking our time since we were also working on a set limit for everyone so as to prevent too much spending over gambling, my friend who sat on the slots to my left and who was the one who keeps raising his hand to get free refills of the overflowing free drinks called my attention and asked me to look around and spot something odd. That led to a mini game of guessing games. He told me, there were no clocks inside the gaming area. I looked around and confirmed with amused surprise. There is a reason for not putting a clock in the gaming area. ***They observed that when people do not see the time, they keep playing untiringly.*** I have observed that that does not happen only in casinos. It happens at home. Not because you are "enjoying" whatever you are doing. It is just that for as long as your consciousness does not warn you that you are "behind" your pattern's schedule, you will continue to function. Specially if you are not that tired. I have also noticed that sometimes even though your body is already tired, but you keep moving about doing something that relaxes you, your body denies tiredness. It was not until I lied down that I felt tired and sleepy. It was at that time that I was typing and already drifting off to sleep. I woke myself up evey once in a while staring at this article and a little perplexed at the sentence I wrote before I dozed off to sleep. I cannot remember what I was trying to say so I had to redo the paragraph. That happened twice or thrice. A part of this was continued in the morning after getting proper rest. So I guess that is it. When we are walled in unaware of what is going on outside plus no clocks to look at and check for time, we might skip one night of sleep and not even realize it. Oh, but please do get good rests. Sleep is something we cannot really recover. Much like time. Irrecoverable once not used at the time your body needs it. One pulled out from the stash of drafts. I am loving and getting the hang of putting in a lot of musings there. That relieves me off of the pressure. There are days that I can write anything and a lot, too. Then there are days that as much as I want to write, a part of me also does not want to think and cannot think of anything to write. So why not grab that time for when you can write to just keep on writing and then saving them for days of drought? © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 22 April 2022

10,000 steps watching people ..and absorbing random stories. Ofcourse, I am not serious with 10,000 steps. Checking on my watch, it says 4,000 steps. I still have a lot of steps to take but I am taking a bench break and enjoying watching people (also typing this and glancing up every once in a while). The idea of "10,000 steps" rooted from a challenge plus leisure to myself. Since we are going back to our offices and a little more regular in the months to come, I can and will have the chance to walk 10,000 steps around the park and get some macro on. Or sneak a stranger shot. Or any activity for that matter. And call it, "10,000 steps in frames". It just so happened that I got hungry. Tummy over losing the calories, yeah? I hunted for ramen and got into the complex where the ramen place is in in time for a live duo - piano and vocals. Whoopee. Supposedly, I am going home after dinner. But stopping and "smelling" the flowers for this one. It is Friday, after all. Apparently, I am too full to make the 10,000 steps today or tonight. So I am going to take this time for a little music trip care of the live band and their supporting friends who have awesome voices, looking around, getting the feel of this Friday night, looking at each group of friends clustered in their own spots and simply enjoying this some semblance of normalcy. I passed by the strip where group of friends usually chug their beers or some swig their glasses of wine and it is starting to fill up. So now there are laughters over there. There is one group in my line of vision practicing their tiktok steps. Lots of laughter in that patch of grass too! I will put the "10,000 steps in frames" project some other time. But I will not stop capturing whatever is happening right in front of where I am sitting on. They just "land on my lap". This kid - a little girl- is a fun one. She passed by me once smiled and stared at me. I have my mask on so I just waved at her and said hello. She went away. For a while. Because then she passed by me again this time giving me a light slap on my arm and hid behind the bench I'm on . Haha. Yeah. Kids think I am a playmate sometimes. This is quite a friendly Friday. The feel of the surrounding is happy. Chill. Light. One guest singer just finished singing Norah Jones' Don't Know Why and the band is on a break. It is starting to get chilly in this open area. I hope it does not rain. Else, all these beautiful happenings I am watching will have to pack up and I, too would need to go home. Hold on. Band is playing their last set. So tata for now. Also gotta go back to maybe walking around.. ... Just dropping one quick one. I thought of another story. But then this has reached some fit minutes so might as well.... © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

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@Pichi28 21 April 2022

Har.. har har har! This is a story of Nena. Nena is a free-spirited, gentle woman who takes things as it comes and one who never really fuss about the small things and the big things of tomorrow. She takes things a day at a time. Breathing in every sunrise and breathing out every sunset and every day is a new story to live in and "give your all" so she says. Though that may sound like a lot of pressure in a day and tiring to some, Nena managed to think of days when you do not have energy as credit to simply showing up. That is, after all, what really matters - one showing up and not locking themselves in shying away from responsibility or possibility of responsibility. Nena takes things in stride. When days happen to be tough, she stays unshaken. She has practiced the thought of thinking for four seconds to alter your reaction before you start digging your own grave or possibly digging yourself deeper in if you have not already dug yourself in for forgetting to count four seconds. She may sound all composed and the usual description of "she got it all figured out", Nena for some reason has one weakness - her gait, yes her walking, seemed to have some insane flaw. The funnier, if not concerning, if not annoying, if not amusing thing about it is that she does not know, will not know, ever when it happens. But, no worries, she always stands up as if nothing happened and all the while thinking, "how in the world did that happen?" There is this that one story behind her ripped-off left jean leg. You'd think it is style. But no. She got it styled, rather dramatically, just a while ago. Gee, she does not know how it happened, but life has a wicked, wicked sense of humor and is too darn funny it decided to bowl her over and give her one happening to laugh her head off. All credits to her gait and her all so fascinating reflexes that seems to always be a second behind every needed reaction time. She was *just walking.* Not going too fast . The terrain was not smooth it was a side shortcut, grassy, empty lot from beside her building. The usual shortcut everyone who works in the area goes through if they do not feel like going around the cemented perimeter. It makes going to the parking area lot a lot faster. She was going back to her car to get her headset which she forgot. She was already in the building a few minutes ago. She was going to set up her cubicle for the every day grind till she realized her headset was not in her bag and she remembered she placed it on the back seat. So she went down the building walked to the corner turned left and went straight the empty lot then just when she was approaching the end of that stretch she felt her right toe catch on to something. Feeling like she was going to trip, she thought "oh, the usual thing..". She always trips on something even though she is walking on a good surface. But she never really fell down until that moment. She went "oh" and thought she'd still end up upright on the next step attempt from her left foot which will serve as her balance. But another "oh" came from her lips when she suddenly realized that the pavement is getting closer to have a meeting with her face. Thanks to her arms, unlike her legs who seemed to act jello at the time, were quicker on the reflex area. Next thing she knew, her face was inches from touching and getting scraped on the cemented pavement. She got up. Looked around. She wanted to laugh aloud because she was sure from a third-person point-of-view, that would look like a hilarious stunt. But no one saw what happened quickly. It probably just looked like she quickly got down to look for something on the ground. Her left leg jeans though shows a different testimony of what happened. She brushed herself up off the ground, checked her palms, felt the slight pain on her wrists, checked her ankles, no damage there. She checked her knees, a little bruised maybe but nothing serious. Nothing else other than the left leg of her jeans were damaged. She walked to her car. Blinked and laughed her heart out to tears. Barely an hour at work and some hazard already happened. If one cup of coffee was not enough to perk her up that fall sure did wake all her senses up. She stopped laughing, checked herself again. If not for the gaping hole on her left jean leg, she would have thought that all that happened in her head. She is still in disbelief. She is trying to make sense out of her supposedly "the usual" day. Everything was routinary. Except for that one Nope. That one was not part of the routine and she so hopes it does not become part of the routine. She was so sure though had her friends been with her that time, they would be laughing so hard and they will have thoughts of it throughout the day. It will crack 'em crazy from time to time. What a dose of humor, eh life? What a way to break a boring day - even before jt really started Well that one was a sketchy, funny, weird Thursday for Nena. How are you with your reflexes people? A little stretching may help? © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 20 April 2022

Page Flip I squinted at the bright sun as it slowly dips into the horizon. It was beautiful. Ain't it amazing that we can watch the sun set every single day and still find it magnificently breathtaking each time? How many of us breaths a sigh of relief, content or gratefulness everytime we see this golden thing go down and revel even more when it puts on an after the dip show? It lights up the sky with even more beautiful colors for few more minutes even though it is already out of sight. Tonight I found myself taking a deep breath, holding it in and letting out a long sigh of ... "oh, crap!" I watch the minute hand of the wall clock move one tick forward. I watched the rhythmic tick tock of the second hand. There ain't no stopping time as it pushes forward , alright. In few more minutes, it will be my day 1. **First Day High Returning To New Normal** I half-thought new normal is this gap life we are living between the awesome two years of lockdown to this reality of "eventually we are going back to the office". I half-believed we would not need to. But then, again, life progressed. We all got past the vaccination period and here we are trying to test it out. Sort of. I knew deep inside eventually we will have to go back to how we used to be living except for the occasional wearing of face masks. But I never thought it would bother me a bit when it is my turn to join the workforce outside battling it out with the traffic to get to the office. Don't get me wrong. Few weeks back we were already talking about this and planning about it. Free but meticulously making sure we are and we will be aware of the protocols. I was not surprised. I was even the one who picked my days of the week to report. So we had time to take things in. This. Is. Happening. **The Fun Forward** I was and am also excited to be surprised at who among my friends have the same sked as mine so we can finally have "coffee breaks like we used to". Being able to check out the food places in the area. What has changed? What's new? **The Flip Side** I never thought I'd be a little stressing out about it. Tracing changes that happened. First cycle we all had to stay home. Groceries were an excuse to go out and no other agenda is reason to be out of the house. Cycle two was when we had to keep working normally quote and quote but from our homes. That broke the cycle I was comfortable with doing for like since I started working : waking up early prepping for work getting stuck in traffic rushing to badge in in time setting up your workstation Pinging anyone who is up for morning break Continuing work Lunch Continuing work Pinging anyone who is up for either a sunset walk or an afternoon joe Continuing to work until traffic outside seems to loosen up. Pack up Badge out Drive home Get stuck in traffic Arrive home hungry Eat dinner Do stuff Sleep The work process got streamlined and simplified. And in few minutes after two long years, we are going back to that routine. The morning rush begins again. Till further notice of another change, we are going back to how it was. Sleep gets cut off now in place for preparation of going to work. Ehhee. Howell. I must look forward to that new (semi-old) adventure. ...another chapter ahead.. a lot of short stories to come... There is a slight resistance and protests inside me surprisingly. But it can be tamed, managed and handled. I guess it will take some time to get used to again. © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 19 April 2022

Strange Cravings This work from home added a new item in my daily routine. I am trying to ignore it. But instead of doing that maybe I should earn from it. Haha. Warning hunger trigger ahead. Like clockwork, The routine goes like this: waking time I wake up at 8am. Yes, I may have half-sleeping-noise-posted around before that. But my real get up off the bed time is 8am. At times, I can do without breakfast because from 8am time seems to fly. I wake up at 8, stand up and do a little stretching (fictional.. this happens in my head). I say a prayer after taking a few deep breaths so as not to faint and black out. breakfast time Walk out the room, face the coffee bar, put some ground coffee in the machine and then let it brew. While that is boiling and gargling I think of what to eat. If that takes a long time, I'd probably end up with just cereals - easy to prepare. I do not bring any food in my work station also known as my bedroom. I go mad crazy when I see ants. 🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   🅣🅗🅔🅜  🅞🅤🅣🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   🅣🅗🅔🅜  🅞🅤🅣🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   🅣🅗🅔🅜  🅞🅤🅣🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   🅣🅗🅔🅜  🅞🅤🅣🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   🅣🅗🅔🅜  🅞🅤🅣🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   🅣🅗🅔🅜  🅞🅤🅣🅒🅗🅔🅒🅚   get into it time Then I face the music. Or face the task at hand. That normally goes like: Sit on my dream chair, I mean, work chair and get lost with all the work stuff. the breaks : lunch, snack and dinner So here are the areas that make you think again, "what to eat?" For some reason, one time, I was thinking of dinner and I cannot think of anything but kebab. Just the thought of eating again fixates my imagination and stimulating my craving for that beef, that garlic sauce, that corn bits, that buttered basmati rice. Trying to choose something else is not as exciting or as a lovely idea. So I end up ordering in kebab. And at times, that would still be something I'd want for next day's lunch and dinner. For real. Then I thought about it. This was not the first time that I had food fixation. It is like I can eat this certain food over and over and not get tired of it at all. It comes in waves. it is just this time that I had it again. My history list for food fixation is as follows: *Wendy's Caesar Salad* It's a known fact that I do not eat vegetables. Well, more like if I have a chance to dodge eating my greens, I will be dodging it. But there was a time in my life I somehow liked this certain green : lettuce. But it has to go with bacon bits, croutons and caesar dressing. And it has to come from one store: Wendy's. Every break time I get, my friends know I am most likely to be found in Wendys and eating salad. Yes. Even though i probably had it just yesterday. *Century Tuna Calamansi* It has to be calamansi. And I can eat it with rice or no rice. I just have to have that Calamansi-flavored canned tuna. And it has to be Century. There is something about that oil/preserving liquid it goes with that I just love putting over my steaming hot rice. There is something about that tangy taste that I want to taste over and over and over until my tummy is already full. *KFC's Zinger* I do not usually eat spicy food. For real. I have a sensitive palate when it comes to spicy stuff. I want to still taste what the chicken tastes like and it not be smothered with just being spicy. But there was a time when I enter KFC and I cannot think of anything to order other than their Zinger. Kebab with Rice This one's the recent. I was eating Chowking's Beef Chao Fan. And in my head I was reforming what I was eating putting in roasted tomatoes, garlic sauce, etcetera. I just cannot find one kebab with rice where I am currently. *Dome's Salpicao* There was a restaurant near Makati Medical Center when I was still working in Makati named Dome. It was a happy place for me and my friend. I am not sure if it is still there, though. It was quite a walk from my office and from the office of my college friend, too. But when you're craving, you gotta go! I usually split it with my also-fixated-to-salpicao friend. We kind of agree to spend some de niro on that lunch and split the food and bill because it was THAT good. But this one is minor fixation compared to the other items. This one we check with each other if we can adjust the budget for this one. Just as sudden these cravings start, they end just as abruptly. Right now, it is like I am not feeling like I want to order them or buy them at all. *Strangers again*. Hehe. Have you had strange craving spurts/phases? Do let me know those food items in the comment section! *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 18 April 2022

Thoughts to Words: a sloppy workflow She is staring at the title space. It shows "Add a title...". Pretty much like this one below. She is fighting off sleep. And like most time when she is fighting off sleep, she tests her wakefulness, imagination-thoughts-thumb coordination in making up whatever. "Thumb" because she is using her phone. Lately, she found the most dangerous random prompt generator a really friendly tool for her. It gives her really fun random prompts that somehow her brain juices are ready and up to jump for. Like say for this one. So how does she go about this prompt? She could start off with the usual wishing-well themed stories. We love those stories. About wishes, throwing coins in the well, and well, fate starts up its engine and works wonders for the "well-wisher". Haha. She liked that term "well-wisher". Although the real meaning of a "well wisher" is someone who wishes good things to come to another human being, using it with a quote and dash *here* and now refers to the person who just threw a coin in the well and wished. So a "well-wisher". Get it? Get it? She loves word play. Have you ever tried wishing on a well? *Did you like really throw coins in it?* *Were you able to trace whether your wish was granted or not?* She could also go with a horror story inspired by Sadako. What was that movie again? Ah, "The Ring", is it? Yes, yes. She remembers now . She bravely watched it by herself in the movie house in the province she spent some time in . Why? Just to test if she would scream. But that movie was where she appreciated the timing of the sound effects and the musical scoring. She knows those things were what made her clutch her chest. The story per se did not scare her much. Or maybe she is just acting brave. Have you tried watching a scary movie by yourself? Are you a screamer? Or are you that type of person who does not scream but suddenly grabs the collar, the sleeve or the neck of the person next to you? She could go with the same theme. And modify it a bit. Instead of someone coming out of the well, she could go: *There was a legend about the well in the garden* that whoever just so touches the edge, disappears. And then she could add a lot of other things like describing how the well looks like in the garden or how the garden looks like. It is pretty much like painting but with words. Ah, words! There is another way to go about the prompt. She can pick out key words: Well Legend Garden Then shuffle them all together. She thinks : *say something about the garden* There is a garden in the middle of the park where no one would dare visit. A lot of people say whenever they come near that garden, they hear inaudible whispers. Others say they hear silent screams. Others say they just get goosebumps. No one ever really got to prove any of these but somehow the stories were the reason why this garden is fenced up. From the grilled main gate of the garden, you can see a well. She thinks: *say something about the well* From that distance (main gate of the grills fencing the garden), you can see a well. It is an ordinary well. Oval, with rocks fitted together to form its parameter and the classic pail and rope to draw water from it. A few moss have grown in between the rocks and it somehow adds an enchanting feel to it. She thinks: *make up a story for a legend.* A legend, after all, is a story no one authenticates or verifies. Sometimes in an attempt to correct or make sense of a legend, one only adds a version to it. Shuffle it all together in that legend. *There was a legend about the well in the garden that whoever just so touches the edge, disappears. No body is found anywhere. Touchers only go poof and they are gone .* Long time ago, before the fence was placed, one lady dodged getting captured or banished into thin air and she lived long enough to tell her granddaughter about it. But she is confused and scared of her own story, depressed and in disbelief that her friend just disappeared, her heart gave up just days after she told her story. Her story went like this... She was with her friend exploring the garden and curious about the well, her friend leaned over bravely. She just extended her neck and looked down as far as she could not really wanting to get any of the green moss and mud on her dress. While they were excitedly chattering about how deep the well is, what they will be wishing for, etcetera, there was a gold coin that suddenly dropped to the water below. She looked up to her friend to ask her if she dropped the coin only to find herself chatting to no one. She looked down again and thought she saw the water below ripple and form into the shape of her friend's face screaming as though she was falling into the well. She squinted her eyes and saw more gold coins in there. She had goosebumps. Could it be that those coins were also onlookers who disappeared? She tried to scream but instead of hearing her voice from her throat, she thought she heard a lot of screams coming from the well. She fainted and fell on her back. Next thing she knew she is lying on her bed with a bandage on her head. She relayed the story to her granddaughter while she was recovering but she did not make it anyway. Her story brought about the fencing. Because people who got hold of the story started saying the same thing as hearing screams from the well. Or.. she could rethink everything. *There was a legend about the well in the garden.* ... They say if it catches one's attention, it lingers in their head. And eventually it would feel like it is calling them. Louder and louder each day. Until they are compelled to write any story about it ... *And so the mysterious well* *From where the voices dwell* *Sings softly a beautiful lullaby* *To sleepy souls, it bids good night!* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 17 April 2022

Cheers to Lives of Friends I find myself smiling every once in a while today since last night after a zoom call with friends. These friends were not just friends friends but we've shared our lives deeply. One friend opted to honor, Erica through our zoom meet. This was just the second time we had a zoom meet during the pandemic. We celebrated the life of our friend, let's put in a name, Erica. She will be celebrating her thirty something birthday in few days time. We've been friends since she's around second year or third year college. I remember text messages of prayer requests being exchanged between us covering her exams, her terror teachers, etcetera. Then prayers about the kids we were guiding and the ministry we were both involved in. Funny and heartwarming how God sends people your way, right? Over time I have learned that most times, people we form friendships with - temporary or not - are always a gift to us and we are also a gift to them. Erica is not a temporary friend I know she is one of them I can keep for a lifetime. No dull moments with that kid. Ever since I joined in on the ministry, our shared lives have been knitted with lots of humor even during serious talk. I like light souls who can bring in insights and lessons smoothly. Who can correct your thoughts and re-align your ideas with love that you would not feel a scratch at all. I am way older than her but her wisdom does not match her age. There really is something about spending time with God everyday and doing your own research about Him. You get equipped properly to minister to others even someone not same age as you. I am very much thankful for her life. There was a moment in our family that she super understood what we were going through. She has been my dump bag that time and each time the load felt lighter. <<Continued months after >> I think it is just at this right time that I continue this honor piece. But this time along with the other members of that zoom call. There were four of us in that zoom call. This was written around September during the birthday of Girl 1. Girl 2 initiated the call and the games and the program. Girl 3 hosted the zoom meeting. And me, Girl 4, participated (hahahha). These were some of the questions from @meitanteikudo 's prompt from this article. I will be bending some requirements though. No pictures. Sorry. https://read.cash/@meitanteikudo/squad-goals-e6d27c04 When, where, and how did you guys meet? We met at church. "When" I cannot trace back. How. Well they were the youth then I was new and they were the crazy sensible ones. You know those kids at church who can be serious sometimes but most likely will not take anything seriously. What was your first impression of each of them? Each of them. Impression. Girl 1 is bubbly. Girl 2 is one tough cookie. Girl 3 is very shy. Did you think that you could be friends? Not really. I guess they are that one pack that dared to keep up with my ever so grumpy aura. I am grumpy in person. Lols. Scratch that. Let's say I'm not the type who interacts too much specially in a new crowd. what's the most memorable moment you had with them? Or each of them. I've been on a mission exposure trip with Girl 2 along with another two friend of ours. With Girl 2 and Girl 1 we visited Samar. With everyone, we went to La Union for the start of the year personal retreat. That was refreshing. if you could do life over and choose your friends, will you choose them again? Oh definitely. Oh yeah got that there! *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 16 April 2022

Channel Surfing : Passive Listening I did not have Netflix for three days. Technically four. But I did have a tv in my room which I turn on just to have some added noise while I work. There is something about televisions. If they are in front of me and not turned on, I turn them on even though I am not paying attention to what it's showing. In our place in Manila, we have a television but we do not have cable channels nor do we have local channels. Since most of us are busy and about, getting a box or a cable subscription will not be maximized. My dad got himself acquainted with YouTube during the pandemic and he likes only clips rather than full movies. So if you try to eavesdrop to whatever he is watching to know the story, you will get confused. Or you will only hear endless grunts, shouting, gunshots, etcetera. I told him the TV has a bigger screen and he can watch those in the TVs Youtube. Yet he prefers the screen of his cellphone. Why? Easier navigation. He watches Netflix in the tube but not as much as he YouTubes in his phone. My mom seldom sits in front of the telly. She'd be in zoom most likely or facebook. She'd join dad if she gets hooked. She doesn't like getting hooked though. She says it eats up a lot of time. And me? I am satisfied with whatever im watching on Netflix lols. I get out of my room to pull myself away from work. So as much as possible I watch Netflix on the TV and not on my personal laptop which is also in my room. Anyway, as I was saying about the TV in the room in this place I'm staying in for three days now. I suddenly have a variety of channels to choose from. Pressing that "+" on the remote had that satisfying feeling. The only "+" and "-" I press in Manila was for volume. Hehe. I noticed, however, I stop pressing the plus button when I pass by the channels with sermons. Then I just let them talk in the background. Which is also cool. The reason I came to the province early, anyway, was to have time for myself, time with God and also not have that travel stress during the grand yearly exodus. In less than a month, I would be electing a president (or not) who will be leading us for the next six years so I need this time also to pray for that day. So I leave it be where it is and carry on with work. Twice though, the speaker would catch my attention and make me look up. Their statements seem to speak to me. Oh make that three times... One was that of Steven Furtick's Be Brave sermon or something. I cannot find the clip. So let's skip that part of putting in clips. Anyhow, he goes, *there is a reason why God tells you to put on the armour of God because everyday there is a battle you need to prepare for.* Another one was from Joyce Meyer when she was asking how is your relationship with Jesus. She asked, are *you attached or committed?* Then there's one from Joseph Prince regarding bearing fruit. I think maybe he started with excellence. He took John 15 and emphasized the words *ABIDE (stick close?) .. FRUIT.. MORE FRUIT AND MUCH FRUIT* *And he says this applies even in your secular work.* Bits and pieces of passive listening proves to be ... Uhm... Fruitful. Has it ever happened to you? Like while doing something suddenly any media starts to catch your attention. It is like it starts to speak to you and it knows, somehow, what is in your head? Or has a radio station or a television program suddenly felt like it is talking to you? *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 13 April 2022

Swirl of a Story I am not yet ready to be working but I only have few minutes left. I am watching the swirl of steam from my hot cup of morning joe - second cup of coffee. And as I watch, stories of what ifs and should-be and should-have-beens, the steam plays with my thoughts coming from the semi rants of my own after finishing my breakfast. So might as well earn from these weird thoughts, eh? What better way to do that than cooking up a story. Story that was triggered by that time one person (me) was trying to calm her ego and superego. So let us pick a random girls' name. Alex short for Alexanderia. Let us give her some job to put her on a business trip. The random generator just gave me : Jedi. I do not have the brain cells yet to explore that job so let us give her something else. Okay I spent too many minutes already trying to come up with any jobs so let us just put her in the spy business. She is an undercover agent. Drug bust? Getting into the cartel to find out their plans? Nah. Let us leave her be - an undercover agent for a random assignment landing her in a position to be booked at one prestigious hotel in Moundspostwa. Her excitement never wavered. She noticed. Alex had her first undercover assignment when she started with the bureau some twenty years ago. Two years quick job and small, quicker assignments after that and a lot next. This one may be her last assignment. She will be hanging that badge (or uniform not that she got to use it often anyway) soon. She is looking forward to that year-long summer beach experience in the Caribbean. What she loves about her job is that accomodations she get covered by the project budget, the travels, etcetera. The hotels she means. There were assignments that led her to be sleeping in the most uncomfortable cots so she is not wishing for that to happen every single time. She loves most specially was the free breakfast. Buffet most likely. Unlimited bacon, baby! So she had that in mind and part of her awakened excitement. Finally another round of belly-filling breakfast with bacon. Repeat. Bacon, baby! She never had an issue with her weight. She is gifted to somehow take calories in and still look like a well-disciplined athlete. She never got assignments with awesome accomodations since the worldwide commotion that started a pandemic happened. Now that the locals of Moundspostwa is getting back to recovery like the rest of the world, their hotels are up for hundred per cent occupancy with her in that stat. She was eager to take a look at how this "getting back up" looks like. But she already had a lot of thumb-down items. She fears that once she starts her review of the place, they might as well shut down again. Not that her review will be that powerful but who knows, right? You know. Words are knives. And social media is one avenue to make a downpour of knives. Or sweet lollipop that all ants get informed to flock and lap on to this new "food" however poisonous it is. Her wandering brought her to a conclusion that she will not be publishing that review but she might need to talk to the manager to point those out. Her keen eyes spotted a tiny spot of blood on her bed's comforter. It was super small one would not really make any issue out of it. That is one thumb down. She can brush that off though. It is at the far, corner side almost at the edge. She looked into her room electric kettle and she knows those white stuff will be floating once the water boils. Thumbs down. That's fine. She will just keep bothering the front desk to request for hot water every hour. She had a long mental list in her head now. She is willing to write all that off if the breakfast buffet gives her that one thing : bacon. Unlimited bacon. She readied herself early. Had to do her breakfast on the first tick it opens because she has another breakfast meeting somewhere outside the hotel meeting with the cartel boss. Meetings like those do not have bacon. She walks towards the reception of the dining area. Hands her stub to the lady in charge. Walks to the buffet table, flops in a mashed potato on her plate, picks two hotdogs, three hash browns, a three spoonfuls of catsup, a sausage, skips the steamed rice, skips the fried rice and skips the soup. Walks to the egg sectjon she requests for a mushroom omelette. Gets her cup of coffee. Walks to an empty table. She sits down, bites off a hashbrown and looks at her plate again. No way! She looks at the buffet table again. Like some suspense movies, in slow motion, she walks towards the buffet table again. Looks one by one at the trays. There really is no bacon! She was in disbelief. She is booked in a some-star hotel. She was all smiles when the front desk oriented her and the words "buffet breakfast" rolled off the receptionist's lips. She was ready to make a slow-motion dramatic scream of "Noooooooooo!". But she holds herself back. Hm. "Getting back up" after two years of close to none clients, the hotel must be in a little shock. She is going to have a real sit down with the manager, alright. What good is a 4-star and 5-star if the buffet breakfast does not include bacon? Yeah clouds on my coffee swirls up stories in my head. Story location was taken from a random generator : https://www.name-generator.org.uk It is amusing toying with Google search and random things. You discover tools that can help you with ideas! *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 12 April 2022

Go Down This Road With Me? Some musings led me to find this prompt. Some events also led me to try even though I know it will be hard. *If you were to revisit that first Palm Sunday, tell me what do you see?* I am extending to up to that time He was hung on the cross. I opened my eyes slowly. There was a commotion outside. I got up immediately to see what the fuss is all about. There I see in the far part of the entrance to the city, people are flocking in to the road. They were spreading their robes on the road (Matt. 21:8-9) and a lot were cutting branches of the trees and spreading it on the road. https://my.bible.com/bible/72/MAT.21.7-8 I ran towards where I saw them making way through their robes. Who were they doing this for and what for? As I drew closer, I saw the preaching man, they called Him Jesus. I watched Him. Then I was startled when the people started shouting: *Hosanna to the Son of Davi**d!* https://my.bible.com/bible/72/MAT.21.7-9 It was a long screaming. Familiar to my ears but I was taking in everything that is happening. *What is happening?* The commotion attracted the people of the city of Jerusalem. They were curious as well. The city people started asking questions and the crowd following the Christ was saying who He is : This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee! Then it felt tense when He passed by the temple. Next thing I knew, tables were turned, chickens were clacking in panic, doves started to be freed from their cages, coins everywhere. That was intense, I say. I did not want to go there anymore and be in the know so I carried on with my day. Interesting turn of events in the city of Jerusalem. But as I started to walk away, the scene in front of me started to blur. Like lines on a TV having a bad reception. Then I see before me a different scene: The Man on donkey and the colt days back now had His hands tied. Escorting Him were soldiers, the commander, temple police and two of His disciples were following not too far behind - Peter and someone else. I heard Peter's first denial. It sent shivers down my spine. Oh boy! He is going to do it! And then I heard a slap then they moved Jesus to another priest. My eyes follow where they bring Jesus. Then the rooster crowed. I slowly looked at where Peter was standing warming himself up. Just as predicted! Pilate just came back to the group of people who handed Jesus over and he admitted he cannot find fault in Christ. He still followed the crowd wishes to release, as a passover trade according to their customs, Barabbas instead of Jesus. And then the flogging starts. It was heartbreaking. There was so much anger. There was this intense feeling of the need to hit the Man while He was being mocked. Bruised and all with the thorns on His head dripping down blood, they placed a robe on Him and took turns to come up to Him. say "Hail, King of the Jews" and then give Him a slap in the face. They took turns. This Pilate guy. He is quite a character, I see. He went back to the temple police and showed them Jesus already beaten up. The temple police shouted "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate would not want to do anything with Him. He said this to the people but Pilate got scared. Their reason was that Jesus was causing commotion. First, he got scared that this man might be Who they said He said He is. Second, he got scared because the people are angry and they were saying something about loyalty to Caesar! To compensate for both fears, he re-presented Christ to the crowd and said, "Here is your king!" and had the crowd confirm what they want to do with their King. -TO DEATH There was so much anger at that moment coming from the crowd. As Jesus badly beaten and blooded, started to carry His cross to Golgotha. People followed Him some crying others continuing to mock Him even after He was hung there. There was so much hatred. So much contempt and disdain towards Christ. Like they never saw His miracles. Yet He said.. 'Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing....... ' Luke 23:34 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/LUK.23.34 Bruised. Maligned. Beaten. Mocked. Yet he looks up from His bloody brow sees the man's struggle against themselves. And asked the Father to forgive them *because they do not know what they are doing.* If I was there, for real, I would go.. "What?" in disbelief. To date that was the weirdest statement. Because to me it seemed that they do know what they are doing. It's like seeing someone *get bullied* and not putting the responsibility on the bully because he is not himself. But maybe it was so. Maybe up to this time we have that tendency to act out and not entirely know that what we are doing is not aligned to God's ways or in another scope, what we are doing is *hurting US actually.* YET this is love. He forgave and forgives. Because chances are, we do not know what we are doing. *If you were to revisit that first Palm Sunday (and extending that to when He was crucified), tell me what do you see?* I see His love. '“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. ' John 3:16 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/JHN.3.16 I see people in need of His love. I see the invitation: *everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life* The question is.. are you ready to believe (entrust) your life to Him? I have been searching for an Easter or Holy Week related prompt. Not that the stories in the Bible is not enough, it is just that IT IS ACTUALLY enough it is just too often told (more like yearly) that we know the story and no longer revisit it with fresh eyes. But searching for prompts proved to be very hard. Hahaha. I found prompts like: What is TRUTH? Write an outline of a sermon about PETER's denial Resurrection gives us the chance to.... My mind went on a whirlwind. I don't want to write heavy readables it ain't me. I can do those but maybe I would need guidance of a discipler or mentor. Or I might end up speaking things that may not be understandable. Taking the difficulty level to kid level I went for Kids' writing prompts for Easter. Trust me they still sound heavy haha. There was one that caught my attention : *If you were to revisit that first Palm Sunday, tell me what do you see?* It caught my attention but I cannot find myself to write any. Until this very minute. *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise... References: https://my.bible.com/bible/72/MAT.21.7-9 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/MAT.21.7-8 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/MAT.21.11 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/JHN.19.3

@Pichi28 11 April 2022

The Travelling Flip Flops "Just over the weekend." That is what we usually look forward to every end of the week. Something to do on a weekend or somewhere to go to just over the weekend. That usually involve either of the two things : Travelling (somewhere to go to) Playing badminton (something to do) Back then, we reserved weekends for badminton. With lots of energy then and not yet feeling the wear and tear we can stay playing all day. Originally, there were four (4) of us. How did we even get along? I kind of forgot already. I remember we were playing badminton before we even got to traveling. It was during one badminton game that we tried see if we can stand each other for travel. And before badminton was the company sportsfest. Since we can get along over a game that can get heated any time, and still have the appetite to hang out and replenish the calories we lost during our awesome matches, why not take it outside the city, right? Take a leap, right? Before I met them, I have in my head tons of places to go to. But I rarely really go there unless there is a group of friends I already trust or family and relatives. These people, I haven't really been with anywhere else other than the taraflex court and the food court. Hmm ..Court friends? We got our first dose of traveling together when we did a Bucas Grande trip with other friends of one of us. Bucas Grande is one of the places in Surigao del Norte. This was a side trip since we were not complete. This was one of those "I want to go to this place, you guys up for it?" And everyone joins you on that trip. The four of us work in the same company under different managers and different departments that time. And with the big group (sort of we're 7 in that trip), to Bucas Grande, everyone got along well. That hunger for adventure, rest, the quest for the heart-thumping activities, that thirst for adrenaline rush and relaxation all matched. Stargazing was the highlight of our trip then. Or was it that I got the accommodation to Bucas Grande for free because the original promo holder will not be able to join and we were picked? Yey. Also jumping off the high boards also part of the highlight. You can read this article to know about that Bucas Grande trip. https://read.cash/@Pichi28/re-counting-angels-d0e4130b Anyways, the four of us decided to call ourselves some name. Since we always travel and always on our flipflops we called ourselves *The Travelling Tsinelas* ergo *The Traveling Flipflops.* And the other group that we were with, we call them the "extended group". We decided on that name when we went to Baler. One of the fun getaways we had for a weekend getaway was a Pangasinan trip. I forgot which island we visited but we had it to ourselves till late after noon. For this trip, though there were three of us only. Conflict in sked for the other one. Not sure if this bridge is still there. And I cannot remember if we did dare cross to the other side. The bridge is old and the bottom support, though steel, was already rusty. Looking at this picture, I remember the creak of the bridge for each step we take. The slower you go, the eerier the squeak gets. Hanging out by the beach and with this beauty it is hard not to take lots of photos. I have always liked lining up our footwear and taking a picture of it like this. Ah. That was one fun getaway. I cannot remember where we stayed overnight, though. Thankful for photos to remind us of the good times. Definitely thankful for times I can get away from the city and see the creation of God elsewhere. Being close to nature resets me. Seeing His creation moves me to worship. And when I realized that, trips have to always be seeing nature. ***Who do you travel with? Why do you travel?*** *When did you get the travel bug bite?* *Have you tried travelling alone? Where to?* While I'm still musing about this week's holiday reason and writing up some stuff, let me put one up from the drafts from over a real long time ago. Just to not break the flow. © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

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@Pichi28 10 April 2022

Sunday Blabber At the moment of writing, it's 11:11. Feels like a lazada or shoppee sale but it is not. Just making an initial time start record. I am not yet putting myself in a timed challenge but would like to know what time I will be ending my endless ramblings. There are a lot of topics to choose from that I wanted to write for this week. Specially it is the holy week. There's How is the holy week celebrated and observed in different countried What is palm Sunday to me? Etcetera. But you know when you have lots of ideas but none of it gets started or typed, they just remained that - ideas. As I was planning for this week work-wise I confirmed with my colleague if our current project client observes or celebrates Holy Week and I got the answer of "no". I made a mental note of where we got the idea of celebrating it and that would probably be traced back to who influenced us with Christianity. Can you guess? The Spaniards. I also made a quick peek at who else observes this occasion and I got the following from that search : Jerusalem Guatemala Philippines (oh but we know that already) Australia Slovakia I suppose there are other countries who celebrate as long as there are "substantial" number of Christians in their population. I was surprised Indonesia was in the list in this link. But it said something like "there are a number of Christians" I guess the list then can go as far any parts of the world with any Christians allowed to observe and practice their religion. https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/holy-week-globally/ The second bullet requires reflection. Reflection means serious talk with the self but the self is not up to talking. Yep so that will probably just be included in the weekend wrap up? Again just a thought. I grew up looking forward to the Holy Week because that meant a week-long break from school, a long drive with the family, definitely a beach time, just endless, no school-task days. Like this week, original plan pre-pandemic was we should be in Batanes. It was a week of getaway. Then as I grew older and personal studies of the word the Holy Week starts having more meaning. Now it is impossible for me to think of the Holy Week and not think of Christmas and vice versa. Don't get me wrong. The week of getaway still stands. But this time I bring with me that celebration while on vacation . For my end, it is an endless celebration of the portrayal of God's love - the one that redeems my soul. https://youtu.be/XTlHrmNAMQk This song is one I am playing in the background as I type. The fast-forward scenario in my head is this: Jesus came riding on a donkey with a funny and interesting background story. Everyone joins a rally with palms. Days later Jesus was sentenced to a punishment of being "hung on a tree" (the worst punishment ever for the worst sins ever). Crown of thorns on His head was placed not gently of course. While hanging on that cross, battered, bloodied, broken and bruised (the lashes have hooked spikes so I will leave the imagination up to you) He faces the same crowd who followed Him, joined His rally, heard Him speak and now they are chanting a picket-fence rap. Yet He looks at these people and sees their struggle of themselves - Forgive them Father, they do not know what they are doing There was an interesting conversation between the three criminals on the cross - two of which were legit and proven guilty. Jesus died. He was buried. He arose again. Some days later He ascended to heaven https://youtu.be/-RoI7EbCuOU .. And I know that Jesus holds my future.. Holding it here... Letting it seep Maybe some sense will drip And you'll know you are well-loved by Him, dear. Ending at 12:11. Adding this too. Way cool storytelling: https://youtu.be/_unHmAf7INk What is your story? © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 7 April 2022

So ... My turn to skip a day lols. So much for trying to keep the articles going. I did try though. I normally just sit and wait for anything to write about. But tonight, though ideas were there, tiny brain cells unanimously say, "park it! And go click that button for another round of Rank Game"... So there I spent the rest of my evening.. watching a series which did trigger some ideas but from time to time pausing because I was also playing Mobile Legends. I guess that's what happens when 1. You want to win a game and you go "at least one please" 2. And when you do win you go, "oh one more!!" And then at some point you lose again so you say 3. There is no way I am going to loose one star, I have to get it back.. So there that's how I ended up with just this short post . Hahahaah..

@Pichi28 6 April 2022

Stories Around **Every second the clock ticks a story happens simultaneously all over the world - the unseen included. Stories both real or imagined.** At the moment, some silly dog is barking at something he sees as interesting. The thing he is barking at has their own story. Like say a cat.... Meowster, the black cat, readies herself. Camouflaged by her black coat into the dark street, she places herself like a lion ready to pounce. She has been spying the critter every single night. She knows around this time, that little mouse will be sneaking out of its hiding and will pass by this small plant that she is hiding from. She has played this over and over in her head and she was successful every time in her simulations. Oh, she is excited. The thing is, when she is excited, she cannot for the life of her control her white tipped tail from sticking up and slowly waving side to side. From time to time her tail stirs the leaves. Stupid tail. The stirring of the leaves made that silly small dog from barking non-stop. Hopefully this does not spoil her plan. The dog was not in her simulations. Oh, if all else fails, there are roaches to practice her skills on anyway. While she waits, two sets of legs came into view. A pair of red stilletos and a pair of black leather shoes. The hilly village's streetlights shine off through these shoes and Meowster's attention was even more distracted. Nope. Not her night but ooh those lights! Few minutes before Meowster's (she is a fictional cat by the way. Named by yours truly) plan is at the brink of getting spoiled, some couple may be having a dinner date somewhere they think no one would recognize them. Somewhere no one from each side's circle will be able to recognize them, snap a picture of them and send their intimate tête-à-tête over wine and steak to their original partners. After a while, they took the bill and decided to go for a walk. The restaurant they chose was tucked in the middle of a mountainous or hilly village. Most residents are already indoors. Their laughter (and the barking dog) is the only sound you can hear in the street along with the steady tapping of the girl's red stilletos. They were having a blissful night. ..while the dog's energy never seem to faze, fade or stop ..while the cat's plan is about to go down ugly ...while the cheating couple's laughter ring up the air of the quiet village Andrew stares up at the ceiling of the room he rented in. New place. New life after his wife died. Renting here, renting there. It was fun for a bit. He sold their house they were suppose to live in after their wedding. But fate had its own plans and somehow they never got to their house after their honeymoon. There was an incident he refuses to playback in his memory. He sold his stuff - their stuff - and decided to just keep on traveling. It took his mind off of what happened. But one can only go to many places and at some point get tired or run out of funds And in this silent, hilly town, he decided he will start a new life. He can work as a dishwasher in that cozy restaurant down the street. The owner seems friendly and he had a slight impression that he might just get that opening. He sighed. The cold breeze entered his room through the open window. Along with the breeze a sound that made him catch his breath. The sound of laughter drifted up from the street below, making him feel very alone in this new town. He can hear two voices. A couple he imagined. Then another laughter and another. Tears started to well up in his eyes. Maybe just maybe this time he will give himself time to grieve. So while that silly, now starting to get annoying, dog barks non-stop at something bark-worthy ... ...a cat was preparing to realize she is not yet the pouncer she imagined... Maybe trying to chase that stiletto will be more fun? While that is being brewed, the happy cheating couple makes their way around the hilly town enjoying their stolen moment. Their laughter fills the air carried by the wind delivering bittersweet memories to a man who decides to settle down and start a new life. But . The sound of laughter drifted up from the street below, making him feel very alone in this new town. First, he grieves for the nth time. ***Ten minutes till the strike of midnight...*** ***Here I am with silly thoughts to close the night*** ***So while I poised my pen to write*** ***The wind whispers and the pen glides...*** What is your story? © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 5 April 2022

Word Prompt; Photo Prompt Who else here is having mixed emotions about today's mad rainy day? As I am typing, as though to further emphasize its presence, the falling rain slowly grows into a crescendo - a real down pour. Normally, I would be consulting Windy App if we have some sort of storm coming in. Or some mad disturbance in the pacific. But tonight or today I will let this crazy weather just be. After all the glitches we've been having why should this be surprising me or ruffle my feather? Since the rain is making me mad. I cannot seem to settle whether I liked this wet weather or not. Because it did make the day cooler than it was yesterday. I sort of did not like it because when it rains I always feel like it stopped me from carrying out my plans of going out and going somewhere. If it did not rain, however, that plan will not get carried out even. Seeing the streets wet makes me sad and annoyed. I have this hyper active imagination that if I start walking down the street there would be splatter of mud behind my legs. To keep my thoughts calm, I decide to just type away. But what to type about. I decided to use the random word generator to give me random words and see if I can run those as keywords to see what my Google Photos gallery have for me. You see, I am still amazed with google. Type in RED in the search box and it gives you the images that have the color *or word* in your gallery. So here are my words: **PACE :** ***Let's stay steady and on course towards a better health.*** I was doubtful with the first word. I never imagined if there would be anything my gallery can give me related to the word "pace". I am not sure if my motion capture images was there. To my surprise it gave me this. A memory of the five-kilometer run I did. I am still trying to rack my brain because the detail of this screen capture from my Runkeeper App said it happened February of 2020. It will probably take me forever to remember why I did a 5-km. What was I pacing myself for? I don't run on a regular basis unless I was preparing for something. Anyway, this also reminds me that two days ago, I did say to my dear friend I was playing badminton with that I needed to go back to getting active and fit if I want my rash guard to fit properly. **SOFA:** ***A Street short storytelling*** Next word, "sofa". This one yielded a lot of results but I had this in my head too because it was remarkable to me. This was taken quickly during one of my errand when the metro was starting with their battle with the pandemic. The street has a funny story of its own. Rich even and yes it is a story of life as it is. Our street can fit two vehicles going on opposite directions with enough space on the side for "parking". But you'd have to "declare" which spot is yours if you do not have a garage to really park your car. This an old set. I'm suspecting the workers on that construction site used it to reserve a street parking slot for their trucks. The cardboard on that sofa says "no parking". **MULTIMEDIA:** ***how far would you go for a cup of coffee?*** Ah, sad. "Multimedia" showed me a recent video I created of our crazy coffee in Bulacan idea. I created the video with my clips and my friends' clips, ran it through So Loop (Realme's video editor) . I also used "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis as background music. I always love that song playing when I drive out and it is a sunny day. I don't know why. **GOWN:** ***or not....*** "Gown" showed me tons of wedding pictures. Why not, right? Looking at the pictures and scrolling though made my heart smile as flashback started reeling in my head. Weddings are fun moments. But picking those would seem a little too cliche to match for the word "gown". Let me just use this one not from a wedding. They are not wearing a gown either. But they are wearing their dress for their dance recital. This was the photo I took when a photographer friend took me in to experience shooting in and for an event. It was a fun experience and I would definitely ask him again if I can join him in his next gigs in case he needs a hand. Having the camera in my hands and with a role gives me that liberty to go near the stage, back stage and pick any spot in the auditorium to take pictures from and no one can tell me not to. Hah! **ANIMAL:** ***in loving memory of that one crazy, super energetic pet I ever had*** And lastly, "animal". I got a lot, too. Mostly insects. For this one, I'd share an image of my crazy late pet: Puma. It was around April last year that I took her off the streets. There is still that stab of pain in my heart whenever I see pictures of her. She would have been very big by now and playful. Maybe too playful for our blind dog but charming as well. Amusing how word prompts can be used to do a gallery raid somehow and took my mind off the non stop downpour. Oh what do you know? The rain stopped finally! Now let me order in a kebab... Maybe I will do this again.. .Maybe I won't .. Five words seem kinda long. I can make a story in one picture. Maybe two is enough next time. *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise... Semi tracing.. I am so super out of my head trying to trace April and it is just the 5th day of the month. Silly me! Day 2 and Rambling https://read.cash/@Pichi28/day-2-and-rambling-033f813a Coexist https://read.cash/@Pichi28/coexist-a-universal-orchestra-piece-42b5f024 I can't Feel My Legs https://read.cash/@Pichi28/i-cant-feel-my-legs-eee451f9 One Quick Serving https://read.cash/@Pichi28/one-quick-serving-d82dfa68

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@Pichi28 4 April 2022

One Quick Serving Just a quick one. On top of your head. WHAT ARE TWO THINGS YOU THINK YOU SHOULD NEVER DO AGAIN? If two things are too much, I'm fine with just one. It can be serious and it can also not be serious. Heck, throw us something hilarious so we can break the serious mood on a Monday, right? I was reviewing how my Monday went. It was not so bad, really. It was one of those days that I thought will end super tiring because of work and that I will no longer be in the mood to do other things ***looks at the pile of clothes she needs to fold after doing the laundry*.** Turns out, I actually was able to do a fair enough balanced productivity today. But I was busy. And it was in that being busy where my number 1 "what I would never do again" roots from. See. I love being in control of what I am going to eat. Most adults, a category I don't belong in, plan their meals. The extreme may be like this: They have a list of what they will be eating for breakfast for the next five working days. They will be spending time during weekends to cook their viand for lunch and dinner for the next five working days. Extreme, but I know this happens to most. Especially if you do not have anyone to prepare the meals for you. Or you'd need to bring all these to the dorm you are staying in for the work week. Thanks to my mood, I do not follow such rigid planning. Worst case scenario, there's poached egg to save the day. But today I decided to give time to finally eating that Paoay Longganisa in the fridge. I'd normally eat that on a weekend. It is that type of food you would not want to rush into eating. Since I was busy I decided against cooking it the right way and thought of girl-scouting my way through the microwave. It turned out well. I was able to eat three pieces for lunch and I saved the last two for dinner. I WOULD NEVER AGAIN : *****REHEAT the longganisa in the microwave***** Nope. Learned this the HARD way. I placed the microwaveable with the longganisa (sausage), turned the knob and was excited as it sizzles and when the ding sounded, I took it out and was amazed at what I did : the heat bore a hole on the microwaveable (not so microwaveable at all it seems). So there is some oil spill incident in the microwave. But that's not the worst part. The two pieces of longganisa (sausage) I was saving for dinner turned ROCK HARD! I like it toasted sometimes. Adds a crunch. Makes me feel like it upped its saltiness a bit more. But no, this time it decided to turn into a ROCK. No biggie right. I used the scissors to cut it to pieces because if I dared bite, I think I'd end up with dentures next day. So that's one. Another item for me for I WOULD NEVER AGAIN: *****DARE TO PULL OUT THAT FILTER in our washing machine.***** I was just a curious cat. Where are those pieces of stuff coming from. Like small dried leaves or something. Then I thought maybe some leaves may be caught in the tub or something. I pulled out what seems to be something I can pull out and was grossed out and shocked at what I saw. So curiosity leads to doing the right thing : Cleaning it up. But man! The cost of convenience eh? Upkeeps are costly - money or time. This time for me, it's time. I cannot just leave it there and ignore it, right? No choice but to scrape that clean, brush hard like real hard and put the machine to tub cleaning mode. It does take time because the debris or whatever you might call them that was filtered out is really a lot and it will not help the machine give its 100% purpose of washing clothes clean if those were not taken out. So I had to. Surprise, surprise! There you go. Just a quick serving of what's in my head that I am willing to spill out and earn from (haha)... ***Your turn! What are the things you'd never do again?*** *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 3 April 2022

I can't feel my legs Crrraaackk! That's what she heard as she slowly lifted her legs to rest it on the center table of her quiet living room while seated on her sofa right in front of the television. She managed to turn the wall fan on before she took a sit so that is her source of coolness saving her from sweating on this really hot, humid summer night. She had a long, fruitful day. She decides to tag it as that: fruitful. Even though she just did a few normal weekend stuff: Woke up. Stared at the ceiling trying to remember where she is Squinted at the lizard trying to remember if she slept on something she was supposed to finish last night Getting up abruptly to look for her phone because she just might have dropped it while fighting off sleep with sleep winning. Going back to bed after finding the phone safe and sound beside her. Counted 5 seconds to decide on which one to have for breakfast : (a) egg sunny side up runny yellow part (b) poached egg in the microwave oven (c) either one of those eggs with corned beef (d) spam ... just spam. She opted for choice (b) with (d). Tuned in to YouTube for the live service. Did a little wiping, dishwashing moving of stuff and some sweeping. Fairly regular. The epic thing she did, she thinks, was to move her ass and pushed herself to get out of the house and go some place which is not her parents' place, the grocery or McDonald's drive thru. She managed to convince herself that doing a little people-ing will be nice. She did, after all, already said yes. She struggled with that the previous night. The one who was inviting her out for a smashing good time was also a close friend. But her introvert self is getting thr best of her lately that sitting in front of the couch and watching Netflix would be the best substitute for not wanting people around. But she said, yes. Then she asked another friend she has not seen in a long while to join them. And that friend said, yes. She found herself no longer able to retract her yes. She did some packing for this good time Rackets ✅ Tube of Shuttlecock ✅ Shoes ✅ Shirt and short semi-check ✅ Change of clothes ✅ Then she drove off. It was a great decision after all. Like them old times that she feels she is not up to doing anything at all but she pushes herself anyway. No regrets every single time. She frowned at the thought of having to climb a flight of steps to get to where she should be. Once she set foot on the taraflex, however, the adrenaline started to kick in. She absorbed the scene around her. She waved at her friends and the endless match ups started. A lot of squeaker sneaks, hoots, cheers, wins, and losses and sets later, she and her company found themselves in an unlimited barbecue place for dinner (and apparently calorie refill). Oh joy! After dinner she pulled her friend to the coffee shop with no customer - cozy but no customer. Had they opted to the more known coffee joints, they would have to deal with long queues, noisy next-table-neighbors and would not probably catch up properly. The coffee shop did not have coffee. Well that's because the crew was set to clean their espresso machine. Cool at least they know that shop's machines do get cleaned and cared for. Another good thing is that the shop has Tsokolate de Batirol. Though they were having a hot weather, they opted to buy that instead. It was a very heartwarming catch-up. Endless chatter, lots of reminiscing, planning, laughters, sharing of how life was during the pandemic and also talks about the return to office. It was not until she got home that she started to feel needles to her legs. She shook it off, stood up, walked around a bit. Sat down on the couch and ... *Crrraaackk! That's what she heard as she slowly lifted her legs to rest it on the center table of her quiet living room and she remembered she did not do warm-up stretching nor did she do cool down stretching. In her excitement to play, she forgot stretching.* *She knows she is going to suffer with body aches tomorrow. Back pains even. She is ready for that. But not yet with this one. She is expecting this tomorrow.* And that ladies and gentlemen was how it happened that she cannot feel her legs today. No . Scratch that. She feels them, alright - the painful way. That kind of pain she used to look forward to also after a hike. This is the reminder of how much she enjoyed something she almost turned down. But turned out to be something awesome. How are your legs? Sorry. I meant how was your Sunday? *What's your story?* ©️ Pichi28 All Original Content Unless specified otherwise Small recap: April 1 - to make up for April 2 - Day 2 and Rambling https://read.cash/@Pichi28/day-2-and-rambling-ce35ff4e April 3 - uh oh missed again April 4 - Coexist . https://read.cash/@Pichi28/coexist-a-universal-orchestra-piece-a878bce7 April 5 - this article ... I think. Will do a better format next time.

@Pichi28 3 April 2022

Coexist: A Universal Orchestra Piece Life is a melody. Or a music piece that everyday gets composed and produced. Each life story, an orchestra instrument playing its notes adding to the mood of the tune. At the moment, I hear the workers in that huge building rhythmically hammering on, well, I'd guess some concrete or solid wood. Like most music, some appeals to us and some don't. I hear the dripping of our faucet also following a rhythmic measure. The whirring of the fan set at its minimum. Though while I mix them together and try to make sense of the "music" the fan, the hammer and the dripping water make they really don't. And yet here we are sharing same time and space. Humans do not get to enjoy the park solo anymore and it is a fun picture to see strays getting attention. The local government welcomed the strays and one poster said they get fed. Most of them are neutered, unless some other city's stray decided to hang out with their friends here and they are not yet neutered or spayed. Though that picture and flurry of activities, and the steady call of humans to cats with "wswswswsws" and the silent purrs and meows of these primadonnas do not produce "music" to our standard, they are the pianissimo part. Silent, soft and still crucial.They played the melody of the park. I live in a city. Oddly, for a spot in the city, we were blessed to have the province feel to it. Every morning the birds serenade us with their chirps. And they have different voices, different thrills and their vibratos are amazing. It is hard not to wake up smiling and thanking the Master Conductor in whisking His baton for one more day of music. In some random time of the day, I see squirrels running on the lines, chasing each other or just one sashaying down the electric cables with its tail up and joining the rhythm of of her steps. It was a beautiful few minutes. I cannot just grab my cam because any slight movement makes them run. Everyday has a silent detail we do not really pay attention to. But thankfully we are living at peace - coexisting - getting on with our lives and each one being productive in their own ways. We emit or play a note in everyday music. The thumping of your heart and your steady breathing is one of them. The step we take each time we walk around. My heart cannot stop being in wonder seeing this one. I found it one morning when I woke up staring into space and lost in my own universe. That window panel is slightly closed. It is highly impossible for the wind to blow in leaves consistently to that spot. The curtain covers it. So they appeared as shadows at first. A silhouette of something hanging and packed there. I just had to pull the curtain to see what those shadows are. It annoyed me at first. But annoyance turned to wonder how those leaves got there. Then the next day, I saw a bird swoop by with a fresh green small leaf in its beak. He dropped the leaf, stared at me and then flew off. I was stunned. The rustle of the leaves as they pack it. The rhythmic thump sound as the bird's beak slightly hit the grills and the window while packing the leaves , adds to my everyday non-radio or non-digital music. Pretty soon there would be little chirps coming from that nest and I cannot wait to see that. Discovery channel and Natgeo feels live from our window. How about you? *From your spot on the planet earth, do share what your sense of hearing can capture! I never really paid attention to them until now.* And most likely I'd go back to not paying attention to them after I clicked Publish or Save as Draft. Ah now the wind is sending whooshes and rustles the leaves. What a peace-giving sound. *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

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@Pichi28 1 April 2022

@Olasquare thank you so much !!! I saw what you did haha 🤣 you have a great day ahead!

@Pichi28 1 April 2022

Day 2 and Rambling Like I always say every turn of the month, "I have no goal for the new month". And as you can see, as well, I started the month missing one day - the very first day. I kept telling myself, "I will write later" but later really extended to that time I got shocked that the clock face says it is past 1am, April 2. So if I am going to do a table of the days I have written and the days I have not, it would be like this: April 1 - to make up for April 2 - as of typing no title yet. Now it sounds like I am planning to have some kind of a goal. But let us brush that aside lest I would feel the pressure. And I don't want to be dealing with such at the moment. We always say "time flies". But it seemed that today it flew faster than I imagined a Friday would pass by. I never even got the chance to plan how I would be spending my Friday after work hours. I think I may have forgotten how to plan a Friday chill out. I think the two years that we have been cooped in made me comfortable not planning anything. Comfortable and partly afraid, I think. That goes with booking flights, too. For some reason I cannot get myself to check on tickets and start booking. My brain goes on hyper imagination of what may happen so the next calming desire would be just to stay put. No problem. I am, after all, I am a real homebody. These days, the couch in my parents' house, the tv and the coffeemaker has been my rest. And long drives driving around as well. I need to find a way to get my eyes to rest but somehow that seems to be impossible these days. The only time it will get rest is when I sleep. *Suppose I'd be going anywhere, where would I be picking?* My head is shuffling between these places Bohol - oh, to feel the white, soft, fine sand of Bohol beaches! Also the chance to see dolphins. They would probably be very healthy now. They had rest from disturbances caused by tourism. Siargao - to replay the thrill of being able to surf. Also to see how that are doing after the Odette incident. I hope they are able to get back on their feet and catch up on recovering tourism. Palawan - Coron or El Nido. I am no longer going to book the tours but I will just hang around and check the local living. Siquijor. I bet the beaches of this place is also really clear and blue specially now that it is summer. Would like to swim in Cambugahay falls or maybe cliff jump. But I can't seem to push myself to book any trips going to these places. I am still probably embracing the "lesser people" peace though I like watching people and taking random shots. Well, let us see. 2022 is still a long way off from being done. With Covid being losing its grasp of control over human activities, it should be easier. But while it is still really around, I will give myself some time to adjust. For now, saying yes to minimal exposure but slowly socially resurfacing to important gatherings - close friends and relatives. It has been nice of you to read up to this far. What have you been up to? *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 30 March 2022

Can't sleep? There may be around five times I have erased and typed in the title for this entry. I settled for this one. So yes apparently this is an entry yet again for when I try to put myself to sleep. My sleeping pattern has been weird lately. Just last night, I was knocked out by 12am. This time, I am up and typing at 3:20am. Had I not pulled myself away from the sofa, it would have been sunrise without me noticing and me still clicking "Next Episode". What was I watching? Manifest. Did I find it cool? Yeah. Amusing? Yeah. Awesome? Yeah. Unique? Not so much. Ah maybe I will write about some other similar series I have seen before. Three seasons. Man! That series! Anyway, since we cannot sleep and unlike before when I wrote this , I am slightly doing away with fiction. Why so? Because I have other things in my head. Stories are easy to come up with once I start tapping. https://read.cash/@Pichi28/bonfire-music-and-him-1c5cbbcf So what I did was try that awesome The Most Dangerous Random Prompt Generator. I am still not up for the timed challenge as I am currently using my phone so it would be tough to be typing timed and while already lying down. So I get that numb feeling on my arms from time to time which makes me put the phone down and shake off my arms. That will clear up the writing board if I do timed. https://www.squibler.io/random-prompt-generator The prompt I got was this: The moment I read it, my brain started writing up a story already. But from that story, I thought of something else. So join me on this one. Suppose you enter your bedroom and find your favorite bag on your bed. You start to open your bag and tipped the contents onto the floor. What are the things inside your bag? Thing is, for this one, since I am already lazy, I am going to turn my favorite 10-litre backpack inside out in my head. What will lie on the floor? Paper Shoot Camera This one always have to be there. So I can just grab it and take candids. I know using the phone will be the faster route from scene to social media. But I use this baby for that feel of surprise. Works like a film camera where you cannot view your shots immediately. Only it does not require the dark room. Nor does it run out of film because it uses and SD card. If you are looking for crisp, high-res, sharp images, though, this is not the weapon for that. But it is fun seeing the outcome. Most pics I've played around with Snapseed. But with good lighting, sometimes editing is no longer needed. Red Purse My ever loyal purse with all the IDs I need. It is also that vessel of old receipts I seep to keep forgetting to dispose off. **Phone Charger** If I am not using it, it has to be back in my backpack. Else I'd go nuts looking for it. Ziploc bag full of Meds Since I move around a lot I need to have a travel stash of meds. The contents of which are : Antihistamine in case I forget I am allergic. Joke. I just have to. In case rhinitis becomes unbearable and if my sneezing would seem to last the whole day. Serc. My anti-vertigo. Chewable antacid. Flashlight Yes I have pocket flashlight in there. Plastic bags I planned on bringing these after one time when I needed one because I jumped in a pool but have nowhere to put my dripping clothes in. So better have them in my bag. Also to use as a protection for my stuff in case it rains. And also to keep my trash for when I cannot find a waste basket nearby. Roll of tissue Because when I start sneezing any time of the day, that also calls for blowing my nose a lot of times. If I don't, I will have crazy runny nose. Those are just among the things that will fall on the floor. Just few more things and I am just about ready for a short trail trek or something. ***So what is in your bag?*** I think the sandman is here... *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 29 March 2022

A Walk in the Park "A Walk in the Park" is an idiom used to pertain to something that is "easy". Sometimes comparing it to another subject. I heard it said a thousand times. I've read it in most of the books I have read. But I felt the realization of relief it brought to the speaker through my cousin. He was a comparing his previous college courses as opposed to his final choice of taking up pre-law. So he tried to choose pre-med since his dad was a doctor. He tried other courses and really struggled. Not that he is slow it is just that he is one of those people whose concentration and productivity is massively affected by interest. But he said when he tried taking up political science, "Oh, boy! It was a *walk in the park*." *That short story, though,* has no connection whatsoever in what I am writing about. What I am going to relay or share is literally a *walk in the park.* I have already forgotten the beauty and serenity of being in a park in the middle of a bustling metro. Since I accepted the re-assignment to our other office my mind never flew back to trying to remember what the old place looked like. The new place of assignment is zen compared to this one. And the new place was also a literal walk in the park the moment I am out of the building. I did miss it come to think of it - the old place. Don't get me wrong. But it was that "missing" that you only realize when you were already in front of the object you suddenly miss. I got a chance to re-explore the area last Saturday. I am not a fan of Makati Central Business District. Maybe I used to be when I was a fresh grad. The companies there were the target of every aspiring professionals. Long before dress-downs and BPOs, the place is peppered with professionals in business suits (or maybe it was just my imagination). I loved joining the crowd in walking the streets in stilettos, and running to grab someone else's hailed cabs, or pushing your way in to get a chance to ride the bus home, etcetera. But of course, that was years ago. I only get to visit the malls in the area after I've decided to accept the re-assignment elsewhere. I meet friends who work there from time to time. Because getting out of that city is really hell if you are out going home the same time as everyone else is going home. Yes so getting in to the city in the morning is equally hell. So last Saturday I was going to pick my friends up there and we were to go get coffee some place else. Thanks to my insecurity and uncertainty with the city's traffic now that we are less strict when it comes to the pandemic's restrictions, I decided to be there way earlier than our call time. Bright idea. I was blessed with a parking near where my friend was working and across the space was the park -Ayala Triangle. I used to jog in this area after office hours. That was back when work and work load did not have "overtime" discreetly stamped on them. The improvement is impressive. Plus there were new buildings around the area. It took me a real long time looking up, mesmerized at this one: I stopped. I looked up. And stayed that way for a good long five minutes (probably more) of wonder. I have no idea what that building was but it is near blending with the sky like stealth. Then I started walking around and felt a bit elated seeing people in the park. I realized it has been a while since I was in a park and see people out. There was an event so people are milling in. It was a Saturday and this is a good open space so families are spreading their picnic cloth and resting under the shade of the trees. There were cheers from friends who met family friends and made mini football area for their kids. I am happy with this one. I like seeing kids running around and playing with friends- something the pandemic had two years stolen from them. The stores are still closed. Probably renovating. This unplanned visit and exploration was a good therapy for me. Though it was very hot and I was really sweating while doing all the walking and the shooting, it was worth it. It was a feast to my paper shoot camera, too - low res but nothing a Snapseed tweaking cannot salvage. It was a beautiful day. Nostalgic. I had flashbacks of meeting up friends here for lunch. Team lunch in the area as well, etcetera. But I am still mighty glad I chose to accept the move. Beautiful places lose their sense of beauty sometimes when seen often. But what delighted me more was seeing people finally seeing and meeting up with their friends, too. There were lots of screams and hugs. Masks are still on but you can imagine the smiles behind those masks and the happy hearts even. Lunchtime babble for you... Not exactly how I thought it will turn out. I guess I'll have to write something else later if I remember. *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | `#ClubBrokeBCH` All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 24 March 2022

Thought I did But I did Not Sleep was weird. It happens on a monthly basis. At least it was not insomnia this time. I gave up on work last night thinking I did awesome, and yes patting my shoulders for job well-done. I was thinking if I would want to setup my projector so I won't be holding my phone while watching Netflix but decided against it. I would still be moving around stuff next day (today) so that means I will have to shove the setup again which will mess up the area I already "fixed". Things around the house do not maintain themselves, yeah? And these dusts seem to have upped their game and they are coming in strong. And there are dusts that stick like crazy! What is crazier is that it is already Friday! I have been in and out of noise and read hitting the bell, refreshing pages, seeing upvotes, commenting on some, liking on some and then I realized I do not have an article for like, since when? Since Tuesday? Monday? And yet I have had this thinking that everytime I checked on read that I did type up some articles and clicked publish. But No! That was actually days ago! That disconnect between what my mind made me think and what I actually did not do is partly hilarious for me. So I thought I was generating extra BCHs but I am not. It would have been nice had my brain and my body really did coordinate and had that "plan" materialize. That way, I had some to stash in Kucoin and some in Binance and some in Nexo and some to hold some to move around. Has it ever happened to you? *You thought you did do something already but did not actually do it in reality? It was not daydreaming it was just a plan that somehow did not happen because you thought you already did put an effort to it. And at some point also counted that activity as something that made you tired but fulfilled for the day. Because you mentally put a check mark on that to the list of things to do for the day.* Everything and everyone is busy. But not all time is wasted. All efforts had results and they are good ones. Like say, setting up and getting my water purifier. Yay! No more needing to go to the refilling station or buying the heavy 6 liters if I wake up too early and the refilling station is not yet open. One step and another towards dreams and goals, though not in the cryptoverse. See, I could also use some of that generated extras for more things about this dreams and goals. So here I am trying to do little catch-ups. I even imagined that I did the prompt generator again like three times. Might do that tonight and the next coming days. Maybe I will load up the drafts, too. So clicking the blue button will be the only thing I'd need to do. That's a plan! Hopefully I do have time! I cannot do the timed mode yet, though. I did not bring my personal laptop with me. Shedding off some load also helps you focus on tasks -at-hand that needs more attention, right? Sadly the choice between giving attention to work laptop versus personal laptop goes to the work laptop at least for the five days of the week because we do have bills we need to pay, yeah? And personal projects to fund. Time is super essential, too! I also remember telling myself that I would give time for music! But I have not played my guitar and my piano in a long, long time. Hmm? Something has to be done about that. I just had a walk around the house. There are other things I thought I already did but turns out I did not. I remember waking up in weird intervals last night and thought I am going to put out the lights but none of that happened. I fell right back asleep. Deep quick but shallow quick, too, because I remember thinking that and waking up getting surprised like three times that my lights are still on. Also last night, before lying down on the couch, I fixed a good cup of joe to wind down. And I thought I already drank from it but after a long political conversation in the messenger with my friends, I looked up from my phone and the coffee mug is still full. I also thought I already threw my empty large coke cup but I looked at my dining table and yep it is still there! There is this one thing I know that happens to everyone. I think most have already been a victim of... *...thinking you pressed that cook plunger on the rice cooker but never really did.... And sometimes in the flurry of busy and fast, thought it was plugged in but it was not.* Rice cooker : two points Cooker (certainly not me) : zero. Morning rambles brought you by: waking up earlier than my usual, the good cold breeze outside, the thought that I jogged around the neighborhood but did not and the busy day ahead. Have a great Friday! *What is your story?* © Pichi28 | #ClubBrokeBCH All Original Content Unless specified otherwise...

@Pichi28 21 March 2022

Is it a bug? I was re reading my latest article https://read.cash/@Pichi28/while-waiting-b9cde6d6 and saw that the numbering of what I enumerated seems off? They are all numbered "1"? but when I tried to EDIT the article.. the numbering seems fine...