@sc

@sc 28 October 2024

It's hard to stay angry when you have a 'talkative' cat that 'talks back' when you're upset. I was still sleeping, but Tofi woke me up because he wanted to play outside. I told him no, since I needed more sleep, but he insisted that he wanted to go out and that I shouldn't sleep any longer. Wonder how I understand the meows? Well, it's a cat mom thing.

@sc 22 October 2024

I am really thankful to my coworker for sharing a website that we can access while working. It's a website where we can listen to music. You see youtube, spotify and other media related websites are blocked so we can't access them during work hours, it's really boring when we don't have something to do or whenever we're done with work since we can't use our phone either. But this time I'm already entertained 😁

@sc 17 October 2024

I now regret that I took a hiatus from blogging. If only I dedicated more time to it before, maybe I would have been reached out to more followers and people who will read and appreciate my blogs 😥

@sc 16 October 2024

Went to work with 9 hours of sleep feeling like crushing the day (or should I say night) but I decided to be JUSTIN. I did JUSTINough! Because I realized that no matter how good I am at what I'm doing and even if I give much, it will never be appreciated at a toxic workplace.

@sc 15 October 2024

Did the price of BCH went up or did I just got upvotes on my posts? I'm not too sure 😅

@sc 14 October 2024

Lunes na naman. Ba't parang naka time lapse ang weekend? 😭 Parang kahapon lang yung last shift tapos ngayon babalik na naman sa office. Minsan gusto ko na lang talaga maging full time stay-at-home daughter.

@sc 12 October 2024

Happy weekend! Going home not so tired because we had so little documents to work on today. Due to the hurricane that recently hit the state of Florida in the USA, many of our branch offices and clinics were closed. I had almost 3 hours of breaks each day for the past 3 days. But it will be an exhausting week when I come back to work on Monday for sure.

@sc 10 October 2024

Done bathing Tofi, drying his fur using a hair dryer and also cleaned his ears. I was too bust for the past month that I only had the time to bathe him today. It's so hard since he is no longer used to the water, giving him a bath is such a struggle. He is too stubborn and doesn't like the water that much. It was like a game of tug of war just to finish what I had to do with him. Now I'm sooo tired 🥴

@sc 9 October 2024

I got home and found out we ran out of Tofi's wet food. So the two of us went to the market to buy him wet food. I know how long he patiently waited for me to get home and give hi. some food, so I just can't bear to see him eating just a plain dry food. Look at him eagerly asking for food: https://youtube.com/shorts/By3NZ8SHlSI?si=W0N4ZH7q7GrSsvFH

@sc 6 October 2024

So ayun, after 2 years nakapag post ulit ako ng vlog ko sa hive. First one was the self intro at never na nasundan ulit kasi naging busy n din ng sobra sa full time work ko. Di ko lang alam kung paano at kelan nagrerefresh ulit yung resource credits so I can reply sa comments sa pinost kong bagong blog. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

@sc 6 October 2024

Milestone 📈🎉 It's been more than a week since I started posting Tofi's short videos on Tiktok and just tonight, he officially became an affiliate. So I decided to step up the game! I also launched his youtube channel. If you have the time, you can go and check his very first video! Leaving some positive words and a thumbs up would be greatly appreciated! ❤️ https://youtube.com/shorts/2yhHDOSyzu4?si=XmKHazenmcB4crIX

@sc 5 October 2024

Hello weekend. I was just done playing with Tofi, taking videoa of him and posting it to Tiktok. Just a few more followers and he can be an affilliate on that app. I don't wish him to be super famous, but if he will become one, of course I'll be happy for him lol.

@sc 4 October 2024

Soooo. I was searching the internet how to hack a bluetooth speaker device 🤣 It's because my old hag neighbor love singing videoke on her phone connected to a bluetooth speaker and it came to worst when even if she's aware that I am sleeping yet she have the audacity to play loud music and sing along with it using loyd microphone. It's really annoying to wake up in the middle of deep sleep because of that. I could not find any easy hack to get into her speaker. So here's the solution I came up with: once I hear her turned on her speaker I would immediately open my phone's bluetooth and be the first to connect to the speaker. Now she thinks that the speaker is broken because she can no longer connect her phone to it 😂

@sc 2 October 2024

My sister who just graduated from senior high school decided to take a break for a year. She's currently applying at different BPO companies here in the Metro. I am trying to teach her some know-hows and giving her ideas of what's it's like working in BPO, specially in the healthcare industry, but she's not taking it serious. She doesn't evwn believe when I told her I'm a trainer myself 🥴.

@sc 1 October 2024

First day of October! All I want for this month is for my lazy colleagues to do their job right, do what they are being paid for. And for my manager to quit being toxic lol.

@sc 28 September 2024

It's 3 am and having a body clock with a US time zone makes it so hard for me to sleep night. Good thing I have a cat, who accompanies me during my sleepless nights. I'm on my phone reading and my cat Tofi, is beside me looking at me with his big round eyes. He is soooo cute which is distracting me from reading 😅 But it's okay, he's the distraction that I love ❤️.

@sc 28 September 2024

I don't know if I can still call my house a 'house' since I barely stay in here. On weekdays I go home to sleep and during weekends, like today, I stay outside the entire day. Goes home late on Sunday evening and sleep the whole Monday. If only my house could speak maybe he will tell me to just stay in an inn or a hotel LOL.

@sc 27 September 2024

I just got home and now chilling on my bed while browsing instagram when it came to mind to visit read cash. I was about to write a short post with a photo attached to show everyone the heavy traffic I encountered, but I forgot how to do it 😅. Now I understand that the heavy traffic is indead one of the struggles of people living here in Metro.

@sc 26 September 2024

Being the first born in a Filipino family is soooo hard and challenging. I'm almost approaching 30's but I don't have enough money on my bank account. My salary is spent mostly on my siblings' tuition fee and allowance, daily needs of the family, and buying stuff to build a house. I thought getting a high-paying job will at least help me save a little, but I thought wrong 🥲 Suggest naman kayo ng online side hustle diyan 🙂.

@sc 11 April 2024

I became a MOM OF TWO after being single for a long time Everyone here who were subscribed to my account and followed all the blogs I posted since 2021 knows how 'single' I am and how adamant I am about not dating until I'm ready. So the title might be intriguing for you. Yes! after being inactive for almost a year now, I'm back with this shocking news - I'm now a mom of two! You've read it right! I now have two babies who I love dearly. A few of you might wonder: "huh? how would that happen when *esciisc* doesn't even have a boyfriend‽", "was she impregnated by some guy?"... and so on and so forth. Well, guys...I'm now a mom of two cute and lovely kittens named Toffee and Gingerbread! Oops! Sorry for the misleading title! Here's the story of how I got these cutie patooties. I already mentioned in my previous article that I am now living in the NCR, and those who were from the province and tried living here alone would know how lonely it is to be in this unfamiliar place far from loved ones. There are days I just cry myself out because of homesickness and I know I can't do anything about it. Good thing that just a few months after being here, I gained some new friends. And there's this one guy who offered to give me one of his kittens but I refused because I didn't really like animals. But then, I have this one new friend who's daughter loved cats so much. I often stays at their house during the weekend and that kid insisted on letting me pet their kitten. I tried one time and I realized that their cat doesn't smell at all! Here's my post on Instagram when I shared how I held a cat for the first time in my life! I even posted on *my story* that I am thinking about adopting a cat in 2024. It so happened that one of my couple friends in the province are cat breeders and they offered me one of their kittens who's up for adoption, but I have to pay Php. 8,000 (more or less 142 USD). They said they are giving me friendship discount lol. I thought then that is too much for a cat! I told them I'm gonna have to think about it first because that amount is too much for me. I could already give that money to my brother for his tuition fee. October came and I got sick before the month ended. I felt like I'll just die alone without anyone knowing. And that's when I realized I need company, but who? I decided to finally adopt a cat when my friend asked me again if I want to adopt one. How can I not like him? Look at those tiny pink toe beans! After exchanging a lot more messages, I finally gave in to temptation and decided to adopt this kitten. He's so cute. We agreed for me to pick up the Kitten at our friend's house in Cavite City which is almost 3 hours away from my house. But as for the kitten, he travelled for more than 12 hours from the province. I was surprised when my friend who was incharge of bringing my new kitten told me that my new baby was so well-behaved. He didn't even poo and peed a lot while travelling. The only problem is that he was stressed and didn't liked to eat. After a week of waiting. Finally! It was the day I'm meeting my kitten. I named him Toffee because I'm a coffee lover and Toffee sounds like coffee! I sacrificed my sleep so I could go and get my kitty. While waiting for more than 2 hours. I've met with my friend at the mall because there had been some conflict and schedule change. I was thinking that I was scammed! They told me thay cats helps reduce stress but all I got that day is a tonof stress! But when I finally met my Toffeenut, it all made sense. All the stress melted away. Look at that cutie! How would I be stressed if he just stood there, doing nothing but looking so cute. We eventually formed a bond as soon as we went home - Toffee in his new home with his new fur momma. He kept purring whenever I'm petting him. He also likes cuddling with me. But since he is still a baby, he became so naughty and energetic as time goes by. He likes giving me love bites and he loves sucking on my fingers! I work night shift so I'm asleep during the day, but at exactly 5:30 p.m. every day he would wake me up to ask for food! How does he do that? He would meow amd meow on my face amd if I wouldn't get out of bed to give him food, he would go to my feet and gently bite my thumb! One time he woke me up with his same meows, but it was unusual because he sounds like it was very urgent so I lazily opened my eyes, I was terrified when I saw what he was trying to show me - it was a tiny mouse he caught! Apparently, it was his '*gift*' to me and his way showing his love nd loyalty! But I didn't like that kind of loyalty lol. At 3 months old, he was still a baby and loves going around the house and playing with me all the time. Whenever I'm tired of his antics amd naughtiness, I would put him under this small laundry chair just so I could rest a little. He's looking so dirty in this photo because it has been two weeks since I haven't given him a bath during this time. It's really hard to be a first time single mom! But eventually I would free him because he would stay there with his pleading eyes and my heart melts every time he do this lol. Look at his resting face! Does he make your heart melt as well? Months has passed and Tofi is now a big baby boy. But he is still my baby. So I bought him a toy that would entertain him. How lazy this boy is. He's laying on his back while playing with his new toy. I'm not sure what my reaction would be after seeing him likr this. But one thing is certain - he's so cute like usual! Of course I would take a photo and video of him doing this. Morning cuddles with his meowmy is still the best part of the day even as a big baby! Toffee with his '*Im sick of my meowmy when she's bored*' look. Definitely my child! No need for a DNA test. He loves the mosquito net as much as I do. Should I wake my mum up or just sit on this chair and scare her when she wakes up? Nevermind! I should just wake her up and bother her while she's on the bed! I won't let her use the phone! As time goes by, I noticed that Toffee looks sad whenever I'm am preparing myself to work. He would sit in a corner while watching me get dressed and apply my make up.My heart hurts for him and makes me want to just stay home and play with him. But I can't because I need to make money to feed us. Look at him with a living sad emoji face. That's the time I thought about giving him a brother so he would not be too sad when I'm away. Let me introduce to you my second baby...My Gingerbread! The day I got Ginger is so memorable and intriguing it would take too long to share the story so watch out for part 2!

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@sc 10 April 2023

Let's go camping! Long weekend! - we all love that right? Long weekends usually calls for family reunions, outings, trips and swimming. Well as for me, I never thought about doing anything during the long weekend since I am a freelancer at the company I'm working for and we don't have holidays. I'm already used to it and I'd rather work and earn money than go to the beach full of people. Monday came and Princess one of my friends sent me a message informing me about their camping plan on thursday. I immediately declined the offer, though she asked me 'are you sure you're not gonna regret your decision once you see our photos on social media?' I told her I'll just go offline once they upload the photos lol. Wednesday came and I'm still adamant about not going but another friend, Renren made an unsolicited decision for me and said I must go. So even when I don't feel like going out, I just decided to go with the group. Thursday, the day of the camp came and I log out of work early so I could prepare the stuff I'm going to bring. The call time is 4 pm so that we won't be stuck in a traffic in case there's a procession along the road. Good thing there's none, so we arrived at the place before twilight, I can't say sunset because the sun is hiding that day. As you can see, fogs are starting to cover the top of the mountains when we arrive. It's not a high quality photo though because I toom the photo while the motorcycle is running. What you can see here is the park called '*Hobbit Hill*' which is just a few meters away from the campsite. Upon arriving at the site, the guys parked their motorcycles first and then we were off to the site. We had to cross this dried riverbed before we could reach the top of the hill where we can assemble the tents. We were thinking that there might be just a few campers that day since most people might be swimming at the beach. But to our surprise, there's a lot of people that day. Good thing we brought tents because all the tents are already reserved. We had to wait here while waiting for our turn to register. This photo was taken by my friend the next day because we were too excited and I forgot to take photos for an article. I'm glad to have a photographer friends at times like this lol. Here's another photo from the same place. Instead of standing there and do nothing, some of us decided to check out the place where we could set up our tents. Since it's not my first time here, I acted like the tour guide and told them the best area where the Mayon volcano as well as the sunset and sunrise are visible. The area I was referring to was fully packed with tents. At first, I wondered where we should set up ours. It looks like there's no more space for more tents. When I saw this, I realized that people really have their own 'trips' or preferences how to enjoy their free time. Turns out that we just have to look further, and we finally found a good spot. Setting Up It's getting late and we don't have time to waste. We had to set up the tents so that we could finally do our favorite part - photoshoot! They were all busy setting up the tents while me on the other hand is just there standing and the only contribution I have is to take videos. They can do it without me lifting any finger anyways. Finally done, and here are our tents ready to be occupied! It's time for pictorial. Here's one of the group photos we took that afternoon. A trip wouldn't be complete without a groufie! Sad to say, as the night grew deeper the rain is also getting stronger. And we were starting to feel hungry because the couple who were supposed to bring the stove we will use for cooking our dinner are still at the nearby province. Good thing the guys found a way to prepare the food so we didn't have to wait for a long time just to eat. Worse comes to worst, it rained so hard while we are having our dinner! Each of us had to pick up all the foods and utensils! I had to grab the macaroni salad as well as the fruit salad! We had no choice but to finish eating inside the tent, using our phones as flashlights. *To sum up, that night was filled with complaints and laughter*. We kept complaining about the weather, but we enjoyed the night nevertheless. It was around 9:30 p.m. when the heavy rain stopped and the moon finally lighted up the entire place. We appreciated the moon looking through the lenses of the binoculars. At the same time, it's also fun to look at the city lights which is very visible from our location. That's me peeping through the binoculars and admiring the beauty of the moon. I didn't even know that this photo of me was taken, until I saw it the next day posted on our group chat. We all decided to call it a night after it was already past midnight. It was an extremely long night for me. Aside from the fact that it rained once more and I could feel the damp tent everytime I move, I could also hear the raucous conversation of the other campers and the loud music from the opposite side of the tent. I wished for morning to come as soon as possible. The next day 5:45 am, I only got roughly an hour of sleep amd I was lightheaded but I had to get up because I'm not at my own bed. It's time to enjoy the view outside since it also stopped raining at 3 am. The gray clouds are already blown by the wind so Mayon volcano is now visible. I could feel the dampness caused by the rain the following night and I had to put my jacket on and embraced myself as the cold wind blew against my skin. They looked cool while standing side by side to enjoy the view so I had to take photo of them. Don't mind those two who didn't understood the assignment lol. Here's my entry for the 'woke up like this' photo. Time for breakfast One thing I liked about this camping trip is that I didn't have to worry about a single thing especially when it comes to preparing the foods. The guys took care of it all. And this is one also one thing I like about this group, unlike my other group of friends, they are diligent when it comes to preparing foods. It was also the same the night before. Well, I'm sure they will tease me if ever they come across this article and find out what I said about them, so shhhh. Another picture taking time while drinking coffee. Look at that sweet couple at the back. Nothing's better than having your breakfast while enjoying this view. Refraining myself from sharing all the photos because this is not a social media page 😅 Going home This is my last photo taken before going home. I'm glad that the photographer didn't make fun of me this time (because he likes to do that whenever I ask him to take a photo of me 🤦🏻‍♀️). Look at him grinding before leaving, still taking photos, I wish I have that camera too! As a conclusion, I had so much fun during this camping trip because I went with the people I like to hang out with. And though we '*bully*' each other most of the time, that's part of the fun!

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@sc 21 March 2023

After 5 months.. an update Let me just tell you a story about how my day went. I woke up really early this morning because I have a shift at 6 am, but I found out that my internet service provider deactivated my account for paying my bills late. I was thinking about connecting to my friend's WiFi, but I was hessitant because it's still too early to chat and I don't want to cause any inconvenience even though we're friends. So I just went out and helped my parents prepare the foods they are going to bring to my grandma's place. I prepared the ingredients and I was assigned to cook 5 kilograms of spaghetti. It's my first time to cook that much and thankfully it turned out good. The day flew by so quickly, and when I was finally able to take a rest, I connected to a piso Wifi and hurriedly checked my Instagram and messenger accounts. Messages from my High School classmates, many of whom I still keep in touch with, flooded my messenger. It's been 7 months since they've all seen my face, so they asked if I could join them for a get-together. They told me we'll be done and will go home by 10 pm but knowing them, I didn't believe it. They were persistent to make me come though, so I told them that will go on the condition that there will be no alcoholic beverages and we could have coffee instead. I was adamant about not going so I was trying to make them agree to something I know they wouldn't. I even requested one of them to come over to my house and pick me up with his car. To my surprise, they all agreed about my 'no alcohol' request and one of them even agreed to come and pick me. So who am I to refuse right? Even though I didn't took it seriously, I still prepared myself just in case someone comes to fetch me. I waited for almost half an hour and my friend really came. I told him I was just trying to test him whether he will really come or not, and simply answered "***always keep in mind that when I said I'd come pick you up, I'd come even if it was late."*** That statement made me realize that it's one of the reasons behind our 15 years of friendship. Fast forward and we arrived at the other friend's house. Here's a photo of them: I'm not in this photo because I'm the one who took the picture. I really appreciate that they always take my words seriously and respects my beliefs. When I arrived, there is no single bottle of liqour around and all we did is talk about our wholesome high school.life over some food and a bottle of coke. We all agreed that we can still have fun even without alcohol and looking back at our memories and mischivousness back then is part of the fun. Since we all have work tomorrow (or later), we decided to call it a night at 10:30 pm. But we have to grab some cofee first, since they all know how much I love coffee. We drove to the nearest coffee shop in town that is still open. Good thing, we found one and it's the coffee shop owned by one of our classmates. Okay, since I'm the glue that holds this group of friends together so I got this large hazelnut macchiato for free (that's how nice they are to me). We asked the server to take a photo of all of us together and decided to drink it in the car since it's their closing time already. They all came to drop me off at home like a little kid but it's okay. And that's the end of my day.

@sc 22 September 2022

The last... I encountered an article from a magazine I was working on yesterday and decided to give it a couple of minutes and read it. It was entitled *"The last word Elizabeth Hurley".* I'm not sure if anyone of you is familiar with it, but it caught my attention. I personally think that it is quite interesting and I would love to write my own answers to the questions. I then realized that it has been quite some time since I last wrote a blog. So I decided to make my own version of it even if no one might be interested lol. Here it goes... ***The last song I listened to...*** Lionheart by SNSD/Girls Generation. I'm a Kpop fan for more or less a decade now and one of my favorite girl groups is Girls Generation. They recently had their comeback and I really like their title song, but I've been listening to Lionheart more. 😅 The song is catchy and if you'd like to hear it too, here's the music video, enjoy! ***The last book I read...*** The bible. I used to be a bookworm, but I don't read books nowadays anymore. I'm just too busy, or maybe too lazy to read! But I have to read the bible like it's part of my life, so it's the only book I've been reading these days. ***The last message I sent...*** '3000 points hahaha'. That was my sister's last message from me. She went to school today, and as she was waiting for the bus, she sent me a message requesting me to take a quiz on one of her college majors in her stead. Despite the fact that I know nothing about hospitality management, surprisingly, I could answer a few questions based on our lessons in high school and of course, thanks to 'GOOGLE' as well! Fortunately, I placed 4th out of the 40 students who took the exam. How cool is that! ***The last piece added to my wardrobe...*** Is a pastel purple blouse I got from the thrift store for only 20 pesos. It's so pretty no one would think that I got it for a cheap price! ***The last accout I followed on Instagram..*** Oh.. wait.. let me check.. Cha Eun Woo of Astro. I know he's famous, but I used to not follow him because I don't really like him back then. I feel like the way he looks is too good to be true. I mean, is there a real person who looks as handsome as him? And he already has a lot of fans even before and I don't want to add to them, weird I know. But I recently finished watching a historical drama in which he starred and I really liked his acting in that drama which made me fall for him. I think that's too long for an explanation. ***The last meal I cooked...*** was pancit canton. These days I'm too busy to cook our meals, and when I cook it's when I'm starving and they haven't prepared something yet. So I've got no choice but to resort to pancit canton. ***The last time I said sorry..*** I can't remember actually. I grew up in a family that is not expressive of their feelings. So when we did something wrong to each other, we don't say sorry. We just start talking to each other again and that's a sign that everything's already settled between us. ***The last time I laughed until it hurt..*** Looks llike my life has been too boring lately that I cannot even remember the last time I laughed until it hurt. I laugh a lot when I'm watching variety shows, but those are not something to laugh at until it hurts. ***The last time my heart fluttered....*** was years ago. I don't even know what it feels like to have my heart fluttering. Life is indeed too boring for me lately. I don't even have a cruch who will make my heart flutter every time I see him. Sad life, no. ***The last time I had a hangover...*** Was 8 months ago, and right after that day, I swore that I'd never drink that much anymore. That was the time when my mom's friends came over, they drank a bottle of alcohol and invited me to join them. It was too late when I noticed that we already finished drinking more than three bottles, and I drank two for my turn because I was also drinking my mom's since she doesn't want to get drunk and is only present to entertain her friends. ***The last thing people would guess about me...*** is that I am not too happy about my life right now. People would never think about this because I'm always smiling in front of them. I even encourage others, but I don't know how to encourage myself. Oftentimes I'm tired, but I can't give up and I don't want to give up. Oh well. Hi..... Annyeong everyone! Thanks for reading this lame update. I hope and wish that I could be as active as I used to be, but I can't do it thanks to my hectic day-to-day schedule. Still, I'm happy to be able to still write something when I feel like it and share it here.

@sc 7 August 2022

Hello Beach! As soon as we were done with breakfast, my friends and I wandered around the resort to see what we could do. Since we opted to go home after lunch, we still have a lot of time to spend. Since my brother and nephew have never tried kayaking before, they decided to rent a kayak boat. For only Php. 300 ($6) they can already use the boat for an unlimited period of time. They also let us borrow it so that my friends could experience it as well. Here you can see my friend Donna who also tried it for the first time. She's afraid to go on it at first and she doesn't know how to maneuver the boat, fortunately, she's able to do it with my assistance. Of course, it's time to take another group photo because we know that it another long time or years will pass before we can hang out again. Look at how beautiful the island is. It's really good that we had the boat because we had the chance to see the beauty of the island from quite afar. A few moments later, it was already raining so hard but we didn't care. We continued having fun. And while it was still raining, my brother and I were still on the boat. Little did we know that my friends were already off to the other island which attracts tourists for its stunning sandbar and cliff. They climb the hill which you can see in the photo above and shout at us. I thought they told us to meet them there. And I also thought it was right behind this hill. So I told my brother that we should just go there using the boat. But I didn't expect that it would be so hard since the boat is for one person only. Thinking that we're far beyond halfway going there, I decided to stop and enjoy the view from where we are located instead. I thought I'll just go and see the famous tourist attraction next time. I guess it's also worth it because I was able to capture some Instagram-worthy photos. I asked my brother to take some photos of me, but he's so bad at taking photos and I was so disappointed with the photos he took for me. And as usual, we ended up bickering. So I just decided to take photos of nature. I used the sunglasses I got from Shopee piso deals as an object for the photo. How cool is that right? When I was already tired of taking photos, I decided to go back to the cottage where we left our stuff. I was also getting hungry and paddling is so exhausting. What about my friends who went to the tourist attraction I mentioned earlier? Well, they had a great time too. They didn't expect though that it is also impossible to go to the other island because it was already high tide at that time. Still, they were fortunate to see this mangrove plantation. Hundreds of bats also live near the mangrove plantation. I am unable to see them personally, but seeing these photos that my friend sent me through '*shareit*', I know that it's absolutely a wonderful sight to see. They also found some abandoned boats and took a photo with one of them. To be honest, I feel a little jealous when I saw this photo, I bet the place is really beautiful. Nevertheless, I'm still happy when they said that we should go back here next time. I wonder though when that next time is? On the other hand, as my brother and I went back to the shore, I met my cousin and some other friends who were not from the group I went with. Since I am still waiting for my college friends to get back. I accepted the invitation to have lunch with them. Right after lunch, my college friends are still nowhere to be seen so another friend who's good at taking photos volunteered to be my 'photographer' when I told her that I don't have a single photo worth uploading to social media. At times like this, I'm really thankful to have lots of friends. And I'm grateful to those who can take good photos of me. Lunchtime is over so it's time to bid them goodbye. I thought that my friends might be back at our cottage which is located at the other end of the resort. I thought that we may have missed each other while my brother and I were on our way back. So I thank them for the hearty lunch and bid them goodbye as I walk away with this yummy ice cream which I also got from them.

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@sc 2 August 2022

Overnight trip (Part 1 is here ICYMI) https://read.cash/@sc/plans-no-more-526aac51 When we got to my friend's place, it was already dark.  Some of my friends who commuted there have already arrived while it is still daytime and are waiting for us. They had some of the supplies prepared that we were going to take to the resort, which was only a 20-minute drive from my friend's place. Thank goodness *nanay* is around to guide them regarding what to do. I can’t waste time because the kitchen is waiting for me. Not to brag, but you see, among my friends, I’m the one next to *nanay* who knows how to cook well. They requested that I cook my not-so-typical fried chicken again after I cooked it one time. So I immediately proceeded to the kitchen after greeting everyone. I couldn't take any photos while cooking since it was too hectic at that time and the night is getting deeper and we need to hurry since we will still travel to the resort. As soon as I was done cooking, I took the picture you see above. Unfortunately, there was still a power outage there when we arrived, but I think it was a blessing in disguise since we got a clear view of the night sky. It looks so beautiful that night, as it isn't as clear as this in the town where I live, where there are fewer stars. We also took a group photo before heading out to the resort where we are going to stay the night. Look at those happy faces! However, *Nanay* and Erica are still inside organizing the stuff we need to bring, so the group is not complete in the photo yet. We were very thankful to my friend’s family because they were supportive of us. Since we are strangers at this place, it is quite risky to travel at night. Thankfully, they were willing to accompany us. They were with us the entire time, and my friend's father even kept watch over us.  Finally, *Nanay* was there when I snapped the picture just before the tricycle departed. We finally made it to the resort, but it was rather noisy that night because there were other guests there as well. Since the Mayor's staff was also present to celebrate their success in the 2022 election, we were unable to get any sleep. Nevertheless, it was a night we will never forget. And of course, before anything else, we need to eat! It’s a boodle fight! We laid the food on banana leaves and took a group photo before eating. It’s been years since I experienced a boodle fight!  The night is not suitable for swimming. It rained so hard thirty minutes after we had our dinner.  While it was only a light sprinkle outside, we grabbed a few pictures before returning to the cottages we had rented.  We had our fair share of stories over a pitcher of ladies’ drink which I was in charge of making. It’s basically just a mixture of soda and probiotic drink with a hint of alcohol since my friends are all light drinkers except for me who underwent training with my dad (lol). Funny thing is, we drank from the Yakult bottles since we didn't have enough glasses, so my friend's dad, who surprisingly does not drink alcohol, thought we were just drinking some healthy liquids. After the long, noisy, and rainy night, we finally saw the sunlight. Unfortunately we are unable to see the sunrise since the weather is still gloomy. But then, it’s time for a cup of coffee! This is real roasted Barako coffee and I just added some creamer because it’s too bitter to have pure black coffee. As I enjoy this cup of coffee, I can smell the sea breeze coming from the coast. And the coffee addict in me had two cups that morning! Adventure time! We took some group photos right after we had our breakfast and the fun is just getting started. Here are some of the group photos we took that morning. I still have a lot to say and more photos to share but I think this is long enough for today. See you on the continuation of this adventure! `Yahoo! I want to applaud myself for being able to write another blog just 2 days after publishing the previous one! Again, thank you so much for wasting a few minutes of your time reading this blog.`

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@sc 30 July 2022

Plans no more It has been six years since we graduated from college. After that, we went our separate ways and focused on our careers. A few of us moved to Manila and pursued careers that were completely unrelated to the ones we studied in school. Others chose to stay in the same town and work as volunteer teachers for out-of-school youth, and some decided to pursue a career in the BPO industry. There were a few who moved on to teach in private schools in other regions. Due to the fact that we were all staying at completely different locations, it was very challenging to get together because some of us went home while others did not, which made it difficult to get together. As a result, it is not possible for the entire group to meet in one place at the same time. The fact that we were separated didn't stop us from keeping in touch with each other all throughout these years, though. In our group chats on Facebook and Messenger, we would update one another with what was going on in our lives, and although we're all too busy with our daily lives and can't catch up and talk to each other every day, we still know what's going on, since we have various social media outlets where we can keep in touch with what's happening in our lives. We were not Mariteses though, blame it on our shared post that’s flooding each other’s timelines every day. We occasionally met each other over the years, but it was always in a small group. We would occasionally run into a few people who weren't busy, and then some people would show up the next and those who had previously been there wouldn't be there anymore the next time we meet. Thankfully, most of us were able to get together this year, with only two or three folks being unable to. In fact, the initial plan called for just 5 of us to spend the night at the house of a friend I haven’t seen for literally 6 years. She is one of those people who decided to work in Manila and hasn't returned home in a while. In the group chat, she informed us that she would be returning home for the holidays, and we were ecstatic to hear her announcement. A meeting and a trip were scheduled for us and we had arranged to meet up. We simply didn't notify the others about it because we weren't sure if they would be able to make it. However, when "nanay," one of my friends who we consider to be the group's mother as she is already in her fifties, suggested inviting the others since they would also be available on that day, the original plan had to be changed. There was a group video call made right away, but only a few were able to join in since most of the others were still busy at that time. There was even one of them who speculated that perhaps one of us might be getting married since such video calls are so uncommon to us.. Considering that we frequently do video calls in the other group chat instead. However, when they found out about the trip we were organizing, they were more than genuinely surprised, they were ecstatic. In spite of everyone being overjoyed, one of the girls still needs to get her father's permission despite the fact that she is now an adult. She has already made plans regarding her work immediately, but her dad is the only concern. A lot of the time, she is not allowed to spend the night with her friends. However, we advised her to speak with her father first in order to obtain his approval before making any final decisions. We even offered to speak with her father on her behalf. Fortunately, the following day she got his approval. The following day, our trip finally arrived! It had been a long wait for us! On the day of our trip, the group chat was too noisy just talking about what we were going to do, where we're going to meet up before we head off, and what stuff we're bringing such as the food and drinks we were going to bring. Then there was one more problem to deal with that day as well! We have lost touch with our friend who was in charge of the accommodation. Unfortunately, we do not know where he is located exactly her house is located and we only know the name of the place where she lives. It so happened that there had been a power outage in their area since the previous day, and the situation was as follows. As well as that, it is also difficult for people to contact one another through the internet because their area does not have any mobile phone reception. The good thing is that I was able to get in touch with her before we left town. Thank goodness, I called her number right after she arrived at the mountain where she has good reception, so I was able to speak with her immediately. Thanks to my brother, we had someone to accompany and drive us that day. One of my friends is still at school that day, attending a meeting until 3:00 p.m. Even though we were supposed to travel by 2:00 pm, since the road is quite dangerous, we waited for her. We anticipated that we would not see the sunset though. Thankfully, we were still able to enjoy it while we were still on the road. Whooh! I miss writing an article here! It's been soooo long since I last published an article. It's late here so I'm just going to share the rest of the story in the following days. I hope you still remember me. Thanks for reading!

@sc 26 March 2022

How does it feel to have a sibling? I used to resent my parents for having so many children when I was younger. We had a total of five children in the family, which I hated since my parents were too preoccupied with their jobs, and as the firstborn child, I was responsible for my siblings. Of course, as a child, I want to enjoy being young, to play with my friends, to read a lot of books, and to do all that my peers do. But I'm unable to do so because I'm constantly caring for my younger siblings. When it was time for me to go to school, our youngest would weep because she didn't want me to leave her. She prefers being with me rather being with our mother. And I dislike it because it prevents me from doing the things I want to accomplish. My mother later gave birth to their sixth child when I was sixteen years old, and I hated it even more. I believed that at my age, I should be enjoying my adolescent years, and that I no longer desired a baby sister. I imagined not even touching the baby once they returned home from the hospital where my mother had given birth, to show them how much I hate having another baby sister. But, alas, I saw the baby the next day when they returned home, and my heart melted. She's far too adorable to be overlooked, and her small hands are so delicate that I find myself wanting to cuddle her all the time. She also has a wonderful scent that makes me want to sniff her like a dog. Every day, the baby brought us joy, and she grew up to be very close to me. And as time went by, I just found myself being her second mother. Now that I'm older, I realize that having siblings isn't all awful, and I'm embarrassed that I used to despise them. Here are some of the things I've learned from having siblings. **You have someone (or several people) to whom you can turn when you need help.** When you have siblings, continuous small arguments and quarrels are unavoidable. You'll get into conflicts with them because of your differences, especially if you're still young. There's also the matter of favoritism; admit it, there have been times in your life when you didn't feel like you were the favorite of your parents. And that your parents favor one of your siblings over the other, causing you to be envious. However, as you grow older, this becomes less of an issue. There are other pressing matters to consider aside from questioning who is the favorite. When you're a grownup, you'll run across problems, and sometimes there's no one else to talk to besides your siblings. I used to worry that because I was the firstborn, my siblings would never understand me because they were too young. I never share them secrets because I'm afraid they'll betray me and inform our parents. But now I'm down to only them. **You know you can count on their help at any time**. Our siblings might sometimes be our enemies. As I previously stated, quarrels, disagreements, and bickering are unavoidable. They're the folks you don't like but can't seem to get rid of. You may despise them, but you can't stand seeing them suffer. I don't know about others, but I feel that I am the only one who has the right to hate my siblings. Regardless of how much I hate my sibling, I will not stand by and let other people hurt them. I may not always show it, and I certainly don't talk about it, but I genuinely care about them and have always had their backs, as I'm sure they do as well. **You have someone to borrow stuff.** Shirts, dresses, shoes, and handbags Simply go to your sister's or brother's room if you need it. Just make sure you get their permission before using it, or else you'll start a ‘war’. Sometimes I'm not sure which is for whom anymore. They simply use my stuff and vice versa. **They are capable of assisting you.** When you have a task to complete, you turn to your sibling for assistance. When I was still in college, there were moments when I couldn't sleep because I was attempting to finish my papers and portfolio. There was a lot to accomplish, and thankfully, my sisters assisted me in completing them on time. And siblings can do more than these, there are other things that only them can do for us. Some of my friends advised me to get a boyfriend who can drive so that I can travel wherever I want without worrying about transportation. NO. Why would I do that? Why would I do anything like that when I have a brother who is willing to drive for me? Of course, I have to appreciate the advantages of having a brother who can drive while he is still young and doesn’t have a girlfriend yet lol. **When you're bored, you can have someone entertain you.** As I previously stated, I was not pleased to learn that we were expecting a new baby sister. But now I'm grateful that she was conceived by my mother. Since she’s the youngest, we always treat her like a baby even though she’s now 10 years old. We have someone to tease anytime we are bored because she entertains us. She's also obedient, so she'd do whatever was requested of her. She's also my human doll because like a human Barbie doll, I dress her up, style her hair, and sometimes even apply make-up to her, and that is really fun! There are good and bad aspects to having siblings. Having to cope with comparison is one of the downsides. Though I was never compared to my siblings, I feel awful when I hear my mother or others compare them to me; I know they don't like it when they're compared to me, and who knows, they may harbor negative thoughts against me as a result of it. Another downside is jealousy; we become envious of our sibling or sister for various reasons. There are more downsides if I go on, but if you think about it, the positives outnumber the negatives, so let's just concentrate on that. What about you? What do you like about having siblings?

@sc 19 February 2022

Are you a pessimist? Most of us have experienced setbacks at some point in our lives. What are your thoughts on the setbacks you've experienced? The answer to that question determines whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist. We all go through rough periods in our lives, but some of us go through them more than others. However, some people appear to quickly bounce back in life and are willing to try again despite the difficulties they have faced. On the other side, there are individuals who opt to give up after only a minor hiccup. Have you ever gone through the process of looking for a job? You went through an interview but were turned down by the interviewer or the company. What are your thoughts on this? Some people may take it personally and see it as a long-term problem, telling themselves that no one would ever hire someone like them and that they may never have the opportunity to work elsewhere. Or, even worse, someone can let this one failure influence their entire outlook on life, believing it to be a complete failure and of no benefit to anyone. Such attitude is the heart of pessimism.  *Adversity and setbacks are unavoidable in life*, thus we must learn to overcome them. How are we going to do it? The first step is to learn to recognize those negative thoughts. When you acknowledge that you have the inclination to respond negatively and think about negative things, you could also learn to find alternative explanations. Consider the preceding example I gave. When you tried to apply for a job and you are rejected, is it really true that no one would hire someone like you because you are not talented enough? Perhaps you will think that you're a failure. But, what if the employer is simply looking to hire someone who is better qualified to do the job. And maybe there are other jobs out there that suit you. One rejection does not automatically imply that you are a failure. Consider the areas of your life where you have achieved some level of achievement. Learn to disregard your more pessimistic forecasts as *"catastrophic thinking"*; after all, how can you know you'll never find work? There's more we can do to push negative thoughts aside. **Setting goals** is another effective approach to getting negative thoughts out of your mind. Once we've decided what to prioritize, determining our goals in a variety of areas will be simple. However, we must be cautious not to set too many objectives at first. We should make an effort to come up with a goal that we are certain of achieving. If the goal is too challenging and appears impossible in a short amount of time, we may become discouraged and give up. The old saying "where there's a will, there's a way" still holds true today; once we've set our minds on our goals, we'll need the perseverance to see them through. **Dwell only on the positive.** Whether we have a happy heart or a sad heart, a happy life or a sad one, is entirely up to us. When we see everything in a negative context and focus on the negative aspects of things, we will be agitated and depressed every day. However, focusing on the positive will bring us joy; even simple things can make us happy. Face your negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones! Finally, we might relate our attitude and outlook on life to that of a gardener. Negativity and pessimism are noxious weeds that will wilt our lovely garden. We have to get rid of it on a regular basis. Moreover, if we try to sow seeds of optimism, regularly water them and fertilize them with positive feelings, we will soon reap a crop that will enrich our lives. It will also prove that one's mindset makes a difference!

@sc 11 February 2022

Pros and Cons of working remotely It's my third week at my new job today. So am I? I'm loving it so far. I was supposed to work for this company in 2020, a month before the pandemic started, but right before the interview, the cat at home broke my laptop, hence I was unable to proceed with my application. Almost 2 years later, I quit being a volunteer teacher and decided to look for a new job that will allow me to work remotely. In this day and age of pandemic, being able to work from the comfort of your own home can be considered a blessing, especially if you are someone who doesn't like associating with other people that much. And more importantly, it helps to be more protected from being infected with the deadly Coronavirus. Working remotely has both positive and negative sides. Let's talk about the positive things first. ***Less stress caused by the hassle of commuting.*** One of the difficulties I had to deal with when I was still working outside was commuting to and from work. I barely spent 3-5 hours a day at home when I worked at a BPO company on the graveyard shift because it was difficult to commute at night and I had to go back to the office right after having a little rest. Traveling alone in the middle of the night makes me feel uneasy as well. Furthermore, there are times that even though you woke up early, prepared early, and yet you will still arrive at work late because of some unprecedented circumstance such as encountering an accident on the road which causes traffic, or the public transportation vehicle getting a flat tire and other hassles. It is also energy-draining if you are traveling almost 4 hours each day. It is very exhausting and will eat all your energy. But you will not deal with these issues if you are working from home. ***Saves more, spending less.*** Perhaps, some workers would agree that almost half of their salary is spent on transportation fees and food. That's my dilemma before too. On food alone, I spend more or less Php. 200/ more or less 4 US dollars and another $2 on transportation fees since I live quite far from my workplace. Considering that I live in the province and the rates here are lesser than the rate in the big cities, just imagine how much will be left if the basic salary is just more or less $200 a month. And there are employees who barely get $150 a month. But working remotely helps save more from paying for transportation fees. And the food at home is free! Unless you live alone and pay for the food with your own money. ***Save time from dolling up.*** Taking a bath early in the morning is a challenge especially if the weather is cold. Then you'll also have to worry about what to wear. But if you are working remotely, you can go to work even with boogers on your eyes! You can also enjoy the perks of working from the comfort of your own bed, like what I do sometimes. And you can work with your cozy clothes on! Those are just a few of the positive things I enjoy while working from home. Now, let's talk about the negative things or the disadvantages. ***Distractions.*** This is the reason why I rejected the chance of being an online English tutor. It pays more, but since there are a lot of distractions at home, I declined the job offer. The problem here is that I live with 8 more people at home and that means noise! It is too noisy that it always brings distractions. You can't even tell them to minimize their voice and you'll have to adjust for them. So here I am stuck with a work that will only make me communicate through chats and a little call from time to time. ***Dealing with connectivity and power interruption issues.*** When you're working and suddenly your screen will say no internet, is one of the challenges that you will encounter when working remotely. This is what it means to work remotely in the Philippines, constantly dealing with intermittent power supplies and internet connection issues. ***Communication challenges.*** When you are in the office, you can directly ask your colleagues for help if you encounter some problems. You can solve some issues right away by talking to your boss, manager, or leader. But working from home hinders that. Since you only rely on technology for communication, there are times when you have to wait for a few more hours before someone can answer your queries, hence also impeding productivity. Whatever your work is, it may be working at the physical office or working remotely, I must say that everything has its own pros and cons. For us to be happy about our work, we just have to look at the brighter side of the picture.

@sc 3 February 2022

A firstborn's dilemma I was just done with my shift so I got my phone, lay on the bed comfortably, and scrolled. And then there's a quote I saw that really hit me. *"Eldest daughters are the backbone of their family and make numerous sacrifices by putting everyone first and without having anyone who understands their life struggles but not everyone is ready to hear this."* This could also apply to the eldest sons. I could absolutely connect to this as the oldest daughter. Being the oldest means that your parents, as well as your siblings, will rely on you. Your parents will put their trust in you to look after your younger siblings. Personally, I wasn't able to truly enjoy my childhood. Because I have to look after my siblings while my parents are at work, I am not permitted to go out and play with my peers. I'm told to go straight home after class because I have obligations at home, such as cleaning the house and making our meals; yep, I'm already in charge of cooking at such a young age. I have to make sure that everything at home is properly taken care of before my parents arrive from work. I have to give something to my younger siblings if I have something that they want. Why? I'm the oldest, after all. I was watching The Return of Superman the other night, a Korean variety show that depicts real-life children and their interactions with others. Park Naeun, a 6-year-old child with two younger brothers, is one of my favorites. For the second time, I witnessed her crying, and I cried as well. That's when her father asked if she ever feels sad about her siblings. She also stated that she does things for them and gives them what they want, she looks after them, but that they do not do the same for her because she is younger. And I felt that. That's the life of the eldest. The eldest really have a lot of responsibilities. But what's sad is that no one does those for them, Most eldest is often neglected. The Filipino phrase *'kulang sa aruga' (*not properly taken care of) is so true to most Filipino eldest kids. This may not apply to all, but those kids whose parents married early, who doesn't fully understand their responsibilities yet when they had the child may have had this experience. Younger siblings rely on the eldest. As the eldest, I had the responsibility to make sure that my siblings eats proper meals on time. And teaching them manners is a must too. If the parents are busy, as the eldest, you have the responsibility to educate them. Help them in terms of early literacy. In my case, as the eldest, I was my sibling's first teacher. Because my parents are too busy to teach them. They are already tired upon arriving from work, so they no longer have the energy to teach the kids. But you can't cross the line and discipline them because they might accuse you and say that you don't have the right to do it since you are not their parent. But what really makes me sad is not about doing those responsibilities. What makes my heartache is not getting the respect that I deserve. I lived like their second mother and I spent my whole life taking care of them, and all I want is for them to have at least a sense of gratefulness and little respect, but I don't get those. I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed in myself because I feel that I didn't do my best. Maybe I was a bad sister after all. Maybe I wasn't able to set a good example. And sometimes, a thought crosses my mind, maybe I could only feel everyone's love and respect when I'm already gone from this world because that's what people are. They will only appreciate a person, they will see a person's goodness, only if the person is gone. One of the toxic Filipino family traits that I don't like is parents considering their eldest son or daughter as their retirement plan. They let their kids go to school, finish college and get a diploma. They then would pressure them to get a high-paying job as soon as possible so that they could support the entire family. Most of the eldest kids are becomes milking cows. And what's worse is that the family would only respect them if their needs and wants are given. When you work far from home, they will only remember you if they need to ask for money from you. And if you don't give them what they want... *you're the villain!* And as a bonus, you get to hear unpleasant words from them. Parents, your children are your responsibilities, if you ever sent them to school, if you provided their needs, that is your responsibility. In the first place, children never asked to be born. We came into this world because of our parent's own will so don't expect nor pressure your kids to return what you did for them. It is not our *utang na loob* that you've taken care of us, it's your responsibility. And like a good son or daughter, we would give back if we are in the capacity to do so. After all, it's our way of showing gratitude that we grew up well and achieved our goals thanks to you.