BCH: The Story of Rejection
I think that being rejected is one of the worst feeling ever. That's the reason why I'd rather suffer alone than ask for help from people, I'd rather stay quiet than offer help because there are also those who rejects help from others. I'd rather keep my ideas to myself or just write it down than to experience having my ideas rejected.
When I started to earn enough both from read.cash and noise cash, I have the urge to tell people about it because who wouldn't like it to have the opportunity to earn pass by? I'm afraid of rejection and being suspected of scam, so I only told a few friends about it and gladly, they tried it and proved to themselves how wonderful these sites are.
Now, let me tell you of the story which happened a couple of days ago.
I was in front of my laptop, editing the article I'm going to publish on another website, when a close friend from college messaged me.
Here's our verbatim translate to english:
**Friend**: *You should come to and visit us some time.*
**Me**: *Where are you staying?*
**Friend**: *Here in B***. It's not a hassle to go here since you'll just ride a tricycle.*
**Me**: *You're not going to Po**** these days? (The name of my town).*
**Friend**: *No. The fare going there is too expensive.*
**Me**: *Yeah right. The fare's too expensive, so just imagine me going to work everyday and I have to pay Php. 250* `($5)` *back and forth.*
**Friend**: *Right, but good for you because you have work.*
**Me**: *Yeah, but it took so long for me to get here. It's too hard to get employed in DepEd. I waited for more than a year.*
**Friend**: *Why don't you go and work abroad?*
**Me**: *Because as much as possible I want to stay and work in our country.*
**Friend**: *And in case you want to, the trip will be hard.*
**Me**: *Yes, and there's a lot of positive cases (COVID) outside the region. 😅*
**Friend**: *Yeah, my husband didn't accept my parents' offer so we're just staying here. Life is so hard. We're about to run out of rice seedlings and the only work he has here is fishing.*
**Me**: *Look for a part time job online so you can help him somehow.*
This friend usually sends me messages every time there's a conflict at home. An I think this time they are struggling financially. So I suggested for her to look for part time jobs online.
And here's how the conversation goes:
**Friend:** *You said it right, couples must really help each other. Do you know any part time job?*
**Me:** *I know a part time online.*
**Friend:** *What is it? Is there any investment?*
**Me:** *There are many part-time opportunities online. Since graduated from an associate degree course, you can apply as an ESL teacher. Or the freelancing works. There's a lot online.*
*But if you don't have a laptop, I know something where you can earn money and you'll just post whatever. No investment.*
**Friend:** *Okay teach me how to do it. How much can you earn?*
She's really eager to earn money. So I sent her a proof of my earnings on noise.cash. I can't introduce read.cash to her because I know how lazy and impatient she is when it comes to writing. And I do not mean to underestimate her, but since we've been friends for a long time, I know she doesn't have the slightest talent or even an interest in writing. She was pampered by her parents so all she want is fast money lol. I'm sure she will never have the patience like most of us here have.
So I thought of introducing noise.cash to her.
So I sent her a screenshot of my proof of earnings on bitcoin.com app.
**Friend:** *How can I join? Is that legit?*
**Me:** *I assure you that it's legit. Look at the picture, that's my earnings yesterday.*
**Friend**: *Maybe I need to invite people when I join.*
**Me:** *No need to invite people. I don't even go to the extent. I can earn much without inviting. I'm actually telling you about this not because I need to invite, but because I want you to benefit from here too. I'm not even getting any benefit from inviting you. Duh.*
**Friend:** *I'll look into it when I have a data. I don't have load this time. Who will pay you for it?*
**Me:** *Oh and you need to install the coins.ph app first because you'll send your earnings there. Or just download the bitcoin.com application.*
**Friend**: *Can't I just use Gcash?*
**Me**: *No. You need coins.ph. Then you can send it to Gcash if you really want to.*
**Friend**: *But, I can't download because I don't have load.*
**Me**: *Okay, what's your phone number? I'll buy load for you.*
It seems like she's being skeptical about it, so I have to send her 50 pesos worth of load so she can see what I'm telling her and for her to check the site as well.
Now let's continue the verbatim:
**Friend**: *I received the load. Thanks!*
**Me**: *Okay. Now you can check the website.*
*noise.cash*
*That's the site.*
*You don't have to invite anyone to earn. Like I said, just post anything.*
*There's a lot of stay at home moms I met there and they are earning a fair amount each day. It can help you too.*
***Friend****: Okay! You're really nice. Thanks for letting me know about this. But I can't download the apps on my phone.*
*And do I have to sell anything here?*
**Me**: *NO! You don't have to. Just post anything like what you're posting on facebook. Let me show you.*
**Me**: *Look at this. Just the ice cream that I'm eating gained $1 tips.*
**Friend**: *Right. That's good. Hahaha*
*But the applications can't be downloaded on my phone.*
**Me**: *Let me see. Take a screenshot and send it to me.*
**Friend**: Wait let me try one more time.
**Me**: *Let me call you so we can talk. It's hard to explain on chat.*
**Friend**: *My baby's awake now. Just call me later.*
**Me**: *Okay.*
From here I can sense that she's just making excuses not to download the online wallet applications because after this she gave me a lot of excuses. I tried to contact her again but to no avail. I can't reach her via call or video call so I gave up. I told her that she's letting a wonderful opportunity to pass by.
I just considered what she's doing as her indirect way of rejecting my offer.
This is why I really don't like sharing to others what I am up to. I feel like I just wasted time and money on helping her earn. Well at least I tried to help.
The lesson I learned is that, in this world, no matter how innocent and sincere the help you want to extend to other people, they will still doubt you. Not all the time they will accept the help you offer. People will not always believe you no matter how close you are. And most of all, it's better not to just tell stories and try to help because it's a waste of time to invest in them.
This is so disappointing, but what can I do?
What Skills Did You Learn This Pandemic?
*“What skills did you learn this pandemic?”*
This question was asked by one of the hosts on a television program I often watch in the morning. When the pandemic happened many people were forced to stay at home and most people cannot just sit by and do nothing, most of us wants to make the most out of our time. So a lot of people are trying everything that might entertain them even at the comfort of their own home. There are those who tried to enhance their skills such as dancing, singing, drawing or painting, cooking and other skills. They usually take pictures and videos and uploads it on social media. One time, there’s this meme that says the community quarantine is actually *“Quarantine Got Talent.”*
So I gave the question a thought and decided to write about it.
**Writing Blogs.** *Since I was younger, I already love to write. When I was a child, I find it really hard to communicate my thoughts and feelings to others, even to my own parents. Since we were never emotionally close, and I don’t have any close friend to share my thoughts with, I just write it all on a diary. I feel that it is better to write about my feelings than tell people about it, because when you write, the pen and paper will never condemn or judge you. So I started to like free writing. One time, I even contributed an article that was published in our school paper. But due to being busy with school works and later on with my daytime job, I forgot about writing my journals as I no longer have time to do it. Add the fact, that when I have a few time on my hand, I’d rather read stories on Wattpad or watch dramas. And I’d rather spend my day offs on volunteering and doing kind acts. But when the pandemic happened, I remembered my passion for writing again. I became tired of browsing social media every day and I want to do something to ease my boredom, so I started writing instead, and just in time, I also discovered read.cash.*
*At first, I was still skeptical if I could write and publish an article, so my first articles here were weird and funny. However, there is a saying that says “practice makes perfect”, since the day I logged in here at read.cash and published an article, I learned more to improve my blogs. Yes, I admit that my blogs are not yet on professional level, but I'm glad because somehow my mind doesn't become stagnant, and I think that my way of writing has improved quite a lot.*
**Studied and learned the Spanish language.** *I have Spanish roots and I often hear my late paternal grandparents using some Spanish words during our conversations. Since then, I became curious about the language but, being busy with more important stuffs in life made me forget about that curiosity. When I graduated from in college, there was a party at home, and we had Latino visitors from Spain who came with my cousins to visit the Philippines. It’s fun listening to them whenever they talk, and it revived my curiosity about the Spanish language. I started studying since then but unable to focus because of work. Then the pandemic came, and I was bored at home every day, so I thought: “why not continue learning the language?” So I started studying and learning the language again, and I can now somehow understand it and engage in basic conversations.*
*These are just two of the skills that I enhanced and learned during this pandemic. When we think of the pandemic, we often associate it with negative words, and we only focus on the downside. But if you think about it, there are also positive results that we reaped if we just try to look on the positive aspects of life.*
How about you? What skills did you learn this pandemic?
A Bunch Of First Times
We all have first times in our lives. As a baby, we have first time to utter our parent’s names, first time to eat a solid food, first time to throw a tantrum, first time to walk and a lot of first times! And as we grow older we experience a lot more of first times.
How about your first time to be separated from your parents? Perhaps on your first day at school as a child. Some kids even cries a lot because they are not used to that situation.
It is true that at times, our first time to experience something is too overwhelming for us to handle or to deal with.
Looking back, I had a lot of first experiences, some are just ordinary experiences and I successfully dealt with it. However, I also had first experiences that I acted like a total aardvark and made a fool out of myself.
**First cutting classes experience**. Most high school students have an experience to not attend their classes. I was in second year in high school when I experienced cutting classes
**First day in school as a college student.** When I got into college, I went to a private school at a nearby province. It is the first time that I experienced to travel to the city alone during the first day of school. Because I was used to being accompanied by my dad and my cousin, I didn’t know how to commute to get to my destination. So I acted like a fool that day. I spent almost worth my two days allowance on fare alone because every time I don’t know how to get to somewhere I just rented tricycles for convenience. That afternoon, when I was supposed to go home, to my grandma’s house, I was kind of lost and got in on the wrong jeepney. I asked the driver, but instead of getting the right directions, I was only left embarrassed in front of the other passengers. Due to embarrassment, I told them to try going to the province where I live and try looking for the barangay where I live and see if they can find it in one go, after everyone stopped laughing at me.
**First time to get a job**. I got my first job as an office secretary a month after I graduated in college. Getting hired is just a piece of cake because my boss is my friend’s acquaintance. There’s no job interview or whatsoever, as soon as I went to the office, I was just asked about my name and whether I know how to edit documents on Microsoft word and whether I know how to print, then I’m already employed. On my first month, I made a lot of mistakes and there are days that I feel like quitting because I felt guilty about making a lot of mistakes. Good thing that my bosses were patient with me. They gave me time to adjust and seldom scolded me for not doing it right. On my second month, I finally learned to minimize the mistakes I made.
**First time to get a job interview**. Months later, I had the urge to explore as I don’t want to confine myself in the four corners of the office and face the computer, the printer and the papers daily. I want a job which will enable me to talk to a lot of people and I want to learn new things. So I decided to resign from my first job and went job-hunting in the city. Like what others felt on their first job interview, it was also overwhelming for me. I didn’t know how to get to the building of the company where I am going to apply so I asked two policemen I saw on the street that time. They gave me the directions o how to get to the company I am looking for. But in the end, the other one just decided to help me get there. I know it’s not right to trust strangers, but that time, they are the only people I could trust. The policeman accompanied me to the office. When I arrived at the office, there’s a sign that says it’s an “English-only building”. I was overwhelmed by that, but I consoled myself and thought that I badly need the job, so there’s no need to be afraid. It seemed that the airconditioner at the office was on a full temperature so it felt really chilly and even added more tension and there were a lot of interviewees too! I think there’s approximately more than 30 applicants. When my turn finally came, I was interviewed along with another applicant, but it seemed like she’s more nervous than me, so I felt a little more confident. And I was glad that I passed the initial interview all the way to final. And yes, I got the job!
**First time to get into relationship.** How was your first ever relationship? It was 9 years ago when I first got a boyfriend, but it just due to peer pressure and only lasted for a week. I felt guilty so I broke up with him. Good thing we didn’t have any bad blood.
Those are just few of the unforgettable first times in my life. How about you? Do you have any first experience that you can’t forget?
SC's Adventures: Water Adventure at Punta Almara
This is a continuation of my article **Weekend Adventure****.** https://read.cash/@sc/weekend-adventure-8565e8e4
About a month ago, I was invited by my friends to go with them to the sea. It was another unforgettable day again.
We went to **Punta Almara** beach resort which is located in *Sitio Tambac, Ligao, Albay.* Aside from the Boracay feels or vibes that the resort offers because of it's white sand beach, it is also known for it's dazzling lights that you'll see from twilight to dusk.
These are photos I took while my friends and I are having fun in the water. I have to risk my phone getting wet and the possibility of dropping it in the water just to take awesome photos of us. Aside from us, there are few people playing by the beach too.
The second photo is a candid shot of a couple I know, I didn't mean to take a photo of them (because I'm bitter LOL) but it looks awesome so I'm adding this here.
The night at Punta Almara is surely great! There is no stable internet connection here so anyone wo will visit the place can have more time to enjoy the surroundings, get acquainted with nature and enjoy the company of his or her loved ones. It will give you a life far from the town and the city. Of course, because it's pandemic time, all tourists are still expected to follow the health and safety protocols. As you can see on one of the photos, people still wears their face masks even if they're on the beach.
Of course this won't be complete without me taking a ***selca*** *(self-camera)* worth of being uploaded on Instagram. As the night deepens in this place, the number of people increases. So if you are afraid of getting infected by the virus, make sure you always carry a facemask and alcohol. Because other tourists forget to follow safety protocols such as social distancing. However, people can’t be stopped from enjoying while here since most of us only come here every once in a while.
Not only swimming in the water, looking at the beautiful scenery and enjoying the time you are away from the busy and chaotic life in the city can be done here, like the title of this article, you can also enjoy the water adventure.
*Punta Almara* resort is close to fish sanctuaries, so under the clear ocean here, you can also see various corals and beautiful fish. Fortunately, my friends brought snorkeling equipment so we also had the opportunity to enjoy looking at the corals and fish. There are life vests or jackets and life buoys that can be rented from the resort for as low as Php. 25 and you can already use it for an unlimited time. Unfortunately, it's too late when we found out about it.
They also have kayak boats for rent. We rented three kayak boats for only Php. 75 per head or Php. 155 ($3) each boat.
And the water adventure starts here!
Kayaking is super easy, as long as you know how to use the paddle you can surely drive the boat anywhere you want. Kayaks are also very easy to manipulate unlike the wooden boats, so even if it's your first time to try it, you can enjoy the adventure.
The kayak boats that we rented are also supposed to be onboarded by two people, but since I was adventurous, I tried to ride it alone and really enjoyed it.
There is also a kayak that is designed flat and different from the rest, so we also tried to get and capture cool photos with it. It's hard to take a picture while you're standing on the boat because it is rocking and being swayed by the waves so you have to focus and concentrate, otherwise you might fall into the water. Fortunately, I managed. Yahoo!
It is really fun doing these water adventures at Punta Almara. And it is just one of the stunning beaches in Bicol that I'd love to visit. Hopefully, when the pandemic is over, I can also come and visit other beaches such as the *Maldives-like* beach in Masbate island and the lovely beaches and islands in Caramoan.
I hope you enjoyed this another adventure I shared.
See you on my next adventure article!
SC's Adventures: The Campsite
Just like Dora the little explorer, I also love going on adventures so decided to have a compilation of my previous and future adventures and it starts here.
Albay is probably one of the provinces where your eyes can feast on a lot of sceneries. Like I mentioned in my previous article, there's a lot of tourist spots here that attracts not just the tourists coming from other places, but also the locals. We have stunning beaches, lovely mountains, natural parks, farms and so on.
One of the famous spots here in Albay is the so-called ***The Campsite*** located in Amtic Hill Ligao City.
It was in 2019 when me and my friends decided to visit the place, but like usual it ended up as a drawing, but two of us were really eager to put a color on that drawing so even though it's just us two, we still proceeded with the plan.
It wasn't easy because we have to experience some unfortunate events before going there.
It was already afternoon that day when we decided to meet at the Ligao City Mall to buy some stuffs we need. We also decided to just bring packed fast foods so that we no longer have to make our foods there. But since there is an unexpected 9-hours power interruption, all the fastfood chain restaurants were closed so we worried that we can no longer go there because we don't have foods.
The next problem is that we do not know how to get to the place. Sounds funny right? So this is the real adventure, there's no plan we have to find a way to get there. We didn't prepare much foods, we can just buy it somewhere along the way.
To solve the first problem, we just bought some junk foods, biscuits, cupcakes and juices at the supermarket. Then, we wandered around the city to look for a store that sells cooked rice and viands. We found a grocery store where they sell cooked rice and eating utensils. We also decided ton easy-open canned goods for dinner and off we go.
My friend was too shy to ask around, so I did the job. I ask random people I saw on the streets if they know the way to **The Campsite** and how we can ge there. An old man told me that the last jeepney that day has already passed by. But I don't want to lose hope, we waited a little bit more.
Finally, a jeepney going to Tabaco City has passed by and I asked the driver if he could give us a ride going to ***Amtic*** and he agreed, what a relief. We paid 15 pesos for the jeepney ride.
We got off the jeepney when the driver told us that we already arrived at the destination. But it's not the final destination yet, we still have to trek for 30-40 minutes to arrive to the site. It's already past 3:30 p.m. that time and we thought that we can no longer get awesome photos if we arrive at the place later. So we decided to hire a motorcycle to take us there.
Finally, we arrived at the place. We were greeted by three kids who said that they live nearby. They guided us to the place.
The place where my friend is standing is a river, it was summer that time so it was dried.
**"Take nothing but pictures, Leave Nothing but foot prints, Kill nothing but time."**
To preserve the beauty of the place wherever we go, this is a good reminder not to take anything, even a simple stone. Don't leave any garbage and other stuffs to pollute the place so that others can enjoy the beauty of the place too when they come and visit. And kill nothing but time, don't kill any wild animal no matter how much you like to do so.
Before proceeding with the activities we planned, we have to register first.
Here, you can get a full view of the majestic Mayon volcano.
This a place worthy of instagrammable photos so we should not leave that, it's time for some picture taking!
Time to set up the tent where were can take a rest in the evening.
Finally! The tent is ready for pictorial.
Here, we also enjoyed the glamorous setting of the sun.
And in the morning, we enjoyed listening to the song of the birds while looking at the clouds and just enjoying the solemnity of the place.
Being surrounded with the green mountain, and the green leaves and inhaling the fresh air is so refreshing.
It's time to leave, but there's a simple reminder: **"Clean As You Go".**
Wherever we go, we should always remember this. Don't leave any traces of garbage behind. Leave as if you were never there, so that next time you'll enjoy the beauty of the place again.
I hope you enjoyed this tour to the campsite.
See you on my next adventure! 😉
Last Week of April and First Week of May: Rusty's Generosity
I'm sure that all of us feels ecstatic whenever we receive a lot of notification saying that *"TherandomRewarder" has upvoted your post.* Yes, we feel happy about that notification because we know that our effort of writing and publishing an article didn't go in vain because it was noticed by **"rusty"** the name that some read.cash users gave the read.cash robot that is responsible for the most upvotes we get for our articles.
These past week and the week before, **rusty** is missing in action again on my articles, and what I been by that is he is no longer as generous as he previously is. But I'm still happy because he can still notice my previous articles. So he is not totally MIA. I just missed how he is last month.
I've been writing and publishing on this website for 11 months now and on my first months of blogging, I was happy about getting $1 a day. On my first month, it didn't even reach a dollar, but I'm still happy because it only proves that the site is legit. Well, forgive me for having trust issues because I've been on a lot of GPT websites before and it always ends up as a scam, so I had trust issues. Anyway, on the first months, rusty is not yet around. But when he was launched there's were some speculations, but what's important is after he was launched on the site, we could already earn more than $1 a day. And I was happy with that. Looking back, I probably got $12 as the highest amount of upvote rusty gave me.
But during the month of April and early days of May, rusty has been so good to me that I can't believe he would be that generous to me. I was happy because, finally he noticed me like the way he noticed my virtual friends.
This draft is resting on my account for quite some time now, but I'm unable to finish it since I was also busy with other stuffs.
Now let me share here rusty's generosity during the month of April and first week of May.
Internet Connection Dilemma. I had a concern about my internet connection and had a hard time looking for answers on google on how to disconnect unwanted users from my WiFi. Finally found the answer after a week so I wrote about my experience to share it with others who might have the same dilemma too. Rusty upvoted this post for **$23.49** BCH. https://read.cash/@sc/internet-connection-dilemma-be1b93fa
(https://read.cash/@sc/internet-connection-dilemma-be1b93fa)
Embarrassing Moments. That day, I experienced the most embarrassing moment of my life. It was embarrassing and hilarious at the same time. I posted about the experience on noise.cash and the comments made me remember the embarrassing experiences I had, so I was prompted to write about my embarrassing moments. The robot probably likes reading about embarrassing experiences of others so he gave it **$22.49** BCH and I was happy about it. https://read.cash/@sc/embarrassing-moments-2aa19799
(https://read.cash/@sc/embarrassing-moments-2aa19799)
**My Experience before Becoming a Government Employee.** It's not easy to get a job in the public sector in the Philippines unless you have someone in the one of the offices to back you up. I've been waiting for more than a year to get employed as a public school teacher it takes a lot of effort, time and money to get. It's not easy because you have to go into small loops and holes. I wrote about my experiences about becoming a government employee and rusty somehow like the topic and gave it **$15.89** BCH. https://read.cash/@sc/my-experience-before-becoming-a-government-employee-d54dd24ehttps://read.cash/@sc/my-experience-before-becoming-a-government-employee-d54dd24e
**Crypto Noob: Problems I Encountered and How I Solved Them****.** As a noob in the crypto currency world, I encountered several problems, freaking out is a normal reaction when you don't know what to do in a specific situation, but since I read articles on read.cash that is related to my problem, I never freaked out. Plus I also have virtual friends to ask about so I was able to solve the crypto-related problems I encountered. Rusty upvoted it with **$26.15** worth of Bitcoin cash. So far this is the biggest amount of upvote I received from him. https://read.cash/@sc/crypto-noob-problems-i-encountered-and-how-i-solved-them-409fc94fhttps://read.cash/@sc/crypto-noob-problems-i-encountered-and-how-i-solved-them-409fc94f
**Gadget Hunting****.** This is the day I went to the city and roamed around the town to look for a laptop that fits with my budget. The robot gave it an amount of **$22.04** BCH. Maybe he sensed that during that time, I badly need money to buy the laptop that I need so he was being really generous to me. https://read.cash/@sc/gadget-hunting-0846268chttps://read.cash/@sc/gadget-hunting-0846268c
The first week of May was also a happy week for me when it comes to my read.cash earnings. Rusty was still generous around this time.
**Morning Spent in The Internet World****.** This is simply a story about how I spend my morning in the internet. Normally, it was spend on social medias such as facebook, instagram and checking my messages on the messenger application. But since I learned about these wonderful earning sites: **noise.cash** - a kind of social media that pays, **read.cash** and **publishox.com** - unleashing my writing ability and being paid with crypto, I started to spend more time here instead of the social media sites. It seems that Rusty likes articles that talks about crypto or the internet, maybe he find it interesting...hmm. So for this article, he upvoted it with **$25.61** BCH which is already huge. https://read.cash/@sc/morning-spent-in-the-internet-world-6f37d44ahttps://read.cash/@sc/morning-spent-in-the-internet-world-6f37d44a
**My First Day At School As A Teacher****.** Maybe the robot find the life of a teacher interesting. I wrote about my first day in school, not as a student but as a teacher and it seemed that he liked the topic too. He gave it an amount of **$21.62** BCH. I was happy about his generosity on this article because I spent the upvote I got from these on buying a printer which I badly need right at that moment. https://read.cash/@sc/my-first-day-at-school-as-a-teacher-c95317abhttps://read.cash/@sc/my-first-day-at-school-as-a-teacher-c95317ab
**Sudden Routine Changes****.** It's not always easy to adapt to sudden changes, specially when it is a change in our routine and I experienced that. I wrote about those sudden routine changes and the robot liked it and upvoted it with **$21.28** BCH. And this is the last time that he gave me an upvote worth more that 20 dollars. https://read.cash/@sc/sudden-routine-changes-772ab3behttps://read.cash/@sc/sudden-routine-changes-772ab3be
It's really fun to reminisce the days that the read.cash robot became so generous.
How Well Do I Know Myself?
"*How well do you know yourself?"*
I had to undergo a neuro-psychological examination about a month ago as one of the requirement for my new job. When I saw the questions on the questionnaire I can't help but tell myself "*Okay SC, now this will test you if you really know yourself*."
There's a part in the questionnaire where I have to finish the given sentences wherein most of those questions starts with:
***I hate it when......***
***The love......***
***I think......***
And it goes on. If my memory serves me right there is a total of one hundred questions where I have to complete the sentences. Those questions helped me assess myself, it helped me discover the things that I didn't know about myself yet. It made me realize what kind of person I am.
Going back, let me write here about the things that I hate.
***I hate it when.....***
When someone keeps me waiting. I always think that I will never be compatible with people who takes a long time to prepare themselves, who acts slow. I have a short temper when it comes to waiting so I usually gets mad when I have to wait for a long time. I don't trust people when they message me saying: "*I'm on the way now*", "*Wait a little and I'll be there*", I absolutely don't like it! But it is not good to always get mad just because someone kept me waiting, so I learned now, that instead of losing my temper because of waiting, why not make them wait for me instead.
***I don't like someone who....***
I don't like someone who doesn't know how to do the household chores and still proud of his or her ignorance. Why be proud of it? Duh! Household chores are part of our lives so it is only right that we know how to do it.
***I'm afraid....***
There's a lot of things that I'm afraid of.
I'm afraid of worms! Worms are what I'm afraid of the most. I think I have a *Helminthophobia*, because even though I know that worms won't hurt me, I'm still afraid of them. Just the mere sight of worms makes me have panic attacks. Sometimes people tells me that I'm just over reacting, but they don't know what I'm going through every time I see worms.
***I feel happy when...***
I feel happy when I get acquainted with nature. I love going out to see the beauty of nature. I'd rather get tired from hiking than get tired because of strolling inside the mall.
***My biggest regret is....***
My biggest regret is when I told my mom some nasty things. I was still young that time so I didn't understand her. I didn't understand that she's just a victim of her own circumstances and that I can't question her way of parenting because that's how she was raised. She married at an early age so she probably doesn't understand that discipline doesn't always mean spanking. Probably, it never crossed her mind that intangible things matters more than the materials things they could provide for us.
Those are just few of the questions I have to answer during the examination. When I got the result, it says that:
***I display a reasonable intellectual aptitude and logical reasoning which enables me to think and figure out a better way to provide solutions when crisis situational at workplace arise. On the personal level, rational stability comes along with great composure and unrelenting self-control; thus allows me to deal with the situation in a more effective way. Social attributes appeared to be well-mannered.***
How about you, how well do you know yourself?
Pandemic Weddings
I’m sure most would agree that because of the Covid-19 pandemic, most of our activities are affected. Most of us have plans and there are things we want to do but can't because we’re trying to adhere to the health protocols, and we are taking precautionary measures so as not to get infected with the virus. But no matter how difficult the time is nowadays, nothing can stop the unity of hearts in love.
Despite the pandemic, many are still getting married these days. In fact, it seems that more people are getting married nowadays compared to the days when there is no pandemic yet. On Facebook every day I see the status of my friends about weddings and getting married - they can be themselves, their friends, family members and anyone else. Even celebrities and some famous personalities are also getting married now even with a pandemic.
I have witnessed the wedding of some of my friends now with the pandemic. In fact, I just came home today from my friends' wedding. So I thought of writing a compilation of the pandemic weddings that I attended.
December 28, 2020
This is the first ever pandemic wedding that I attended. This is during my close friend's wedding.
I was kind of hand's on during this wedding since the bride is one of my closest friends. We're like sisters by heart and the groom is also my friend. I had the privilege to become one of the usherettes during this wedding. So since I am an usherette, I have to help the couple in a way or another.
Days before the wedding, I helped the couple in making their wedding invitations and souvenirs. There's a night that we went home super late because we have to finish their invitations, which made me realize how hard it is when you're getting married - because there's a lot of stuffs to take care of.
A night before their wedding day, we prepared the venue for the wedding. I was assigned to help make a photo booth and somehow, we were able to create one that the guests loved.
Finally, it's the big day which everyone is looking forward to and excited about. I'm an usherette and together with my partner, we are assigned to assist during the processional. I wore a blush pink infinity dress. My role is both an usherette and a bridesmaid so we we're really busy during this day, we can't just chill around and slack. During the second part of the program, we are also the one assigned to distribute the wedding favors or souvenirs.
Of course, when you are attending a wedding, you have to bring a gift - something that the newly-wed can use as a start up. I pranked my friends and got them a kilo of rice as my gift with a corresponding *sweet message* for the couple. It was wrapped in an elegant wedding wrapper - a gift on a box, on a box LOL.
Finally, it's picture taking time :)
January 19, 2021
Not a month has passed, I attended another pandemic wedding. Another friend got married and I didn't expect that she'll invite me as an usherette again. I had the same roles.
Because I kinda have a creative mid, I was asked to helped create a photo booth again. So days before the wedding, I made big paper flowers that we used as a design.
This time I wore a maroon infinity dress and I was partners with the same partner from the previous wedding.
It was kind of challenging that day because it rained a lot, so as you can see on the photo, there a lot of water on the venue since it was held on a covered court.
I was also assigned to welcome the guests and it was an easier assignment compared to the first one.
Before the wedding ceremony, we had a pictorial session with the bride and I think that the maroon theme looks really elegant.
The foods are my favorite part of the wedding because the catering team provided lots of yummy foods.
May 18, 2021
Today is the day that I attended another pandemic wedding. To be honest, I didn't expect that I'd be invited to personally attend this wedding because of the pandemic health protocols. I expected them to invite just their relatives and closest among their friends. But I was really surprised when the bride sent me a personal message on messenger telling me that I am invited to their wedding.
Since I am not part of the entourage, I had lots of time to just mingle with my friends and take photos.
I wore a navy blue long dress and their Sakura tree with cherry blossoms design looks really beautiful and amazing.
In the end, I only captured a photo of the couple when they are trying to be playful after the ceremony.
So those are the pandemic weddings I attended which are proof that love can conquer all - even a pandemic.
The Benefits I got From Saving BCH
Since December 2020, I’ve been writing and publishing articles on read.cash and saves my money for my 1 BCH goal. But since I was hired as a public school, I have no choice but to withdraw some of my BCH earnings and use it to buy some necessities - stuffs that a teacher need to have such as laptop and printer. Three weeks ago, I used few of my BCH to buy a laptop since the money I saved from my day job is not enough.
I thought that my $1 BCH goal can still wait and I still have a few months to save that.
It's really a good thing that I saved bitcoin cash since last year because it saved me from the trouble of getting into a debt. Instead of applying at a lending company to pay for the new laptop, I used my saved bitcoin cash.
**May 13, 2015**
I sent all my more than two weeks BCH earnings from noise.cash and read.cash to my coins.ph account.
A total of $80 which I used to buy a printer. This is so unexpected because I didn't really intend to buy a printer because I was expecting that the school will provide that, but no they didn't.
After sending all my earnings, the price of bitcoin cash dumped so it I didn't get the amount I was expecting to get once I convert it to fiat money, so I still need more money. I can't get the amount I sent on Binance because I traded for Stable Coins.
Good thing that one of my good friends lent me a small amount that I can add to my existing money.
Micro Tips From Noise Helped Me
Noise.cash is no doubt one of the best communities there is. Anyone can make an account, post some ‘*noises*’ and you will enjoy the perks of earning bitcoin cash for your hard work. And since anyone can join without undergoing any verification process, it can also be easily accessed by spammers. In the past few months, while noise is still on it’s *pioneer days*, spammers became rampant on the site. With the efforts to fight off spammers, there’s a lot of updates on the site recently.
Though there are a lot of spammers on the site, there’s still a lot of genuine users who interacts with others and are even willing to help others through bitcoin cash.
I had a firsthand experience of it a few days ago. Since I already withdrew all my earnings from that site, and I still need more money. I post a '*noise*' about my dilemma. I didn't expect to get a lot of support from the other users.
I didn't expect that my post will garner such a huge amount of tips from other users. Two users even gave a $1 tip coming from their own wallet via QR code.
They even left encouraging comments on my post. Just this morning, I checked on the post again to take a screenshot so I can use it for this article and I was surprised that it already garnered a total of $4.76, so I wondered who gave another tip. I went on on to my notification and checked every single notif, and I found out that another $1 tip was given by @Parot which is none other than @Ruffa of read.cash.
So thank you so much @Ruffa for your generosity and kindness. You don't know how much this means to me because, this four-dollar tip can already buy one ream of A4 bond papers which I can use to print the week 3 Learning Activity Sheets of my pupils.
This is a big thing because I don't have to get from my own wallet (and to be honest I no longer have anything left to get), I don't have to ask the parents for contributions (and I don't want to do it neither because they are very poor and obviously struggling financially as well).
I'm really thankful that I learned about saving bitcoin cash because it saved me from being indebted to others, I can help others through it and I gained genuine virtual friends.
Sudden Routine Changes
I already expected that new work and new workplace will change my daily routine. But I didn't expect that the changes are drastic and it is so different from what I am used to.
Prior to this, I am already used to wake up early. I used to wake up at 5:00 a.m. but ai just linger in bed doing nothing. But now, I have to wake up at 3:30 a.m. or 4:00 a.m to prepare for work. I can't just linger in bed upon waking up and do nothing. I have to prepare my snacks, cook food for my packed lunch, prepare my clothes, take a bath before 5:00 and do my make up. Of course, make up is still part of the routine lol.
**A Glimpse of My Morning**
Today is just like the past days. It's just that I am supposed to be working from home, but one of my co-teachers asked me to come to school today so I could lend a hand in sorting out the test papers that will be checked by evaluators from the district office. This is very important for everyone at school because they've been preparing for it for months now, even when I'm not a member of the faculties yet.
I already have scheduled engagements prior to this and it is of equal importance too, but I don't have a choice but to go to school and assist them. I don't want to leave a bad impression because I am just a newbie. The teacher also asked me not to go home this afternoon and stay for an overnight at her house instead so we can finish everything before tomorrow morning.
So I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and prepared breakfast and lunch.
I cooked fried chicken for my packed lunch because it is more safe to bring your own foods nowadays. Add the fact that I'm going to a farflung area so I have to be extra careful.
This is already prepared by my sister the night before. I asked her to prepare it for me because I am already exhausted and fell asleep as soon as I ate dinner. So this morning, I just have to fry it.
Packing some snacks.
I'm a certified foodie so I just can't leave home without bringing snacks. I prepared a lot of candies (but not visible in the photo), cupcakes, biscuits and I also brought two bottles of water and a bottle of tea. Don't get me wrong, I'm not eating all of this. I plan to share some with the babies at school.
After preparing my foods, I packed my clothes that I need for the next two days. I'll be sleeping at my co-teacher's house so I need those clothes.
I took a bath and prepared myself then off I go!
My dad normally accompany me to school, he drop me off the school and fetches me in the afternoon. But I am going alone today so I will just commute and ride a public jeepney. Jeepney is the only mode of transportation going to my workplace so I'm riding it today. I went at the terminal at 5:50 a.m. but it's past 7 a.m. now and I'm still here. There are several teachers waiting too. How do I know that they are teachers? Well, they look like one hehe.
A **taho** vendor came by and I bought one for me because I only drank a cup of coffee before leaving my house. It's good to eat while waiting because it saves me from feeling bored.
**The Rest Of the Day**
I used to sleep during noon before, but I can't do that now. I have lots of work to do after eating my lunch so sleeping is already eliminated on my daily routine.
Yesterday, since it rained cats and dogs during noon, I have to clean the entire classroom so there's really no time to rest.
The entire afternoon is spent on sorting the test papers, writing and meeting parents who drops by the school to meet their kid's new teacher.
Travelling time and the heavy workload exhausts me and I don't have the energy to do anything as soon as I got home but what doesn't change is that I am still able to post noises on noise.cash.
I am overwhelmed by the sudden changes in my routine but it doesn't exhaust me emotionally. I have this feeling of fulfillment every time I get home and I'm happy because I enjoys what I'm doing. I'm happy because the environment in my new workplace is not toxic. Everyone is willing to lend a hand and they are really nice - I even get free foods everyday!
My First Day At School As A Teacher
When I was still a student, I always dread the first day of school. I was socially awkward before and I don't know how to approach my peers as well as my teachers. I also hate the get-to-know-everyone part where I have to repeatedly introduce myself but at the end of the day everyone will still forget my name and I have to go through the same process the next day.
But those are my feelings as a student. Now that it's my first day at school as a teacher, it's a mixed emotion, but contrary to what I felt as a student, I didn't dread my first day. I was excited instead. I was excited because I've been waiting for this moment for more than a year. If the pandemic didn't happen, I would've been teaching for a while now. Well, I don't wish to dwell in those what-if's now.
My first day at school as a teacher was exciting, chaotic, tiring and fun! See it's a mixed emotion.
I started my day upon waking up at 4:30 a.m., don't get me wrong I didn't wake up early just because I'm excited. This is my normal time of waking up. I did my morning routine and wrote and published an article on read.cash first. At 6:00 a.m. as soon as I ppu lished my article my mom is already nagging me to hurry up because I'll be late. The truth is I don't know what time I should go to school since there is no regular classes.
Travelling from home to my workplace takes more than an hour since it is located at the coastal area.
We departed at 8:00 a.m. and my parents looks more excited than me. They didn't even sent me to school during my first day in grade 1, but on my first day as a teacher they are both sending me off. I think that is weird and embarrassing that at my age, my parents are both sending me off, so when the principal and my co-teachers asked me how I get there and how am I going to go home in the afternoon since there'll be no more public mode of transportation beyond 2:30 p.m., I simply told them that my dad is waiting outside.
This is what the road looks like. It's dangerous because there's a landslide here from time to time so there is always a need to repair the road. It has always been like this since then.
Aside from the dangerous road, I also saw a lot of slogans on the roadside saying: **'NPA Tama Na, Sobra Na**' and '**NPA Salot Sa Lipunan'.** This is more dangerous than the roads. There's a lot of members of the New People's army dwelling in this town and they extort money from everyone - from vendors to professionals. This is the reason why my parents doesn't want me to travel alone and my dad didn't allow me as well to live alone at our house located in this town. Because those members of the NPA might come after me and ask for money. This is not just a rumor, this is a true story. We know this will happen because my cousin's wife who was a newly hired teacher and was assigned on one of the barangays here experienced the same thing. The rebels asked for Php. 20,000 ($421) from her and she had to give them that amount the following day after they asked for the money so they can spare her life. This is just one of the many similar experiences. And I'm afraid it will happen to me as well if I don't take some precautionary measures.
Going back to my first day as school, I arrived at the school past 9:00 a.m. and I was surprised that there's a lot of people there - from pupils to parents and teachers! The school has two campuses and as soon as I get out of my dad's tricycle, I asked a parent for directions. She led me to the principal's office. The principal hasn't arrived yet. The other grade 3 teachers warmly welcomed me as a new member of the team.
The principal arrived few minutes after me and she was too loud and happy to see me - because she's my professor back in college! It was chaotic at her office because there are wires that sparked and had the risk of causing a fire, so everyone in the office were screaming and running. It was resolved few moments later.
I was oriented by the principal and she also introduced me to every teacher who comes inside her office.
From 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. I just stayed at the grade 1 room because my room is still under repair. I just sat at the corner and watched the other teachers do their job while parents and students are coming in and out to get their '*feeding supplies', cards and sign some papers.* Everyone is too busy while I was just sitting there and posting noise on noise.cash, it was too boring.
At 11:00 a.m., I was told by the grade 3 grade level chairman to go and take my lunch. My parents are waiting for me outside the school.
The school is located near the sea, so we ate our lunch near the beach. We stayed there until 12:30 and it was indeed refreshing. My dad even swam for a few minutes. I thought I should bring a swimwear next time so that I can also take a swim during lunch time. 😂
I went back to school before 1 p.m. but the rooms and the principal's office is still closed so I just stayed at the shed near the gate and took some photos of the school grounds.
When the teachers finally arrived, we chatted for a while then everyone went to their respective classrooms.
I just can't sit there and do nothing so I asked one of the grade 3 teachers if there's something I can do because I'm already bored from sitting and doing nothing while they are all busy with stuffs. So she introduced me to one of the teachers in grade 3 who is a Master Teacher and in charge of the curriculum development team. I was asked to sort out the test papers from school year 2017-2020. I thought it's just a piece of cake, but it's not. It's too complicated and tiring. We are doing it for the school validation that will be conducted next week.
My first day ended like this. The teachers of the Elementary school where I am assigned danced Zumba and this is the first time in a while that I danced again. Next week, I'll be one of the leaders for the Zumba and I am quite nervous because I don't know how to dance. 🙀
Morning Spent in The Internet World
Upon waking up each morning what do you usually do? Do you open your eyes, looks for your phone, check your messages or connect with your social media friends?
What makes you busy in the morning? Are busily with preparing breakfast for your family? Do you prepare yourself for work? Or do you just spend most of your time lingering in bed?
Well as for me, upon waking up each morning I get my phone that is located near my bed, opens my **JW Library application** installed on my phone where I can read the daily bible text and the corresponding comment or explanation. Then I express my gratitude to God for giving me the chance to wake up again and for giving me the gift of life through prayer. I thank him for all the blessings he gives me and my family and ask him to protect me and my loved ones from any harm. Then I go back to bed and just stay there for minutes. Sometimes, it took me hours before I get out of bed.
But these days, instead of just lingering in bed after doing the important stuffs in my morning routine, I usually spend time in the internet world.
Noise.cash
One month ago I uninstalled the Facebook application on my phone. I only install it if there's an important stuff I need to check in there. The only social media I have on my phone is Instagram where I usually post my photos. I spend my hours on noise.cash instead. Since I'm a *social media bug* (recently heard this term on a variety show lol), I love posting nonsensical stuffs on social media such as memes, quotes and funny videos. Sometimes, other people judge me for that saying I'm a teacher, so I must behave well and not share those memes on Facebook. Facebook nowadays has become very toxic, and I don't want to deal with the toxicity to have a peace of mind. This is why I love posting on noise instead. Aside from enjoying the platform, I van also interact with other users which usually gives positive feedbacks and comments on my posts. And add the fact that I am earning bitcoin cash from my stupid posts as well. How great is that! In the morning, I usually spend 20-30 minutes posting, commenting, replying to comments and giving tips.
**Read.cash**
Of course, when it comes to my main source of bitcoin cash, read.cash is still the best. After posting a few noises and interacting with others and giving tips, I open another tab and checks my read.cash account, reads a few interesting articles, leaves a comment if I feel like doing it, gives little upvotes and reply to comments on my articles. If I have a few time, I also write an article in the morning since my mind is still fresh and ideas are usually coming to me in the morning.
Publish0x.com
My authorship request was approved several months ago, but I am not really active on that site as I am here. Unlike on read.cash I am overwhelmed by the articles I see there, wherein most are crypto-related topic, and I am not good in those topics. But I tried to go to the explore tab and I realized that there are also topics published there such music, photography and arts. So I published some of my photography articles there as well, and I'm happy to see that my articles are getting a small amount of tips.
Binance
During my early days on read.cash, I never cared about the price of bitcoin.cash. But as I learned to hodl my earnings, I started to check the price every morning on the bitcoin.com application. But when I tried the spot trading on binance as suggested by my virtual friends, I learned that it is better to check the price there and trading from one coin to another is a lot easier. Compared on bitcoin.com application where sideshift is always disabled so you will never be able to take advantage of the volatility of the prices through swapping your favorite coin to stable coins. Yesterday, as I spent my morning on the internet world, I also spared some time for browsing binance. I watched a few videos there to understand things better, and I also sent all my read.cash earnings and set it up for sot trading. Since two of my articles got the upvotes when the price of BCH is high, I traded it before the price gets lower. And just buy again when it gets higher.
So that's how I spent my morning in the internet world yesterday. How about you? How do you spend your time in the mornings?
Weekend Adventure
Last weekend, I was invited by my friends to a trip. I went with them to the beach because they are celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary. I tagged along with their entire family and I was really happy and excited because I've been really waiting for someone to invite me to go to the beach so much! And who am I to let this amazing opportunity pass?
Things happened so I didn't expect that we will still go on a trip, but two days before, I still prepared and bought myself a pair of rashguard. I am not the type of girl who wears bikinis neither a one piece swimsuit. I prefer to wear a rashguard because I care about my skin a lot and I don't want to ruin it in just a day. I also prepared two sets of sunscreen protection in case I have to go on a swim. Normally, when I go to the beach, I just sit at the seashore, take pictures and admire the beauty of nature, but since I am going with my friends, I expected that we will be having lots of fun and playing under the scorching heat of the sun will be unavoidable.
Friday came and my friend Mayt contacted me about it. I also asked her if I need to bring something aside from myself. So she told me that we should just bring junk foods and drinks. While she and her husband are still working, I went to the supermarket to buy the things we need.
By 12:30 a.m. Mayt sent me a message asking me if I am already prepared because we have to rush over to her parent's house since every one is waiting already.
In this article, let me show you some photos during the trip and let me tell you something about the photo as well.
Before Reaching the Destination
Before we reach the destination, we have to travel for more or less 2 hours. Travelling time was never boring because there are a lot of beautiful sceneries I saw along the way.
This is a sort of mini lake that is just near the road. I took the picture while the vehicle is moving, good thing that it is not blurred. This is already in Pioduran, Albay and we are already near our destination.
I really love passing by this road because of the view. It is overlooking the vast blue sea. But be careful, beauty can be deceiving. No matter how beautiful the road looks like, it is very dangerous because there's a lot of cliffs here and road curves and slopes, especially if you are not familiar with the road.
This is a coastal area so most of the houses looks like these. They are huts roofed with nipa and some are roofed with coconut leaves. Don't underestimate these houses because these are really sturdy. This also looks like a very peaceful neighborhood compared to the neighborhood in town.
Arrived At The Destination
Finally, we arrived at our destination. It is popularly known as **Punta Almara Beach Resort,** but aside from Punta Almara, there are other resorts here such as La Veranda Beach Resort and Punta Estrella Beach resort.
Based on the houses that you can see in the picture above, you probably know now why it is called ***'La Veranda'*** because the houses where guests can stay have cute verandas facing the sea.
Of course we are not the type to forget taking pictures of ourselves. So after takin photos of the surroundings, we took photos of ourselves too!
This is me trying to pose in front of the camera, but the photo looks epic because I am not yet ready to take a photo. I still have to put myself in a good condition to strike for an *'awra'* LOL.
Love what you see already? Well, here's more of my random snaps.
Random Snaps At The Beach
I love taking random photos because it doesn't only look cool, but it's awesome to think that you are able to freeze a moment that you will never get back again. Just look at this boat, it looks amazing right?
Just borrowed my friend's sunglasses and tried this random snap again. It looks cool right?
I was wandering at the beach alone, (well because I love being alone!) when I saw these fishermen trying to make their boats move. I thought they were getting ready for fishing, I just love how the scene looks like so I took a picture of it.
These are the tents where we passed the night at Punta Almara. We slept here lying at the cold sand, but it's okay because we felt nice upon waking up.
It's nice to go on an adventure and nature trip every once in a while and I'm glad that I tagged along in this trip. I waited for months for this and finally it happened! I had so much fun and it made me forget the bitter summer of 2020 where I was just stuck at home, browsing the internet to look at photos of tropical beaches and imagining myself being there.
I still have a lot of photos and stories to tell, but since it is already close to 1:30 a.m. at the time of writing, I will just share the other photos next time. Let me at least leave a photo of this self-proclaimed frustrated blogger before I travel to dreamland.
`All photos are legitimately taken by yours truly.`
Family Not by Blood, But by Heart
Has it ever occurred to you when people who are previously strangers but eventually they became like your own family? I was thankful to God for giving me friends that seems like a family to me.
Since childhood there was a huge gap between my parents and I. We are never that close. They're always focused on work that I feel like they neglected me when it comes to my moral, emotional and spiritual needs. Probably because they married at a young age, so they didn't know yet their full responsibilities as parents. Maybe they thought that being able to provide all my materials needs is already enough. As I was growing up, I started to get more and more distant from them and I also planted resentment against them. I came into the conclusion that our relationship will never get any better.
But as I grow older, I get a broader understanding of things and I started to understand my parents more. There was a convention I attended before, and it made me realize that I just have to look at my parents positively and focus on the good things they do instead of the negative things. I started to open up my heart for them and since they can’t do it, I made the first move to try to talk to them at times and build a better relationship as a family.
But prior to this, I am thankful because I found families that treats me like their own family member.
I have friends who eventually became like a family to me, not by blood, but at least by heart. So let me tell you the story.
It was way back in 2015 when I met them. I never imagined that I’ll get so close to them. Before, I don’t have friends that I consider true, and what I mean by that are the friends that I will never be ashamed of showing the real me. At school, I have lots of friends, but they are just school time friends. So I prayed hard to the extent that I am crying every time I pray. I prayed so hard to God to help me find true friends, friends that has the same belief and principles as me. I just realized that he answered my prayers a couple of years later.
One of them is @Mayt. We are not each other’s best friend, but she’s a true friend to me. I can say that she’s a true friend because she’s there during good times, she comforts me during hard times, and she never tolerated me when I’m wrong. She also commends me at times. And I didn’t just found a friend in her, a family as well.
Before she got married, we were always together almost every day, not just her but her entire family as well. Their family became my dream family. Her parents are so nice to me, to my sister and to my cousin that they also treat us like their own. We can barge into their house any time we want, we can sleep over, and sometimes we even have small parties. When they celebrate something as a family, they always invite us to join. When I was having a hard time because of my family, they are there to listen to my rants and that feels wonderful.
Mayt’s parents are my ultimate ‘***sanaol***’ couple. Even when they are already married for 29 years, their sweetness may seem like they just got married yesterday. When you observe them, you will never feel bitter even if you’re single, instead you’ll dream of being married just like them.
See how they are stuck in their own world even when we are taking a group photo.
Two weeks ago, it was their 29th wedding anniversary, and they planned an outing to celebrate it, and they invited me and my cousin to join them. Things happened so it was rescheduled a week later. My cousin was unable to come because she have some important stuffs to take care of, so I'm the *'****sampid****' (outsider)* during the trip. But it's okay since there was never an instance that I felt being out of place.
Here's a group photo of us the night after we arrived at the resort.
We tried water activities and their first sibling is busily playing with his girlfriend so I'm taking his place instead on this photo LOL.
We had a great time here and I will be writing a separate article about the trip later.
Just Some Thoughts
I was lying on my back on the sand with only the thin sheet of the camping tent's flooring protects me from the cold. I can hear the voices of other people who are already awake right this moment, the gentle sounds of the wave and a snoring from the nearby tent. Three gals are sleeping right beside me.
I was stationed at the other end of the tent, and I was next to my friend who got married just a few months ago. She should be sleeping next to her husband, but since we don't have enough amenities for sleeping, we decided that girls should just sleep altogether and boys should also sleep together at the other camping tent.
I am currently here at the beach with my friend's family for her parent's post-wedding anniversary.
The solemnness of the night made me contemplate on a lot of things.
We arrived here a while ago in the afternoon. After putting off our stuffs, what's next? Of course, it's pictorial time!
One of my friends suddenly ask me where my partner is since there are couples everywhere. They were laughing about it, so I just laughed too because I know that she's just kidding me. I just told them that I am was not informed to bring my partner. 🤷🏻♀️
But seriously, I dread moments like this. I am not bitter whatsoever just because they have their partners while I am single. It just doesn't feel good when they have to poke a finger on that. I am happy with being single, but some people make me feel like being single is something that should be pitied on. I want to experience the joy of being in a relationship too, but not now. Not this soon.
Most singles out there will surely agree that being single is not bad at all. Here's why:
**You have lots of time for yourself.** When you're single, you don't have to use your time updating your mate about what's happening in your life every moment of the day. It's tiring to constantly write a message or dial the phone just to talk to your significant other.
**No moments of jealousy.** I understand that when you truly love someone, you don't want to lose them. And I came into the conclusion that this may be one of the reasons why jealousy exists in relationships, because when your partner becomes interested in other people, specially the opposite sex, there is a chance that they may like that person, and in the end leave you. Moreover, when you are in a relationship, of course it is only natural to want them to express their love for you, it may be through caring and efforts. But what if your partner asks someone else whether they have eaten or not? What if, instead of helping you first, they helped another girl or guy first? Of course, you'll feel jealous, and that's only natural! But, when you are single and not committed to anyone, you don't have to worry about these things!
**You can strive for more goals for yourself** without asking for your partner's approval. Supposed you want to travel the world for quite some time, if you're single that's fine, but if you are already married, that's not fine unless you travel together.
**You can make decisions by yourself**. This is compared to when you are already married. Because when you are married, you become one flesh with your mate, meaning you shouldn't make decisions for yourself and ask your mate's opinion first. Specially if you are a woman, you should always talk everything to your husband because he's the head of the family. When you are single, you don't have to ask anyone's approval, unless you are not yet at a legal age, because your parents should decide for you.
**You are free to meet anyone and get to know about them**. Well, no need to explain right?
**You have all your hard-earned money to yourself.** Of course when you're married everything is now a conjugal property, and it includes your income. And most of your money will go to your family's needs, you can seldom spend your money for luxuries.
I can make a list longer than these since I know very well how good it is to be single. But I will not elaborate everything.
Well, you might conclude that I am too bitter because I kept pointing out the negative things about being in a relationship and being married. So let me also discuss here why it's also good to be married.
**Two is better than one.** I know that this line is cliché, but it is still true until now. When you are alone, who will pick you up when you fall? Unlike when you are married, someone is there to easily extend a hand when you tripped. And you won't have to bother your friends when you feel bored, when something is bothering you and when you have a problem. Because your mate should be your best friend, and you should come to them first instead of your friends.
**You won't experience being bullied because of being single.** I am an independent woman, so I don't care about the 'two is better than one' line. But I am always bullied for being single, so I like this idea the most. When you are married, or just in a relationship your friends won't dare to bully you for being alone and single, especially during get-together or parties.
**Someone is there to let you feel that you are loved and cared for.** Compared when you're single, it's good when someone makes you feel loved and cared for even without asking for it, because they will just naturally express it through their actions.
Whether it's being single or married both have its advantages and downsides. It is up to someone whether they focus on the positive or the negative.
Watching my married friends show their love for their spouses is beautiful. I feel happy for them when I see them express their love for each other in simple ways such as making a cup of coffee for their mate, sharing the food in one plate and just seeing them smile at each other. I'm just happy seeing my friends happy. It's different when they are still in a relationship as girlfriend and boyfriend when they seem to have their own world and I feel really bitter because of that LOL.
These are the thoughts that lingered on my mind after while I was trying to put myself to sleep the last time we went to the beach.
And! And here's a random photo of the couples. I tried to capture this because I was just sitting on a corner since I don't have a partner. (How pitiful LOL just kidding)
Gadget Hunting
Gadget is no longer a luxury nowadays, one should at least have a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop to be used for online learning and other important stuffs such as for banking, online shopping, researching and work.
As a student before, it was really hard not to have my own laptop. Good thing, my uncle bought me a new one at the time that I badly need it the most. It was a Lenovo laptop, not the newest model, but it functioned well until I graduated from in college. I had a lot of memories with that laptop, so I really treasured it. However, time came that it had to say goodbye to me. My sister's cat jumped on it and when I tried to open it, it doesn't even want to power on. I literally cried because of the files stored in that laptop. All my graduation photos are stored there. But one of these days I am going to ask around if I can still retrieve the files.
I no longer have a laptop, but it is an essential need for me. I will be working as a teacher for several months, so I badly need a new laptop.
Furthermore, I decided to withdraw a portion of the bitcoin cash I am holding on my bitcoin wallet which came from my more than one month of earnings from noise.cash and add it to the money I currently have. I want to get a new one that I can use even for online teaching if in case I have to go back to being jobless after a few months. But my budget can't afford the latest unit, so I decided to just get a loan from Home Credit. Home credit is a financial institution that allows you to get your desired gadget and any other products for installments. I heard that within 20 minutes any loan is approved by them.
I went to Legazpi City to buy a new laptop via installments.
I chose Acer Aspire A514-53--39QP (that's what it says LOL). It is worth Php. 27,999 ($559.98) and I have to pay Php. 2,000 every month for 12 months. That's too much but then I don't have a choice.
This is the ACER store located at Ayala Malls Legazpi, I took the picture while waiting for my loan to be approved.
30 minutes has passed, I keep waiting. Then I received this text message:
*Dear S*********** *C****, thank you for applying for a loan with us. We regret to inform you that your loan was not approved. After careful consideration, your application did not meet our eligibility criteria. Please try again after 3 months.*
Sad to say, my loan was not approved so I have to go home with a heavy heart 😅. Just kidding. I decided to roam around the city to look for laptops that I can buy for a cheaper price that will suit my budget. I will just buy it in cash since I have a money, I just don't want to spend it in one spending hehe.
I went to SM City Legazpi, and saw this cheap laptop. It is only Php. 16,990 ($340). But I am not familiar with this brand which says '***Avita***', so I decided to look for more.
I went back to town and tried to look for more cheaper laptops that I would like.
At the mall near my house, the cheapest they have is a Lenovo notebook which is worth Php. 16,995. I am not sure if it's worth it though.
So I went home and told my mom about it. She told me that there's a supermarket in Iriga City, which is located at the nearby province that sells legitimate gadgets for a cheap price. The owner of the supermarket is Chinese that's why all their products are sold cheap.
But the problem is that I'm not sure if there's still a travel restriction when going to different provinces in the region. I asked around and good thing, they allow it now as long as you have a face mask and face shield and an Identification Card (I.D.).
Sad to say, I have to withdraw $100 more from my BCH holdings to buy a new laptop 😭
The next day, my mom accompanied me to the nearby province, and there I found an **Acer Aspire 3** laptop and I bought it for only Php.17,999 ($360). It is Php.6,00 cheaper than what is sold at the malls in Legazpi. I also got free bag and flash drive so I am satisfied with my purchase. And what's even better is that I don't have to think about paying for a loan every month!
So there it is, I'm thankful that I have BCH holdings that saved me from asking others or even my parents for money. I regret to withdraw a portion of my holdings, but on the second thought, I still have an opportunity to earn more in the future.
Crypto Noob: Problems I Encountered and How I Solved Them
It's been quite some time since I was exposed to crypto currency. More than 10 months to be exact. That's when I first joined read.cash. Back then, as a crypto noob I didn't know the importance of hodling crypto, as soon as I have a little earnings from read.cash I would eventually convert it to my fiat currency and I'm happy and satisfied with that.
But time flies, and I gained few virtual friends. At first, we only discuss stuffs and talk via the comments section of our articles but as time goes by, we became comfortable and contacted each other outside read.cash such as twitter and telegram.
One of the users who influenced me and I think the others as well, to hodl the bitcoin cash I earn on this site is @Eybyoung. She published articles about her crypto learnings which can be valuable to newbies. And on the telegram group, she's been telling us about her bitcoin cash holdings too.
So back in December 2020, I started to hodl my earnings as well. Since I am not that active here anymore compared to my newbie days, I earn just a little amount of BCH. So what I do with my earnings is I keep a portion of it for my 1 BCH goal (though I'm not part of the club lol) and a portion for emergency purposes.
Then one day, noise.cash was born so I can earn a little extra to save.
But as a newbie I encountered several problems on my crypto transactions, good thing that there are several users and friends out there who experienced the same thing and wrote articles about it.
@Jane and @Ruffa's articles helped me a lot to solve the problems I encountered.
**Problem Moving My Noise Earnings to Another Wallet**
When noise.cash was born, I immediately created an account as soon as I found out about it on the read.cash site. It's fun getting those little amount of satoshis given by random users. And I was so happy when I got my free tips and I could give tips to others too. I usually give out $0.01-$0.03 to every post. I didn't spend, sell, or convert my noise.cash earnings to my fiat currency. I just hodl it on my noise bitcoin.com wallet. It's fun seeing the 1 cent tips grow into a bigger amount as time goes by. Then one day, there's an emergency and I had to move my noise earnings. But alas! To my surprise I was having a hard time transferring it to another wallet. I tried multiple times to transfer it but to no avail. I keep getting a message that says: "**Failed transaction. Wait for the next block."** And I was also surprised that I had to pay a *large* fee for the transaction. I got confused that time because bitcoin cash is known and loved by cryptosiasts because of low transaction fees.
I tried posting about my dilemma on noise.cash and several users told me tht they experience the same thing. So I had to do a research. I went to read.cash and scanned @Ruffa's articles because I saw that she published a similar article about my problem on my notification, I just didn't read it. So I checked and found this article:
**Sending funds Transaction Failed (Bitcoin.com Wallet)** https://read.cash/@Ruffa/sending-funds-transaction-failed-bitcoincom-wallet-b0d134ee
And tried to search for more similar articles and found this article written by @Jane **Encountered Issues In Using Bitcoin.com Wallet, How Did I Handle Them?** https://read.cash/@Jane/encountered-issues-in-using-bitcoincom-wallet-how-did-i-handle-them-e07585b8
I found out that some people also experienced the same thing and I learned the reason why I have to pay large transaction fee and why I can't move my BCH from my noise wallet to another wallet. **(Just click the link if you're interested to know why.)**
After following the instruction, I'm already frustrated and demotivated because I was thinking that my more than 1 month of earnings from noise will only be wasted. Ate Jane advised me to transfer small amount first. So what I tried to break it into small amounts, $2-3 every transaction, and finally.... I was able to move every bit of BCH I have in that wallet.
One thing I learned from that experience is to change my wallet every once in a while. And it's also a good thing that I experience this because every time one of my friends are having the same trouble I could explain amd help them.
**My BCH Address Changed**
One time, another user posted about BCH jolly, a BCH mining site on noise and I joined too. I only deposited $3 on that site because that's the only amount I could afford to lose. I got my $0.43 back during my first cash out. But after several days, I tried to log in again, it says that I don't have an account with that address. Good thing that I read Ruffa's article about her experience, similar to mine.
**Why our BCH Addresses are Changing** https://read.cash/@Ruffa/why-our-bch-addresses-are-changing-62307637
If I didn't read it first hand, I probably would've freaked out. Instead, I just chilled because I already had my wallet address backed up on my notepad. When I copied it, it worked perfectly fine and I was able to access my account on BCH jolly again. But sad to say, after a week it ended up as a scam - I lost my $2.57. It was a small amount, but for me that means a lot because I spent so much time to earn that amount by making quality posts om noise. Well, that's part of the learning process.
**Transferring from Binance to Bitcoin.com**
Today, I tried to move my bitcoin cash from binance back to my bitcoin.com wallet. But I keep getting an error message that says my **withdrawal address format is wrong.** I tried doing it over again several times but I still can't proceed. So I tried to remove the words **'bitcoin cash'** from the address and it worked. But I still asked Ruffa if I'm doing the right thing just to make sure that I won't lose my money.
And finally, I received a notification that it was transferred successfully.
I know that I'm like at idiot for still asking even though I already know the answer, but I can't help it, because I just want to make sure not to lose my hard-earned money.
I'm sure that along the way, I will encounter more problems, but I am assured that my virtual friends who are ahead of me, will surely lend their hands to help a crypto noob (and idiot 😂) like me. 😉
My Experience before Becoming a Government Employee
Two weeks ago I spontaneously decided to quit my office job. It was too sudden and urgent. I did it after receiving a call from my cousin, he told me that the principal from the school near our house was looking for me, and I was asked to report to the **Department of Education**- **Division Office** to check.
I was at work that time, so I hurriedly finished the documents and informed my boss that I'm going to the city briefly and I will just return in the afternoon. Good thing that she understood and let me go.
I went there, and I was informed that I will be assigned as a substitute teacher in the coastal area. This could be an opportunity for me to gain a teaching experience, so I grabbed it even though I am not yet sure what's going to happen to me. That place is quite far from home, and I'll probably lose my salary for transportation fare. But then, I'm just starting off, so I need to sacrifice. This is all for the sake of experience and not the salary.
I was given a sheet of paper where all the requirements I need to submit are written. And to my surprise, there's a lot and I need to accomplish everything within three days!
I'm good at obtaining stuffs like these because I already have prior experience. I decided to finish it all within two days, but I am unable to because the government offices that time are closed since it is a holiday (and I am not informed).
I decided to start from obtaining a ***medical certificate***. So I had to get myself tested.
What I fear the most during medical examination is getting my blood drawn for a blood test. I didn't even look when the laboratory guy started to get the syringe. Good thing that it was done fast, but my heart is throbbing fast as well.
Then I had a urinalysis, drug test, chest x-ray, and lastly the neuro-psychiatric examination. It took me more than two hours to finish everything and I paid **Php. 1,700** on these **($34)**.
Then I went to my University to obtain a **certified true copy of my Transcript of Records**, but I failed because it was a holiday. Since it was friday that time, I decided to resume on monday.
I already had a copy of the other files that I have to submit and I just need to fill it up. I had a hard time filling up the **Assets and Liabilities form** because I don't have any asset aside from being pretty. 😹
Good thing that I already have my **original birth certificate** from Philippine Statistics Office, I got it back in 2011 and it's still valid,so I no longer have to suffer from the long lines at PSA.
Monday came and I went back to the city. I went to **National Bureau of Investigation** to get a **clearance** and I went through loops just to get it. Appointments and payments are now made online and the nearest possible date for me to get my clearance is on May. So, I went to **NBI** and asked the staffs if it's possible for me to get it earlier. Good thing that they allowed me to do so as long as I already paid for the clearance! I have to go back and forth because my payment code is not working, so I have to find other payment centers. I spent more or less **Php. 300 ($6)** just to get the clearance, but it's all worth it because of the fast transaction.
Then I went to the **Diagnostics Laboratory** to get my medical examination results.
After that, I obtained a certified true copy of my transcript of records at my university and spent almost **Php. 100** **($2).**
Then I went to the **Regional Center** in the city. This is where the offices of most of the government agencies can be found.
I went to **Professional Regulation Commission** first to get my **Certificates of Board Passing**, **Good Standing** and A **certified photocopy** of my **Professional License**. It's not easy to get those certificates because it has to be processed online as well and certified true copies can't be processed online. I even had a conflict with the lady who's doing the online processing because she's not listening to my explanation. To my annoyance, I barged inside the PRC office instead and told them that I still have my receipt from 2019 for those certificates. They told me that it was already disposed after 6 months of not claiming it but they gave me the privilege to obtain certified true copies again without going through the hassle of online appointment and online payment. I spent **Php. 450** **($9)** for those copies.
I'm good in multi-tasking, so while waiting for the release of my certificates, I went to the **Regional Trial Court** to have my **Personal Data Sheet** notarized at the **Public Attorney's Office** (the lawyer who assisted me is so handsome by the way lol). I probably spent Php. 100 **($2)** for the PDF.
Finally, I got everything I need and I just have to submit it to the Department of Education. As you can see, becoming a government employee is not easy, you have to submit a lot of requirements and spend a lot of money before you work. As for me, I spent a tentative mount of **Php. 5,000** **($100)** but until now they haven't given me the **advice** (a piece of paper) to work yet. Now this makes me think, are my efforts really worth it for this job?
Embarrassing Moments
I had my most embarrassing experience yesterday. It was so embarrassing that I can't help but to share it with others and everyone had a really good laugh after I told them about it.
So let me tell you about it too! I took care of some errands and the schedule was really hectic and as a result I didn't have a choice but to eat my lunch at a later time. By 1 p.m, I already felt a little dizzy because I was famished and at the same time I was holding my pee, because it feels like my gall bladder would explode anytime. Since I was done doing my errands, I decided to grab a lunch at the mall and take care of my call of nature there. But the government agency that I had business with is quite far from there. Waiting for the jeepney and travelling time would take at least 30 minutes.
I finally arrived at the nearest mall, and I was in a hurry to go to the comfort room first since it feels like I'm going to pee on my undies any moment, and that would be really embarrassing. And because I'm '*cheap*', I don't want to pay Php. 10 at the pay CR for just doing my thing lol. After more than five minutes, finally found a comfort room at the third floor of the mall. I saw two ladies outside whose looking at me like I'm a weirdo, but I didn't mind them and hurriedly went inside, did my thing, and finally! Finally, felt relief and comfort after releasing probably almost a liter of pee. 😂
Then I went outside and to my embarrassment, I didn't know that I used the comfort room that is exclusive for the mall's employees! That's probably why the ladies are staring at me because my outfit clearly shows that I'm not an employee. But what's worse is that I realized I entered the comfort room for men! Good thing, no one entered when I was doing my thing! I acted like normal while walking but behind my facemask, my face is burning red.
This is really an embarrassing yet hilarious experience. I shared it on noise.cash and at the bottom of my post, I asked about the embarrassing experience of others. http://noise.cash
There are few who shared their experiences and I find them hilarious.
Who would help their friend when you see them fall from the stairs? Of course we will laugh first lol.
Some of the comments reminded me of my shenanigans that is similar to their experience.
This comment reminded me of my experience several years ago. That was when I was still in college. I went to the city that time along with my classmates to apply for a scholarship on **DSWD** *(Department of Social Welfare and Development),* but there's a lot of other applicants as well so we decided to sleep over outside the mall *(because we were just poor students that time),* so we can go to the DSWD office as soon as the day breaks. Unexpectedly, my menstruation came, and I got blood on my pants. I have no choice but to go to the nearest **Jollibee** *(a fast food chain in the Philippines)* to clean up.
I cleaned up at the fastfood's comfort room and even have the audacity to wash my hair using the bidet! When I went outside the CR, my classmates were so embarrassed for what I did.
And talking about experiences on the CR, I have a handful of that. When I was still working at a BPO company, I got a bloodstain on my pants as well after I woke up, so I washed it on the CR and used the **Hand Dryer machine** to dry it.
Being a socially awkward person is not easy. When people talk to you in public yet your response is not even related to what they told you. Once the cashier asked me: "*would you like to upgrade your coke into Mcfloat*?", I didn't understand what she told me but I nodded, so I was confused when my order came.
And there are instances when the tricycle driver keeps talking to me when I'm the only passenger. It usually sounds like '*shswshssshshshswwwwshshs*' because I can't understand a thing, but I would answer *"yes po"* followed by a fake laugh. Have you done the same thing?
And I think, most of us have that so-called *'****lutang moments****', a* Filipino slang which pertains to a person's lack of organization for a short period of time. A moment where you are not aware of what you're doing because your mind is *floating somewhere*.
I had those ***lutang moments*** too specially when I don't have enough sleep. Once I tried to enter the **production floor,** this is where we do the work in call center companies, the place where we do the inbound and outbound calls. To enter, we need to swipe an ***access card*** on the machine attached near the door. One time, I was so sleepy that I forgot to log out for my daily attendance, so I went back to the production floor but the door won't open even after swiping my access card. It's embarrassing when the guard told me that I was using the baggage counter tag, she laughed and told me **"sabaw ka na naman".** I was too unconscious that time that I realized it when I was already at home.
These are just few of my embarrassing moments that I will never forget, ever. How about you? Care to share yours?
Internet Connection Dilemma
Last week I was too busy with stuffs. I was also in a dilemma.
Here's the thing, two weeks ago we had a wired internet connected installed at home. It's because I'm so sick of the slow data connection of my network providers - I use both Globe and Smart by the way, and both networks will really piss you off when it comes to internet connection. There are moments when I'm watching a video on Facebook or YouTube and I nearly shout because of annoyance every time the video stops for more than a minute. Most of the time, I can't upload photos on noise.cash too, I usually have to use an application to reduce the size of the photos, so I could upload it.
Moreover, my data connection hinders me to attend virtual meetings at home, so I have to go to my friends house for a faster connection since they have Wi-Fi.
So I decided to apply for an internet connection. I applied at *PLDT* before, but I was informed that they cannot approve my request because my house is too far. Then, I learned about *Converge fiber* and I applied for it back in February, but it was to no avail again, it only left disappointment because they can't process my request again. A month later, I applied again along with two of my neighbors and this time it was granted on a condition that we have to provide the poles because the company does not provide that for their customers. Since we badly need it, we agreed, and two weeks later, finally we already have an internet connection!
We went through hoops before we had it installed though. I was not around when it happened, because I was doing some errands, but my sister told me how chaotic it was. The neighbors fought just because of the poles. My parent's doesn't want to get into a conflict with them, so we provided more poles for the cable wire.
Finally, we have fast internet connection, but the cheapskate me feels like I only wasted my money when I can just top up load for my data connection. So I decided to have a *pisonet* business at home. It is very popular in the area where I live because those who can't afford to pay for their own internet connection can connect to a Wi-Fi for as low as PHP. 1 ($0.02). It will be a win-win for me because I have a fast internet connection compared to when I was using data connection, and I can also save money to pay for the preceding month's bill.
My mom told the neighbors about it, and the kids are coming in to have their mobile phones connected to my Wi-Fi. But the problem is that, the pisonet machine is not yet installed. So I decided to just manually connect and disconnect it to the router. I have a *Converge ZTE router*, the problem is that when I connect to the router's default IP address as per instruction on the manual, there is no option to block other users.
Here's how it looks like:
There is only an option to refresh but there's no option to kick out or disconnect users.
I made a research but the tutorials I found on google and youtube are all the same. And their page doesn't look the same as what shows on mine.
I used different keywords such as:
*how to remove users on converge wifi*
*how to kick out users on converge wifi*
*how to block users on converge*
*how to disconnect users on converge Wifi*
But these keywords didn't gave me the answer to my query. Then it occured to me, I changed the keyword, instead of '*converge*' I used '***ZTE router'*** then boom! I found one helpful video on youtube.
So I found out that the reason why I can't block other users is because I was logged-in as '**User**' instead of '**Admin**'.
So I logged in as an admin and this is how my interface looks now:
There is an '*Access Control List*' here and I have the option to block users by entering their *MAC address*. Not all knows this, because I already asked my friends if they know how to block users on a Converge router but no one gave me an answer, some of them told me that they've been searching google how to do it as well!
Good thing I found out how and immediately started with my *business*. It's actually a *singko-net* because they have to pay Php. 5 ($0.10) for an hour of unlimited internet browsing and downloading.
`After a week of not writing an article, I finally published one! It's so hard to think about what topic to write and I also have a lot of unfinished articles on my notes which are more worth to read, but I just can't seem to finish it all. So I decided to go with this topic tonight. Still, thanks for dropping by. 💕`
What's a good Teacher?
"Ate, can you show me how to solve this math problem?" I heard my youngest sister asked our other sibling. She just asked our sister to be her teacher.
No matter what our circumstance is, all of us, at some point of our lives became a teacher. I am not pertaining to being a professional teacher, but our circumstances might have required us to be a teacher.
Showing a child how to make his own milk, giving road directions to a stranger, helping your younger sibling to cook his or her first dish, showing your newbie colleague how a printer works, teaching a baby to say his or her name, or simply guiding your parent how an IOS or android phone works - if you were ever in this situation before, then you were in a situation where you are a teacher.
As a matter of fact, all of us is a teacher. We all have the ability to teach, however not all of us is interested in our teaching abilities. There are those who enjoys explaining things to others and feels satisfied whenever they are able to teach someone a new thing or idea.
*What makes a good teacher then?*
When asked about this question as a child, I would usually answer that a good teacher is someone who is nice, someone who can explain things clearly and someone who understands her students.
When asked about the same question, others will probably say that a good teacher is someone who is skilled and knows his or her subject well. Someone who can help others understand the concept and apply the information in their lives.
To be a good teacher, you need to have and show genuine personal interest in your student, because once they feel that someone is interested in them, students are more likely to respond. Teaching starts with our attitude towards the students. If we truly care for them, it will be the motivating factor to be patient with them, patient enough to explain no matter how hard it is to do so, no matter how long it takes for them to understand. We should let them feel that we understand them and that we are open to hear them out, their comments, reactions and inquiry.
Every time I have a new workplace, I usually have a lot of questions and inquiries and I won't stop asking until I learn how to do things on my own. I really appreciate it when a colleague goes an extra mile just to teach me to become a more efficient worker. But when someone makes me feel like I'm a burden to them for asking a lot of things, and they manifest an unwillingness to teach attitude, that is frustrating.
So as a teacher, I learned that there should not be any room to make the student feel like they are stupid or slow, most specially the children. At a young age, children would naturally want to feel appreciated. Just because they can't understand the concept.
There are people who are not technically a teacher, they don't have much technical skills to teach but still, they became very good teachers, because they show genuine interest, not just towards the learner, but on the subject as well.
I've been tutoring kids for quite some time now, and I must say that it is actually a challenge to get them engage in the lesson. If the subject is not entertaining to them, they seldom responds and shows a dispirited, bored expression. So I have to really show them that I am interested in their welfare and that I am willing to change my approach just to get them engaged in the lesson. I have to be very patient too.
**Few things to make teaching successful.**
***Being lively helps.*** When teaching kids, it is important to be lively so that the excitement of the kids will be triggered, and they get really excited about learning. Personally, since I am teaching kids 5 to 6 years old, I usually incorporate plays and before preparing for the next lesson, I ask them what their likes are and what do they enjoy the most. Once you get their interest, they will be very excited about learning Teachers themselves should manifest enthusiasm to help the learner.M
***Make it simple!***
This is what an experienced teacher once said:
*“The teacher must not only know the material he wants to teach, but also know it in its most simple and yet accurate form. If it is complicated to the teacher, he cannot teach.”*
What is needed is simplicity.
There are times that a teacher knows the subject too well and just says whatever he/she can to impart the idea to the learner, forgetting that it may be a concept to the learner and that it may seem very complicated to them.
So aside from being knowledgeable about the subject, the teacher should also know how to make it simple - explain the ideas in a simple yet clear manner. If possible, use the learner's first language to explain things for better understanding
Simplifying the explanation will make it easier to understand. Avoiding the use of jargon is a must. For example, when I was explaining to m mother what bitcoin cash is, I didn't use the complicated terms that I learned on the internet, instead I simply told her that it's a digital money, she's not that techy, but she understood the concept.
Now suppose that you are teaching your kid how to bake, you have to watch out your vocabulary, using technical terms will be very complicated and will only confuse your child.
***Don't talk too much!***
As a learner myself, I don't learn a lot when the teacher is saying a lot of things, I prefer to learn by doing. I prefer for the teacher to show me how to do things instead of telling me concepts. When I studied about setting up computer networks, I didn't understand a thing during the lesson, I was just yawning all the time and I thought that I'll just drop the subject because it was too complicated, but when the instructor showed us how it's done, and he gave us time to practice, that's when I learned that it's actually not that complicated at all.
***Repeat!***
Repetition always works perfectly! This is what I usually do during my lessons as well and the result is heartwarming. Though there's a kid who doesn't like repeating things, she asked me: "*Teacher, why do you always want me to repeat and repeat and repeat? I know that already."* I simply tell her that it will help her not to forget.
But repeating the same phrase over and over gain may be boring, so it is also important to paraphrase and repeat. This will help the learner to learn the concept and not just memorize.
These are just few suggestions to be effective in teaching. But the question is, should you think about becoming a good teacher or becoming a teacher? The answer is no, like mentioned earlier, all of us is already a teacher. We become a teacher in our everyday life. So the question is: '*are you willing to make an effort to be a good teacher?'*
Wonderful High School Memories
They say that high school life is the best part of being a student. Well, as for me, I won't say that it is the best because my college days experiences are better and way more exciting than my high school days experiences.
But like any other student out there, I also have fun and unforgettable experiences in high school.
**From Star Section to Second Section**
I am just an ordinary girl from a poor family, so my parents sent me to a public school at a nearby town. There is also a school at our barangay where most of my elementary classmates went, but I have to go to the school in town, so I can look after my sister who that time, is studying at a school that caters to children with special needs.
My first day in high school is terrifying because I was at a new environment where I do not know anyone, compared to some of my classmate who went to the same elementary schools together. What comforted me is the fact that like before, I was in a star section again. However, since I am an introvert back then, I cannot fully express myself, and I am very shy during recitations and I don't get along with my classmates. I just sit in a corner and talks only if someone talks to me. I only did well on the written activities and examinations.
Because I performed poorly during my first year, I was transferred to the second section when the second year came. This time, I belonged to the 'elite' students of the class because I came from the star section. I was even elected as a class secretary and became the favorite of several subject teachers. That time, it is a proud moment when you are one of the teacher's pet. 😂
I must say that my life in the second section was much better than when I was in the first section because not everyone is competitive, it's okay to get a low score, you can do crazy stuffs with your classmates and there's no pressure coming from the teachers - you can just totally chill.
Being in the second section helped me to get out of my shell. I became more confident compared to how I was before and this time, I did well again during classes and as a result I was promoted back to the star section during third year and fourth year. The pressure is on again, but my experiences in second year made me braver, and I now have friends to rely on as well. I'm happy to say that I am no longer as introverted as I was in the first year when I left my high school.
**Learned to read romance pocketbooks**
When I was in high school, android phones are not common yet. Most of the students doesn't own a mobile phone either so there is no way to read stories on Wattpad, unlike today.
I was in second year when I learned about romance pocketbooks such as Precious Hearts Romances and Mills and Boon. I was influenced by an older cousin who transferred to my school and I became addicted to it when I was in third year. There's are times that I even skipped my afternoon classes, so I can go to the municipal library with my friends. We stay there for hours, just to read pocketbooks and before going home, we just leave our school library card and borrows a bunch of pocketbooks and novels which is worth a month's read.
What's more thrilling and exciting is reading pocketbooks during class hours, I just put in between the pages of a book or notebook, so the teacher will think that I'm studying hard 😂
But my parents doesn't know that I read it, so at home I was very careful not to get noticed that I'm reading it. Sometimes, I sleep at 3 am because I was immersed in the story, I only use a lighter with a mini flashlight and read the book under a blanket, and sometimes under the bed, not minding if there are any insects lying there.
**The First Crush**
When I was in elementary, I was left behind by my classmates when it comes to crushes. Some of my classmates even have their puppy love while I on the other hand only focuses on books.
But when I was in first year, I got my first ever crush. He was my classmate. During lunchtime, I do not eat my packed lunch in the classroom, instead I eat at my little sister's classroom, it so happen that my classmate '*Juan*' eats his lunch there too because my sister's teacher is his aunt. I was fascinated that every day, we coincidentally have the same food. I don't talk to him, but I always observe him. He's also good in class and have the looks. Because of him, I was always excited to go to school and tries my best to be early, so I can go near him, and get a nearer view of his face during the flag ceremony - because our seats are far from each other in the classroom. I realized that it's good to have a crush, but I was in vain because I was too shy to tell anyone about my feelings.
I got few crushes back in high school and there were fun and memorable memories, but I guess I'll just write a separate article about that.
It's really fun to recall the school tome memories, and writing this made me feel really nostalgic. I still have a lot of wonderful high school memories aside from these, but I will save it for next time.
The Benefits of Walking
Since college, I enjoy walking from home going to school and vice versa because the university where I attended college is just a10-15 minute walk away from home. I walk in the morning, especially during 9 a.m. classes, I walk back home during early breaks and lunchtime, oftentimes I do it even when the sun is scorching hot. And I also walk home after my afternoon classes and whenever class ends before 7 p.m. During those times I have to endure because the money that my mom gives is just enough for snacks and to pay for the tricycle fare back and forth. But I have to save money because we have a lot of paper works to do and most of the time, we are asked to have a photocopy of a book since we can't borrow it from the library for a long period of time.
Those are the reasons why instead of riding a public transportation, I choose to walk instead. But during those times, I experienced mockery and the likes. There are several tricycle drivers who will shout at me telling me *"Hoy naglalakad ka naman ang init init"* (Hey you keep on walking again, it's too hot), *"Sumakay ka na kasi madam, iitim ka niyan, sayang ang puti mo pa naman"* (Why don't you just take a ride ma'am, you'll become dark-skined, you're wasting your fair skin.) And the annoyed me will just answer *"Hayaan mo kuya balang araw makaka graduate din ako sa kakalakad ko"* (Don't worry, I'll graduate one day because I kept on walking).
Since then, I became used to walking and I prefer to walk to my destination rather than wasting my money on fare. Even now that I'm already working, and I have enough money for fare, I still prefer to walk and people here are still in awe every time they see me walking. Sometimes I thought that they are probably not used to seeing a pretty lady who's fond of walking lol. One time I even kidded a tricycle driver that the secret to getting a fair skin is walking under the heat of the sun. I told him to look at the other ladies my age who doesn't like to walk and see the difference, without noticing the sarcasm, he just laughed and told me that I'm either using a whitening soap or probably born a '*mestiza*', and the answer is the latter.
Me and my college friends walking from town going to our university.
Oftentimes, when others see a person walking they'd think that the person is poor or doesn't have money to pay for the fare. But that is not always the reason. There are several reasons why walking is good and in this article I will discuss few of the benefits of walking.
It can be a medicine.
Have you heard of the saying *'laughing is the best medicine'?,* if you do, then I want you to know that '*walking is a good medicine'* too!
According to a magazine I read before, Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician even viewed walking as ***“man’s best medicine.”*** There is even an adage that says, ***“I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.”***
Is there even an evidence that walking is a medicine? Well, according to studies, the people who consistently walks may reduce the risk of getting illnesses compared to those who don't.
Walking can reduce the risk of getting a heart disease and suffering from stroke. I heard a story from an old lady I met before, she's already over 90 years old and when asked about the secret to living a longer life, she said that she just loves walking.
**Here are few excerpts from different studies about the benefits of walking:**
***University of California***. Researchers from this University found out that a 15-minute walk brings more relief from anxiety and tension than a mild tranquilizer! Like other physical activities, walking triggers the release of endorphins, brain chemicals that relieve pain and stimulate relaxation, producing a sense of calm and well-being.
***The Medical Post of Canada*** also states that a leisurely stroll can produce health benefits.
***The New England Journal of Medicine***. A study was published there, and it says that walking as little as half a mile [800 m] a day reduces mortality. Recent studies suggest that exercising three times in a day, for 10 minutes each time, will do you almost as much good as exercising continuously for 30 minutes.
**You can save money.**
Another benefit of walking is being able to save money. Unlike other activities such as running and biking, you don't have to spend your money on buying running shoes, a bicycle and other equipment needed for safety and to become physically fit. You can even walk with your regular clothes on and a pair of slippers! And of course, you can save so much money on fare!
Here are some do's and dont's in walking. I don't own these ideas and only read it on a magazine which I want to share with you in this article.
● Walk tall, with your chin up (parallel to the ground), focusing 20 feet [6 m] ahead
● Maintain a moderate pace. Remember that it is walking, not running or jogging. Do not walk too fast that you almost become out of breath.
● If you want to walk faster, making quick and short steps is better than making elongated steps.
● Swing arms front to back, with elbows close to the body. Avoid swinging your arms from side to side.
● Don’t land flat-footed. Roll through each step, and push off with your toes.
● Don’t feel obliged to carry weights. These throw off natural walking movements and can strain ligaments and tendons.
If you are the type to not enjoy walking, why not try to do it the next time and reap the benefits of walking!
The Beauty of Orchids
**“*****Paint bamboo when you are angry; orchids when you are happy.”***
Orchids have been loved by Oriental gardeners for thousands of years now. Who would not fall in love with the subtle beauty of Orchids? No wonder a lot of plant lovers loves collecting them.
Orchids have been loved by Oriental gardeners for thousands of years now. Who would not fall in love with the subtle beauty of Orchids? No wonder a lot of plant lovers loves collecting them.
Orchids are special because of its subtle beauty. Moreover, it also has endless colors and forms.
The beauty of wild orchids can be found in various places such as mountain peaks, deserts, humid tropical forests and swamps. Most of them grows on trees while others can be found growing on a mangrove or a cactus. They grow on those trees so that their aerial roots will be able to absorb atmospheric moisture. They grow on trees for support.
To produce more orchids, insects plays a vital role in pollination. These flowers don't have the factors that lures insects in such as the pollen - to give the insects foods, and not all the species have nectar too! But despite that, insects still loves the orchids. So what makes the insects become lured into the flower? Orchids possess endless beauty, it has enticing scent and can also disguise themselves.
***Beauty***
Orchids are loved because of its beauty. It has more than 75,000 registered varieties and only few are well-known. It includes the famous ***Cattleya***, ***Phalaenopsis*** and ***Vanda***. These varieties and hybrids are the result of a century of developing. Horticulturists made a significant contribution developing those species.
The orchids being taken care of in gardens are absolutely beautiful, but there are a lot of wild orchids that are a lot more beautiful.
But to the wild orchids, their beauty is not just something to be admires for. The beauty of the wild orchids are what makes them attract the pollinators - the insects. Its colorful petal serves as an invitation for the winged visitors - butterflies, wasps, bees and hummingbirds.
But beauty is not all they offer to invite the visitors. They also have irresistible scent that no pollinator can resist.
***Scent.***
Generally, the overall vision of insects are not that sharp, and as a result there is a possibility that they pass by a beautiful flower without even noticing it. This is why flowers needs to have irresistible smell or scents and this is what orchids possess - they have the scents that even resemble the scent of female insects. According to some, there are even insects that smells like a female wasp, and it smells more like a wasp than the wasp itself!
But not all orchids has a subtle scent. There are some varieties of orchids that smells like decaying matter and surely, no wasps, bee or butterfly will like it. But such scent is what lures in the flies, which also serves as pollinators.
But if their beauty and scent is not enough. They use clever mimicry to lure in the pollinators.
***Mimicry***
There are orchids that looks like an insect from afar, gently swaying with the wind. When bees sees it, they will become angry and will swoop at the orchids to drive them away. Only to become fooled and becomes an agent for pollination instead.
But there are also varieties of orchids that doesn't look like an enemy, but a friend instead. The ***Ophrys*** genus looks like a bee and smells like a bee as well. Male bees are lured in thinking that it is a female bee only to find out late - when the pollen are already stuck to its body.
Looking back my late grandmother was a big fan of orchids. She loves collecting different kinds of orchids, but she loves Vandas the most. My uncle inherited my granma's love for orchids, he even buys it even of it costs a lot.
The last time I visited my granny (my mom's mom), I saw blooming orchids and I thought of taking photos so I can share it here!
The 'Pakikisama' Trait
***Pakikisama***
This is actually not the topic that I want to write about. I have a lot of unfinished drafts on my notes but decided to write about this instead.
I just realized how heavy the word "pakikisama" is. Pakikisama is one of the Filipino traits that is already considered part of our culture. It means 'getting along well with others'.
If you think about it, this is not a bad trait. This is a good trait that Filipinos are proud of. Since Filipinos are well-known for being hospitable and friendly, it is part of the culture for a person to just endure any negativities than to have confrontation.
Filipino's '*pakikisama*' trait can be applied to different aspects of life.
When it comes to friendship, we show this trait by how you bond with your friends. Because you have '*pakikisama*', you can be with them through thick and thin. It's something good because when you develop this trait, you are more likely to be friends with them for a long time. But this trait can also affect in a negative way. Because it can lead someone to do things against his or her will. Example, when you are in a group and one of them suddenly invited everyone to party or to drink alcoholic beverages, even if you don't want to go, you'll still go with them because of '*pakikisama*'. Because you don't want to be dubbed as killjoy and 'walang *pakikisama*' (doesn't have a sense of getting along with others), you'll just go even if it's against your will. Sometimes, young people end up learning and doing vices because of '*pakikisama*'.
It can also be applied to place of work. There are workers who endure the unjust treatment by other colleague, especially by their superiors because of '*pakikisama*'. I remember when I was still working in the BPO industry, my colleagues loves to go out every week, during our last shift. They go to bars and drink until they are wasted. They usually invite me to go with them, but every time they invite, I decline because I'm not a fan of parties and going to a bar. I drink, but I only do it occasional, and I do it at home, not at other people's house and not at the bars. So some of my colleagues dubbed me as 'di marunong makisama'. But it's okay, I don't want to go against my will, so I'd rather let them think of me that way.
The '*pakikisama*' trait can be applied even to families. In the Philippines, they say that when you get married you are not only married to your spouse, you are married to the entire family and relatives of your spouse. How so? Because in the Philippines, extended families are common. So it means you'll have to live with other family members of your spouse and to avoid conflicts, you need to have '*pakikisama*'.
Before, I used to stay at my uncle's house because it is near my workplace. I live alone on that house because my uncle lives abroad. After quite some time, my cousin moved back to the province, and he also work near my workplace. But he got married, so I have to live with him and his wife. I have to develop '*pakikisama*' because I no longer live alone. But my cousin's wife seem not to know how to deal with others in a nice way. I come home every day meeting her non-smiling face. She doesn't even greet back every time I greet her when I come home. I don't know if it's because she never saw me clean the house, because I do it on my rest days and those are the days when they are not around, or maybe it's because she holds a grudge against me for not attending their wedding. I don't know the reason, but she's simply hostile towards me when it's just the two of us, and acts super nice when my cousin is around. Furthermore, I could not take that treatment for a long time, so I decided to just move out of there instead of getting into a conflict. See how important it is to develop the '*pakikisama*' trait.
Why am I even writing about this? Because I woke up this morning with a lot of messages coming from my cousin. She decided to resign from work because she can no longer deal with the unjust treatment of her boss. She told them that she wants to resign, and she was told that it's okay, and she can leave first thing in the morning. They told her that she's someone who doesn't know how to adjust to her situation and doesn't know how to get along with others, which I doubt because my cousin is known for being easy to be with, and she can even be with the people who are very hard to please and get along with. While reading her messages, I realized how important it is to develop this trait.
Currently, I am also trying my best to apply that '*pakikisama*' thing on my workplace. It's because I have two bosses at work - the mother and the son. The mother is my real boss, but the son helps her with the job, so I have to follow his instructions too. Unlike his mom, he is too full of himself and even expects perfection from me. I'm quite annoyed with the way he treats me, but I have to endure it. I want to get on their good side, so I just keep everything to myself. I'm still adjusting, but one of these days, I'll probably lose my '*pakikisama*' trait.
`Lead image from shutterstock.`
Visited Gran
Its been more than a year since I last saw my grandma and that was months before the pandemic started. We live in Albay and she resides in Camarines Sur, so there is no way for us to see her in person this past year. But since it is okay to go to different provinces in the region now without any complications, my family decided to visit her yesterday.
The grandma I'm referring to is my mom's mom. She's my only living granny since my dad's parents are all long gone and and my mom's dad passed away since my mom is still a small kid.
To be honest, I am much more closer to my dad's parents than my mom's. I was their favorite grandchild before and they loved me to the point of becoming sick whenever I'm away for too long.
But I also love my grandma because she is nice. I don't recall any instance that she ever laid her hand on me. She knows how much of a picky eater I am and she knows how bitchy I am when I was still a kid. But I never once heard a bad word from her. The only problem I have with my grandma is the way she treats her grandchildren. I feel jealous because I feel like she loved the grandchildren that lives near her over me and my siblings. It's not that I'm saying this on baseless assumptions tho. Those who are gran's boy/girl will understand me for this.
As a grandchild, I also want to spend some time with my grandma because she's the only grandma we have. Sometimes I tell my mom to invite grandma to come over and stay with us for quite some time. But every time we do it, grandma declines and gives a lot of excuses. There are times that she grants our wishes and pays us a visit but not a week would pass, she nags my mom about going home - my uncle doesn't have anyone to rely to (he's already 28 and should know how to take care of himself and their house if gran is not around), no one will look after the rice field, she have to check on the animals. She's giving us a lot of reasons. So my siblings and I came to a conclusion that she just doesn't want to be with us. And the childish me would usually say that 'if she doesn't like me, I don't like her too.'
But that my conscience is killing me every time I think that way.
My mom explained that granny is just not used to living away from her own house because my grannies from dad's side are like that too when they are still alive. Whenever they went on a vacation to visit my other cousins, they would always be eager to go home with us. Because they are used to being with us, instead of the other grandchildren.
It somehow give me comfort, that grandma loves us. She's not just used to living with us.
Yesterday, there was an announcement about a 12-hour power interruption, so I didn't go to work. I declared my own day off lol. Suddenly my mom told me that they're going to visit grandma because her feet and legs are swollen. I decided to come and visit her too and give her money. I initially thought about bringing fresh fruits for her, but on the second thought its better to give money so she can just buy anything that she want or need.
I bought some foods that we can cook when we arrive there. My mom has a lot of nieces and nephews and they are still kids, so also bought a few presents for them too to somehow make them smile.
Behind those trees is where my gran's house is. We arrived there at 1:30 p.m. but she's not home. She's attending a meeting for the senior citizen pensioners. So we waited for a few more hours.
While waiting for my grandma, I craved for a buko (coconut) shake so my lil' brother climbed up the tree and got some fruits. I was amazed because I didn't k ow that he can do it. I even took a video of him so I can tease him one of these days about the way he looks while on the tree lol.
An hour later, gran arrived and she was very surprised upon seeing me and my siblings. My parents often visits her, but not us because I'm busy with work and my siblings are busy with their school activities. The old lady became teary-eyed when I gave her money - because that's what she loves more! 😂
Meet my grandma! I took a photo of us before going home and I hope that I could come and visit her again one of these days.
Ghosting, An Untold Story
*Have you ever experience being ghosted or did you ghost someone?*
Ghosting is a term millennials nowadays use which pertains to a situation when a person close to you, it may be your friend, someone you're dating, your boyfriend or girlfriend or even fiancée suddenly exits from your life without telling you about it first hand. They just disappear without any explanation.
This is very common to the relationship nowadays specially with the drastic emergence of social media and internet which led to a past-faced way of communication. When the person you are talking to nonstop every day, the person you are having deep conversations from morning to midnight suddenly stopped chatting to you. No more messages, no video calls, no emails. They're gone, and you'll be left behind wondering what happened.
When this happens, specially if you are the one left behind, this can be really devastating. You'll be left asking yourself a lot of questions. ?hat went wrong? Is there something wrong with me? Did I made a mistake? You'll be asking yourself a lot of unanswered questions, unanswered because the person you want to ask already made an exit - out of your life.
In dating, ghosting is actually long been a practice. Its just that people before haven't come up with the term, not until *millennial netizens* came up with it. They came up with a lot of hip terms to pertain to a specific situation in relationships and dating.
To be honest, I personally experienced ghosting someone and being ghosted too.
It's not a good story to tell, but I'll do it anyway.
Before, a lot of people are sending me friend requests on Facebook. That time, I was still reckless when it comes to the use of social media, so I just accept anyone as long as they look decent. Then I'll exchange messages with them, which led to getting close with a few. I'm just responding to their messages out of courtesy, but there are times that my courtesy goes wrong, specially with guys, they take it as I'm interested in them. And in the end they'll confess their feelings which I can't reciprocate. Sometimes it's hard to explain, and it's hard to be honest why I can't like them back. I don't want to poke a finger on the negatives in them, so I just stop myself from talking to them. I block them on social media, change my number or simply move their messages to spam. Furthermore, I feel bad doing that, so I seldom deactivates my account for several months.
Looking back, that is not a good experience either. I was immature back then, so I didn't know the pain that it might have inflicted to those people and I didn't know that it is already ghosting, at least not in my perspective, but maybe they see it as ghosting. Not until I experience being ghosted myself.
So there's this guy I became close to. It happened so sudden. I built an invisible shield for myself, so I won't be close to anyone, unless they're my friend. But one day, I just found myself so close to him. I tell him my fears, my dreams, and he was always there for me. Though I do not want to fall for him, because he doesn't reach at least ninety percent of my standards. So I refrained myself from getting emotionally tangled with him. But eventually, I just found myself adjusting my standards for him. I focused on his positive traits instead. And I'm sure that I can already give him the chance he's asking for. Everything was going smoothly between us. And oh, we're not just internet friends. We personally knew each other. I'm friends with his siblings. But one day, he just stopped talking to me. That day when I already decided to give him a chance, he left and took an exit out of my life. He doesn't answer my calls, he doesn't respond to my chats. I'm not someone who's fond of going after the people who already left. I firmly believe that I should not stoop down low and chase people who don't like me.
Yes, it hurt me. Like I said in the beginning, it was devastating at first. I became used to talking to him nonstop, so I was not used to not talk to anyone at all. I missed our deep conversations. Not only that, but I missed sharing my worries and problems with him. But most of all, I was left wondering and asking myself what went wrong. I blamed myself. It was a roller coaster of emotions. I was glad that he did it sooner - before I fall too hard. I was confused and asking myself why he did it. I was mad at him for trying to get close to me, but in the end, he'll just leave.
But I have to move on, and it's not easy. There's a lot of things that reminds me of him - even a simple nail cutter, a song I heard on the karaoke, the food I'm eating. I paid so much attention to details, but those details only reminded me of him, when he's already gone.
What helped me to totally move on from that bitter experience?
**I focused on myself and my family**. I was not really close with my siblings because of the age gap, so I can't talk to them about love life or even my emotions. I always view them as children, but I realized that they are already matured than what they seem to be. So instead of thinking about what ifs, I just spent more time with my siblings and that made me neglect the negative thoughts. And I got closer with my siblings.
**Accept the reality**. Instead of living in a fantasy that maybe he just needs a little time for himself, I accepted the reality that he may never come back and that he may have broken his promises. I acknowledged the fact that relationships sometimes ends even before it started.
**Look on the positive**. Instead of getting mad at him further, I focused on being thankful. Why? I was thankful that he did it sooner, before I fall in love with him to the point that I'll become really broken-hearted. He left when I was just ready to embrace him as a part of my life, he left when I could still save myself from heartbreaks, so I was thankful for that, and that's where I focused instead.
**I stopped blaming myself**. It was inevitable to blame myself at first, I blamed myself for not giving us the chance when he asked for it. I was firm with my decision that all I can him is friendship. And I told myself that maybe he got tired of waiting, waiting when I'll be ready. But I realized I should quit blaming myself. It's bot my fault that he left. If his feelings is really genuine, he could wait even years, or he can simply give more effort to show me how sincere he is, and it might've moved me to change my decision. It's not my loss, but his. He lost the perfect wife material he's looking for (lol).
Yes, it's not easy to deal with the feelings when you someone ghosted you, but there are ways to not continue hurting emotionally. And also remember that it's better to tell a person why you don't like them instead of just suddenly disappearing from their life. I've learned this through experience.
Trying out Korean Food
2011 when I started to become interested in Korean dramas. I like kdramas because every time an episode ends, the next thing to happen is unpredictable, the editing is cool, and it often revolves around characters with different jobs or professions which enables me to get a broader understanding and view of how things works. From medical dramas, cooking, law (dramas about prosecutors, lawyers and policemen/women), reporters, businessmen and other professions out there.
Currently, apart from Korean dramas, I'm more addicted to Korean variety shows. It's so entertaining to watch, especially when they are eating. It's fun to see handsome actors who are very eager to eat, they don't act cute on camera, instead they make it seem like the foods are absolutely delicious. So I often think, how delectable is the food they eat? Sometimes I just want to go to Korea to taste their food 🤣
Good thing that when kdramas became more popular in the Philippines and more and more Filipinos are enticed with the Korean dramas, music and even culture, this opened up for business opportunities, and Filipinos seized that opportunity to make money. It's a win-win situation because both the kdrama fans and the entrepreneurs are happy.
Nowadays, there are a lot of Korean restaurants, and you can find one, almost anywhere in town or the city. Last time, I went out with my long time friend to unwind. We've been friends for more than 13 years, though we seldom see each other. We agreed to go to a samgyeopsal house before sight-seeing.
Samgyup House is probably one of the most '*sulit*' restaurant in Legazpi City. *(Sulit means you get the most out of the money you paid for.)* A Korean barbeque restaurant where you'll get to eat a sizzling pork and beef meat that you cooked yourself.
For as low as PhP. 399 ($8.23), you'll get unlimited meat and unlimited side dishes. They serve it in small portions but you can definitely ask for more anytime you finish a set. In our case, we paid for the unlimited Php. 499 set which has unlimited pork and beef meat.
For the 399 you'll get 5 kinds of meat of for the 499 set you'll get 10 kinds of meat. This is good you have a variety of meat you can choose from - seasoned, spicy or just plain.
Aside from the unlimited meat, we also enjoyed the unlimited side dishes. They gave us *japchae, kimchi, gamja jorim,* and stir fried fish cake ( I think Koreans call it *eomuk bokkeum*). You also get unlimited sauce (I don't know what they call that but it's very spicy!), cheese sauce that is placed on the side of the grill and seasoned eggs that is also placed on the side of the grill.
A stir fried fish cake but it doesn't smell fishy at all which will surely satisfy your palate.
This one is braised young potato marbles. They call this *gamja jorim*.
And here's *kimchi,* to give the meat more spice.
And finally, here's a fresh lettuce to add crunchiness to the meat. To make a wrap you can add a small portion of rice, *bulgogi, kimchi* and cheese or chili sauce, then you can dip it in sesame oil before you eat the mouth-watering lettuce wrap 🤤.
What's good about these side dishes is that it replenishes you digestive system, so you only get to eat a small amount of rice and more meat and side dishes!
To feel the Korean vibe more, it is required to eat with a set of chopsticks because they won't give you a spoon and fork! And you can also enjoy a bottle of *soju - a* Korean alcoholic beverage which will not make you drunk , unless you drink a lot! 😆
And here's a photo of me and my bff enjoying the food!
The Negatives In Me
I've always thought, and I'm adamant that there is nothing wrong with me. I've been contemplating before about the negatives in me, but I can't think of one - which I recently realized that such a way of thinking is negative in the first place.
We all have negative and positive traits. Having a lot of positive traits is good and sometimes, it is hard to accept the negatives in us. But being able to realize your negative traits and fully embrace them is much better because once you accept them, you can try to hone the negatives and make it into a positive trait and as a result you will become a better person.
Thinking about it, one of the negative things about me is being a **perfectionist**. I was raised in an environment where they made me feel like there is no room for mistakes for me. I'm the eldest daughter, so I can't make mistakes because it can be a mirror of my younger siblings, and they might do the same too. So I have to make sure to be the perfect example. When I was still a student, I'm always afraid of reciting, not because I don't know the answer, but because I don't want to make a mistake while speaking. Every time I take exams, I never show the results to my parents if I don't get perfect scores because instead of praises, I either get some scolding or the looks of my mom who clearly shows disappointment. So I decided I have to be the perfect daughter.
Perfectionism is sometimes good, but it also negative at times. It hinders me to do things as fast as I could because I always try to make sure that everything is perfectly done.
I'm at the right age to date and get married but perfectionism hinders me to get into a relationship. I'm aware of the fact that there is no perfect person, I'm not perfect too. But everytime I get closer to someone from the opposite sex and sees their negative traits, I become easily disappointed to the point that I just want to cut off ties with them. I'm not perfect and I feel that no one will be the perfect match for me as well.
Another trait that I consider negative is being **tenacious**.
A dictionary defined tenacious or tenacity as "*persistent determination*".
If you think about it, this is actually a good trait because tenacity allows a person to be determined to do something until his or her goal is reached. A tenacious person will strive to reach a goal despite the difficulties he may face along the way. But tenacity can also be negative because it can make a person stubborn.
I am tenacious and it affects me both in a positive and negative way. Back in high school and in college, I set goals for myself which is to get high grades in certain subjects. Projects will always be a part of a student's life, and since I'm not good in recitation, I make sure to pull it off with my exam and project results and because of that I tend to study until late at night and I make projects until morning. I know not sleeping the entire night then taking a bath and going to school early is not good for my health and I always get a heap of scolding from my health-conscious dad too.
Then after college, I landed a full time job at a BPO company and at the same time I was also volunteering to teach the deaf and mute full time. Volunteering means I have to take money out of my own pocket. But I love doing both so I worked at night and volunteers during the day and I only have half a day of rest every week. A lot of my friends are telling me to go easy on myself, but because I have goals, I was very stubborn and didn't listen to anyone's advice. Even when I am sick, I go to work. For two weeks I had fever, headache, cough and cold but I still go to work. I was one of the top-performer at work and I will be a total loss if I don't go to work, so I still work even when I'm sick. And I did it because I have goals. So tenacity affects me in a negative way because once I put my mind on doing something, nothing can stop me - even sickness will never make me refrain from doing things, not until I reach my goals.
I'm a great **procrastinator**. Contrary to being tenacious, once I don't have a specific goal and I don't find something really valuable, I tend to procrastinate a lot. Sometimes, I don't want to exert effort in doing things especially when I can't find any motivation to do so.
These are just few of the negative things I noticed about myself. I admit that until now, I still don't know myself that much. I am also trying my best to make these negative traits into positive and I know that it can't be done overnight, but needs a lot of time.
`Thank you for reading!`
Looking Back
One year, one year has passed. Who would have thought that the second week of march last year is the last week that we can live a normal life? No one. No one have expected it, no one has anticipated that a pandemic will happen. My memories of that week is still vivid. Sunday, I attended our religious meeting, Wednesday I still visited some of my deaf students and the week went on normally. No face masks, no face shield, no need to bring alcohol everywhere you go and the fare when you go somewhere is super cheap.
But everything changed in just a span of few days. March 14, they declared a lockdown in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. March 15, local governments also stated that a hard lockdown will also be implemented in some provinces. It includes the province where I was located at. March 16, the total lockdown started here.
According to the Kubler-Ross Stages of Grief theory, people undergo five stages when undergoing hardship. So let me tell the story of how people here underwent those stages.
The first stage according to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, is ***denial***. At first the residents in my neighborhood can't accept the fact that the pandemic have affected our lives as well. They keep blabbering every day that Covid-19 will never affect us because we are far from Wuhan, China where it started. Some people gather in front of my mom's sari-sari store (a mini grocery shop), every morning to talk about why there is a need for a hard lockdown. This went on for more than a week.
Then, the local government unit became more strict in implementing the health and safety protocols, so all establishments are forced to close down for a while, people are totally confined at home, curfews are implemented. Kids are not allowed to play outside during the day and no one is allowed to get out of their houses starting exactly 8 pm until 5 am the next day.
Here comes the second stage of grief - ***Anger***. The fact that businesses were closed down and workers are no longer allowed to go to work even those who works in construction are no longer allowed to do so made a lot of people here enraged. Even my dad is complaining about it since he doesn't know how serious the pandemic is yet. Since our family has two places of residency, my dad is able to obtain two quarantine passes, and he can go back and forth from one town to another. But the thought of not being able to work the way he can before made him really mad. And it's the same with other heads of the family, they're wondering where they'll get the money to provide for their family's basic needs.
The next stage of the theory is ***bargaining***. People finally understood how serious the situation is when the fatality rate went higher and higher each day. Even my dad who used to be against the implemented protocols learned that it's indeed serious. The government promised that relief packs will be given to all families to at least help them survive. People were quite thankful for that.
***Depression***. But the relief pack only lasts for a few days, specially for bigger families. People started to feel depressed. Personally, I was feeling hopeless that time too. Every time I think about how an entire year will possibly be wasted. Anxiety has taken over me, I was thinking about the future, what's going to happen. My parents were very strict too, specially my dad so even though I'm technically an adult, they also don't allow me to go to town to shop for goods because among their children, I'm the most vulnerable when it comes to sickness. It's depressing not to be able to go to work, it's depressing not to see other faces. It's depressing that I don't even have a single penny to buy my needs because my savings is also used up.
***Acceptance***. But as time goes by, everyone seemed to have accepted the fact that there's no way we could immediately go back to 'normal'. During the time of the hard lockdown people learned to accept the bitter truth. They just tried to find ways to at least get by every day. People tried every possible way to fight depression. We did all sorts of things - learning a new skill, resorting to planting, trying out anything that's trending on social media. And since people from the nearby town are not allowed to go to our municipality to buy supplies, some resorted to exchanging money and goods at the borders of each town. And finally, next week, it will be exactly a year since the pandemic happened. Looking at the calendar makes me really nostalgic, the bitter memories because of this pandemic came rushing to me. But more than anything else, I'm thankful that my family and I are safe, alive and kicking up to this moment.
I have four unfinished articles on my notes but I was motivated to finish this one instead because I was reminded of the hard lockdown when I looked at my gallery today. It's been weeks too since I last published an article. How are you all?
`Lead image from: verywellhealth.com`
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