When my friend Anne shared my blog about our thanksgiving dinner on Facebook, she said, among other things: “Amidst all that happened, I realized who my true friends are.” That line struck me because that was exactly how I felt! For those who don’t know, there was a 3-week war in my hometown last month. […]
Thanksgiving Dinner with my Second Family
One of the cons of being an expat is being far away from your family and the people you grew up with, the culture that defines you. While it’s certainly a lot of fun learning a new culture and making new friends, there are moments when you’re just happy to be the old you, speak […]
I Saw the Sign
Today’s Blogtember prompt is: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn. Back in 2004, I was working as a teller for one of the banks in my hometown (yes, that same hometown which is now undergoing a terrorists-taking-hostages crisis) and was very miserable about it. So miserable was I that even my […]
The Greatest Things I’ve Ever Learned
… is just to love and be loved in return. Or so they say in Moulin Rouge. It’s true, though. I’ll explain that further as my #1 advice, but before that, let me start with some background first. I decided to hop on today’s Blogtember bandwagon last minute. What’s that, you say? It’s a September […]
Don’t Be Afraid to Break the Rules
The season 4 finale of Modern Family, “Goodnight Gracie,” made me think. In the episode, Phil’s mom died, so everyone flew over to Florida for the funeral. Alex said she and her grandma had a special bond, that the latter had always said that Alex was a lot like her. But she didn’t get why […]
A Sign from the Universe
If you haven’t seen the latest episode of How I Met Your Mother (S08E23: “Something Old”) and don’t like spoilers, you might need to skip this blog. So in this episode, Robin digs all over Central Park to find a locket she buried in there years ago so that she can use it as her […]
Worst Weakness
My friend once described me in a lengthy post which ended with this line: “Greatest weakness and strength – Love.”Oh boy. Is it ever. One of the most painful moments of my life was when I first got my heart broken as a teen. He was my first love. I was so crazily, unhealthily in […]
Valuing Vincent
Starry, starry night Paint your palette blue and gray Look out on a summer’s day With eyes that know the darkness in my soul Do you know that song? It was one of the songs on our multiplex tape when I was a child. I didn’t like it then. Whenever the tape came around to […]
Peer Pressure
“I’m going home next month,” a friend of mine announced some time ago. “Ugh.” Well that wasn’t the typical reaction of an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) about going home, so we asked her why she didn’t seem happy about it. “I’m dreading it,” she explained, her unhappiness etched on her face, “because it will be […]
Joy in the Journey
I think this quote from the TV show Grey’s Anatomy is the best insight I’ve found on the subject of pursuing happiness. In other words, as the words on my notebook says: Sometimes we keep searching for that elusive “happiness,” thinking that we can’t be happy until we’ve reached a certain goal, or moved a […]