Reads

  • Change the Way You See Happiness

    Change the Way You See Happiness

    I turn 27 today. But before last year, I can only count the times when I considered myself genuinely happy. Maybe because I used to see life as a competition where I need to emerge as the winner, the fastest or the best. I believed I had much to prove. I wanted to make everyone proud including myself. Probably I was just wired that way. Or it’s insecurity. That constant need to validate myself. Whatever the reason, it took a lot of tears and disappointment before I changed the way I see happiness. True happiness.

    For most people, success brings happiness. To have a successful career, specifically was my goal after graduating college. But the real world hit me really hard years after getting my first job. I won’t go into specifics but sometimes, even if you think you’ve done everything correctly and that you are in control, everything can still go opposite of what you’ve expected. To sum it up quickly, I didn’t get promoted and it affected me in ways I never knew. I got depressed. I cried every day and every night and turned as bitter as a kulubot na ampalaya.

    It should have been me. I was hurting and I knew I couldn’t do anything about it. I just had to accept the reality and move on.

    Moving on and choosing happiness wasn’t easy. I prayed a lot. The Serenity Prayer helped calm my emotions. I enrolled in different classes and workshops to distract myself. Acting. Sketching. Singing. I also joined company activities, charity events. You name it. Kulang na lang basketball clinic. I figured if I was good and preoccupied with other stuff, I won’t feel as worse. Traveling also helped. Traveling changes you and your perspectives. Being in a foreign land makes your problems seem smaller vs. the world. I made happiness a choice (even if it’s VERY hard). Siyang tunay, I did feel better but these were just temporary distractions because at the end of each day, I’d still go back to square one and start all over again.

    This was my cycle for quite some time but indeed, time healed all wounds. It may seem simple and funny but I stopped crying after watching Frozen.The lyrics of “Let It Go” spoke to me. The past is in the past! As much as I related to Elsa’s character journey, I also really envied Anna. I envied her because I used to be like her. Cheerful, carefree, always positive and smiling. I remembered the old me and realized how much I’ve changed. And I decided that’s got to change.

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  • How I Make Worklife Easier

    How I Make Worklife Easier

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    Being stressed at work is natural. No matter what your job or working style is, it happens. Urgent deadlines, unreasonable sales quotas, heavy work load, a demanding boss or a cold office environment (literally and figuratively) can cause you to pull your hair out and hyperventilate once in a while. As members of the working world, we have no choice but to deal with the stress of our working lives. It’s part of the job, kumbaga.

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    Let’s try to lessen your breakdowns. Shall we? (Via Reaction Gifs)

    In my second vlog, I give you some of my tips on how to make work life easier and less stressful based on my 5 and a half years of being part of the most taken-for-granted sector of society. #HUGOT!

    This is my entry to Nuffnang and FERN-C‘s #WorklifeAyEasy Blog Contest. Ang Worklife ay Easy with FERN-C! Subok Na! Know more about how FERN-C can make your worklife easier on their official website and on their social media accounts:

    Hey! How about you? How do you deal with work-related stress? How do you make your work life easier and less stressful? How do you see the difference in your everyday work life?

  • What to Do When You’re Growing Old Single

    What to Do When You’re Growing Old Single

    Recently, I had dinner with one of my groups of friends and I realized that—how do I put this—we were growing old single. Year after year, dinner after dinner, no one was bringing a plus-one. Practically (almost) all of us have not dated anyone. It’s been close to six years since college and we still talked about the same things, while everyone else was getting engaged and getting married.

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    I DO. (Via Teen.Com)

    I realized that we have to prepare, invest and embrace single-blessedness to succeed in this thing called LIFE. Char! Don’t take this list literally, it’s all for fun. But seriously, I’m single. Call me. 📞

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  • 6 Eco-Friendly Tips for the Millennial

    6 Eco-Friendly Tips for the Millennial

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    There was a time when I was a kid watching Sineskwela (Filipino Science children TV show) and Agatom talked about the depleting ozone layer. That it had a “hole” that was becoming bigger unless we’d do something about it. We learned that we need to recycle because our dumpsites were getting out of hand. We memorized the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Return) and we knew how to make our own little composts. There was a time when I actually believed that Captain Planet could save the environment. I’m not talking about his super powers but through the easy-to-do eco-friendly tips at the end of each episode. Go Planeteers! Then there was Al Gore who showed us The Inconvenient Truth. The ice cap was melting and polar bears were drowning. After that, everything’s a blur. And everyone began to forget.

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    My Childhood Heroes (Via Nio Manzano)

    We are the generation that’s most exposed to environment issues and we are (or should be) the most informed thanks to the wealth of material available to read and digest. But though we have all the information, somehow it’s not translating to action. I’m trying hard not to generalize but we are overcome by the culture of consumption and commercialism. Social media has paralyzed most of us to become mere spectators watching (and feeling) Mother Earth’s slow painful death.

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    I’m sure these two were ex-lovers. (Via Vice)

    Let’s try not to be spectators and do our part, however little it may be, as a millennial. Here’s my short list of how millennials in their own little ways help the environment.

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  • POTW: Rainy season is coming!

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    Summer is already ending as we are experiencing occasional rain showers in the past weeks. Luckily, I have prepared for the coming of the rainy season. #RainySeasonIsComing. Okay, I’m not a weather expert but I just assume that if summer’s this hot, then maybe (hopefully not!), the rainy season will be the total opposite. So like the eager vigilant boy scout that I am not, I decided to prepare.

    Here are my rainy season POTWs:

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    I’m ready for you, rain!

    POTW #1: Easy Soft Waterproof Dress Shoes (P399)

    I’ve heard of Easy Soft a year ago from my office mate and admittedly, I was a non-believer… until I tried one on (in Tagaytay while burning time for a wedding). Available in black and brown (there’s also a collection for women too!), Easy Soft offers a stylish and comfortable way to brave the floods of Manila. It’s light-weight and very durable. Do I have to mention that it is very affordable too? Yes, you can get your own pair for as low as P350! I’ve already ruined perfectly good leather shoes because I had to make lusong in the baha in Amorsolo, Makati. UGH. The memories. I bought one for the rainy season and for my daily commute. Di’ ba practical?

    You just have to be very meticulous in choosing the stock. Mine has a couple of scratches. This may be because the Easy Soft shoes do not come in boxes but in shoe hangers like Sanuk’s and Crocs’.

    POTW #2: Speedo Waterproof Pool bag (P999)

    I initially bought this for summer but I realized it can be as useful in the rain. Rain is manageable but when the wind decides to join the party, it’s a terrible thing for a commuter. Protect your gadgets and important documents in a waterproof bag. I just hate that it’s a knapsack, not the ones with plastic buckles like in dry bags.

    POTW #3: Fibrella Automatic Folding Umbrella (P599.75)

    I bought my first teal Fibrella in 2012 and I still use it until now. This quarter, I wanted to look mature and serious so naturally, I decided to buy a black umbrella. And considering climate change, black is the best color to protect me from the sun’s harmful rays. Why automatic? ‘Cause why not? Try an automatic umbrella and you will never go back!

    Bonus: Berocca Twin Pack Orange Flavor

    I almost forgot, I also bought Berocca. Prevention is better than cure, isn’t it? I take Berocca everyday and it’s particularly effective when I feel that I’m catching a cold. Or when I get extra paranoid when an officemate is sick. HAHA. Ang hirap kaya ‘pag may ubo’t sipon! I forgot how much it was because I used my SM Advantage in Watson’s. HAHA! That’s a shopping tip from me!

    What do you think of my purchase of the week? Have I wasted my hard-earned money? Or was I being a smart shopper in preparing for the rain?