Because why not?

I bought this from Ikea the past week on a whim. It was on their bargain bins so I grabbed a strip, thinking I could install it under my overhead kitchen cabinets.

It turns out this strip is horrible in the kitchen because the LED bulbs are too far apart from each other so it’s ugly if they’re exposed. They’re really for back of the TV. Since I don’t want to do that because I’m running out of power outlets in my living room, I thought of just installing it somewhere in my bedroom as I seldom use the overhead big white light anyway.

I thought it’s going to be really ugly but it turns out to be not that bad. It’s still cosy.

I didn’t drive to Manila this week and just stayed at home for online briefings and an interview. I was again the flavor of the month for this editor from the land of bubblegum pop and it is sending me over the edge again. She has been nitpicking my every move, so much that I sent my application to a rival publication, which opened again the bureau chief position in another name.

Bahala na.

If God wants me to move, He will make it happen smoothly.

This editor is so toxic that former colleagues have described her as such. And to think the other one we talked to ranked higher than her. She’s just insufferable.

If I’m not dealing with an asshole owner who doesn’t care a fig about us humans, then it’s this garbage of an editor who is making my life harder than it should be.

I no longer have ambition to climb the ladder. I like the way it is now, like I have the luxury of having slow breakfasts on my balcony, with cats romping up and down my staircase and enjoying the sunshine with me. I just want to have a slow and comfortable life. I work my ass off because I need to deliver well but other than that, I no longer desire anything more. Maybe a fat retirement fund, but that’s it. I won’t be chasing accolades and very fat paychecks that would be asking for my mental health.

And yet there is YKK, the editor from the land of bubblegum pop, who destroys my peace.

I know life isn’t supposed to be perfect but I was close to achieving that steady, slow rhythm of life that I dreamed of. The asshole company owner is a curve ball but he just gives me a finite timeline as to how long I can stay. But YKK is evil that darkens my days. There might be some demon over her head that has been pulling her strings to make her evil as evil can be.

Anyway, I’m making the most of the fair weather today because next week Kr and I will be busy with ASEAN events. By Friday I will be meeting with someone who flew all the way from Singapore so we can talk about some consultancy arrangement.

I booked a two-night stay in a budget hotel near PICC because I know I will be dead by each day of coverage.

So here’s to us slaves of the corporate masters. Cheers. 🥂

It was a chaotic, colorful, wild ride inside the brain of an ADHD person. I was overstimulated. I guess this movie was made for the target market of Spiderverse, which is not the 46-year-old me.

That said, it didn’t take away from the storytelling. The humor is accessible that’s why Twin I was laughing out loud. The Filipino stuff are eye candy, but what made me glued to the movie was the story arc.  It made me and Twin A tear up.

There were twists that I didn’t expect. It’s animation for teenagers so some younger kids may not dig the essence of the story as this is about teens going out into the bigger world, out of their comfort zones. This is about life choices that would set the path, that would set their future.

It is about knowing who they are and what they wanted to become.

This is about two young women, their friendship, their losses, and their discoveries. Zero romantic love story arc, which normally is shoved down our throats by Disney. As if women are always defined by their relationships with men.

I urge you to see Forgotten Island. It’s good.

I was at the World Pet Expo last Thursday and it was already jam packed. A lot of idiots brought their pets, stressing them unnecessarily. I read on Threads yesterday that one pug had a heart attack due to stress because the expo is more crowded than when I was there on the first day.

That’s proof of the 30% compounded annual growth rate of pet care industry in Southeast Asia. It’s going to accelerate further as people opt to have pets instead of kids in the years to come.

But in the meantime, the economy remains sluggish as high cost of food and fuel limit spending our disposable income. Unemployment rate accelerated to 6% in July 2026 from 5.3% in July last year and 4.9% in June this year.

I don’t think people are enticed to have kids in this kind of economy.

We have finally settled into a better rhythm on weekends as we figured it would be better to go to straight from the weekend community market (for breakfast/packed dinner and vegetable buys) to church service at 9 am. After that, we can sleep our way out of the weekend and face another dreadful Monday instead of our former schedule of going home after market-sleep-then getting dressed again to attend church service at 5 pm. Too much effort going in and out of the house twice.

I’m still anxious because what the fuck am I facing right now? I don’t know. I still have a job but I don’t know until when. All that I have applied for have ghosted me or rejected me. I realized I am too specialized for other corp comm jobs that I may have to start at the bottom as an associate, which is worse than being an assistant professor on tenure track.

It’s soul-crushing. Ageism is real. Being a solo parent limits my choices of employment because of geographical situation (I cannot go abroad) or working hours.

I haven’t written anything the past week. Either I was spiraling or there are no fucking stories to be written. Interviews are hard to come by. I’m having a hard time getting scoops.

I just join my cats sleeping most of the day. I feel like I’m slipping down a slippery slope and I’m just a breath away from a major spiral.

I don’t know what I’m writing for when I’m going to lose my job anyway. I can’t get out of this job because I still can’t find roles. I haven’t heard from the last one I’ve applied to and the jobs that match me are far and between.

The banks are hiring. Maybe I should try even though I may not be the right fit. 🤔

Ever since I got rejected from that tenure track position at my own uni, by my own undergrad college, my self-esteem got erroded.

I edited some stories yesterday but today was just total garbage. I was horizontal on my bed, brain rotting with my tablet. I sent only one email and I haven’t even received a response.

I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. I don’t know where I’m going. I’m boxed in because I live far away from Metro Manila and gas is going to kill me if I drive daily to a new job that requires to be in the office five days a week. I might as well buy myself an EV car, which is I’m not prepared for.

I don’t know. I need help. I’m slipping…

Little by little it’s beginning to look like Christmas in malls. And I’m not yet prepared. 😭

Didn’t I just take down the Christmas curtains from last season?!

Everything is so fast. 🫠

And I will be facing Christmas with a tightened belt. It’s kind of hard when we’re used to spending without a very strict budget for gifts during the holidays.

I don’t know what lies ahead but I’m looking at a possible consulting gig and the principal is flying next month to Manila so we can talk.

Keeping my fingers crossed 🤞

One of my best purchases at MIBF last week was this Amorsolo print at the Ayala Museum booth.

Now it hangs in my TV area.

On the opposite end of the TV area is the Spoliarium puzzle print from the National Museum of Fine Arts.

I should have my Van Gogh and the other prints I bought from the Singapore National Gallery framed while I still have this job.