So my nephew has achieved his goal. Now we ask him, what are you going to do now?

I have no idea, he says.

It’s tough to be in that position. “What now?” hangs over your head all the time.

His poor kuya is dismissed by the university the second time due to his illness. What’s for him now?

I have no idea, he also says.

Genetics is a blessing and a curse. You can inherit the intelligence that runs in your family; you can also inherit the mood disorders that your family is cursed with.

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Twin I wanted us to drive to Angono via the Laguna Loop this weekend — a quick getaway before they go back to school on Monday. I said fine, we’ll go.

But here comes Typhoon Crising to ruin her plans. 🤣

No rains today but the rains and winds coming from southwest will be pulled up to cross Metro Manila and our province starting tonight and the whole day tomorrow.

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I am stuck again. I couldn’t write. I must go to a coffee shop tomorrow. I must drive to Metro Manila some time next week.

I keep going back to my bed to nap. Agggh!

And oh, my nephew is graduating magna cum laude.

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Brought my kids to SM Mall of Asia yesterday after L’s interment because that’s where their dad was going to pick them up. They spent the night at our old house and they’re supposed to watch Superman today.

Since we’re already at SM, we shopped for their underwear (tops and bottoms) and socks as the new school year will start on the 21st. That’s the last on my new school year shopping list. The girls did their own shopping for school supplies in our town and we’re done with school books as well.

It wasn’t that long ago that I was buying them baby clothes in SM. Now I’m buying them bras and women’s panties—no longer the cutesie kiddie ones. 🥹

The nights are long but the years are short.

That saying is so true.

Twin I asked for fairy lights for her top bunkbed while Twin asked for a reading light for her bed. So off we went to Ikea. Meanwhile, I indulged myself with a new desk lamp because our house is dark even in daytime.

And now, the empty wall clock box is claimed by my obnoxious cat.

Sushi, on the other hand, is on her printer.

Since my kids are not at home, I drove my mom to S&R in Sto. Tomas, Batangas instead of Sta. Rosa, Laguna (because Sta. Rosa is clogged on weekends) to do her bulk shopping for their household. When I say bulk, that’s the American definition of bulk shopping; we’re talking of boxes of canned goods, large packs of bathroom tissue rolls, seversl huge jugs of bleach, cleaners, etc. Looks like these are a year’s supply of stuff but they go through all these quite fast so these are just good for a month or two for them. 😬

Since I’m already up and about, I decided to have my car washed as well. I felt a little pang, remembering my old car, Wendy.

I am regretting my decision to get a black car. My kei car before was white and I thought having a white car was horrible. But nooooo, a black one is worse. I should have stuck with silver. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I just want a weekend dedicated to bed rotting. 🫠 When can I have that?

It’s like a gut punch. My sister, her bestfriend, was bawling while I said my farewell. I took a look for the last time. She was just sleeping, or so we convinced ourselves.

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I drove one of my bffs to Lumban again yesterday because she wanted to buy her graduation get-up. Well, she’s obtaining her PhD so it’s kind of a big deal so we had to choose well. She wanted something that would represent the Philippines so we opted for a barong alternative.

Bff is leaving on Monday for Belgium and then hopefully she will be back in December with her diploma.

After the barong shopping, we went for halo-halo at Aling Taleng’s in Pagsanjan. The first time I had this iced dessert in over a year.

While we were gallivanting, I was having my rapid reaction report edited. I had to get this piece published before Trump changes his mind again about the tariffs. Once we touched down to my house, I quickly opened my laptop and did some quick fixes.

BFF 1 had to go home in a rush even though she dreaded it because her kids were whining already and were messaging, asking her when she was coming home. She wanted to savor a child-free afternoon for a bit.

Ah… the hectic life of a mom.

My other bff dropped by and brought us dinner. Aside from chika, she also asked if I could be a lecturer this coming semester, approx 6 units. I said I can only manage 3 units since I didn’t really quit my job.

Let’s see how the other faculty members could take up the other 3 units.

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Hello, Avi. I hope we will get along well for a lonnnngggggg time.

Once the warranty expires, I will upgrade the tires to alloy mags and 17″ tires to give it a lift. That entails changing suspensions as well to match the changes in specs so it will not cause drag.

But for every hello, there is a goodbye.

I’ve carried sofas, Rockwool insulation, bikes, my whole life even, with this car.

Thanks for the memories, the good and the bad.

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I was sitting alone inside my new car, thinking about the irony or weirdness of life. Here I am, torn about feeling sad about letting go of an old friend (Wendy) and excited about my new toy…

… and then there’s this feeling of guilt or something akin to that because my younger sister’s best friend just died. I’m preoccupied with inconsequential things while, L, my sister’s bestfriend’s life was snuffed out just like that. Without warning.

L was a mainstay in our house in high school. I’ve played football with her. She used to call me ate.

It’s hard to think that she’s gone.