Yesterday morning, my neighbors’ cars were towed by the MMDA traffic patrol for obstruction of sidewalks. My neighbors’ landlady was so angry about the whole commotion, telling the traffic patrol group that they were not illegally parked because that was a designated parking area for her tenants. The problem, however, is that the parking slots were too short so the SUVs parked there ate up the sidewalk. So the video here showed some of my neighbors’ SUVs being towed away.
Whooops! They were towed again today.
Good thing I was parked inside the compound after my car repairs were done.
Meanwhile, the new national security advisor of Marcos Jr wants the US, Europe, and Japan to impose a trade embargo on us with her pronouncements. The witch.
As a lawyer-friend said: “You can’t possibly be neutral if you’re pivoting to one belligerent. The principal right of the neutral nation is that of inviolability; its principal duties are those of abstention and impartiality (the Hague III, Art 2, law on neutrality).”
The problem with these narcissists is that they think we are among the big guys that whatever we do has weight. Nope, we’re just mosquitos and trade embargoes will kill us.
I’ve loaded the food and drinks at the back of the car, the fins and snorkel sets, and the diving buoy. I’m busy packing now but my bossy cat, Kimchi, doesn’t want me to go.
Look at that angry face, Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I thought I could bring the bikes with us since we would be heading straight to my hometown after this. Nope. Our stuff wouldn’t fit.
Which brings me to the point that a sedan wouldn’t really do us any good since we usually go for outdoor stuff. We do a lot of driving and Philippine provincial roads do not play nice with cars with low clearance.
I saw this displayed at SM Marikina earlier this week and I thought it was roomy enough for us.
The two backseat rows fold flat for cargo, which is great because I haul bikes, a piano, and some furniture. More frequently than average people. Since I’m moving back to my hometown, I guess my sister-in-law and my nephew would be tagging along with us more often because my brother is lazy and doesn’t like driving.
But then again, this is the wrong time to be thinking about this. Probably when we have finally settled in our own home and we have emerged from the recession, I will revisit this Toyota Avanza.
We’re back to 1970s-kind of crisis, when petroleum had to be rationed and many children became malnourished.
I just received this press release from UNCTAD that released all my gastric juices and sent me to the bathroom. This was embargoed overnight and I was only able to tweet this later today.
UNCTAD brief: We are on the brink of the most severe global cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
UNCTAD: the current food crisis may rapidly turn into a food catastrophe of global proportions in 2023.
This is something that people tend to overlook: accessibility of food.
With supply chain issues and protectionism on the rise many worldwide will go hungry.
The World Bank earlier said that we are entering the 1970s-style stagflation. Will we see petroleum rationing and Nutribun again? https://lnkd.in/dciC32kS OMG, it is really a throwback to Marcos Sr era. WTF have we done to ourselves?
My siblings and I are chatting (via FB Messenger) about this statement by World Bank that we are entering a state of global stagflation. (And yeah, we are weird like that. We discuss marcoeconomy like we’re a bunch of experts—but then my sister is an economist and a consultant at FAO and my brother is also a nationally recognized economist whom my peers call for comments/soundbites on the economy). Anyway, there were questions whether it is smart of BSP to raise policy rates in small increments instead of going for the jugular with I-mean-business rate hikes. My brother said calibrated hikes are better for a fragile economy like ours.
You know, this is the reason why many journalists are alcoholic, in therapy, or have gastrointestinal problems. Aside from the daily stress of chasing stories and meeting deadlines, we are always the bearer of bad news like this and we can’t help but internalize the news we write. The problem of the world/the country is our problem. We can’t just tune out the bad news because that’s our job. 🙄
My mom and I will be talking about this while we bask under the sun this weekend (in true bourgeois fashion). We have to pool our funds and see how we can help the most vulnerable who need our help.
And in true bourgeois fashion, my new iPad case and keyboard that I ordered from Lazada have arrived today. It transformed my tablet that I mainly use for flicking through Pinterest and watching videos on Youtube and Netflix into a lighter laptop alternative.
Yep, it has RGB backlight. Photo by CallMeCreation.comI have too many screens now. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
So I will be leaving my Lenovo laptop (which seldom sees action) at home when we go gallivanting in Batangas and just bring this with me. It is lighter and more compact and has longer battery life. I don’t expect to write stories or edit while I’m on my break but I have to be prepared ALWAYS.
I have already downloaded MS Outlook and installed our office email and all the security authentication app that my office requires. Our IT guys are now confused why I have so many equipment registered with them (as I just upgraded my mobile phone unit this week). If I need to edit, I will edit in Outlook itself.
Anyway, I will totally avoid working or even responding to emails during my holiday. It’s good for my mental health.
I will just probably use the keyboard to write on my blog. It’s sometimes hard to blog on my phone if I feel like writing long entries.
Ahhh my cats would have to wait for days again until I come back.
My ridiculous Kimchi. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Only one more working day tomorrow!!! ❤️ then I will be packing my diving buoy, sunscreen, long flippers, and my new Speedo swimsuit that just arrived yesterday.
A dose of Vitamin Sea is just what my doctor ordered.
I need to shake off the sadness and insecurity that enveloped me this week. As my colleague-friend asked, why do you still think about him? I said, I don’t know. She said, “it’s not good for you.” Don’t I know it?
But I’m getting better. Better things will be coming.
Kimchi, cat with an attitude. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
My obnoxious cat thought she could prevent me from working and could earn a treat by being bossy like this. I could still work from my main computer, silly little cat. 🐱
They couldn’t leave my side. Such babies. Photo by CallMeCreation.com.
Yesterday, my new Maya debit card arrived. This is my new card I applied for (via the Maya app) after their rebranding into a digital bank with e-money features. I use Maya (formerly Paymaya) more than G-Cash since the latter is full of bugs or is usually down.
New Maya Bank debit card. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
We broke the story of PLDT via Voyager applying for a digital bank license and their Series fundraising rounds are for this purpose. ❤️
Speaking of work, while I was busy chasing 3 stories today, I was also doing some admin work—re-hiring a reporter who left and wants to come back because I am the new manager. I never thought this would be so complicated and the amount of justification needed is more compared to just doing a new hire. 😭
It’s mind-numbing.
And they have yet to approve my promotion and raise. 😑
Too much red tape here.
I had a video call with a journo friend (the bureau chief of a competing news wire) and we were both wearing tank tops—basically comfortable house clothes— and she said, hurray for working from home! Indeed! I said, that’s why it’s ok to work late as long as we can do it in our tank tops 🤣 and bare-faced. No need to put on make-up and uncomfortable shoes. And no more driving for hours.
The aircon guys reinstalling my room AC. Photo via webcam
And here I was yesterday, working with the aircon guys at the back. I had my AC units cleaned as part of their quarterly maintenance. I just woke up so that’s why my hair was in a messy bun and my face is really bare and shiny.
Even though I barely come out of my room during work days, I always end up exhausted with the amount of brain cells I needed to overwork everyday. This is what my friend and I were talking about: our brains are elsewhere i.e. pursuing national and international news but we’re stuck inside our rooms. Can’t complain though. It’s a privilege to work at home when we feel like it.
Maybe next week I can attempt to work in Makati and have dinner with friends. I need stimulating conversations with humans face-to-face. Thankfully, most of my friends have great minds so every conversation with them enriches my life.
I don’t think I can live with someone who is small-minded—we will run out of things to say to each other. If you and I cannot carry a conversation about anything interesting, we’re doomed. You don’t need to agree with my ideas and vice-versa, but at least we know each other’s minds. If you are as shallow as the water on a saucer, no matter how good-looking you are, you are only just that, a face. I remember having drinks with the most good looking guy in my sister’s class but he was as boring as a doorknob. We never went beyond discussing people. 🙄 I don’t want to end up having dinner or drinks with him again if it’s just the two of us. Besides, he only goes after literal beauty queens. Maybe he was just testing the waters if I could fit his criteria…errr no.
Anyway, I need to schedule this coffee date with another friend who is recovering from a stroke. She was overworked that’s why her neurologist recommended that she let go. I was advising her to just take a consultancy gig so she can work remotely most days of the week. Anyway, she just came back from abroad and she just finished graduate school. I will help her draw the terms of the contract and the deliverables. We will also draft the communication plan for this particular office.
And if we’re successful, we can tag-team later on and do consultancy work together. ❤️
After that pep talk from that sketchbook guy on Youtube, I finally decided to finish this thing that has been festering in my pile of to-do.
Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
I decided not to line the baby blue eyes with dark liner and left the pencil outline and then I painted the filament silver.
Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
Then I decided not to draw individual leaves and use the urban sketching technique of doing color washes (three types of greens) and do a collective outline of leaves and some individual leaves since the baby blue eyes in Hitachi were actually in a bed of grass.
Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
Et voila! I now have a version of my favorite flowers on my wall. My favorite flowers in one of my favorite places on earth.
I think I will make another version of this baby blue eyes for my cousin.
“Mommy,” Twin A said, “KKR si promoting liquid botox.”
“Huh? Who?” I asked, bewildered.
“You know, KKR, that girl. She is promoting liquid botox on Facebook.”
“Ahh, Tito J’s gf,” I said.
“Yes. Twin I and I were watching her videos on Facebook. She’s always doing all these beauty videos and she keeps showing off her boobs in revealing clothes. She still looks like a transvestite though,” Twin A said.
“Ah I don’t care. Let her be. As long as I don’t need that botox I’m fine,” I said.
I really don’t need it and will never need it. In the first place, botox is injected and not applied topically, as my girls said this woman is demonstrating on her video—whatever. Besides, I’m already beautiful as is and I don’t need to inject myself with botulinum toxin. Hello! Anybody with a half-brain knows it is a neurotoxin that can cause your face to be frozen and be without facial expression 🙄 Exhibit A: Nicole Kidman. Exhibit B: Renee Zellweger.
My self-worth need NOT be measured by how many wrinkles I have, by being a daughter of a restaurant owner (a very poor way to be identified, by the way), or by any other external identifier. As my gay friend K said, do not measure yourself against these people—it’s not you who is the problem, remember that.
Yes, K, I am believing you now. I measure myself against how I was a year ago, how I was five years ago. I am older but much wiser now (I hope). I have only myself to compare with.
Someday, someone will appreciate my 42-year-old clear skin that doesn’t need botox, for my intellect, my talents, my generosity, my capacity to love, sense of adventure, my wide range of interests, my resilience, my practicality, my strength—the overall me. I will be appreciated by someone who will not take me for granted and not use me for his selfish gains.
Someday. Not today.
I’ve got some more healing to do.
In the meantime, my cats sleep with me on the bed and provide me with love and comfort. We woke up like this today ❤️. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Today’s news isn’t reassuring and on top of that I was busy dealing with errant reporters again. So Twin I asked, “Mommy, do you want hot choco?” “Ok,” I said.
Ahh! Hot choco with whipped cream and marshmallows. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This made me feel a lot better. My daughter made me a calorie-laden drink to ease the tension on my forehead and back. ❤️
Twin A asked me yesterday, “Mommy, did you regret having children?”
I said, “No. I will always choose you over everything else.”
And this question and answer between me and my daughter echoed in my head while I was reading this article and the FB comments on the WSJ post.
To Get Into the Ivy League, ‘Extraordinary’ Isn’t Always Enough These Days. The Wall Street Journal.
While I was not really aiming to get into an Ivy League school for my master’s degree, the opportunities presented to me before I got married and before I got pregnant with the girls were there. I was encouraged by one of my teachers at UP Masscom to apply for a scholarship at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism where she is an alumna. I was preparing to apply when my father died. Then it all went downhill from there. My priorities have shifted; I got married, just as what my father had wanted. Then other opportunities came along (although not Ivy): scholarship at NYU and Germany but I couldn’t push through because then-husband didn’t want to come and I got pregnant, respectively.
I’m still thinking, would it have been better/made a big impact in my life if any of my plans to study abroad pushed through? For sure I wouldn’t have my girls if I did. Maybe I would have been somewhere else, living in Germany or making a bigger mess of myself in NY—but life would be lonelier without my girls.
I am meant to be their mother because I always knew—at the back of my mind at sixteen years old—I knew I will have daughters.
But I knew also that I am not meant to be with someone. I am meant to meet all these people, not because we were meant to last, but to teach me hard lessons in life.
Would I be earning a lot more if I had a degree from Columbia or NYU? I don’t know. Will I be more fulfilled if I obtained my MA and PhD there? I don’t know either. Probably I will just end up in the academe. It’s not like I will be pursuing a Master in Finance or MBA or law and end up as a hedge fund manager or work for Big Law.
All I know is I am glad I have my girls with me. They give me direction, strength, and reason for being. I believe that we always end up where we are meant to be. Where we need to be. The universe conspires and throws all these obstacles so I would not go in another direction. Kinda like that one blog entry I wrote about James Hetfield and Slash ending up where they were supposed to be and not turn into a football player or a mediocre bass player. Metallica and Guns N’ Roses may not have happened.
So for those kids who had been complaining about not getting into Yale and Harvard (in the WSJ article), they may not need to be there in the first place to be happier and successful later in life.
Life is short. I have a high school classmate, a gynecologist who has gone through chemotherapy because she is battling breast cancer. She just had a mastectomy last week. I know she would give anything to be healthy and spend more time with her son.
No amount of Columbia U PhD can compare to moments with my kids and their laughter when we swim in the sea, when we bike, when we hug on my bed.
As I said, I am where I am supposed to be. I am healing with my children beside me.
I can think of all the times You told me not to touch the light I never thought that you would be the one I couldn’t really justify How you even thought it could be right Cause everything we cherished is gone And in the end, can you tell me if It was worth the try, so I can decide
Leaves will soon grow from the bareness of trees And all will be alright in time From waves overgrown come the calmest of seas And all will be alright in time Oh you never really love someone until you learn to forgive
Try as hard as I might To flee the shadows of the night It haunts me and it makes me feel blue But how can I try to hide When every breath and every hour I still end up thinking of you? And in the end, everything we have makes it worth the fight So I will hold on for as long
As leaves will soon grow from the bareness of trees And all will be alright in time From waves overgrown come the calmest of seas And all will be alright in time Oh you never really love someone until you learn to forgive
I never thought that I would see the day That I’d decide if I should leave or stay But in the end what makes it worth the fights That no matter what happens we try to make it right
Leaves will soon grow from the bareness of trees And all will be alright in time From waves overgrown come the calmest of seas And all will be alright in time Wounds of the past will eventually heal And all will be alright in time ‘Cause all of this comes with a love that is real I said all will be alright in time I said all will be alright in time I said all will be alright in time All will be alright in time Oh, you never really love someone until You learn to forgive You learn to forgive Learn to forgive
Starting the Monday with a full to-do list. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
When I dedicate one entire screen for my music, I mean business.
I didn’t even stop for breaks today. I had my weekly call with the team, then non-stop editing and I still had to write my own story that I must publish by hook or by crook tomorrow. Or else I would be taken over by events.
Then my requests for interviews have been trickling back to me and I have to schedule my interviews away from my week-long break. My brain was so exhausted today that I fell asleep at around 6:30 pm trying to book a Zennya massage. And that of course didn’t go well.
Sushi, sleeping ON my clothes while I slept beside her.
I woke up with Sushi beside me on my bed. She just loves my stuff and my smell. They feel comforted that I’m just around. Although they aren’t the lovey-dovey cats that I see on social media, I know my cats love me especially when they meow like crazy to be let in my room or when I arrive home from somewhere. It’s like they’re scolding me, “Where have you been?!”
I’m still here at my table trying to write my to-do list tomorrow since I know I will be editing multiple stories again and I must respond to emails that have long been forgotten in my mailbox. My Gmail has 8,000 unread emails and who knows when I will be able to clear that. My Outlook has 1,329 unread emails that I need to clear soon, too. My Yahoo has like 10,000+ emails that I think I will never be able to clear. Those are mostly press releases and newsletter subscriptions from way back.
I need to sort through my receipts because some of those carry warranties. I don’t know how they fitted in my wallet but they did. 🤔
Meanwhile in our daily news…
Five more individuals accepted the nomination to be part of President-elect Bongbong Marcos' cabinet, including broadcaster Erwin Tulfo as head of the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development. pic.twitter.com/JHV7kC0b2n
Like what the hell? Erwin Tulfo does not have any…🙄 Never mind. I’m done. Just done. I’m skipping most of the news these days and I haven’t checked FB much because the level of toxicity is beyond what I can endure daily.
I need to bike tomorrow to let off steam. Even if it rains.
The demonization of media and the legitimization of disinformation peddlers like Think*ng P*noy and M*rk L*pez has started. The more that we will get harassed, the more that we will be suppressed by this government. This red-tagger is now more empowered to call us communists that will automatically put us in the shoot-to-kill order of the military and the police.
How can you even feel safe in this kind of environment? In the US, the level of harassment of newsmen is not as dire as in the Philippines, where journalist killings are as rampant as in war zones in other countries.
He is now threatening the media owners that, hey, ABS-CBN will not be anisolated case anymore.
The incoming Sec Gen of the National Economic and Development Authority is a nice guy and I often had bets with him about the outcome of GDP numbers every quarter when I used to cover the macroeconomy. However, this does not negate the fact that he used to work with Marcos Jr when the latter was the governor of Ilocos Norte and I doubt his capacity to say no to shenanigans as he is more if a “yes” man more often than not.
This is the reason why my brother is/was invited to be an undersecretary under this administration. This guy and my brother have almost the same specialization and they had worked together on my brother’s doctoral dissertation. My older sister and I already expressed our disgust if he accepts the offer.
My mom was offered a director position to head a unit at the Department of Science and Technology. But the papers would have to be signed by Jr so my mom declined and said she’s already deaf but in truth she cannot stomach working under Marcos. She said two candidates for National Scientist declined the award because Jr has to present them the award. That’s how reviled he is.
Meanwhile, I got so frustrated this morning because I got disturbed by a journo in India last night. She was the one asking me for favors and yet she’s the one who appears to be more demanding than my own reporters. 🙄 She thinks that editing analysis articles is a piece of cake.
Learning to say no.
I had a journo messaging me at 8 pm asking to discuss her analysis piece. I said no, we will discuss tomorrow since I have children to attend to now.
A content editor was asking many simple questions about a story I edited, I asked, can you address your concerns to the journalist who wrote this? It is 11 pm and I am already in bed.
I have started turning off my Microsoft Teams because they always mistake I am available 24/7. Is there a way that makes Teams put you on an “away” mode automatically at a certain time? I have no problems with emails because I can ignore them. But instant messaging is really intrusive.
my FB post
And I spent most of my day today dealing with that story.
Boundaries. We need boundaries. I hate co-workers nagging me during off-hours for work-related matters. I’m no machine! All bosses should also know how to stop this bad habit like their staff is working 24/7. Ghad, we’re not slaves!
STRESS RELIEF
#catloaf. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This is not a perfect cat loaf as Sushi’s front paw is showing. I can’t resist squishing them when they’re in a complete cat loaf position. I don’t know why. They evoke squishy stuffed toys of my youth?
Another stress-buster for me is scrolling through IG, looking at drawings, figuring out how I can do a similar thing. I learn by looking at their step-by-step posts.
I also browse through Amazon before sleeping and check out prices of Daniel Smith and Rembrandt watercolors and Lazada for Holbein sets. As if the prices would change 🙄 These friggin’ brands are sooooo expensive and yet…I want them. I know the joy of jumping from student grade to almost-artist-grade and they’re miles apart. What more if I get to use artist-grade colors? 🥰 I couldn’t bring myself to buy Rembrandt because that thing costs USD 180!
Maybe when I’m good enough to exhibit, I will brave it and spend PHP 9,000+ for a tin of watercolors. 😶
I will buy this as a gift to myself. I’ve reached my quota of gifts to myself (new piano, computer keyboard), maybe I will do this in December???
Or or or…maybe when I go to Japan I will buy myself a huge set of Holbein watercolors and all the pens I could cart away in my bag.
In the meantime, let me browse through e-commerce sites for these babies until I fall asleep. 😂
