[Or “Fuck you, holidays. I’m getting my life back!] I read somewhere a few days ago that Americans get ridiculous around the holidays. We start with too many sweets on Halloween. Then we stuff ourselves on Thanksgiving Day. We feast some more on Christmas and then get smashed on New Year’s Eve. This two-month binge […]
Today is my sister’s birthday. She lives in the Philippines and I thought I’d greet her yesterday instead since she’s 15 hours ahead. I forgot. So when I texted her this morning, it was almost midnight her time. Oh well. It dooesn’t really matter. We don’t call each other up anymore anyway. We barely talk […]
I had a friend of mine who died of cancer last week. I’d only hung out with him in my first year in university, for two semesters and a summer, but we’ve stayed in touch all these years. We were a group of 16, 17-year-olds, brought together as our freshman co-ed college dormitory got broken […]
Ryan Holiday, book author and a huge follower of Stoicism, said something on his Instagram that got to me the other day. He talked about getting a win each day over things you can control, such as working out, going out for a walk or run, or doing something physical that makes you feel good […]
I need to look up what Easter Sunday means again. For me this year, it involved two Easter egg hunts and a visit from my father-in-law. There were a couple of Happy Easter (!) greetings from family and friends which made me hesitant to say it back without really knowing what I was celebrating or […]
It’s not enough to know the five-level-deep-why of what you’re doing. The more critical question after getting to the bottom of your why is to ask yourself: “Is this, what I’m trying to accomplish now, an essential part of the future I want for myself in, let’s say, three or five years?” If it’s not, […]
I was in a rut for a few days after the holiday break. I took time off from work starting two days before Christmas and came back to work two days after New Year’s Day. Ten days of no work commitment and obligation to other people outside the home. I had imagined all the things […]
Today my new puppy is 14 weeks old. The mom is a purebred German shepherd, while the dad is a purebred Australian shepherd. She will be a hefty dog and definitely taller than the mastiff mix I lost last year. I already have other dogs, but I wanted a large-sized one — something big enough […]
Who do I write for? This was one of the questions asked in a writing class I took last year. Who is your audience? Try to pick one person, and each time you write, write as if you’re talking to them. I joined the course curious to learn more about writing in public. I wanted […]
I learned something new today that will be very valuable for my well-being. The month of January is for tying up loose ends and preparing for the rest of the year. All these years, I’ve been stuck thinking I had to be up and ready by January 1st of every year to achieve something. I’m […]