Blogging Has Become A Way Of Life

It’s one of those mornings that I get a little time to really sit in front of my PC, check and peruse my stats over the years. Maybe I am a little lucky to have all those viewers and followers to this site. The last time I looked, I got a total view of 476,640 max.  Those followers may not always comment and like my posts but I am glad that blogging has become something that I now value in my life. It is not easy to share your world in the  World Wide Web and be open to negative comments in the process. It is not easy to think of more than 2,017 posts  at the moment.

Here are the top eight posts that over the years have become the most visited ones. I don’t know if the categories and tags helped with the total.

Stats for all time

Homepage   182,850 views

Happy Birthday Mama Mary – 20,324

The Early Bird Catches the Worm But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese –  7, 993

Dapitan Arcade (A  Shopper’s Delight) – 6,366

On Meeting Dr. Samuel  Ang Again – 4,947

Saint Padre Pio Chapel – 4,499

Feast Day of Senor Sto. Nino – 4,406

Another Year To Be Thankful  For – 4,205

My best view ever was last September  08, 2015  with a total view of 4,893 in one blog post alone and it was Mama Mary’s birthday.

From May 2010  to the present month, the stats are in terms of thousands.  I wonder where they are all coming from. It is just amazing sometimes to see your stats go up the bar.  I know some bloggers won’t consider it that important but when you are in the blogging world (unless your blog is set on private), it is always nice that people come and visit your blog.

How does one become an effective blogger? I started this blog with my journey as a cancer patient and survivor then later on, it morphed into the daily grind of living – reading books, gardening, day-to-day stories of my family and what not,  a smorgasbord  of things dear to the heart.

Time flies too soon and June is rapidly coming to a close. It’s been a lovely month spent reading a lot and gardening despite the heat. I hope the month of July would be kind to my weary bones and aching joints.

 

 

 

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If There’s A Will, There’s A Way

Perhaps all of you are familiar with this saying, “If there’s a  will, there’s a way”

It came to mind while I was watching the early morning news on television. I am not really a regular TV watcher, if  ever I do,  I watch news. They interviewed this guy who is a new graduate of Electrical  Engineering. Robin Lee Metiam’s story went viral on the internet  when he narrated  that he only had P20 pesos every day in his pocket. He did it for five years. Sometimes he walked in going home and bought street food for snacks.  When he was in his third year, he applied for a scholarship at DOST (Department of Science and Technology). It came with free tuition and P5,000.00  pesos monthly allowance.  Out of this amount, he helped his family survive and his allowance remained at P20.00 pesos until he graduated from college.  What an inspiring achievement!

Back in 1969, I was in first year high school. Bus fare back then was 10 cents.  I had an allowance of P1.00 everyday and that would include something for snacks and for emergencies. When I was in college, I worked for almost three years at the University of Santo Tomas  Main Library to help my family with college expenses. Those  were the best years of my student life, I think. I got to meet lots of professors and students and met library colleagues who are still my friends until now. You learn the value of money and responsible spending once you start earning on your own. You learn the importance of saving a little in your pocket.  I stopped working when I took up a major course in Economics. It was something I’ve missed until I graduated. In economic parlance, we were taught to save first before spending.  Working in a bank later made me more conscious of how to spend and how to save some for rainy days.

If there’s a will, there’s a way.

I believe so too.  Even if you have enough but you don’t have the desire to succeed, you won’t. I know of some people whose family are well off and they rely on their parents  in everything they need.   There are lots of people who struggle for daily needs. The will to survive will always be there.

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Scent Memories

Have you ever associated scents with particular events in your life?

I do sometimes. You remember because of it. It seems as though that event just happened yesterday and you reminisce with a smile.

Just finished reading a book  called Piper, Once and Again by Caroline E. Zani. It’s my 115th read out of the 150 books I committed  to finish by the end of the year.  There is that feeling of happiness inside when a book you did not expect to enjoy is just one nice read from beginning to end.  I have always been fascinated with the subject of soul mates, that there is someone out there for you long before you were born into this world.  I don’t know, maybe there is some truth to it or just figments of imagination.

I found this lovely introductory video uploaded by the author on YouTube. There are books and there are books out there ,  but when the memory lingers, you smile at the thought and you remember the story.

The joy of reading, the joy of finding something that touches your heart to the core.

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A Question Of Faith

Believe it, it’s Sunday again and it’s like it was only yesterday when Nate and I were busy being crazy together.

Do you believe that faith is a choice?

Early this morning, the homily was about faith and choices. There is this story of a man traveling in a secluded place when he lost the brakes of his car. He catapulted to a ravine and the car went down the ridge with him hanging in a tree branch. It was dark and he could not see anything.  He prayed that his life be spared because he was not ready to die. He shouted for help but nobody came.  He noticed that he was being shackled by his shirt which was hanging from the tree. He prayed again fervently that someone helps him in his predicament. Then he heard a voice that said, “Jump and I will catch you.” But out of fear, he stayed and didn’t. The following day, some people found him hanging still, lifeless.  They looked at the road down, it was only a meter from where the man was. Because of fear, he died. Just imagine if he jumped, there was a possibility that he was saved.

Most of the time in our lives, we have to make choices. They may not be the best,  or it may not be the best choice we had to make but we believe in it.

Faith.

Never lose that faith.  Never lose that belief that somehow that One up there would never forsake us. Do not waver in your faith.  I remember a book I read before of Mitch Albom called Have A Little Faith. This book taught me so many things.  Our journeys in life are not always that smooth. We keep on believing that it would be one long ride of faith and courage.

Have a blessed week ahead.

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Pancit Bato

So they call this pancit bato.  It is another noodle type very similar to the usual pancit canton  which I am familiar with. This was made in Bicol, a  town called Bato so you can deduce  why it was named such.  In the vernacular, bato means  something hard or a stone. So  how does this differ from the noodles we usually find in  supermarkets? The texture is harder and drier so one would need extra cooking time.

We’ll have this for dinner tonight. Based on my research, Pancit Bato could be cooked  even without the meat and vegetables  but I prepared it the usual way we cook noodles,  half kilo of pork kasim, carrot, sayote, and fresh green peas.

Pancit could be eaten on its  own without rice of course.  Let’s eat guys.

 

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Thursday Blues

Ah, what a busy, busy morning.

I started gardening again before the carabao grass grows  too long and would be hard to trim. Thunderstorms are a daily occurrence now (well, almost). After all the rainy season has set in. I love when it rains and I don’t have to water the plants but I don’t look forward to the rainy days.  I hate typhoons and continuous rains. In our country,  they are inevitable though.  I am just praying there would no more strong south winds (habagat)  that would bring flash floods and rainy days.

We had a simple lunch yesterday at  Kuya J.  It is not really that high-end but the food was okay.  Would love to try their other recipes someday.

The birthday boy was busy. He and his girlfriend had a seminar at Uber  in the afternoon.  Next would be at Grab. The traditional taxis/cabs  here nowadays are getting a little unpopular.  Some smell and they are even expensive. Uber and Grab entered the scene a few years ago, they are now slowly dominating the market. You can’t sign up though if you have your car older than the year 2016.  With  Uber and Grab, you’ll know how much you would pay beforehand.  Peak hours are quite expensive though.  For group rides with fixed destinations, you can always use AUVs.  The fare is way  cheaper than the sedans used by Uber and Grab.  Buses and jeepneys here are the traditional alternatives in public commuting. Trains like the LRT and MRT  always break down. They are not properly maintained.  I don’t always go out long distances and commute. Malls and supermarkets are everywhere.  The recently opened SM East Ortigas mall is so near our place. You just have to take a tricycle ride  then take a walk for about five or ten minutes to get there.

Still enjoying social media despite the ugly and bad news every day.  One just got to be vigilant always. What about you guys?

 

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Morning Comes

I had a good short chat with my doctor today.  I told him I am a survivor. He asked how long ago it was. He told me to forget about it. I have survived more than five years. What is important is that I am well now. Yes, I said. Health is wealth. He advised me to avoid stress as much as possible because it is the number one cause of illness. I do agree. It’s a good thing my blood pressure is now normal and my blood sugar has been consistently normal for the past four months since my first visit the last week of  January. I have to keep on the maintenance though, it’s for life.  He said to always be happy and look on the brighter things. Everyone of us has problems to overcome.

I suddenly remember one of our favorite topics before on our page at Facebook. Which is more important, the journey or the destination?  The journey would always be difficult somehow but then there is a certain kind of joy when we reach our destination. Maybe our attitude towards reaching our dreams counts a lot.The road maybe sometimes rough and treacherous but we carry on. We want to take a glimpse of what lies ahead.

Can’t believe it. My son is turning thirty-three tomorrow.  Seems like only yesterday when we would walk together to the next street in our subdivision, he, to go to school and I, to wait for my FX service in going to work.  We had adopted this ritual of listening to a fifteen minute Bible reading and reflections in one of the FM stations on radio by a Dominican priest.  It was aptly called The Sounds of the Soul. Along the way, we would discuss what we heard and learned. Those were the days that I miss.  The program is gone now replaced by morning news. Until now, my son and I still go together to attend mass on Sundays. Sometimes,  he attends one in the morning with me and one in the evening with his girlfriend.  He never forgets our Sunday obligation.  Looking forward to a simple birthday celebration. He’ll be on vacation leave for a few days.

I am into memoirs now, a two-series books by Susan Cutsforth, a journey of taking risks, living an extraordinary life in a town somewhere in France. I can’t help but compare the writings with that of Peter Mayle’s trilogy, memoirs about his stay in Provence. I love the latter’s works. He is a British author

How was your weekend?

 

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Another Lovely Sunday

Nate was here yesterday and we had the whole day playing together and laughing out loud.  Being crazy with Nate was  a priceless bonding together.  Today is Father’s Day.  Greetings to all my thoughtful  and loving  daddy friends here on WordPress.

We’re back to making bead works and rosaries. Josef bought additional materials last week. There was a time when my days were consumed by rosary making. I give the rosaries to friends who come over for a visit.  I like working on Swarovski crystals, Hematite beads and fake pearls.  I’d like to try something using Tiger’s Eye. Love the shade of golden-yellow and deep red.  Tiger’s Eye is a very protective stone.

I  collect rosaries too, mostly gift from friends from abroad. I have Rose rosaries from Italy and Siena, rosaries from the Vatican and   one from Israel. Some are locally made.  I found a lovely bracelet which Nissa made when she was still with us a few years ago.  It would be nice to pair it with my rosary bracelet which comes with me everywhere I go. It is nice to be able to pray the rosary while waiting, in traffic and in a doctor’s office.

Do you like working on beads? Are you fond of it?

 

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These Days

Whoa! It’s been a busy week.

I went back to my internist last Wednesday and he requested that I undergo blood tests again, the usual CBC, FBS and  2PPRS. Had my laboratory tests yesterday and tomorrow I will go back to him to show the test results.  My blood sugar level has been normal since my last lab test four months ago but my doctor  wants to make sure that it stays normal.  Ah, all those medications  I have to take every day. Sometimes, although I feel okay I have that inner fear of the results of my laboratory tests.  It’s been that way since I got sick (big time) a few years. ago. Maybe, being a survivor makes you a little  afraid when it comes to your health. Oh well, growing old  makes you think of your own mortality. I guess it is a normal feeling, the insecurity of not being 100% fit.

I’ve set aside reading and blogging for a few days but I read the posts of those  blogger friends I follow. It is such a thrill to find new bloggers and excellent writers too.  I reduced my followed sites to a manageable 174  although not all of them are that much active in the blogging world.  I’ve been listening to instrumental music on YouTube though,  a very relaxing way to spend  the days. and pass the time away.  I am forty books advanced in my reading challenge at Goodreads. I would love to read and reread those classics that I found a few years ago, maybe compare them with some books of  new authors and different genre.  It’s fun to discover new ideas and thoughts via books.

Have a blessed weekend ahead guys.

 

 

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Thoughts

What a sad day.

A priest friend of mine died in his sleep last night. Met him with some of my friends at AFCC when we donated a statue of St. Padre Pio  almost  three years ago. He always included us in his prayers and healing masses. He was just 62. Maybe God has other plans for him but I feel sad that he passed on suddenly.  It was a blessed and peaceful death. Yesterday, one of my friends attended the ordination of five seminarians at La Salette. That was the last time he’d seen Fr. Chris alive.

I was cleaning the list of contacts I follow here on WordPress just this morning.  Most of them followed but some have stopped blogging. I never see them  on my feed.  I have a greatly reduced number of bloggers  I follow.  Contrary to what other people think, it is quite hard to maintain a blog. We are not always inspired to write and we are  not always inclined to share what is happening in our lives.  Once you get out of cyberspace for long, you are forgotten.

I noticed that most of my online friends here are now retirees like me. You might reason out, we have the time in our hands to blog, right? Wrong. Even if you have enough time in your hands if you are not fond of writing and dedicated enough to  maintain a blog, it would be a useless exercise. There are some of us who consider blogging a lifestyle. I am one. It seems that when you start a blog, it won’t be complete if you won’t update it now and then. Never mind if nobody reads it but you. You find fulfillment in publishing your own post. Having a lot of followers is a bonus. and you’ll  be glad if your blog gets noticed in cyberspace.  Some of us start on one particular subject like books, gardening, photography and family life. It is a little easier though if you have a variety of things to blog about. And it is even nicer to read about current happenings than  reading about  subjects that happened a long, long time ago. Occasionally, it’s okay though.

Last year I copied a few lines somewhere. Sorry I can’t remember now but I give proper credit to the writer. Sometimes, a soul out there in cyberspace echoes your own thoughts and you smile because you remember your own struggle with words. I love this:

“Pencils are patient. They don’t act as harbingers of deadlines, rather, they offer sustenance to the challenged mind. Who hasn’t tasted the metallic triumph of chewing on an eraser’s casing at the end of a pencil? Who hasn’t drummed a pencil on a desk, twirled one to tune out a teacher or broken one in half, releasing an unleashed dormant Lou Ferrigno?”

How often do you update your blog? Do you find fulfillment in blogging?

 

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