3,386 Posts Later

Yes, Virginia, that’s how many posts I’ve written for Dreams and Escapes over the years. I started last May 2009 and as I have said before, it has become a way of life for me. Call it another habit that I can’t break.

I just updated my blog at Gardens and Empty Spaces which is linked to this one. Gosh, 3,386 posts for one blog alone is I think the highlight of my blogging world. It started with sharing my plight as a cancer patient and a cancer survivor but it is presently a smorgasbord of my life’s journey.

Sometimes I feel sad that I could no longer see posts from people and friends I am following and those who are following me. Maybe they have grown tired😴 of blogging. There was a time when we used to exchange comments and healthy ideas in this blogging world. Though my stats ✨ has ballooned to almost 700,000, I am lucky now if I get a hundred 💯 views in a day. Oops, I am not complaining, maybe they also got tired of my writings. Sometimes, I don’t get much enthusiasm in writing a post because most of the time now, I get engrossed in reading 📖. I don’t get to read most of the blog posts on my reader feed.

People in my blogging world disappeared all of a sudden. How I wish I could get in touch with them again. I miss you🧒 all.

Keep writing.

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It Has Been Replaced

My CPU has been replaced. Josef and Jovy bought me a second hand replacement for 4K and it is functioning well. Trying to post from here.

I need a functioning one so I could update our Catholic page on Facebook. I don’t know how to navigate it via my cellphone. Hopefully this would last a little longer though it is second hand and it is an original CPU from the owner.

I noticed that there are so many people here bartering their gadgets and other personal properties or they sell them at a much lower price just to have that much needed cash. So many people are now permanently jobless, some were retrenched because their companies have closed.

Just to mention, this is quite unbelievable. They recently posted some survey results showing duterte getting 91 % despite the fact that we only see him once a week and still there are no concrete plans to fight this Covid 19. Corruption everywhere, two speakers of the House are now fighting because of term-sharing, one would not give up. The dolomite sands they dumped at Manila Bay to the tune of 389M are eroding. lost Philhealth funds. These dolomite sands are being carried away by the rain waters and it was said they are not good for our health.And the mountains of Cebu where they mined these are now destroyed. If you ask me, this is the worst administration I ever came across and it is obvious that that survey is fake just to make those vulnerable people believe that everything is okay.

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Closer To The Goal

In our language you call it “nangangapa”. I told you earlier this is a trial and error thing. Sometimes, I couldn’t even see the blog itself except for the latest blog post on my reader.

I need to log in via Google to see the whole thing. The app itself, I think is not enough. Considering that I need to take photos via this tab to be able to post them here, I may not be able to attach other photos taken from my CP. It takes better pictures than this one.

I just took a look at my total stats since I am dreaming of reaching a total of 600,000 by year-end. I need 90 plus more to reach it. I miss my PC, Josef is so busy he hasn’t taken a look yet.

I am closer to the goal, there are four more days to go before the new year.

My youngest brother from Tulsa are comparing notes on what to prepare for our Media Noche. He said prepare something sweet, something long like pancit, just a little of everything. I told him I’m gonna try lechon kawali. We still have embutido here which I cooked before Christmas and we haven’t touched the Christmas ham yet. Maybe a kilo of menudo too which I could prepare in advance.

In a few days, another leaf in the calendar would be lost. Let us all welcome 2020 with hope and prayers for a healthy life 🎊🎉💕🌝

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Blots Of Ink On A Tuesday Morning

Good morning everyone!

It’s a dark Tuesday morning. There is another storm brewing in the North and heavy rains are predicted this afternoon and that include  most provinces and towns in Luzon, including Metro Manila.  The students are happy, most of them have no classes.

Have you ever thought how much you have shared in your blog in all the years that you have been blogging? Come to think of it, your blog becomes your online diary, the difference between having a journal is that in a blog you share what you write publicly while in a journal you probably keep it under lock and key.

We’ve talked about the weather (the easiest one to do I think), our family, hobbies, books we have read and will read in the future, politics (occasionally), we even talk about what we had for dinner or breakfast, places we’ve been to, we post lots and lots of photos we took with our high-end cameras or those convenient built-in cameras in our cell phones and tabs. We talk about the daily happenings in our lives.

Sometimes you think you have shared too much and after more than a thousand blog posts you have published, you think you have covered every subject there is to blog about. Maybe some of us even dream of publishing books out of those writings we’ve done over the years. That’s great of course but not all of us are brave enough and talented enough to pull it through.

I remember my first foray into having published  something in a national daily. Years ago, I was invited to join a contest at Philippine Star sharing about how it was being an OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) family. I didn’t win, there were so many writers whose works were more meaty and interesting than what I wrote but I was paid in cash for my efforts. That was a thirty-minute of writing. The newspaper had saved them  somewhere but I could no longer find the articles now. About a year after, I was again invited to share my thoughts about our former President Cory Aquino when she died, how she affected my life as an individual  and as a citizen of our country. Then came the newspaper’s anniversary and I again contributed a few lines to congratulate them. I no longer subscribe to the newspaper now since I could always take a look online, some fresher news to read.

There are still bylines that I read regularly online at Philippine Star. I love how Barbara Gonzales writes her articles weekly. She’s married now (again), she’s in her mid-seventies when she got married for the second time. Her kids have grown and she enjoys her moments teaching writing at home and doing beadworks.

How do you spend your free time aside from blogging of course? How do you make those moments memorable?

 

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Time To Say Goodbye July

Gosh, where did July go?

And it is slowly melting into the month of August. July….the  uneventful days, the days meeting new friends,  cloudy, stormy and rainy and sunshine in between.  Yes I know, another 31 days to go before the  start  of  the BER months. Not really looking forward to  August since I am pretty sure it’ll be  another stormy month for us. But there is something nice about the changing leaves in the calendar. You wish that dream you had would finally come true. You wish that your health would finally go back to normal. And you wish that everything falls into place. Does it ever though?

Saying goodbye to July and saying hello to August.  My monthly ritual of a blog. Something that would summarize the days and the month about to end and  maybe something more of a surprise in the coming days of August.

I am almost at the finish line of my Goodreads challenge for this year. I just viewed my profile at Goodreads and it says I have about  923 ratings (3.74 average), 289 reviews, # 56 top reviewers and around 1,023 books read since joining, back in 2011.  A well-traveled journey in reading so to speak. I tend to favor historical fiction and memoirs. I love learning about other people’s lives. History has that appeal that contemporary books don’t have.  My most read authors are Robin Cook and James Patterson with 28 books each followed by Luanne  Rice and Richard Paul Evans with 22 and 21 books successively. Kristin Hannah and Rosamunde Pilcher come next with  16 books each.  I didn’t even know that Goodreads has these features, a total number of all books you’ve read through the years. I only follow the reading challenge each year. I follow 19 authors and I have 58 friends but not all of them are readers. some are just there with  updated profiles but no list of books read.

When I talk about books, I can’t seem to stop. Happy August month everyone!

 

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Finding Meaning In The Ordinary

As all things go, there is an end to  everything –  days, months and years included. And yes, 2016 is about to end and we think of those  things we did this year,  old and new friends  we met, family togetherness,  places we dreamed of  visiting,  lessons learned,  hours wasted on senseless thoughts (sometimes) and all the other things that make life and living worthwhile.

It’s been a quiet year for us except those times we went out as a family to  celebrate  birthdays and those times we had visitors at home to celebrate with us too.  It is always nice to get in touch with friends, sharing  meals together and being happy just exchanging news and ideas.  It is always nice to be with the whole family celebrating togetherness no matter how simple it is. We do find meaning in the ordinary things in our lives,  one has to look back, discern, and admire what is before us.  We find meaning in our brokenness, those times when we felt so down  and  everyone cared, we are just grateful for that.

Do you make new year’s resolution? I’ve never been good at keeping one.   They always get broken one way or another. So I dream, make some of it into reality and just enjoy what is in store.  The days are not always happy, some are like memories blurred at the edges, some are like a closed book so pleasant to discover, some are lovely thoughts waiting to be shared.

Blogging has become one major step to sharing with online friends. It is such pure heaven to meet fellow bloggers who share their lives, their hobbies, their families and their precious photos and memories. Blogging has become a daily exercise that I look forward to,  reshaping my views with the world outside. Blogging has become a pleasant tool  for friendship.  I’ve finally reached more than 2,000 followers including my 90 followers linked at Twitter.  Isn’t it nice that every day, the blog stats increase a little more than before? It’s close to 445,000 views now. I made a total of 157 blog posts this year, add maybe two or three more before the year ends.  The wonder of blogging. May I just thank you all for sharing with me through my blogs and yours? Thank you, thank you so much.

May  the next year be a pleasant, happy and fruitful one for all of us.  Happy 2017 guys.

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Oh, It’s Saturday

Lately, I promised myself to write everyday just like when I participated in WordPress’  Post A Day writing challenge back in 2011 but always, always I get distracted by other things.  There is always something that is ought to be done, there is always something that prevents me from sitting long enough to write a blog post, there is always something better and more urgent to do than blogging.

Josef and I had our twice a month visit at the wet market early this morning.  We make it a point to go there early so we could catch fresher produce.  It is easier to navigate the place when there are  few early risers like us.  One thing that I love about my suki (favorite vendors)  is that they give you discounts especially when you buy by the kilo.  My son knows where we buy meat, poultry, fish and vegetables. It is always a thrill to discover new things at the  wet market. Compared to prices in supermarkets, items are a lot cheaper and fresher.  Come to think of it, they give Christmas gifts too. My fish suki gives me a bottle of fish sauce every year, my other suki gives t-shirt.  Some of them give coin purses that are so handy to use when marketing.  Josef laughs at me when I smile bringing home  these gifts. Simple though they may be, but we always say, it’s the thought that counts.

It’s the third night of Simbang Gabi. 

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.

Emmanuel means God is with us. The gospel today talks about the presence of God in our lives.  It is the presence of God which will complete us, not power, not wealth, not possessions.  We seek God’s presence, we knock so we could be heard and we do this through prayers.  We see  Jesus though in the Holy Eucharist.

May you all be blessed.  Have a nice weekend.

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Dreams And Reality

Nostalgia.

Yes, I am feeling a little nostalgic at the moment.  Last night, I reread a book of poems by Rod McKuen, one of the two books that I have entitled Alone. You can actually finish it in less than an hour but when you are absorbing each word, enjoying what it means in your life and looking back at   those life journeys you had before, it is even more nostalgic. The flow of each word is like a balm to your heart.

This is actually my 1,849th post in this particular blog, not counting  the posts on the other four blogs  I have on gardening, photography, my grandson Nate and a newly minted one for when I use up the remaining 29% free space allowed here. It’s been a long journey, blogging for a little more than seven years. Sometimes, I wonder how I was able to share those  thoughts in between.

I remember a few lines from my 1,000th post four years ago. I can’t believe I lasted this long sharing my thoughts with the world. Still hoping I could inspire more, I am grateful for those online friends who leave inspiring words too, coming back now and again to update me with their journey.

“Documenting one’s own frailties, insecurities, battles and happy thoughts takes a lot of courage, more so if you are doing it publicly through a blog. One thing though that I don’t regret doing is sharing my plight as a cancer patient and survivor. I started this three years ago right after I found out I had colon cancer. Each of us has her own coping mechanism and mine was writing my thoughts and sharing it . I’ve always said and I will say it again that if I could touch a single soul out there who’ll draw a little inspiration on what I went through, then that would be enough, it would make me happy. To my surprise, a few online friends found some of my blogs helpful in their own journey, having experienced the same thing that I did. Kindred spirits, if I must say.”

We can do better, we can reach our dreams, we can learn to fly.

I reviewed some of the photos I took since I learned how to take  shots of my garden blooms.  I transferred them to a hard drive when Multiply closed its doors  and I have to find a way to save all those shots.  This shot is nothing new here, I remember posting it when I was still active in participating in the weekly photo challenge at WordPress.

A moment in time.

They were flying in formation at a speed that I could not capture so well. I love taking photos of clouds on a clear day but they came as a bonus.  Seeing nature at its best keeps you grounded, the beauty of one summer day etched in your memory.  Sometimes, watching the sun show its face on a bright morning is blessing enough. Sometimes, a hesitant smile from a stranger you meet along the road of life makes the day worthwhile.  Sometimes, finding a lovely bloom in your garden is grace enough.  Dreams may not always turn into reality but believing in it takes you to another level, a happy feeling that life would always be something to treasure  no matter what.

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Random Thoughts On A Wednesday Morning

I’ve been awake since 2:30am.

I wanted to catch a few more winks but I can’t bring myself back  to sleep  so I  am  drinking a hot cup of coffee while in front of my PC.  When your thoughts wander and your mind is full of things, sometimes negative ones too, you want to shout out and say,  “Where is this world coming to? Stop the madness please and let’s unite for a common cause”.

My last two blogs were all about observations  on  what is happening around. I know, politics is really dirty. I learned that from my father since I was old enough to vote and we would all go home to the province to support a local candidate. That has changed over the years of course.  My father taught me to scrutinize the platform of each candidate we considered voting.  He would show me some clips from the national dailies and keep tabs on radio  and TV reports. I was in high school when martial law was declared under the Marcos regime.  I watched how frustrated  people were to fight something which curtailed their freedom so now we always say, “never again”.  The martial law years were dark  years  in history,  the lessons learned were lost along the way.  Sadly, our millennials  today,  the what we call Net Generation and Generation Y don’t even know how to react when we mention martial law because the martial law years or what we call the Marcos era were treated in their history books as one paragraph. The significance of how it ended  during the People Power Revolution  back in 1986 is lost to them. Another  Marcos (the son) is vying for the vice-presidential position   and based on surveys he is on the top slot.  I don’t believe in surveys by the way, they are paid ads meant to condition the minds of those who haven’t chosen who to vote for.  The real survey is on May 09, 2016.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs, the divisiveness of the Filipino people is there glaring at us. Perhaps you’ve heard  of Rodrigo Duterte too, a presidential aspirant from Davao. I don’t really know how to describe him but  lately he caught international news because of that rape issue that happened several years ago and lately  in one interview he said, the mayor should have been first (to rape the victim) because she was so beautiful. Gosh, everything that comes out of his mouth is foul. The victim was an Australian. He was the mayor back then when it happened.   He earned the ire of Filipino women except  those who still believe that he could effectively run the government. True, our people need change but it is anathema to me to vote for a man who does not respect women, who kills people at a whim, who curses every time he opens his mouth and even cursed the pope in one of his previous interviews.  There was this other video where he said he would make Leni Robredo as his assistant president if he wins adding that  Leni is really beautiful at the same time showing his tongue like a   dog. This guy is a narcissistic idiot.

I care for the future of my kids, more for the future of my grandson that is why in my own little way, I am campaigning for Leni Robredo and Mar Roxas. I am sad for what is happening now.  I care for my country and its people. May I ask you a favor? Could you spare a thought or a simple prayer for the Philippines? Thank you.

I digress.

I’ve finally reached  the 400,000 plus hits yesterday, another milestone in  my blogging journey and for this  I thank you, my dear readers, followers and online friends for the support. I wouldn’t  have lasted in the blogging world this long if not for you.Here’s a toast to finding more blogger friends and appreciating what you share.

And yes, it is my mom’s 87th birthday today. Happy birthday mom.  I am so glad that you are with us to celebrate it.

 

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