The Life of Honey

What can I give to the Philippines? Or better yet, what can I give back to the Philippines?

Of course, giving is something you have in the first place. Ever since I’ve read about this question, it made me thinking what can I give as a gift and for me, nothing beats sharing your knowledge. I’ve been studying BS Architecture for four years and one of my subjects specializes in Urban Planning and Urban Design & Community Architecture.

In relation with the past tragedies that happened throughout the Philippines, a lot of cities were in ruins and I thought, ‘Why not start to plan to build a better city?’. I know it’s not something that you can do overnight especially when the people’s source of income were destroyed by the natural calamities as well.

Urban Planning & Design isn't just about planning for aesthetic purposes only. Community Architecture is primarily concerned with the structural, functional and aesthetic aspects.

If there is one thing that I can give to the Philippines, what is that gift? The knowledge that I learnt and I know that the Philippines would be able to use for better living and could be used by the future generation as well; to contribute with what I know especially when people need to rebuild their home and life.

Planning for the better quality of life...

This is not just for those places that were destroyed. A good urban design will definitely meet the needs and aspirations of the people. It has a lot of benefits for the community. I’m not going to discuss everything that my professor had told us about our subject but I hope someday I would be able to actually contribute these things in our country someday. I wish great urban planners would give their services to those places who are in great need.

What about you guys? If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift? Tell me about the things you guy wanna give to this country.

Thanks to #GLOBEProjectWonderful2014 for this wonderful question (feeling like a beauty pageant contestant!) that made me think of the things that I would want to do to serve more for this country.

“I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you...”

I kept my mouth shut. I want to say the same thing, I really do. I want to say it back to you, but still, I kept my mouth shut.

Remember when I told you that I see falling in love as jumping of the cliff?

That 'moment' just passed for only a minute or two but it felt too long for me, but at the same time, it’s too fast. Weird isn't it? Too slow yet too fast. Without thinking about all the ‘what if...’s, without thinking all about my fears, I know right then that I wanted to say the same thing to you, to say those words and really mean it.

That’s when I realized that I've already jumped off the cliff, figuratively speaking, of course.

“I love you. I love you. I love you...”

You kept on saying it. I can’t say what just happened within myself so instead, I asked what’s the meaning of those words or why are you saying it. I’m sorry. I can’t remember my exact question even though I asked you repeatedly.

“I don’t know why I love you. I just do.”

I guess that’s what you've said or so I hope. I fell asleep right when you’re answering my question. You always talked to me when I’m about to lose my consciousness and enter my dream realm. I always hate it whenever you do that. It feels like I should have heard about it. It felt like I missed an important piece of a puzzle.

-

*ACDC Thunderstruck plays*


-

I woke up to my phone ringing. I looked at you while I reach out for my phone. You stirred a little as I took my call. As the day passed, I tried to wrap my head around the idea of falling and what all of these would mean. It felt like I’m trying to search for the purpose of life while I try to act casually in front of you.

At the end of the day, I don't have any answers to all of my questions. I can feel all those fears and anxiety creeping up towards me.

"What if...?"

As my counselor told me, walking would help you think.

Besides, it was a stressful day for me. With all those academic responsibilities and emotional search, I decided to go home already. I know you wouldn't like it but I chose to give myself a rest.

Then a simple joke happened. I should've told about the walk.

I was afraid to lose your trust. Hell, I’m not even sure if you trust me enough.

But I am determined to give myself a little break that I know I don't deserve so I shut myself from the world for a couple of hours.

-

And now as I woke up to a new day, I realized that I may not be able to answer all of my questions, that there are certain things, no matter how bad or good it is, is all part of the grand 'fall'.

For now, I've decided to enjoy this 'fall', to feel this strange yet fascinating feeling, because deep down I know it’s all worth it.

I have no idea how will I end this post but I believe that this is just the beginning and I hope that it’ll never end.

Now without a doubt, I can definitely say that I am unequivocally falling in love.

Whenever there’s a celebration, my Dad always makes it a point that there’s a wine at the table. He says that without wine, it’s not a real celebration. There are times that it’s just the wine alone and no other foods if it’s a simple celebration. The sad thing though is that we don’t have a specific wine that we buy. We always try to buy different brands, different kinds so we would be able to tell the differences.

We were taught how to sip wine since we were 10 yrs old (of course it’s a red wine by that time). My Grandpa always says that there’s an art in drinking wine and me, being me and being a girl, doesn’t really listens to what these important guys in my life said. I don’t know how the colour of the wine affects the taste; I just know there’s a meaning or some sort. I don’t know why do we have to swirl the drink in our glass and smell it. Honestly, it smells the same to thing to me. Of course, I do know the kind of glassware we have to use depending on the wine but I think that’s about it.

True, I don’t know much about wines and I could just start and research about the art of wine tasting but I want to be honest. I’m doing this for all the men in our family who does this kind of thing. Nuffnang is right, it’s the best Christmas gift and I couldn’t ask for more.

Of course, we’ve come across some of the famous Hardys’ products like the Sparkling Rose which I remember a lot (because it’s pink!), Chardonnay something... ( I can’t remember the exact name I’m sorry!), and a few more from crest and stamp. One thing is for sure, I can’t remember most of the drinks name because, well, it’s hard for me to pronounce! Haha I’m not even sure if I’ve spelled it correctly or not. I can also remember that there are some names that spelled like cabinet and pinoy or something which I’m sure is not because it’s an Australian brand.

So I’ll stop embarrassing myself from here and start to actually research about the brand because I only know two things about it. It’s Australian brand and started in 1853. How smart, right?

Evidently, Hardys has established their name since 1853 which makes it 160 years of expertise in wine-making. It has been passed on for 5 generations with such devotion from the famous Thomas Hardy to Robert Burrough Hardy (Second Generation), Eileen and Kenneth Hardy (Third Generation), Thomas Walter Hardy (Fourth Generation) up to William Bill Hardy, the present winemaker generation. As if lasting for 160 years isn’t enough, the Hardys gathered over 3000 awards in the last decade.

 As I said earlier, we always have a wine in almost all occasions. My grandfather thought us that it makes the occasion ever more special than it is by wine consumption. It became related to our family lifestyle and it elevates the spirit of occasion and conversation. It is more sophisticated and healthy compared to drinking beers. It has a sense culture even for middle class like our family.

Big or small occasion, Hardy with its astounding heritage and quality blending techniques which has been passed on by 5 generations, will surely make your occasion as unique and refined no matter how you like it because of its broad range of sub brands that is available across the country. It has a strong appeal with the wide range of consumers for rising affluent in Asia because of its premium products.

Now that I’ve learned a lot about its rich history, I would surely tell about this, not only to my family but also some of my friends whom I want to have a special holiday for this coming Christmas. And hey, my birthday is coming up!

There are lots of things that gets better with time and as I age, I realized a lot of things that I’m really thankful for. Back then, I’m afraid of getting old. Weird, I know, because a lot of kids cannot wait to grow but I don’t. Now that I’m about to turn 20 this month, I decided to look for things that gets better as we age.

Self-confidence. It may not be that good every moment. Of course, there are times that I feel bad about myself but I learned to get up and deal with it.

Decision Making and Good Judgement. I’m not saying that I’m good at this but this time, I’m not afraid to make mistakes and I know I’ll always learn something new.

True Friends. True, it’s not about how long you’ve been known each other and how long your friendship have been but it’s nice to know that there are people who knew you from the very beginning and considers you as a family just like you are to them.

Wines. Not all wines benefits from sitting around the cellar but those that do are more delicious as it gets older.

And lastly, Robert Downey, Jr. Do I need to say more?

Finally! I’ve been waiting for this contest! And to be given by the company of PLDT! I’m sooo glad! My Dad works at the PLDT so, of course, we have Fibr! It’s very efficient especially most of our family members are techy and internet addict.

My mom likes to surf Facebook a lot and watches TV channels through internet and My Dad watches Naruto Videos through online streaming whenever he gets home. My brother and I love to play online game and just imagine how fast our internet connection should be while we use the same connection all at once.

Have you seen the PLDT Home Fibr? It’s freaking cool! I love cars, especially sports cars (I usually attend different car shows around Metro Manila) and for PLDT Fibr to explain how Home Fiber-Optic Internet works through these is genius and catchy. It effectively explains how their connection works in a cool way.

If you we’re to create a character inspired by Fibr, what special skills would he’she have?

I were to create a character inspired by Fibr, it would be almost like the superhero named Flash from the DC Comic universe. Yep, she’s that fast! Imagine, if the hunger games just started and the weapons are placed at the middle of the arena, the Fibr character would be able to access the weapons faster than the other tributes!

It’s a great asset to have a speed like that. I would able to pick the weapon that I wanted, unlike Katniss in the first Hunger Games. Surely, it’s a lot easier for me to outrun an attacker. I can attack rapidly and won’t be able to give some time for my target to get ready, an element of surprise! If the character is fast as the Fibr, it would almost have the superhuman reflex which would be able to evade all the attacks given by the other tributes.

Obviously, if there’s a character inspired by the Fibr, it would surely be the Annual Hunger Game Victor.

Fibr, Home’s most powerful broadband, allows you to seamlessly and simultaneously experience the following:

1. Browsing of multiple websites

2. Stream hundreds blockbuster movies on-demand from Clickplay

3. Watch Cignal Digital TV Channels

4. Available now in over 800 fiber-powered villages nationwide

Visit www.pldthome.com or call 101-FIBR (3427) for more details. 

As I said in the previous post, I’m going to post my everyday schedule for me to be a better person. It is also a way for me to feel guilty if I wouldn’t be able to follow these plans for myself, knowing that you guys knew about my self-improvement plans.

7am – Wake up

7:00 – 8:00 – Breakfast & Stretching

8:00 – 9:00 – Home Exercise

9:00 – 12:00nn – Schoolwork Time

12:00 – 1:00pm – Lunch & Relax

1:00 – 1:30 – Prepare my things for School

1:30 – 2:30 – Get Ready For School

2:30 – 4:00 – Travel to School

4:00 – 9:00pm – Class Time

9:00 – 10:30 – Travel Time

10:30 – 11:00 – Dinner

11:00 – 12:00mn – Schoolwork

12:00 – 1:00am – Yoga and Prepare for Bed; Sleep!

7am – Wake up

7:00 – 8:00 – Breakfast & Stretching

8:00 – 9:00 – Home Exercise

9:00 – 9:15 – Prepare Things

9:15 – 10:15 – Get Ready

10:15 – 11:30 – Travel to School

11:30am – 9:00pm – Class Time

                12:00nn – 1:00pm – Lunch

                3:30 – 4:30 Break Time

9:00 – 10:30 – Travel Time

10:30 – 11:00 – Dinner

11:00 – 12:00mn – Schoolwork

12:00 – 1:00am – Yoga and Prepare for Bed; Sleep!

7am – Wake up

7:00 – 8:00 – Breakfast & Stretching

8:00 – 9:00 – Home Exercise

9:00 – 10:00 – Leisure Time

10:00 – 12:00nn – Schoolwork Time

12:00 – 1:00pm – Lunch & Relax

1:00pm – 3:00pm – Schoolwork Time

3:00 – 3:15 – Prepare Things

3:15 – 4:15 – Get Ready

4:15 – 6:00pm – Travel Time

6:00 – 9:00pm – Class

9:00 – 10:30 – Travel Time

10:30 – 11:00 – Dinner

11:00 – 12:00mn – Schoolwork

12:00 – 1:00am – Yoga and Prepare for Bed; Sleep!

7am – Wake up

7:00 – 8:00 – Breakfast & Stretching

8:00 – 9:00 – Home Exercise

9:00 – 12:00nn – Schoolwork Time

12:00 – 1:00pm – Lunch & Relax

1:00pm – 2:00pm – Schoolwork Time

2:00 – 2:30 – Prepare Things

2:30 – 3:30 – Get Ready

3:30 – 5:00 – Travel Time

5:00 – 9:00pm – Class

9:00 – 10:30 – Travel Time

10:30 – 11:00 – Dinner

11:00 – 12:00mn – Schoolwork

12:00 – 1:00am – Yoga and Prepare for Bed; Sleep!

7am – Wake up

7:00 – 8:00 – Breakfast & Stretching

8:00 – 9:00 – Home Exercise

9:00 – 12:00nn – Schoolwork Time

12:00 – 1:00pm – Lunch & Relax

1:00 – 1:30 – Leisure Time

1:30 – 2:00 – Prepare Things

2:00 – 3:00 – Get Ready

3:00 – 4:30 – Travel Time

4:30 – 9:00pm - Class

9:00 – 10:30 – Travel Time

10:30 – 11:00 – Dinner

11:00 – 12:00mn – Schoolwork

12:00 – 1:00am – Yoga and Prepare for Bed; Sleep!

7am – Wake up

7:00 – 8:00 – Breakfast & Stretching

8:00 – 9:00 – Home Exercise

9:00 – 10:00 – Leisure Time

10:00 – 12:00nn – Schoolwork Time

12:00 – 1:00pm – Lunch & Relax

1:00 – 3:00pm – Schoolwork Time

3:00 – 3:15 – Prepare Things

3:15 – 4:15 – Get Ready

4:15 – 6:00pm – Travel Time

6:00 – 9:00 - Class

9:00 – 10:30 – Travel Time

10:30 – 11:00 – Dinner

11:00 – 12:00mn – Schoolwork

12:00 – 1:00am – Yoga and Prepare for Bed; Sleep!

Obviously, I scheduled my meals, sleep, and workouts in the same time so my body would be able to get used to eat since I don’t have regular time for the things that I’ve just said. I’ve got my home exercises and yoga videos from YouTube. Hopefully, I would be able to follow these schedules most of the time.

I also have different time allotted for Travelling to School since it depends on the time of the day if it’s crowded and many people uses my usual public transportation or not. It takes a lot longer if it hits the rush hour especially during Wednesdays and Saturdays.

I decided to give myself some time to prepare my things like packing up a snack, preparing my uniform, etc. Because usually, that’s what makes me late when I realize that I haven’t prepared my things yet and I just got out of the bathroom. I’m disorganized and clumsy so I have to prepare it beforehand. And of course, my Sundays are my free days!

Our 2^nd semester began last week, I haven’t met all of our professors yet but it’s almost the same schedule. The only difference is that it’s quite easier to handle compared to our previous one because the standard number of units is lower now.

My grades for the last semester have been my lowest so far and I’m not planning to let continue that way or to even maintain it. It has been my morale booster and now, I’m trying to get a productive and healthy lifestyle.

Yesterday, I made a day to day schedule from Mondays to Saturdays so I would be able to use my time wisely especially now that our research for our individual major thesis is about to start. I know I won’t be able to follow these schedules all the time but I want to at least be strict with myself. It’s for my own good anyway. So here it is:

My Not So Busy Monday Schedule

7am – Wake up

7:00 – 8:00 – Breakfast & Stretching

8:00 – 9:00 – Home Exercise

9:00 – 12:00nn – Schoolwork Time

12:00 – 1:00pm – Lunch & Relax

1:00 – 1:30 – Prepare my things for School

1:30 – 2:30 – Get Ready For School

2:30 – 4:00 – Travel to School

4:00 – 9:00pm – Class Time

9:00 – 10:30 – Travel Time

10:30 – 11:00 – Dinner

11:00 – 12:00mn – Schoolwork

12:00 – 1:00am – Yoga and Prepare for Bed; Sleep!

So that’s an example of my everyday schedule. It varies everyday depending on my class schedule, of course. I’ll just post the whole schedule separately into another post. As you can see, the title is "My Not So Busy Monday Schedule" because I know that when our major plate comes, I won't be able to do these things, let alone sleep. 

You might be wondering why I’m trying to do this. First, I want to be productive and be on time. I’m always late but there are times that I’m too early for a class or a meeting. I’m inconsistent! Second, as I said, I’m trying to have a healthy lifestyle. I seldom do some exercise and I know I’m not healthy. I procrastinate A LOT and I want to change it.

I took advantage of our new schedule and create a new lifestyle. I know I won’t be able to follow exactly what’s written on my schedule but what I’m trying to reach as a goal is to have a pattern that would make me a dynamic and effective, especially when it comes to my studies. I really want to get a better grade and I know I have to do something to make it happen!

Few weeks ago, my brother got married. It’s only a civil wedding given the situation that he got his girlfriend pregnant. I didn't go to his wedding anyhow. I just told everyone that I’m busy but honestly, I was only in room, sitting in front of my computer. I know that’s rude, I should’ve gone to his wedding no matter how much I hate him. It may be because of our unhealthy sibling rivalry or all of the things that he’d done to me for the past decade, or maybe both. You might think that sibling rivalry is just normal but there is growing evidence that in a minority of cases, sibling warfare becomes a form of repeated, inescapable and emotionally damaging abuse. Just like what happened to me.

I know competition between siblings is very common. It is just a normal part of growing up in a family. We all say that sibling rivalry is perfectly fine and healthy, but there can be times that it becomes dangerous.  It may lead to severe physical violence, psychological distress, serious illness and disability in siblings.

Based on my research about sibling rivalry, it’s always about what parents can do. What can I say; I’m a little bit bummed about it. What parents can do? Then, How about ‘what the person who’s experiencing it can do’ besides telling my parents who doesn't do anything about it? Because honestly, I've tried to talk to them and they said that they’ll do something about it. Blablabla. They did nothing. They didn't even try. All they did is that, talked to me, asked what I want and such, offered some useless gadgets I don’t even need and don’t even want.

Of course I didn't accept their ‘bribe’. First, as I said, I’m not interested. Second, it would only make things worse. My brother would be jealous of those things, etc. My counselors already talked to my mom, but then, nothing really happened. I even tried to cut myself just to prove my point, to let them see that I am hurt not just physically but emotionally as well. Since I don’t have evidence regarding my emotional hurt, I tried to let them see that I’m crying out for help through these physical pains. Honestly, it’s kind of addicting. My body craves for the stinging pain.

Anyway, this sibling rivalry affected my life a lot more than I want to. I've always thought that my brother would always protect me which is the exact opposite of what’s been happening. The things that my brother did to me would always be engraved into my mind but I hope that someday, I would be able to get past all those bad memories.