The Freedom of Living Alone

Contrary to the "norm" in Filipino culture where children live with their mommies and daddies and brothers and sisters forever and ever even after they get married and have kids of their own (I put "norm" in parenthesis because I have an aversion to that word and I always question who dictates what is "normal".), I had been living by myself since college until I got married a couple of years ago. Now I live with my husband and his siblings and retired mother so we can help out with the household expenses, and I have enjoyed their company and learned quite a lot from them. But I have to admit that I miss the freedom of living alone sometimes. I followed my own rules then, just me and my cats and Princeton.

Rule #1. Watching the news is bad for your health. I never watched the news because it always amplifies all the bad going on and it depresses me.

Rule #2. Watching Tagalog telenovelas or anything Tagalog for that matter is strictly prohibited. Those shows have the same pattern: There's a rich person and a poor person. Rich person is bad, poor person is good. Poor person is maltreated by rich person until one day a miracle happens and poor person is "saved" and the rich person is "punished". (In short, they are perpetuating the "victim mentality".). And all throughout there's a lot of crying and quarreling. Those TV shows drain my energy.

Rule #3. Watching anime anytime of day or night with the volume turned up while sprawled out on the sofa not wearing any bra is a good way to de-stress and relax. (Now stop trying to visualize it! Haha!)

Rule #4. Listening to JPop/Rock/Hiphop music anytime of day or night with the volume turned up while singing at the top of my lungs is another good way to de-stress and relax. (I should warn you that I'm not even sure if my singing sounds good in the shower.)

Rule #5. This is the best rule of all: There are no rules. Living alone, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want. Ah, freedom! :)

The Best Workplace In The World

The Googleplex, Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California has got to be the best workplace ever! Watch this video to see what I'm talking about:


If I ever migrate to the United States, this is where I want to work!

The Journey Is Where The Fun Is

In our world of achievements and accomplishments, we often focus too much on the "goal" or "destination" that we forget that the process of achieving the goal or the journey to the destination is supposed to be where the fun is.

I, too, have been guilty of this.

I had been trying to find the right shade of foundation to match my skin tone for what seemed like forever and was getting impatient. And because of this impatience, I continually bought the wrong shade - it was always too dark or too pink - and got frustrated that I was wasting a lot of good, not to mention expensive, makeup. Subconsciously I must have thought that I would be happy only when I finally found the right one. But then it occurred to me that the experience of choosing is supposed to be part of the fun. Experimentation is fun. Discovery is fun. Life is meant to be fun.

And so now that my husband is looking to buy his first brand new car and seems to be feeling confused as to which one he should get, I remind him to enjoy the experience. To savor the feeling and not rush it. Researching on the internet, visiting showrooms, test driving potential cars, and the whole decision-making process is not a "chore", it is an exciting adventure that he is privileged to experience. Then the pleasure of finally buying the car will be like icing on a very delicious cake.

Yes, the journey through life really is where the fun is. Getting to the destination is just an added bonus.

What I Value The Most

After years of of seeking and soul-searching, I have finally come to realize what it is that I value the most, and that is FREEDOM. "Freedom" means different things to different people. To me, it does not only mean freedom from physical slavery but freedom from psychological and spiritual bondage as well.

I value being able to live my life the way I choose to.
I value being able to make decisions based primarily on what feels best to me.
I value being able to choose happiness over fear and misery.
I value being able to choose.

Whenever I come to a crossroads in my life and feel uncertain as to which road I should take, I will remember what it is that I value the most and my path will become clear. I am not a victim of circumstances anymore. I control my life. I am free.

Today's Great Achievement Done Doggie Style

I did it! I finally learned how to swim and I did it doggie style! (I wanted to say "cat style" but my cats hate water.) Well, it didn't hurt that the seawater at Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort where we stayed at was super salty so it was very easy to keep afloat. However I refuse to let that diminish my sense of accomplishment at having been able to paddle around when I normally would've sunk to the bottom of the sea.

I discovered it quite accidentally. As I was dunking my head underwater I realized that my feet left the sand for several seconds and I didn't sink. So I tried paddling and kicking and was amazed that I actually stayed afloat! It felt great. Gaining some courage I ventured over to deeper waters and was rewarded when I was able to keep my head above water. (Of course I had someone who knew how to swim tag along with me in case I needed rescuing.) Now my next mission is to try it in the pool where the water isn't salty. I'm already excited.

My Bucket List

If you've seen the movie The Bucket List, then you'll know that a "Bucket List" is a list of things that you'd like to do before you die or "kick the bucket" so to speak. I though it might be a good exercise in self-awareness if not just plain fun to try and make my own. This is what I came up with in no particular order:

1. Live in Japan, experience their culture, and eat "real" Japanese food.
2. Create an anime series or publish a manga.
3. Work in Urban Cat League or in a similar cat welfare organization socializing feral kittens for adoption.
4. Watch "Seussical The Musical" on Broadway. (I realize that the Broadway production of "Seussical The Musical" closed in 2001, but I'm hoping it will get rehashed sometime in the future hopefully before I kick the bucket. Hehe.)
5. Ride a stallion.
6. See a real Apache helicopter up close and maybe even ride one.
7. Visit the Googleplex, Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California and in Zurich, Switzerland.
8. Spend a week leisurely exploring the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, DC. How interesting it would be if "Night At The Museum" came true!
9. Spend a night in an observatory gazing up at the stars and planets.
10. Eat at one of Iron Chef Bobby Flay's restaurants.

Mornings With My Cats

My cats and I have a morning routine. In the morning when I wake up, I would always find Layla asleep beside my head right against my pillow, Jiggy would be sleeping on the chair in front of the computer or snuggled beside me on the bed under the blanket, and Motmot would be curled up on the cat bed (which is a large stuffed toy in the shape of a flat cat). The first thing I do every morning is open the windows. As if on cue, Layla would jump on top of the tree stump by our window, do some scratching exercises on it, and play with the curtain strings while I opened the windows and tied the curtains. At about this time Jiggy and Motmot would be doing some yawning exercises right where they are. I then proceed to drink plenty of water and do some business in the bathroom with Layla following me around because she knows what's coming next.

Breakfast time! For the three of them anyway. I pick up their food bowls and go inside the bathroom to wash them. By the time I finish, I'd have three cats lounging on the rug outside the bathroom patiently awaiting my emergence. I have to carefully hop over them so Jiggy doesn't get a swipe at my foot, which he likes to do. Then the most awaited part of their day comes - food magically appears in their bowls. While they eat, I change their water and clean out their litter box. Then I get started on my day.

Oh, there's one more thing that I always do with Motmot in the mornings. Right after I make the bed, Motmot would jump right up, find a comfortable spot and start licking herself until she falls asleep. I get the her message loud and clear: "It's my turn on the bed now." And so it is.

Impeached Former President Reelected?

I am really amazed how the people in this country never learn. I was watching the results of the elections so far and could not believe that a former president who had been impeached not so long ago due to corruption and other shady businesses is currently on second place in the battle for presidency. How could people vote for a person that they so passionately rallied against while the impeachment trials were going on? Do people really have such poor memories? Extremely short attention spans maybe?

I cannot believe how ridiculous the situation is.  Even my cats have enough sense to stay away from people who don't treat them nicely. I cannot help but think that those people who voted for him must be stupid. There's just no other way to explain it. Oh, please somebody make a cure for stupidity soon!

Election Day

It's election day here in the Philippines and the people in the house are getting ready to go and vote for the future leaders of this country. I couldn't help but notice though that we don't really know much about what the candidates intend to accomplish after they get elected. The political ads I've seen seem to be geared towards getting the sympathy of the masses and gaining popularity. When did being poor once or having good parents become important qualifications for president? I would have thought they would concentrate their campaigns on letting the people know about the good things they plan for the country.  Of course, the uneducated masses of this country probably won't understand anything beyond the acquisition of food, shelter, clothing and other basic needs. Plus there's the misguided mentality that "the rich are evil, the poor are good" and "rich people are obligated to give to the poor". You know, the victim mentality. Somebody really has to start empowering the masses so they learn that our lives are in our own hands and that no one is obligated to give us anything. Then again, I'm just a cat lover... what would I know? :)

Mother's Day Treat

Today is Mother's Day! I gave Jiggy, Motmot, and Layla, my three furry kids, some Tender Slices with Real Beef in Gravy for breakfast this morning as a special Mother's Day treat and they loved it!

The three of them are so funny. I always serve them canned food in a special bowl, not their bowls for the usual dry kibbles, and they go gaga every time I bring out those special bowls. They jump up on tables and counters, meow with gusto, and rub their heads against my legs with such force that they could knock me down. This morning was no exception. They followed me all the way to the kitchen and watched me from atop the refrigerator while I washed their special bowls, and then Jiggy surreptitiously tried to reach for a can of 9Lives on the table. As if he could open it by himself. Haha!

Later tonight when I give them their usual dry kibbles for dinner, I know they're going to sniff it and look at me with that accusing look in their eyes as if to say, "What, dry kibbles again?!" But I never feel guilty. Because I know that if I fed them canned food for each and every meal, they'd be obese in no time and I don't want that. :) I guess that's what mothers call "tough love". Hehe...

Cat For A Day

I envy my cats sometimes. Okay, I admit it... I envy my cats all the time. They're just so lucky. They get to stay home and sleep to their heart's content all day. They sleep when they want, eat when they want, play when they want, and do whatever they want whenever they want. Absolute freedom. Now that's what I call the good life. Plus they get all the love, hugs, and kisses because they're so cute!

I'd like to experience being a cat for one day. If there was a potion I could drink that would transform me into a cat temporarily, I would definitely try it. Wouldn't you?

Stray Cat Tries To Resuscitate Another Cat

A friend of mine posted this video on my Facebook wall a couple of days ago of a stray cat trying to resuscitate another stray cat that had been hit by a car, and it was so heart-wrenching that my tears just flowed. The question, "Why didn't anyone rush the cat to the vet?" kept repeating itself in my head, but even though it was so sad, it also seemed oddly beautiful... how a "mere" stray cat would have the heart to try and rescue his friend.