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.