Tag Archives: LIFE

Thirty-nine

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This is the penultimate year before I hit four decades of being on planet Earth. What a journey it has been. Times have been challenging, especially the last twelve months, but somehow I am stillg it through.

There has been no changes in the writing, podcasting and building scale models as it’s still a few months away from the target construction date of ‘the cave’. On the other hand, I’ve been meaning to get back to reading books and listening to my podcast subscriptions by August. The time has come to cut back on two notorious time sinks YouTube and Spotify.

Offline, I’ve spent considerable time reconnecting with my high school friends since April as we gear up to get organized for when we host our high school grand alumni homecoming in 2027. Time is ticking away and we are nowhere near our fundraising target.

For the first time in thirty-nine years, I’m seriously thinking of doing a more serious exercise regimen, even doing some weight training to help address my thyroid problems. A recent trip to the hospital reminded me that this is something that needs urgent attention. Just to be clear, I would not be bulking up nor would I start a TikTok account to post half-naked thirst traps or something ridiculous.

Once more, to all those who sent their greetings, a big thank you to each and one of you!

Thirty-eight

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After almost a decade, I’m celebrating my birthday back in my hometown and in the house where I was born. The move from the city has been full of challenges but there’s not been a single day of regret ever since. With the worsening climate crisis, getting away from the urban jungle has been a gift for the family.

While the writing, podcasting, and building scale models are still on hiatus, the anxiety from not being able to continue with all of it has been less severe. In fact, the anticipation of getting back at these has been a positive force as it has helped me stay focused on settling down back home and getting through the difficult times.

The other day, the thought of adding more books to my home library was so tempting that I couldn’t help but consider it. Moreover, I am determined to make a good start on my reading list for 2021.

Call it baby steps if you will, what matters is I’m still moving on a trajectory rather than standing still.

While not much has been published on this blog since last year, the advocacy on social issues has been consistent on my social media accounts. The next step is getting it all synced with this blog as centerstage and happening on a regular cadence.

There was a mention of a health concern in last year’s birthday post, to which I’m glad to report that a very positive step has been taken to address it thanks to a wonderful, brilliant, and caring doctor. The prognosis is very good overall and there’s a very strong chance that by my next birthday, I would be in a much better state. I intend to talk about it more on this blog in the coming months.

To everyone who will take the time to send me a greeting today, a big thank you!

Thirty-six

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The Earth has taken thirteen thousand six hundred and forty days to go around the sun since I have come on board. What a journey it has been so far.


Three hundred sixty-five days (plus three) ago, I was at the office, sharing good food with my friends and colleagues which coincided with our team’s return to full operations after several months of being shut down by the pandemic.


This time around I’m just at home with my family as the pandemic is still far from over and has taken quite a toll on all of us. Monsoon rains and a magnitude 6.7 earthquake earlier in the day made this annual event something definitely unique and worth remembering.


The projects started last year – the podcasts and newsletter, have been all but neglected and it’s been a struggle to get back at it. So it would be fitting to finally break the blogging hiatus with this update. It’s not that I have completely stopped writing, I simply stopped publishing. Most of what I’ve written since May has been kept in a personal journal and a note-taking app that has been steadily being filled up with notes, ideas, and rough drafts of upcoming pieces that I hope you’ll enjoy or at the very least find interesting.


Aside from nearly half a year’s worth of content-in-development, my book collection has grown quite considerably. One of the goals for this year is to finish a book per month. With four months left, the to-read pile has really grown.


Looking back, and in the context of the pandemic, I should not be too hard on myself as making it this far, in good health, and sitting on a big pile of drafts is still quite an achievement knowing that there are others that have had far worse.


With that in mind, I have decided that as I will get back to regularly publishing content starting today, part if not most of it must be of help to others. Content that will enrich their knowledge, or perhaps help them with their own struggles and contribute to their own success no matter how big or small.


So I hope you’ll stick around. Together, I’m quite positive we’ll all make it through to see better days.

Thirty-five

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I am now in my mid thirties. Life has been tough, especially in the last couple of years. And I never thought that I would be alive in the age of a pandemic. On the other hand, it’s been fun, challenging and worth the pains, struggles, setbacks and even defeats. It’s great to be alive!

The past couple of months, in particular, have been amazing – I’ve launched a science podcast, a newsletter, and recently, an advocacy group that had already made great strides towards its goals. Other side projects are steadily moving forward even if it’s in small baby steps.

In the coming days, I’d be joining other brave bloggers and netizens in a great and noble endeavor. Just to be in their company is both humbling and a great privilege.

On the home front, I am mightily proud of being able to sharpen my cooking skills. Salads and more vegetables have become part of my diet. Something my mom would definitely be proud of. Perhaps I’d talk more about it in the upcoming posts.

Much more needs to be done. My growing pile of books to read for starters. Sticking to regularly updating this blog and adding a few chapters to a writing project that’s really close to heart.

Adding a few pounds wouldn’t hurt. Improving my skills and staying healthy – getting through this year in the age of coronavirus would remain my primary pre-occupation. To all my friends, colleagues, readers and followers, thank you to each and one of you!

LIFE Hacks with Atty Chel Diokno

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It’s been a tiring, busy yet very fulfilling week as together with good friends and colleagues, we’ve launched the first installment of our ‘LIFE Hacks‘ series of webinars last June 27, 2020.

Our keynote speaker is none other than the venerable human rights defender, nationalist and founding Dean of De La Salle University’s College of Law, Atty Chel Dionko in which he talked about the Anti-Terrorism Bill and the recent cyber-libel conviction against veteran journalist Maria Ressa.

The webinar series is the inaugural project for our little volunteer group Lasallian Initiative for Empowerment or LIFE. Our mission is to help our fellow Filipinos, especially the youth, to better understand current issues and take part in the national conversation.

Despite the speed bumps and misses, we were surprised that the event exceeded most of our expectations given that we only had almost a week to put it all together. It was also my first foray into moderating or hosting a webinar and the experience has been a humbling and inspiring learning experience for me.

Apart from managing the logistics of the webinar and hosting it, I also handled the technical production – learning how to use and setup OBS Studio to jazz up our zoom webinar the night before and live streaming the event on our Facebook page. All those years of tinkering with computers, sound mixers and DIY-community theater really helped a lot.

We’re now working on our next event which would be a lot smoother and better thanks to all the valuable lessons we learned from the pilot episode. I’ll be talking more about this soon in the coming days.

If you’re one of those who joined our first ‘LIFE Hacks’ thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We look forward to seeing you in the next installment soon!