It’s Just Another Eve

 And just like, the most unpredictable, stressful, challenging year ever will come to pass soon.

I am feeling blah on the last few hours of the year. It’s my first year in my new work and I did not hit my numbers. For the first time ever, my December was pre-occupied with running after those numbers, up till Dec. 29, the last working day for client.

Because of all the restrictions on movement, and my own paranoia, I did not shop for gifts. But I remain unapologetic. #sorrynotsorry

My only consolation - my trips to the beach house. When the restrictions eased, I had to make sure I could visit and just relax. The sunsets, the full moons, the glimmering waters in the early afternoon, made me hang on to my sanity.

My personal projects, of course, also kept me grounded. I disposed of one property and bought another. And preparing for the turnover of another. Then one final project cooked up in a totally different direction, but spilling over to Jan 2021. 

So tomorrow will be just another day. I’ve learned to take things a day at a time even as I make all these plans. How does that work? LOL 

But I still need to say this, with all sincerity: Have a good 2021, peeps. 

Quirks and Hacks

 C3 calls it my ‘middle class upbringing’. And he is probably correct. My hacks are based on principles of minimizing waste, full consumption, extending useful life.

Toothpaste

Yes, I am that kind of oc-oc. No squeezing in the middle of the tube, please. And I make sure the tube is squeezed out. 

Soap Bars 

  

I challenge myself to make sure that each soap bar is TOTALLY consumed. I do this by attaching the little, remaining piece of the bar to the new one. 

Liquids

I bought this rubber funnel that was made for getting the very last drop of liquid. You attach the bottle opening to the specially-contoured mouth to allow it to stand unassisted. I usually let the bottle stand overnight to make sure that almost all of the liquid is collected to a container.

Creams

 

I also bought these little scrapers to help fully transfer creams into a new container. And yes, those are mini funnels. 

Even wear

 

Linens and even leather bags are indexed and arranged so that all of them are used evenly (numbered!). Linens are replaced quincenas. Bags are on a monthly rotation. 

So that’s the extent of my obsessive-compulsiveness!

Gabriel, Zechariah and Mary

 I used to wonder. How different are the responses of Zechariah and Mary to merit different consequences from Angel Gabriel? Both sounded like they were doubting, at first glance.

Then Zechariah said to the angel,

“How shall I know this? 

For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 

But Mary said to the angel,

“How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?”

But now as I read and re-read their responses, I am seeing the ‘arrogance’ of disbelief by Zechariah as opposed to Mary’s question of process. Zechariah asks ‘how shall I know this’, which I interpret as ‘how can I be convinced that this is true’. He puts forth a solid argument on the falsehood of Angel Gabriel’s prophecy - age.

Mary, on the other hand, is just asking about the process of how it will happen. And I read her statement as an affirmation of her immaculate heart. ‘I have no relations with a man’ means, to me, ‘I do not and will not have relations with any man, as I am betrothed to Joseph. I will be faithful to him.’

Faith in the outcome, that is what the Lord God tells us. Yes, we may question the process. But we will not deny the power of the Lord God in our disbelief.

Buhay Pandemya: Buhay Tabing-dagat

I could have been locked down here on the beach house. My last trip here was March 12, Thursday, with some officemates. We attended an official function in Subic and proceeded to the beach house for lunch. There was already talk of an impending lockdown announcement. The announcement came the following day. But the real strict lockdown imposed March 16.

I was romanticizing being locked down here. Imagine being marooned on a beach setting! Sunrise over the mountains that gently illumine the sand and sea. And of course, the sunset, the glorious sunset. 

But the downsides... erratic internet (how could I have actually continued working from home?). I needed to have cash on hand as the only ATM here is maintained by a rural bank. And there were many restrictions on movement. Finally, I couldn’t be away from Nanay back in San Juan.

However, there will come a time when I would or could actually retire here. I bought a piece of farm land about 5 mins by car away. The produce from there could sustain me, sustain us. I’ll probably see if I could get a stint teaching in the rural college. That would be quaint. 

I’ll have to plan the medical emergency part. I’d look for a primary care doctor with links to the hospitals in Subic Bay. Just in case.    

I wonder if I can spend my final days here, too, ala “Beaches”. But my ashes would still have to be brought back to San Juan, at the columbary of my parish church. 

Being here just gives me all these feels. Good morning.

Buhay Pandemya: Nang Namulaklak ang BL

Disclaimer - I am a late comer. (Though I was into ‘Addicted’, the Chinese BL series years ago before it was called BL). Never got into Jap or Thai BL. But I have always been on the lookout for nice LGBT stories.

So this is just me expressing my views on the Pinoy BLs I have watched over the pandemya.  

C3 had been hooked on to Gameboys early on. And it was only at Ep 4 when I started watching and catching up. Got interested because of Kokoy (and because I was able to watch that indie movie he made with Royce as lead). 

Liked the way the story was progressing. Liked the writing and the acting.  And it just got better and better all the way to the iconic plastic lang ang pagitan. I wondered how they could top that.  But they managed to pick it up and even put in a serious conflict that was a major cliffhanger.  

And the leads just got better and better, too. And Pearl was just perfect. 

Then Hello Stranger started promoting big time. And the perfect tease that is Tony L was doing his part of making sure that his fans were in for a surprise. You could tell the impact of an ABS CBN backing made the production glossy. 

But, I wasn’t that into it. I felt that the leads were not comfortable in their skin. The repartees lacked authenticity. The story itself, somehow, didn’t feel as credulous to me. Or maybe I was just put off by the contrived pa-charming ni Tony L. Then it ended with a hug. Ganern? 

Youtube started recommending other series. I skipped Sacristan upon the recomm of c3. But Inbetween got me curious. Firstly, I like how the leads looked. And Ep 1 started with heavy drama. Break-up agad! Ouch. Then the party scene came. The actors didn’t feel relaxed with each other yet. Couldn’t convince me they were a barkada. But I gave it a shot.

So this one became different with its propensity for flashbacks.  As the series progressed, I liked the big reveal behind the break-up. That picked some heartstrings. But after that gets resolved, it felt like it wanted to extend its life with new characters, new backstories. That made this quite convoluted.

Honestly, I was losing interest especially with the way the selos factor was played out for too long. But I have to admit that finale made me tear up a bit. Again, the flashbacks played a big part (maybe too big?) but when viewed in the context of that exchange of vows, the flashbacks worked. So I ended up loving it again till the end.

So on my playlist now - Gaya Sa Pelikula which has lots of promise but it aint perfect. And Quaranthings which has been excruciating to watch lately. I like how one lead is not typically gorgeous and straight-acting. But what is happening to that story? It feels like it is jumping all over the place. Royce’s hotness is the saving factor. 

I dropped My Day midway Ep 2. It felt like one glossy afternoon telenovela that would resort to cheap laughs. I tuned out after that scene with the waiter AND the manager tinkering with the order. That is just gross. 

I also tried to watch Amore but couldn’t sustain the interest.

On the horizon, Boys Lockdown.  And I’m curious about the Boyband Lockdown. Talaga naman sakyan natin ang initials na‘B.L.’ To death. LOL.

But seriously, I consider all of these as LGBT stories. And the more of these that get produced, the better. Because we all have our stories to tell. Even me. Hehehe 

Buhay Pandemya: Back to the Office!

Tomorrow I report back to the office!  After more than 6 months, we have been required to return to work, with the usual medical clearances. 

Mixed feelings. I will have to change my routine again. I am thinking of waking up 5am to do my home workout. I should be in the office by 9am. I hope to be out of the office by 5pm thereabouts.

Well, I do miss working in an office. The whole day A/C. The quiet surroundings. (No tricycles, ambulant vendors, dogs barking) I’m eager to check on my office plants, assuming these are still alive. I am able to focus on work at hand. And yeah, I miss dressing up to go to work. 

I will miss my big monitor. I have gotten used to this 42” 2nd monitor at home. I only have a 21” 2nd monitor in the office. 

I will miss multitasking - fixing home stuff, cleaning up even as I listen in on meetings.

I will miss the flexibility to do work while on the bed, couch, roofdeck.

I will miss hot, newly cooked lunch as I willl go back to eating my baon, usually served cold as I am lazy when it comes to reheating at the pantry.

I am not without apprehensions. I don’t know if I could be ‘safe’ enough when out there. I actually am still figuring out my own protocols - mask+shield all throughout? Not entertaining people within my office? Disinfecting before and after? Etc etc I don’t want to overwhelm myself. Let’s just see how it goes tomorrow.

It was good while it lasted. Working from home experience finally answered a lot of previous what-ifs. I remember my previous boss not wanting to consider the idea AT ALL, even for a day in a week. 

I remained productive.  I was still motivated to work the whole 8 hours, sometimes even more. 

But it was also very stressful. Meetings one after the other. Or sometimes double booking meetings. That is on top of emails, SMS, Viber, that everyone seems to assume that you would answer immediately. Now na. As in.

For me, well, work belongs in the office (at least my kind of work) and relaxing and chilling belongs outside the office. The geographic delineation allows for easy mental and emotional separation. And we need that moreso now.

If I had a choice, it would be a 4-day workweek. A 3-day weekend would be divine.