911- MAGCON

INT. DAY.

A petite Filipino female in her late teens or early 20’s enters a Japanese restaurant.  She has wavy, shoulder-length, black hair, tan skin, and oriental eyes.  The hostess greets her and sets her at a table for two by the window.  The Filipino female looks at the menu briefly, orders a bowl of ramen, then proceeds to bring out her journal, in which she scribbles furiously for five minutes or so.  When her ramen arrives, she utters a silent prayer, and begins to eat at a leisurely pace, occasionally putting down her chopsticks and soup spoon to add a line or two to the open page on the table.

This is me.  Not a lot of people would eat at a restaurant on their own, but I actually find solace in so doing.  Ditto with movies at the cinema—even if it does tend to get cold without anyone sitting beside me.  I find equal pleasure in the company of my dear friends as I do in the company of my own thoughts.  And if I could afford it, I’d be living in my own apartment rather than my parent’s house at this very moment.  I’m 24 years old and I have had “no boyfriend since birth”.  And I’m pretty happy too.

There’s this urban legend that leads people to believe that single individuals live lonely existences, but I find that life has been far from sad or mundane.  Yes, there are moments of despair, moments when you just need someone to sit beside you and in their silent support remind you that you are loved.  But that’s what friends and family are for.  Sometimes, even a classmate or co-worker or complete stranger will do the trick (without them knowing it).  And every single time, no matter where you are or what situation you’re in, whispering, “Dear Lord…” to the air has a magic of its own that puts the most weary soul at ease.  Then you realize that, single or not, you’re never alone.

When you’re single, you learn to stand on your own.  You learn to take care of yourself and of the people you love.  You also learn to ride public transport while balancing your luggage.  And if you’re a single female, then you might as well learn a few self-defense tricks as well.  But when you’re single, you also learn that, sometimes, you also need to ask for help.  You also need to go on “dates” or have serious, “Let’s talk” moments.  You still need to learn to manage your time, and you still need to figure out and stand by your priorities.  Though I’ve never been in an official romantic relationship, I have deduced that the character traits one needs when he/she is single are traits which couples shouldn’t do without either!

I love being single.  I’m a closet romantic and would love to get married and have a wonderfully imperfect family one day—on the right day.  When I’m ready, and when the person God wants me to be with is also ready.  I’m not “waiting”; I’m just living my life every day in the way I can.  My theory (which was reinforced by my favorite children’s book, “The Missing Piece Meets the Big O”) is that preparing myself for eternal life is also the best way to enable myself for married life.  And if the latter never comes, well, we all know the former is undoubtedly the best future there is.  So I’ll just sit here at my table.  There’s space across me, but it’s cozy enough for one.

“With gracious uncertainty, we can be confident in our expectations, knowing our hope in the Lord will not disappoint.” (Romans 5:5)

how to schedule your time (ft. Plan)

requested by anon ; web app featured is Plan

Plan is essentially a digital planner where todos and events are drag/drop, so it’s convenient and easy to make adjustments.

i swear this isn’t sponsored, although it sounds like it ha. i love this site. the app is in beta though, so you have to be on a computer to use it.

there’s a daily, weekly, and monthly view, but I use the daily view most.

you can sync with your Google calendar so all your events are already on the calendar.

every day, after i settle in at my study space, i open Plan

i add my todos / school assignments in the task bar at the top of the daily view.

then, on the timetable, i click to add events for pre-scheduled dinner time, preparing for sleep, etc.

from there, i drag and drop in my assignments into the timetable where I have free time.

adjust assignment times. for e.g., my bio review packet might take 45 minutes while french hw might take 15 minutes.

i move assignments around until nothing overlaps, and –

don’t forget to schedule breaks! i just leave some spaces empty on the timetable.

when you finish an assignment, you can click the check and IT CROSSES OUT and i feel  a c c o m p l i s h e d !!

also it’s so much much much much easier than physically writing it down, because everything is drag/drop and adjustable. say, if I take 30 minutes longer than expected on an essay, I can push everything else back by 30 minutes and still be able to have everything in order.

ALSO!!! at the end of the day, i can look back to see what i’ve accomplished that day. it’s a great feeling honestly

sorry this was kinda short! it’s getting late and i might have forgotten some things :/ send an ask if it’s confusing!!!

Photo of the New Magcon…