someDale

Congratulations on making it this far. Please pat yourself on the back and whisper, “Well done.” You might not realize it now but you have already done a good job. Your future self is proud of you. Proud of your hard work, your dreams, your innocence, your vision, and your courage. Proud that you still continue despite the hurdles. Carry on! You are in for a lot of adventures. You are meant to…

Six years after passing the board exam, you called me Engr for the first time. It hits different when the words came from your former Math teacher. I felt awkward but I hope you felt proud because you are one of the instruments how I got the title. Early years in engineering was easy because I got the right foundation. I got 1.0 in Algebra because I kept coming back to my old high school notes –…

I love going to places I’ve never been. I enjoy seeing the differences from what I used to. I love discovering how cultures differ. I love talking the language I don’t usually use. I love meeting new people, hearing their stories, and knowing someone as enthusiastic as I am when it comes to learning about new things through places. I get excited with the idea of getting lost – and eventually…

When I was young I had big dreams. I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to be a police. I wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to make burgers. Yeah, you read that right. I wanted to be a crew in the biggest fastfood chain in my country. I knew this when I found a bunch of small used kitchen tiles in the backyard. They are of different sizes and colors. There was a shiny yellowish square-shaped one…

I can still remember when I dreaded a few Mondays. Start of workweek for employees and schoolweek for students. Both for me. I thought it was only 2-3 weeks ago when I asked my teacher if I can only listen during our discussion because I still have a work to do – mostly on the side of convincing myself that it’s gonna be alright. The day passed and the next day after, it did not change much. I…

At times I wonder, These people, where do they come from? Where are they going?

4 quartz of love 2 pints of rest 1 cup of work 4 tablespoons of happiness 1 ounce of sadness 6 teaspoon of entertainment 1/3 tablespoon of smiles 1 pound of dream 1 pinch of pain

Even if you feel stuck. Even if you feel like you are doing the same thing every single day. Even when you are staying still. There are days when you won’t feel the enthusiasm. There will be days when you feel like you just want to stay in bed and do nothing. There will be unproductive days. But those are days. Not you. It is but normal to feel these things because we are human. We have to…

It’s an extra breezy morning as a result of the pouring rain last night. The curtain sways with the gentle wind. I felt the sweet cold in my feet situated near the window. Somehow, I wanted more of it. However, opening the windows and the curtains meant letting all the light in. I looked at my niece sleeping beside me. If I open the curtain, I won’t be able to continue with my sleep so do…

I am in awe about the power of anticipating an event. For example, I was in the bus on my way home one time when I suddenly felt sick. I have a bad motion sickness that I was able to manage after experiencing everyday 2-hour commute sometimes can even last to 4 hours! So after a while of commuting to and from work, I felt like a champ for not feeling sick! Until that day. I felt really really…

It’s been a while since I was able to enjoy moments like this. Usually, I am glued to my laptop at this hour, trying to finish the things that need to be done for the day. Not today. I am on my laptop just because I was looking at the stuff I love looking at, definitely not a spreadsheet, but just things beautiful. I am enjoying the glistening golden sun as it peeked through my window. I am…

I just had a weekend off for myself. Thanks to some gracious people, I finally had the short vacation my mind has been longing for. For some time, I forgot about work, the bills, the debts, the worries… I was just enjoying the moment and losing into beautiful thoughts while looking at the clear waters outside the hotel room. I wished I could stay like that forever. But good things don’t last.…

I haven’t been exercising these days and yesterday I decided to do small stretching with 3 counts of jumping jack. It’s called radio taiso. An exercise I learned while in Japan. I never really taken it seriously because well, it’s very minor compared to my activities back then. I walked to the company, I ride the bike to the grocery, I go up and down the stairs everyday – I moved a lot. I even…

I’m celebrating my birthday today! I did not really plan something big today. I just want a day off from work to be able to go to the dentist and do some grocery shopping (because my grocery points is expiring soon). Also, I did not expect a lot of greetings. The pandemic plus my own choice of shying away from a lot of people – I thought no one will care enough to send a message (as I honestly…

My youngest sister is sleeping in our bedroom tonight. She’s between me and my niece. They were watching some videos on youtube. I decided to check on her because I was not feeling any movement. I touched her arm with the tip of my finger. A second later, she turned her back to my niece, reached out for my hand and intertwined her fingers to mine. Little did she know I got teary-eyed. How did…

Call me weird because the following words are. I had some thoughts one time this week about normal people. Those who lived a good life since they were young… Do they get depressed? Do they feel empty? Where is the emptiness coming from? With all the good memories that they have, do they feel scared and unprotected. Told you, it’s weird. I mean, I understand people who grew up from trauma. We…

She tells about the pain, Narrates all the struggles, As tears run down her face, She tells about the hardship, The trauma of the past, The reason for how she actsShe tells about the nightmares, The voices inside her head, And how she struggles to get upShe tells every detail,She shared it so well, Yet, it's not her story to tell