#2centavos

It's the mundane things we often take for granted, and also the things we miss the most.

I was talking with one of my friends recently and we were just reminiscing the old normal and what we miss from it.

"Oh man, just the thought of commuting, seeing you guys is such exciting stuff."

"Right?! Just riding the bus and getting milk tea."

"Well, think about it. Those are all pretty mundane, everyday stuff we used to do. Yet it's the things we miss the most."

It got me thinking that the things we miss the most from our old normal was the regular routine, the things we often see or do but never really acknowledge or notice. Since we see it everyday, we get to the point of taking it all for granted really. We had this mindset of just getting to the next step, but never really savoring what the last step meant. We were all so fast-paced, one project after another, until one day, everything stopped. Everything has changed. And we miss everything.

I recently watched this fun zombie film called Zombieland. The first one, back in 2009. Haven't watched the sequel, but I will soon. Still got lots of time anyway. Hahaha! Back to my point, in Zombieland, well there's zombies. That's pretty obvious from the title and how I described it. Sorry, anyway. In stories like this one, an apocalypse has occurred and the people inhabiting its environment have been shellshocked and are now terrified for their own lives, always on the run, never really rested. To the point that one of the protagonists, Columbus, has devised a set of rules in order to stay alive amidst the pandemic, I mean, the apocalypse.

Some of these rules were meant for survival like rule #1 which is cardio, or #31 checking the back seat in case of valuable materials or the occasional zombie waiting to eat you. Other rules were meant not just for surviving, but for living. To be completely human. And that's rule #32, enjoy the little things.

In one of the scenes in the film, the four protagonists stop by an antiques shop, a very clean, well-preserved antiques shop. Nothing was broken, and sure a zombie popped up but that was handled pretty easily. Columbus and Tallahassee get into a bit of a playful fight and accidentally break one of the knickknacks. It's like a switch was turned on in their heads to break more, and break more they did. It was a sight to see the four wreak havoc on a little shop and just have huge smiles plastered across all their faces. I like to imagine the director tell the actors to just go wild, go ham on this scene, and it sparked joy in everyone's hearts, including mine. The scene ended with Columbus's voice over saying the 32nd rule. Enjoy the little things.

In a time of either zombie apocalypse or medical pandemic, the little things are still here. They just changed entities. From the past, with the old normal, having haircuts was a bliss and I miss it so dearly. I know a looooot of men would agree with me on this. Commuting for me was so joyful because of the adventure, the people you'd meet, and the destination you have plotted. I really can't do any of those now, but that doesn't mean blessings are entirely gone. I remember about a week ago, my dad brought home food from Jollibee. Burgers, fries, iced tea, and by God's grace, a sundae. What a big joy it was to eat some fast food, since I rarely get to eat that stuff now.

It's so funny that in the past with the old normal, I would kill for authentic lutong bahay (home-cooked food). Now? I would kill for fast food. Yet the fact I have food on the table, what a small and huge blessing! I've got a portable air conditioning unit that helps me stay cool amidst this summer heat. And I have WiFi that helps me stay connected to so many people, from old to young, and in whatever aspect I need nourishing in. Just the little blessing as well of sharing my thoughts on a platform such as this, is so mind-boggling for me and it's already sparking joy.

It's in these small moments of life you feel most alive. The quiet can be so loud and deafening. The small can be so huge and ginormous. The small spaces we reside in can be the biggest room in the galaxy. The extraordinary still occurs at times, no doubt, but the ordinary is every moment. Grab these moments today. Grab these moments here. Hold on tight. Own it.

I'm grateful for you.

In a time of wanting to go back to the good old days or wanting to get this over with, we shift our focus on what today has to offer.

I've recently been reading this book by a semi-old man talking about our current situation. He mentioned something awfully interesting about it. This is the first time he's experienced a global pandemic that caused even a quarantine to take place in his 50+ years of living.

What that's telling us is that we can't truly rely on anyone for experience. In the way that you ask mentors for help with a certain aspect of your life, this is something you'll hit a brick wall with. Old or young, rich or poor, experienced or not, we're all in the same boat. A boat that makes us fearful of what's happening. Anxiety has gotten to most of us with all the panic buying that has happened, and the isolation causes our minds to fill us up with a sense of loneliness and dread. We're around a month in to the lockdown and we think with all the extensions and speculations of the effects, will it ever truly end?

This ain't a new topic to discuss, and you may be tired of all the news that concerns this topic, or the videos, articles, or even blogs that you see discussing this. Including this, my last four write-ups have a mention of the current situation, so you know this is a pretty broad topic with many subtopics to talk about. Far as I'm concerned, this will be my last write-up on this and then I'll move on to a different idea. Bear with me on this.

I recently heard a message about this quarantine early on and he mentioned how this isn't normal. Or at least, compared to our regular normal, this is entirely different and feels like an obstacle. A lot of us have groaned ever since the beginning knowing that this will be a pain and a huge sacrifice to be distant from friends, other loved ones, and our regular routine with work, school, and such. We've been uncertain how to deal with this 'new normal' and some would say we still are.

We've seen the dawn of online classes and work from home and many are not happy. I am lucky my college hasn't altered their calendar year yet until the following year, or else I'd be in the same predicament as my friends in other colleges. Other than that, most of us have resorted to online chats and video calls and comparing this 'new normal' to the 'old normal', it's obviously been the same.

Now oftentimes, when faced with an obstacle, we look around on our present situation and check to see the tools available to make this problem bearable and even overcome it. These are the opportunities to make a difference and grow and do amazing stuff. Opportunities arise when obstacles come your way. In this new normal, let us find every opportunity to dive into this just like we did in the past.

Wherever we are, we always have our pros and cons. Our old normal allowed us to possess a freedom to leave the house and meet up with friends and gather, but the downside would be the traffic, the spending for every meal of the day. In our new normal, we have this opportunity to connect deeper with our family, or to spend time reading the book you've been putting off reading, working out, or even watching a simple show on Netflix. Whatever it is, we are now in a different ocean of blessings.

Our old normal brought forth different blessings, from haircuts to hangouts. With this new thing, we still have blessings! If you're healthy, that's a blessing. If you woke up this morning, that's a blessing. If you have food AND water, DOUBLE BLESSING. If you have money to spend for groceries and a car to get to the supermarket and a person strong enough to get groceries, well that's a lot of blessings right there. We're in an ocean of blessing. That's already wonderful.

Where we are is so important and so beautiful. Now, we sometimes think of the good old days or the coming future. Whether or not it's in fantasy or worry, the one sure thing is that you're not living in the now if you do that. It's a terrible mindset because you're missing out on all the learnings of the now. Our lockdown has been extended for two more weeks, and we're not even sure if that's going to be the last time, but I implore you to look at today and revel at the opportunity of feasting on the blessings that come your way. Never get tired of blessings, because as long as we have breath, we are blessed. Pandemic or not.

As I mentioned, this is the first time we or anyone for that matter, are experiencing this, yet life continues. We continue living and writing our stories, receiving the blessing as we march forward.

Keep swimming. Dive into this ocean.

'Your breakthrough'

Last week, we talked about the time allotted for this dream, this breakthrough you have in your heart. Now you have to realize that as much as it's necessary to think about the time and work and all, it's also necessary to remember that you're only human.

Along with the work you apply, remember you are only human and you need rest. That's when you wait. "But how? My works won't write itself, my bass won't play itself, my art won't art itself, my business won't business itself?" I used that incorrectly, but that's not the point. You can only do so much and it's okay to take a break.

You will make mistakes, for sure. You might play the wrong notes, lose some rounds, fall back into square one, and that's okay.

Look back on the title. Sometimes (most times actually, especially for me) we tend to focus on the "years away" part. And sometimes we focus on the 'breakthrough' part. It will take time. Lots of it. It will take energy. Oh, yes. However, I can assure you that it won't all be in vain. What you're doing will be huge and amazing.

What's happening now is as big of an achievement as the one when you get that medal, that recognition, that done deal. Have your goal in mind and you'll find yourself smiling and getting back into it.

It will arrive. Years away may even be months away, weeks away, days away. Just keep going. The fact the word 'breakthrough' is on the sentence means it exists. Honestly, this is all just a message of assurance to hold on to the glimmer and hold hope.

'Years away'

(This is a two-part message. Lol nice.)

What?! 4 more years until this business booms?

What?! 5 more years taking up medicine in med school?

What?! 6 more years until I can go abroad and hang with my friends?

Yes. Yes. And, yes. It obviously takes time and effort. I mean, isn't this what you wanted?

"Yeah, but like I want to get there as soon as possible."

So, basically instant success.

There is no such thing as instant success. When you start taking up judo/jiu-jitsu (a kind of Brazilian martial art) classes, you don't become the master instantly. You are the student starting on the white belt. And when the master sees your improvement along time, you become a yellow belt, and soon enough you get your stripes to go into green belt, and so on until the black belts.

When you commute for the first time, it is a scary thought "what if I get lost?" We've all been there and just as long as you know the destination, you'll be fine. You might ride the wrong jeepneys, take the wrong turns, but once you arrive at your destination, you get this sense of accomplishment. Soon enough, you'll love commuting. You know the ins and outs of the neighborhood and then the city's.

Muscle memory is doing the same thing over and over again until you're used to doing that exact thing. And when you think about it, this is one of the most fun stage(s) of your life. Where you're constantly learning new things, getting the joy out the little victories, and also honing those skills to be even sharper and more exact. What's important is you focus on what's at hand and honestly. Love. The. Process.

A harvest doesn't happen when you're still in the planting stage. Respect your limitations and realize you have a long way to go, but that's okay.

Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.

One of the greatest fears most of us have is the fear of not being good enough. The thought of not amounting to anything in the future cripples our thinking to the point of unbelief. Why is that so?

There's this saying that your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow. How we act today relies greatly on our beliefs; and for most of us, our beliefs rely on either our happiness or what others think.

See, the two are different because you can't base your happiness on what others think. Ideally, what others think depends on your happiness. Why? Well, the difference there is your scope of control.

You can't control what others think. That's their opinion of you. Whether or not they saw good or bad from their interaction with you, shouldn't affect you to the point of lost sleep. Their image of you isn't 100% certain on your true character, however it does show a small portion of that true character that only you truly know about.

What you can control now is your happiness. Ask yourself what makes you happy. Is it being with a group of friends that you have to change your personality for in order to fit in? Is it getting good grades in order to be on top? Or is it getting an awesome salary from your job that you could buy anything and everything you want?

Or is it something more? Or something less? Less in grandeur, less in vanity, less on... Self?

What if your happiness was on the things relatively smaller, like having a nice dinner with your family. Watching a movie or playing a video game. Maybe even just petting a dog that you saw on the street. What matters at the end of the day isn't your achievements, or your status in life, but how happy you are amidst the process.

If you're not happy and put other people's happiness ahead of yours, you're setting yourself up to hit a brick wall eventually.

Here's my two cents.

'Cancel culture', at its core, is good. When you see someone use their strength as a person, whatever the gender, socioeconomic status or age, for something evil, you call them out because you care about them, yourself, and the people around.

You want them to be better. You want them to live harmoniously with everyone else around.

But it doesn't stop there. You go out of your way to make this person not feel alienated. Nagkamali siya, kaya ngayon ipaalala mo na tao lang siya at nagkakamali naman talaga ang tao. Walang perpekto, diba?

It's okay to make mistakes. It's human to make mistakes. Imagine if you were in their shoes. You're not perfect as well, you've made some mistakes, but those mistakes don't define your entirety. Now you know better, now you know the truth, you then aim for betterment.

Hope in other people, support their hearts so they can live life happier. And so will other people hope in you and support you to become the person you were meant to be. Find those people. Treasure them. And hope in other people again, as you walk each day a little closer to where you were meant to be.

Sounds tiring, I know. But life was meant to be shared, not kept to one's self. When all is said and done, love is the goal. Love is the method, because only love fulfills.

All I’m saying is, just because Metalocalypse has to end, doesn’t mean Dethklok should, too.

I’ll be honest. I obviously came into the fandom REALLY LATE, clearly, and I don’t know what exactly the plan is for all of this once the verdict on season 5 has been revealed. But if the series has to end with the boys still being a band. Think of all the potential there. The fans have wicked imaginations. They don’t need a series to keep them going. All they really need are updates on the boys’ lives. Much like fans stalking a real life band or musician. They could release an album with audio snippets of the boys talking, turn up on interviews. Make an instagram for Toki, post random official art there of the boys doing menial things.   Maybe a twitter account or a vlog on youtube (if that’s even feasible).  I don’t even need it to be the original animators. As long as it’s them, I’d watch it.

Hell, it was was just a blank screen with Tommy Blancha and Brendon Small doing voices for an hour, I’d listen to it. Then listen to it again.

I don’t know what the plan is. If Small wants to end it and move on with something else. If he does, then I can’t really say much else. But Dethklok has obviously become more than just a cartoon on Adult Swim. They’ve become a real life band, with real life fans, and I’d hate to see them go down, just because they pulled the plug on a cartoon.

But then, if season 5 pushes through, and it ends with them parting ways. Then, I guess, that would be enough closure for me, and I’ll return to making up scenarios and reading fanfics until I get bored with it. Since that’s how most addictions die down.