Hello, it’s August 1 of the year 2019! So much has happened this year, yet I still feel dumbstruck that’s it’s already August.

I wish I could stop talking about time whenever I write in this blog, but it’s just something that can’t be helped. I wish blogging were more in the list of things I would like to do frequently, but it’s just something that can’t be helped. I wish I knew all the answers to life’s questions at 31, but it’s just something that can’t be helped. If this blog were to be around in 10 years time, I bet I still wouldn’t have the answers.

Postgraduate Diploma: Done!

The first half of the year was crazy in more ways than one. After coming back from a long Christmas and New Year vacation back home in Jakarta and a bit in Singapore, I was not ready to face my 2nd semester. It meant a 2-3 month practice teaching in a public night high school after work, and just more academic weight on my shoulder. Week by week I kept wondering what made me do further studies but come May, I survived and graduated, culminating the weird and confusing academic year. Was it fulfilling? Yes. Did it give me answers to life? No.

What’s next for me? Honestly with recent developments and the most grueling Mercury Retrograde? I don’t even know anymore.

31st Birthday

I can’t even remember what I did on the day of my birthday anymore. I was at work because it was a weekday. Since my birthday and graduation were just a week apart, I had a small celebration where I gathered my closest friends and family in one of the nice coastline housing areas in Cebu, complete with good food and good company. It was a good day, but I have no cheesy reflections. I must be getting old.

West Coast Trip

After the crazy first half of the year, we traveled to the West Coast—a first time for me! I think my mental health also fed off my excitement because I did not experience any pre/during/post long-haul flight anxiety and panic, and it felt like such a blessing to be able to feel that way.

New York and the East Coast was a blast, and I wanted to know if the West Coast could top that. Newsflash—I can’t even say anymore, because it was definitely another experience that cannot be compared. California has a different charm and I could actually see myself living there(!!!!), Las Vegas was crazy that just made me go “What the fuck?” the whole time, and Taipei was quick yet great, thanks to longtime friends.

Work & Everything Else

Work is what keeps me sane on most days. I’ve immersed myself so much into it that I lost my social life for a while. After getting back from California, I definitely made up for lost time and suddenly my social calendar has been flourishing the past few weeks. It’s crazy to think that I’ve been in Cebu for 7 years, when I said I’d stay for 2 and consider what I’d do after. Cebu still gives me the happiness, it’s crazy and I don’t even know why.