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Friday’s 10 Happy Things, v2

Published by Justine

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1. Fun day Monday! Last Monday was a holiday for us so a few friends and I took an impromptu drive to the South of Cebu where we literally chased (5 levels!) waterfalls, and ended the day with a dip in the beach waiting for the sun to set on the horizon right before our eyes. Despite the long drive, it was such a great day for all of us.

2. Being a year older. I had a very extended birthday weekend that stretched from Last Thursday to Monday. I thought nothing could ever top last years’ birthday festivities that stretched up to 10 days, but this year comes close and up to par. I’m always thankful.

3. Signed books! Working in a book publishing company comes with perks, and I received not 1, but 3 signed books from well known authors. I was greeted with a UPS box when I got back to the office with signed hardback books by Jojo Moyes, Gayle Forman, and Lisa Jackson.

4. Accidental make-up ban. Ever since I got back from Singapore I have not bought a single cosmetic. I ran out of my favorite tinted moisturizer and my best friend surprised me by buying one for my birthday!

5. Pay day Friday. Need I say more?

6. A very productive yet tiring work week. I complain about brain drain a lot from working 2 jobs.. but at the end of the day/week I am glad to be doing things that I actually like.

7. Excitement for my boyfriend’s arrival. Auuugghhhh.

8. My mom’s non-serious lab results. She’s been complaining about pain in her hips for a few weeks now and she finally had it checked yesterday. There goes my freaking out again. Having history of breast cancer, these tests are always so nerve wracking for the both of us. Results came out with no sign of cancer (THANK GOD) but she has to take maintenance meds for her kidney stones.

9. Sims Freeplay. After a long day of work, this gives me back the mental balance I need.

10. Yesterday’s yoga class. It gets so grueling at times especially in the middle of practice, but I am ALWAYS so glad I do it at the end.

Ditz Revolution

#TBT Birthday Edition

Published by Justine

Edit: All blog posts from 2005-2009 have been archived.

Today, I am officially 27. My birthday hasn’t fallen on a Thursday since the year 2009 and even then, I don’t think #ThrowbackThursday was a thing yet. I’ve been blogging for more than a decade now, and an idea came to me last night to look back on all my past birthday entries that I decided to just document it all in one post. This is more for me than anyone else, a chance to look back on the person I’ve come to be, the changes that have happened in my life and whatever the past 10 years did to me.

2006 – Seventeen

The year I moved back to Cebu alone to start college. Little did I know it was about to become one of the craziest years of my life.

2006

My 18th birthday, and the time I was most active in the blogosphere and made the most friends online.

2007 – Nineteen & Birthdayphiles

Nineteen was a shameless post on comment baiting people to greet me on birthday, while Birthdayphiles talked about that one crazy birthday party.

2008

For some reason I didn’t have an entry in any of my blogging sites (maybe I did, but probably deleted, idk I had all sorts of blog sites then that I purged), but I found that photo on Facebook. This was during the time my mom was going through chemo but she made sure I still had a party.

2009 – 21

I was super active on Tumblr this year. I wanted to find more birthday posts but it’s just too much hassle going through Tumblr archives. I realized that I really am over that phase.

2010 – Double Two in Two Days

One of my favorite pre-birthday posts. Around the time I started writing about how turning older definitely freaks me out.

2011 – On Feelings & When I Turned Twenty Three

On Feelings talked about trying to get over someone. It doesn’t really talk about my birthday in a detailed aspect, but it was a pretty pivotal time in my life. When I Turned Twenty Three was an overdue post on my birthday celebration with close friends back in Jakarta.

2012 – Sleep Deprived & Blog That Talk

The year when I finally moved back to Cebu indefinitely! On a side note, can’t believe it’s been 3 years now. Wow. My mom came to visit that month and there I was again unable to sleep because of pre-birthday jitters. Always happens. Blog That Talk is a summary of events that transpired during my birthday.

2013 – Quarter Life

Quarter Life was a short questionnaire that was lazily posted just to have something up on my birthday. It makes me look back on past interests.

2014 – A Year Older & Twenty Six

A Year Older is another one of those entries about me stressing out over my upcoming birthday. Twenty Six, on the other hand, was written 2 months after my birthday and possibly one of my most favorite blog posts. Every time I read it I still feel that heavy tug on my heart.

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There you go. Damn, I’ve been blogging for a pretty long time. 10 more minutes left until my birthday is over in this part of the world and once again, just like ever year, I learn that age is just a number.

Last Day of 26

Published by Justine

I didn’t really want to start the entry on this note but I just need to say that I have been so tired the whole day yesterday. I slept at 4am the previous day to finish work, then woke up at 9 to start work, then off to my next job at 3, in between those, calls with my boyfriend for some good pep talk about how I can deal with life, then zumba/bellydancing class at night, a birthday dinner, then more work, then more boyfriend phone calls. By the end of the night (or start of the day), this resulted in me tweeting:

Obviously these are all happy “tireds” because how can I not be thankful that I’m living this life? I needed to write this entry to be reminded and be grateful for everything I have. There are things that are obviously not perfect but the most important thing is I am breathing, eating, working, and all my senses are in tact.

Despite being so tired I can’t even sleep yet. The next time I’m heading to sleep I’m already a year older, whew. 27 is a bit of a pressure because you’re still in your 20s, but it’s the last age to be officially called “mid-20s” and most of all, it’s near the big 3-0. The questions start pouring in, like, “What have you accomplished in life,” or “What have you done to make your 20s worthwhile,” or “How do you intend to spend the rest of your formative years as a true blue adult?” It all gets jarring at some point because all I want to say is, “I’M HAVING FUN AND ENJOYING MY LIFE THANKYOUVERYMUCH FOR THE CONCERN!” That’s consideration.

My mom got married at 27, a lot of rock stars died at 27, a friend told me he reached a milestone at 27 and if you know me well, you know how much I stress about age just before my birthday, it’s ridiculous and has been going on since I turned 15. So I figured why not let myself rant this once and move on.

Nothing else to say, except.. bring it on!

Friday’s 10 Happy Things, v1

Published by Justine

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I feel like the only way I can quickly express my feelings through blogging is by making lists. It’s been a recurring theme ever since the year started. I think I prefer to do it otherwise I start to ramble and so many words start spewing out of my mind and I become incoherent.

Decided to participate in Helga‘s Friday’s 10 Happy Things because well, life has been pretty awesome lately. Even if it isn’t, it’s always good practice looking back on things that make you happy even though life shits bricks at times. Here goes my list!

1. Last weekend’s Singapore trip. This can stem into a lot of sub-happiness plots.. and will be a recurring theme in this list. It was short, but all worth it.

2. #JKTinvadesSG. After last year’s memorable Cebu trip (#JKTinvadesCebu), we made sure we would try our best to see each other at last once a year. Thank goodness we live around Southeast Asia so traveling to reunite makes it a little easier than most friendships that are spread around the world.

3. My boyfriend. We make each other happy, and I think that’s a pretty good feat in itself, no?

4. Best friend is in Cebu!! After our Singapore trip, my best friend decided against buying a return ticket back to Jakarta and took a detour to Cebu to be with me instead. She’s staying here indefinitely (being a freelance artist, she has that perk to work anywhere and anytime in the world) and I couldn’t be more happier!

5. May = birthday month. I always get the freakies when I’m about to turn a year older. Then I realize not much has changed and age will always be a number. I’m still me, just with more experiences and more lessons learned along the way. Cheers to that!

6. Communication Technology. Whether it’s social media, chat apps, Skype, I am so grateful for all of these. Many things in my life wouldn’t be possible without the existence of communication because of technology. It’s how I catch up with friends and family around the world.. especially now that my boyfriend and I are long distance, it’s even more precious and significant.

7. Chocolate. I have been having a lot of throat and respiratory problems all throughout April and I ate my first chocolate yesterday after so long. Aaahhhh. HAPPINESS.

8. Sephora SEA Black Card VIP. Sucks that there’s no Sephora in the Philippines (yet), but when I go to Singapore I always splurge on makeup, and I finally got upgraded to being a black card holder during my last visit. Hah.

9. Excitement. My boyfriend is apparently planning a “suprise” visit and although I HATE IT that I don’t know when (my friends know, ugh, how is that possible), I can’t help but feel excited at the same time. I’m super torn between my dislike for surprises and the whole excitement coming from anticipation.

10. My birth control pills. I’m on my second pack (out of the prescribed 6 for my PCOS) and I don’t wanna jinx this but I am just soooooo happy it hasn’t given me any shitty side effects. Can I get a fuck yes? FUCK YES.

Ditz Revolution

Things I Love Thursday, #6

Published by Justine

I really want to do this post regularly but I seem to be drawn to Sunday Currently posts more. Anyhoo, I got such a perfect opportunity because it’s a nice Thursday to think about what I’ve been enjoying recently.

1. The Way Way Back

I watched this movie last Sunday night and really enjoyed it. It somewhat made me realize that I am mostly drawn to coming-of-age themes in movies. Not necessarily YA, but topics like finding yourself and realizing who you are and what you want to be, regardless of someone young or someone old.

2. Clue app

Clue is what I use for tracking my period. Even better, it reminds me to take my pills on time. It’s so efficient because it’s quite accurate and allows me to enter different moods as well. A 16yo girl’s post on Tumblr pretty much summarizes the points of why Clue is so awesome. This app has really helped me not miss taking my pills, which in turn, is helping me finally regulating my period even after just a month of of medication. Goodbye PCOS? Surprisingly, I’m doing really well. I hope this continues even when I’m off them!

3. Belly-dancing

I have been quite poor in attending my yoga sessions lately but I have been “upping” my zumba for about 4-5 months now, 3 times a week. Our instructor also happens to be a belly-dancing instructor so she likes to incorporate that into our sessions. I never realized how complex and hard it was. Three songs in and it is HARD work! Now I kind of want to get more into it because it really helps with your core. There are times that it even contributes more to my body sore percentage after a good workout.

4. Benefit Bad Gal Lash

I got this in a sample size from the March Birchbox UK box. In related news, I actually just bought the Benefit Roller Lash last month and while I quite like that one (I am only becoming a mascara person now), I realized how much I love Bad Gal Lash so much more. It keeps the natural look of my lashes without clumping it, or being too wet, or being too dry and flaky and it’s really easy to remove! This goes without saying that even with the Roller Lash I actually still have to curl my lashes because they are just. that. stubborn. There’s no other way. Sigh.

5. A certain someone..

We’ll see how it goes. Wish me luck!