Tribute to a Professor

For World Teacher's Day, my teacher deserves the spotlight albeit now in her eternal repose...

Development Communication (DevCom) was not my first course of choice. I wanted to take Information Technology (IT), although a teacher in high school suggested to take DevCom since I planned to study at Visayas State University. I was handling our school publication then, perhaps she saw me as fitting for the course. When I went for enrollment, IT was not offered, only computer science. I thought of enrolling in Biology (since I believed I had a knack for memorization 😅) but that chat with my high school teacher convinced me to enroll in DevCom instead. 

Salzburg: A Sound of Music Tour

The hills are alive with the sound of music... 

For my 30th Birthday, I did a 4-day tour of Austria. The greatest travel that I have done so far to pay tribute to my 3 decades of existence. 

A Filipinized Belgian

I didn't normally meet people who were fond of Filipino culture while I was studying in Belgium. My workmate at my part-time job was a rare one. I really enjoyed my stay there.  

I had a workmate in his 60s who always came to me and shared how fond he was of Filipinos and our culture. He said he visited Phil in 2007 but never came back since. But he considers it his most memorable trip ever. He couldn’t stop blabbering whenever he would share anything Filipino. “Filipinized” might be an appropriate term to describe this fondness. 

Drunk man beside me on flixbus from Amsterdam to Ghent

I found myself helpless on a bus when a drunk man sat on an empty seat beside me. In a country where people care less, good samaritans still exist.

I took a Flixbus from Amsterdam to Ghent. There was a vacant seat next to me because the bus was two-seaters. The bus made a stop in Rotterdam, and new passengers went in. I usually put things on vacant seats, but this time, I didn’t. I was high from last night’s party, so I was sleeping. Then, a drunk guy suddenly stopped by me, eyeing for empty seats, and spotted the one beside me. 

Clean but not clean

Perhaps, we are better off cleaning the house we are renting ourselves...

We have a cleaner who comes twice a month to clean the house. She only speaks Dutch, so I always have my phone handy to translate and to keep up with the conversation in case we want something specific to be cleaned. This is for instances when I happen to be awake when she comes.

Do grades matter more than grit?

If grades are the sole measure of a person’s worth... then I may not be deemed worthy (men I’m just surviving, drifting as I go lols) 

Funny how some people downsize someone’s worth into digits. Or are they too narrow-minded to think so? They must have not factored in, you know, other variables that make up a person as a whole. 

Because grades are just numbers that 10 years from now, I doubt would even matter. We are on and about with our lives, paying the bills, raising kids (if we happen to marry), starting a business, and probably working on that job we always wanted. 

Grit matters too, even more than grades, if you want to survive in this world.

One year in Ghent

My arrival wasn’t a pleasant one. 

The gray sky above our heads, empty streets, rainy afternoon — sort of became our welcome parade.

For me it was a normal move to a different place that I do every once in a while. Nothing special, no spark (really sounds like a downer 😅). It didn’t feel like I was in a different country at all, except that I see different races, fancy streets, and old iconic European facades. 

The pandemic probably spoiled all the excitement and fun that I had. I had my mind set on a worst-case scenario mode which continued until the end of the semester. Its a defense mechanism that I do when I don’t want disappointments to get into me (more like pretending actually 😁). 

Anyway, fast-forward with all the drama... here I am on the same city I came into a year ago but with a different vibe to it. It’s totally not the same from when I left it months ago. Life in it is back and I’m loving it.

Cheers to Jekk and I as we celebrate our one year of chasing the great perhaps, navigating through complex drama, and creating memories to last a lifetime. 😊

Barrio De Las Letras Tour in Madrid

Don Quixote de La Mancha is a book I haven’t read.

I remember we had this thin book with summaries of classic books and Don Quixote was one of those that I read which I was never interested in. 😅 I preferred Alexander Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, instead. 😉

Anyway, Cervantes wasn’t my go-to classic author despite being prominent.

Having the tour around Barrio de Las Letras is a good way to learn a few things about him if you care enough to know. 😅

What passion truly means

 

You see, as a person who does or categorizes things in both extremes (like it or not), I struggle to be passionate about things I don't like doing. Ooohh if you find me doing things just fine, I might be pretending or faking it (lols) just to get by.

This statement of Francis Kong is something worth pondering about:

"Passion isn't about what you like or love to do. That could be a hobby. Passion is about doing the things you do excellently and even though at times you may not even feel like doing it."

An escape from lockdown

 

Despite its convenience, phone camera photos aren't as high res compared to real cameras. I should've brought my camera no matter how heavy it is. Now I'm stuck on using my phone for the next two years :)

This is just sublime. 

Stopped reading people

I think I try to read through people a lot. Trying to decipher them, even when, it’s unnecessary. Sometimes, I thought I did figure them out but only to find out that I didn’t. They are wired differently than I thought. 

So, this time around, I stopped wondering why people do what they do. Maybe, not really “stopped” but only focused on those who needed or deserved the attention or the thought. My mind’s space can only accommodate enough. Might as well use it for something worthwhile. 

Contemplating

The only bird that I see once in a while from my room’s window in Ghent was a black crow that would rest on an empty branch of a lone slim tree outside. I’m not kidding.

Now, I didn’t know I could appreciate birds so much. I lounged for a while lapping up the scene of them flocking on food given away by a stranger.

Perhaps, anything freely given or easily available can easily be devalued. But it is the absence of it that makes one yearn, wonder, and ponder - which makes us appreciate things even more.

Maybe it is human nature. Maybe it is personality. Maybe it is just the way it is.