Before I Retire for the Night

Before I retire for the night, let me just say that today is a holiday and I took the time to work on parts of my project paper for graduate school. 

I realize that I have procrastinated long enough, and that I should be tackling things one at a time. 

To be honest, one of the reasons why it took me so long was because I was too idealistic to have a complete set of respondents. When in reality, I had to accept the fact that the time has long passed, and that I must make do with what I have. 

And so, the earlier I accept that, the better. 

If I want to graduate next year, I have to put in the work and prepare myself for the next round of defense. 

So far, I am happy with what I have worked with. And I'm proud to say that I did it all on my own. It won't be long, and I will be finalizing my paper, improving it and sorting out the details. 

I can't wait to celebrate this milestone with C and my family. 

I just really need to close this chapter of my life instead of wondering about the what ifs. 

That's just something for me to dream while I get my rest tonight. Tomorrow is another day. 

Note: The seaport image is about my research on seaport cities. I thought that will serve as a fair enough warning LOL. 

It’s Planner Season….

And that means that I’m already in the market for next year’s planner.

Ever since I’ve entered the corporate world, I’ve listed all my activities and schedules in a planner because I can’t afford to miss a deadline. Time management is the key to surviving. All the more, I need to be better at it because I’m also in school.

I use a planner for work, school and sometimes blog activities and I’ve learned a thing or two about balancing all my activities.

It’s sort of become my standard procedure to look at planners that work for me at the end of the year and to scout and save up for the ones that I want to buy. It’s sort of my year-round companion so it’s worth the purchase. For this year, I went with the Best Things Are Yet To Come Mini Happy Planner. Because I also used it for brain dump and as a budget planner (occasionally a travel planner), I also write my thoughts on filler paper that I ordered online from Saffy Tenten. Because it became bulky, I also got the rose gold expander discs and that served me well throughout the year.

And as 2019 comes closer, I’m slowly going through my Mini Happy Planner and I’m also finishing its pages. Later on, it will sit on my shelf and join the other planners that have kept me company in the years prior.

It also means that I’m hunting for next year’s planner as early as now.

I’ve narrowed down the choices to two: the DYL Planner which I think will be helpful for school, and the MAMBI Classic which will be useful for work and other commitments, especially travel plans and budget. Other planners made it to the shortlist, but I’ll discuss the details later on.

Photo from Design Your Life Planner 2019

DYL Planner for School (Php 650)

I thought that I might give the DYL Planner a chance for next year. I was drawn into it because of the fun design, and because it has travel planner pages. Not only that, there are a bunch of helpful sections there as well, like finances and goals. As an added bonus, there’s a bunch of new accessories to match it with too. 

Accessories to match it with:

sticker book (Php 450)

coffee dessert clear stamps (Php 725)

gold foil leaves wide washi (Php 190)

vaporwave sticker flakes (Php 120) 

Classic MAMBI Planner for Work

I’ve used the Mini Happy Planner and I thought of giving the Classic size a try because of the bigger writing spaces and because I write a lot. I have this habit of dumping all my thoughts all at once in a given day, and because with what I do, details matter all the time.

I’m torn between the Mermaidesque and New Adventure in Classic size because I tend to gravitate towards mermaid designs and of course, anything that is travel inspired will definitely get my attention and keep me fantasizing for the next destination to visit.

Photo from Michaels Stores 

Mermaidesque

The Mermaidesque design is all about foiled details on a lovely color scheme of blue, purple and pink. I’m not sure though it the vertical layout will work for me as I’m used to the horizontal layout. So I went and searched some more in Michaels and found the pretty design in blues and violets. 

Photo from Michaels Stores

New Adventure

This design is for those bitten by the travel bug and I’ve thought of settling on this design to make use of all the travel-inspired stickers that I’ve received this year, while planning for the next escape. I thought of filling it up with filler paper for all those diary entries and then some project pages as well. The tricky part is checking and comparing rates and how to get the best deals from sellers here. 

Accessories to match it with:

Puncher (Php 920)

Sticker books (Php 850)

Happy Notes Fill Paper (Php 320)

Dot Grid Fill Paper (Php 320) 

Photo from Sheila Mae Ruiz on Facebook 

Starbucks 2019 Japan Planner

The 2019 Starbucks Japan version also caught my eye, because you know me, if anything has anything to do with mermaid, I’m down. I see that it can be a good school planner, besides school for me is all about preparing outputs and reports for class discussions and complying with requirements, so I don’t need that much extra pages for a school planner. However, I wouldn’t want to spend for drinks and collect stickers just to claim a planner because there’s no Starbucks branch in Zamboanga City and I’m lactose intolerant (LOL #sorrynotsorry) hahaha. Also, I know that there are people who hoard planners and price them insanely high as New Year comes closer. So I won’t be caught in the rush though.

So there, yeah. I’m going to save for my choice planners and then make the plunge before the year ends and so that I can set it up before officially welcoming 2019.

How about you? What are your planner picks for 2019? 

2018 Mid Year Updates

And there’s so much to report since the last time I have posted.

I must have left town at least thrice since then.

School 

It’s not that I’m procrastinating, but thinking about school lately makes me feel overwhelmed. Now I’m wondering if enrolling this semester was a good idea. Though I sort of feel consoled knowing that I'm not the only feeling this way since most of us in class are trying to keep up with the demands of researches and also discussions in class. For my part, I also have to keep up with midterm requirements. 

ADZU LRC Building

Travel

We took advantage of the Holy Week and went on a road trip to Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin Island. CDO is my mother's family's hometown so it's always great to catch up with family and also partake in scrumptious meals in cowboy country. Baby back ribs always brings up beautiful, delicious memories. 

Mantigue Island, Camiguin

Naked Island, Camiguin

As for Camiguin Island, it's a place for leisure and island hopping for the summer. Because of beautiful and preserved places like Mantigue Island and Naked Island, it creates a sense of pride and joy in me discovering nature's beauty and grand design. It also pays to have family in the island to enjoy local life. 

The Great Wall, Beijing Station

For the last half of May, I went to China to attend a training and had the opportunity to visit major cities and famous sites such as The Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the gates to the Forbidden City while in Beijing. I also went to Shanghai and toured around, indulging in crowds of tourists and savouring all the sights and sounds. The rest of my photos and videos are in Instagram and it just only fed my need to travel and see places all the more. 

Tianjin Eye

Yu Yuan Garden, Shanghai

Also in May, I turned three decades old. It was a beautiful day for me having been surrounded by friends and family who celebrated with me. I did say that this is my year. I'm keeping an eye on major milestones up ahead, such as finishing school and also completing projects. In the meantime, looking back the past six months, I can say that I've been blessed and feel so grateful for all that's come my way. 

Still, I have so many dreams and I'm slowly working towards them. 

I may be coming on here on and off, but I believe that I'm growing in other aspects. In the meantime, I'll be working on finishing school, investing and improving on myself. Who knows where I'll be a few months from now (sans the acne which appears when I'm stressed out). 

Another international travel is in the works, but will be revealed as some of them are in place. As of now, it's time to hustle and then look forward to an opportunity of relaxing as soon as all the work is over. Knowing work, it sure has a way of not going away. 

I'll see you when I see you. 

Currently 1.1.18

Whoa it's 2018!

I'm pouring my thoughts on the first day of the year, and there's still so much to do but I'm hopeful.

I know I have to be patient with blogging, and I have to prioritize school and work. In the meantime, here are updates.

Work

Maybe I’m not the only one who feels like a robot whose vacation mode has been disrupted. I took quite a long time away from work, so when it was time to come back after Christmas and Boxing Day, I kind of lost my routine and also didn’t know what to do first. But then, there’s still New Year to think about, then it won’t be long before reality will have to bite back sooner or later. 

School

Even if we’re on a break from school, we still have homework to think of. It’s also quite a challenge since I decided to take the dive and take on full load of 12 units, that’s suicide! Or so I’ve been told. But I’m praying and wishing that I can survive. I’m enjoying my time off in the meantime. 

Writing

Well my writing life goes both ways. There’s the analog and digital writing life.

I’ve become productive at least writing down things that I’m supposed to finish in my new Mini Happy Planner. It’s so cute and I’m so afraid to ruin it with uneven pen strokes lol.  As for travel writing, I still take with me a traveler’s notebook, pens and washi even for short road trips.

I didn’t realize that running out of ink can irritate me and test my patience. It’s a necessity that I complete my traveler’s notebook so that I can move on to the next one. Does this give me license to get a pretty set for Pilot Juice Metallics for New Year?

In the digital arena, 1) I’m back to blogging because 2) I have a new laptop! It’s light, it’s fast, it’s cool and it’s one of the best investments I’ve made this year. Yehey for productivity! I don’t know where I’ll be without the card reader too lol. 

Travel

I went on a quick road trip with C for a couple of days, the traveling time took a toll on me. I don’t know why. It’s not my first long bus ride this year, having gone to Pampanga, Oslob and Baguio earlier this year. But for some reason, the bus ride to Pagadian just didn’t sit very well with me. I’ve always disliked traveling to Pagadian by bus, but had no problems traveling further via private vehicle.

Despite the crazy bus ride, I’m grateful for the quick time out and also time spent with C. But we’ve got travel plans brewing for 2018. 

There's a lot to be grateful for, as 2017 ended and 2018 has just begun. I know that it takes time for my dreams to come true, but I also can't help but feel blessed that I have my family, friends and C beside me through it all.