All posts tagged: Learnings

#Hello

Last Christmas, I told my friends I had a feeling 2016 would be an eventful year for me. Call it a hunch, but I just knew it would bring about something great, or at least something greater than the year before. I even ushered it in with my family in Batanes, one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines. There was no way my year could go wrong. Barely two weeks in, and I was suffering from vertigo and what my doctor would diagnose as acute hearing loss. It eventually healed, much to my relief, but it left me shaken. Add in the turmoil of my job, and I was dazed and confused and so, so stressed. But I had another chance, because February meant Chinese New Year. And though I’m not Chinese and not really into horoscopes and zodiacs, I learned that the Year of the Fire Monkey would be a great one for Dragons. Ding, ding, ding. I thought, This is it. February 8 came and went. Still no turning point. It’s okay, I told …

Meet Celine Reyes, (Fellow) Wanderer and Writer

Published by Marian Bartolome

You know how there are some people whom you instantly have a connection with? That was how I felt when I met Celine Reyes. One early Monday morning, I showed up at the meeting place for the Vamos a Malolos press launch, only to find that I wasn’t on the list of confirmed attendees. Luckily, there was a free spot on the bus. The organizers introduced me to Celine; I sat beside her; and our shared lust for travel quickly brought us past that “awkward strangers” phase. I found that Celine and I have plenty of similarities. Aside from our itch to explore the world, we’re both writers and bloggers. She contributes articles on local travel and food trips to When In Manila and shares her personal adventures on her blog Celineism. We both traded in our steady office jobs to pursue our dream careers, never mind that said careers probably won’t fill our bank accounts. And like me, she aspires to be a published author. Talk about coincidences! “Travel will heal you, one way or another. Indeed, it …

Meet Smarla Angtuaco, Foodie and Cultural Explorer

Published by Marian Bartolome

Like me, Smarla is a twentysomething Filipina with an appetite for travel. You could say that she’s made a living out of it as the food connoisseur of Culture Shock PH, a local travel group that shines the spotlight on the culture and heritage of the Philippines. Despite all the eating she does—which she documents on her blog, Everyday Sweet Notes—she never seems to gain weight. I like to think it’s because she’s so energetic. I’ve known her since our elementary days, and she’s always been such a bubbly, enthusiastic person. And though I’ve never traveled with her, it’s easy to imagine her bursting with excitement whenever she takes off on a new adventure. “[Traveling] exposes you to new ways of looking at things, new cultures, new languages, and a perspective of your life from a distant location, allowing room to see the bigger picture.” If there’s one thing I admire most about Smarla, it’s how passionate she is about exploring our country. This woman doesn’t just travel to see sights. No, she immerses herself in each place she visits and gets …

Meet Jen Horn, Nomad Manager

Published by Marian Bartolome

People have different reasons for traveling. Some do it for the fun and excitement, others, for the shopping, still others, to learn and explore. Then there are those who go for the escape—to find something more. Jen Horn has experienced traveling for most of the reasons above, but it was only last year that she crossed the final one off her list. After deciding to take a hiatus from the company that she co-founded, Jen took off on a solo trip that spanned several countries in South and Southeast Asia. Armed only with her trusty backpack, an ancient BlackBerry and an open mind, she challenged the traditional Pinoy belief that it isn’t safe for women to travel alone. Two and a half months later, she came home with a renewed spirit and went on to pursue the idea that had been germinating in her head. Today, her brainchild, Muni PH, has already gained recognition for its environmental campaigns and promotion of local culture and arts, and Jen’s only getting started. Here’s a little peek into …

A late goodbye to NaNoWriMo 2012

Published by Marian Bartolome

Well, hello again, WordPress — it’s been way too long! I could say that I’ve been absent for nearly a month because of my preoccupation with school and NaNoWriMo, but that excuse wouldn’t fly. The voluntary hiatus was mostly due to my absorption in several newly-discovered series, foremost of which is J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood books. Plus plain laziness, I guess. I’ve got a number of coffee post backlogs; however, before I get into those, let me close a valuable chapter in my life: my first NaNoWriMo experience. The funny thing is that I actually have two or three drafts that I typed out here during the last few weeks of NaNo. I never finished them because I kept having WiFi issues. Anyway, there’s no point in posting them. I’ll just say it now–I won the NaNo on my first try! Last November 28, I bid my laptop good night after validating my 50,697 word count, thereby attaining my purple bar. By the official end of November, I had 55,420 words. None of those …

Looking Back: My Journey Through College

Published by Marian Bartolome

Yesterday, after having graduated more than three years ago, I was finally able to claim my college diploma. For some bizarre reason, in the Philippines, most diplomas aren’t given on the graduation day itself. Mine took a couple of months before it was ready for claiming, and by that time, my work schedule didn’t allow me time to go to our university registrar. As I was driving in campus, I couldn’t help but remember those days of walking from building to building while half-asleep (due to the typical plate-related all-nighter), slumming on the red concrete floor of Palma Hall while simultaneously eating my packed lunch and cramming for a quiz, and falling asleep in yet another lecture class (which brings me back to the parentheses above). It was a trip down memory lane, only all the years between then and now were highlighted by the change in my point of view, as well as the actual changes in campus. The change in my POV, I attribute to my being the driver, not just the passenger. …

1/2 Cup and a Sigh

Published by Marian Bartolome

It’s been nearly a month since I was diagnosed with GERD, better known as acid reflux. For me, the worst part of it was all the restrictions involved — no fried food, no fatty food, no chocolates, no alcohol, NO COFFEE. Basically, take most all the food and drinks that I love, and that’s what was on my “no contact with mouth” list. According to my doctor, that was to be strictly followed within the two weeks that I was to take my medicated proton-pump inhibitors. That was back in September 19. What’s happened since then, and why did I not run over to the nearest Starbucks at the first stroke of that much-anticipated fifteenth day? I stuck with the doc’s advice to the letter…well, more or less. I may have eaten a handful of potato chips one time, and maybe taken the tiniest bite of choco-cappuccino cake. But I did follow that no coffee rule, which was perhaps the hardest of them all. In fact, I didn’t take my first sip of coffee ’til …

When Officemates Are More Than Just People You Work With

Published by Marian Bartolome

Here’s an entry from my Tumblr account that I wanted to share with you guys. I wrote it for my officemates, roughly three weeks after my last day at work. 14 August 2012, 4:51 PM Let me start off by saying, unequivocally, that never in my life did I imagine I’d work in sales. EVER. Back in grade school, I remember sitting quietly at my desk, appearing to be involved in my textbook when I actually had a paperback hidden inside it. Later on in high school, the reason for my silence would be that I’d be sleeping on crossed arms laid on the table. A teacher or two had called me out for that more than once, but I always reasoned that it was better to be asleep than to be participating in the ruckus of the rest of my class. And so the trend continued all the way through college, where it became worse due to the long hours spent working on plates. Suffice it to say, everyone probably expected me to go …