#002: How do we find delight in the mundane?

Dog choir rehearsals, Mt. Apo appreciation, Asian snacks, and more tiny yet precious life moments

Feb 28, 2021

Hey, friend! Thank you for being here. This is a Sunday newsletter! It may be or may not be every Sunday, but this OK to BE email will arrive in your inbox anytime on a Sunday. At the moment, you will receive musings about relatable everyday adventures, more silly than serious stories, and some tiny yet precious moments of life (well, mine, mostly) in between. If anything here touches you in any way, I encourage you to write back or leave a comment—and I shall reply! Also, this is a public dispatch, so feel free to share with a friend or two. Enjoy! :)

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Would it be too silly to imagine my neighbors’ dogs as members of a choir? I would argue not. It’s fun to think of them in uniforms, vocalizing and harmonizing their barks with one another. Which is what they do, anyway, and on quite a regular schedule—early morning, late afternoon, and dinner time. One of those across us has about five large dogs, with the alpha female-slash-conductor in the form of a German Shepherd, and they have the loudest growls. They not only keep the rest of the doggo choir awake and going, but the rest of the neighborhood as well. And while I don’t deny that alertness is one impressive trait, and I love the fact that I can somehow count on them for safety...

Oops, I lost my train of thought because there *bark* they *aw aw* go *arf arf* again. I think even our adopted cat gets annoyed at the ruckus, but then, Chicharoni often seems annoyed at everything.

Pfft, nothing’s ameowsing

Now not speaking of being annoyed, I felt like the past week was lighter, emotionally and mentally. Some good things happened, and I received answers and figured out solutions. And corny and sipsip as it may be, the warm welcome and replies to my first newsletter last Sunday also contributed to my “Ang gaan-gaan ng feeling” mode. (Reply or leave a comment if you know that song and that brand of soap.) To be frank, I didn’t think anybody would respond right away, but thank you to everybody who did. The reciprocation is not only nice, but comforting. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter the most.

Another example of a little thing is seeing Mt. Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines, every day. From where I live, it’s so ordinary that one time, when I pointed out to a friend how majestic it looked under the stream of sunset light (this was pre-pandemic; yes, my memory is sharp), the reaction was a who-even-cares-anymore. This was the very same reaction I got when I asked a tricycle driver who took us to the Marlboro Hills in Batanes. “Ah, maganda nga po, Ma’am,” he said (I told you, my memory is of a dolphin’s), but he sounded like he meant otherwise, like it was just a bump of an anthill or something and I was a fool for being so amazed. Haha!

May you always stay still and chill

My point is, I believe it holds of the highest importance still to find delight in the mundane. That daily “good morning, good night” text, that cold rush of the first stream of faucet water, that faint taste of pepper in your egg with sardines, that predictable traffic light switch from red to green, that expected “Ma’am, gulay, ma’am!” from your suki mobile vendor, that satisfying scrunch of dried leaves, that reliable Heart or RT or Share on your post by a friend, that annoying scream of your child at the dead of the night, that [fill in your own typical here], or that perpetual barking of the neighborhood’s doggo choir… all these things, they carry something wonderful, and if you take careful notice, that magic will shine through.

Family

Dad has the green thumb in our family. He throws out a seed to a random place and it grows just like that. (I just can’t seem to convince him to build a plantito business so I could be the stage daughter and him the talent.) Late last year, he started planting flowers for the first time in eons (with some Mom supervision), and non-surprise, they have been blooming beautifully albeit slowly. Some of the best things just take time, you know?

New blooms because it’s almost spring somewhere

Faith

I have back-to-back sessions for church every weekend, and this time, we talked about forgiving one’s self and surrendering one’s life to God. (These are still part of the umbrella topics I shared in the last newsletter.)

It might sound ridiculous or arrogant, but I don’t anymore find it difficult to forgive myself. Yes, anxiety comes creeping in at times—that’s only natural, but since I started learning how to let go of the what-ifs and what-should-bes (thanks partly to the KonMari method of keeping only those that spark joy, no joke), it has become easier to just accept the past and try to manage whatever it is I’m facing at the moment.

You know, I’m not going to pretend my faith is all of a sudden as strong as a narra tree as I’ve only returned to nourishing it in the past three years, but having this blessing of an experience made me look back to all the times that God has lifted me up. Everyone goes through the best and worst of times, so I won’t try to make this into a sob fest or MMK episode, but my grateful realization is that, God has always been and will always be faithful to me/us.

How about you? Do you feel like you haven’t forgiven yourself about something yet? What are your prayers about?

*NEW!* Food

This suggestion makes so much sense, but I have already forgiven myself (hehe) for this oversight. Duh, we must have a Food section! To start, and because this is a source of great pride for us here, enjoy this pic of our region’s signature sweet pomelo, taken this very morning as I tuned in to the doggo choir rehearsals.

The latest in Pomelove here

I was also able to find my way to a nearby Asian grocery last week, where I manifested my born-again noona-ness. Contrary to what I proclaimed to friends and family, I plan to spend more money there because THE VARIETY! My food pantry can enjoy the diversity it deserves. Plus, I can pose as if I’m at a konbini somewhere in Kobe or at a Circle K in Bali. Hey, don’t judge me like you don’t do it yourself! (If, in case, you want a peek into my very personal family travel memories, I have some vlogs over here. Feel free to subscribe!)

Convenient for my tummy, inconvenient for my budget

Last, I am excited to share this food-inspired art sent by Paul who encouraged me as well to add more gastronomic adventures in this newsletter. If you enjoyed this, leave a comment below or reply to this email, and I shall forward the word!

"I've been doing some cartoons and urban sketches lately, also one way of me paying tribute to our other front line heroes here abroad. Whenever we work late at the office and miss our free food at the mess hall, we have no option but to dine out. It's very difficult nowadays to find restaurants here in Doha where they accept dine-in. So far, I've discovered only two: a small sushiminto outlet inside a grocery where a Pinoy chef makes excellent "samurai" or rather, Japanese food. Then there's our favorite Max's fried chicken. Since it takes time to prepare food, I spend the waiting by sketching.

Here are some of my doodles, which I plan to produce into a graphic novel of gustatory adventures called Tom-guts. Yes, there are many options to unwind after work: you can draw, you can walk, you can listen to Ely Buendia's "Lutang." Some even take some work home although that's not advisable. But the phenomenon known as "tom-guts" demands a deeper remedy. Nowadays, to overcome tom-guts, one must have the patience of a samurai warrior. Whether it's tom-guts or perhaps Thoreau's philosophy to live in the present, as if each moment is eternity, I patiently wait for the meal which will satiate the emptiness inside. A quick snapshot of the sushi being rolled by a culinary artisan does not give justice to such a moment. I realize that in treating tom-guts, one also partakes in fixing a different kind of food: one that feeds the soul."

Fitness

Sadly, I cannot report about any major stride here—I just try my best every day, even if it is just ten or five minutes—but Stella responded to the previous newsletter with some exercise tips, so I thought I’d share them here as well. Some of us need constant reminding!

Go for inspirational instructors.
Remember to warm up AND cool down.
Weight training is good. Bodyweight resistance is also good.
Take care of your knees.

POPSUGAR Fitness videos were also mentioned, and I have tried a couple of those, such as this four-minute arm exercise. Prepare to hear your biceps scream.

Feelings

Last time, I shared Pinky’s Linkies, a newsletter that captures most of whatever’s going on with BTS, and I’m excited for her next issue because the past week has been just WOW. Now if you’ve just returned from the Moon or Outer Space and haven’t acclimatized yet, please allow me to redirect you to one of the videos of MTV Unplugged Presents: BTS. ARMY or not, it’s 99.9% worth checking out. Ana*, my Bangtan sis 7eva, and I (and everyone else) were in daze after. As we always tell each other, it’s incredible how much love we ended up having for this band (and it keeps growing). What’s great is that BTS shows love for us too! See, reciprocation? Highly recommended.

*Ana is a romance author, so if you want more feelings, then this is the right link for you.

⭐ Featured (... Portion, or Fortion for short, as per Tricia. Hello!)

...Word of the Week — Binisaya: kusog, which is used to express loudness or strength. In a sentence: “BTS ra kusog!” (“Only BTS is strong!”), “Kusog kaayo ang karaoke session sa silingan gabii” (“The neighbor’s karaoke session was so loud last night.”)

...Words of the Week — Ilocano: kayat, which is used to express want or like. In a sentence: “Wen, naimas ti igado. Kayat ko pay.” (“Yes, the igado [a pork liver dish] is delicious. I want more.”), “Kayat mo agbuy-buya ti BTS?” (“You like watching BTS?")

...Sign of the Week — Filipino Sign Language: I can sign but it’s best to learn from someone within the community or from an expert. Click here to learn how to sign FSL numbers (starts at 0:44; not sponsored, not connected).

...Books of the Week: Today is the last day of the National Arts Month! Sharing here an article from Bookbed about “Why Filipinos Should Read Philippine Arts and Literature.”

Also, I was able to drop by a Booksale this week and found And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman and Tua and the Elephant by R.P. Harris, illustrated by Tae-eun Yoo. These are my first buys of physical books this 2021, and while I’ve been trying to shift my purchases to online books for years now, the joy of finding treasures at random is irreplaceable. What are you reading?

disinfection administered before entering home library

That’s it for now! Thank you for being here. I hope you picked up something fun or useful! See you in the next one. ☀️

If you enjoyed this newsletter or have any questions, I hope you let me know. I appreciate your effort in growing our connection!

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