#003: How do we improve our emotional endurance?

Year-ago memories, fanfic shorts, the perfect taho, and more tiny yet precious life moments

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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The memory of my last “normal” week before all these lockdown and quarantine restrictions is clear as the waters of Kaputian Beach: I took my family on a three-day trip to Samal Island (vouchers are the best) and then I had to host and tour a Ukrainian guest and his girlfriend (one of the jobs I juggle) around the city. I remember how I felt when I read the update about the first confirmed patient in our region, and how I made sure to check and manage my anxiety level right away, lest I ended up succumbing to full-blown panicking instead of all-out preparing. I was, after all, an eldest daughter in an Asian family, and it was time to put on my armor, Mulan-style (even if nobody expected me to do it, haha.)

But I did somehow panic, which was understandably a popular reaction among… well, human beings around the world. My ultimate blessing was that I was with family at home when everything shut down—not in Samal Island (although it is only about 30 minutes away), not in Quezon City (my second home, and where I flew from just a couple of months ago before then), not abroad (which would have been a high possibility, given that I had overseas travel plans). It’s not that my emotional barometer would have shattered, but it’s that I would have been relentless in finding ways to solve things, even those outside of my control, likely leaving the people around me shookt. (It’s the ate in me.)

A view of Mt. Apo and a part of Pearl Farm Beach Resort from Babak, Samal Island

One year later, here we are. Even though it’s probably the first time in my conscious years that I haven’t ridden a plane or gone on a vacation in 365+++ days, I’m thankfully still cute and healthy. I have multiple jobs that help me live and contribute to my family (if you have one job that can keep you afloat, you are so fortunate, I hope you don’t take it for granted); I have the emotional endurance to make time for people and things that give me joy. I also have the privilege to stay at home, and to be candid, the sanity to maintain such decisions. (I have people in my circles who have made fun of me for not going out and socializing… first of all, why do they think I want to see and be with them??)

Anyway, where and who were you a year ago before the pandemic struck? How about today?

Family

We don’t have indoor pets, but we have quite a number of adopted cats in our garage/by our gate. At the start of this year (or maybe last year), this doggo joined the fam. I don’t know who’s spreading rumors about the feeding program here at our house, but I hope they stop because Mom has started to prioritize their needs over ours. “Ano kayang ipapaulam natin sa kanila?” Hmm, Ma, ano muna’ng ulam natin? I already know how doting she’ll be when the grandchildren come. Are your furbabies number one for you as well?

Who let this dog out… and into our food budget?

Food

Excited to report about this perfect taho I found a week ago! Yes, I know I say that about every taho but this one won’t call on diabetes even though it has added milk and langka. At 20 pesos per cup! I wish I had asked for Kuya’s number. Would he have found it strange?

Fiction

I still get intimidated about the idea of sharing my work with others (especially as I sideline as a beta reader and editor—I still encounter people who don’t understand that each requires a different skillset), but in the name of baby steps and my love for BTS, I’m leaving a link to a fanfic short I wrote here. It’s cliffhanger-y, so if you would like to read what happens next (I have the susunod na kabanata!), then share your thoughts?

Feelings

Every day is a wild emotional roller coaster ride, especially for us living here in the Philippines, having the government that we have, but I always remind myself to hang on to the handle more tightly. There were two special birthdays this week, plus an impromptu guest-but-also-friend that dropped by the Bibi Mangki Bookbed library, which all made me feel so happy and grateful, at the same time making my journal tracker proud. 

And dare I leave out a BTS update? I’m not kidding around when I say they’re one of my life rafts! Apart from me visiting this local KPop store for the first time and marveling at all the merch, the news is that the band is not only performing at the Grammys tomorrow (3AM PHT, huhu), but they’re also up for a nomination for Pop Duo/Group Performance. I didn’t care for this awards show (and all the other things) before Bangtan, but here I am, asking you to cheer for them, whether they win or not. Again and again, what was life before BTS?? Idk her~

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

...Word of the Week — Binisaya: mingaw, which is used to express at least three things: longing, quiet, empty. In a sentence: “Mingawa ba sa gawas karon, uy!” (“How quiet/empty is it outside nowadays!”), “Gimingaw ka nako?” (“Did you miss me?”)

...Words of the Week — Ilocano: muging, which means forehead. In a sentence: “Nakitam ti muging ni Kim Seokjin?” (“Have you seen Kim Seokjin’s forehead?”)

...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 at least 20 survival signs you can use just in case you come across someone Deaf or Hard of Hearing (not sponsored, not connected).

...Book of the Week: This is an Agust D lyric book by Aia Arkoncel, a longtime ~Internet friend (more than a decade now??) and a fellow ARMY. She sent this for Yoongi’s birthday, and it arrived on the very day! Check out her work here, and subscribe to her newsletter here!

Orange I glad the gummies made it to me safe and still delish??

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. ☀️

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