#044: When to be OA, when to ask for help
Recovery, radio interviews, romance, and more tiny yet precious life moments
Hey, there! OK to BE is a Sunday newsletter about my adventures in reading, writing stories, creating art, collaborating, and being human. If you want to see more of my creative work, visit my page, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and support me on Patreon. Thanks for reading! ^_^
Note: When I say ‘sick,’ I don’t mean chronic or terminal. Please also remember that I am fully able, hence this perspective.
I rarely get sick. So when I do, I admit I tend to be OA*.
Sure, I have a strong fighting spirit but I have an even stronger ~feeling spirit. I feel it truly, madly, deeply whenever I am sick. Stuffy nose or dry cough? [Expletives]. A slight fever? Omg, I need to stay in bed. Period cramps? I hate the world. Infections? Cause for panic. Granted, the double acute infections I recently recovered from were so painful that they almost knocked me out several times so I guess the OA was merited…?
Whatever way, I think it’s always a BIG DEAL whenever anyone is sick.
And while I’m someone more used to doing things myself and by myself, being unwell is one of the foolproof ways to get me into that vulnerable, let-me-ask-someone state. I’m sure many of you get it—needing someone else to get things done is, so to speak, not always an easy pill to swallow.
But honestly? At this age—I did just have another year added to my life; thank you for all your sweet greetings—sometimes all I want is someone else to do everything for me. Now, I’m not saying nobody does things for me! Really, no offense to my loved ones who kill viruses and bad bacteria, move mountains, and do so much more for me.
What I’m saying is, more than my immune system protecting me and fighting infections for me, I do really see the value of someone else coming in to—well, as an OA person, let’s use this word—rescue me. Heal me. Help me recover, etc. I can just stay still, camp in my room, nourish myself, pray whatever I’m going through won’t k-word me, and let someone else take care of things and me.
So I’d dare say: there’s nothing wrong with being OA when sick. It’s OK to BE OA! :)) Because when we’re OA, we learn better to make way for others to help us, especially when we need it the most.
(All, that said, please take care and stay healthy!)
*OA means Over Acting, a Filipino expression for ~overexaggeration
📚 Reading
702 DZAS - FEBC Radio interviewed me about Bookbed! I asked them how they found me and they said “through research.” How resourceful is that? But if someone out there did recommend me, which is what usually happens, thank you! You can watch it by clicking the image or the button below. I do most of my interviews in English so I really enjoyed speaking a bit of Filipino in this one :)
🎨 Creating
Working on OK to BE Free / #OKtoBEZine Issue 21 has been extra special because the goal was to make the zine free. I wanted to showcase not just my work in the best way possible, but also the contributors'. This has always been the goal of the zines, anyway—to share a space and give a spotlight/platform to creators who want to have their work featured. I hope you enjoy!
🤝🏼 Collaborating
I was part of the 21st Ateneo National Writers Workshop as a panelist/mentor, in collaboration with romanceclass, a community of romance writers, readers, and creatives I love and support.
Honored and proud to say that I was part of the team that ran the workshop with all those talented fellows softly, lovingly, and freely~ Thank you to Brij, Danice, Layla, Leslie, Ron, and Tara for a fun and food-filled work week! Also to Mina V. Esguerra for inviting me to be part of this, and for all the doors she has helped open for me since.
That’s all for now! I hope you picked up something fun or useful. See you in the next one!
☀️ KB
Huge thanks to this newsletter’s readers, my patrons, and the OK to BE Discord community! If you enjoyed this, you can help me keep the newsletter going by buying me a coffee. :)