#046: The chances we give ourselves
Book journalling (KBookJo is back!), OK to BE Anything Everything, incredible opportunities, and more tiny yet precious life moments
Hey, there! OK to BE is a Sunday newsletter about 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! ^_^
In the middle of a guess-the-world-capitals game with my nieces and nephews, God found a way to remind me of my, ahem, advancing years.
“We know why you know all the capitals,” one of the kids teased. “You were around when they were assigned!”
THESE CHILDREN! My own blood relatives! In the name and honor of my fellow millennials, I croaked out, “Yes, I was. Come kiss my hand in respect.”
The kids in my family recognize and appreciate this kind of humor. My ‘cool’-tita card was not revoked. To their eyes, I was a centenarian BUT with a middle-grader spirit. I was still IN.
“When I get older, will I know everything, too?” another kid asked me with such seriousness that I knew better not to joke around. I had to be honest.
“No, you won’t. Nobody can know everything,” the centenarian in me answered. “But don’t let that stop you from trying. Now, what’s the capital of Finland?”
📚 Reading
I finally got a Kindle! Thank you to everyone who helped me make such a great decision, srsly. I used to read all my ebooks on a hand-me-down mini iPad that was 11 years old (and counting since it’s still alive) and my phone.
Anyway, the Kindle is a godsend; I’m like Sonic the Hedgehog, reader version. As I’m writing this, I’m closer to Book 25 than Book 10. When you’re reading this, I’m probably at Book 30. I’m sure all the Kindle people out there get it.
I still read a lot of physical books, too. And listen to a few audiobooks (I should improve on this). I’m not a purist. It’s not 2005; ‘physical books versus ebooks’ discussions are a fossil.
Titles as shown in the KBookJo (yep, it’s back, lol):
The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman
Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren (I LOVED this one!)
Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Her books are a rabbit hole; good for binge reading)
Happily Ever After & Everything In Between by Debbie Tung (a five-star read; Debbie Tung, a forever fave)
Heart and Brain: Body Language by Nick Seluk
The next newsletter issue should have a more updated list. Rated any five stars so far? Please recommend!
📝 Writing
→ Last summer (as in April 2024), I wrote a series of children’s poems. Here’s a link I posted on Patreon last year if you want to read them RIGHT NOW. But you can also wait for the day I publish them! Please cheer me on~
→ Let’s count this as writing: the creative writing session I’ll be facilitating on March 1! The Davao City Library invited me to share what I know about writing short stories with kids (10~17 years old). I’m incredibly grateful but also incredibly nervcited. Kids are super smart and sharp. I have to strengthen my centenarian-in-a-middle-grader’s-body mindset!
🎨 Creating
In equally important news, I released the OK to BE Anything Everything cards. Thank you so much to those who already got theirs!
🤝🏼 Collaborating
→ The biggest project I’ve been working on: re-opening Bibi Mangki Bookbed, our private home library with a homestay in Davao City. Thank you so much to those who have been so supportive of this - all the book donations, the visitors, the volunteer promoters :))
Here’s something I wrote from my personal IG account that I want to share here:
You know what I've always wanted? Aside from a lifetime of good health, safe travels, a fast metabolism, and world peace? To build a book cafe 🥹
I'd like to say I've gotten pretty close. Together with @bibimangki, I opened BMB for the first time in 2021. A cozy library and bednbooks—with safety protocols in place, ofc!
But the pandemic. It persisted 🤧 And then different aspects of life needed to be lived.
Fast forward to the second half of 2024, we had the amazing opportunity to rebuild and re-open BMB. Now, it is in an even more special place because that place, even if also small, was where I learned to read, where the reader in me was born 😎 We repaired the place, we painted it, and we assembled the shelves in it.
So a book HOME 📖🏡 BMB is a book home. Sometimes, like in a cafe, there would be cake and coffee and a lot of chitchat. Other times, there would be reading sessions, writing sessions, art sessions, book sales, etc.
But always, there will be books 💯 A diverse range of books that are super loved but are also excited to meet new readers 😍 So I hope more people can visit to fill our book home with even more love for stories and art.
***
What would I ever do without my ever-supportive family and friends; my communities; my patrons; people who have always believed in the delul--este, *dreamer* in me; and above all, God? All my love and forever thanks 💝
→ I’ve also started to be more active in a couple of local communities (there’s a massive creative boom atm). I’ll talk about my experiences in the next issue, but I’ll let you know now that it has been wonderful. The world does give us what we need and deserve at the ~right time.
🎒 Travelling
My travel updates are slooooooower than my browser every time an airline launches a ticket sale, but I promise to update soon! In the meantime, please enjoy the videos on my:
That’s all for now! I hope you picked up something fun or useful. See you in the next one!
☀️ KB
Many thanks to this newsletter’s readers, my patrons, and the OK to BE Discord community! If you enjoyed this, help me keep the newsletter going by buying me a coffee. :)