Congrats, Mike and Cae

Sharing this now as I waited first for my daughter's post and announcement.

Last June 21, before their flight to Bali, Mike formally asked permission from Alex and me, saying he will propose to Caitlin while in Bali. Ninenerbyos daw siya.

Emotional si Alex hehe while I was trying to hold back happy tears, kasi baka mahalata ni Cae. But we really appreciated the heads up and the intention to "seal the deal."

Congratulations Mike and Cae...Nabasa ko lang: A great relationship is 10 percent destiny, 40 percent effort, and 40 percent reciprocation. The final 10 percent is knowing what you want...Etong huli yata ang nahanap ninyo na.

We are happy for you, and we pray that your future together is filled with infinite happiness, laughter, and love...

Love, Mame 💜

Crash Course in Romance

 #CrashCourseinManyThings

May be a bit late in the game, but #CrashCourseinRomance was a lot of things for me. Hindi lang sya actually a drama series with lessons related to romance. It will teach you a thing or two on parenting – eto talaga yun eh; being a spouse; being children; being teachers and students; being school authorities or law enforcers or any authoritative figure for that matter; and syempre, on family and friendship. You would think na isa lang syang light rom-com drama, based on the title, pero hindi.

Yung pagsingit ng character na may special needs (Nam JaeWoo played by #OhEuiSik of #HometownChaChaCha #BigMouth #ShootingStars #TrueBeauty, among others), gusto ko rin yun. Para mamulat ang mga viewers on developmental disabilities such as ASD. And also yung pressure ng parents or even society na siguro on students and their academic performance. Grabe pala talaga ang education system and impact ng CSAT (or preparing for it) sa Korea no?  Parang yun na ang nagdedefine ng buhay mo, or kung ano man ang future mo. No wonder, pati #BTS, may special message to CSAT takers nitong huli.

Of taking chances and even second chances. Of being honest with how you feel. Gusto ko yung liberating feeling brought about by such. Wag na patagalin ang pagsabi ng pagmamahal, sayang ang panahon.

As for the leads, sobrang ramdam ko ang chemistry ng both thunders and bagets love teams. Nakakatuwa lang mainlove ang mga forgets. Mas nauna ko mapanuod ang #KillBokSoon kaya alam kong malakas ang screen presence nitong si #JeonDoYeon (who plays Nam Haeng-Seon) pero ampogi pala ni #JungKyoungHo, the celebrity math teacher Choi ChiYeol desired by many women. He is also the longtime partner of #SooYoung (of #GirlsGeneration #RunOn, in real life). 

The daughter Nam HaeE was played by #RohYoonSeo, who won the Best New Actress Award in the recent 2023 (59th) BaekSang Arts Awards. She was also seen in #20thCenturyGirl, #OurBlues and #BlackKnight (yes, lahat napanuod ko!). She looks great with her oncam love interest, #LeeChaeMin (who plays Lee SunJae). Love ko na rin na mabait ang best friend niya sa kanya (Jang DanJi played by #YooDaIn). Talagang hindi pwedeng wala kang friend eh. And sometimes na-uunderestimate natin mga kaibigan natin, akala mo hindi ka maiintindihan o susuportahan. 

Pero tindi ng mga parents dito, ayoko silang maging magulang huhuhu To a certain extent, tama naman na maghigpit sila when it comes to academics, pero wag naman yung sobrang competitive. Na nakakabaliw na. 

You can still catch #CrashCourseinRomance in #Netflix.

#JeonDoYeon

#JungKyoungHo

#RohYoonSeo

#LeeChaeMin

#KPam

#DoctorCha

 #DoctorCha signing off

16 episodes of:

1. Self-love. Self-care.

2. Fighting for your dreams, regardless of your age.  “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." This resonates with me most of all, when she said, “So what about my age? Are older people not allowed to have dreams?”

3. Giving credit to our children. Sometimes we underestimate them and their capacity, capability to understand and carry burdens. Sometimes we protect them and shelter them from problems and issues too much, but sometimes too, they need to be exposed to such to be stronger.

4. Being empowered and going for the unpopular choice – you don’t have to be with someone just because. Doctor Cha got a divorce with her husband and was given another shot at love. We all thought sila ang endgame. We were all shipping them. But instead, she opted to be free, to be by herself, to do the things she wants, and advised Doctor Roy to find someone else, fall in love and get married, to have kids and enjoy life as newlyweds, live a busy life and grow old together.

5. Forgiveness. And healing. And moving on. True, betrayal is always painful and torturous, the kind that leaves wounds...and scars. To others, life may never be the same again, leaving a lasting trauma. To some, time heals all wounds and life goes on.

6. Closures we deserve. As symbolized by the cabinet door that was finally painted in the end.

7. And fresh beginnings, and of new doors opening for us. As symbolized by the freesias.

#UhmJungHwa 

#KimByungChul 

#MyungSeBin 

#MinWooHyuk 

#SongJiHo

#LeeSeoYeon

#KimMiKyung

#Netflix 

#KPam

A Tale of Two Writers

While we were in Starbucks this afternoon, and as Alex and Caehl were sitting comfortably preparing to read, I commented on their book purchases.

“Aba, dalawa pala ang books na binili ni Daddy.”

Then Caehl said, “I’m not much into fiction.”

Me: What? What do you mean? You don’t prefer fiction, you don’t like reading fiction?

Caehl: No. Parang hindi (ina-accept) ng brain ko.

I just laughed. I didn’t know how to process that. “Grabe ka naman.”

Why, he asked.

Me: Because your dad and I are fictionists.

Me: Didn’t you know that your dad is the UST Rector’s Literary Award winner in 1992? And didn’t you know that I published my first fiction when I was 17, and I got paid for that?

Come to think of it, yes, Caehl isn’t much into fiction. He has always been a no-nonsense, serious reader. I know we tried to introduce him to some teen / young adult literature but he is really into reference books. His collection is composed mostly of dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, and atlases. And I realized after that conversation that yes, fiction was my life then. I was a short story writer. And his dad, too.

Alex is the better writer between the two of us, there’s no contest and I acknowledge that (well, in fact UST did). While I got paid for my published works in local women’s magazines when we were in college, he won literary awards for his short fiction and poetry. And he was one of the favorites of the late Dean Ophelia A. Dimalanta (one of the country's most respected writers).

I told him, “Nakakamiss din magsulat ng fiction, no? Kaya ko pa kaya?”

Why not, he said. Bakit hindi mo gawin? Mas marami ka ngang time ngayon.

I don’t know if I still can. When I was still working, puro memos, project proposals, presentations na lang ang alam ko. Now naman, puro blogs na lang sinusulat ko. I mean, as in real-life, honest-to-goodness everyday experiences, moments and adventures. Hindi ko alam kung kaya ko pa gumawa ng fiction. Dati nun, nagreresearch pa ako sa settings ko.

Wow, napapailing na lang ako. Yan nga pala ang past life ko. I cannot remember now how many short stories of mine were published (maybe more than 10?), and some poetry. Magazines may be a thing of the past now, but it was a big deal back then. Imagine my thrill as a seventeener when I received a checque way back 1988. I just graduated from high school then, trying to make my summer memorable before entering college. As I didn’t have a bank account, I had to go to the branch in Binondo to encash it, and the other checques that followed nung nasa UST na ko. My parents were so proud of me. Lalo na ang Papa ko na kasama ko palagi sa bank. In fact, I had a compilation of my short stories, two volumes yun, type-written na naka-bind (Jimmy Doe and Other Stories, Volume 1 and Volume 2). But sadly, I lost them, I don’t know how. Maybe it was after we moved back to my parent’s house in Laguna after 4 years in QC. Tapos binabaha pa bahay namin nun.

I also dreamed of writing a novel. I remember seeing myself in a beach house na nagsusulat kahit matanda na ko. 

I still can dream, can’t I?

Note: The Gawad Ustetika Rector's Literary Award is given to a literary work that best reflects the “University’s Catholic vision of grace and redemption.” 

Visit therealgoodgirl.blogspot.com

#talesofthegoodgirl | May 21, 2023

 

 

 

Black Knight

 My kind of k-action 💪

Congratulations @____kimwoobin #KimWooBin @youseok_ #KangYouSeok 👏👏👏

Paglaki ko, gusto kong maging #deliveryman gaya nila 🚚 📦

Catch it on Netflix!

#1 in the Philippines!!!

#BlackKnight

#blackknightnetflix 

#KPam

#AgustD #DDay

Unexpected flaws piled up in layers create the afterimages of my multiple selves.

Not getting intimidated but rebelling and raising questions against contradictions of countless conditions the world demands.

---D-Day

#AgustD, how could you? How could your album mean so much?

If Jimin’s #FACE could make a person appreciate his weaknesses and vulnerabilities more, #Suga or AgustD’s #DDay will break your heart but will leave you fearless (that is, if you aren’t yet).

It was truly a perfect timing that I got to watch his Disney+ documentary #RoadToD-DAY first before getting to see his #AMYGDALA MV. The docu is all about his “journey to find new stories and inspire new dreams” as he creates his solo album. And it will make you understand and appreciate him more.

What do you think are the chances of a totally controllable future arriving?

There’s a high chance that the future you dreaded never happens.

This is the story I wanted to share with you.

People always worry about the uncertainty of the future. They fear it.

And they’re distressed over the past that they can’t change.

But the only thing you can control is the present.

I want to share stories that focus on the present.

The past is the past. The present is the present. The future is the future.

Put too much meaning into them and they will torment you.

It’s up to the listeners to judge my work, and only time will tell…

“I don’t know your name…” His painful memories - of his parents’ health, of his accident and injury, his mental health issues, his struggles. I now understand why he seems the most serious among the seven members of #BTS (in fact, his gummy smile is one in a million). And I didn’t realize how soothing and comforting his singing voice could be. No wonder, he is a top bias-wrecker.

#AMYGDALA brought tears to my eyes as I too recall my dark days when I myself was having depression and I didn’t know it yet that time. Darkness would envelop me, I didn’t know what was happening. And if you weren’t too mindful or if you won’t be able to figure out what was going on, it will make you do things that are not right. And coming out of it alive now, fear becomes just a word. Nothing will scare you anymore.

“Depression causes the hippocampus to raise its cortisol levels, impeding the development of neurons in your brain. The shrinkage of brain circuits is closely connected to the reduction of the affected part's function. While other cerebral areas shrink due to high levels of cortisol, the amygdala enlarges. The amygdala controls emotion, so this may cause issues like sleep disturbances, mood swings, and other hormone-related problems. An enlarged amygdala is also linked to the development of bipolar disorder.” (https://www.transformationstreatment.center/treatment/what-happens-to-the-brain-during-depression/)

He had a lot of heartbreaking experiences. And he tells us through his music that while we acknowledge those, these old demons must not rule us or have this power over us. "What didn't kill me only made me stronger...And I begin to bloom like a lotus flower once again..." Like a lotus flower, he bloomed beautifully above the mud and water.

In making music that comforts fans all over the world, idols don’t seem to have anyone to comfort them when it’s their turn to be alone, lonely and tired. #AgustD leaves a message to aspiring artists via #Snooze (ft. Ryuichi Sakamoto & WOOSUNG of The Rose):

“You who sleep for your dreams, it's okay to rest..””

Just laugh out loud

As if the world is leaving

Just hold on

Wherever you are

I hope your dream won't just be left as a dream

I'll cheer you on anytime, anywhere (Dream)…”

“You will fully bloom, after all the hardships

The beginning may be weak, but the end may be great…”

The lyrics of his songs may strike a painful chord, but there is calmness and healing in the end. #DDay reminds us that no matter how ugly some of our memories and past experiences are, liberation is waiting. Beautiful days will come and you will be free…

“The world’s bullshit, but you don’t have to be / So open your eyes and see the real world.”

#DDay is the third #AgustD release, after his self-titled 2016 mixtape and 2020's D-2.

Tracks:

• D-Day
• Haegeum
• HUH?! (ft. j-hope)
• AMYGDALA
• SDL
• People Pt. 2 (ft. IU)
• Polar Night
• Interlude: Dawn
• Snooze (ft. Ryuuichi Sakamoto and WOOSUNG of The Rose)
• Life Goes On

#talesofthegoodgirl #KPam

A Year After: Retired but not Tired

 RETIRED. Earned it. Living it. Loving it.

It's been a year. Ano nangyari sa loob ng isang taon?

🤔🗓

Nakasama ang family 24/7 - eto ang pinapangarap ng lahat ng mommy, inggit kayo no? Kahit hindi naman sila need tutukan, basta alam nilang andito ako palagi para sa kanila. At marami pa rin akong Me Time na hindi nila pinagkakait. Tambay sa mall, shopping, coffee, salon, outing, overnight with friends...nabibili mo lahat ng gusto mo. Thank you, Capiz Fam 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Walang alarm clock, walang meetings. Pero may Omega watch ⌚️

Nakapagfocus sa physical and mental health, and I'm still a work in progress. Check-up at laboratory lagi 🏥

Pumasok sa loob ng K-world 🇰🇷, and loving every minute, every second that I'm in it. Yung bawat episode, bawat unboxing, bawat fan meet, kakaiba ang happiness na dinudulot sa akin. Late bloomer na ko kaya sinusulit ko na. Love you, BTS and Oppas 💜 🫶

Hindi pa nakakatravel nang bongga pero kalma lang, dadating tayo diyan, wag kayo mainip ✈️🌍

Naka-acquire ng property, pandagdag sa mga lupain 🏡

At marami pang iba...

Masaya, minsan nakakamiss mag-office, lalo na ang Payday! At paghohost ng events. Yung naka-corporate attire, dala mga LV, naka-perfume, naka-MAC cosmetics...Minsan may remorse tbh, but eto na yun eh.

To all my InLifer friends and colleagues: see you around pa rin...salamat sa inyo na patuloy akong iniinvite/sinasama/sinasali/nililibre at gusto pa akong makasama...sa inyo na pag may kailangan ako, hindi ako nagdadalawang-salita, VIP treatment ang Miss Pam! Kaya 5 stars kayo sa CSAT💙🧡

#talesofthegoodgirl