Quarter-Life Crisis

If you happened to read my previous post about The Secret, it has something to do with me undergoing "quarter-life crisis" pala. I just learned about it when I was reading an article and came across with the word. It summarized everything that I was feeling, I was going through a phase pala that I didn't recognize. What I knew was that I felt a lot of resentment about everything. It happened right after I was deployed in Maguindanao for my DTTB stint and eventually got married. Everything seemed to happen swiftly that I lost track to cope. I thought everything was perfect for me--- I had my license as a physician and earned respect from society, I have a fulfilling job, I married the kind of person I was praying for--- but I was feeling doomed. I dealt with a lot of emotional pains caused by too many factors and here, let me count the ways: 

1.) The hassles of being a Doctor to The Barrio
   
      Being pulled out from one province to another due to a rift with the local chief executive, going to the mountainous terrains, walking under the sun to reach barangays located in what seems to be the endmost part of the world, dealing with hard-headed and delinquent staff, seeing the miserable condition of the people in a municipality forgotten by civilization; and at the same time, witnessing the fabulous and glamorous lifestyle of the handful of people who are supposed to make life easy for those in the far-flung mountains. I was witnessing the irony in my own society. I was disillusioned. I cannot believe how money and power can rip off some people's conscience, rendering oppression to those in the lower strata and how the latter can all be purely innocent of the injustice lashed at them. For two years during my whole DTTB stint, I was in complete desolation. Yes, I have survived DTTB, I am in a good state now, but the people in the municipality I had left are still eating out from one powerful man's hand, struggling through their daily survival, waiting for a miracle to happen.

   For two years, I have witnessed how corruption from the lowermost level occurs and how the people from the grassroots suffer the consequence and worse, how they tolerate the powerful ones as if stealing the money rightfully owned by the mass is a normal thing to do. And the worst feeling is knowing that you are not, by any means, capable of doing something about it. I came to a point of wishing DTTB would end soon so I can get out of the loop to stop witnessing everything. 

2.) Long distance relationship

      Before my husband and I got married, he already talked me out of the DTTB stint and offered to pay back my scholarship so I can join him in his post in Nigeria. I vehemently refused because I was really looking forward to DTTB and I know I will regret it if I wouldn't join the program. I have already accepted our LDR set-up thinking that I have never been emotionally dependent to one person so it wouldn't be a problem. One month after we got married, he left for Africa and we were both back to our pre-marriage routine. Much to my huge surprise, I had a severe separation anxiety that I had occasional outbursts of crying!! Adjusting with the contrasts in our personality with a seven-hour time difference, it was one hell of a crazy LDR. Thanks to technology, but it wasn't enough to make up for the physical absence. Facetime or viber cannot detect the real mood or environment we were in so there were plenty of times when I would burst into outrage and he had no idea why, and then later on he would find himself profusely apologizing for something he did not understand. I was just PMS-ing lang pala. Hahaha! Thank God, he was/is very patient with me. Oh well, he now has a broad understanding of women and he had my mood swings to thank for. Haha!

3.) Pressure from attending to social obligations

      I was never a social butterfly as opposed to my own mother. Being labeled as "the physician daughter of *insert my mother's name here*" and immensely after I got married, I forced myself to pretend to be the social butterfly that I am expected to be and forced my brain to memorize family genealogy. It is quite difficult to be in the Meranao society, I tell you. You are forced to be who you are NOT because of  certain expectations coming from certain labels, and if you fail to live to that expectation then expect murmurs about you behind your back. Guess I will have to live with those murmurs and just shrug my shoulders as I live my life because honestly, I cannot live to pretend. 

4.) Pressure from the masteral classes

       The biggest perk (the ONLY perk actually) of being in the Doctors to the Barrios Program is being enrolled for free in a masteral classes in the prestigious Development Academy of the Philippines. The classes, which we call the Continuing Medical Education or CME, are conducted every six months for two whole weeks in the DAP Convention Center in Tagaytay City. CMEs are always being looked forward to as a breather and a refresher, it is what every DTTB loves. Upon returning to area, we were bombarded with assignments and action plan and projects (APPs) that needed beating a deadline. With the fluctuating internet connection in our place and with the impending works in the rural health unit, it was hard juggling my role as a student, head of unit and subordinate all at the same time. 

5.) The chaotic world

        Everywhere I looked at was chaotic--the core of the society I live in, my country, the whole world is in the verge of war. Natural catastrophes ground us to rubble because of man's own doings. My eyes opened up to the real world and how miserable it is. Negativity started to sunk into my being, it was eating me from within and my whole perspective about this world started to change. I was letting the happy girl in me slip into a hopeless being. Everything, including my own room, was in chaos.


It never occurred to me that the transition from my extended adolescence to adulthood would be a formidable one. I realized that I actually underwent a life-changing phase when I already emerged out of it. Haha! Yeah, it was quite late but I'm just glad that I managed to get through everything unscathed. I am grateful I'm surrounded by the positively-energized people who peppered me with relevant advice and it also helped that I read self-help books. I read all the three books of Rhonda Byrne: The Secret, The Power and The Magic, I read the entire Qur'an (the English translation) for the first time and tried to understand it by consulting some verses with my father who has better understanding of the Holy Book and of Islam and I listened to lectures of Islamic scholars particularly Mufti Menk and Yasmin Mogahed. Perhaps when you're conscious that something is going wrong in your life, it is a reflex that you try to bind yourself together by looking within you the purpose of your very existence. I clung to my faith and by counting my blessings, all the chaos and negativities hovering above me gradually disappeared. The greatest thing that happened to me while I was in crisis was accepting that what is happening in our lives is way beyond our control, that we can only do so much, and recognizing the power of The One Above who is The Best Planner, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful. I believe I understood more things now about my faith than I do before, and there are still a good measure that I am yet to learn and understand.

I am grateful to three people who got my back while I was in crisis, the three people who made me see how blessed I am and who returned my positive outlook in life, they are the ones who I constantly talk to about my problems, who had awkwardly seen me crying, and despite my tantrums and everything, they still loved me unconditionally: my father, my husband and my brother J. I love you three!! 

Aiscape and I

I have this love-unlove relationship with my blog. It's not "love-hate" because I don't really hate my blog. It's like having an old geeky friend whom you've ditched for the cooler newbies in school (twitter, facebook and instagram). If this blog can only speak, I know it holds a lot of hurt feelings toward me. I, on the other hand, keeps a looooot of stories to tell an old friend when we've finally have a time to catch-up. And that time depends on ME. Right after the medical boards exam, I vowed to  write about the untold stories during the review days and write a lot about my Doctors to the Barrios experience. Two years later, I scanned through this blog and horrified I was upon realizing that I actually wrote just two (!) entries about my whoooole DTTB experience (click this and this one, too) . I've been confiding a lot to the cool guys a.k.a twitter, facebook and instagram instead of my old geeky friend who has been waiting in vain for my stories. 

I keep a public blog where nobody reads my entries randomly because I wanted things to be private between me and my readers (who are just my close friends anyway, unless someone finds his/her way here) only, but I noticed that I wanted to share the experience to the crowd! I like people to "like" my posts and agree with whatever I say on the social media!! I felt alarmed though because I read somewhere that people who are very active on social media are those who have tendency toward depression and those with low self-esteem!! And then I came to ask myself, do I really need that validation from people? Am I depressed? Do I have a low self-esteem? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. 

What I noticed about myself though is how short my attention span had become. It started during later years in med school that I cannot focus on something for quite a long time, I need to distract myself with something else and that is how I found my way to the social media. For instance, I have been thinking about writing an entry for the past weeks since I've been here in Bangkok (yes! I'm already here living with my husband!!), but not until now (on my fourth week here) that I finally started a paragraph. And even before writing the first letter and finally coming up with what to write, I have been scanning other people's blog, update myself on twitter, instagram and facebook almost simultaneously! Delaying tactics, you know. But why? Perhaps because first, I don't know when and how to build this friendship with my blog again, and second, I am afraid of grammar nazis. Seriously, I am always afraid of committing a grammar mistake that I think I always end up of having plenty of them! Law of attraction daw. The more you fear about something, the more it is being pulled towards you. Haha! 

Anyways, I already made up my blogsignments in my phone (and in my head) and since I am a full time housewife for the time being, I really hope to catch up with my old friend, Aiscape. :) I won't make promises but I will see to it that I finish an entry at least once a week. Let me start with this. 

Bismillahir rahmaanir raheem.  

Two weeks passed by so swiftly. :( 

I am now back in my own bed in Marawi City. Alone. 

I'll see you in two months, Bangkok. 

I'll see you in two months, Jabar. We will never part then. In shaa Allah. :) 

Sahassadeja. Chief of Giants. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok Thailand. 

A Visit to Madame Tussaud's

Last weekend, Jab and I visited Madame Tussaud's at Siam Discovery. It is a wax museum housing real-life wax sculptures of the famous, history figures or celebrities alike. 

                                   

                                       

                           

Who is Madame Tussaud? The one above, no not me, that wax figure above of a woman holding what seems like a decapitated head. That is Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud, a French-born artist of German descent who became known for her wax sculptures she founded in London. She died in 1850. 

Madame Tussauds was founded in London with branches in a number of major cities. It is a major tourist attraction displaying waxworks of historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars, scientists and artists. Here in Bangkok, even famous Japanese cartoon characters like Doraemon have waxwork too!

Let's see who we partied with at Madame Tussaud's! 

The preeminent leader of Indian independence in British-ruled India, Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi. This man inspired civil rights and freedom across the world. 

                   

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu was a famous and influential ascetic-philosopher of the 20th century. Jan ko lang siya actually na-meet. Ganda kasi ng upo nya e. Hehe. I later learned that this man played and important role in the spiritual and historical journey of Thailand. 

Their majesties. Too bad, the Duke and Duchess of Wales aren't around. 

His Excellency Russian President Vladimir Putin and future Philippine President Jabar Guro. Haha! Kiddin'. No political plans here but hubby's wearing barong only because he had a previous appointment that necessitates it. He wasn't able to change to a regular shirt due to time constraint. Nag-explain. Bow. 

                                    

May balak palitan si Obama? Lol. 

                                      

Oh no. Who would have thought that here, in Thailand, we would find our true selves and our true love. Haha!

                           

Yao Ming, ambaho!!!

                            

Rubbing elbows and having serious conversations with the stars. Myy deep philosophical convo with Johnny Depp was, um, impressive. 

                           

BUT THIS, I LOVE THE MOST!!!!

DORAEMON!!!! Now I can hear the opening theme playing somewhere in the background.  

                                       

My siblings will love Madame Tussauds! I can't wait to bring them all here! In shaa Allah. :) 

Chillin' after Jab's long tiresome day. We were planning to go to Chatuchak weekend market today until the Administrative Officer called him to fetch the Phil. ambassador to Jakarta at the airport. They call the job as "protocol", wherein all embassy officials and staff would relieve one after the other to run an errand like fetching/sending a Phil. official at the airport. It wasn't Jab's turn yet but the "officer on duty" isn't around. Jab can't say no. We diverted our itinerary to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum instead. We went there immediately right after he came from the airport, he hasn't even changed his short-sleeved barong!!! 

I will post our Madame Taussuds experience tomorrow. For now, we're enjoying our Japanese wagashi. 🍰

 A gorgeous view of the Bangkok sunset. 

 Alhamdulillah.  

Unfortunately, there are some people who dislikes hearing, seeing or even sensing your personal happiness. They always have something negative to say about you or what you do or what you don't do. Well, we cannot do anything about that. We can't be apologetic at all times. What for? For their envy of our own happiness? Why can't they settle with their own and stop minding ours? 

I have only few words for them: 

EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!! 

The Grand Royal Palace

Jabar oftentimes emphasized that he's not here to tour around but to focus on his mountain-piles of work at the office. Apparently, the Bangkok Philippine Embassy is the busiest post, hence truly deserving to be awarded as the Most Outstanding Post. But, I insisted that we go tour around during weekends as I won't be staying long (for now). We decided to visit the Grand Royal Palace and asked among his officemates for directions. To my surprise, most of them haven't visited the tourist spot yet. Alright, they're not here to tour around, right? Ugh. 

Luckily, I have a husband who agrees with my liking to look around and gaze at beautiful architectures. Well I guess, that's one thing we have in common. EXCEPT THAT I take a lot of pictures, while he doesn't. And we argue a lot on that. Haha! 

According to the flyers that were handed to us at the entrance to the palace, The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and it consists of not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a number of number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The photo above shows The Upper Terrace. Four monuments are found on this terrace: a reliquary in the shape of a golden chedi; the Mondop, a repository for Buddhist sacred scriptures inscribed on palm leaves, contained within a beautiful mother-of-pearl inlaid cabinet; a miniature Angkor Wat crafted by the order of King Mongkut (Rama IV); and the Royal Pantheon in which statues of past sovereigns of the ruling Chakri dynasty are enshrined. 

Scattered around the terrace are statues of elephants and mythical beings. The models of elephants are a record of the famous white elephants acquired during the reigns of the various kings of Thailand. 

The photo above shows the replica of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I've been forewarning Jabar that we need to maximize our stay here in Bangkok by visiting nearby countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam which can be traveled by land. Let's see how he can insert that in his tight schedule. Hehe. 

                                  

History says that after King Rama I ascended to the throne in 1782, the palace was built. Prior to this, the royal palace and centre of administration had been located in Thonburi, on the west side of the Chao Phraya River. For various reasons, the new king considered the former capital to be unsuitable and decided to establish a new capital on the other side of the river. By his royal command, a new palace was built to serve not only as his residence but also the site of administrative offices. The royal compound has been known since then as the Grand Palace. 

                                   

                                   

Above photo shows the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha. It is prohibited to take photos inside as there are locals who are performing prayer rituals. Tourists are allowed to come and merely observe. The Emerald Buddha is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand where people convene to pay respect to the Lord Buddha and His Teachings. The Emerald Buddha is enshrined on a golden traditional Thai-style throne made of gilded-carved wood, known as Busabok, in the ordination hall of the Royal Monastery. The sacred image is clad with one of the three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy season and winter). The three costumes are changed three times a year in a ceremony presided over by His Majesty thr King. 

Religious statues are found in the corners of the compound where Buddhists pay respect by offering flowers and burning incense. 

Another famous temple is found near the Grand Palace, that is Wat Po, but Jabar reserved it for another weekend. Maybe when I stay here with him for good. :) 

Getting around BKK

On my first few days in the city, hubby and I navigated around the nearby streets to know the supermarkets, malls and other establishments that would be of use to us for the next two years of living here. Let's see what we found.

Lest I forget, this deserves a special mention. Haha! Jabar is not the chocolates-and-flowers kind of guy and for the first time, he surprised me with this gorgeous when I arrived. This greeted me as I opened the back seat of the car when he fetched me at the airport, I so wanna hug and kiss him right there but the embassy driver who's also a Filipino was standing in front of us while fixing my stuff at the car compartment. I can only slip a pinch on his sides while smiling from ear to ear. Hahahaha!!! 

                                      

An online research about where we live said that this street, Sukhumvit, is one of the longest roads in Thailand. This is the most commercialized area where most expats live. True enough, there are embassies lining the corners of the road. If you walk along, you come across people of different nationalities. Living here made me feel like living along Taft Avenue, as the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) cruises along the length of the road. And there's a mall at almost every train station. Haha! Waldas pera ang manirahan dito! 

Right across hubby's office is a commercial center called Rain Hill. They have a coffee shop, restaurants and convenience stores. Quite pricey though. Almost everything nearby is pricey that's why we're still trying to locate places which are easy on the budget. To treat ourselves once in a while is not bad though. :) 

                                 

The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok

As I walk along the street, I noticed so many massage spas, tailoring shops and furniture shops almost one after the other!! I can imagine my Mom drooling at those beautiful pieces of antique furnitures. Haha! BUT, the most interesting store I found is the Dasa Bookstore just two blocks away from us! Coolest!! It's a second-hand bookshoppe where you can also stay inside to read. Now, I told Jabar, I shall never get bored staying here unemployed. Hahaha!!! 

That's the hubby right there waiting for me while I hunt for my "book of the week", which is Sunset Oasis by an Egyptian writer Bahaa Taher. This book won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

I have been here for a week already and savoring every moment of my housewife-ship. It's a daily routine of waking up to prepare hubby for office, tidying up the place, resting while reading a book, then preparing for lunch. I'll go out alone in the afternoon, or sometimes, I'll just take a nap at home. At about maghrib time, hubby comes home from office and we'd eat out for dinner. Oh, the relaxed state. Haha! 

My Doctor to the Barrio duties is so behind me right now, I don't wanna think about it. 

The Neophyte Jetsetter

                                   

I'm blogging from a boarding gate in NAIA Terminal 3 en route to Bangkok, Thailand where my husband just got crossposted. Since it's just a stone's throw away, I decided to pay him a visit for a week. I keep this trip a secret because I don't want our office to learn my whereabouts. I filed for an official leave but kept hush-hush on my destination. However, as I am sitting here waiting to board the aircraft, I realized I can't seem to keep quiet!!! Oh noes!! Hahahaha!!! I'm itching to tweet or post a photo on instagram. I am so holding myself back! Pigilan nyo'ko!!! And then, aha! Oo nga, may blog pala ako na punong puno na ng cobwebs. I am sorry dear bloggie for being my last option. Ikaw na talaga ang aking official shock absorber. ✌️

This is my first international flight ever and I'm going solo. It's an advantage that I've travelled countless times locally so that saved me from the petty hassles with what to include or not include in the luggage for check-in, etc. And of course, my diplomatic passport (best perk of being a diplomat for a spouse. Chozzz!!) saved me the hassles of long queues at the tax lane and at the immigration booth. Yay!!! 

For as long as I'm keeping this trip a secret, you, blog, will have to keep with my traveling rants. I am so tempted to delete my twitter and Instagram apps (I've already deleted the Facebook app), but I felt the necessity to be "constantly informed". May it be from relevant or irrelevant people. Hahahaha! 

There. Bangkok, are you ready for me? ✈️

Protons

              When everything seems perfect in my life, I plummeted into the darkest pit called Negativity. I became spiteful, irritable and reproachful. I became a monster I never figured out I would be in my dire attempt to keep everything around me in order. I had a constant feeling of disappointment, frustrations and hopelessness. I was full of doubts and mistrust. It certainly had a tremendous effect on my relationship with my loved ones. They are the ones who suffered for my twisted negative thinking. Until I came across a book called The Secret. It holds the greatest secret of all prominent men in history---POSITIVITY. It talks about the power of positive thinking and how you can convert your negative thoughts into positive ones. Life is very simple, we should always keep in mind that "what we give, we receive". Human beings are likened to transmission towers of powerful energy manifested by our thoughts and feelings. 

(Googled photo)

                Like a powerful transmission tower, what we give out into the Universe through our thoughts and feelings about the different aspects of our lives -- relationships, health, dreams, and finances--- will bounce back to us in equal or even more intensified. If we practice positivity in our daily lives, we will exercise patience, compassion and gratitude. We will have an open heart and mind, we feel like our life works harmoniously with the Universe. Everything flows smoothly, even if we are faced with difficult obstacles, we can easily get off the hook and proceed spontaneously as we wish it to be. The main ingredient of this book, the superstar of them all is gratitude. Sometimes, when we wake up on the wrong side of the bed in the morning, the rest of our day is ruined. That is because we didn't find around us anything to be grateful for, we were not being grateful for the life given to us by Him.

                   I know this would be no easy feat but I am trying to live the proton life every single day. The most amazing thing about it is that I have understood the very essence why we, Muslims, are required to pray five times a day. We do not pray to merely ask but we pray in order to be grateful, to speak the two powerful words "Thank You", at least five times a day to nonetheless but the Creator. We thank Him for every single minute miracles in our lives, from the air we breathe, our circulating blood, our family and friends and every single source of happiness and joy in this world. 

                    I encourage you to look around you and find something to be grateful for. Also, when you pray, do not ask for anything without expressing your gratitude first. Feel it and you will receive, in shaa Allah. Join me in sprinkling protons in this world! Let's start by sharing a HUGE smile to the people we meet and everyone around us. Smile, it's sadaqah (charity). :)

El Nido, Palawan. December 2013

This is the problem with staying up all night, we inevitably get consumed by our senti mood. 

I miss my man. 

No amount of technology can replace physical presence. I wonder if hologram can? Lol.

Count this as one of those mundane, nonsense posts.

There are plenty of things going around I can write about---Islamic awareness, the World Hijab Day, my stand on the GPH-MILF agreement, the anticipated implementation of the Bangsamoro Government, the lack of rules and regulation in Marawi City (more like anarchy), the environmental hazards brought about by the tons of tarpaulins around Marawi and entire Lanao del Sur, the enthronement of the Royals of Lanao del Sur and it's lack of impact on me and on the society as a whole, the Vhong Navarro mauling and extortion incident, the Napoleses and their crimes, the wild rage on the social media, the adversities faced by the Doctors to the Barrios, my own apprehensions, but I don't wanna think about the world right now. It's too heavy for me to handle. 

I am on my way to learning how to be an adult, how to think and act maturely, how to hold off my emotions once in a while and how to control my tears when I'm enraged.

I am learning. And he taught me all that. :)

The Arrival

We normally see a hanging signboard outside the doctor's clinic informing us that the "Doctor is IN" or if we are unfortunate enough, the "Doctor is OUT". But in my workplace where I am the Rural Health Physician, you don't see those signboards primarily because I don't have a decent office. Well, I SHOULD HAVE a Rural Health Center that constituents of other municipalities normally enjoy. So instead of seeing "Doctor is IN", you'd hear "The doctor has arrived!" and people would come swarming around us like bees. That happens on almost every duty day at Tubaran, Lanao del Sur as a Doctor to the Barrio.

                                 

I've been re-deployed for almost three months now, and apparently, according to the local residents, I'm the only healthworker assigned in the municipality who comes regularly.  The top reasons are:

1. Lack of a Rural Health Center 

    This lack of a major health facility creates a domino effect by hindering ALL health services which are supposed to be provided to the constituents as part of their natural human rights. There was once a functional RHU, according to folktown's tale, but was crushed down to rubbles more than a decade ago by the supporters of a political candidate who lost the election race to the present rulers. More than a decade later, the local chief executive who was sitting for more than three terms in the office, finally thought of building an RHU (as well as a municipal hall!). As of speaking time, our RHU is on it's way to the final touch. 

2. Lack of health workers.

    No health workers have been regularly going in the area for countless years already. The constituents would have the luxury to be visited by doctors only during medical missions, at least once or twice a year if they get lucky. They seek medical consult at the nearby municipality of Binidayan which they will have to hike for at least an hour because of the unpaved, dusty and bumpy road. No health worker coming from the IPHO (Integrated Provincial Health Office) is willing to be assigned in this place, only I and one contractual midwife dared. I always get raised eyebrows and shock on their faces whenever I mentioned the place where I am currently assigned. I don't know why but I'm fine with Tubaran, I like the heartwarming gestures shown by the people as well as the local officials. I personally feel welcome in the area. :) 

For the remaining few months of my contract as Doctor to the Barrio, I intend to maximize my time in the name of health care service delivery. I hope and pray that the local government speeds up the building of the RHU so we can settle where we should be settling. Presently, we hold our clinic right outside the Mayor's office in his own home. We feel at home din. Haha. 

People sometimes ask why I went into the DTTB program and endure of difficulty of going into the geographically isolated areas and (somehow) stagnating my medical knowledge when I can go into residency to be molded into the "ideal physician" everyone aspires to be. Serving the rural area has taught me to become a better person, my personality took a giant leap from the pushover medical clerk/intern to the one who makes sure that everyone is busy at their assigned tasks aka the "leader", the "head of the unit". I am still learning to dance with politics as it is already tied up tightly with my job. I failed at my first area of assignment, but I am learning here and I hope I get the rhythm of the dance. 

Palawanized!!! :)

Guess who's back home?

Taa daaaaa..

Yes, hubby was home shortly due to a mandatory 2-week medical check-up and lucky him, he got another 2-week extended vacation! Wohoo!! Being separated for eight months mean spending maximum quality time with each other. Maximum quality time. Lol!

As wanderlusts that we both are (the same statement I used in the blogpost about our Baguio and Davao trip), our feet brought us to the enchanting Palawan!! 

We didn't have a pre-planned trip except for the Underground River Tour which I had booked few days before we fly to Palawan. As soon as we landed, we rode a tricycle from the airport to downtown Puerto Princesa to look for a cheaper and cozy hotel where we can stay for the night. Cheap YET cozy, because we're choosy. Lol! In a travel where you'd be outdoors the whole time, there's no need to book at some something-star hotel, it's just a waste of money. 

As soon as we arrived at the hotel around 5:30 pm, we rode a tricycle and walked around the city to fill in our stomach. Jabar is all about looking for the authentic taste in the places where we go. That's one of the things I love about traveling with him, it makes me feel like some travel host who discovers new stuff in the place where only locals go. Harhar!! So instead of going into the chain of popular franchise restaurants, we looked for the authentic Palawan roasted chicken with 100% chicken liver sauce. (Too bad the photos are stored in his phone.) The chicken absorbed the marinade so well that the taste goes right into the bones. It's perfectly roasted and when dipped into the chicken liver sauce, it is certainly the best roasted chicken I have ever tasted!!! Literally, sarap to the bones!!! 

Our adventure started the following day for our Underground River Tour located at Sabang, Palawan; approximately 2 hours van ride away from Puerto Princesa City. On our way to Sabang, we passed by the Karst Mountain Elephant Cave which was conquered by contestants of the TV show The Amazing Race (Philippines and Ukraine). It's a mountain made of limestones. As we travel further, Jab and I noticed that most of the mountains in Palawan are actually made of limestones and kudos to their local government, most are preserved and protected from mining activities. 

Twenty minutes of boatride from the shores of Sabang, we finally arrived at THIS!! Look how beautiful the river is, it is really enchanting! And inside the cavemouth is a 22-km stretch of amazing rock formations, aka stalactites and stalagmites. Apparently, out of the 22-km, only 8.5 km has been discovered and navigated and only 1.5 km is open for tourists like us. So what we've seen is just the tip of an iceberg. 

We were with Filipino families who were vacationing from Australia and they were with their uber-cute kids with Aussie accent!!! Oh, music to my ears. Lol! Look at their Dad photobombing us. 

Cavemouth. The beginning of wonderful things to see.

Palawan is indeed rich with nature's beauty. It is amazing that we need not go to other countries and spend hefty amounts to experience what is already in our country. The beauty is out there waiting to be explored. :) 

On our second day, we immersed in the magnificient islands and lagoons of El Nido. It's a six-hour long (bumpy) ride from Puerto Princesa. Foreigners outnumbered the locals, I think. There were a lot of them, Caucasians and Asians alike, walking around and bathing under the scorching heat of the sun. Jab and I had fun most here in El Nido where the water was crystal clear and the sand was so white and fine. We hopped from one island and lagoon to another. The best was the small lagoon where we had to swim through a small orifice to get inside the stunning lagoon. No exaggeration but it felt like swimming in paradise!! 

Look at that giddy smile!!

Jab and I both agreed that Palawan is by the far the best place we've been together. It's the place where people looking for adventure and at the same time wanting to experience serenity with Mother Earth must come. 

Jab was home shortly but IT WAS A TIME PERFECTLY SPENT. :) Ten months left before my contract with DOH ends and, soon, we'll be together without rushing for time. 

Bismillah. 

P.S.

I apologize for the center-formatted style of this entry. I am using my phone and I have problem locating the formatting bar. Ugh. 

Sonnet XVII

I remember reciting the whole sonnet with utmost feeling while taking a video of myself imagining that the man I am going to marry listens to every word. That was roughly two months before we met.  

I still carry this poem in my heart despite the fact that the man I married is not interested in poetry. Oh. 

Happy New Year!!!

It was indeed a HAPPY new year because of you!! I am so glad you are home even just shortly. Looking forward to countless years with you. :) 

Rich Or Poor ? Which One Are You?

I only get to read this book one year after I purchased it. I lost sight of it after my brother borrowed it AND benefited from it. Now's my turn. Aha!

It basically talked about HOW TO GET RICH. Interesting? Haha! Mind you, it doesn't come easy. OF COURSE. The author who is a multi-millionaire business mogul described his educated dad (the poor one) and the one who did not finish schooling (he called the rich dad) and their view on money and their difference in terms of financial literacy. He offered a solution on how to avoid a trap in life (where most of us are caught and can't seem to get out of it) called Rat Race. It is the pattern of getting up, working and paying bills. Especially among us government employees, you work hard and then the government cut their share from your salary through taxes before you even receive it, and then pay your bills, and the cycle goes on until your retirement. The government offer us promotion and a consequent salary raise and then we also increase our spending. According to him, many people do not realize that in life, IT'S NOT HOW MUCH MONEY WE MAKE BUT HOW MUCH MONEY WE KEEP. He also emphasized the importance of FINANCIAL LITERACY, because money without financial intelligence is money soon gone. He also put a difference on how the poor and the rich people spend their money. Poor and the middle-class buy luxury first while rich people buy luxury last. Ahem. Ring any bell? Haha! He also cited a lot of success and failure stories of rich people. 

After learning about the Rat Race, I know now why my family is not rich. First, because my parents are both government employees and the government cut taxes more than we can actually spend. And second, we don't have a business or any investment. We don't have investment because we barely have money left at the end of the month to invest. Or perhaps, my parents are financially illiterate. That's the blunt truth. Mr. Kiyosaki talked about highly educated people who struggle financially because of financial illiteracy. My parents and many people I know who works for the government are no different. 

Hence, for 2014, it is on my checklist to be financially literate and to "mind my own business". 

Any business idea? :)