It was been almost two months since our province was ordered to be in Enhanced Community Quarantine, lots of things had happened. The ECQ was extended for a month after 15 days of being under it, then General Community Quarantine came over for 15 days and on the 16th of May the GCQ will be modified.

On the first week of the Enhanced Community Quarantine everyone was still adjusting, no public transports, some restaurants, offices and other establishments were closed. After a week of ECQ all job orders in our office were asked to report to help in repacking of goods, but unfortunately I didn’t comply because it wasn’t that easy as 123, I have no quarantine pass and either my father because one member in a family is only allowed to go outside to buy food and medicines, my sister has the pass so she can easily buy milk and diapers for my niece as well as other necessities at home, I don’t know how to drive which means I have to walk 9 to 10 kilometres every day (back and forth), and I have a vulnerable mother and a baby niece in our home. There were a lot of PUM’s (Person under Monitoring) and PUI’s (Person under Investigation) at that time so their safety is my number one priority, as we cannot afford to get sick.

A week of ECQ (21th of April) helped came over from the barangay for the affected workers of the pandemic, my carpenter father received a bag of relief goods composed of 2.4 kilos of rice, 2 cans of sardines, 2 packed of instant noodles, 1 small can of corned beef, a packed of coffee, one sachet of bath soap and a laundry soap, within a family of five with four adult, the rice will be good for three meals or one day only, small help but it is better than nothing, and still a blessing to be thankful for.

A week after, my father received a relief good from the local government or from our municipality, inside the bag is about 7.2 kilos of rice, 4 cans of sardines, 2 cans of hot and spicy tuna, one kilo of dried fish with tomatoes.

The next day, my sister was also given a relief good, wait rephrase she went to the temporary barangay hall to collect a relief good, as the barangay is giving relief goods to every family or workers with family that wasn’t able to received yet. The bag has 5 cans of spicy sardines, 3 sachet of brown coffee and about 4.8 kilos of rice.

Then after two weeks, my sister had also her share of relief good from the municipal government which is composed of 7.2 kilos of rice, 4 cans of sardines, 1 can of corned beef and a can of spicy tuna, but hey that’s not all, there was also a kilo of dried fish, tomatoes and one piece of cucumber in a separate bag.

Don’t ask about me, I am not qualified to receive help because I don’t have my own family neither a husband (so mean), I wish they realized I am also human being capable of eating (joke).

Then nothing more, I mean no more relief goods from the local government, but my sister received groceries from their cooperative which I am not able to take pictures, as some of them were already eaten/ cooked before I know it.

When the pandemic and ECQ started, three of us stopped working, luckily we had a continued wages with the order of the national government, my monthly wages cannot raise a family and spending on a baby’s milk and diapers, our budget wasn’t enough, but a little something is better than nothing at all.

We are in provincial rate, but the prices of commodities in our province are much more expensive than the commodities you can buy in Manila.

Anyway would like to say, thank you to our Mayor and to other local officials for the help (relief goods) during the ECQ.

Life is really so ironic, that’s why to enjoy things while they are good and just be strong when things are not good.  Looking back, almost seven years ago I felt being left behind, my friends and classmates were already professionals, some of them were teachers, nurses, engineers and etc., while me was just a wife and a blogger who earned from my own little life.  I am happy, but secretly I want to be like them, I want to have a career, I want to be a professional too.

Fast forward, today I am professional like I wanted to be, but I am not happy. I lost everything I had when I wish to be like them, regrets are late and I can’t turn back the time nor wake up like it was just a dream. Life was really so ironic, me wanting more made me lost everything. Indeed, you can’t really have a cake and eat it too!

Honestly, there are times depression is eating me in, the desire of wanting to reset my life and start from the very start again is bugging me. I wanted to correct the bad choices I make, and to avoid the wrong people I have met in my so called life, but the sad truth resetting my life only means dying because time machines were not actually real.

Odiongan as the center of trade and commerce in the Province of Romblon, had come a long way towards progress and development.

 

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ATM Launching of Tourism Tagline Logo #VibrantOdiongan, YourHeart, YourHome, YourFuture and the presentation of the new official seal. #VisitRomblonIslands #Odiongan #OdionganRomblon #Odiongantourism #odionganph #odiongan❤️

A post shared by Herz (@hyannec) on Oct 10, 2019 at 7:24pm PDT

Today,   Padyak para sa Kalikasan and  the tourism tagline and logo #VibrantOdiongan (Your Heart Your Home Your Future)  was launched and the new seal of the Municipality of Odiongan was also unveiled and presented at Odiongan Park Plaza in the leadership of Mayor Trina with the Sangguniang Bayan Members.

The event was attended by employees from different department and offices, as well as private individuals. As the master of ceremony jokingly says the launching was a grandiose event as Mayor Trina provided snacks for everyone (lol).

Nothing much to write right now, it was been a long time since I dragged myself to write something in my blog and I am currently remembering how to write again. #lmao

Life became so busy these past few months, yep here am I again starting a blog post with this line. I have been procrastinating lately,  a friend had told me that I only write when I am feeling sad, maybe because writing became an outlet for me to release my hidden emotions and stressed.

Well, I have many things to write and I will try to write more soon, but it looks like I can’t write personal experiences and feelings anymore in this blog, as my friends are starting to notice.

I will be back soon!

Life have been so busy for me these past few months in school, especially the month of March, working with outputs, conducting and writing three field study books and preparing for the final exams.  It has been almost a month since our class ended, but I didn’t have time to be back in blogging, I have been procrastinating and been busy with other things at home.

A week ago, was Romblon Baktas Mountaineers second year anniversary and I am more than excited to climb with them again, but finding someone to drive my motorcycle was not easy, my sister can’t drive and my cousins were working, that’s where a hiker friend asked me if I want to climb with them on the same date to Mt. Puting Bato, as I looked through the name of possible hikers I have noticed most of them were my friends, I was told there was an issue with the old group and it was too long to elaborate, so I didn’t ask anymore about it.

Since, the proposed hike was just nearby and my father can drive for me to the jump-off, I decided to hike with them.  It was me who arrived first at the jump-off, my father didn’t left until my hiker friends came. We are only 10 hikers at the jump-off, and five of us were unfamiliar to me.  After a few minutes of prepping and meeting our hiking guide and another hiker friend,  we started walking to the foot of the mountain. It was very easy hike compare to the first time I hike at Mt. Puting Bato whereas I hyperventilate, I passed at the peanut farm without grasping for air, it seems walking through the school campus made me fit to hike.

Our guide told us that there is a new trail to the peak, it is nearer but we have to climb through higher rocky elevation, so we did. Within one hour and fifteen minutes we arrived at the peak, the peak was more friendly and spacious than before, our guide told us that a lot of locals where hiking to the summit and with this, they clean around the peak and constructed some wooden bench up top.

We stayed at the peak, waiting for our two hiker friends who followed. We did a normal hiker will do, enjoy the scenery below and took many pictures as many as we want, RJ as one of the late comer became our instant photographer with his unique photography skills, it was quite very funny because a hiker friend Iphone 7 became the group official camera, whereas most of our pictures, solo and groupies were taken in the said phone, as the outcome of the pictures were good, the colors were so vivid and clear.

We stayed at the peak for three hours and thirty minutes, resting, taking pictures, telling stories, laughing and we also ate our lunch in there. When we think, we already have enough and we stayed quite longer, we started walking down the other side of the mountain, same trail we used in our first hike at Mt. Puting Bato, our hiking trip will not be complete without going to the cave, along the way we passed through a place that looks like a God forsaken land, the trees were cut and the grasses were born to die, kaingin.

Anyway, we did some caving and unlike before where I didn’t go inside the cave, I did go down this time using the pole that where already there.  The cave was undeveloped and unprotected, there were bats, birds and stalagmites. It was not that large like the popular cave in Jeju, but spacious enough to accommodate 20 people. We looked around and took pictures, then we decided to go up and continue going down the mountain, whereas everyone felt electrified upon seeing a guava tree, our guide climb the tree for us and he even asked permission to the old man we meet if we can have some buko or young coconuts, so we did along the trail.

When we reached a small hut under the tamarind tree, we rested and waited for the second group and that’s where we got the copies of our photos from a hiker friend’s Iphone 7,  we arrived at the jump off at three o’clock in the afternoon.

It was almost three weeks since my last update on this blog, life have been so busy for me in school. Quizzes, assignments, diagnostic test and then mid-term examination which is supposedly scheduled this week, but with the busy schedule of the faculty it will be move next week.

We didn’t have a class yesterday, our instructor was exhausted from traveling out of town just to be a member of the panel for the pre-service teachers, so I and two of my friends decided to eat out. We’ve been asking each other where to eat, then I remember the newly opened comfort food restaurant/snack bar in Odiongan called Crazy Ground so we went in there to try it, it was a perfect place to hang-out because I am feeling crazy yesterday after a short talk with one of our instructors, my sensitivity and over thinking collides.

Crazy Ground was house at the closed Orient Cuisine restaurant, I thought it was owned by different person, but upon going in, I have found out that Crazy Ground and the closed Orient Cuisine has the same owner. As I remember before Crazy Ground opens, Orient Cuisine was looking for a cook, maybe they didn’t find one so they venture to a new one, well my speculation might be wrong.

Crazy Ground is perfect for students alike or people trying to eat budget food since it wasn’t that costly. We have ordered their Tuna Carbonara ₱85 and Oreo Blast Milk tea ₱70 and Crazy Ground Special ₱65 for one friend. Our milk tea was served within 15 minutes and the carbonara follow after 4 minutes. The milk tea was good but would be nice if it is a little more cooler, the pasta was good as well, it is savory.

Crazy Ground serves different type of snacks according to your liking or taste bud, they have chips, burgers, potatoes, street food platters, milk teas, hot drinks and rice meals.

CRAZY GROUND
M.L. Quezon Street, Brgy. Liwanag, Odiongan, Romblon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrAzyGrouNdSnackBar/
Phone: 567-6310
Opens at 2:30PM

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal experience and might be different from yours.

It was before Christmas vacation when we are given a group task in one of our subject in school, to be presented the next year when class resumed.  We all procrastinated, we really didn’t do preparation until the day it has to be presented. The task is we have to create acronyms for the word “Great Teacher” and do a presentation about it. We already have rough draft on what to do we decided to do a talk show, but less than two hours before our class we revised the content of our talk show.

A talk show will not be a talk show without a host, and as expected I was appointed to be the host.  It was my first time doing it, our talk show runs about inviting my elementary teacher whom also celebrating her 80th birthday (play by an older classmate) who made a great impact in my life during my elementary days, and I have also invited some of her former pupils (other group mates) to wish her happy birthday and leave messages, tell stories based on the acronym we made with the word “Great Teacher”.

Our presentation started by someone creating an intro, and when it is my turn I was mental blocked at first, not knowing what to say next. It was an impromptu acting which mean it is unscripted, when I started speaking and moving I lost all my pretensions and I ate not just the floor, but almost the whole time of our class leaving a little time to the next presenter (lol), our teacher even complained that we almost eat up all the memory of his phone and it literally heated up, he recorded a video of every presentation eh. I was told by a group mate to avoid speaking English all the time, because our other group mates were feeling nervous, but I know I can’t do it, if I started speaking Tagalog, I will forgetting my act and what to say.

Anyway, our group presented these acronyms for Great Teacher;  Giving, Reinforcer, Encourager, Advance Thinker, Tenacious, Trustworthy, Engaging, Appreciative, Committed, Humble, Endearing and Respectful.

It is the new year, I have told my sister that I will start losing weight this year. She chuckled and said, you will gain more weight, it is year of the pig! (lol).

The class has resumed yesterday, I have been busy these past few days making  assignments and between making an assignment, I am tweaking my WordPress Themes in this blog, as you can notice my theme is now a bit smaller, I have removed the other sidebar to make my blog mobile-friendly.  The first assignment was given before the holiday vacation, but I just work with it. Blame it to my mañana habit or to my procrastinating self, I have enjoyed the holiday slacking off at home, sleeping and reading lots of things, well I think even my friends at school did the same.

[Photo courtesy of StartupStockPhotos/pixabay.com]

It was a good thing we had no class yesterday, we are just told to submit our assignment and we can go home and that’s where a friend had asked me if I have already heard what had happened to one of our friends, it turns out a scandal broke online which I am not aware because I abstained from using social media these past few days.  I was shocked, in-disbelief, sad on what I have heard. I can’t imagine my friend’s pain and depression, I have sent her messages and told her to be strong, not to overthink and I am just around if she needs someone to talk with, but she remained silent, send short responses and sorry, she might not be ready yet to face the world. It was also this time of the year when I deactivated my Facebook years ago and it was also time of the year when her world turn gray and dull, that shocked all of us, it is ironic that when I am not around online in social media something depressing happened to her.

I was sad because I have told her many times to find a nice guy, and not to pick someone like picking a hammer that she will use to hit her own head at the end, to find a guy that will be able to accept her and her kids, someone free and no attachment, but I guess she didn’t listen. I hope she will remain strong for her kids and family and I hope she will be able to talk to us freely one day and be able to smile and laugh again.

The month of January, is the most expensive month for me and maybe for many business owners.   It is the month where I have to renew my motorcycle license, business permit and license, pay the last quarter of percentage tax and pay the income tax.  My mother had told me not to renew the business license anymore, because it isn’t doing well after all the dealers failed to pay their dues, my biggest dealer had lost it.   I told her I can’t because it will be a lot of work to close it in the tax office.

My aunt and the other people who owned small stores in the neighborhood have been busy getting business permits these days, while the others are wondering how to get it since their business income isn’t sufficient, it turns out the store owners were asked to get licenses, register at tax office and get business certificates after they were called in the barangay a few weeks ago for a meeting, my mother had not told me about the meeting, because she said I already have complete permits.

[Photo courtesy of jarmoluk/pixabay.com]

Today, even a small store needs a permit to do a business. Well,  I am not yet working with the renewals, maybe next week when I collected all my shackles, I have asked payment from a dealer the other day, but she just waved her hand, saying that she has no money to pay (epic). The other one had promised to pay before Christmas, but New Year had passed I am not seeing her shadow yet,  the other dealer I brought to barangay court didn’t show up anymore after paying partially, with this problems, I stopped transacting with dealers and just let my mother accept orders from our neighbors, I will do business again when everything is settled.

Whenever I dreamed during the night I tend to forget that dream in the morning, that’s why I seldom wrote and blog about dreams in this blog. My dream last night was so vivid that I am able to remember it,  I found myself in a distant neighbor’s house which is also a distant relative, it looks like it wasn’t only me who was there.  There are other women from the church in the house, but I have arrived late so I was left outside. Instead of following them through the wooden door, I was left outside wandering about the relative’s house, it looks so small but it is quite big with a lot of rooms made of glass, that no matter which side I go and look, all I can see were glass doors and rooms. Since the room is made of glass, I can literally see what is inside the room, but one room is very particular in my dream where I have seen what is inside, decors, bed and the bedding,  saw it twice while wondering how is it possible for a small house to have  a lot of room.

[Photo courtesy of Masson-Wintergarten/pixabay.com]

Then my dream hopped seeing myself cooking on a large wok in the fire wood stove, it looks like I am still in the relative’s yard, backyard, presumably and I am cooking for  the women inside the house, then suddenly a cousin wearing a sad face came and sat in the vacant chair, I have asked him something, like if the people inside the house were not finished yet.

[Photo courtesy of Trinck/pixabay.com]

My dream hopped again, seeing myself in the street just above a stone stairs (it looks like I am going to the house under the street/stairs), talking to an Uncle wearing a yellow shirt. In my dream I am telling myself that his wife, my aunt already passed away, as I look down the stairs I saw a yellow poop. I was told by my uncle that another uncle had collapsed and lost consciousness because of stroke and my dream ended as I woke up feeling so cold.