Outdoor Yoga at Archery Asia

What?!?  It's already Thursday?  Oh dear, 2020 feels like someone just pulled up from behind, kicked us several times by the b*ms while docking behind left unseen.  With catastrophic events unfolding and stirring up a sense  of anxiety and confusion everywhere, it's a challenge to see the silver lining lately.

The only thing I could hold on to is faith and hope for whatever optimism we have left be preserved. 

Life is volatile. To savor time  honed into what we value most in life  and being present is the best way to honor ourselves and those precious to us.  

While the bus was crammed with grumpy stressed out passengers, a friend witnessed this scene  on his way home while looking out of the bus' window.  The rain has brought puddles and the ramps have transformed into mini waterfalls.  Kids  laid on the pavement  and played snow angels under the rain.

There are only two reasons when there is silence on this blog. One is I'm traveling.  The other one is, I'm pursuing a goal that needs the attention of my entire being.    

The former is my perfect excuse. The word "gallivanting" suddenly popped up in my head as well as snapshots of recent events; our roller coaster ride at Euro Disney plunging down into the darkness, admiring the Notre Dame Cathedral  a week before watching it in flames on TV,  our long drive on small countryside roads through fields of yellow (Canola or in french - Colza) and the massive consumption of baguette, cheese and wine. 

Did I just go to France on a whim? Nope, this interestingly designed coffee shop is none other than La Vie Parisienne in Lahug, Cebu.  What I like about the Philippines is the abundance of places to spend time in.

Happy Chinese New Year to those celebrating it!  Yay, Year of the Pig eh?  It has been more than a week since I have taken a vacation from Facebook and Instagram.  I am presently enjoying the silence. 

T'is the season to consume lots of coffee so we could stamp our way to claim the 2019 Journal at the coffee shop you fancy.  If you have an extra journal, please feel free to throw some my way and I'd be ecstatic. (Ha! You must be thinking, the nerve of this girl!)  

Oh well, that's one of my intentions for next year. I intend to speak my mind more - in real life that is. You see, I tend to reveal more of myself here on the blog and only to a select few, in person.

Look up.  Since that moment a coconut fell an inch away from my head, I tend to look up and make sure I'm away from these trees when the sh...err.. smoothie hits the fan.   Oh well, I love coconuts and the first thing I'm grateful for is saying goodbye to cans of coconut milk/cream from the supermarket. I now have access to freshly grated coconut and coconut water. 

"A Grateful Heart is a Magnet for Miracles."

The other day I found male neighbors in their 20s and 30s playing "tumbang preso" in the side street where not a lot of vehicles pass. Tumbang Preso is a Filipino children's game literally translated as "knock down the prisoner".  The goal is to knock down a can with their slippers or flip-flops. I was amused to watch them set up their game, dividing themselves into two groups equally standing at opposite sides. The game should be played by a maximum of nine players. One guards the can while the rest stands behind the line to hit it.  I couldn't help reminiscing about my childhood playing this game as well as hide and seek with my friends in abandoned buildings or a thrill seeking game "of patintero"

Patintero, on the other hand, is another group outdoor game played by two teams. It requires speed, agility, strategy and team work. The rule of the game is to pass through the grid lines guarded by the opposing team without getting tagged. A chalk is used to draw the grid lines on the ground and a bigger space is required roughly around 6 linear meters in depth length x 4 linear meters horizontal width. It is usually played by four players per team. 

Have you played this game when you were young (er)?

2. Green Therapy

When I moved to the south, I have always wanted to wake up early, drive up to this spot and drink my freshly brewed coffee in my thermos while enjoying this view. Finally did it this weekend!

Was sucking the sweet nectar from this flower a part of your childhood? The santan plant, Ixora coccinea grows into a shrub and thrives well in the heat.  I finally learned how to propagate them by using their plant cuttings.  

Love & light,

Arni

Hope you're all having a great week. December entails wrapping presents, last minute shopping, traffic frenzy en route to your office Christmas Party, year end work load, travel plans looming ahead, vehicle tax increase, income tax reduction, ho ho ho 13th month pay, what a way to end 2017!  

As always, the year end brings a wave of nostalgia.  Before 2017 sneaks up on me, I'm going to post my favorite finds and insights about living in the Philippines this week.

I'm seizing this opportunity to appreciate the goodness that I discover in my home country. Here's a round up of 3 things that made me happy this week.