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Insights Life Secrets

Thursday Letter #16 | Honesty is the Best Policy

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Sometimes, I get conscious sa mga sinusulat ko dito, kasi pakiramdam ko minsan paulit-ulit. Or I sometimes negate myself, lalo na pag nababasa ko yung mga luma kong posts. Despite this worry, it’s not stopping me from hitting the publish button. Kasi yun talaga yung reality ko eh. Yun ang pinagdadaanan ko. Perceptions change. Tastes change. Normal lang magbago, at normal din na magpaulit-ulit.

It’s also a universal reality na mabagabag sa isang bagay, tapos akala mo resolved na at naka-move on ka na, until dadating yung araw na mababagabag ka ulit. Or yung may sasabihin kang gagawin mo, proud na proud ka sa plano mo, tapos sasablay ka nanaman. Wala eh. Yun talaga ang realidad. Sabi nga nung isang guest sa Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast:

I’m not here to be a role model,
I’m here to be the real deal.

Inah Evans

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Food Secrets

Life Updates | Game Plans + Funny People + Frozen Embutido

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1.

Every year, I make a post about the goals I want to achieve for that year (I call it my game plan). Dun ko rin nilalagay yung naging result nung previous game plan ko. But this year, I decided to keep my 2026 goals private until the end of the year. Since there won’t be a game plan post this year, dito ko na lang ilalagay yung naging outcome nung 2025 goals ko:

2025 RESULTS

  1. Maintain an organized and clean home 😊
  2. Visit PH again, this time for Mama’s 60th birthday 😊
  3. Take one or two C level French classes 👎🏼
  4. Don’t go a 3rd day without working out—or doing yoga at the very least 👎🏼
  5. No sugar Monday 👎🏼
  6. Practice having my last meal at 3 or 4PM 😊
  7. Start building 3 months worth of emergency fund 😊
  8. Invest more than we did last year 😊
  9. Find a remote job 👎🏼

Out of the 9 goals I set, I was able to achieve 5. Okay lang naman kung hindi sya ma-achieve lahat, kaso mas satisfying sana kung na-achieve ko yung numbers 4 and 5.

Note dun sa goal #1: Magkakaiba tayo ng standards ng kalinisan. So pag may pumunta sa bahay namin at nadumihan sila, it’s a them problem 😂

2.

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Family Free Posts Life

My Gen Z Cousin Helps Me Keep Up with TikTok

I’m three months TikTok-free (my longest TikTok detox yet?), and out of curiosity, I asked my cousin what’s happening there and what are the things I should know:

1. KATSEYE

First, she sent me a voice message of her singing and bombarded me with videos of her dancing. Akala ko mga general TikTok dance trends yung sinesend nya. Yun pala dance trends specific to KATSEYE songs. I told her I would finally listen to their music.

2. 6-7
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Money Diaries Secrets

2025 Money Wrapped

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Kahit luhaan ako sa mga gastos namin, I am equally excited to look at our last year’s spending because I have now gained clarity. Since nagkaron ng major changes sa aming 2025 expenses, mas alam ko na ngayon yung i-eexpect for 2026. Nung naka-apartment pa kami, kasama na sa monthly rent namin yung utilities, kaya hindi kami sanay na nagbabayad ng tubig at kuryente. Ngayon, based on the monthly averages, alam ko nang kelangan naming mag-allot ng extra $250 every month.

Ang daming adjustments na nangyari last year. Lumaki yung housing costs namin because of the mortgage, tapos ang dami pang nadagdag na bayarin (home insurance, property tax, utilities). Bukod pa dun, nawalan ako ng income nung August. Kaya ang malaking bottomline ng lahat ng ito ay: kailangan ko nang makahanap ng trabaho STAT.

Natuwa akong gawin yung mga graphics this year. Favorite ko yung ‘Money Wrapped’—tingnan nyo mamaya hehe. Just like before, I’ll start with a snapshot of our average monthly spending, then show the numbers after.

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Family Free Posts Pals

Holiday Season 2025

I think the holiday season officially started for us when one of Kenneth’s college friends invited us to go on a holiday train ride.

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state…
Categories
Free Posts Life

Gleniz da Menace: Year in Review 2025

Just like the previous year, I rounded up all my published posts and organized them around the recurring themes of this blog (paid posts are marked with an asterisk) . My utmost gratitude goes to those who find joy and comfort in my writing. I hope it was worth your time. When you love to write, being seen and heard means a lot. But probably the more compelling motive is my internal one. Writing is how I make sense of the world. Thank you for being with me on this voyage of self-expression and discovery.

Writing has so much to give,
so much to teach, so many surprises.

The act of writing,
turns out to be its own reward.

Anne Lamott
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Books Free Posts Hobbies

The 12 Books I Read in 2025

I was able to achieve this year’s reading goal (yay). Since 2023, my reading goal has been the same: read 12 books in a year. This number feels right to me—it’s not too many, but still personally challenging enough.

Here are the 12 books I read in 2025 (with quickie reviews), starting with the ones I liked the least:

LOWEST RATED

I rated these books 2 to 2.5 stars

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Annoying kid. Mean boy. Bad friend.

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Free Posts Insights

My Decembers

December is a sensitive month for me. Kasi simula pagkabata, as mentioned before, ito yung favorite month ko. Festive and vibrant ang paligid, magbi-birthday ako, nung bata ako alam kong magkakaron ako ng pera pamamasko, nung tumanda na nakakatuwa yung mga sale, and just overall looking forward to family holiday events. My brain had a certain expectation pagsapit ng December, built from my childhood and was a constant part of my world. Pero nagbago lahat yun nung nag-move kami sa Canada.

Categories
Life Pals Secrets

Thursday Letter #15 | Releasing Expectations

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Happy Stranger Things Vol. 2 day! Also, Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël !

Ngayon ko na lang ulit ‘to na-feel. Yung super excited ako sa isang TV show. Bukod sa curiosity ko kung anong mangyayari after that epic Will-has-powers!! episode, airing the next volume on Christmas day (and the season finale on New Year’s Eve) gave me an anchor. Here’s why.

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Categories
Life Secrets

37th Birthday Bop

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My birthday started with “Meh. Not having the best time.” and ended with “Tangina mamamatay na ko!”

Pretty morning

Matabang na congee

Kinantahan muna ako ni Kenneth ng happy birthday na walang lyrics kasi kakagising nya lang. Antok-antok pa sya. Then I was on Instagram reposting birthday greetings (ang cute ng mga inaanak ko). After a couple of minutes, nag-ready na rin kami kasi ang una sa birthday to-do list ko ay mag-brunch sa Maven, my favourite brunch spot in Calgary (pero wala pa ring makakatalo sa Clementine Cafe in Winnipeg—huhu I miss).

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