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Life Pals Secrets

Thursday Letter #19: Are Catch-Ups Enough?

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As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, sobrang saya namin nung nakalipat na kaming Calgary (more than a year ago na!), pero ang hirap pala talagang maka-establish ng circle na reliable. Para kasing yun na lang yung kulang eh. And when I say reliable, yung klase ng friendship na alam mong magkikita kayo ulit soon at hindi sobrang palaisipan kung kelan ang next hangout. Yung tipong kelangan mong mag-drop by sa bahay nila kasi may isosoli kang food container nung time na binigyan ka nila ng ulam. Yung involved kayo sa buhay ng isa’t isa na hindi nyo na kelangang magcatch-up. Matagal-tagal na rin akong nagkikwento about my longing for friendships like these. Ang dami ko nang nasulat tungkol dito. But I’m happy and grateful to say that: mukang ito na yung last.

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Secrets TV

Thursday Letter #18: The Golden Age of 2000s Rom-Coms

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Kung nagkaron ako ng Pinoy movies phase last month, ngayon naman nawiwili ako sa mga foreign movies from the 2000s—especially rom-coms. Ito yung mga paborito kong movies in my early 20s. Grabe pa rin yung kilig ko sa Sweet Home Alabama at How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days kahit ilang beses ko na silang napanood. At dun sa mga tender moments, naiiyak pa rin talaga ko. Bakit wala nang ganitong klaseng rom-coms ngayon? Pumunta ko sa Reddit and the people have the same sentiments.

“They don’t make rom-coms like this anymore.”

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Life Secrets

Thursday Letter #17 | Skincare and Sopas

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It’s Thursday Letter on a Friday! Di ko na kasi namalayan ang araw. Parang ang bilis. San ba ko magsisimula. Ang dami ko kasing kwento. Kung iisipin ko kung anong nangyari ng February, ang unang pumapasok sa isip ko ay yung frustration ko sa paghahanap ng trabaho. Gusto ko na kasing lumuwag-luwag ang finances namin kaya siguro nagiging desperado na ko. Pero ayoko nang pagusapan yun. Nasasawa na rin ako.

Two days na lang malapit nang mag-March! Which means patapos na ang winter. Hindi nanaman kami nakapag-tubing huhu. Ito ang nag-iisang favourite kong gawin pag winter. First time namin ‘to na-experience sa Winnipeg at tuwang tuwa talaga ko. Ang sarap ulit-ulitin. Padalwang winter na namin ngayon sa Calgary at mukang maghihintay kami ng isa pang winter bago pa ‘to ma-experience ulit.

March 2022

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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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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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Family Secrets

Thursday Letter #14 | Holiday Funk

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Good morning/evening!

Ang nasa utak ko ngayon ay Pilipinas. Kasi nai-imagine ko kung gano ka-festive dun ngayon. Yung ramdam na ramdam mo yung holiday cheer, lalo na sa mga malls. Ang sarap umuwi! Ang tagal ko nang dream na makauwi ng holiday season. Kaso hindi pa matuloy-tuloy. Sa ngayon, magpapatugtog na lang ulit ako ng “Di ba’t kay ganda sa atin ng… Paskoooo… Naiiba ang pagdiriwang ditooo…” like every other December, habang medyo teary eyed.

If we have unlimited funds, we would spend every Christmas and New Year in the Philippines.

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Journaling Secrets

Thursday Letter #13 | What I Love About Journaling

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Good morning/evening!

I found myself in the mood to update my Hobonichi (my planner-slash-journal that’s more like 10% planner, 90% journal). I filled in the calendar page to reflect our recent California adventures, then, out of curiosity, picked up my 2024 Hobonichi to see what my November looked like last year. Some significant events were:

  • nag-last day ako sa work
  • pinanganak si baby Max (pamangkin ko sa pinsan)
  • took French classes
  • early Christmas party with Winnipeg friends (kasi malapit na kaming mag-move to Calgary)
  • watched Wicked with Trix

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Calm Secrets

Thursday Letter #12 | Letters to Self

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Hello from my cozy little home office. Ang aga kong nagising ngayon (5:30AM) which meant more time to read, journal, and write my 12th Thursday letter. After reading my saved articles (hoping to spark some ideas), hindi ko pa rin alam kung anong isusulat ko today. So binasa ko yung latest entry sa journal ko at meron pala akong ginawang list:

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Journaling Secrets

Thursday Letter #11 | Planner Season

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Love my new office space 😍

In the journaling and planner community, September is known as ‘planner season’. It’s when notebook brands start rolling out their new lineups for the coming year. Two of the popular ones I always look forward to are Hobonichi and Traveler’s Company (both Japanese companies).

It’s kind of like when Apple announces the new iPhone each year. I know I’m not going to buy every release, but I’m invested in seeing what’s new. It’s the same with these two big brands. It’s just so fun to browse the new cover designs and themes for 2026, and also temptingly look at all their planner offerings in different layouts and sizes. But in my heart, I already know the single thing I’m going to get. I know that I’ll be sticking with the same planner I’ve been using these last two years: the simple and uncomplicated Hobonichi Day-Free in A6 size.

But alas, I was wrong.

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Life Secrets

Thursday Letter #10 | “So live.”

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Two days before my period, biglang bumagsak yung mood ko. That was a week ago at hindi pa rin ako nakaka-recover. I thought the mountains would cure me kasi galing kami sa bulubundukin nung weekend. For a moment yes, aliw na aliw ako sa mga bundok, lalo na at first time namin dumaan sa highway na yun so iba yung mountain views. Pero after being distracted, andun pa rin yung off feeling.

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