Life of a Kat

365 QOTD How much is a gallon of milk? I don't know! I live in a country where they use the Metric System of Measurement. Sorry! ******* Im gonna try to sleep before 12 midnight tonight. Today went pretty good, I think. Though, I wasn't able to study long enough this morning. I was able to sort out some of the ideas and notes I have in preparation for the writing of my first case study. I had never written anything more than 700 words for the past 10 years, I think. Most of my reports and essays are very short and all of my own point of view. So, the case studies that I will be writing are big challenges that I am taking my time to build. In two months, I wonder what I will accomplish. Just gotta keep reading and writing and reflecting. Hayst. What is this I have chosen for my life?! LOL. Someday, I keep telling myself, it will all be worth it. I was able to do a one-shot recording before I went to work this morning. I obviously made a mistake on the last two lines of the...

After a day-long trip north east of Miyazaki, on our drive home, Tita G asked me while I am taking my Masteral Studies. At this point in my life, I should probably have busy myself with other stuff like finding a boyfriend and eventually settling down, right? I answered her with the usual answers I give: 1. I'm bored here. I thought I have a lot of free time. 2. I really wanted to graduate from University of the Philippines. Though, I had graduate from a regional flagship state university, there is distinct pride in graduating from the national flagship university. (I had to give up my undergraduate option due to circumstances that were out of my control coz I was a minor, but now, I control my choices and I chose to do this.) 3. I am single and what else is there to do but improve oneself. Last night was the longest hour, so far, that I had studied (with cellphone scrolling on the side) 4 hours. Then, I slept only for 3 hours then headed back again to McDonalds to study fo...

Last night's four hour studying drowned me with readings and video clips on studies about how babies acquire a language. Cuteness overload and I definitely want one for myself too! My dear unborn child, I am not sure if the next few years is a safe time for you to be alive, but rest assured that I am excited to hold you in my arms once you come. We are not yet sure who your father will be, nevertheless, I will shower you with all my love. Soon, my dear unborn child. For now, let me work on my future that I will share with you.

I'm back in Miyazaki. Totally. It took almost a day to clean all the mess I had made when I arrived last night. But, I'm back to the rhythm again. Hopefully. That new rhythm of Work, Study, Read, Eat, Cook, Work, Study, Sleep I had established on it's third week now. The sudden weekend trip almost tipped me off the rhythm, but I am picking it up again. The trip was good. It was good proof that I can still be spontaneous and brave. I thought I can never be. Meeting with my former students and now considered friends in Japan is such something I can't believe that could happen to me. Exploring the museums, shrines and walking around the city on a good sunny Sunday, was a great escape. It made me miss my camera so much. I didn't really do a lot of shopping. I realized that I was looking for the same shops and so, there was really no difference. I just gotta check out other places. I was able to drop by the cafes I wanted to take a peek into and someday, I can really jus...

Two weeks had passed since graduate school had resumed. I thought I would never make the shift but here I am again. Shifting to MA in Language and Literacy Education was a logical idea since I am in a field that is very related to language education and I can say, that is the career I would grow old on. Two weeks since I started burying myself into the books again, struggling with scheduling regular chores and work. Aside from the time and priorities, it is the focus that I am struggling with. My days had been like this: 7AM Wakes up from bed straight to the laptop to read and take down notes from wherever I had left off from last night. Reads the news, checks emails, and yawns. Tries to go back to studying. Checking the phone in between readings and note-taking, until the phone scrolling swallows me whole and I lost all the focus for the morning. 9AM makes breakfast and scrolls on youtube for whatever subject of documentary that would catch my interest for the next 1.5 hours while ...

There so much violence going in the Philippines and I am just a bystander, watching from afar. It's frustrating, sorrowful and worrisome. I fear not for myself but for members of my family who might become sudden targets of this "war on drugs". Just recently, a 17- year old boy was killed by two policemen accusing him of being a drug runner together with other members of his family in Caloocan City. Then, today, my fellow alumni from Teach for the Phils. just informed me that there are a lot of tagging and forced drug tests in the community where we used to teach last 2013-2015. Most of the tests coming out as "false positive". Then, while we were just chatting, one of her students posted a status about gun shooting in the same area. I simply lost my grip to keep calm for the remaining hours at work. I worry because, the community my family lives in right now is not different from where the young boy was killed and where the gun shooting happened. We are not ric...

I had just completed another module in my Foundations of Reading subject. I am technically ahead by one module in this class but 2 modules delayed in my Theories of Language Acquisition subject. Help! As I am still trying to pick myself from reading very very slow with all these academic terms and concepts, I can’t help but panic for myself if I will be able to finish this degree at all, or choose the other one: I will give up. But so far, I choose to persevere and do the best I can to finish. Aside from this personal disappointment, I am also bothered by the recent killing of a teenager boy back home. He was murdered by some policemen who accused him of being connected to some illegal drug acts, but the evidences surrounding his death says it was a brutal murder and an act of violation. I feel so much hurt and helplessness for I am but an OFW, away from home, and even if I am home, I can probably not help them in any. I can only make a little noise and clamor to shout justice for...

365 QOTD What is your biggest phobia? I actually got a lot. Not just one. I'm scared of typhoons more than I'm scared of earthquakes. I'm scared of blood and I can't stand watching The Walking Dead. My greatest fear is rejection

It's August 17th, 2017, my first birthday in Japan, I planned to just get stuck at the library and study. That didn't happen. From a birthday surprise on the eve of August 16th, by my new Japanese friends. My heart was already beaming with gratefulness for a wonderful surprise. Before that, I got the Converse Chuck Taylor Sneakers I wanted courtesy of a friend from the US, on top of a Bulova wristwatch that is also on it's way. That's more than enough actually. Then, the book I ordered came 3 weeks earlier than expected! I told myself, I am already receiving more than I asked for, and it's too much to ask for something more. Seventeenth came and I spent breakfast with Tita G at McDo. Then, as promised, I am supposed to cook something for the team in school. Easy-peasy. Then I can go back to my books. I thought, but I was wrong. My MiyazakiGirlfriends asked what I plan to do and if we can hang out, I said, yeah, we can stay at my house. But they had oth...

365 QOTD What was the worst thing you ate today? Oh. Rice is the culprit. Lemme rephrase that. Too much rice it is. Rice in the morning. Rice for lunch. Rice with tonkatsu for late dinner finale! 😨 So I won't feel guilty, I will have to study until 2am tonight. Universe, gimme strength, gimme love, gimme peace, gimme life. The truth is, gimme the medicine for indolence. I pray.

365 QOTD On a scale of 1-10, my day was a _______. My day was a 7. ****** I started the day like usual. Decent breakfast and a few readings for school. A documentary video on Space Exploration. Then, the postman drop something on my posthole-- a rejection letter for a visa application that I had applied for a few weeks ago. I really should have gotten that JCB card instead. But I can always go back and work on that in the future. Also had to deal with my frustrated little sister who had ran out of patience explaining to my dad why we cannot disconnect the cable services for the tv. I didn't have any class today but will have a full-packed Saturday, so I took the time to prep for that. Luckily, it was quite smooth and I had the rest of the day to finish my module for LLE 201- Theories in Language Acquisition, which I did, but there are a few other that I needed to have more time, so I plan to finish tomorrow. Tita G suddenly sent a message saying that we are going out...

No matter how challenging my day had been, my day is nothing compared to what they are commemorating today--- The Nagasaki Bombing. Hiroshima Bombing was Aug 6th, I'm just not sure but it was just a few days ago too. I remember going to Peace Park in Nagasaki and that Memorial obelisk where the bomb was dropped, it felt heavy and deeply sad. Each visitor can only a prayer and bow for the eternal repose of the souls of those lives spared on those fateful day. Japan was never the same again after that. But still....... ..... seriously, Wednesday, how cruel can you get? I started my day pretty well. Did some cooking and laundry as well. Then, it all started when I was about to go to work. Just a few steps away from my house, raindrops started to fall, and then in a matter of seconds, it was a downpour! I had to leave my bike somewhere and walk to the bus station. It hasn't been 5 minutes from the time I left and I am already soaking wet. Debated if I will go back to my...

365 QOTD What memories did you think about today? I remember the night we first met, we agreed to meet on my way home from work and I met him in front of a famous bookstore nearby. He invited me for dinner and we ended up at an Italian restaurant. He ordered more than we can consume but we weren't allowed take home the rest of the food. I remember him sending me a photo of him. That one and only photo. I remember him seeing him again after awhile, I don't know who did the ghosting first. Perhaps it was me. Coz I didn't want to appear clingy nor too interested. I remember seeing him again, he took me to dinner to a Thai restaurant nearby that I never knew of before. Then, another dinner at the same jidori place where I tasted my first jidori and shochu before. I remember that night I slept in his arms while crying deep in the night coz I miss home so bad. I remember waking up still snuggled in his arms. But he had to leave coz he had a flight to catch. I rememb...

365 QOTD What did you create today? I created essays. A self introduction essay as part of my first day back in MA class! I also created a takeaway essay about Neil Gaiman's lecture on Reading and Literacy. ******** Saturday night was a bit crazy. Tita G was kind enough to adopt me for the night coz I told her about my fears on typhoons. Before that, her friend took us to a fine dinner at a very cozy Chinese restaurant in town. Then, we went to this Filipina-owned snack bar somewhere in downtown. I think I drank more than I should. At least I didn't cry nor did I drunk-dialled a number. Who would I dial anyway? LOL. My sisters were kind enough to stay on the video chat with me today a little longer than usual just because it's raining very hard all day. Eventually, they had to leave and I occupied myself with school stuff. I found out that a couple of my classmates are also based in Japan! Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto is supposed to be a light reading but it's enormous ...

365 QOTD What was the last gift you gave? I think, it was a cash gift for my youngest sister to upgrade her laptop. I forgot for what but it's something related to making it better for rendering images for her school projects. ****** I've watched the latest movie craze in Manila, Kita Kita. Shot in Sapporo, Japan. So much feels about the movie. I ought to write something like their 1-10 in the movie. After drinking a glass of wine tonight, I cried again, scolding my boyfriend from the distant future as to what's taking him so long to appear it my life, crazy eh? There is typhoon coming and I can't help but worry. My student checked my Japanese diary entry earlier today and he said, it was quite impressive. Coming from a Japanese, I am quite reluctant to accept such praise, but I would rather take the benefit of doubt that he is telling the truth. Either way, I am proud of my work. It took me an hour to write such.

I grew up in a place always badly-stricken by typhoon. But all through those years, those typhoon moments were the worst nights of my life. I couldn't sleep. I kept worrying even for just torrential rains and thunderstorms. I had to stay awake in case we had to evacuate. Today, as forecast is being delivered, I can't help but worry again. Though, I know, I am in a better place, a better building and also, I have no one else to worry about but myself, I still worry. Also, I don't want to tell my family back home about it coz for sure they will also worry about me. So, I will just drink a glass of wine and hopefully that would put me to sleep. Right now, all I feel is the calm before storm and it freaking scares the hell out of me. Every pieve of news about storms scares me and I can never be brave enough not to show any form of panic nor fear. Deary dear glass of wine, put me to deep sleep get me through this night. Then, tomorrow night, I will take you again, slee...

365 QOTD What is the one thing you want to accomplish tomorrow? Lots of work. Reading. Another diary entry in Japanese.

365 QOTD What did you let go of? Expectations. ***** RANDOMTHOUGHTS My friend will be organizing an outreach program for the displaced kids because of the ongoing civil war in Mindanao, on the 16th, and I wish I am there to help out personally. For the past two years, August 2nd was a day my good friend, Cher Jo and I, are together somewhere but this year, we broke the chain. Hopefully, next year, we get to go somewhere again. I always find it as an early birthday present. My friends are asking about how to start investing on stocks, which is good. Our new motto now is: Friends that invest together, make "yaman" altogether. I haven't been to the library for weeks now, I really should get the grit back. With that, I re-watched Angela Duckworth's talk about GRIT on TEDTalk. For me, it is one of the most powerful talks I have ever known and always come back to. To remind me of my Whys to push forward and persevere. So, this is how it feels to be an OFW. To be able ...

365 QOTD What did you have for lunch today? I was supposed to just have canned tuna and rice for lunch but I bought chicken nuggets at Family Mart and left the canned tuna unopened for another day. ***** Work ends at 12 midnight. From the day I decided to go back to my online job, I usually just hurry back home clean up the mess I had left for that day, eat dinner, chat with family and start working at 10pm til 12mn. I just leave my weekday rest day free of any scheduled work so I can focus on other house chores and personal errands. ***** I wish to drag the days faster to December so I can go home and get as many hugs as I can. Hug is a very rare commodity at this side of the earth. Add the fact that I have limited number of friends I can call my family in here. ***** My MA classes will start of August 5th. I hope my laptop won't crash on me sooner than expected. Not yet, Macy. Please hang in there. I actually saw an Asus Ultrabook Core i7 on sale at Amazon at an incredibly low ...