Life of a Kat

A little bit under the weather after knowing that the puppy I recently followed, passed away just like our little Kardo, and hoped that Avengers would save my day. It did at some point, but then, I cried maybe as part story, of the pent up emotions, loneliness and the dark skies. Of my two year ongoing stay in Japan, last night was my first time to watch in a local cinema theatre. The movie-going experience was quite.... Silent. A bit different from a cinema experience back in PH. (Avengers had been packed with lots of scenes intended to appeal to different sides of human emotions and perceptions, yet the cinema was quite... silent, except for me who has been sniffing, chuckling and grinning and my other pinoy company doing the same and/or giving side comments about the scenes and on-screen appearances. It brings a few questions. Was the language in the movie a factor to consider? Does it take time to read the subtitle to be processed by an L2 speaker, thus the delay in processing e...

Another person's puppy died this morning and I am still so affected. And the attempting-to-be-rational-being that is me, has been trying to figure out the reasons why I am so affected about such moment. It wasn't my moment, yet it felt like I was part of it to be affected so much. I discovered about Z when I was following this health buff person in instagram whom one of my former colleagues had been tagging on his posts. One random day, I went on a "Follow" spree on celebrities and the owner of the dog was included. Knowing that he is way out of my league, the workouts, the abs and other posts were simply ignored. Until he started posting about a puppy he will be adopting. Around that time, we just had our little Kardo taken away from us and still mourning for the loss.  I had written some articles about Kardo, when he was sick and another one on the day that he had to say goodbye. I didn't put so much attention to the posts until Z's owner posted so...

Maybe, I will really grow old alone. But I am already old and I am still alone. I have friends in the city and I thought that we might be having some gathering for the weekend just like before but nothing like that happened this weekend. But the two of them have been together for the whole week and maybe, the previous times they were just kind to include me because they knew that I was in a state of settling in. I'm trying to find reasons. Always trying to find answers as to why things happen to me. Then, things change. Even people do. I change, too. I miss those weekends I just get to spend with the two of them because I learn a lot from them. They make big tasks seem easy to handle. Big dreams easy to picture and look achievable. They make things happen. Totally grateful for these two CEOs who at some point became my drivers and movers and always my foster family. Always my food providers, too. Hopefully the days ahead are better and we will take time to hangout agai...

Yesterday, I finally turned over the keys for the old apartment and had some of the necessary appliances and stuff for the new apartment delivered and installed-- the washing machine, gas stove, a wardrobe cabinet, a table for the fridge, a small bookshelf for the books. I just ordered another shelf from Amazon, and just waiting for the table set Tita G promised to give me. My friend was also kind enough to donate their bed frame for me. As soon as those items are in place, I am all set. Golden Week will be all about decluttering and throwing away unnecessary items and clothes. Also, for setting up work out routines, cooking, more reading, more attempts on writing and how to earn money. LOL. Pardon the Brazo de Kat.  I consider this major move experience as one with many realizations-- from time management, stress level management, prioritizing and just really giving into the situations. Also, I am slowly learning get used to having the minimum number of items and concen...

Easter Sunday, 1PM. It wasn't an ordinary Sunday for me at all. My friends and I were invited for a lunch out at one of the finest restaurant in town. When I say finest, it is one of the few places known to serve the best beef in the prefecture! How cool was that. I thought I was just off for one fancy restaurant experience, but there was more to it.  We were served a one full course set for that day. We were lead to a teppanyaki station. One station can occupy 5-6 guests. A waitress handed us a warm, wet cloth to clean our hands. Then a chef in white uniform and a tall toque came in and started prepping the cooking table, settling his tools and of course, greeting each of us with a big smile.   We were asked to order drinks to start off the meal with a traditional kanpai, then we were lead to the salad bar. He started off by putting a silver bowl with a long handle, turned out to be the onion soup. One special thing about raw products are that almo...

Easter Sunday. The Lenten Season officially ended today and I don't think I had really had taken time to slow down, reflect or even do fasting. But it had its moments of excitement, of slow downs, feeling lost, a few seconds of high hopes and all-time high for gratefulness for many things and people around me. Sunday started early and ended a bit late. Full-packed with activities and the best part was the slow down moment at the park where two of my friends and I sit on a picnic mat and just keep talking about education, learning and teaching. Morning was also good with thought-provoking conversations about how conversations should flow, how we should be curious to know what's running on other people's mind to understand further and be able to say the right words eventually. Lunch was served in a very beefy, hearty meal with friends. Afternoon was spent with conversations about education, ethnic identity and dragging them to my places and asking them to bring so...

Officially got the key to my new crib last night and made a quick visit during my lunch break. Roughly a 15-minute bike ride to the city on the main roads. Tita G advised me to put small containers with salt, water and rice as the first personal things inside the house with belief that doing this will keep luck and prosperity coming in. As I entered the premises today, there was welcoming feeling, a sigh of relief and as I squat in the middle of the room with my eyes roaming in the empty apartment, I can't help but get that moment of fear. "Will I be able to get by knowing that I am being stripped off of the comforts of being under a huge corporation?" Now, I have to take care of almost everything, tax payment, no more subsidy on housing, and of course, lesser money coming in. Unstable at the moment as well. Just all kinds of negativity and fear, maybe if I take time to name it, I will get it. But I would rather choose look into the bright side. With this move, I ...

We started with the usual line. ASL?  But we didn't really end on a good note after that. We have a clash of thoughts and belief and despite the entertainment brought about by the banter, he got mad and ended the conversation abruptly. Something that I felt disappointed and proud at the same time about myself during that time. Then, complete silence. Name removed from chat list. Embraced loneliness again. Until after a few weeks, his name appeared again. How are you? Something I didn't notice until after a few weeks. And then it took me a few more moments of thinking to reply or if it's just some April Fool's Day (AFD) sh*t. As of today, we have established a sense of consistency in conversation, crazy exchanges, unending banter and big plans. Coming here and going there. Such promises and it is exciting to think about. But as a personal reminder, I have to guard my heart. It is too early to tell. But I would lie if I say that "I know this is just a ch...

The lady in front of me exudes that aura of power and sophistication. She has well-polished, artful nails, wearing a floor-length, pleated navy blue skirt with a white, plain, V-neck cardigan top. She likes shiny things. Her bag is a golden Jimmy Choo. She wears a pair of sparkling earrings and even her phone case is a shiny, white small sling bag the size of her iPhone. We just finished a business meeting with her grabbing chai latte while I opted for a yoghurt and acai berry drink. It was indeed an amazing experience for the two of us to be able to communicate despite the language difference, we were able to connect. Knowing that my next ventures may really appear to be lucrative, her next question was... "What do you want to do with your earnings?" That isn't really hard to answer. "I want to buy a house for my family in the Philippines." I know that it isn't the ultimate dream but I know that I want to do it. Because my parents, being the mos...

Today was such a wonderful day. Happily meaningful tiring day to describe it. It started out very early with jumping off the bed at 7AM. Grabbed the pot to heat water for coffee, turned on the laptop to watch an episode of Blacklist, I'm at Season 2 episode 11, if not for the morning appointments, I would have still been glued to it the whole day. Come 8am and the ball started rolling, here and there and finally ended at 2:30pm. As soon as I was home, I stripped off my clothes and slip on the bed for a 2-hr nap. Woke up feeling hungry and I decided to go to the mall. I realized that I really haven't done that kind of thing in a while. -- Going out alone and doing things alone, just like I used to do before I made good friends upon moving to Miyazaki. All of the days I was out, it was always with friends, to meet friends, or to be introduced to people. I went shopping. I bought a few clothes. Experienced the struggle of choosing which restaurant to go while counting ...

365 QOTD When is your major deadline? What is it for? A major deadline I have at the moment is on April 20, for a my last academic requirement for the Diploma degree in Graduate School and to qualify to take comprehensive exam for the Masters Degree Program. ****** Ended the day with sharing a cup of McFlurry Oreo with Tita G to catch up after her almost month-long absence in Miyazaki. Mostly about the things I had done while she was away. Things there were really not so much out of the routine. No travels at all. I haven't gone out of the city since she left. At this point in my life, I would have been so worried, panicking and thinking of ways to get out of this quiet city. There isn't a lot of money here. But there are a lot of potentials. More than that, I am investing on the trust I have around the people I have around me, I call my friends-turned-family. I've decided not to chase after so much money. I've decided to invest on something deeper-- on peo...

I haven't been writing anything about my life for the past few weeks now because it looks like ignoring the changes and that inner fear about the unknown seem to be my coping mechanism. But today, I am reminded, all too well by my ever reliable animated friends, that there is a story to tell, a realization to write about and a life to live well. Above all, a faithful God to hold onto. Tomorrow, I shall write again.