Balancing The Digital Age

Once upon a time, there exists “reality” - a time synced to being offline for several hours a day. A time to step outside and feel the wind, smell the flowers, hear the birds chip, taste the delicious eggs made by mom for breakfast and see the green, luscious fields. There were no online social networking, no necessary gadgets to “fit in” to society, and no 24/7 internet connection. It’s purely life disconnected from the addicting virtual atmosphere of the world wide web. That was then.

Away From Keyboard: Real Life Happens!

Wow. Good thing the wordpress.com folks did not erase this tiny little domain while I was away. By “away” I meant writing in another site and focusing on income-generating projects. Thank God for passwords and manual account deactivation! LOL With that being said… I’m totally back to blogging here in The Ilongga! You know, I can’t just leave and disappear at an instant – that’s  because this site has been with me since it’s birth (June 10, 2010) and I just couldn’t let it go. Sentimental-ish, really.

So, how was the last seven months, you ask?

It was incredible!!! *enough said*

 

Work, Travel, and Brain Pukes

It has been a month-long hiatus. Phew – as if I did anything out of the usual, right? Nope, still the same – work, eat, obsess about losing weight, work, work, and work while traveling. Hahaha! You get the picture. After establishing two websites, I came to the conclusion that “Oh my, I still need a place to dump all of my BRAIN PUKES and not be too serious all the time.”

Thoughts on Being a Guest Speaker

Well, today I “surprisingly” found myself attending the “CSI Nights” event of the I love Iloilo team by Gawad Kalinga – I was listening to three amazing speakers and let’s just say I got inspired of what they were discussing. After the forum and the little chit-chats, I came across a college friend, Tracy. Yeah. Small city! So I said “Hi.” – technically I said her name… then for a brief moment, I disappeared like a pro ninja!

Some children in Cauayan, Negros. – “Do I inspire you, kids?” hahaha!

Stepping Out of that Comfort Zone

I admit I took very simple things for granted. I grew up with almost everything provided for me – I consider myself as one of those “lucky” people probably born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I depended too much on household helps that it took me 21 years to realize that I don’t know how to survive without someone to rely on. This is what I have learned in Cebu for my week long exposure as a work crew in Young Life Summer Camp for High School students. Seriously? Yes.

Here are my revelations (and I am sure you’ll say “What a brat!” – Ok, I deserve that.):

Fourteen Long Days and a Ton of Backlogs

Remember my previous post about “Facebook and living life differently?” Well, I had a 2-week-hiatus. I went to my father’s homeland in Cauayan, Negros and the following week, I was in Compostela, Cebu. Now, I’m back home with a queezy feeling of wanting to travel some more. Who would have thought that I would love to meet new people and experience new things rather than just sit on my comfy chair and type and design all day long and eat the same food and do the same things over and over again. It’s somewhat ridiculous.

This is me and my cousin at Cauayan, Negros.

“Masterchef Quality” Breakfast

Bon Appétit!

You are probably wondering how I made a “Masterchef Quality” Breakfast for my father this morning, ei? That’s easy! I mean kids do it all the time when I watch reruns of the show and amazingly at that age they really know how to use knives and the art of garnishing. If they can do it, so can I – that’s what really started my morning (a dream about a cooking show). Haha!

The Red Indian Dance on a Wedding!

This made me wonder how a bride and groom would feel if there were Red Indians dancing on their wedding! Not the Indian Indians. But the Native American Indians. Haha! Just a thought!

Earlier today I got a link to an interesting game going on in the WordPress.com blogging community and I was tagged by a great and creative writer whom I got to know more! Thanks Aisha! This is indeed a special time to relax and an opportunity to write some words that are now running through my head. Light bulb on!

What a Normal Web Designer Does

This week I got a lot of calls from my clients regarding their design requests and mock-ups. Oooh! My phones were constantly ringing and in every call, I would to take that “deep breath” just to have the courage to talk to them. haha! The best thing about my job is that I could use my creativity to construct websites for those who are aiming to set up their company’s web presence. Well, online presence is a “must-have” nowadays. The bad thing is – deadlines! Boooooo!

Let me walk you through my “web designer” life because I rarely talk about it (well, there’s nothing much to talk about anyway) haha!

A Romantic Date with Coffee House Beanery Iloilo

Alongside the corner of Quezon-Ledesma St., stands a small coffee place perfect for an afternoon search of inspiration. This “barely noticeable” coffee haven is my favorite spot to get a dose of caffeine and a little extra kick of motivation as well. After a tiring morning, this is in fact a fantastic escape from all the daily life drama we I seem to have. A comfortable seat near the glass window, overlooking the busy street, will really make you feel as if time (at your own pace) is relatively slowing down.