Passport

My passport expires end of this year. And there's this Singapore-Malaysia trip being planned just before the fourth quarter. My mind tells me I can't afford it. My heart tells me, I only live once. LOL. I've been to Singapore but never been to Malaysia. I've always wanted to visit Singapore again because there's so much to see there - and Malaysia - Yeoh! I mean Michelle Yeoh - enough reason why I should see Malaysia Truly Asia.

Now, see- I'm not some rich girl who goes abroad every other year. Most of my travels are funded by hard-earned freelancing jobs - of which I've lost sleep. A lot of my expenses were freebies from my brothers who are generous enough to let me see part of the world. Travelling it's not cheap. But it's a great way to open your mind. My parents were travelers - a very good reason why they ingrained curiosity among their children. So now the curiosity never stops. And why is my favorite question.

If I had my way, I'd like to travel locally too. But they say the cost of travelling locally is not more expensive than travelling on promotional tours outside the country. And If you have money to spend, you'd go for the one which you would rarely get the chance to go to, right?

Hmmm, do I give my passport another stamp before it is replaced? Or should I set my priorities straight and satisfy curiosity in other things?

I hate good choices.

Take A Break

I'm home today - a working day. I should have lunch at Jaro - there's this huge fiesta there and several friends have asked me to drop by. But I felt I needed to really stay home today since I will probably be working until Sunday again. I caught a cold last week and have been battling asthma since Sunday. I went to the office doctor Monday and been taking meds for anti-allergies, asthma, anti-biotics and for pains and faver. Four days into the meds and I'm still sick. A friend said that I had to take a rest. I told him that asking a workaholic to stop working is like asking a drug-addict to quit drugs. He suggested that I don't give myself time to rest and sleep. And yes, I'm guilty. So here I am at home and not working.

Anyway, while in bed, I watched Mammoth, a 2009 movie which stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams. I've read the reviews and was surprised that it didn't get that much attention. I love the movie. I do realize that a movie-goers disposition affects much of the movie experience, and I've heard people say that the movie made people guilty about working away from the family, and how judgmental it is. I do not agree with that. And I do not see that at all. A movie can mirror reality, but it was not meant to make people guilty of anything. If you get certain feelings in a movie, it's because you get hit by your own realities or of others but it certainly does not  call you evil. Movies just tell stories. Like books, we may hate them or we may love them. But judgement - that comes from our own experiences. There are movies that are banned because people say they promote a certain belief or culture not acceptable to society. Sigh. Wake up people, so does TV! Once we sensationalize something, we put it at the center of attention. I'd like to think though that movie-goers are given too little credit. We can think for ourselves. 

Let me not get started on the Corona Impeachment - LOL!

I just want to say that I appreciated the movie and I can relate to the characters there. We all have to make sacrifices to make our lives better. It will affect everyone around us, and our decisions may not always be right to others, but it will be our decisions and we all have to live with it. And I just want the movie to get the appreciation it deserves because I thought it was well-directed, well-written and the characters made a superb performance.

Okay I'm off. Time to gas out the bad elements from my lungs.

My Prayers

Last January:

Lord, help me understand that all good things in life that happen to me do so because I deserve them. Help me understand that what moves me to seek your truth is the same force that moved the saints, and the doubts I have are the same doubts the saints had. and my frailties are the same frailties. Help me so be humble enough to accept that I am no different from other people. Amen.

This February:

We are human beings, Lord, and we do not know our greatness. Lord, give us the humility to ask for what we need, because no desire is vain; no request is futile. Each of us knows how to best feed our own souls; give us the courage to see our desires as coming from the fount of your Eternal Wisdom. Only by accepting our desires can we begin to understand who we are. Amen.

Borrowed from Paulo Coelho's Brida