How the Covid19 Pandemic Paused my Life

One year ago, when lockdowns took place, I was hopeful that all will just fall back to its usual places. That this is just temporary, and all will be back to normal eventually. One year after, and still the virus is never totally contained or eradicated. It costed millions of lives around the world to date. Vaccines may have been developed, but it still takes time to achieve herd immunity. I have not heard of a cure being developed either. Nonetheless, I thought before we would survive this temporary predicament. I dutifully obeyed during the first few months to stay in the house despite it costed me my mental health. I remained vigilant on the threat of the virus. But due to this pandemic, it may not have threatened me physically, but it affected my whole life in more ways possible.

Emergency funds eventually got depleted

They say prepare an emergency fund good for 6 months. I did have that, but the pandemic is not only for 6 months. It still lasted until now and who knows until when. I am not a business minded person that has entrepreneurial skills. I am the type who works hard on a job and save up. Thankfully I do still have work, but it is not only me that I am feeding. I have a family to support and some of them lost their jobs. It made me the breadwinner, and my earnings are not enough to feed a lot. At first it was still manageable, yet eventually I feel am sinking.

To work on my dream is a struggle

Have you been in a situation wherein you are working for so long on your dream but a portion of you feels like giving it up because of the current situation? I am already far from the first step I took in following my dream. I am very close, but the pandemic seems a hurdle to me right now. I am looking for a support, but it looks harder to ask currently.

Limiting my movements

I am a person who values freedom so much, but these days, our movements are limited, and I hate that. I like to be anywhere I want to be as long as my capacity permits me, not because I am not allowed due to restrictions caused by an unusual source of our time. When I want to travel right now, too many requirements to comply and options are limited, thus it is more expensive. Therefore, leisure travel is totally just a dream for most of us at the moment.

Yet whatever I am, or we are going through right now, there is no other way but to move forward. We just keep going. We learn to live and adjust with the current conditions. Life right now would be different if this pandemic never happened but maybe there is a reason beyond our understanding why this is happening despite the time for this is too much to bear already. However, we really don’t know what plan is really laid for us. We are born on the time that this must take place, so on how we humans react to it is such a challenge.

When you feel like the weight of the world is on you, believe that it will be lighter one day. That one day, you will wake up and covid is gone. Not required to wear masks and seeing smiles again, travelling is back to business; economy is reopening, and living is better again. Just keep going.

5 Reasons Why You Should Get a Credit Card

Alright folks, before you violently react because you got scared with the title, be at ease because I am sharing to you my experience how I make most out of my credit cards to live a smoother life compared to if I have none. Before reading further, pleas know that this is not a paid ad but just sharing my personal experiences with credit cards. I know many of you get scared of credit cards because of the additional charges imposed on it, but don’t fret because at the end of the day, discipline is everything.

1. I can purchase the item right now and pay it in installments

Have you ever been in the point of needing (or wanting) to buy the item now but your savings for that item are not yet enough? That is where my credit card saves me. I have known people who waited to be able to save the full amount but by the time they are ready to purchase, the item is no longer available. It allows me to purchase the item now and have the full price spread over monthly installments, so it won’t be a burden for me also. Be sure to align the terms with the merchant so that you will have a common understanding. Just ensure that you are financially capable to pay the monthly installment of the item.

2. Flexibility in online shopping

Online shopping is a booming activity due to the current covid19 pandemic and today’s digital age. However, not all merchants offer cash on delivery. So how are you going to pay for your item? Credit card does that. Also, in purchasing air tickets, you can directly book a flight online and secure your booking by paying it immediately through your credit card. Unlike some who don’t own a credit card, they need to pay it somewhere (like a convenience store) within 24 hours to secure the booking. What if you need to book a flight in the middle of the night for emergency reasons (and stores are closed) and you need to fly on the next day? Credit card will save you.

3. Secure transaction

The first two reasons are more related to purchasing. Let me share to you regarding security in doing these transactions. Banks and the payment network processors like Mastercard, Visa, JCB, etc. have multiple layers of security in doing card transactions. I remember before, someone used my card for an online transaction purchasing in US dollars (when in fact I have never done such transaction), the bank find it strange because it is an unusual transaction on my part, so I got a text from them giving me details about the transaction. I replied that I did not do such. I was alarmed with that, so I immediately called my bank. Luckily enough, the transaction was unsuccessful (maybe because the bogus user does not have access to the One Time Password (OTP)and further details of my card, which you need to input upon payment. They blocked my card and they provided me a new one, thus new card number.

4. You earn rewards on your purchases

When I first thought of applying for a credit card, I made sure it is rewards-earning. At least there is a return of investment on my part every time I spend using my credit card. There are promos by the banks that if you reach a certain amount of spending, you will receive vouchers or redemption codes for free meals. In my case, I have tried multiple times redeeming reward codes for free meals in certain food shops. I don’t really make it a goal to reach the required spending amount so I can get the rewards, but it is good to know that whenever I spend that much,  there is something I can get in return.

5. I can use it for emergency spending (especially when you are travelling abroad)

There are a lot of times folks that you would run out of cash now to make a certain purchase and luckily, I have my credit card (CC) to save me. It happened that I need to buy medicine for my father and my cash is not enough. Thankfully, I have Mr. CC at that moment. One example also is that I was travelling in a foreign country with my friend and on our way back to our home country, while on the foreign country’s airport, my friend’s baggage exceeded limit and we do not have any more enough foreign currency cash to pay for the excess baggage. Thankfully, credit card is accepted worldwide especially on airports, so we got saved at that moment by Mr. CC again.

Before you get a credit card, make sure that you are a financially disciplined person. Credit cards are invented in lieu of cash for a flexible transaction on some types of purchases and situations. Your bank will bill you monthly, so you will just pay your monthly dues before the indicated due date. There are no extra charges if you pay your dues on time and in full.  As a credit card user, it is our responsibility to be a good payor so that we can maximize the benefits a credit card offers.

3 Tips on How to Draw the Line Between Work and Personal Time

Not everyone gets to work on their passion as their source of income. Some of us work the common 9-5 job (or you may have a different schedule, but well you get my point). Admit it or not, we do this because it pays the bills, it is our source of living, and definitely a source of funding for our interests that we’d like to do. For some of us, work-life balance is very important. We recognize the thought that at the end of the day, what matters most is giving quality time and attention to our family and ourselves. And with that, we need to draw the line. In my x years of working in the corporate world, here are my tips on how to keep work stays at work so you can enjoy life unbothered.

1. Always work and leave work on time.

If we want to fairly ask on not letting us extend our time to work, well, do your duty also on giving your self during working hours. Focus on work. Aim to finish all workload by the last minute you get paid. Remember that we are paid to work on the hours indicated in our contract. So, when the clock strikes 5, you are free to leave after that.

2. As much as possible, never cater work related calls after working hours.

To be honest, I sign out on all my work accounts by 5pm so that I won’t be receiving notifications while I’m on my personal time. If work can wait until tomorrow, you don’t need to get notified about it while you are on a dinner date.

3. Tell your superior about your ‘after working hours set-up’ for awareness.

With this ongoing pandemic where public transportation is limited in my region, I enlisted myself in the carpooling in which the van will leave by 5:15pm. So whenever bosses thought of inviting me for a meeting beyond 5pm, I really have a definite excuse to say no because it would be embarrassing asking my carpool mates to wait for 30minutes ( or 1 hour) because I’m attending a meeting. I have a colleague who is a mother who closes business by closing time because she needs to also fulfill her mother duties. So I have said no many times when I’m asked to extend because of my set-up, the more does my mommy colleague; and it’s not about being insubordinate, it’s a matter of communicating to reach an understanding which is definitely a valid one.

There are times where I am really asked to overtime so I have extended a few times. After all, I don’t want to compromise the output just because I’m strict to my ‘until-5pm-only’ motto. Yet as much as possible, we draw the line to keep the balance. Superiors should also learn to respect our time the way we are asked to respect theirs.

How Work from Home affected my Mental Health

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE With this covid-19 pandemic, our old normal change to the so-called new normal, one of which is the office work set-up. Before, I admit that I got delighted with the thought of working from home. I got time to sneak some sleep or watch tv. I don’t need to wake up early, I may not take a bath right away, I can save my transportation money because I don’t have to commute to work and back to home. It felt cool, thinking oh yeah I’m liking this new set-up. At first, work also adjusted with the current pandemic. We were not so much loaded with work also because the bosses were still adjusting with our sudden change of set-up. Blurred lines But as I went along with this work from home arrangement, anxiety was catching up. I felt disturbed. Work never seemed to be enough for the day. I must finish my tasks within the day because another load to face on the next day. Not counted yet are the virtual meetings I must attend inside the 8 to 5pm time frame, so I must face my work AFTER my working hours because output is expected on the next day. Therefore, the line between work time and personal time got blurred. Moreover, I totally find it unfair because I am not some high-ranking employee who is paid more to endure the extended working hours, because if I was, I would feel a little less guilty. Not to mention overtime pay is discouraged but extending time to work left me no choice. Do the bosses really think all can be done within the day? they seem to ignore the impact of the pressure. I got this pain in my chest every time I unwillingly extend time to work. Virtual meetings range from 3-4 times a day but pre-pandemic, it was 3-4 times a week, even less. Work and Home Also, my place at home is not work conducive. I don’t feel comfortable and set to be in a work mode. I get irritated easily. When I work, I don’t like talking about home related stuffs, yet my father just randomly talks to me anything under the sun while I am at work. Whenever I get irritated with the work on hand and my sister suddenly talks to me, I accidentally raise my voice at her even though it was the work I got irritated at and has nothing to do with what she was saying to me.

Trouble sleeping

By 6pm, I sneak time to really exercise. so, I always expect that by the time I go to sleep, I would be dead as a log with all the day’s exhaustion, but no it was not the case. I cannot sleep. My mind was so actively running even at night. My mind just does not seem to stop thinking and imagining. I would be replaying the things that happened at work, imagining scenarios that happened or I want to happened in my life, or creating ideas to use in my projects at work, then little did I know that it’s morning already. There were worse nights where I was never able to get sleep, so I rise by 6am, prepare breakfast and get ready for work. I was so irritated the entire day, but I was so dead tired on the next night. Awake for more than 24 hours is no joke and my body can’t handle it already. It happened multiple times.

When I figured I have developed trouble sleeping already, I did all the solutions I figured to cure this.

I drank beer at night to help me sleep, I listen to sleep hypnosis to help me sleep. I used aromatherapy to set the mood in helping me to sleep. However, none of those sustained to cure my trouble sleeping. maybe the closest one was I took some medicine (not a sleeping pill though) that promotes better sleep. True enough it improved my sleeping, but I was not consistent on taking it because I don’t want to be dependent on it.

The Action Plan

And after 4 months of working from home, I finally decided to return to the normal routine I had pre-covid. I asked permission from HR to allow me to report in the office so that my body can really adapt to the normal routine of waking up early, taking a bath, working on a fix schedule of 8am to 5pm, no work when I get home and sleeping on time. At first, it was a struggling adjustment. Every time I arrive at home, I go to sleep and wake up around 11pm, sleep again around 2am and wake up again by 6am. But then, not long enough, my body sync in with the routine already and sure enough my body clock has gone back to normal, and I was totally relieved. Moreover, I must leave office by 5pm because the carpool is waiting and with this, I have a totally good excuse not to extend work anymore. Also, when I get home, I don’t feel opening the laptop anymore. So, the line between work and my life has totally returned to its normal solid color. Line was drawn back again, and this surely made my life better. I was glad I got my normal rhythm back. At the end of the day, nothing beats sleeping peacefully at night and with peace of mind, and that is what’s more important to me. A healthy mental state helps all of us to be productive and gain focus in life.

So to you reader, whether you may be a working adult or still a student, if you feel like your mental health is threatened, step back and find a solution. Ensure first that your inner peace is stable and guarded so that you can function properly in life.

How Work from Home affected my Mental Health

With this covid-19 pandemic, our old normal change to the so-called new normal, one of which is the office work set-up. Before, I admit that I got delighted with the thought of working from home. I got time to sneak some sleep or watch tv. I don’t need to wake up early, I may not take a bath right away, I can save my transportation money because I don’t have to commute to work and back to home. It felt cool, thinking oh yeah I’m liking this new set-up. At first, work also adjusted with the current pandemic. We were not so much loaded with work also because the bosses were still adjusting with our sudden change of set-up.

Blurred lines

But as I went along with this work from home arrangement, anxiety was catching up. I felt disturbed. Work never seemed to be enough for the day. I must finish my tasks within the day because another load to face on the next day. Not counted yet are the virtual meetings I must attend inside the 8 to 5pm time frame, so I must face my work AFTER my working hours because output is expected on the next day. Therefore, the line between work time and personal time got blurred. Moreover, I totally find it unfair because I am not some high-ranking employee who is paid more to endure the extended working hours, because if I was, I would feel a little less guilty. Not to mention overtime pay is discouraged but extending time to work left me no choice. Do the bosses really think all can be done within the day? they seem to ignore the impact of the pressure. I got this pain in my chest every time I unwillingly extend time to work. Virtual meetings range from 3-4 times a day but pre-pandemic, it was 3-4 times a week, even less.

Work and Home

Also, my place at home is not work conducive. I don’t feel comfortable and set to be in a work mode. I get irritated easily. When I work, I don’t like talking about home related stuffs, yet my father just randomly talks to me anything under the sun while I am at work. Whenever I get irritated with the work on hand and my sister suddenly talks to me, I accidentally raise my voice at her even though it was the work I got irritated at and has nothing to do with what she was saying to me.

Trouble sleeping

By 6pm, I sneak time to really exercise. so, I always expect that by the time I go to sleep, I would be dead as a log with all the day’s exhaustion, but no it was not the case. I cannot sleep. My mind was so actively running even at night. My mind just does not seem to stop thinking and imagining. I would be replaying the things that happened at work, imagining scenarios that happened or I want to happened in my life, or creating ideas to use in my projects at work, then little did I know that it’s morning already. There were worse nights where I was never able to get sleep, so I rise by 6am, prepare breakfast and get ready for work. I was so irritated the entire day, but I was so dead tired on the next night. Awake for more than 24 hours is no joke and my body can’t handle it already. It happened multiple times.

When I figured I have developed trouble sleeping already, I did all the solutions I figured to cure this.

I drank beer at night to help me sleep, I listen to sleep hypnosis to help me sleep. I used aromatherapy to set the mood in helping me to sleep. However, none of those sustained to cure my trouble sleeping. maybe the closest one was I took some medicine (not a sleeping pill though) that promotes better sleep. True enough it improved my sleeping, but I was not consistent on taking it because I don’t want to be dependent on it.

The Action Plan

And after 4 months of working from home, I finally decided to return to the normal routine I had pre-covid. I asked permission from HR to allow me to report in the office so that my body can really adapt to the normal routine of waking up early, taking a bath, working on a fix schedule of 8am to 5pm, no work when I get home and sleeping on time. At first, it was a struggling adjustment. Every time I arrive at home, I go to sleep and wake up around 11pm, sleep again around 2am and wake up again by 6am. But then, not long enough, my body sync in with the routine already and sure enough my body clock has gone back to normal, and I was totally relieved. Moreover, I must leave office by 5pm because the carpool is waiting and with this, I have a totally good excuse not to extend work anymore. Also, when I get home, I don’t feel opening the laptop anymore. So, the line between work and my life has totally returned to its normal solid color. Line was drawn back again, and this surely made my life better. I was glad I got my normal rhythm back. At the end of the day, nothing beats sleeping peacefully at night and with peace of mind, and that is what’s more important to me. A healthy mental state helps all of us to be productive and gain focus in life.

So, to you reader, whether you may be a working adult or still a student, if you feel like your mental health is threatened, step back and find a solution. Ensure first that your inner peace is stable and guarded so that you can function properly in life.

I would like to drink something different aside from water but nothing of my liking is available.

party dress code panic

that moment when you have a party to attend to and you panic cause u dont want to go underdressed or overdressed.

so which is a safer choice?

i say none of the above. you’ve got to play by the rules.
how to prevent yourself from being under or overdressed in an event?

1. ask your mates who’ll also go to the party what are they wearing then you assess.
should you have a lot of preparations or not, that is up to the pulse of majority.

2. consider most the opinions of mates you think are close to your style. there are those people in your organization who you consider as benchmarks in dressing up. so ask what they’ll gonna be wearing, then it’s up to you to spice up your attire from their base.

i know inside of us, we really wanna stand out. but when dress code seems so hazy, gauge yourself base on majority. haha

Project Love Story

I went to that place with work as my sole purpose
then I met you there and you made my life like a circus
we started as friends, my mayday in agony
until you confess, that started our journey

I have to take the time off when you took a full turn
you revealed your feelings to me then I was afraid that I might burn
I was extremely scared  so I said no, yet you persist
that even scared me more so I said no again, but you still insist

then you felt stupid pushing yourself to me when I keep on rejecting
just then I realized, I have feelings for you that has been growing
so I took the risk and made a brave choice
I gave you my yes, despite saying it with a squeaky voice

we were happy as friends, but happier as lovers
I am in the peak of my life, I don’t want this to be over
we do have bad times, and then have bad break-ups
but those don’t last long, we still find each other and do make-up

you made my work fulfilling when I know I get home to you at night
despite the many phone calls that sometimes end in a fight
all those weekends and getaways I spend time with you,solely and only you
are the times I treasure the most, they were so precious and so true

but my time to that place is about to end
I have to go home now, I cannot anymore extend
we made promises that we can survive even when we’re apart
no distance can stop us, we believe that from the start

at first we were fine, very very fine
we remained strong, I was yours and you were mine
but then everything changed, you wrecked me all of a sudden
when I discovered all your lies that were all well hidden

you hurt me to the core, I feel beaten then I drowned
all my hopes and dreams for us come crashing to the ground
you wrecked me, you broke me, how dare you did this to me
when all I did to you was being yours truly

I wish it was not true, I wish it was just a dream
and when I wake up, it’s my name that you’ll scream
I am furious to you now but yet I am still hoping
that we’ll be able to fix this, don’t rush in your decision-making

now a girl who is not me, is who you gonna marry
I don’t know how much more pain I am able to carry
I wish I could go there and stop your ceremony
but I can’t do anything since you don’t anymore choose me

despite all that you’ve done, it’s still you that I’m still loving
I’ll just love you from a distance, with your child in me growing
maybe it’s not yet our time today maybe you’re my “the one that got away”
but someday we might find each other again, where everything is already okay.

---

Hey there! I wrote this poem having my friend as the inspiration. This is her story, a chapter in her life that I am so familiar with. It’s worth sharing through a poem. 😉

P.S.

I have her permission before publishing this online. 🙂

When you’re in love…………with a book boyfriend.

Being in love is the best feeling one could actually feel. Life is incomplete without experiencing how is it to be in love; but what if…… you fall in love with a guy you just read in a book? how is it gonna be then?
The following things happen when you’re in love………..with a book boyfriend: 😉

1. You can’t put the book down

   You are so engrossed with the story and excited how things might go. Then you realized, you’re attached with the leading man, so you stay late at night reading. Then on the next day, despite having a pile of work to do, you insert in your schedule a reading time. The day doesn’t end without you opening the damn book.

2. He keeps filling in your head

   The moment you close your book, that feeling you felt the entire time reading the book stays with you. The character of your book boyfriend stays on your mind. You’ll be daydreaming… Even when you take a bath, ride a vehicle or go anywhere, at the back of your brain, your guy is existing. Most of all, when you stroll in the mall or at the streets or somewhere, you hope to meet him. 🙂

3. You associate your book boyfriend to someone famous close to his description

   Ryan Guzman as Travis Maddox, Devin Paisley as Kellan Kyle, Nick Bateman as Miles Archer,,,your POV, your call. Since these book boyfriends are just in the books, someone alive closely resembling him would be your emblem of your book bae. It’s kinda nice to see him in flesh.. coincidence occur anyway 🙂

4. You wanted the book to be in the big screen or be adapted in a t.v. series

   Since you got an actor, why not push the film rights? have you tried signing up for a petition to have your book boyfriend come to life in the big screen? or googling possible updates if there’s a slight hope for a t.v. adaptation? well, it indicates how badly you want him alive; even just for an act and see the entire book in a motion picture!

5. Your book boyfie affects how you now perceive life

   There are certain people that we meet along the way that could have an impact in our life. Yet these people could not necessarily be real persons, a book boyfriend will do. How you envision your future and how you now think could be shaped up by him. Reading him must have been meant to happen for a purpose.

These men that we dream of are just products of the imaginative minds of their respective authors. The creators of those characters were so brilliant enough to put our dream boy into writing. In a way, we feel a connection for being one with them in having the same taste in men.

However, we must always remember that our book boyfriends do not really exist and they are just merely written. Your one true love could never be a man on paper, but a real one breathing. He may not be as perfect as your book bae but he sure as hell reciprocates your feelings and show you what love really is. You might not meet him the way the book narrates, but life is full of mystery and magic. You might have a better and more meaningful love story worth publishing for 😉