babaenghumayo-blog

[babaenghumayo-blog]

2024 summary

Hey there! It's been 6 months since I welcomed 2025 but I'm keeping this post to keep track of what happened during 2024. It was a full circle of love, pain, anxiety, panic and happiness altogether.

I celebrated my birthday with Chad and his family. Chad and I went for a birthday dinner in DistrictFive. He gave me chocolates, a letter, and a bouquet of flowers. The day after that (my actual birthday), I celebrated it with Chad's family. They gave me a birthday cake and cooked lunch for me. How sweet! 2 days before my actual birthday, I celebrated a dinner in House of Flavors with my mumshies - the girls who I travel with the most and are my former colleagues in SGV. They also gave me an ube cake. It was simple yet I felt loved.

On Valentine's day was also the day Chad went to Japan with Kurt. They stayed in Japan for more than a month. To be honest, at first it was okay. I was spending most of my alone time reading books and walking. I didn't really missed him that much. But as weeks passed by, I was clinging to my usual routine of going to his house and just watch movies with him.

June 2024, Chad and I went to Denmark for our 1st anniversary! such a dream come true to be able to step on the Scandinavians! Denmark is such a lovely country with its structures giving such futuristic taste. However, the weather is pretty much unpredictable and the cost of food is really expensive!

Also on June, I attended Ed Sheeran's concert in Ta' Qali, Malta. There were a lot of people but it was such a memory to keep since I was a fan of Ed when I was in college. His songs made a big impact to people of our age.

On July 2024, me and the mumshies (ate Ja, Bianca, Ching, ate Jamie, Verna) went to Rome for Coldplay's concert. It was scorching hot that time! We didn't really go around that much except for Vatican and going around the city. Our colleagues told us how one should be careful traveling to Rome. Truth be told, it is true! We had encounters of pickpocket-ers around the city and the train stations smell bad and felt scary. However, the Coldplay concert was the highlight of the whole trip! If I could go to another concert again I would definitely pick Coldplay's concert! It was so magical and you would really feel so alive!

Just a few weeks after the Coldplay concert, we went to Poland for the Eras tour! (Taylor Swift's concert). We (Ate Ja, Bianca and I) went hiking first in Tatra National Park few days before the concert. It was soooo pretty. Best believe, one of the best hikes I went into. The temperature was not that hot considering it was peak summer but will make you sweat still and it rained a bit while we were going down and back to the start point.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

10 things I learned before turning 28

Guess what, I recently just got a year older again and here are the 10 things to summarize the things I learned before being 28.

Stop defining yourself by what you're lacking. You are not the absence of things but the presence.

The more you try to control something, the more control it'll have over you. Let it flow.

You have all of your lifetime to succeed. Rome was not built in a single day.

Love is hard to completely and accurately describe but above it all, I believe it is always unconditional.

Do not spend your life waiting on the right time. Whether you start today or tomorrow, the time will pass anyway.

It only feels scary because it is unfamiliar not because you are incapable.

Always indulge in curiosity and keep asking. Life is full of mysteries!

True freedom is rooted not in surrender, not clinging, but trusting that everything is unfolding for a higher purpose, even if I can't yet see the full picture.

My peace is non-negotiable. Some people won't understand that and that's okay. It's not my job to always make them understand.

Health is wealth in every aspect. You can't fully enjoy life if you're struggling with poor health.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Coming back from 2 months vacation from PH

Hey there! It's been so long since I last posted in this blog. I promised myself to keep a journal of things here so here i am trying to keep this updated as possible.

I just got back from a 2-months vacation from my homeland, Philippines. I went there last December 17, 2024 and got back 2 days ago. How did it feel? Well, it went by like a blur. Usually, January feels super slow but it is true that time is relative and I really felt that the days just came by so fast. It was great times bonding with my family and friends. I missed them so much!

Going back to Ph after more than 2 years felt like coming back to home I once knew. Some things have changed. Some roads felt unfamiliar as it already changed/improved from the last time I saw it in 2022. My mom and dad both got thinner. I'm not sure if it's because of they've been visibly getting old but I remember the first time seeing them again face-to-face in the airport I immediately said, "namayat kayo". To be honest, I believe reverse culture shock is true. The foods I used to it before felt a bit saltier or felt oily than the last time I remember tasting it. The noisiness and chaos malls and just the environment in general felt so far from the quietness I got used to in Malta. I almost forgot about "FIlipino time" as well, like how when you say 'let's meet up at 5', people will be there at 5:10 or more. Going back home felt nostalgic yet felt so strange in some ways, like I'm being a stranger to my own country. I had to do a bit of an adjustment but got used to it already after a bit of a month. I just tell myself, this is the Philippines I left and I missed it above all.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

When I was a kid, I believed I always had pure intentions; pure heart. I would randomly give my mom a gift during her birthday, will send a rose to our neighbor during Mother's day and makes a Christmas letter to my parents, just to name a few. To be fair, I did not grow up in an affectionate family. My mom and dad weren't showy and were not expressive with their feelings. If they would, they'll make it as a joke, somewhat a defense mechanism. Not surprisingly, that's how I channelled my affections too, in general. Honestly, it's quite common in an asian household. Being tough, resilient and not showing too much emotions. I remember, my dad will always ask me whenever I cry, "Why are you crying?" or "You're crying again?". Words that made me felt like showing emotions aren't valid. I felt like suppressing my tears will make my parents less angrier at me and that I should be able to hide it. It has been my mentality until college. I can barely remember if I was still like that when I started working. I guess I was already naive and nonchalant since I graduated in university.

Recently, I had a realization of how important it is to show what you feel and to communicate your thoughts in every situation. As I heard in one of the podcasts I listened to, not everyone will know what you think of, or what you feel. Never assume that people can read you. That is why, every now and then, I practice to say what I feel in a respectful manner. I try my best to communicate my feelings. It is true that your thoughts can also be communicated through body language, or being quiet and not talking at all. Like the saying goes, "No answer is an answer." But this is subject to misunderstanding. What you wanna show to someone might be misinterpreted and you'll end up missing chances and properly communicating at all.

At the end of the day, we have to make the most out of our time. Let us not waste time analyzing someone's action. We have our voices and mouths given to us, let make use of it.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Wrapping up 2023

It has been a year again with a lot of self-doubts, adventures, self-discoveries, plot twists, falling in love and new potentials discovered.

I started the year promising to myself to cut-off unnecessary people who only cause me pain and self-doubts. All those times I thought I am the problem but to be honest, sometimes people come to our lives only to teach us a lesson and go. That was a hard pill I had to swallow back then.

Back in February, I was able to celebrate my birthday in Hallstatt, Austria. We had a 5 days trip going from Vienna to Hallstatt to Budapest with my colleagues. It was our first trip abroad all together. Even though the cold during that winter time was unbearable, we were able to enjoy it. Hallstatt is such an enchanting place to be.

It was March when I decided to enroll to a swimming class which lasted for 10 to 12 weeks starting on April. It was a fun experience considering I was able to learn proper techniques of swimming and was able to go swim in the ocean, finally. I'm considering to go for another set of lessons this year for intermediate swimmers.

Later that month of March I was also able to meet a guy whom I didn't believe will make a big impact to me now and whom I'll fall in love with.

April, start of Spring. My flatmates and I hiked around Rivera bay and Marsaxlokk. Then on May, for ate Ja's birthday, we went to Venice and Dolomites in Italy. One of the most beautiful places I've been to would definitely be in Dolomites. Sadly, we weren't able to explore and hike all the areas in there since there were still snowy parts in the mountains and still not advisable to go to the top. Nonetheless, it was such a beautiful place.

I remember June as the month when I made it official with Chad. It was also the time when I had the Switzerland trip with Tiffany. Her aunt happily shared their home with us for almost our whole 5 days stay in Schaffhausen, a city an hour away from Zurich. The stories are all true about Switzerland. It has beautiful landscapes, expensive foods, a very good transportation system and has lots of very clean cities. I heard a rumor before going in there that people goes quiet after 10pm and doesn't go for a bath because apparently your neighbors will hear every water that drops in your pipes. The story is true in the sense that some houses in Switzerland have a thin wall where you can hear the other room's small noises especially waterflows and showers.

July and August were peak summer heatwaves here in Malta. I remember going to the beach almost every weekend with Chad and practicing what I learned from my swimming lessons. During these times, I also met some of his friends and him meeting mine.

It was still warm when we went to Paris last September. It was not so much of a good experience with the busses having a freaking heater in the peak of summer. It was exhausting and lots of places to go in such a small time. However, I very much enjoyed my time in Disneyland Paris. It was so magical. I finally saw the famous Eiffel tower, Louvre and Palace de Versailles among such.

The adventure doesn't stop as we went to Spain on October. We explored the cities of Valencia and Barcelona. Valencia has lots of good food while Barcelona has an amazing set of architectural buildings. As someone who adores designs, it was such an eye-candy. We also went to Montserrat mountain.

November was a pretty hectic month with the tax deadlines at work. I was dreaded almost every workday. I already expected it but this year has been tougher than last year's busy season. On the last week of November, I was finally able to have my eye laser procedure. It was life-changing! Imagine me without glasses after wearing one for almost 17 years. It's surreal! Thanks to technology. I'm so happy that I was able to tick that goal in my list.

December was an exciting month since it's Christmas season and we travelled to different Christmas markets in Germany, France and Belgium. Exhausting as it was but very fun times. We have been abroad for 7 days from 21st of December to 27th. It was also Chad's birthday on the 28th and I returned to Malta to be able to celebrate it with him from 28th to 31st December. It was really fun times that I cherish.

Overall, it has been a great year. So many places I explored and people I met. The best thing about this year was unexpectedly meeting and falling in love with Chad. But I'll tell all of that in another post. I still miss my family from time to time 'cause I wasn't able to go home this year, but I'm lucky I got people who makes me feel less lonely and loved wherever they are.

2024, I'm ready for ya!

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Never trust a mirror

for the mirror always lies

it makes you think that all you're worth

can be seen from the outside

Never trust a mirror

it only shows your skin deep

you can't see how your eyelids flutter

when you're drifting off to sleep

it doesn't show you what she sees

when you're only being you

or how your eyes just light up

when you're loving what you do

it doesn't capture when you're smiling

where no one else can see

and you reflection cannot tell you

everything you mean to me

Never trust a mirror

for it only shows your skin

and if you think that it dictates your worth

it's time you looked within

[babaenghumayo-blog]

The beauty of making videos is that I get a chance to encapsulate the essence of a moment in a way that pictures often cannot. It is being able to collect life's fleeting moments, each holding a unique story and emotion. This is the same reason why most of the subjects I try to capture are people, human interactions, motions of life happening at the moment. The laughter, the tears, the spontaneous adventures all unfold in real time.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

I like this feeling. The feeling of spending time with someone you like. The feeling of just being constantly enjoying my time with him.

It started when I bumped into this cute guy from an app called Bumble. I thought he was cute. I messaged him with a GIF saying “hello”. He replied back a few minutes after but since I put this app’s notification to off, I saw the GIF reply a day after. I checked again his profile thinking if there is something I can start a conversation with. I saw a picture of his cat and that’s when it all started. He’s a good conversationalist and keeps the conversation going so we kept talking and decided to meet a week later. It was a fun first meet-up. We had coffee in the afternoon and cocktails during the night. I jokingly told him to get the drink with a name “Beer’s knees” coz he was telling me that he got knee injury before. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything at all that night. I was lying-low and just being  nonchalant with things around me that time. I was tired of keeping things going in my life in general and was just going with the flow. That’s why I kept it loose and was thinking at the back of my head, come what may, unlike the past dates I had before that. I feel like I was having a conversation with a good friend that time. He insisted on meeting up again a week later and we kept meeting almost every weekend for the next 9 or 10 weeks.

I think when you keep things naturally flowing, you don’t feel the pressure to keep on assessing what is going on between the two of you. You will just eventually come to the point where you both feel it and don’t wanna let go of it.

On the night of 16th of June while we’re both lying on his bed hugging, I jokingly told him I like him, then proceed to saying, “as a friend”. We both laughed and told me, “as a bestie”. Then I told him I’m a bit confused now to what we really are and finally he asked me “Would you like to be my girlfriend?” I don’t know what I would say that time, just bluntly saying “I’m kilig”. I told him the things he said before of like how he’s not sure if he’s ready to enter a new relationship. He assured me it was months ago and that his perspective already changed. He wanted for us to try it, to be in a relationship. He asked again for the same question and on that second try I told him, “I would love to”. It was quiet and so comfortable. The next day was his Grandma’s birthday.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

I started creating this mini world of writing life updates in here just so in another 10 to 20 years I can look back in and reminisce all these things I said. I realized it has been 6 years since I started writing here. I was 20. I just passed the licensure exam for accountants. I'm still searching for my first job. In between these 6 years I was lost, burned out, stress, had panic attacks, anxious, in short, a roller coaster of emotions. I quit my first job, started a new one, found a job abroad and flew more than 10,000 miles away from home. I found new friends and maintained some. So much has happened in life and I'm still here being grateful for every highs and lows I've been to. There is so much more I would discover and so much more adventures I'm gonna take. This is just the beginning.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Funny how I read my last post about getting enlighten on how boys suddenly disappear. More than 3 months later, I realized I’m comparing a guy vs a man. A guy will make you doubt yourself and your feelings but a true man will let you know his true intentions to you. I may have found one just now. All I can say is, I’m happy at the moment.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Can someone enlighten me?

I am so confused with guys. They talk a lot for a while, then suddenly disappears. Then will re-appear again like nothing happened. Like you never left me hanging for days waiting for you to talk to me. You said you like me, but how far can likeness go nowadays? What does it mean today when someone told you he really likes you. He just likes you and that’s it? Crazy as this should not be a problem but I don’t know, man. You make me overthink again and again. Damn, you.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Here I am again in my favorite coffee shop here in Valletta. Guess what, it’s Costa coffee. It’s March 5, 2023, Sunday today and I forgot to tell the bartender that I want cold latte. So instead, I got this medium hot latte and a hoisin beef salad for my late lunch. Last night, we had a mini Korean barbecue get-together with my flatmates and friends from the Barumbara court. It was a really good dinner within a very much affordable price compared to when you will order outside. It was a quiet weekend, I guess. Nothing much I did except grocery, watching UAAP volleyball matches online and eating. What else? I think I also improved on my gym classes. Finally, I was able to attend the booty burn class last Friday. It was harder for sure on the legs part but it was fun. We were grouped by two and had to do an air squat at the end of the session. Kirsty told me I was able to broke the record of 10 minutes squat. To be honest, it was easier when Nicole told me the technique wherein you have to put the weight on your legs and feet rather than in your thighs so I will be able to last long. Indeed, I was able to do it longer.

With regards to work, to be honest, I’m getting a bit unmotivated lately. I feel like I’m just doing the tasks to meet the deadlines and not because I wanted to. I don’t know, I feel like I’m not quite growing in terms of my career. It’s the same old clients and same old tasks I am doing. However, I don’t think I am ready yet to take on a bigger challenge now on my career as I am focusing more on my social and physical self. Self-love first. I was thinking I have a deadline to myself to take on a bigger role/opportunity in my career; when my contract ends in my current job. Eleven more months to go and I still have much time to take care of myself now. I mean, one can still take care of herself while achieving new milestones in her work, but not for me, I think. I remember when I was grinding to be a senior auditor when I was still 22, I really forgot to take care of my health. So for now, I know I have to balance it out but one step at a time.

So I guess that’s the update for now. Did you noticed, I was able to put pictures now in my blog. Yes, I got the time and motivation to do so yesterday.

P.S. The hoisin beef salad was too cold, feels like a ‘bahaw’.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

26 and growing

Taken in Hallstatt, Austria on my 26th birthday.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Amsterdam trip (March 30 to April 4, 2022)

The first of my Europe tour haha

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Some few pictures from my first year in Malta

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Some pictures when I went back to Philippines last October 2022. This was the time when I got home for my sister’s wedding.

[babaenghumayo-blog]

Some snaps from our recent trip in Austria and Hungary (February 09-13, 2023)