Every single morning for the past four years I'd wake up, launch my browser and, like instinct, open and view my Trello boards. The boards list, 2019. It's one of the few apps I've habitually used for the majority of my working life. I use it for everything and anything that requires focus and organization: travel plans, building this blog, the online store to pair with it after, and personal projects dating back to 2014. Trello and I have gone a long way back (August 2013), and it continues to be my go-to Kanban app when I need to visualize any journey from start to finish. It's seen me through the ups and downs, have stood by as I tried other productivity tools, from GTD to Gantt to project management to other Kanban apps. . . .
The Mossery Half Planner + Notebook
I've used Mossery products since early 2018, but have been a huge fan of the brand for as long as I can remember. Mossery.co website Their commitment to helping artists, writers, students, professionals, and the other folks through beautifully designed tools is inspiring. Mossery planners, sketchbooks, and journals are fun and customizable, with features to help you plan and achieve your goals, whether in life or at work. A few months ago, they launched the Half Planner + Notebook system. It's a 6-month undated planner and 96-page notebook rolled into one, and you can choose the format you prefer. Weekly horizontal vs. weekly vertical for the plannerRuled or dot grid pages for the notebook I placed my pre-order on my . . .
A Full Reset: Clearing the table, changing directions, and what’s next
I've unusually excited to dive into this TBR stack. I remember my Posterous days when I'd do a monthly "reflections" post at the beginning of the new month. It was a favorite routine of mine where I'd summarize what happened to me the month before, what I intend to do next, and what people who may be interested can come to expect. With it being July 1st and all, this seems like a good time to do another Soul Story post where I'd relive the tradition. Battling anxiety, getting a grip on stress, and overcoming busy-ness You'll notice that the books in the stack above tackles creativity, wrangling information through doodling, finding inspiration, and living a long and happy life doing what you're deeply passionate about (and . . .
The Print Cafe Composition Notebook (Pack of 10)
Starting the school year right. ✏️ Any student from the Philippines has brought them for school—the typical 50- or 80-leaves notebooks stapled to bind and printed with red and blue lines. These notebooks would have cartoon characters or Filipino celebrities on the cover. They have the red margin to the left of the page as a guide for numbering lines. While I grew up with these notebooks, I despise them now as a parent. I've bought Holly two sets of these red-and-blue lined notebooks for 2nd and 3rd grade, and each time her notebooks didn't stand the continuous use. The weak card stock covers tore off from the rest of the notebook, the pages fold and bend so easily, and tear if the kid applies too much glue on the page. I . . .
Singapore 2019: One Last Hurrah at KidZania Singapore + Merlion Park
It's our final day at Singapore, which surprisingly was difficult to plan for because we didn't know what exactly we wanted to do or visit for our last hurrah. Eventually I decided to take the kids to KidZania Singapore, an indoor theme park which promises an interactive learning experience where kids could become whatever they wanted to be—a doctor, a fireman, a pilot, etc. We got on the Sentosa Express again, stepped down at the last station, and walked all the way to the large building with an airplane sticking out of its front. Thinking that it was going to be some sort of playhouse x 1000, I told Jayson I'd take the kids myself, while he tours his mom and sister around the island. What I didn't expect were the different . . .
Singapore 2019: A Day at Universal Studios
Happy 5th birthday to my youngest son and my personal bodyguard, Noah! 🎂 This photo's taken on the bus heading to VivoCity Mall where we'll be able to catch the Sentosa Express. It'll take us to Resorts World Sentosa, where the kids will finally get to have their fun at Universal Studios Singapore. The kids have been waiting for this day for months, talking nonstop about what they'd do and the rides they're gonna get on. It's heartwarming to see just how happy they are now that they're finally at its doors. Noah was especially excited because he gets to visit The Lost World where his favorite dinosaurs are waiting for him. While he wanted to make a beeline for the park, we managed to convince him to try all of the . . .
Singapore 2019: Singapore Zoo + River Safari
If there's one place I wouldn't hesitate to splurge on plushies and stainless steel tumblers, it's Wildlife Reserves Singapore. We visited two of their famous attractions for our second day in the country: Singapore Zoo + River Safari. I want the kids to see, smell, hear, and learn about these beautiful creatures they've come to know by watching Wild Kratts. We hopped on the SAEX bus for the 50-minute drive to Singapore Zoo. It was a pretty smooth ride, despite the 25-minute delay the kids wouldn't stop yapping about. We eventually arrived, and thankfully the weather was just right. Welcome to Singapore Zoo! Singapore Zoo's our first stop, and they were running this exhibit called Dragons & Beasts: Where Inspiration Meets . . .
Singapore 2019: Arrival
No matter how optimistic I envision myself to be about writing travel updates on schedule, Body and Mind just don't give a damn if rest comes a-knocking. The trip from the Philippines was a long and tiring one, no thanks to Philippine Airlines for making us get up at 3am, only to wait more due to a 3-hour delay. But we're finally here in Singapore, and we made it to our hotel, The Quay Hotel, safe and sound! This is our second visit since 2012—7 freakin' years ago—and the kids are so excited for what we have in store for them. For their first day, we gave them a taste of public transportation by taking the MRT from Changi Airport Singapore all the way to Clarke Quay, which was a 45-minute ride + a 15-minute walk to the . . .
My First Japanese Stationery Haul—from Japan
Don't be fooled. The entire collection wouldn't fit this tiny bag even if I tried. As soon as we received our Japan visas, all I could dream about was bringing home beautiful, quality Japanese stationery. Some would even say it has a cult following—communities of enthusiasts gushing over the creamy pages, clean-cut bindings, and gorgeous inks. I fell head-over-heels in love when I first held the Apica CD notebook (A5) with grid paper. It had some of the smoothest paper any writer could behold. 😍 But try as I could, my budget and my suitcase wasn't big enough to bring back every Japanese notebook, paper, and pencils I could get my hands on, but I did choose items that were both in my wish list for some time and that I just had . . .
Turns of Place: a 4-year correspondence between two writers
Visit the project at https://www.turnsofplace.com/ Four years worth of correspondence, four years of stories. That pretty much sums up what this writing project is about. I've not mentioned it since launching Diwa Daily, so I thought today's a great time to introduce this collaboration between myself and my good friend and fellow writer, Johna Baylon: Turns of Place What's Turns of Place? It's an exchange of letters across borders between myself 🇵🇭 and Johnalene Baylon 🇭🇰/🇨🇦 The project highlights the key events of our travels, lessons those journeys have taught us, and the experience of returning and finding our way back home. The main section of the project consists of twenty letters, each of us writing ten . . .
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- Take Me Back