27 days ago, I thought of doing a small personal experiment to find out what it was like to emulate or mimic social media influencers. The idea was a bit fuzzy at that time, but it started when I discovered Facebook had this new feature called "sets." It's similar to Google+ or Pinterest where you'd have a dedicated timeline or newsfeed for any topic you're interested in. I created a set for books and a set for stationery on my Facebook account. https://www.instagram.com/p/BeiM3RggC5H/?taken-by=thebookboy I discovered the #bookstagram community on Instagram around the same time I tinkered with Facebook sets. Charlie Edwards-Freshwater of @bookboy is the first one I discovered, and I fell head-over-heels in love with his book collection! . . .

Yesterday, I passed the Nursery class after dropping Noah off at his classroom for the day. The kids formed two lines, with their Chinese teacher demonstrating how to, if I understood their gestures correctly, walk properly within their lines. Their hands at their hips, the taller assistant standing behind her, the Nursery teacher spoke her instructions in smooth and fluent Mandarin. I listened to the unfamiliar words, letting them take me back to an older Chinese-English elementary school where the teachers drilled the same language into the students' heads. It's a lot to ask from a seven-year-old, but I couldn't help wishing I had been more mature when I had that education served to me every afternoon. Linguistically limited I read . . .

I'm still wrestling with the idea that twelve long months have already gone by. So many things happened and changed, so many goals accomplished and failed, it's hard not to wonder what the new year could bring to the table this time. My 2017 ally is my undated Passion Planner and it enabled me to plot my year's goals and put ideas to action. One of its nifty features is the GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED section to the right of the weekly timeline where you'd list down the week's wins. It's a great appreciation exercise where you learn to focus on the good and appreciate what you received or worked for, motivating you to seek out that same positive magic next week. https://www.instagram.com/p/BW8IG_zhGCh/?taken-by=passionplanner I decided to . . .

I read that asking a child, or anyone for that matter, what they would like to be growing up is problematic. The question demands that you select and identify with one specific occupation. It leaves no room for changes in decision, interest, or preference. Moreover, if you come from a family that expects you to choose from any of their preferred career choices, the pressure becomes too heavy to bear. These days, I find myself thinking about the less popular variations to the question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" I do so mainly because I realize how my personality and interests vary over the years as I introduce myself to new people, places, and cultures. As I see how the world changes and how technology transforms the way . . .

I've come to believe that important life lessons are learned through either advice or hands-on experience. The latter, more often than not, is the best and most painful teacher. It's also the teacher whose classes I keep attending with or without intention. 😕 This week's lesson I had to (re)learn is to read before you sign. Read what you're signing up for before putting your signature on the dotted line. Read, else you'll realize three years later that you just spent a good portion of your life savings into something you'll probably never get back. That something was my life insurance plan. P185,736.96. Imagine that big an amount going to something that I wouldn't be able to enjoy until I was dead. That could've been for my . . .

Every time I log in to Twitter (@heysstef), I get distracted by the 18.4K tweet count glaring at me from the side of my feed. I couldn't shake off the urge to bring that number down, no matter how senseless and time-consuming the task was. Did I really post that many tweets? What were those tweets about anyway? When DID I first jump on the blue bird wagon? Bored with work, I checked for possible ways to go back to the start of my timeline. Turns out you just need to go to https://twitter.com/search-advanced, type in your username and select the date range. BOOM 💥 instant shame and embarrassment to scroll through for the next half hour. As a regular digital consumer + content creator, mindfulness is something I've only begun to . . .

If you peruse through my 2017 planner, you'll find a section called "Good Things That Happened" where I note down my small-big wins in life and work. The past few months these Good-Things-That-Happened boxes are filled up with all kinds of achievements and events that kept me away. It's wonderful and frustrating at the same time, and I've been kicking myself to write my Friday recaps regularly. Today's sad excuse for an update will hopefully break the silence and keep on going from hereon. I'm launching my stationery blog-shop 🌸 (100% done) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bah9DVdh3oP/?taken-by=pagerieco I call pagerie.co a "blog-shop" because I want my writing will be the expression of my passion for paper products and writing tools. For . . .

The black elastic bracelet—its wooden pendant carved 04/21/09 I left inside the drawer with printed copies of his conversations. They're peppered with sweet good-night wishes, promises of a future where we'd always hold hands. I included the pair of innocent silver promise bands he bought for us. These lasted longer than my wedding ring. For some strange reason there was only nostalgia. Not joy or warm fuzzy feelings, but a deep longing to return to Manila of six years ago and rewrite that part of my personal history. Such dreams are never good for the health, so I decided it was time to stow them all away. It's all about living in the moment now. - Last February I was just inches away from my first love after ten years of . . .

Over the weekend, I worked on this small fun project to help me achieve two things: enjoy my passions to the fullest and celebrate life through focus and accomplishment.  I created this to address and eventually silence a crucial personal issue. For so long I've felt like a lost hummingbird darting to and fro, dabbling in my interests and activities, never really taking hold of what I have and what I can accomplish. Everyday I see people on social media holding up their big ass megaphones, blathering about plans and promises, but never really accomplishing anything significant. I look down at my own megaphone and realize I'm still part of this mob—stuck at the same spot, but doing things silently. There are holes and dark corners that . . .

For three years, I'd wake up to a pair of brown closet doors that stood across our bed. They're covered in scratches and wouldn't close on their own. I'd sometimes secure them with a spare hair tie, yet their flaws seem to amplify each time I see it on my way out of my bedroom. No closet has ever left me as grumpy and gloomy as this. Unfortunately, our closet wasn't the only thing that made me want to tear the house down. The walls that surrounded our home were just as ugly. They're painted this ugly off-white/cream combination, they had holes, crayon markings and scraps of paper tacked to them. Sometimes I'd just enter the kids' room and wish the whole thing would magically have flat white walls a brand new closet that's spacious . . .