Benefits of Boredom

I could not think of any advantages of being bored until I have read this article in Reader’s Digest issue last February.  My thoughts on boredom are for those people who do not have any plans or goals in life.  When boredom strikes, I feel like it is a waste of time being unproductive wherein laziness take over your mind and body. However, Johnson explained it like no other:

Lolling around in a state of restlessness is one of life’s greatest luxuries – one not available to creatures that spend all their time pursuing mere survival.  To be bored is stop reacting to the external world, and to explore the internal one.  It is in these time that people often discover something new, whether it is an epiphany about a relationship or a new theory about the way the universe works.   – by Carolyn Johnson

Now, there is something positive of doing nothing. Enjoy the moment!

Still here

I haven’t been in touch lately. I am still here basking on the short spring season of Kuwait before summer heat sets in; waiting for good opportunities that I may or may not have the power to do so; in love and unselfishly loving my firefighter when there is still time; helping people without expecting in return; taking each day at a time and still lost in the desert.

Sleep Disturbia

For several nights, I have weird dreams mostly about crimes. I dreamt of someone chopping the body of another; the other night it was someone being raped. It gives me the creeps and start asking myself, is it really safe to be alone here?

Not to disuade anyone who are interested to live in Kuwait, but safety measure is one of the utmost concern. Maybe, all these bad dreams are the effect of reading the local news on daily basis. A car accident could be next… I really hope not.

Goodbye blues

Few days from now, I will be standing in another country full of sand and camels. I have made my decision to start on my nursing career somewhere else. For this main reason, I will continue my journey and I hope I could land a job as soon as possible as get settled in an Arab soil. As I looked back with the traveling I had in my entire life, I realized I am always constantly moving every eight years. I am hoping that I wouldn’t stay that long on my next destination.

This time around, saying goodbye had a different meaning. It wasn’t the same when I was 8 or 16 years old.  It’s now more dramatic in a way leaving your dear friends that you had created a close relationship with.  It is a bit more of a mixed emotions, sad for the people you are leaving and happy for the exciting world that awaits you. It will be my first time to be with my parents again. I miss them dearly. I just don’t know what would it be like now that we are all grown up and all.

Olympic Ass and Underarm

They are all fit and everyone seems to have a nice back view. Is it a requirement to join beach volleyball especially the latter? Now, I know why there is no Philippines team in the beach volleyball Olympics. Because the word wouldn’t fit in the bikinis.

Watching too much of  Olympics can really have an effect: 1) You became instantly a fan of Michael Phelps; 2) Go swimming at the pool or beach or try a new sport; 3) You start asking yourself, “If you were to join the Olympics, what sports will you play?”; 4) You try to convince yourself that if Phelps can do it, so can you; and 5) I would love to have one of those bikinis, color purple, with my surname on the back.

Sexy swimmers! They are so hot! Look at those slim, hard rock abs! They deserve all the gold they can get for practicing too damn hard.

Question: Why do other male athletes shave their underarms? Is there any particular reason why they shave it? I know the swimmers shave it for speed. What do others like the gymnast do it for?

08.08.08

According to the Chinese, 0 and 8 are lucky numbers. Many couples have chosen this day to get married. In fact, I have a friend’s wedding to attend to but it was moved to December. Since this is a lucky day, this might be a lucky post. Maybe.

Let the games begin!

The Agony of Waiting

Waiting is hard or excruciating for some who waits for a certain period of time. It may lasts for days, months, or even years. We all wait for various reasons: waiting for the results of the licensure exam, waiting for the answer of someone, waiting in line to get the papers done, waiting for your turn to be ushered by the waitress, waiting for the taxi or cab to take you home, waiting for someone to answer the phone on the the other end, waiting for someone to love you back, and as for John Mayer, waiting for the world to change.

It is agonizing especially if you are waiting for something or someone that will determine your future. It has been part of my life to learn how to wait. It started with lining up in government establishments that took waiting time on average of 4 hours. In the middle of it, there are times that I wanted to give up then suddenly would change my mind saying that to better finish it when I am already halfway through. What I learned from all the chaos of waiting is the virtue of patience. The waiting part of our life teaches us something to indulge in things that can occupy the useless time of waiting and thus doing something productive while that something or someone awaits you. Not the other way around.

Variation Law : If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Very true! Just make sure if you change lines, the other line is half the line of your previous line. If not, better stick to your original line.

Teacher! Teacher!

“Teacher, teacher!”, a Korean student yelled at me.

All these grueling days of waiting for the nursing board exam results adds to my anxiety everyday. There were sudden turn of events that day. One day you feel so sad, then the next day felt like all your problems were answered. The following day after I felt so poor, I received calls from two different job offers.

The first ring was from a tutorial service I applied last summer. The lady on the other end of the phone asked in a Korean accent if I was free that afternoon and requested to come immediately because one of her tutors can not make it. At the spur of the moment, I said yes, leaving me 30 minutes to get ready to her office. As soon as I got there, she ushered me to one of the rooms. The transformation began and I was now the teacher to a 15 year old freshman high school. It was my first one on one formal tutor in a small room complete with white board, pen and other learning materials. Speaking in English is required throughout the lesson. After 2 hours of teaching, I held my first salary in my own bare hands. I get paid by the hour. It felt great teaching. I will look forward to it when I reach the age of 40s teaching in a nursing school. In the mean time, I need to keep this part time job while waiting for the result of my examination. I overheard from a woman this morning that only 30% of the nursing students passed the exam. I hope I will be included in those numbers. Another anxiety stressor. Two months to go.

Update (07/15): I am underpaid by Korean Management. I don’t think I would last long with this kind of management.

Hiding under my covers

For quite some time, I have been budgeting my money for my everyday expenses. And now I can claim that I am bankrupt, impecunious, penurious or you can simply say poor. Thinking that money runs our life made me abhors myself or the way I think. I never see this perspective neither do I care about it until now. It seems that I reach the end point of doing nothing without money. The moment you leave the door, you need some amount to pay for the gasoline, taxi or the jeepney. It will followed by different circumstances like getting thirsty, hungry, and so on that engages you to spend. I had save some money for the past previous months but has been used up due to family crisis. I just hate the fact that I would no longer go out to avoid spending the little amount left. I hate that I would tell lies in order not to go out with friends or even socialize because the mere thought would substantiate money. I hate that I have so many plans which includes money. I hate being financially dependent to my parents. I hate that my siblings were the one lending or donating to me when I should be. I hate wordpress for not allowing Google Adsense – maybe just for now. I hate the companies that I have applied to, not replying back sooner when I needed them the most. In the end, I hate being poor! Not until I could think of something to earn some money, you’ll find me hiding under my covers.

The Pearl

Pearl shined exquisitely still

Seeping through its tiniest pores

Showering glorious light

Growing adamantly at shore

Its mold bending indifferently

Imperfections can be defined

Scars carved and embedded

Anyone would wonder why

Several years has gone by

Continued to be pure and white

Exposing its finest quality

Strong, refined, and bright

Waiting to be washed away

Waiting for the right moment

Till it is all worth it

Till someone can claim it.