The DJ who's not a DeeJay

The theme for this year's World Tourism Day is "Tourism and Green Investments," emphasizing the need for greater and better-targeted investments for people, planet, and prosperity.

In celebration of World Tourism Day, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to catch up with my travel blogger friends and revisit their blogs.

Wendy from whywendywrites.com

I reconnected with my former colleague, Wendy Ng, who is passionate about travel and tourism. We worked as part of a Public Affairs team, but I was pleasantly surprised when I learned then that she is also a travel writer who has been writing about travel since 2013.

Wendy believes that knowing more allows us to travel better, so she writes to provide useful information to travelers and to promote appreciation and understanding of the places they visit, as well as the local communities and their stories.

Wendy's publications and guides have also appeared in a variety of media, including Tripadvisor, Klook, Skyscanner, Tripzilla, and others I personally use for reviews and suggestions. She has also worked with the Taiwan Tourism Administration Singapore, the Japan National Tourism Organization, and the Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau, and she has published various travel guides for Japan and Taiwan.

Knowing Wendy's vast travel experience, I asked her what advice she could give to other travelers like me, and what her message is for World Tourism Day.

I can't say I'm celebrating an anniversary as it's not something I'd like to celebrate. But it's been just about a year since I experienced COVID-19 and acknowledging it is an understatement.

Having experienced COVID at a time when the pandemic wasn't able to assure you of getting well or having nothing to worry about is something that I will remember for my lifetime. 

(Read my personal accounts of having COVID in 2022 here)

Health and wellness monitoring didn't stop after getting well from COVID. The side effect I experienced was having asthma which is something I never had in the past. I guess now I know what it feels like and have learned how to control or avoid it. 

Fast forward to today in a world where a lot of health protocols have been suspended and are optional. It's good to look toward a new normal that doesn't involve fear of acquiring it. But I am well aware that the battle for complete eradication of the virus is not yet totally won. Staying safe is still something me and my family observe with additional precautions. It is my hope that the people who we interact and engage with face to face are also responsible for their respective health and wellness.

I think COVID-19 has managed to make everyone be more aware of their health and take extra measures to ensure they don't have the virus. On the other hand, there are some who think they are invincible, and immune, and have let their guard down just because fewer people are getting it. I pray for all of my loved ones to be safe from sickness and for doctors and scientists to continue discovering ways to eradicate this virus.

In the meantime, stay safe everyone, and don't keep your guard down.

 

We've been decluttering since we merged all our stuff from 3 different places. You'll find out that duplicates of things per household will pile up and take up space. We've covered a lot of ground, especially with clothes and books. We're now on to decors and the one thing that we found we have a lot of are picture frames.

Picture frames are a great way to display your memories and artwork, but they can also take up a lot of space. Dealing with too many picture frames can be a challenge, but it doesn't have to be. Here are some of these tips to declutter your frames and create a more stylish and organized home.

1. Reduce the size of your frames. If you have a lot of bulky photo frames, you can resize them, add a mat, or use a floating frame to make them smaller. This will give your frames a more modern and streamlined appearance while also saving you room.

2. Clear out your picture frames. Examine your photo frames carefully and select the ones you truly adore. Remove any frames that no longer provide you delight or that do not match your décor. This will allow you to eliminate clutter in your home and make displaying your favorite images easier.

3. Display your frames in a creative way. If you don't want to get rid of any of your picture frames, you can creatively display them. You might use them to make a gallery wall, display them on a bookshelf, or even decorate a coffee table. Mix and match and try out several looks and locations.

Yes! It's called Grey The Tabby Cat! 

Backstory: For the past two years, I've been keenly studying and following YouTube strategies and have learned a lot about strategies, content creation, and managing a channel. I thought it would be a great time to put all my knowledge to good use and prove those theories, strategies, and tips right.

My main YouTube channel, though, is really a personal one that I created way back in 2007. Since I wasn't actively recording video clips then, I was limited to the random video clips I took from my phone or of some place I visited if I brought my digicam with me. A few years later, I did a purge, removing videos that I found irrelevant or not in line with my channel. What was left were mainly music videos of me playing the piano or organ. As much as I enjoy playing music, I knew that recording music videos and posting regularly would take up a lot of time, not to mention the time I needed to practice and rehearse each song.

My channel is still there with all my music performances, but it's more for sharing with friends, and sometimes a few people like the music they hear. And I'm thankful for that. However, posting anything other than music may be counterproductive to its growth.

I created a test channel to learn more without disrupting my main channel. It helped me a lot to experience firsthand how to maximize its use, and I really learned a lot. So I was ready to create a new themed channel and apply all that I had learned. But what other topic should I consider?

I was always fascinated by how many cat videos were on YouTube, but I never thought of creating videos myself. After all, we didn't have a cat.

BUT WAIT!!!

We do have cats that visit us every day. They're feral cats that live in the neighborhood and visit most of the homes on our block, including ours. When we first moved in, we noticed a certain gray cat would roam around, seeming eager to meet the new owners. As a family, we found ourselves talking about the cat over meals, and so I figured that sharing this and our experience with a feral cat would be a nice niche for a YouTube channel. And so Grey The Tabby Cat's YouTube channel was born.

I'm happy to say that to date, there have been 13 episodes. I post once a week (every Friday night or Saturday morning) and upload a few YouTube shorts during the rest of the week.

Ready to binge-watch Grey and learn more about him and his life?

Here's an episode run-down:

1. Intro to Grey / Trailer

2. Where Is Grey’s Sweet Spot?

3. Uncovering The Secrets of the Garden of Grey

4. Grey’s Night Out (From Dusk Till Dawn)

5. How Grey Got His Name (It’s Not What You Think)

6. Grey The Scavenger or Explorer?

7. Did Food Lead Grey Here?

8. The Tale of Grey’s Tail

9. The Grey Heart (Not As Gray As You Think)

10. The Grey Montage / Grey The Model

11. 5 Interesting Facts About Grey You Didn’t Know

12. Look out Grey: There’s a New Tabby In Town

13. Could This Young Tabby Be Grey’s Daughter?

Do say "hello" to Grey the cat in the video comments!

Hope you subscribe and like the videos. 

MEOW!

Toy photography has become a popular hobby among toy collectors. It's a way to show off your collection, and it's also a lot of fun. Taking photos of your toys can be a great way to enhance your joy as a collector.

Taking Photos of Toys For Fun

Toy photography has been around since the early days of film photography, with early enthusiasts using their toys to create scenes and stories. Today, toy photography has evolved into a popular art form, with enthusiasts using creative techniques to capture images of their toys.

Toy photography can be a fun and creative way to enhance your enjoyment of your toy collection. It can also be a great way to meet other like-minded people and share your passion for toys. 

In 2020, the pandemic forced most of us to stay home in lieu of lockdowns and avoid public places. The new norm forced a lot of daily dynamics to change, including clothes.

Fast forward to 2022. Most of my clothes have either been in boxes or on hangers for the longest time. And the clothes that are in heavy rotation are my home clothes. Some of them are getting worn out. But I just realized what I wore every day during the pandemic: my slippers.

And after over 3 years of using my slippers at home, even before the pandemic began, they finally gave out last month. My most comfy pair of slippers has made its last step.

It took me a while to find a replacement of the same brand or a similar design, but I finally found one. It’s not as soft as my old pair and it needs some training because the strap keeps on twisting. In time, it will know my steps as much as Google knows my location.

It is also comforting to know that my new pair of slippers can endure the toughest mountain trails, the steepest climbs, and the most extreme conditions. But the reality is that it won't leave home for its entire lifespan. So much for adventure. But I will wear you every day with love.

Walk onwards.

(Note: I actually bought thee pairs cause it was on sale.)

You run the risk of infecting others with a viral infection whether you have COVID or not. So, the best way to stop it from spreading is to isolate yourself.

Isolating in a bedroom for a few days is bearable if you have your bare necessities. For longer periods of isolation, you may find yourself wishing you had more things in your room. You're essentially making your bedroom into a smaller version of your living space, so for the upcoming few days, your room will serve as your primary residence.

In situations where you must immediately isolate yourself, it is best to identify a room in your home and arrange items there in advance so that you don't have to worry about them and can reduce contact with your family.

To minimize risks, you should have a one-way policy. Whatever goes inside the room stays inside the room. That’s why it’s essential that you have items readily available.

Based on my experience, here are some items you’ll find handy if you have them readily available.

1. Plates and utensils. - You don’t need your entire kitchen in your room, but having your own fork, spoon, and knife, plus a plate and cup will come in handy during your meals. 

2. Cleaning solutions. - You’ll need dishwashing soap and a sponge to wash your eating utensils.  If you have a bathroom, you'll also need it to keep your bathroom sanitized.

   
   
   

3. Hygienic materials. - Have a bottle of alcohol and some anti-bacterial wipes on hand.  Sprays would also be handy in disinfecting your general area. You’ll also need a supply of masks for those instances when you need to open your door to receive something. And keep several boxes of tissue in the room. These are heavily used items when sick and you'll need more of them so stock up.

4. Medical gadgets and health boosters. - Have a thermometer to check your temperature, a blood pressure monitor to check your blood pressure and pulse, and an oximeter to measure your blood oxygen levels and heart rate. For health supplements, keep a bottle of vitamins and other immune boosters handy.

   
   
   

5. Clothes. - You’ll be alone, but you’ll still need to change clothes, especially since your general area may be contaminated with germs from your infection. Prepare luggage in advance with clothes. Pack as if you’re going on a vacation because you’ll be checked into your own room for a while.

6. Cooking gadgets. - This may be optional, but it does come in handy, especially if you want a hot meal or hot drink. Having a kettle allows you to make tea or sterilize your utensils. If you have a small toaster, you can use it to toast bread or heat up food. If you have space (and an extra budget), you can also have a microwave to heat up leftover food for a hot meal.

7. Extra food. - Snacking foods like crackers or tea bags is easy to store and has a longer shelf life. They come in handy when you find yourself inside a room feeling hungry. If you have a mini-refrigerator, that could also be handy but it’s not a necessity.

8. Trashcan. - Not all rooms have a trashcan by default so better to have one handy. This also includes trash bags and possibly gloves in case you need to manage and compact your trash. 

9. Writing materials. - Have a notebook and pen ready to log your vital stats. I found it useful in writing down the dates and times I should be taking my medicine. When you’re sick, you’ll have more than the usual number of tablets to take and it may be confusing. 

10. A webcam. - This helps your family monitor you remotely for any reason at all. Some webcams, like ours, have a two-way speaker, which allows you to talk and converse. It also gives your family peace of mind when they see you’re doing ok.

Other things can help you cope with isolation, but you can prepare these beforehand so you won't have to worry about it and can focus on getting well.

I hope this helps. 

Take care.

One of the types of videos I like watching on YouTube is those of travel bloggers. Even before the pandemic, I would watch to see places I haven't visited or discover their experience in a place I may have visited in the past. Traveling also requires time, money, and effort. So these travel vloggers sharing their experiences are a great way to enjoy these destinations from the comfort of your own home.

There are a ton of travel vloggers and the types I like are the ones that don't treat their adventure like they're part of an "Amazing Race." The relaxed type of sharing is what I prefer. After all, I watch to relax and enjoy, not get stressed. Here are five travel vloggers I regularly watch and follow. 

Since the start of the pandemic, chances are that testing positive for COVID is probably among the top fears on anybody's list. My family and I have actively made efforts to protect ourselves from the virus and take strict measures to ensure our health and safety.

Adhering to health guidelines, knowing how to safeguard yourself, and monitoring developments are things we've done to minimize any risks. There are just so many uncontrollable factors and situations that make the possibility of getting infected high.

When you get it, a sense of panic will immediately sink in. As for me, I felt like a thousand thoughts and emotions rushed into my mind the moment I discovered I tested positive for COVID. 

When you've accepted the fact and regained logic, your strategy suddenly shifts from defensive to offensive. Defending yourself from catching the virus ends when you're infected and you shift to offensive to combat the virus. It's not like other illnesses where you take your meds, rest, and wait till you get better. COVID attacks your body from different aspects and you'll find yourself battling coughs, colds, sore throat, and fever at the minimum while taking the right combination of medicines and constantly monitoring your body for any irregularities.

I'm on Day 5 of self-isolation and Day 3 since I tested positive for COVID.  I am past the initial shock of discovering I tested positive and actively thinking of everything I can do to help myself recover. I was also shocked when I learned that our son also tested positive one day after me. I have to be emotionally strong so I can support my son and though I've only been infected one day ahead, I can use that experience to provide insight, guide him, and still help even while isolated and recovering.

But for now, I need to rest my body and let it heal.

More on my experiences in the next blog post.

Reflection:

Handling COVID is no walk in the park. Reflection and prayer help to clear your mind of negative thoughts and focus on a positive outlook. What is assuring is that even though I am in isolation, I am not alone.

Even in isolation, I know You are with me. Please give us the power to heal and cast away our uncertainties as we face this infection. 

March had more days than February but it still felt short. It's probably the feeling when many things are happening in life. In my planner, I've basically split my daily list into two, offline and online tasks.

The offline tasks are pretty much standard and deal with house chores like doing laundry, folding clothes, throwing the trash, sweeping the lawn, and trimming the trees. Other offline tasks include helping out my mother-in-law. 

As for online tasks, most of it is managing utilities and online accounts. One thing I miss though is receiving more emails. It somehow provides an easier sense of what you need to know or do in one consolidated.

So in no particular order, here are some things that happened during the month:

1. I discovered that the nearby park regularly sells fruits and veggies twice a week. I get to buy apples, oranges, pomelo, bananas, melon, watermelons, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. Now it's more convenient to buy healthy food. 

2.  I revived a 12-year-old desktop that belonged to Aileen. This was a challenge I was excited about as it's been a while since I've been able to tinker with computers. Unearthing decade old apps also felt like bringing back a time machine. I was successfully able to upgrade this desktop from Windows 7 to 10. 

3. I gave an online training workshop on social media for Peace Corps Philippines. The last time I conducted training was around 5 months ago and it was just for one hour. This time, I had to prepare a workshop that would last for 8 hours spanning three days. It challenged my skills both in social media and presenting. I'm happy to say that I got good feedback from the participants and glad to know the tips and takeaways were handy for them. 

4. My toy photography-themed Instagram account has taken off to a very good start. It's also a great testing ground for me to try out the social media strategies I learned. Check it out at https://instagram.com/transformersAD

5. I won a few freebies just by posting on Instagram. One was a voucher for Philippine Presko coffee, and the other was for a Korean kimchi sauce called bibimbud.  Nice to have these unexpected surprises pop up.

Even if I've been professionally using social media and providing content, strategy, analytics, and management, I'm back to studying online, striving to learn more about everything on social media.

So that's March. Warmed up and ready to sprint.

To sum it up: it was short!

Technically. all Februaries are shorter, even during a leap year. But I guess I felt that with a lot going on, I wished there were a few more extra days to February so I wouldn't feel I needed more time.

First off was that I was able to secure some legal documents like a certificate for a new residence. Changing addresses though also requires updating a lot of info associated with your address so I'm doing that little by little.

I also terminated our cable TV subscription. We heavily use YouTube and Netflix, plus we're also subscribed to other streaming services like HBO, Hulu, and TFC (The Filipino Channel). The only thing I think I'm gonna miss on Cable TV is the aquarium channel.

I've also been assembling different furniture and storage items. Assembling a desktop computer from scratch excites me. I don't have the same enthusiasm for furniture, especially if the instructions are in Chinese. The peak of my excitement is when I'm done assembling it. I'm proud to have assembled two metal racks, a rotating bookshelf, two bedside tables, and a few small tables. Did I mention that I have a backlog of more things to assemble? 

Workwise, I'm happy that I will have the opportunity to teach an organization the ins and outs of social media. I'm excited to share the years of experience I've gained and I sincerely want to help them by being an effective instructor. I also realized I haven't been using Zoom in a while and I'll need to practice hosting along with switching windows, slides, and engaging. 

Healthwise, I'm more actively and aggressively monitoring my food intake. Taking in less sugar, avoiding non-healthy foods, and doing household chores as my exercise. I hope to get healthier each day.

And finally, I got to visit mom. As February's pandemic cases decreased, it gave me a chance to visit mom at the cemetery. Unfortunately, it was raining while I was there and it took me 10 minutes to look for mom's tombstone. I actually thought mom was hiding from me for not having visited her for over two years. I was so happy to finally find mom and we have a long moment. I had a lot to say. 

The first few days of 2022 mainly set the mood for the rest of the month and it wasn't as I and many others expected. People who tested positive for COVID-19 skyrocketed to the thousands daily in the Philippines. It was apparent when it also appeared on my social media timelines of friends and acquaintances sharing their unfortunate health status and hoping to recover. It makes the scare personal given people you know are a part of the growing number of cases.

The dynamics of serving quarantine in a hotel are completely different experiences from staying in a hotel for a vacation. From spending our first few days in quarantine, my wife and I prepared a few things we thought would make our quarantine stay more comfortable. One thing I learned that may be useful when the country you are transiting to requires a mandatory stay at a hotel for a few days is bearing this in mind:

Caution: Vanity post. (I have one every few years)

During the first few months of the pandemic, most of the world was in a state of lockdown or some sort of directive to stay home. On my social media feeds, I saw friends either cutting their own hair or having someone cut their hair in hopes that it could possibly resemble a decent haircut. Some have succeeded. More have failed and are just relieved they don't need to go out and be seen.

I, on the other hand, took this opportunity to grow my hair long... a.k.a. pandemic hair.

The last time I sported long hair was way back in college. I only had a few photos as proof, and I can't quite remember how I looked. I do remember making the mistake of going to a beauty salon for a hair relaxing treatment (cause I had wavy hair.)

This time around, I had different reasons for letting my hair grow for the past one and a half years, and I wanted to share why.

1. To see how wavy my hair really is. My hair was straight when I was a kid and started becoming wavy when I turned 9 years old. Every time my hair grew an inch or two longer, it would go haywire. One of the ways to prevent my hair grow in different directions was to maintain short hair. So what did I recently discover? I discovered that my hair would curl naturally when long. 

2. Reminds me of my mom. I probably inherited my mom's wavy hair. Having wavy hair reminds me of how mom would always say I also had curly locks, and it runs in the family.

3. Staying at home. Staying at home and working from home meant that I didn't have to meet people in person. Meetings were virtual, and I could easily tie my hair to hide it and make it neat. This also meant that getting a haircut last year was close to impossible, which was totally fine with me.

4. Trying out different hairstyles. There aren't that many you could try out when your hair is short. So far I got to try the ponytail, the full-bodied teased up hairdo (which actually is my fancy term for the look when I just woke up) and spiked hair (with a ton of supergel.) Spikes don't work on curly hair and any possible pointed hair strands turn into a doodle (or scribble) like form after a few minutes. 

5. Thinning hair. When your hair is getting thinner, you'd want enough hair, hopefully to compensate for the balding areas. Having long wavy hair helps in covering thinning spots and gives the illusion that I still have a decent amount of hair... but not for long. 

6. Last chance. You can't grow long hair if you don't have any hair, to begin with. And looking back at the last decade, my thinning hair is not going to grow as much as hair as it used to.  

7. Pandemic. I had an ideal plan to get a haircut when the pandemic ends. But we all now know that the virus is here to stay for the long run. So scratch that plan.

Overall, it was both fun and challenging for my scalp to support more than it's used to.

To all who's visited my previous blog posts despite not having updated for a few months, thank you, especially to those from Indonesia which my blog had a surge of visitors from last September.

I'm on my last week being a content creator for an employer. I'll soon be shifting my content creation efforts back to my blog and other online platforms. 

Opening doors soon leading to new realms.

Looking forward to reconnecting with everyone here and on social media.

It's been a while since I've written about Original Pilipino Music (OPM). Even if I haven't been in direct contact with the Philippine music industry in the last decade, I've been following OPM hits and listen to Filipino songs whenever I can.

That's why it was a joy to learn that my good friend Adjeng Buenaventura is releasing her first solo single. I fondly remember Adjeng as part of the bands Sipol and Wink, which I still listen to till today thanks to Spotify. I clearly remember Adjeng having a soothing and distinct clarity in her voice which didn't need to hit the highest of notes (birit) to demonstrate power. It's definitely welcoming to know she's back in the music scene.

Listening to Adjeng's single "O Sige Lang" for the first time gave me the vibe of an 80's feel-good pop song. The upbeat tempo and catchy chorus strike you immediately before you realize that it's a song with a hopeful outlook on love expressed in the form of a dance. 

What's noticeable is that the lyrics are purely in Tagalog. It's not common to hear lyrics like "nasasabik sa udyok ng ating galaw at tiyempo" and "nais ko sana ang tanging kasayaw mo" but the poetic lines fit the melody.     

Follow Adjeng on her official Facebook page for updates.