November 2016 RECAP #MonthlyRecap

I followed my own advice and chilled. Of course, whenever I couldn’t post, the blogger-guilt gnawed on me.

I always tell myself I am not in a good position to actually prioritize blogging. It is not my bread-and-butter, for one, then there are other important stuff to do, then my resources are scarce (I don’t feel the need to explain that one), and I prioritize family still. The big  takeaway in my so-called chilling means more family time, so I am not that sorry 🙂

So here’s a recap of my November 2016:

Blog-wise:

(1) I hope I gave you gravy with my hash potatoes 😉

#MondayMemoirs – No time to do this pre-Monday and during Monday. Will try again next time.

#MondayReviews (see An American Crime) – See? At least I had this one.

#TuesdayTunes (see Listening with Your Soul)

#AskWednesday (none this month, sorry)

#WhatsupWednesday (see Yo, Man! Imma Show Ya Rap Battles!) – I just introduced this to you last week. I enjoyed this post 🙂

#ThursdayTips (none) – Will make up for it soon.

#FeatureFriday – Because it’s November, I decided to make it a whole month of #FreakyFriday posts.

#FreakyFriday (see Life Lessons from “Train to Busan”, And RINGU was its name-o!) – Did miss one or two Fridays. I did promise true horror/ghost stories. Failed that one, but I am on it still.

Saturdays and Sundays, or any day, could be about anything. I will post anything when I feel like it, like Finding Grace in a Grilled Ham & Cheese that is a reblog of another writer’s wonderful and heartfelt post. Very relatable.

I also shared three poems written in Filipino in one post: Tula ng Puso: Pananampalataya, Pag-ibig, Pag-asa (Poems of the Heart: Faith, Love, Hope). It was as part of the requirements for a local contest that I decided to join and I was just fortunate to beat the already-extended deadline. I am not sure, though, as of this moment, if my entry made the cut, so to speak. If it didn’t, well, that hurts my ego, but then I can’t mope around. Instead, get better, right? There will always be winners and non-winners. There are many talented writers out there, and many more untapped ones.

(3) My Trending Stories. I failed my November here. I have actually emailed them something and they have promised to make it a better experience for MTS bloggers.

Social Media Reach-out:

Again, I am very thankful to new followers. And of course, I am also very thankful to those who have followed me over the months, especially the years. I shared some of them to you last time. Let me share more–people who follow me and/or whom I follow–and you’re welcome to visit their blogs. Also adding people I actually personally know. You might have to jump over to other blogging platforms like Blogger, though. If I haven’t mentioned you yet, nothing personal, okay? Will get to you.

Here they are in alphabetical order (I am re-mentioning one because I gave the wrong link last time, I just found out now, and I’ve edited appropriately):

Andy,         Cole,         Diana,         Fran,                    

Jason,       Meikah,    Tobe,          Victo      

More bloggers to link to in the coming months, for sure. “Old” ones, new ones.

Fiction/Story- and Poetry-writing:

Well, I mentioned already the contest I joined. Meanwhile, this made me think of honing my craft more. I have cooked up a few personal plans for a few but very important personal reasons.

Literature:

I was in an unintentional hiatus from reading, but have just started again. I am just having trouble prioritizing since I am interested in both The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones. Not sure which to pick. Wanna cast your vote for me?

Personal:

We’re done with season 1 and half of season 2 of  The Walking Dead. Some episodes unexpectedly made me tear up.

***SPOILER ALERTS IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THEM YET AND KNOW NOTHING OF IMDb***

I was distraught with what happened to Dale because I liked him, and I never really had a grandpa. Good that he and Andrea kind of made up already; bad that the others let him down just before he died — in fact, that’s why he was roaming away from safer grounds. Good he wasn’t bitten; bad that he still died a horrible death. Why couldn’t they just let him die from accident while fighting off the zombie??? Or let him die with a heart attack or something while the others killed the walker?

Later, Shane died, too, and I didn’t see that coming. He was  increasingly being impossible and that’s what made the character more interesting (disappointing if he were a real person). I think he should have stayed longer–he was impossible but he was still an ally. And it would make for a more interesting storyline.

Lastly, Lori died as well. She wasn’t Mrs. Perfect, but I don’t understand what I’ve read about viewers hating her. Her reactions were understandable, even her fears. Didn’t make her right, but didn’t make her evil either….So I got distraught again when she died due to childbirth. I’m even surprised she got that far without suffering a miscarriage with all the stress and running around.

Good that she didn’t die because she got bitten; bad that after Carl made sure she wouldn’t turn (what Carl did was heartbreaking for both of them if it were real), a walker would eat all of her, anyway. That made me mad. What, the writers couldn’t let Carl and Maggie make sure the door wouldn’t be opened? Shane did that for Rick.  Maybe they should have let her turn first then have Carl shoot her, so at least, she wasn’t served meal to any walker that happened on her.

Winners! Me and Ian

Aaaaand…I just spent much space discussing about The Walking Dead, ha ha haaaa!!!!

Meanwhile, can you guess what this pic’s about? Clues: office, hunting, game, most candies, longest, Halloween, winners…

Till next time!!! 🙂

Finding Grace in a Grilled Ham & Cheese

I had been waiting since last week to reblog this and I think this is the right time. We all can relate to this. I personally feel that it is the primary caregivers in the family (like I was) and those who can’t go home to be with their ailing loved ones (like my sister was) who feel the regrets the most.

This was what I had to say, though:

“In 2012, I tried to do the best I could for both my ailing parents. Still, I ask to this day if I really did. Maybe it’s really that Angry stage of the grief. There is no deadline or proper schedule for each stage of grief–it could be for months or a year, it could even take a lifetime. It is important that we do acknowledge the anger and learn to forgive the ‘sinner(s)’ (either yourself or others) little by little…”

If you are at that stage right now, don’t be too hard especially on yourself. We must always remember that we are not God and that there are things that our mortal powers cannot any more handle.

 

Thank you to Lori Greer for this.

Lori Greer in Portland

“But when from a long distant past, nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, but with more vitality, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remained poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering , in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.”   excerpt from Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust.

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