You’d be hard pressed to find any event that isn’t already cancelled at this point thanks to the pandemic. I was supposed to be on leave this coming weekend to join in PAS’s (Philippine Astronomical Society) Corregidor Astro camp.
These are some of the rare few days that I understand what I need to do. There are clear objectives that I can easily tick off my list which results in stuff that people can see and acknowledge. I can feel that I was able to put in some good work.
This is not part of, or a path to my main objectives, but it does feel good to actually complete tasks.
While I do have photos taken today, I do not intend to post them here, publicly. I volunteered to take photos for our portfolio’s Year-start (as supposed to year end) party.
TBH, I didn’t volunteer out of the “kindness of my heart”, I was there to sneakily take photos of…subjects.
Pro-tip: if your landscape photographer friend volunteers to take photos of people, press [x] for doubt. 😀
The past few days have been uneventful. While I am mostly back on the groove—2-ish hours on my phone, daily exercise and wim hof. I’m still a bit lacking on the bullet journal part.
[6 AM]: My brother drove me 20-30 kilometers from the hotel to the race venue that morning. The road where the starting line was located was blocked from traffic to give way for all the race equipment and staff. The race itself was mostly uneventful—after all, it was just a 16k run.
Except in the middle of the run, I got a random call. The caller wasn’t asking for anything, it was just a random call.
That race marked the beginning of… stuff.
Today we packed some stuff that we will donate to those affected by the recent eruption. Most of the stuff I donated are race singlets. I really liked the design of the singlet I used back in 2017.
Holding it in my hand, I asked myself,
“Does this shirt spark joy?”
It didn’t.
The wink wink suggestions that I will be going onshore for 1 month is getting louder. Problem is, I’m not sure if I really want to go there.
Got news from college friends that one of the members of our gang is getting married next month.
Today at noon, Taal volcano erupted for the first time in 40ish years. As expected, there’s a flood of “Pray for us” tweets and the public advisory retweets showing the meanings of Phivolcs alert warnings.
Most people are afraid of the seemingly imminent eruption, but oddly I am more excited than afraid. If you know me intimately, you’ll know that I’m afraid of things that people would find mundane: like running out of conversation topics while hanging out with a friend, people who sound mildly angry, and other really dumb things. [other examples: tall slides, kiddie roller coasters. I also used to be afraid of riding escalators and elevators (I only managed to get over my fear of elevators when I was already in my 20’s)] …you get the point.
I really find it weird that I’m not afraid of deadly toxic gases coming out of a volcano or deadly loud volcanic explosions (the neighboring Krakatoa volcano killed a lot of people through the sheer loudness of its explosion).
I missed posting a blog and taking a photo yesterday, partly due to the eruption, and partly because I’ve had the bug since Saturday. I attempted to sleep at work (after shift, of course) but my headache bested my desire to rest.
As the shitty photo implies, yes, I have recovered my oddball camera.
The title of this post is actually completely unrelated to the camera, and more of a reminder to myself to listen more closely to that faint nudge:
– that my personal path does not follow the common trail in photography
– that I don’t belong to that group. I have to pave my own path.
I know it’s already the 8th of January, but according to my body clock, the 7th is only about to end the moment I fall asleep.
Good news, someone picked up and surrendered my 360 camera! I lost it sometime last month during the year end party. I’ve already accepted that it was lost, never to be found but there it is!
No deep epiphanies to day, and it’s okay.
I am so used to being on the losing end of a battle. On those rare times when I’m on top of things (like today), I’m not sure if I’m doing a great job of being kind to those who need my help.
Panic works on both directions: fearing superiors, frustration on junior/s. I am starting to understand the necessity of stoicism in self improvement.
Story Time 