A Quick Break

I didn't realize that it's been months since my last post here. I've wanted to write but I couldn't get myself to write a single word these past few months. A lot has happened! 

Spoliarium by Juan Luna at National Museum of Fine Arts.

January 29, I received a tragic news that very same day I published my last post here. My boss, who I've worked with for over a decade had a stroke. It stunned me... I didn't know what to do, but I guess my fight or flight response was activated. That very same day I took on the role of working on everything my boss was handling. I was the only one who knows the business that we do, so I know I had to do it in order for me to still support my family and also my boss' family.

Ever since then, I've been working day and night without a break. I know it's not good, but I just can't afford to take a break. But as I have expected, it took a toll on my already fragile mental health. Been having breakdowns almost daily and I couldn't tell anyone because I didn't want to be a burden.

I don't really have a problem doing all the work. But I got burned out.

My best friend noticed that. She's working at a different town, but she took a week off just to be with me. She encouraged me that I have to go out and shouldn't be crying all the time. She was able to convinced me despite the hectic workload that I have. 

Me and my best friend at the Baluarte de San Diego.

We decided to tour around Intramuros. It's mostly free, except the Baluarte de San Diego and Fort Santiago. They have an entrance fee of 75 pesos per person. 

We live up north, in Quezon City. We decided to commute and took different modes of transportations to save some money instead of using Grab Car. We took the FX (van), then the bus, and then the LRT. We stopped at the UN Avenue Station in LRT 1. From the station, the National Museum of Natural History is just a walking distance.

The museum was so huge, it would take you hours to explore everything. There is no entrance fee here, they just asked for our valid IDs and vaccination cards.

Rizal Park or also known as Luneta Park.

After exploring the National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of Fine Arts, we went to Luneta Park. It was a very hot day but we endured it as we were already there. 🤣

Fort Santiago.

The last stop for our Intramuros tour was the Fort Santiago. It was beautiful there. There was a fountain, the ruins, music, and people having picnics or just people enjoying some downtime with their friends and family. It's good to see that things are slowly picking up and more people are not afraid to go out now, adjusting to the new normal.

It was a very tiring but fun day. But after our Intramuros getaway, we decided to go to Baclaran church to lit candles and pray. You see, me and my best friend is not from the same faith but we respect each other's beliefs so it never really got in the way in our friendship. 

It was a quick and spontaneous trip, but I had so much fun. It felt like a weight has been lifted from me, even for just a few hours. But it helped a lot. After that trip, I rarely had a breakdown and I more relaxed (well, not relax relax, if you know what I mean). I am laughing more and even though I am exhausted for working long hours, I'm not as down as I used to be prior to this day tour in Manila.

It's been two months since the stroke happened, he's now home with his family after a month in the hospital. I was finally able to talk to him through video call the other day. He's not quite there yet, but he has improved. I'm just hoping for his full recovery in due time.

I'm so proud of myself for handling our clients on my own for two months now. And if I have to be honest, I'm really scared. I'm scared that I'm not doing a solid job like my boss does. But until then, I will continue to do my best in order to keep his business rolling while he is in recovery.

I pray for confidence and strength for me to get through all this on my own. I want to make him proud. I want him to see that the years of training me is worth it.

Hope all is well with you, my dear friends. Thank you for coming by! 

- Eds. ❤