Life Lately: Busy Days, Celebrations, and Unexpected Turns

3 October 2025

Time really flies so fast. Can you believe it’s already October? Christmas is fast approaching, and the year will end in less than three months. I feel like the days just slip through my fingers. Life has been so busy lately, juggling personal matters, family responsibilities, and even a bit of business here and there.

One of the biggest things that kept me busy recently was the preparation for my father’s 2nd death anniversary. My siblings and I went to the city to buy all the things we needed.

While in the city, my big brother sent these photos to me and invited us to attend her daughter's third birthday.

I wasn't able to attend, my siblings did, but I bought a gift for her.

On the 29th of September, we started setting things up at home and cooking nonstop. That's also my father's birthday and my hometown's festival. Honestly, I didn’t even get the chance to sleep that night, and I missed seeing the town's festival parade during the day. My mom cooked the main dishes, and I cooked the desserts.

_{Some of my decent cooking so far, especially the rice puto. I'll share the recipe one day.}

In the Philippines, a death anniversary is celebrated almost like a fiesta. Imagine buying around 50 kilos of meat and spending tens of thousands of pesos just for a day event. It’s both festive and painful on the wallet. Inflation rate is really painful, lol, and it's stressful to live in a country full of corrupt officials. I imagined the old days, my ten thousand was enough to fill a grocery store with goods to sell. But nowadays, it's not even enough to finance a special event like this.

The Philippines is known for its thousands of festivals, and sure, it’s fun to live here, but sometimes I tell myself, “Maybe I’d rather live in another country,” lol. This year, we decided not to hire catering services to cut down the budget, so most of the work was really on us.

The anniversary fell on the 30th. It started with a novena or prayer offering at nine in the morning, followed by visitors eating right after. This is actually the 9th novena from the actual date of my father's death, which was on the 22nd of September. The celebration is held not on the exact date of death, but after nine days. That's how it works here, and I don't wanna ask why. Relatives that day came and went.

_{My grandma and other relatives are leading the novena.}

Since I didn’t sleep the night before, I ended up crashing in the middle of it all while my mom entertained our guests. I felt guilty, but my body gave up on me. When I woke up, it was already dark and only a few visitors remained. At last, the event we worked so hard for had come to an end.

But just when we thought the day was over, reality struck. Our sink was piled with dirty plates waiting to be washed, lol. Then, around ten in the evening, a strong earthquake hit Eastern Visayas, where I live. It was terrifying. It lasted quite long and shook the house strongly. The electricity went out right after, and of course, that also meant no mobile signal. The night ended in silence.

Power came back the next afternoon, and that’s when I learned that the epicenter was in Cebu. Sadly, there were casualties and damage reported. I also learned that Inday Clara was raising funds for fellow Hivers who were affected by the quake. Natural disasters really strike when you least expect them.

The only thing we were thankful for that day was the timing. It happened after the celebration. No one in our place was harmed, and there was no damage. Otherwise, it would have been a whole day of chaos, especially since most of our visitors were elderly.

Looking back, life lately has been a mix of exhaustion, unexpected challenges, and small moments of relief. It reminded me that no matter how busy we get or how unpredictable life becomes, there’s always something to be grateful for.

How's your life lately? Were you affected by the strong quake?

Thanks for your time.

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