Blog
This is a collection of stories and daily musings.
-
The after-party
After all the preparations and the on-the-day celebration comes the after party, which feels like a hangover. With my social battery already drained, all I want to do is let the final guest leave and scurry back to my comfy bed—back to the mundane. My body just wants to sleep through the day, rest, and Read more
-
Sitsiritsit
My sister kept talking about sitsiritsit—a traditional cassava crisp—after she saw a vendor at the other side of the road while we were on our way to Malalag, a municipality in Davao del Sur, Philippines. I’ve seen this cassava crisp back in my childhood, usually carried on the shoulders by vendors who walk under the Read more
-
Having a bird’s-eye view for a moment
The time when I most felt the humble awe and joyful wonder was when I was high above the open waters, parasailing with my husband. The only thing that kept us from floating away entirely was the tug of the towline. It stretched down to the boat that kept getting smaller and smaller as we Read more
-
When prayer stopped being about getting what I want
My 2025 planner’s year-in-review reminded me that I had a full year despite how mundane most days felt. And as I read or watched end-of-year summaries on social media, I kept thinking about what made 2025 truly different for me. I thought about how it wasn’t really about what I accomplished that year, but what Read more
-
Breaking free from the mind control hive
I remember a friend asking our small group, as a way to challenge our ability to think deeply, “Would you follow a leader even when the leader is doing bad things?” We never really discussed how bad is bad, but I can remember how each of us had conflicting responses—about how we shouldn’t be naive Read more
-
Taste as a time machine
Following the New Year celebration, we still had some guava left, and to keep them from spoiling, I decided to eat them. While sharing was an option, nobody wanted to have them, so I ended up eating them all by myself. What’s fascinating is that while I was still slicing them, I started recalling childhood Read more
-
Late-night musings #32
Being away from traditional forms of employment (you can simply put, being unemployed) enabled me to spend more time with my family and my thoughts. I might be speaking from privilege, having the luxury not to participate in traditional work while still having my basic needs met. But if you have access to resources by Read more
jessa 