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Blog

Welcome to my afterthought cafe! There is a time for everything. A time to drill down on our goals. A time to get away when things get too hot. A time to get back on our feet. A time to face the music. And above all, here and now, a time to reflect on what all that means.

Manila’s bright spots, dark corners

Bypenspeak.net August 31, 2022 Blog blog,manila,personal

I HAVE BEEN LIVING in the City of Manila for a month exactly today. I have avoided this part of the metro for so long but now call it home. While I am suddenly immersed in its history, I am actually...

Life pause in Sagada

Bypenspeak.net July 25, 2022 Blog blog,sagada,travel

IT’S BEEN A CRAZY last few months, and we never had the chance to truly process our gains, feel the depths of our losses, and embrace the changes that happened in between. We tell ourselves...

Rx: Social Distancing

Bypenspeak.net March 11, 2020 Blog blog,covid-19,pandemic,personal,

HUGS ARE THE FIRST ones to go. Kisses will be reserved for the ones you’ll die for. Flying smooches, as airborne as they could possibly take off, must land 3 meters away. Handshakes will smell...

Of ashfall, gabok and the taal eruption

Bypenspeak.net January 20, 2020 Blog blog,family,personal

A WEEK since its first signs of unrest, Taal Volcano remains in Alert Level 4 indicating possible explosive eruption “within hours to days.” While its symptoms take a backseat now that...

Hinatuan river: Enchanted ever after

Bypenspeak.net June 24, 2019 Blog blog,friendships,travel

THE MYSTERY behind Hinatuan Enchanted River’s source is left to the brave or superstitious. The rest of us will be left distracted with its bluest color. Most of us will be lured to at least...

Of friendships, the Survivor series and Caramoan Island

Bypenspeak.net June 12, 2015 Blog caramoan,friendships,travel

THESE days, it’s hard to believe that Caramoan still hosts the “Survivor” series—a show that depicts contestants as castaways displaced on the far ends of the world—when in “reality,” the tourists...

Test dive!

Bypenspeak.net January 25, 2015 Blog blog,experience,scuba dive

FOR THE LONGEST time, I have this love-hate relationship with any body of water. While without a doubt would I openly profess my love for the sea, I often admire it from the shore. That while I am...