Life Unstacked: 2025Q2

clinging to moments of beauty despite not having it together

In case you missed my media wrap-up for the second quarter of this year, I talk about the shows I’ve been to aside from the usual books, film, and music recommendations!

This second quarter has been quite the rollercoaster of emotions. I’ve had so many happy moments and a couple of intense breakdowns. I’ve learned a lot about myself and about life in general that I plan to share in future writing. Spoiler alert: I haven’t been doing too well in my goals. At this point, my annual year-end vacation can’t come any sooner. I need the rest.

Not the most positive note to start off this Unstacked post, but I’d like to look back on some of the more joyous events for the past three months. Taking stock of the good in life always helps after all.

story time

• I turned 26! — I wanted my birthday to be a really chill day, so I just took the day off, stayed at home, and hung out with my boyfriend. I did celebrate over dinner with family a few days prior and I did receive some thoughtful gifts, but honestly, nothing beats a slow and lowkey day to celebrate another year of existence.

  

• Leading the Enabled membership drive at work — I led my first event for Enabled, an employee network group at work that focuses on disability awareness and advocacy. It was a drive to invite more people to join the network and participate in organizing events that promote disability inclusion. It was a daunting task but one that was so fulfilling. I do love working with people, and I was fortunate enough to have a group of enthusiastic volunteers who share my passion for disability rights and equality.

  

• Attending my first PFIP General Assembly — Since I am also part of the leadership team at our company’s Pride network, I had the opportunity to attend a Philippine Financial & Inter-Industry Pride general assembly. It was my first real glimpse of the local LGBTQIA+ community’s efforts for diversity and inclusion in the corporate space, and I must say, it was inspiring to see such a large group of people come together to enact real change in the workplace.

  

• Attending my first vocal ensemble class with Hannah dela Rosa — If you’ve read my Q1 Life Unstacked post, you will probably recall that I took a pop-up choir class. This time, I attended a similar event hosted by vocal coach Hannah dela Rosa in Pasig. We sang “From Now On” from The Greatest Showman and it was such a wonderful experience! It’s one of my favorite songs from the movie and it was so uplifting to sing it with a large group. I do wish that I’d arrived earlier so I could make new friends, but because I got a bit lost once I arrived at the Shaw Boulevard MRT station, I got to Co-Create Studios exactly when the class began and in such a disheveled state. Perhaps I’ll have better luck next time.

  

• Going to Komiket X and Komiket Pride — Truly, if I was able to make a lot of money, I’d be supporting local artists consistently by buying their art because the talent I get to see at Komiket events is truly astounding! For now, all I can do is support them by attending these events, browsing through their stalls, and promoting their work on social media.

  

• One of my best friends got married! — I got to be a bridesmaid for my best friend Gale at her wedding, and it was such a beautiful experience! I grew up in church with Gale and we even went to the same high school together that she feels like an additional sister to me. I loved seeing her be united in marriage with the love of her life, after having witnessed just how much they went through to get to where they are now.

  

get togethers

• books and card games — I organized another Talk Bookish to Me Southies hangout and this time, we brought card games! We played Cards vs Gravity and Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, both of which were instant hits. I loved getting to spend this time with some bookish friends. Making friends as an adult can be hard, so I treasure the ones I am fortunate enough to make at my age.

  

• kalahating bahaghari book club discussion — I joined a book club buddy read for Ricky Lee’s latest book Kalahating Bahaghari. I’d heard good things about the book, but I didn’t anticipate just how much I would fall in love with it. The book made me sob so much, I think it officially beat Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls and Zoulfa Katouh’s As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow in the list of books that have made the biggest emotional impact on me. My review was recognized and re-shared by Ricky Lee himself, and he even very kindly sent me signed copies of two of his other books Bahay ni Marta and Para Kay B. Because of my passion for the book, I was invited by our book club admins to co-host the discussion, and I had such a blast doing it! There was so much to unpack in the book, and everyone shared such wonderful insights. I hope more people discover and get to read it!

  

resolutions check-in

Last quarter I wrote that I got a head start on my goals this year. This time I’m here to report that I am way behind. I haven’t done any new physical activities, even though I did go bouldering again and took another spin class. My gym routine has been incredibly inconsistent, and I’ve gotten so out of shape that I’ve had to give away so many of my favorite clothes to my brother because they didn’t fit me anymore. My Oscars project is very slowly trudging along as I haven’t had much time to watch movies. I haven’t really posted any think pieces on here either like I’ve been wanting to for a while. My current TBR count is at a daunting 87—37 books away from my target. I might have to readjust that goal.

I haven’t really done anything in the realm of improving my finances either. I tried applying for Pag-Ibig MP2, but the online application form was down the many times I tried applying. Around the time of my birthday, I was also such a reckless spender that by the time my credit card bill came in, I broke down and had my first anxiety attack in ages. After some re-computations of my regular spendings, I had to face the painful truth and admit to myself what I have been in denial about for the past year: I haven’t been living below my means.

All of this to say: I don’t have my shit together.

I’m won’t even try to sugarcoat the truth with platitudes—life kinda sucks! I’ve been giving away books and trying to sell some of my furniture so I can downsize and move yet again, hopefully to a place with cheaper rent. My laptop and printer still aren’t fully paid. My new role at work required me to take a couple weeks on night shift and the new tech I have to learn is stressing me out. Because of my new realizations in terms of finances, I’ve had to deny myself many things that I’ve gotten used to treating myself to.

I’ve reflected over the past weeks what life changes I need to make in order for me to not just be financially stable but also prepare for the future. And to be honest, I’m terrified. I never thought I’d find myself in a position where I would genuinely worry about money. I know that I’m privileged more than most to be able to say that for the first time in my 26 years of living, but that doesn’t make things any less scary. I’m basically living paycheck to paycheck these days as I slowly devise a plan to get out of this rut that I’m in.

new experiences

All that said, I still cling on to the good that I’ve experienced this past quarter with the persistently wavering hope that I’ll be able to experience them again. I want to share three new experiences I’ve had that I feel are worth sharing and that have honestly made life recently worth living.

stargazing camp

I went to an Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower and Stargazing Camp hosted by the Philippine Astronomical Society at Tanay, Rizal. My boyfriend had gone to a similar camp a few years ago, and I wanted to experience it for myself too, so we signed up as early as we could. To say it was a magical experience would be an understatement. Illuminated by the pale blue moonlight, I held my boyfriend’s hand as we lay under the stars while astronomers shared their knowledge of space—few memories get more special than that. I marveled at the vastness of the night sky and was humbled by my small place in this universe.

Because the skies were a bit cloudy, we didn’t get to see the meteor shower or the Milky Way band, but I definitely hope to return next year at an earlier camp to see them.

filipino sign language workshops

I attended an online Deaf Culture Awareness and Basic Filipino Sign Language workshop hosted by the Kakamay Movement and few weeks later attended a similar event hosted by Hand and Heart at Overdoughs Café in Ayala Malls Circuit. I have had a long-time desire to learn sign language and connect with the Deaf community after having watched movies like CODA (2021) and The Hearing (2024). That desire was rekindled when I attended these workshops, and I was reminded of just how important learning sign language is. There is literally an entire community and culture that we are shut off from because of language deprivation and a hearing-centric world.

Since attending these workshops, I have been sporadically building my FSL vocabulary in my free time that I am now able to have basic conversations with the Deaf waitstaff at Overdoughs Alabang Town Center. I’m hoping to take formal classes very soon as most online resources I’ve found focus more on vocabulary and not a lot about grammar, which is different in sign languages as opposed to spoken and written languages.

Don’t miss the next sign language workshop at Ayala Malls Circuit! They do this every other week for the low cost of ₱500, inclusive of a snack and drink—you’re really not paying anything extra for the class.

my first pride

Near the end of June, I finally got to attend my first Pride March at Lov3Laban sa UP Diliman. It was me and my boyfriend’s first time going to Pride and it was nothing short of an uplifting and healing experience. I think it was the first time I’ve ever felt completely safe holding my boyfriend’s hand and hugging him in public. I don’t have the right words to describe what it was like seeing a huge crowd of LGBTQIA+ people and allies coming together to celebrate and protest. The memory alone makes me emotional. I remembered all the times I felt ashamed of who I was and was made to feel so. The joy of the people at Pride shone in stark contrast to the dark bitterness of homophobia rooted in corrupt religion. I couldn’t help but feel, “This is the joy that we fight for.” This is love.

At the end of the day, even though I may be lacking in some material respects, I have never found myself wanting in love. It is an abundance that I am grateful to continue to enjoy—the love of my partner, the love of my family, the love of my friends both past and current, and perhaps most importantly, the love that I have strived for so long to have for myself.

I am daunted by the days to come, truthfully. But allow me to share a passage from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre that I have held on to for strength in recent times:

I remembered that the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and fears, of sensations and excitements, awaited those who had the courage to go forth into its expanse.

What about you? What have you been up to lately?