MID-DAY SILHOUETTES, A BIT OF LIFE, AND A LOT OF SUNSHINE

Hey there! How are you doing so far? I'm still so amazed how days just passed by so quickly over the few months. I have observed through the past months in confinement that we are taught to number our days in the most creative way; I've been seeing a lot of people draw, paint, bake, cook, grow a garden, knit, and even develop skills in playing an instrument. I find it really beautiful and amazing because we've been gifted with days, weeks, and months where we can do both our daily work and find time for ourselves in between and I've pretty much gotten used to this kind of setup. And though I will not lie about the fact that this kind of setup has its pros and cons, like most of the things here in the world, I think it's still better for our hearts, minds, and bodies to find the good in all of these.

Today I wish to share with you some of the things that I see at home, from my window, while I work. They're really not much if you come to think of it, but it's these mute silhouettes that have been with me through creative roadblocks, idle times, phone calls, and faint moments where my eyes seek to find time to rest, blink and stay away from the screen.

Every day, between 10-3pm, these beautiful silhouettes greet me and remind me to look out, stand up, and yes, even calm down. These views aren't really new to me, but it's only during this weird and special season in our life that I got to actually appreciate the comfort it gives, if only we choose to allow it. The fact that I see these shadows sway is a reminder that there is air to breathe, the change in angle and even tone of shadow tells me that time is still ticking and that I still have minutes, hours, and days to do things and accomplish it one step at a time. 

And the moment I no longer see these beautiful play of light and shadow tells me that it's time to stop working, stand up, and call it a day. Isn't it amazing? To be able to allow these mundane yet trivial things to teach us a thing or two about how we should treat our days is indeed such a wonderful life lesson to keep.

I also just want to share with you some views from the city, just in case you were wondering how things are doing back here in Manila. The cases are still high and we're still pretty much following strict community quarantine rules. We walk under this heat while arming ourselves with our masks, face shields, and gloves. My workmate and I were talking about how weird it feels to actually look back to this period a few years from now where most of our photos actually involve paraphernalia we never imagined to become a huge part of our daily lives.

 People don't really go out if it's not essential. What we usually do here is to just roll every activity into one day to prevent ourselves from exposing ourselves. Another thing that I've been seeing whenever I'm outside would be the fact that people are actually more keen to go to places with a huge outdoor setting, so this is mostly lifestyle centers and parks, which is actually better than being in an enclosed space. I miss my friends though, to be honest. I miss planning a lunch or dinner out with people and just be able to freely express ourselves in our conversations, I truly long for and look forward to the day that we'll be able to get to see our dear ones and hold each other without these barriers in tow.

Caught this cutie chilling by the bar. It was kind enough to allow me to stand close and snap a photo without being fazed. 

I also recently took a trip to a paint center to have some shades mixed. It was a good bonding time between me and my dad, something that I get to share with him would be our language in design and construction and I'm actually thankful for this time since we get to work on a project together and talk about random things whenever we're alone by ourselves in the car. I guess it's safe to say that I feel a lot closer to my dad, in an emotional way, if you know what I mean. I mean we've always been close, but there were things I was shy to ask or talk about as a kid,  I've always been scared to express myself too much around him but I guess since I am now an adult, I get to ask my dad a lot of things about life without being shy or scared to be 'judged'. 

My mind is rambling and I can't seem to verbalize my thoughts properly, but to summarize, I'm seeing both of my parents in a whole new light recently and I'm appreciating their love and sacrifice even more now since I am also experiencing things as an adult, hopefully, a responsible and wise one!;) Not too black, not too brown. I was able to create a shade that's direct to my mom's vision and instruction for the new house. It's funny how these little details are actually a big thing in our household, but it's also a nice memory for all of us to remember and talk about in the future.

I've been really busy with work recently, hence the lack of blog entries. Since we've rebranded, there are also a lot of things to work on and improve when it comes to our creative strategies in marketing, services, and product lineup. I really can't talk about it too much, but I'm just honestly thankful to be a part of a business model that aims to help mold people's everyday experiences and stories through design and furniture pieces. We have a lot of creative projects in place and I'm really happy because our team is slowly growing, this means more work is done and more fresh ideas placed on the table. I truly hope that through this medium, we'll continue to be able to extend creativity and inspiration!

Aside from the house project and my day job, there's also something I've been working on these past few months, it's the 2021 Heydays Calendar! I launched this in 2018 but I was not able to sit through the next ones and failed to continue producing it for the past two years. And during my lull times this year in quarantine, I was able to dedicate specific times to actually sit down and work on this small creative pursuit once again.  I'm really excited to launch this one by the end of this month, and I hope that you'll be able to enjoy it as much as I did in creating it. The calendar will be featuring photographs I was able to take during random days at home, encounters along the road and commute, and my travels. I'm really looking forward to talking to you about it more in the next few weeks!

I just honestly wanted to quickly check-in with you guys and say hey; I'm writing this entry after a long day and I'm really positive about my thoughts not being too collective, but I'm really happy that I have this space to just be able to document my days and months and to also be able to connect with people from across the globe. I truly hope that wherever in this world you may be, you are doing well and staying healthy. Tough times indeed, but I hope that just like the silhouettes of our midday, we'll sway along with the wind courageously, fade out and rest when needed, and show up again the next day with hope and faith in tow knowing that we are not alone in this breeze.

Sending you love, light, and wishing you as always, a Happy Heyday!

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