my hands are cold as i write this. but there’s this certain warmth radiating from within as i remember these memories of us in hale manna, this resort in moalboal we always end up going when we’re in cebu.
it’s a nice resort and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who asks but my only gripe against it is that it doesn’t have that shoreline i want. purely aesthetic. but in my defense, i’m the kind of beach person who likes to lounge around on the sand because i’m freaking scared of drowning. to those who actually enjoy being in the water, shorelines are irrelevant.
nope, not me.
give me sandy shores any time and i’ll burn my ass, skin, and retina sitting there all day, holding a book with one hand and a bottle of pear cider on the other. reading, or trying to, until the words blur either out of drowsiness or drunkenness, whichever comes first. my definition of early retirement. surely, raven should’ve stopped breastfeeding by then!
that would be the dream now, wouldn’t it?
jeff says it’s doable — sell everything and just go. but my question is, is it feasible? because as tempting as the whole idea sounds, there’s a lot to think of. and i’m not exactly enough of a daredevil to risk everything by flying somewhere else. which, ironically, was exactly what i did when i came here in australia, having nothing and knowing no one. so maybe everything’s bound to fall into place. the universe takes care of us somehow.
but having said that, if i do retire, i wanna live by the beach. somewhere south of cebu, although i wouldn’t mind the northern bit if it’s camotes or bantayan island.
a girl can dream, right?
for now, i’ll hold on to these images as a preview of what’s to come. because i’m blindly optimistic like that. the glass is always full.
*raven at 1 year & 2 months
the pauses between 
Hubbyby also think of retirement in pinas before but the more we think over it, the more we consider it as impractical.. first of all, medical stuff is not the most cheapest in pinas. In germany, insurance takes care of it.. that is why there are so many decayed people walking around still and bleeding the coffer dry because the state still takes care of them… and then there is that fear of dengue ever since a german neighbor in cebu died because of it just months into his retirement in moalboal, etc.. it is nice for a holiday or perhaps 6 months here and there but to stay there for good is out of the question especially if my parents are dead already and i have no family connections there as well..
medicare is my primary concern as well. it’s all good to live a simple life back home but all that money would be gone when you get sick. and there’s my daughter’s education to think about too. to be honest, i like how the education system here leans more towards the practical and not so much on theory. plus, it’s free.
to be honest, i probably wouldn’t mind going back and retiring early if we don’t have a kid but we do. she’s the sole basis for my decisions. i feel like she’d have a good start here.
for a person that moves around a lot you’re prolific in writing. for people who are not into writing, they have no idea how hard at times it could be.
i try, but that’s not to say that i don’t have lazy days. or days when you just feel ‘meh’ and you start questioning if your writing’s good enough which then creates a negative domino effect as you suddenly question the essence of your whole entire life.
so, yeah, it’s pretty hard. especially since majority of the pressure comes from inside us, you know what i mean?
as writers, i reckon we’re pretty hard on ourselves.
ka cute ni raven uy
mas mura pa ug si el2 ang mama. ako ra juy naningkamot ug picture2 nila ai.