7 Lessons I've Learned from Watching Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones House Banners. All photos (c) Google Images 

I know I am not alone but I am hooked with Game of Thrones, a TV series aired by HBO. The series is based on George R.R. Martin's book, A Song of Fire and Ice.  Watching your favorite character killed unexpectedly on the show, I can't help but sighed how cruel Mr. Martin is for his characters (remember Prince Oberyn Martell?) I never read the book, I am glad I never did. After watching the last five seasons (6th season is aired starting April 2016), let me list some lessons I've learned from this series. 

Embrace The Life You Were Meant To Live

Location : Tops, Busay Cebu Philippines (c) skybertus/sky lacea 

Nothing in life is permanent. Change is inevitable and all she has to do is to accept it. In all her futile attempts to resist change, nothing can ever change the fact that impermanence can ruin her plans. She started to get frustrated. She resorted to do things she hadn’t thought of doing herself. She started to cultivate bitterness in her heart. Everything that surrounds her loses sparkle and everything loses its meaning. But she took her time. Time has a funny way of letting in order. Maybe because time is teaching her to be patient.

But she’s ready. 

She is embracing the new life that was made for her. With the whirlwind of change that is consuming her, she lists down the things she learned from the experience.

She learns to acknowledge change.

Change is something she thought could never affect some aspects in her life. She only thought change happens for good reasons that she knew of. But there are also changes that allows her to suffer first before acquiring better results. These changes caught her off guard but she’s learning to embrace it.

Be prepared to be blessed

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I woke up with a heavy heart and sleep-deprived from the constant peeing between midnight and 4AM. I asked the Lord to give me strength today and clear my thoughts from negativity, as always.

Being pregnant is beautiful but mine is different. Life has directed me to this side of the journey. Something that is destined for me. Something difficult, something out of the ordinary.

Even though my pregnancy is different from other moms, I still trust the process for I know this journey is for me. It may not the way I expected it to be but I know in the end I will understand why these are all happening. Today, I learned a few things about my unique journey after seeing a lot of newborn photos on my Instagram feed. The emotions brought about by pregnancy, personal struggles and being alone in the process thought me that nothing in this world is permanent. It changed me. It is consuming me. It made me different. It made me stronger than I could  have imagined.

Be with someone who comes from a broken family

Children from a broken family are often misunderstood. Judged as being different, some people taught they are difficult to deal with. Though statistically speaking, children who came from a broken family manifest disturbing behaviors growing up. Though it takes time, some of them managed to prove themselves that being in a broken family is a blessing, not a curse.

And here’s some of the positive side of them.

Go Slow

photo by Sky Lacea, Hwaseong, South Korea

Why going slow helps you get through Life?

Monday. As I was enjoying my usual cup of coffee, some people I’ve been working with seem to be in a stressful mode. So stressful that it affects me. I have come to realize that sometimes, the faster we try to go, the slower we can go. This leads to the usual frustrations, stress and restlessness.

So why “going slow” helps us to get through Life?

The New You for the New Year

(photo credit : Sky Lacea, Instagram)

New year. Fresh start. New beginnings. New challenges. New  you.

People may  be  tired of hearing the words "new year resolutions", an overrated words most people use every time a new year approaches. But hey, making  new year resolutions is not that bad though, after all, keeping and maintaining your promises are  reflections of your character.   This year, I won't use those words but just listing out a few improvements or easily doable bucketlist for the incoming year and these would sum up in four words --- Enjoy.  Improve. Convenience. Explore.

Coffee, My Constant Drug

I have to admit I am a bit addicted to it. With my work where sometimes coffee is needed and especially during those times when boredom, stress or sleepiness visits me, I appreciate a cup of coffee.

Aside from being an anti-oxidant, coffee just brings in the calmness I need and somehow it became my usual companion when I need one.

No, I am not here for any brand-campaign. As a coffee-addict, trying out various coffee beverages happens to be part of the urge of “wanting more and more” of it. Aside from the health benefits I get from coffee-drinking, the following are my realizations why coffee has been my constant drug.

Couples who fight and make up : Don’t worry, it’s healthy

 

Can a fight strengthen a relationship? Depends.

---

Perhaps, you've been asking the same question too. Let’s face it : even people who are madly in love with each other will fight eventually. Certain arguments often test the couples’ love, respect and patience with each other. Having conflicts and arguments does not mean they are not compatible and fighting does not always have to end up in messy breakups. As long as the couple is having a “fair fight”, it may strengthen their relationship because they COMMUNICATE.

If you are in a relationship where common fights are inevitable, let me list down the positive side of it. Normally, couples who fight a lot may go through these five phases to a stronger bond — or goes into a breakup.

... of rainy days and cup noodles

Oh I miss you Mr. Sun, please come back! 

I haven't seen the sun for days now. The temperature dropped from the usual 32°C to as low as 22°C.  I enjoyed my morning hike; loving the cool breeze kissing my cheeks. With raindrops dripping on our rooftop, almost every night, sleep had  been a comfortable one. The weather makes me hard to get up in the morning. Drowsiness has been my constant visitor at midday.  And I wanted to hit the sack earlier than the usual schedule at night. 

It rains almost every night, making the coldness even colder. The raindrops dripping like a baby singing little songs to sleep. A tropical storm, Agaton adds to the scene, makes my whole week grayish. Those nights when I had to bring work at home, coffee is my best companion. Waking up in the middle of the night which usually makes me end up writing, eating cup noodles happens to be my usual scene. Cool northeastern winds causes this coldness since December. This winter monsoon coming from Siberia, Mongolia and Northern China causes my colder nights. 

... but I miss the Sun. 

The Only Thing I Need

This place, right here ---- I want to be here again. This is what I need, right now. Time, space for myself. 

2013 has been a roller-coaster ride, I am blessed to be able to get myself busy. As I look back, I couldn't imagine how I was able to go through all those shits happened. And all those life's low moments. Life is full of surprises. Those unexpected moments, those spontaneous happiness among the uneasy ones.

Like today. 

It was a Dream come true : meeting the An-225 Mriya

So I was plane-spotting again. This time, with one aircraft in mind: Antonov An-225. 

        I'm a new member of a  group called PPSG - Philippine Plane Spotters Group and I was a bit amazed that I found a herd of spotters who are so fascinated with planes, different kinds of aircraft, airports, and anything about aviation. Members are not just spotters but pilots, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, ground crews, aspiring students, even an airport general manager, and people like me who simply love anything that flies. Some spotters have been searching and patiently monitoring rare flights and aircraft in their respective areas. Some members especially the young ones are into flight simulators, some are building their own prototype airports, some are sharing aviation news that might be useful to the group and others are sharing their spotted planes elsewhere. 

        And when the group discussed the Mriya rumored to land first time ever on Philippine soil and dig this --- it was scheduled to land in Cebu,  I wasted no time. I had to capture her. 

        November 12,2013 was just an awesome day for me. Her ETA as earlier discussed was around 6:30 to 7:00 AM, I decided not to go to the office for 3 hours that morning. Asgard, the spot  Mark, Gerald (fellow spotter we met a few days ago spotting Emirates 4858, a B777 aircraft which also landed first time at RPVM), and I named, was my spot to wait. It was raining when I got there and I was lucky that the guys from the Fire Station, which was stationed near Asgard, facing the terminal, took me in for shelter. I waited along with the firemen who then got excited when I told them my purpose of being there. Worry washed over me when it started to rain again and the runway has gone into an incoming zero-visibility state. Then it cleared again; past aircrafts had landed and took-off, those were the longest hours in my life, but I waited. We waited until 9:02AM and she arrived. Boy, was my heart jumped for joy? 

Antonov An-225 Mriya

One fine day for plane-spotting

I have always been fascinated by airplanes. When I was young, living in a middle-class barrio, "micro plane-spotting" is one of my past times while lying on my back, taking breaks on  green  fields of Sikatuna. Of course, on my then point-of-view, aircrafts are just a super fine speck on a fine, blue sky, some where even hidden in clouds and I all I could hear is the loud, thunder-like  sound it gives; and my daydreaming would begin... 

So when I got older, I love taking snapshots of huge aircrafts on airports when I get opportunities to travel. Some pictures were hidden somewhere on my computer before, forgotten and some were lost. Just then I realized that my fascination with airplanes is actually a hobby --- who would have thought?! 

And so since I just discovered this as a hobby, I'm going to share some of the planes I've spotted. 

Cathay Pacific Airbus Airbus A330-342 B-HLH at RPVM

Let's get this party started!

I was a weekend drinker. There were  times  my body longs for cold beers and hard-partying. I admit I drink, before,  to get over a break-up, in confusion, getting over a huge fight, into deep thinking about life, angry over someone at work, party with friends, or simply supporting a friend in confusion , celebrating something or simply hanging out friends.

I think the saying, "Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are" is kinda true. But in my case, being judgmental on something you don't have any idea of is a different thing. I belong to a middle-class family, where some little celebrations are celebrated with adults on a drinking-spree. I came from a little town where people hang-out in groups,  always with alcohol bottles in their hand.

5:30pm habit

It's 5:30PM and I am at my usual spot. It's been a long day; the sun has mightily letting out his power for the last couple of hours and like a worn-out baby, it's time to call it a day --- and I am watching HIM slowly disappearing among the clouds. 

I am a sky-watcher. When I was younger, I remember I love staring at clouds. I used to run freely, enjoying the heat, the wind and of course the company of my little friends. I remember having this memory of lying on my back, with both hands at the back of my head, staring at a sunless sky with my brothers on an open field (I think we were on a break from gathering young corns from my grandfather's cornfield).  It was a happy feeling, so vivid that when I close my eyes right now I can still feel it --- that freedom from anything, that unexplained happiness. 

And here I am, standing at my usual spot at our facility, observing  my 5:30PM habit of watching a sunset  in progress.  When we moved-in on our new facility, I have all my time watching the sun sets, the sky without too much trees and buildings covering it. I enjoy my morning walks, my sunset habit and my usual sky-watching. 

 

During the construction of our new facility, as one of the personnel spearheading the transfer, we are  required to visit this every week to check the updates. And this, my friends is what I usually see

book-hunting anyone?

Trip to malls isn't complete without being able to visit a bookstore. Oh, I can't help it, really. It's like, it has has some kind of an imaginary power or magnet that made me drawn to it.  It's like it has this certain powerful aura that every time I pass into it, I blinked, I paused and would check the bookshelves out.  And last weekend, on my usual  grocery schedule, I picked two. 

 

My mother used to tell me that when I was about two years old, I would love to play with any reading materials at home, which I usually ended up tearing them all apart (maybe I was fascinated with the properties of paper which gives out a sound when torn -- or maybe I was enjoying the little power I had "destroying" a thing at my age). And so, my mother, a school teacher, bought me hard-bound children's books for me to delight myself into. At school, not to brag, but I was one of the "elite" children who's one of the teacher's assistants to teach my classmates who had a hard time recognizing letters and how to pronounce it. My addiction to read followed me throughout school days. I would love to camp in libraries and oh, I love the smell of old books! It's like a drug. So addicting. Time also pushed me to write; from essay contests to publishing and contributing poems and articles to school papers. 

Book Review : The Prayer of Jabez

And Jabez called on God of Israel saying, 

" Oh, that You would bless me indeed

  And enlarge my territory

  that Your hand would be with me

  And that You would keep me from evil 

  that I may not cause pain."

So God granted him what he requested.

- 1 Chronicles 4:10 

If asked why I chose this book, I'd say, "I don't know. It just happened. I just saw it, I was intrigued and I told myself I've got to read it." I've read about Jabez's name somewhere in the bible and thought of Why not hear, er, read this to know what's his story like?. And as the book's tag line said, Do you want to be extravagantly blessed by God?, I know I had to read it. Of course, we want blessings. In less than four hours, I finished the 92 pages --- in tears.

Note: Be sure to say a little prayer before reading the book, like what I normally do when reading an inspirational one. Let the Holy Spirit enlighten your mind and open your heart so you could fully understand what's in it. 

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

I believe everybody would agree with me : that sometimes, there is a bad day or a good day. That some time at a given moment, you're either too happy or too sad or both. That so annoying feeling when your papers got jammed on your printer and you're in a hurry; when you're stuck in a traffic and end up a minute late at work; when you forgot to set your alarm clock and ended up waking at noon --- yes, those things.....

Like me -- yes, I have been cranky lately. Must have been the weather. Or this annoying traffic I usually get stuck into while on my way to work. Stress perhaps. Bored. Maybe. I'm not angry particularly at someone, or maybe annoyed by anyone. Maybe hormonal. I don't know.

 As I watched the closing ceremony of 2012 London Olympics, one performance caught my attention : Eric Idle singing his song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life which was featured in 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. It occurred to me, that, somehow, I need to loosen up a bit! 

When all else fails...

We all know darn well that life is not fair. Life is not always a happy song. Life has random happiness. Life has struggles. Life has issues. But, as always, beautiful. 

Even the bible says, on Ecclesiastes 9:11 ,"I also saw other things in this life that were not fair. The fastest runner does not always win the race; the strongest soldier does not always win the battle; wise people don’t always get the food; smart people don’t always get the wealth; educated people don’t always get the praise they deserve. When the time comes, bad things can happen to anyone!" Indeed, has its own story to tell. 

I am somehow, thankful, that most of the time, I don't exactly have everything; my parents sometimes cannot provide me everything I want and dream of having; that I am not too pretty to be elected most beautiful in class; a gifted child every parents want for their children; and the perfect little friend people hoped for. 

at a crossroad...

Crossroads...

---

That awkward moment when life is at a contented state and all of sudden you end up in a halt which usually settles in confusion. 

Confusion may come quickly or slowly over time, depending on the cause. With this, you may lose the ability to think clearly (of course) and you’d end up weighing a lot of options and deciding how to proceed is so damn difficult.

Life, I know, has uncertainties. Life is always not that fair. Life happens to play games on you. Life has ups and downs. Life is a little hard to manage. Life can be so boring. Life can be so confusing. But most of the time, Life is beautiful.

Drinking Changed My Life

"if drinking makes you angry, when I drink, I want you more and more and more...", a Dishwalla song blared loudly at my eardrum. I grabbed my headset controller to lower its volume.  I smiled for a moment and went on with my work. I can't help but think about it... 






My dad usually drinks and it's somewhat disturbing that I tend to do what he usually does. When I drink, I felt relaxed and my messy head seem to enjoy the comfort it brings. Don't get me wrong; I'm not a hardcore drinker like the one you have in mind; someone who's wasted and hanging around with heavy drinkers acting like life would end after the last drop of alcohol in their glass -- ahh, pretty nostalgic but NO, I'm not like that.  

In college, drinking was like a normal thing to do with the generation I was in ; drinking in between classes, going out after school, after group studies or working on our design projects (tough to be an engineering student, you know). Drinking seem to be a good company. I have come to realize that life back then was simple. So simple. Simple yet trying to survive.  When I graduated, I felt the pressure rising at the back of my neck. A different kind of pressure. A pressure to take care of yourself, develop the sense of independence since you can no longer depend on parents. I admit, I was a bit afraid, the future I was realizing when I was ten years old finally came and I remember the mixed twisted feelings dwelling and trying to eat me alive. I was like, I am not running away from something I don't want but rather running away from something I am afraid to want. What if I can't make it? Or what if, if I have what I truly want in life, can i keep up with it? I left out a chuckle, I was young then, and I remember it freaked me out.


But I survived.