Continue reading “Sphygmomanometer”
Tag: life
Toxic Expectations
The funny thing about expectation is, for me, the fact that it swells and expands with time. Take one relationship you have with a friend, for example. I’d bet all my money that you didn’t start off as close as you might currently are.
Like everyone else, you must have started as total strangers, then you gradually become closer. Notice that the expectation you have towards them also grows, almost hand in hand, with the maturity of the relationship.
Continue reading “Toxic Expectations”Deconstructing “Strength”
“How do you manage to keep on doing this?” one of my team member in the office asked me, right after my boss gave me a stern warning for not delivering the targeted completion date of my project. “Why aren’t you more upset? How could you be so strong?”
I remember I just stared at her, not knowing how to answer the question. It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t upset at all. It was my project, after all. And if I took the warning lightly, I could risk my professional credibility as a project manager. So it wasn’t like I was fooling around, either.
But what my team member said had some truth. Despite being upset, I never did show it to everyone. Despite being torn apart by the warning, I kept on managing the project like it was just another day—as if I never screwed up.
Continue reading “Deconstructing “Strength””Of Downed Flight, Grief, and Flowers
The other day, I saw the news about the JT610 plane crash. This wasn’t the first time a plane crash had happened, of course, but as I scrolled the feed on my Twitter and Instagram, I had come to realize that more and more people were posting news about the incident.
I found it fascinating, that instead of the cold, monotonous, professional tone of a newscaster voice that dictates how many people died, how the engine failure happened, and what the airline company promised to compensate, there were more and more people commenting about the victims’ lives.
Inside that airplane, there were more than 100 people aboard. Some of them were newlyweds. Some of them were expecting to be married. Some of them were going to see their family and friends—only to end up in an unfortunate accident.
I shuddered when I thought about being inside that very airplane. What if I were in there? Who would be the last person I contacted before I took off? What would I have said? During the time when the plane fell, would I even stop to think about something—anything? Continue reading “Of Downed Flight, Grief, and Flowers”
Celebrating “Growing Up”
So last Sunday, I met my high school friend, Irene.
She was on a much deserved vacation, and she wouldn’t be staying for long. That alone was enough reason for me to send her a message and ask for a quick meet-up. Because let’s be real, people. It’s always nice to reconnect with friends, right?
I don’t even recall the last time we met and had a good conversation, since she now lives in Australia. So I have to admit I got a little nervous right before I ordered an online motorcycle taxi to meet her. My paranoid self just loves to imagine the awkward pauses, the detached conversation, and ten million other ways our meet-up would go wrong. Continue reading “Celebrating “Growing Up””
How Taking a Short Writing Retreat Boosted My Productivity
Disclaimer: this post will feature a lot of pictures, just so you know.
I have mentioned in one of my previous blog posts that I wanted to go on a creative writing retreat. Not the fancy residency kind, of course. What I’m talking about is but a short escape somewhere. It should be far enough from my usual daily routine, but it also should be within my budget—so it shouldn’t be too far, either.
Last October, I was offered a cheap flight ticket to spend the weekend in Singapore.
I took it without hesitation.
Continue reading “How Taking a Short Writing Retreat Boosted My Productivity”
Alicia Lidwina 