Q3

Six years ago, my friends and I went mountain climbing in Mt. Tabayoc in Kabayan, Benguet. It was December and only a few days before Christmas. We started early our trek through Mt. Tabayoc’s forest up to its summit. On our way back to the campsite, when we were less than an hour away, I slipped, hit one of the protruded roots  and broke my leg.     It was the most painful experience of my life and two surgeries after, one to repair and the other to remove the implant, I am left with scars on my knee and lower leg.   For months after each surgery, I faithfully applied scar removers as prescribed by my doctor.    Most of us see scars as signs of imperfection, that is why it is considered to be unattractive. We live in a society that places a great deal of importance of how we look and finds a solution for every flaw.    Keloid developed and after some time, I gave up. I avoided wearing skirts and shorts that would show my scars.  It attracted too much attention and sometimes even nasty

For the first time in so many years, we are ringing the new year with a less cluttered home. Like most families, 2020 has been a hard year for us and we can’t wait to welcome 2021 with fresh start and renewed energies. We knew what we needed was a home where good vibes could freely flow.  For years, we have been struggling with all the clutter around us. We tidy up every now and then, but with all the things that piled up, it became a herculean task. Chairs became extensions of our closets. We could only use half of our dinner table because the other half were filled with stuff. There were times we had to buy new things because we couldn’t find the existing ones we had (or we had already forgotten about it).  My best time was at night when the faint glow of my salt lamp would hide the mess. I would put on relaxing music and pretend I live in a clutter-free environment.  One of the things 2020 thought us is that we don’t think as much as we need to live. I, for one, didn’t buy much this

There is an analogy that compares life to a football game with four quarters.  It says our lives are made up of four quarters. The first quarter is when we are introduced to life and the second quarter is when we make life choices on our personal and professional lives. This is the time we grind and build. The third quarter is in between youth and old age, and it is a period of significant changes in relationships, jobs, health and appearance. Hello, wrinkles! It the time we review choices and make changes to make sure we are still headed in the right direction. The fourth quarter is when we retire and hopefully enjoy the fruits of our labor. Years ago, we tried starting a magazine called it Q3. We wanted to target those in their 3rd quarter, or some would call midlife or middle age. We went through the process of doing a feasibility study, interviewing potential advertisers and discussing cover and stories for our first issue. However, things happened, and we had to park the idea