I HAVE NEVER FELT SO ADULT UNTIL I TURNED 25

 Hey, it’s been 7 months since I last posted on my low-key blog. I have had this for the longest time but only had the chance to enhance it to the best of my ability in 2017. That’s when I started real trips on my day-offs and paid vacation leaves.

The last post was when our family went to Boracay for a three-day vacation. I have never felt as complete as those days. Every day, you become older and older, and you just get to know who you are, in a much deeper sense. In a way that only you can understand in the present time. So much has happened since the day we lost our father. All the dreams and aspirations that seemed to be falling in place, fell into broken pieces once more. There’s nothing more hurtful than losing a piece of you, a person who’s been a part of you your whole life. 

But it’s July, it’s also the 9th month of our grandmother Rosario’s passing. So many have passed away already. My dad and cousin in 2020, my grandmother in 2021. Life is indeed just like a blink of an eye, it just looks like a flashback in front of your eyes that you may just be playing in the present time. Just like what they say, life is like a movie, so better play along with it.

So I figured, we can only do so much by doing everything that we want, love the people around us genuinely, show support to your friends, don’t be bitter, be the BEST that you can be, it’s not bad to accept a piece of advice from a person who you know cares about you, and I could go on and on… (oh i think i’d be making a list of how to live your life happily next LOL).

Honestly, being genuine in everything that you do and with everyone around you, is the simplest and the best key to having a rich life.

So, here’s a trip that I would like to share with you on my 25th. I’m skipping my 24th birthday because it was the worst. I was pregnant and my hormones are not giving me a good mood all the time. I was so emotional, considering everything that had just happened that year.

It was the very first time I ever spent my birthday on an island with our grandmother Rosario. Our province is filled with beautiful gems and Casa Consuelo is one of them. Our family has been here in 2019 but I wanted to show this to the new additions in our family, Aaron and Heaven. And of course, our granny who’s always been left in the house.

Casa Consuelo is a family owned beach resort. It has an infinity pool, Dos Hermanos island at bay view, a rocky shore, a calm sea, little kubos, and function halls inside. We stayed in a family Casa and a standard room for 2 nights! Heaven was seven months at the time and I am already making her my little version of a mermaid. 

The pool was a bit slurry, we did not have snorkeling gear for the small fishes in the shore, the waters were on a high tide, so we just stayed the nights on chill. It was just like welcoming adulthood in a more adult way. LOL.

After my dad’s second death anniversary, me and Aaron decided to go back to Manila to search for greater opportunities as well as with the purpose to expand our milk tea shop and open up new investments. 

We rented a condo unit located in Paranaque near BGC, Taguig.  And ever since, opportunities came flowing like a stream. First, we had a part-time job getting whitelisted for various NFT collections. After a month, I resigned at my full-time job so I could get accepted at the American Express. A side hustle that we did was with Riverbend Consulting where we assisted many Amazon sellers with their online stores. That job lasted from March to July until I can no longer balance my time with my full time job as fraud specialist and the demands of the consulting firm asI was about to get promoted as a consultant/appeal writer.

It was a great opportunity too, being with a start-up company and getting promoted in just 4 months, but the benefits were lacking. We had to have something to cover our daughter’s and Aaron’s healthcare expenses just in case. 

This year’s boosted our desire to start now, as soon as possible. We have started inquiring some loans for real estate rental business and a car for vacation car rentals too.

This year has really got us excited about life and the future that will come moving forward. It just makes as feel the bloom in life that we’ve always been dreaming of back when we were still in the province. 

Everything is falling again in place. And I hope that my father will be very proud of what we have become. Our youngest is continuing her taekwondo journey. My mom is continuing and expanding the security business our father left. And our middle sister is working at an area where she excels most at  (hotel front desk work) and has plans of moving abroad too!

The little wins in life are the most satisfying when combined together. Especially so, Aaron and his family have gone through a lot this year too, losing his uncle along the way and making them stronger, testing them to be more than themselves than ever before. 

It’s just August, a month away from my 26th. Is another beach getaway a good idea with Heaven? But I am quite sure I have the same excitement and energy like when I first started this beach birthday series when I was 21! #

20th - Hiking and Batangas Beach

21st - Coron Palawan, Canyon Cove (Batangas)

22nd - Siargao (5 days)

23rd - Boracay Island (3 days)

24th - Family and Pagudpud Ilocos Norte trip

25th - Casa Consuelo (3 days)

See you again soon… at the beach? Or anywhere I'll be on my 26th!

Tiktok and Instagram: Meaganmangoma

Summer in June 2019

When I go home, I make sure to make it memorable and fun, especially with the family. In the first of June of 2019, I just got home from Manila after resigning from work.                                              

Since I started working, I’ve been obsessed with travelling, so why not tag your family along right? And if I run out of cash, there’s my credit card to save me LOL.

So I booked this family room in Casa Consuelo, and by the day we are about to check in, I downloaded long road trip music… including my dad’s playlist as he wished!

We just had this sedan black car (NOM 781) which is no longer ours, and we drove for about 3 hours. Of course the outfits, not to mention, are well-prepared. You know me, and my previous blogs would always have this trademark of outfits, I have a lot of them in my closet.

Casa means house or home. And when I asked the person from the reception area, it was family owned turned into resort.

The room and the furniture looked antique, all were dark brown, the room was dim lit. and not to forget, what we actually paid for, the view!

It was the nearest resort to Dos Hermanos Island (Two Brothers). They were called that because they were two big hills adjacent to each other. In most time of the day it was low tide that you can walk to the islands and climb up. Me and my dad went there and took some nice photos. I was teaching him how to use this Gopro cam that I borrowed from Gelo. LOL.

Here, you have to wear slippers when going down for a dip or a walk as it was rocky. My grandmother said it was because people were fond of picking up rocks at this area.

It was a resort with its own infinity pool, a big lounge area for celebrations, and cabanas that can be used for free when you’re checked in. We were all so happy and that was the last summer I had with the family. It will always be one of the trips to remember.

Ever since we purchased our first car in 2018, we’ve been going around Ilocos Norte. Like The Boracay of the North with the entire clan, Little Batanes of the North, to Vigan Ilocos Sur. My dad was always all in when I give a travel itinerary, simply because he was living the life he had always dreamed of, a life he had always been working hard for. And I’ve always admired that in him.

That is why I beat myself to writing my goals on a piece of paper, or notebook, or here in my blog. It mught be read by people, may be not, and it’s okay. These are memories I can and will always go back to, no matter what age I will be.

Now that I have a family, it has been more defined and clear to me, working hard and smart’s not enough, being a good parent is a different story. And my dad was all-in-one, good, hard-working and smart. J

*end*

Tiktok/Instagram: meaganmangoma

 

IT'S 2019 ALL OVER AGAIN

I don’t even know where to start.

It’s been a long time since I wrote my last blog, and it’s been almost three years. Where have I been? Or what have I been doing? Really?

I’ve always written blogs as my form of creative journal, and this is where I can also post photos related to the blog, combined with all the possible imaginable feelings I am feeling while writing and while memorizing every inch of emotion there is in those moments. I’ve always had that enthusiasm, but I somehow lost it.

It’s 2022, and it feels so good to be back and write again. Being a mom hit me hard last 2021. As for the death of my father in January of 2020, it turned my world to an almost empty feeling, crushed it, turned it upside down, you can name every sad feeling in the world, but that’s how it was for me, devastating and very heartbreaking. This was the same year we said hello to COVID-19. So I’ll be writing back in time, and we will be rolling the films back to 2019.

In May of 2019, I finally decided to leave my first company, and move to a new one. I have been a part of the account for 3 years, and it felt good leaving as I wanted a leap of faith and take a chance on a new role.

I studied communication arts and the skillset needed on the job is not plain communication skills but listening skills too. Being able to respond appropriately and being able to use positive language all the time can be a hard task.

But before I resigned, of course I already had a back-up plan. I already applied to a technology company with the same role. I started on the second week of June and this is where I met Aaron.  He looked curious, serious, new, and confused to the world he just entered into. We are the same age but I have already worked three years, and this is his first. He looked like a gentle bad-ass which what totally killed my impression of him. He was wearing a black plain shirt, curly hair on top and a clean cut on both sides of his head, he had this remarkably well-shaped eyebrows and lips that’re perfectly shaped.

He sounded shy and had a slightly deep voice which added flavor to my curiosity of wanting to know him more. He was so handsome. And after a month and a half, we were together! Yep, just as fast as that, no formal courtship!

September came and I’ve had my 23^rd birthday not-so-planned. I decided to celebrate it with the whole family and it so happened that my parents were having a meeting in Boracay Island. So I booked them plane tickets, not to my expense, LOL, as well as their hotel room for their first three nights.

A day before my birthday, after my shift, my sister came to my office and we booked our grab to the airport. It is her first time riding a plane and she was excited too! We landed at Kalibo Aklan because it was cheaper, then we rode a bus for 2 hours to arrive at Caticlan Jetty Port.

We rode a speed boat going to the main beach (Cagban Jetty Port) and we spent around Php175 each. It was just a 15-minute ride. Once we reached the island, we then went ahead and made our way to station 1.

In the island, there are three stations. Station 1 is where the most private and secluded hotels are. Station 2 is like the city part of the island where you can go to malls and this is where most hotels are and each also offered a taste of luxury at an affordable rate, if not, reasonable rate. Station 3 is where the cheaper hotels are found. But those hotels are literally in front of the beach, just a minute of walking and voila! You’re there! 

Going back to where we’re headed, at station 1’s Alta Vista De Boracay. We rode a tricycle and paid Php200. It was quite far from the Cagban Jetty Port (around 20-25 minutes).

Once we arrived at the hotel, we immediately saw our youngest sister and dad waving from uphill. We were down below and it just took a 3-minute ride up to the hotel with their private e-jeep. We were welcomed with tropical drinks and while checking in, I asked if they had special treats for birthday celebrators at the hotel. I almost forced it but they agreed to be at the buffet area with some special treats the morning of my birthday. Yayks!

Upon checking in, they handed us with wrist tickets for access at their private beach (Puka Beach) and the breakfast meal as well as van and e-jeep rides to and from the hotel.

It was a family room with two large beds and a balcony with coffee and drinks. I did not vlog that much here because I wanted to enjoy the quality time more than taking films. We had beautiful photos though. J

Once we settled, we decided to go the private beach. It was really a secluded area as only guests of the hotel were able to spend time there with a few souvenir vendors and a volleyball play area. And when we got back to the hotel, we decided to spend the night at station 2. We ended up eating at a local fast food restaurant because it’s the cheapest!

We wandered around the area and took videos and photos for my vlog: MEAGAN (please check me out on youtube).

Morning came and I’m 23. So at the buffet area, the staff sang me a birthday song with a little cake and a dedication on a plate! What a cute little surprise that my dad was so happy looking at me, at us, being happy at a different place. So when we checked out, we then headed to out next hotel (station 3). I chose this because it’s the nearest to the Cagban port and our flight is late morning of the following day.

This is when we took the island trip for Php2500. Snorkeling and seeing islands and a scenery of beautiful sea creatures were everywhere! Looking down at a spot we stopped at, it was like a different world underwater! I’ve always gone to beaches on my birthday but this one showed me a bigger picture of underwater world. And I’d love to try scuba diving but learning takes days and money too. LOL.

On our way back, we prepared for dinner, it was just a pizza night for us and a talk about me and my second sister’s future careers. Our dad loved talking about us and our plans, and that’s what I miss about him too.

Our last night as spent roaming around bars and hotels while entertainment shows were ongoing. And the next morning, I had a short dip at the beach before heading towards the airport. We arrived early at the airport and waited around an hour. Dad mom and our youngest boarded the plane first as they are headed to Clark Airport in Pampanga while me and Essa were headed to Manila. Although we all boarded on the same airline, AirAsia.

It was my first time boarding this airline too as I usually book with Cebuana Pacific or Philippine Airlines. It was our first ever out of town that needed a plane ride. And the last think we know is this was going to be our last wonderful beach trip with our dad. He passed away the following January due to road accident. But I was thankful for all the memories we have had. They’ll forever be cherished and remembered.

Cutting my 2019 birthday to Manila, Aaron booked a loft type hotel room for us somewhere in Pasay. At that time, I invited my sister and her partner for an overnight as it was good for 4 pax. We got wasted that we had to pay some fines when we checked out. LOL.

In November, when cold breeze was approaching in the hot zones of the Philippines, we decided t go to Baguio. It was Aaron’s first time and it was our first time too as a whole family. The last time I went to Baguio was during my OJT days in 2015. Whopping 4 years!

We stayed for 2 nights while dad, mom, and Izha spent one night just to see me and Essa.

Towards December, as my yearly tradition, I always go home for my dad’s birthday on the 25^th of December. Hosted his program for his security agency and spent his birthday with the whole family on both mom’s and his side. Can you imagine how big it was?

And the last time I remember seeing him spend his birthday alive, with us. He drove me to the airport to catch my flight going to Manila together with mom. And that was the last wave of goodbye I have ever seen him do.

*end*

Email: jesellemangoma@gmail.com

TIKTOK/INSTAGRAM: meaganmangoma