DID I EVER REGRET MOVING TO OMAN?

 A friend of mine who also transferred to Oman from Singapore asked me this question when I was still in Oman: “Did you ever regret leaving Singapore a moving to work in Oman? I want to answer this question before I share my new chapter in Iloilo. The answer is NO and Never!

I am so glad that I chose to move to Oman to work and here are whys:

1. I experienced the amazing work-life balance that other people have never experience. Imagine our work would either from 7AM to 2 PM only or 2 PM to 9 PM (or 3PM to 9PM) only. I get to have my nap times or my free mornings.  When I transferred to work as a doctor in Internal Medicine in  a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Oman, even with an every 3 days 24-hours duty, it was chill and  manageable.

2. I learned to love being a doctor (which I really don’t before. I felt I was forced into it). I appreciated being a Family Medicine doctor. It was in my point in my life that I said I am glad I am a doctor.

3. I learned to live a minimalist and simple life.

4. I learned a new language - Arabic!

5. Our family got to save a ton! We shopped less and went to mall less (only once a month because it is 2.5hrs drive away)

6. I met a lot of new friends and interesting people.

7. Oman gave my family and I a wonderful experience and lovely story to tell living in such a unique country

8. Family and I experience the living near the rocky mountains and near the desert.

9. Family and I spent a lot of fun staycations in hotels in the city.

10. Follow up to #2. I learned to be more confident being a doctor. I learned how to deliver babies, do prenatal ultrasounds, manage emergency cases and medical psychiatric conditions.

All in all, I am glad I left my admin work in Singapore and move with my family in Oman to work as a doctor again. Since I only worked 2 years in a non-doctor role, it is still an acceptable gap year as a doctor. If I took a long time off in a non-doctor job, I don’t know if I could have returned back as doctor. I enjoyed my relaxed life in Oman with my family. We didn’t have a helper or a nanny but my husband and I made a system that worked for us and managed to create seamless teamwork in taking care of kids, doing housework, etc. It was a comfortable life, too comfortable I must say. And we know it was time for us to go because it was getting too comfortable for us too….. 

After more than 4 years in Oman, my family and I decided that my husband and our kids will go back to Philippines for my hubby to start a new business offered by my sister & for my kids to study there while I will return in Singapore to work in a new hospital in Palliative Care, taking advantage that Singapore is near to the Philippines.

Will write soon if I ever regret returning to Sinagoire in my new blog post. Till then…

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THINGS I LEARN FROM CATS

First week of September. I went a little cat cafe in Balestier Street in Singapore for a little me-time to think of what 2024 taught me & what I hope for the remaining years of 2024. 

It was the night before my flight back to the Philippines, saying my goodbye to Singapore. Found this cute cat cafe, QQ Cats & Cafe. Ordered my go-to Caramel Macchiato with oatmilk and TIramisu. Observing the cats inside the transparent glass walls playing around.

I have always preferred dogs to cats. But I realised there are a few things we can learn from cats. 

1. Independence: Cats thrive on self-reliance, reminding us of the importance of being comfortable with our own company.

We may need people in our lives but it is important to learn to rely on ourselves because at the end of it all, we can only rely on ourselves and no one else. Learn to eat alone in restaurants, take sole trips, watch movies in cinemas alone and just enjoy your own company. Be your own bestfriend.

2. Self-care: Cats are meticulous about grooming, teaching us to prioritize self-care and personal hygiene.

This the era of self-care. It is time to glow-up, baby. We need to prioritise pampering ourselves, grooming and being our best version of ourselves. 

3. Patience: Whether waiting for the right moment to pounce or for food, cats demonstrate how patience often pays off.

We stop all the rushing. Let us take our sweet time. We will get there. Stop the non-stop hustle and bustle. Take your time, girl. Enjoy the journey. 

4. Curiosity: Their natural curiosity encourages us to explore, ask questions, and never stop learning.

Never stop being curious. Life is beautiful and has so many surprises. Discover life's wonderful surprises.

5. Adaptability: Cats are skilled at adjusting to new environments or situations, showing the importance of flexibility in life.

As life can be unpredictable, we need to be flexible and adaptable to what life's challenges and surprises.

6. Rest and Relaxation: Cats know how to enjoy downtime, reminding us of the need to rest and recharge.

Never forget to rest. When you know your body needs rest, when it feels tired & exhausted, stop pushing and please rest. We take for granted our need for rest and relaxation. Our bodies pay for it if we ignore our internal thermostat asking for rest. 

7. Confidence: Cats carry themselves with poise, encouraging us to be confident in who we are.

They don't call it 'catwalk' for nothing. That is why the models gracing the runaway sashay gracefully with head held high with confidence because they emulate the Queen-like aura of our feline friends. 

8. Boundaries: Cats are clear about setting boundaries, a reminder of how important it is to establish and maintain personal space.

Ohhh, how essential this is to protect our mental health and our peace. Know how to set boundaries and guard it with utmost care. 

9. Live in the moment: Cats are excellent at savoring the present, a gentle reminder for us to be more mindful and enjoy life as it happens.

We live only once. We should live in the present, stop worrying about the past that is gone and the future that is not here.

10. Unconditional affection: Despite their independent nature, cats show love in subtle yet meaningful ways, teaching us that affection doesn’t always have to be grandiose but can be heartfelt in small gestures.

Subtle genuine affection is all we need, no need for over-the-top gestures. 

We all can learn from cats...... Meow meow......

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THINGS I LEARNED WHEN I QUIT INSTAGRAM

My last post in Instagram was November 16, 2021. That was around 3 years ago. It was an Au Revoir to Instagram and being active in posting in social media. I was still lurking around Instagram and my personal Facebook. I was still posting some family photos in my personal Facebook because I have been using it as my personal album and free storage space for photos I want to remember by. However, I have completely stopped posting in Instagram - in my feeds and stories.

Why, you may ask?

I have always have this ambivalence in sharing my life online. I love the outlet. I love the community. It was a perfect avenue to channel my love for writing and creating inspiring content or just the chance to share something that I discovered that people may also be interested , ignites my spirit. But it sometimes lives me vulnerable, naked and somehow invites people to comment, criticise and analyse your life & life choices. 

In 2014, when I was starting to attract brands and marketing agencies through my blog, they wanted bloggers to have a strong Instagram presence. I have to submit the number of my followers, change my Instagram to Business instead of Personal and I have to ensure that my reach & engagement are competitive enough. Marketing my Instagram account was so hard for me. I hate hard selling it and painstaking needing to drop in to random accounts to comment with hopes that they will follow my account. I feel pressured to get a lot of likes in the post because I get paid for the brand sponsorship and get loads of free products. I just wanted to write and take nice photos to remember but I feel that time I need to do this to establish my micro-influencer status. I also feel the need to document every moments of my life or I will miss out an awesome content. 

However, I continued on, I started to feel that little ambivalent voice whispering to me in a soft tone, “Do you really need to keep this up?” I started to feel more protective of my privacy and my plans. I didn’t want to come off wanting attention from the world which was never my objective. I just wanted to document my life in my blog, my Instagram feed and hoping if anyone passes by will find inspiration or a kindred spirit they can engage with. When all these thoughts have been hovering around in the mind on those past months before I quit Instagram, a loved-one told me that all I do is take photos of EVERYTHING. I realised, “Ya, I was so engrossed in creating that perfect Instagram photo, am I still being present in the moments of  my life?” Right then and there, I just stopped posting. I said I will not post maybe for a few months. Eventually those few months turned into years.

What have I learned during my abstinence in social media?

I realised that life was more peaceful without the need to document my life every minute of everyday. Life was more uncomplicated. I got to do more things with my time (initially). I realised I have spend so much effort in my Instagram feed to maintain my “influencer” status - doing likes for likes, commenting on other people Instagram post to increase my algorithm, spending so much time in doing content planning and doing all those reels. I realised life got more simpler. I love the peace and the simplicity. 

But with all the good, there is also some drawbacks when I stopped posting. I became more complacent and lazy. I stopped seeking for more interesting adventures in our lives. I became so protective of my privacy that I was almost too scared to share anything at all. I became so closed off from people, fearing of judgement, comments and opinions. And I thought, “Wait? That is not the kind of life I would want to live as well”. Too much in my shell, too distant from the world. I needed a balance of both worlds. I missed out documenting wonderful moments we have experienced. I love looking back at the Instagram stories I posted when the kids were younger. I was glad it is still in my archive. I love looking back at those moments. I also didn’t make too much effort in appearance because I don’t take any photos of myself. I did got a bit lazy and tired to even make an effort in myself and finding new discoveries. I know that I experienced more before because I wanted something interesting to share and it eventually enriched our lives. I know I feel great when I would post something - blog or Instagram post. The productivity juices somehow revitalises me.

So what now?

I still like the no-pressure posting in Instagram and in my blog. I will continue to blog and will start to post again in Instagram - but I will do it in my terms whenever I feel like it and with intentionality.

See you in Instagram, my friends…….

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Hello Again!

I know I have not been in this space since November of last year. So hello again. I hope you all have been well.

Funny that I am restarting my blogging (even if blogging is dead but I prefer to express myself in writing rather than going in front of a live camera) with an ending. In a different circumstance, I would be writing again to share a start of a new journey but now I am reblogging from an ending of a short-lived adventure that I have embarked.

Let me explain. Many things happened from 2023 to 2024. Many things were brewing - decisions made, plans decided- mid-year of 2023. My husband and I discussed early on 2023. We were well aware that we have been living in Oman for 4 years and it was difficult for my husband to find a decent good paying job in Oman, also considering the logistics of us needing a helper and a driver/ transportation service for our kids if he find a job. It was not at all practical for him to get a job in Oman and his salary will all go to the helper +/- driver. I know my hubby been wanting to back to work for quite sometime now. So even if it is not the most ideal, we decided that summer of 2024, he and kids will officially go home for good in the Philippines. He will start a restaurant business while the kids start school in Philippines just in time for school year of 2024 will open. My sister who owns restaurant business in the Philippines have decided for us to franchise on of their business - a Korean BBQ restaurant. We were excited and accepted the offer. 

So early 2023 that was the plan - our kids will finish up the 2023 school year in Oman and summer 2024, we all go home to the Philippines (me on vacation while my hubby & kids will stay in Philippines for good). Original plan was - my family go home and I stay back in Oman for 2 more years. If the the business is going great in the Philippines, I will resign from my work in Oman and plan to go on training in a medical specialty that I have always wanted. 

But life threw a surprise curveball and we decided to catch it. My friend who has been working a longtime in Singapore messaged me if I wanted to go back to work in Singapore. My immediate response was: "It's okay. I am fine here in Oman. My family will be going home to the Philippines next year and if all things goes well, I will follow them soon too." She mentioned there is a new hospital that is opening and they need new doctors. I told my friend that I will ask my other friends if they are interested to apply. I told my husband about my conversation with my friend and he said, "Why don't you try applying." He said Singapore is nearer to the Philippines and I can go home easily or they can come other anytime unlike if I am in Oman which is approximately 10 hours flight trip away from the Philippines. I realised that he does have a point and decided to send my CV to the new hospital. I sent in with the thought that if they accept my application to the job then the work is really for me and if I don't get the job, it's really no big deal because I am comfortable in my work in Oman & I am compensated well also. 

I sent my CV the next day to the email my friend gave me. By Monday, I received an email reply from the hospital HR. They asked me what department I wanted to join in and the next few weeks of email correspondence, the hospital set a Zoom interview meeting. I was interviewed by the head of department and an HR representative. After two weeks, I got the news that I was accepted for the job! I guess I was meant to get the job. With this news, my husband and I adjusted our initial plans of moving to them moving back to the Philippines by summer 2024 but instead we decided to move up the moving date to July 2023 instead. The next few weeks and months were a stressful series of packing, trying to sell our car in Oman and processing of reinstating my Singapore medical license. Selling of our car was one big hurdle we had to face and it caused us to rebook my husband's & kids' flight trip back to mid- August. But all is well, when finally we managed to settle the selling of our car to car company and my family flew back to Iloilo City while I remain in Oman.

Those were tough few months when they left. It was the first time that we are like permanently apart from each other. I was so used to having them around and the household family routines we do daily. On top of that, my stress levels were through the roof while processing my Singapore medical license  even if there is a Singapore agency who is assisting me. I had my experience during my previous doctor job in Singapore that processing the Singapore medical license  takes some time and many documents are needed for the license to be approved. It is understandable that the Medical Council will do their due diligence to ensure that the applicant is really a practicing medical doctor. But it was just a stressful time for me and gathering all the requirements brought to tears many times that I vowed to myself this will be the last time I will be applying to a job abroad. 

Finally by end of Nov 2023, my medical license was approved and I can tender my resignation to my current hospital. I filed my resignation and by December, I went home to the Philippines for my annual vacation. I was happy that I got to spend with my family before my work transition to Singapore.

I returned back to Oman by early January 2024 to finish my remaining weeks of notice and tidy up what is needed to be done in Oman before I leave. By 1st week of March, I was back in the lah lah land of chicken rice, kopi and the magnificent Merlion. When I arrived in Singapore airport immigration area, I felt like going back to another home,  everything looked same but older like it aged like me. However when I went out of immigration area, I saw a glimpse of the new Singapore  - The Jewel. I was not sure if I still belong to Singapore, nor do I think I belong in Oman nor even in Philippines. I was facing a residential crisis. 

First day in Singapore was so hectic and exhausting. I don't have a hotel booking so I hauled my luggages to my agency office, meet up with my friend, returned to buy agency office and hauled my luggages to the temporary HR office of the hospital to meet with HR executives to review our  original documents. I was super exhausted and I have to navigate my way in mall because I can't manage to make my Singapore phone number work and I have to find a bus to take me to the temporary lodging I have rented for a month, while dragging my luggages. I finally arrived in the apartment unit I have booked. The owner of the place was very nice. She chatted quite a bit but my body was screaming to rest. When I finally was able to excuse myself in my room, I called my family in the Philippines and I still have to tutor my eldest son for his school assignment. When I was done, I slept so deeply from the extreme exhaustion, I was probably snoring so loud.

The next few weeks was for processing some administrative stuff before my official work. Those were the time also that I looked for a permanent accommodation while reacquainting myself to Singapore. Of course, I indulged myself with all the foods I have missed here. Laksa, Kopi, Kaya Toast, soft boiled eggs, chicken rice, duck rice, and many more. During that time, I met up with my newly married niece and her husband who stayed in Singapore for a few days before heading to Australia. We visited the Gardens By The Bay and ate in Satay By The Bay. 

I was informed that I will be starting work on 25 March. I will be temporarily stationed in a sister hospital before the official opening of the new hospital. I also managed to secure a common room in a condo unit near the new hospital for my permanent accommodation.   

I was excited but apprehensive with my new work. It is my first time to work in a tertiary hospital. I have been exposed to outpatient work and my work in primary hospital in Oman was similar to my polyclinic work with  added occasional medical emergencies and antenatal obstetrics job scope. Even if the last hospital I worked at in Oman was tertiary hospital and I was working under the Internal Medicine Department, it was a tertiary hospital for psychiatric patients.  The medical specialty I will be working at is also very new to me and I haven't been expose to it during my Family Medicine training but I was excited to learn something new. I have always been confident of my resiliency and ability to adapt in new environment.

By May, the new hospital opened. It is such a beautiful new hospital and I was glad to be a part of it. It was up and running by the time it has opened. Patients kept coming and working piled in. My bosses and seniors were all so gracious in teaching me the ropes and guiding me. I like learning the new specialty and opened my eyes to a wonderful collaboration of working with multidisciplinary team & caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses.

 As days dragged on, work increasing, patients multiplied, exhaustion manifesting so is my unbearable homesickness and guilt of being away from my family especially my kids. I used to remotely help out with our Korean BBQ restaurant business in Iloilo City but I couldn't anymore. I would often tutor my kids for their school work or have time to drop a video call with my usual sunny self but I couldn't anymore. I would often go home by 7PM and at one time 8PM, too exhausted to even do any of my usual evening routine, I would  just climb in bed, pull the comforter covers over my head and doze off to sleep only to wake up at 5AM to prepare for work. My heart broke when during my kids' recognition program where the 3 of them got  each a Honor (Scholastic) Award, they video called me and my middle son said, "Mommy, I am sad. Why are you not here?" My heart broke in million pieces. Also during my eldest son's birthday, they video called me so I can sing Happy Birthday with them while blowing the candle from the birthday cake, I have to turn off the video because rounds are starting.  When I managed to call them back, they have left the resort where they at and they have finished the party already. I hold back my tears while I continued on to work until next day morning because I was on full call duty that day. 

Just this July, my husband informed me that his business partner (his brother) will be leaving soon for a work abroad and he will be left managing the business himself which is quite tough for him to do own his own while taking care of our three kids.  I realised that my main reason for taking this new job is my family, so I can be near them. But I realised the distance, no matter how comparable short the plane ride, is still far if I am not with them. I fear that my kids will get used to me being far from them and they will grow apart from me. I thought long and hard and after speaking to my husband, we decided that the best decision would be for me to just go home and be with them. We are always better together and this arrangement will not do for us. So I spoke to my boss and tendered my resignation the next working day. 

I felt at peace with my decision. So there it is, my short stint back to work in Singapore. But I am leaving soon. By last day of work will be the 3rd week of this month and by 1st week of September, I will be flying back to the Philippines. 

This is me, resigning from a life of moving to different countries, seeking new adventure. I will open a new chapter of life in my hometown, seeking new adventures there and importantly, with my family.

If you want to check in here from time to time, do drop by. I would love to hear from you. Just because I would be in any foreign land my life will get boring. Life can still surprise us in many ways....... 

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OUR 10TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN JEBEL SIFAH

I haven't been updating my blog for quite some time. Life happens. Lots of changes going on in my life. Laziness and old age seeping through my system. Also the fact that I lost a years of content in my blog and restarting blogging here in Blogger, I am not sure if my url is really working, makes me feel demotivated to blog.

This post is so long overdue. I have posted since July of this year. Almost 4 months passed. But I wan't to document my 10 years wedding anniversary with J. Our wedding anniversary was on May 18. I know! Like I said, long overdue, really. We celebrated it in one of our vacation place to spend our staycation  - Jebel Sifah. I have several blog posts about Jebel Sifah but since I lost most of content - it evaporated into cloud of smokes from the internet. But anyway, we celebrated our anniversary on exactly on May 18 but in between Zeke's birthday which was on May 9 and May 18. I got a free weekend to celebrate with my family.

Jebel Sifah is 1 hour drive from Muscat. We have stayed in a rented apartment there 2x and in their hotel, Sifawy Boutique Hotel, 2-3x, I think. We just love the feel of the place. It has relaxing atmosphere. Lots of space of the kids to play around. There are several pools for us to choose from in the area. We love hanging out at the lovely atmosphere in The Bank Beach Club where we get to have a free swim too in their pool.

We choose to stay in the previous rented apartment to save cost. We are cutting expenses and saving up. We bought a cake and some snacks. We, of course, did our mandatory family picture before we head out to The Bank.

After a bit of rest, we headed to The Bank for a swim and we will be having dinner there. The music was lively. There were a lot of people there. It was different from the pandemic days when the place was very quiet and hardly anyone was there. We loved it! We just enjoyed our time there. We got some snacks from their restaurant and J bought some beers. We stayed there up to dinner time.

After dinner, we stopped by the nearby convenience store, we got some prepacked Starbucks coffee for me & J and mini milk boxes for the kids to go with our late night dessert  of donuts we bought with us  in our rented unit. 

The next day, we lazed around the apartment then we fixed our things to head back to Muscat. We made the kids play for a bit in the playground before we left. We drove to a mall in Muscat for lunch, a little strolling and grocery shopping. 

That is it for our combo celebration of Zeke's birthday and J & I 10th wedding anniversary. Do you want me to share 10 things I've learned from my 10 years marriage? Maybe that would be my next topic for my next blog post. I hope I will be more motivated to update this space more often.

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MY BLOGGING JOURNEY AND HOW NICE TO BE BACK HERE IN BLOGGER

A few weeks ago, I thought I lost my blog forever......

But I am glad I got it back, even just partially. I learned about blogging from my dear friend Wein, who told me about this blogging like it is an online diary. You see, I love writing. If I am not a doctor, I rather be a writer, if only it can support me financally. So the blogging idea appeals to me. However, I was ambivalent with writing down my thoughts and the invasion of my privacy. I remember how I started writing about how hard my Neurology exam in medical school and I was so scared my Neurology professor will see what I wrote online, I deleted it after writing two sentences in the blog. Then I said I am too cowardly to do this.

By 2008, I just passed my medical board exam. Before I was entering into my Family Medicine residency training, I went to a pilgrimage trip with wonderful young ladies to Sydney, Australia. After our wonderful experience there, we wanted to keep in touch, so we opened a Multiply account (now defunct) that is similar to Friendster and MySpace (remember these?). The Multiply network can allow us to tabs of each other and it has a space to create blog entries which was really cool. KC Concepcion used to have a Multiply account during her school days in Paris and she post lovely blog entries with photos of her life in Paris. So I eventually started writing there and eventually move to Blogpost (or Blogger) when my sister encourage me to join her there. That was 2009. I was a Family Medicine resident training in a hospital in Iloilo City, my hometown in the Philippines. I enjoy writing entries after entries on my blog  - www.littlemisshoney.blogspot.com, though sometimes not really consistently. I started dating my husband in 2010. I enormously enjoyed my blog stories and he encourage me to keep writing. And writing, I did. I wanted to monetise my blog and to actually feel like a "real" blogger with brand collaboration, sponsorships and more readership. Frankly, I didn't know how to do reach that but I just continued writing on my blog. My writing voice would change from time to time, mimicking blog voices of other bloggers. I really didn't have enough blog identity to begin with. 

By 2012, I got a job offer in Singapore and started working there by the end of the year. By 2013, I told myself I want to improve my blog and become a legit blogger. First I got my own domain and removed the blogspot in url. I migrated to Wordpress and said goodbye to Blogspot/Blogger. I got a professional blog coach to evaluate my blog and give me pointers how to improve my blogs. She gave me wonderful advice and I even hired a web designer to design my blog. I joined Facebook blogging communities in Singapore. And slowly, I started working with different brands. I would received emails from brands and  PR agency inviting me for blogging events and collaboration. I got lots of freebies, free food tasting, and got modestly paid for it. I met wonderful friends through blog events and had an amazing experiences. It was an awesome gig! I worked with Zalora, SK II, Sephora, Pink Parlour, Tobi, St. Ives, and many more. I enjoyed it immensely though it was difficult juggling it being a mom of young kids. There were times when I did get burnt out. And my love for writing was replace by the need to get more followers in Instagram to keep up with my blogger colleagues. It was all about having more followers to attract brand sponsorships and PR companies. I didn't like that aspect of the blogging world but I have to play that game to keep up. I hate marketing myself and I just want to write. I also have that nagging feeling to keep my life private. 

By 2019, I moved to Oman with my family for another work opportunity. Life in Oman was more laid-back. I relaxed more and I blogged less. Plus we didn't have any helper in Oman so even if my work life in Oman  is relatively relaxed compared to my work in Singapore and work hours are quite short here, when I get home I have to do some house chores and take care of the kids than take some quiet time to blog. I started to become more private that I even stopped posting in Instagram by early of 2022. Though I was still blogging on & off, with long gaps of months in between. I wasn't ready to give up blogging just yet.

Early this year, my website crashed. Sometimes, this would happen and my blog host, GoDaddy, would be able to fix it. But after  3 calls with GoDaddy IT people, they were able to get my website back up. I have to accept the inevitable - I will have to say goodbye to my blog. I told my blog host to delete my hosting even if it means that  will lost my content. I do I lament at the lost content from 2013 to early of 2023. Those years were the years that I was on my A-game in blogging. But thank God, I still have some bits of it, ready to be resurrected. I will still need to fix a bit of my blog because it is not quite there yet. I am taking my time. This is not a race. Hopefully, I can fully put it back again. I hope to monetise it too. I want to write as I used to write, with my voice to tell a story and share a thought, not to become a emotionless copywriter to promote products only because it is the assignment. I will continue writing here. I will write more..... soon.....

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HOW I STARTED FANGIRLING AUDREY HEPBURN EVEN BEFORE IT BECAME A TREND AMONG MY GENERATION

Those who knows me knows that my favorite celebrity of all time is AUDREY HEPBURN. Not the popular actress or social media biggies of these days but an actress from the 1950's. 

 

Let me tell you when I discovered Audrey Hepburn. I was 1st year high school, around 12-13 years old. We just got cable TV. Our local cable station would have one channel which they would play movies after movies before there were HBO and CINEMAX, and of course, NETFLIX came later. We often get excited what they will show on that channel. We can even request sometimes the movies they can play, much like requesting from a DJ in a radio station. Though often they would say yes but never complied to our request. My siblings and I would constantly battle for the remote control until I just gave up, giving my sister and brother (our other youngest brother was not born yet) to fight for it daily. 

 

One morning when I woke up, my brother who won the remote control battle that day (and my sister is nowhere to be found) told me that you like become a nun right, there is a movie about a nun in the TV. You can watch that and handed me the remote. He might have gotten tired of watching so much TV that  morning or my brother was just being gracious to me that day. Trivia about me: When I entered high school, I was enrolled in an all-girls high school run by nuns. I loved their systematic schedule; their prayer time and meal time are based on a ringing of the bell; their early morning mass; their minimalistic cloister. I also developed a deep personal relationship with God that I felt like I had a calling to become a nun. My siblings would weirdly look at me when I would put a white cloth (lampin) over my head with the end just like nuns, with the two sides tucked underneath the back of my hair, as I go about my day in the house. They would find me sometimes prostrate on the ground with my face down with my hand spread in the side looking like a cross when I pray. So the people at home are well aware of my obsession to become a nun during the early part of my high school life. (Think Winona Ryder in the movie, Mermaids.)

 

So back to that day when my brother handed me the remote to watch this black & white movie about a nun. The movie is called "The Nun's Story" starring Audrey Hepburn. I thoroughly loved the movie and the actress. I even called my mother in the phone who is working in an office (we often call her in her work from time to time) and asked her if she knows Audrey Hepburn. I am also a fan of those TNT black & white movies. The local cable TV showed several movies starring Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast in Tiffany's and The Unforgiven. I grew to like her more and more. I started find articles about her too in my mother's magazine subscription.

 

When my family moved to Saudi Arabia when I was around 14-15 years old. My father's company has this huge library for staff and their family to use. I started checking out books about Audrey Hepburn - her life, her style, her beauty. The more things I learned about her, the more I even liked her more. I love her classic style. I love her fashion sense. I love the little black dress, the white big button down shirt with a black tights, her ballet flats. I learned about her humanitarian project and her connection to UNICEF. Not only is she a wonderful actress with a great sense of style but an amazing kind selfless person too. 

 

When I got older, my admiration for her never waiver. I started collecting books about her, memorabilia, photos, poster, necklace and makeup pouch which her photo on it. I just adore her.  I dont often have a favorite current Hollywood or local actress favorite except for Audrey Hepburn.

 

 I will leave you a poem that Audrey Hepburn recited during one of her UNICEF speeches.

 

 

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

 

For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, 

reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

(From: https://thelaglow.com/audrey-hepburn-beauty-tips-poem/)

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