Vacation Week

Earlier this month, my brother from the US went home and celebrated a few weeks of Summer here in the Philippines. With that, I asked my manager for a week-long vacation so I can spend more tie with the family and also have time for myself.

With that, I spent the week in different places from here at home to a few hundred miles north to the province of Pampanga, and then back south to the nation's capital Manila to visit a couple of National Museums which for the last 32 years of my life, I have never set foot it yet until then.

I hope you enjoy this silent vlog and be relaxed by beautiful sights and relaxing music. Make sure you sit somewhere comfortable while you watch because those that have seen I felt really relaxed and ready to sleep right after (but they did finish the film before they took a nap haha)

Never Skip Vacations!

Stevenson :)

Een dag in de droom

Just last week, I was thinking of things to do on the weekend to relax my mind and get away from thinking of work on a weekend. So I got my personal laptop and decided to look for a free video editor and pulled out my hard drive that houses my travel photos and videos. I searched google and stumbled on this free Windows based video editor perfect for my laptop. I gave it a try - definitely hard for beginner with all the controls right in front of me but I managed to locate the important tools. 

I came up with the idea of creating a short film with some videos I took from my trip to Europe last December 2019. I have a lot that I used to do my VLOGs but this time I wanted something chill and just music and motion. I have been editing my vlogs and vids thru my phoneall these years and it felt weird but also fulfilloing to edit something using my computer. Using videos from my time in the Netherlands, my first country to visit after arriving in Paris and staying just for a few hours to wait for my bus ride to Amsterdam, I was able to make a short film. 

Hope you guys enjoy Een dag in de droom or A day in the Dream in dutch. (Best played on HD - just click on the gear icon at the bottom right and opt for the HD on Video Quality)

***

PS  Thank you all so much for visiting my blog through it's new URL https://blog.stevensonque.com. To those who bookmark my blog, I invite you to update your bookmarks for the convenience of going straight to here instead of my old link -> http://www.stevensonque.com that I turned into this new landing page which you are also welcome to visit anytime!

Never Stop Creating!

Stevenson

Battling Rumination

Have you ever felt like you cannot shut your mind off of work even after you shut down your computer at the end of the shift? They actually have a term for this, ruminating. I know this is normal for people who are new to a position or work. But sometimes, I just feel like it's really tiring and whenever I look at the root cause of my worries and constant thought of work, it's always down to simple tasks or sometimes, nothing really at all - I just really feel anxious.

Bukidnon, Philippines (S. Que, July 2022)

It's a hard feeling to get by but I do remember I did feel this even as early as college freshman year when I attended University after attending just one school from Kindergarten to High School. It was hard and I really wanted to shift to another course and quit - but I did not. Then during my first time to work in the corporate world. I thought is it really for me, during the first few months, it was so hard for me. Even if I received awards while having a hard time on my mind, I still struggled with my thoughts. I remember my former manager giving me a talk on how he will allow me to resign just let him give me another month and see what I'll feel after - and yes, I did not resign more to it I'm still in the same company 6 years after.

Now I struggle again despite my senior telling me he has seen improvement on me in my first two months and even as I check my tasks and backlogs, I constantly see how I was able to perform the tasks that I originally felt scared if I can even do it before. But despite all of that, I am again in a constant battle with my own mind scaring myself of these new things, unknown concepts, things that can be learned. 

I know it is normal to be overwhelmed by new things - a new job, new lifestyle change, new workmates. But in my case, I know my mind is responsible for making those overwhelming thoughts be maximized, or as I read it, catastrophizing these fears. I have been blessed with this new position I prayed so hard for because I had no expectations I'd get it, only big hopes. Nobody said it would be easy, but now that it gets hard and new and scary - I constantly think of quitting - but whenever I look back, I already had a lot of episodes of wanting to quit, but never I resorted to quitting.

I can do this. All the efforts and trust of my new manager and director just to have me on their team, and even efforts of my former manager to constantly motivate me even if that meant leaving her team - I don't want those to go to waste. Not to mention the amazing training given by my senior, and my new teammate who I consider like a brother, is very supportive and helpful to me and constantly makes me feel he's there, I'll do my best to channel those motivations and load those in my mind to battle the constant whispers telling me that I should feel scared. 

It is scary, new things - but we always get by. I know everything takes time and I shouldn't be hard on myself by thinking it already 3 months yet I'm still feeling these anxiety. In time, with prayer, efforts, and help from people - I'll get by - I'll succeed.

As I end this post, I just wat to thank each and every person who believed and continue to root for me. I constantly do my best and drive myself from within as much as I can, but it's their encouragements that keeps me going the most. that includes you, my blog friends who never left even if I went gone for quite some time.

Brand New Adventure

Bukidnon, Philippines - July 2022

I have been a way for so long, as per my friend Beatrice said, more than half the year that passed. I landed a new position which is a very big opportunity for me this June and all the months before that I was also busy preparing for it. I am very grateful because I did not expect at all that I will be chosen but I was, thanks to my new managers and director, and also with the ever support of my former manager who I always will be grateful for not just for her support but for being a really good friend and mentor up until now.

I have been struggling mentally with everything new, not just with process but of all the changes in general even my schedule which became a lot better versus my past 6 years on the Graveyard shift became a challenge for me. But slowly in the past couple of weeks, as I opened more about it to my closest friends, they offered beautiful advices and how it is normal and how I should not be hard on myself and put so much pressure especially I am new. I prayed so hard for this position like I have never prayed before, and I should always remember to go back to how much I wanted this and get that motivation whenever it gets hard for me.

I hope to be back to blogging again soon and visit all your wonderful windows and portals that take me home to your places on this planet. I'll keep doing my things and hopefully be back to my 200% energetic self to hopefully bring you back my signature enthusiasm and smiles!

I'll keep it short this time but I just took a few minutes on the beginning of my weekend to say a shout out to all of you my blog friends. I still remember you all and I apologize for being so absent again but I often thought of you all and pray for all my blog friends every time. Leaving you with this nice photo of my first ever horseback ride a couple of weeks ago by the beautiful mountains of Bukidnon in Southern Philippines.

Stay safe and strong,

Stevenson

My Home Office Corner

 

Last year while I was isolated for several weeks due to COVID, one of the things I did to pass my time was to improve my bedroom - decluttering, re-arranging, and this - fixing a work from home corner since this pandemic is still not planning to end anytime soon.

Piece by piece last year, I started with purchasing a new monitor since the company loaned one was too small for my productivity. So I purchased this AOC 27 inch monitor for my spreadsheeting and data analysis work. Not too big but definitely not small which gives me a good maximized view.

Xiaomi Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

It has long gone since I decided to use a wireless mouse and keyboard because I hate my old wireless mouse which I thought was too heavy but I'm glad I got this cheap duo from Xiaomi which is not too bad with battery usage. It uses two AAA batteries, one on the keyboard and another on the mouse. Changed the mouse a couple of times already since September (but I used a cheap battery before but now got an energizer one which has now been a couple of months old now and still going).

Edifier Speakers and my "second life" clock

Next one I got for the setup were these speakers from Edifier. This is not a "need" for my productivity but just something I really want since I really like some good music while I work especially that I work alone and at nighttime. It has multiple connection compatibilities including the traditional 3.5mm, the red and white connection thing (forgive me for my terms, not a sound engineer or what), coax and even a fiber optic option. But the one I use often is the Bluetooth connectivity so I can simply play music from my phone and still use the laptop's 3.5 mm jack in case I need to use my headset for conference calls. And of course the retro design, love it!

One thing I love about my setup is this clock. It's actually my dad's old phone that is already super slow, so I thought of installing a clock app and boom! Second life for the phone and making it functional.

Different lamps gives needed lighting and fixes the mood as well.

I have several lamps as well on my setup. I use a cheap light strip with colors that can be controlled on a remote depending on which color you want. More expensive lightstrips come with an app so you can choose a wider variety of RGB colors but it's way beyond my budget haha

Above the monitor, I waited for the online sale to get that Xiaomi Monitor lightbar. It helps so much with eye strain when working in front of the screen for long hours, plus I use it when taking photos of stuff on my desk (see the keyboard photo?) plus it has a wireless remote (see the round thing on the lower left part of the photo above) which controls brightness and also the light temperature whether you want a warmer white or a cooler daylight.

Also love this Architect's lamp given to me by one of my best friends at work which definitely adds character and a cute aesthetic to my over-all setup! I purchased just a regular 4.5-watt bulb in IKEA so it won't be too strong in case I want to open it. I do turn it on and bounce the light to my black walls just to add mood lighting when I feel like it.

Things that give me needed energy

To keep my desk clean, I cleared all other stuff and make sure I don't have too much peripherals. But these two, I don't think they are simply peripherals but needs. Years ago my Dad went to Paete, Laguna and he got me this beautiful wood crucifix which has always been with every workspace I had since he gave it to me. 

Then last November, I treated my dad to a staycation and on our way home, we passed by a garden and he got me this swiss cheese plant (Monstera adansonii) which I always wanted and lovingly it's still alive and growing.

Having a good workspace setup especially if you are working from home, is truly essential. It's where you make your money and at the same time, spend most of your waking days. Mine is just on my room but I made sure I have a space dedicated to it where I can also relax at and do my blogging and paperworks for Grad School. 

I hope you enjoyed my mini-tour of my desk setup and may it inspire you to look for the beauty and pinpoint improvements on your space whether it be a full sized office room or just a corner desk like mine. Why not make it your little project this February?

Never Stop Working!

Stevenson

***

I would like to thank everyone for their warm comments on my last post after being quiet for quite some time. Sending you all love and good vibes from the Philippines. Been not feeling well again since last Monday with headaches and body pains, hoping and praying this goes away sooner.