I'm back in the USA for five weeks and on slight vacay mode. The trip took 30 hours - Manila to China to Los Angeles to Georgia to Texas - phew! The weather is much cooler here, although spring is starting to unfurl. I'm just happy to see family (it's been a year!) and friends and do some things I can't do back in Puerto Galera...like eat Mexican food :)

So to keep the vacation vibe going, I thought I'd put together an easy peasy get-to-know me post since I don't talk too much about myself around here. 

A few fun, and maybe surprising facts:

1. I was a high school dropout.
Half way through my 10th grade year I decided I had had enough of high school. My best friend had moved away, I was on the brink of clinical depression, and I just really did not see the point of wasting a few more years sitting in a classroom learning absolutely nothing. So I quit. 

Afterward, I got my GED, started working at the local newspaper and pursued college at 17 years old. Quitting high school was the best decision I ever made.

2. I'm also a wedding blogger.
My wedding writing career started in 2012 when a Texas wedding magazine hired me as a freelancer. After that, I started getting wedding blogger jobs and I still write for one to this day. I also started my own wedding blog a few months ago. I love the detail that goes into writing about couple's weddings, looking at the gorgeous photos, and writing about all the fun stuff, like putting together bridal showers and bachelorette parties. 

You can see my writing at Trueblu and Bridal Magic.

3. I don't want kids.
Never have, and at 31, I don't think it'll change anytime soon. 

4. Cheese is my favorite food.
Macaroni and cheese, cheese enchiladas, cheesy pasta, cheese sticks, you can never have enough cheese! 

5. Dance is my second passion.
I started ballet at the ripe old age of 18 and danced in Cinderella, La Fille Mal Garde, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sleeping Beauty, and various other productions. I hung up my pointe shoes about five years ago and transitioned to Nia - a free-flowing dance workout that incorporates the dance arts, healing arts, and martial arts.

6. My big dream is to write a young adult novel.
I've started and stopped three stories so far. Writing a novel is haaaaard.

7. I got to live my secret dream of being a model last year.
My friend in the Philippines needed a model for her clothing business and asked me to help her out. I was thrilled! Here's me doing my best "casual elegance" pose :P

8. I'm deathly afraid of praying mantises.
There was once a girl who climbed a tree and sat within its branches. She was minding her own business when she happened to look down and see a strange creature looking up at her. It was like the creature was looking into her soul and the girl didn't like that one bit, so she jumped out of the tree and hasn't been able to look at those creatures ever since.

No dramatics here. I can't stand to even look at a photo of a praying mantis. It's the only bug that's ever looked me straight in the eyes. Too creepy.

9. I have two tattoos.
One is on my left forearm and is a Goldfrapp lyric which says, "All the poems written in your skin." The other is a set of wings on my left hip. Next, a wrist tattoo. Any suggestions?

10. I'm a true blue, 100% introvert.
Funny enough, my boyfriend is an extrovert. You wouldn't think the two would match, but it works out great! He gets to go visit friends and do his social stuff while I get much needed "me time" in a quiet house. At the end of the day, we're both happy!

Now tell me one fun fact about you! 

When I wrote down my big dream seven years ago, I said wanted to live on an island with an everlasting summer. 

Now here I am. 
Everyday the same season.
The sun high in the sky, always warming, always kissing my bare feet.

And this means something, not just for me, but for everyone who lives here. An everlasting summer changes things. It changes how we think and perceive time.

Did you know that people who live near the equator are more present-oriented? Studies show that because there are no seasons (or if there are, there are only slight differences) in areas closer to the equator, it doesn't look like time is passing and inhabitants don't prepare for the future as much as Northerners do. 

If you want to learn more about this subject, watch this video with Professor Philip Zimbardo explaining how time perspectives affect work, health, and well being. 

I can attest to all this. Days slip by. People forget what day it is. No one wears a watch. And even though I grew up in south Texas, my perspective on time is much more future-oriented than those who've grown up on this island.

The northern folk can't understand this. We get frustrated and impatient when the islanders take their time. We don't get why they don't plan for the future. And we certainly don't understand why they find it perfectly fine to take two hour naps during a lunch break.

It all makes sense now, of course, and to tell you the truth, I think they've got it right. I mean, the whole idea behind this blog is sacred present time! The middle, the present, the taking it easy one breath at a time.

It's good to plan for the future and nice to dream about what it has in store, but what about now? 

It's time to get on island time.

Sloooow down.
Get in the longest line at the supermarket and practice patience.
Morning yoga and meditation.
Sit back and eat a mango. Don't do anything else. Just enjoy it.
Take a two hour nap.
Sip your morning coffee and stare out the window. Listen to the birds.
Go for a walk for no reason but to enjoy it.
Don't plan your weekend. Let life flow.
Think about the one thing that would make you happiest right now. Do it.
Have a dinner party, drink wine, laugh and talk for hours. No plans.
Savor this moment. It's all you have.
Go at your own pace.
Take a slow, deep breath. Hold it at the top of your head. Now let it go and relax.
When you're on your commute, change your perception from this sucks to ahhh...me time.

Island time is present time. 
Island time is today is a miracle and I will cherish it. 
Island time is living, laughing, loving, opening, flowing.

The island is teaching me these things. The sun is saying it's okay to just be. It's okay to slow down, darling. There's a lot of tension, a lot of anxious energy still swirling in my body - years of go go go, push push push, faster now. 

Tomorrow may never come, but today is here. Let's snuggle up next to today. Let's live on island time.