Sin árbol, selva no sería selva. Sin agua, cascada no sería cascada. Sin cola, ardilla no sería ardilla. Sin ti, ¿cómo podría respirar? Un poema que escribí hace muuuucho tiempo 😝

Cuando estaba haciendo mi tesis de maestría, casi me di por vencida varias veces. Lo que me motivó a decidir continuarlo fue la idea de que me arrepentiría por toda la vida si dejaba de intentarlo. Por eso, todas las veces que estaba cansada, pensaba en eso para motivarme. En fin, el esfuerzo tenía su recompensa. Me sentí muy orgullosa de mí misma y me di gracias a mí misma por nunca rendirme. Si ese día me hubiera rendido, nunca podría saber que no existen los límites.

My favorite moment with my cat is when I quietly do some work in my room while my cat sleeps peacefully like a baby on my bed. Whenever I feel tired from work, I just look at her and I will feel relaxed. It’s a magic moment as if the time stood stil when we both are together.

I’m not a good cook because my parents are. So when I was young, I had never needed to cook. But when I lived in another country, Thai food craving made me learn how to cook for the first time in my life. This dish in the picture can be called “meat with oyster sauce”. (I think it’s not very Thai, maybe more like Chinese food. Actually, Thai food has also been influenced by Chinese food in some ways.) The main ingredient can be any meat. Normally, I prefer beef but my mom doesn’t eat beef so in the picture, it was pork. Here is the recipe in my version. First, heat two spoons of cooking oil in a wok. Wait until the oil is hot, add some peeled garlics and fry them. Then, add pork into the oil. When the meat looks half cooked, add sliced onion and sliced peppers (add beautiful color to the dish with tri color peppers) and cook them with pork. Season the food with oyster sauce, soy sauce, ground black pepper and just a bit of sugar. When the pork is well cooked, it’s ready to be served with steamed rice. Hope you like this recipe. Bon appétit!

Met you by surprise I didn’t realize that my life would change forever Saw you standing there I didn’t know I care There is something special in the air

I wish there were a class about financial management, teaching kids to learn about how to deal with money, for example how to save, how to keep tracking of their incomes and expenses, how to invest, how to buy insurance, how to create a money plan, how to use credit cards wisely etc. I think these issues are very necessary for all of us. Even some adults have not realized yet about how important it is and end up struggling financially. Sadly in my country, this topic has not been included in a school curriculum yet. I hope people stop neglecting about financial literacy and start providing more financial education to our children.

It was just a normal day. I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and was ready to go to work at 8:10 a.m. I took a bus and arrived at my office before 9:00 a.m. First thing I did at work was checking emails while having breakfast(not a good habit I think). I didn’t have much work yesterday so I could have some chitchat with my coworkers (another not so good habit). I left my office at 4:00 p.m. On my way home, I met a pregnant black cat on a street. She was walking in circles and looked nervous. Next to her, a street vendor was frying some pork which smelled so good. I wondered if the cat was hungry so I bought some pork to feed her stomach. Then I called her and she quickly came to me, not because of the smell of the pork, but because she just needed some love, even from a stranger like me. She was very sweet, meowing at me while clinging to my legs. I scratched her ears, her head and her neck. She looked so satisfied and started to rub her head against my hand as if she was asking me to do it again. Then I gave her some pork and she ate it but later she asked for my attention again and again. Finally, I needed to leave her. I felt like a heartbroken. I didn’t know if she had a home or someone who took care of but I really really wish she did. Now I wish I have done something better than just feeding her a meal. I don’t know. Maybe today I will go check the place again to see if she’s still there.

My hobbies are so simple, like reading, watching movies and series, listening to music and playing with my cat etc. But there is a hobby that I usually do when I am on a bus. That hobby is to play the 24 game. I’ll explain how to play it for those of you who have never played or heard about this game before. The player gets 4 digits from 0-9. Some digits can be duplicated or even triplicated. The player has to find a way to calculate these four digits, which can be plus, minus, multiply or devide, until the result is 24. For example, you get 2,3,4,5. One of the answers (there can be more than one correct answers) is 5-2=3, 3+3=6, 6x4=24. It can be a boring game for some people, but I really enjoy it, especially when I’m trapped in a terrible traffic of Bangkok. And how do I get the 4 digits? Well, I borrow them from other cars registration plates. Normally, car registration number in Thailand has four digit, so it is a lucky coincidence for me. I calculate the 4 digits in my head until I get 24, then I move on to the next 4 digits from another car. This game helps me kill an unproductive time inside a bus and it also can help me exercise my brain. Next time you get stuck on a road, I recommend you to try this fun game.

Mi momento favorito con mi gata es cuando yo trabajo tranquilamente en mi cuarto y ella duerme como un bebé sobre mi cama. Cuando me sienta cansada de trabajo, la miro y me siento relajada. Es un momento mágico como si el tiempo se detuviera cuando estamos juntas.