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Every year, I make several environment & personal resolutions. Resolutions to change, to reduce (3W’s waist, waste, weight), to become better, to try harder.

This year will be all of that (again) yet, different. Resolution or not, 2020 is going to change me and my life, forever. Whereas my past decade was more about wandering and wondering, I’m gonna guess that the next chapter will be about building and growing. It’s exciting and sometimes scary, but life truly has a way of propelling you forward. I simply pray that the next decade is kind to us all.

Have a Happy New Year and a Blessed New Decade everyone!

———

PS. My Environment Resolution: In 2020, I’m aiming for ZERO single-use plastic beverage (water, soda, etc) bottles. My 2019 total bottle tally was 16, down from 2018’s 26 bottles. Zero might be tough but worth a try!

Recap:
2019: No Fast Fashion (total sprees: 6)
2018: No Water/Drinks in plastic Bottles
2017: No Straws
2016: No ATM receipts

 

Hi Everyone,

I know I haven’t posted in a while but I am putting this out there in the hopes that someone on the internet will have good feedback. I recently celebrated my birthday and I was hoping to spend a day and volunteer in a Non-Profit.

I’m really passionate about:
– Animals (CARA, LPB, PAWS, HAPPY ANIMALS CLUB)
– Ending Human Trafficking / Child Trafficking and Abuse (VISAYAN FORUM)
– Education (???)
– Environment and Sustainable Solutions (WWF)

I’m still trying to choose where to go and I welcome suggestions. I know there’s the usual places like Unicef or Redcross or many of the other orphanages but I was hoping to do something different this year. I have been googling extensively but I know the smallest community based non-profits don’t have a lot of reach, may not have a website or facebook so they need the most help. Maybe you know of some of these places, please share them below.

thanks a lot!

xoxo
julienne

 

A few days ago, I got an email from GoDaddy informing me that there was something wrong with my website. Some compromise in security and malware and all sorts of techspeak. After a few days of trying to unlock my account, I am finally back in. I’m anxious and worried as to how to fix this particularly since the solutions are all very technical and difficult for me to comprehend entirely.

But please be patient with me as we figure this out. I hope to have a new and more secure site running for you soon.

All the best.
Julienne

 

 

You were Juelly and I was Jules. We went to the same high school, albeit 30 years apart. We had the same corny sense of humor. We both liked Wendy’s Chocolate Frosties. It was not coincidence. It was fate. We were meant to cross paths and I am forever grateful that we did.

I had the pleasure of working for you from January of 2006 to July of 2007. A mere calendar year in time but it laid the foundation for who I am today, for who I will become. In my year as your assistant, I learned to type, file, organize, shred and encode. More than that, I learned attention to detail, how to forge relationships with people, humility and the value of hard work. No one worked harder than you though. You were so dedicated to that little office and so sincere in your desire to help others. “Hayyy Buhay, Parang Life” is what you’d always say when we had particularly tiring days. There were a lot of those days, but it didn’t matter, in a show of incredible strength, you dug deep and persevered through it all. It was your family who kept you going. John, Thomas and Jeffrey were your everything. I can still see the way your face beams with pride and love as you spoke of them and their accomplishments.

You were a mom to everyone, including me. I couldn’t take a sick leave without you calling to remind  me to take medicine. You were so involved and updated in my life, my school work and my love life. My favorite memories of working with you were the light days when we could chismis and laugh over a coffee or Wendy’s Frosty. We had the same corny sense of humor and the simplest of things could make us laugh. One of our running jokes was your ridiculously cluttered desk. Your desk is like a time capsule, I swear there’s stuff there from 1988. One fateful day, I couldn’t take it anymore so after you left, I organized your desk and cleaned it. You were so surprised the next day and I’ll never forget how thrilled you were. It always made me happy to see you happy.

Even when my time as your assistant came to an end and long after I moved out of NYC we would always keep in touch. My trips to New York were never complete without stopping by the old office and a lunch at Rosa Mexicano (you knew this was my favorite). We would chismis like old times and you would send me home armed with Fordham giveaways and more Post-Its than I knew what to do with. While I am extremely thankful we saw each other this year, I wish I knew it was going to be the last. Our lunch was not long enough. Our hug was not tight enough. I would never have said good bye.

You were my constant in NYC, as timeless as the city’s skyline. I am beyond heartbroken that you are gone. Things will never be the same. Like many of the people whose lives you graced with your laughter and kindness, I will miss you very much.

Rest in Peace.