I’m thrilled and honored to be nominated by Carl Batnag @ The Pine-Scented Chronicles for the Sunshine Blogger Award! I enjoy reading his blogs and have gotten inspired to read through some of the books he’s read and shared about. Thank you, Carl!

The Sunshine Blogger Award is driven by bloggers nominating fellow-bloggers, recognizing motivational, creative and inspiring blogs.

Sunshine Blogger Rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.
• Answer 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.

Questions from Carl:

Would you rather be a great orator but not a good writer or a great writer but not a good orator and why?

I think I’d rather be a great writer but not a good orator. Being an introvert, I exert more effort speaking in front of a crowd, and though I can convey confidence, it’s not very natural of me. I think my reach will be farther and wider through my writing – and I can go back to it time and again to remember how I felt at the time I wrote something. Which is the reason blogging calms me.

Name a mantra you live your life by.

Live each day as if it’s my last, so always remember my purpose.

What are your top three most inspiring movies? 

I love watching movies so I had to stop and think about this for quite some time. So I’m going with the latest movies I’ve watched that inspired me:

• The Two Popes
• Rush
• Tori Girl

What are your favorite quarantine activities?

I found painting by numbers as a good way to meditate and keep calm. I also had fun watching different Korean and Japanese TV shows on Netflix. Got to test my cooking skills as well, thanks to YouTube tutorials. Lastly, it was good looking through my photo archives and blogging about some throwback travels.

If you were given the chance to alter history, would you take the chance? If yes, what would you change?

Not really alter, but if given superpowers to go back in time I would probably go back and relive/reexperience them again. And then get to spend time again with my Lola.

We are living in the most uncertain of times. How do you keep motivating yourself to push through every day?

When I feel uncertain or anxious, I try my best to meditate and recite to myself (sometimes loudly) “my faith is stronger than my fear”.

Travelling solo or travelling with friends?

Travelling with D, always. But I also got the hang of travelling solo and I can’t wait to do it again.

What are your top three vacation picks?

1) Japan

2) Switzerland

3) Germany

You’re on a long haul plane trip. What book will you bring with you to read?

I still have loads of books to read from my Kindle so I will probably start with my Haruki Murakami books.

What are the things you love to do while travelling?

Trying out local cuisine is a must do for me, and then see if I can rent a bicycle (or motorbike if we are in an island) so we can explore faster. And then visit a heritage site or a museum to learn more about the place.

Any inspiring words? 

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I am sharing the love and nominating you all, my dear readers. My one question for you is: When was the last time you felt adventurous and did/learned/tried something new?

Keep safe and have a good day!