Early morning coffeescapade from a night owl

When it comes to drinking coffee, my usual go to is a large cup of Mocha with a teaspoon of honey. The sweeter it is the better. I’ve been drinking so many cups for the past few months. This started when I needed to drive my roomie down at Caloundra for her 6 am placement shifts. I was never a morning person.

I’d usually be up late all night, enjoying some quality creativity time til 2 AM and wake up at 9 AM. My lifestyle, however, went from being a night owl to an early bird when I went back to university.

So imagine us rushing at 4:30 am to drive 25 minutes every Thursday and Friday was no picnic. Yet with every seemingly sluggish situation, I find an opportunity. Most days, after dropping Mona (roomie babes) off, I’d drive down to the beach and look for a place to do school work or do some design freelance. I’d end up searching coffee shops the night before, checking if the food is affordable and if there was access to wifi.

So every morning when I drive her, I get to visit a new coffee shop or a new beach. I get to appreciate the sun rising on the other end of the sea and just watch as the waves hit the rocks where I was sitting on. I’d take walks and discover a path where Mangroves grow. I get to talk to people, asking them for directions and just happy to be conversing with someone new. They were all very friendly and wanted to help out the best they can. I’ve been asked many times where I got my accent, but I knew they meant where I came from originally.

A few mistook me as Japanese. I smiled and mention proudly I was Filipino. By then, I realised that one day, everyone would walk every part of the world. No boundaries of race or religion. One day, the beauty of no judgments will be real. The world will just be one. An idea I overheard from a drunken father while he was paying his bill at a Japanese restaurant near our home. It was fascinating how other people see things and how they vocalise their ideas once they’re intoxicated. For now, people wanted to relate, thus the question of culture is still the usual conversation starter.

During the journey, my right foot got badly injured. I was walking with it the whole time, not knowing it had a fracture. I’d limp by the seaside, carefully picking out the right stone to step on. Then I’d sit at the largest, flattest mass I can find and soak in the sun. I’d take photographs of birds scraping for food then fly off where the winds will take them. Then I’d walk back to the parking lot and strike up a conversation with an old man who just 25 minutes ago, was in the sea trying to catch a good wave.

After that, I’d find a bench by the shore, close my eyes, meditate for 10 minutes and appreciate the many sounds of my surroundings. Being present at that very moment. I was not in touch with my senses for the longest time. But Sunshine Coast, a place where people understand the importance of pausing, was so far from the busy city where I was used to. I need not have an excuse to keep my mind at ease. To keep me emotionally healthy and physically aware. The people here understand the impact of meditation and calm. And so I close my eyes with them and appreciate the simple life and its beauty that surrounded me.

Aside from being out by the water, I would do this mostly with a cup of hot coffee in my hand. I’ve been to numerous coffee places, yet I don’t usually end up in commercialized establishments. I mostly go to those privately owned businesses where they design their own interiors and have real chalkboards to show their menu. The ones with bikes and surfboards hanging from the walls and where there would be an open area right next to a giant forest of tall trees. I’d hear the birds sing often and think how blessed I am to go on this kind of adventure.

I’ve been chasing success and money and a “socially-postable” lifestyle to impress my parents and other people, realising that I needed to forget all of that and start finding peace and clarity within myself is more important. There is a lot more to learn, but I am glad that where I am right now, I feel is where I should be.

The feeling Of Change. Living in Australia.

Australia. It was a 2-year plan to start living abroad, experiencing an independent lifestyle while studying and living amongst strangers that would soon be my friends. It was truly a dream come true. I decided one day that I’d go about shooting pictures around the beach, just walking around and loving the chilly wind of a drizzle. As I look into the sea, I’d always want to pinch myself. Wow. I am in fucking Australia!

For most people, change is hard. It’s a challenge that may either result in fear or growth. And this, for me, was a mix of both. I remembered how we went to an Australian school expo back in the Philippines. There were a dozen great choices but one school won me over simply because it was near the beach. Automatically, the thought that If I’d be knackered from studying, working part-time and doing all the house chores myself, I’d love to see the seaside more than once in a week.

So here we are, living life just fifteen minutes away from the beach. Australia’s Sunshine Coast, as they say, is a tourist spot where most come and go to enjoy the sun. I’ve loved the idea that everyone we’re speaking in English as I’ve never properly engaged with it back home. Judgemental eyes would seep into what came out of my mouth and the reality of it was, most people assume a lot about another simply because you spoke a different language. I know I shouldn’t be bothered, yet I am. It was an enormous nail wrenched out of my system. Open-mindedness is a gift within society. I’d bravely say my hometown lacks a lot of that.

Living outside the family, outside of people who you grew up is honestly, freeing. I miss everyone a whole lot, yet there is something about moving away that gives you peace.

As I ponder about these deep life ideas, I would take walks around Mooloolaba beach. I’d enjoy watching people and giving a moment of myself. With Canon in my pack, I’d take the shots of beautiful animals or people or scenery and freeze that moment forever.

The attitude of liking change and having hopefully, healthy ideas around it is good. Change isn’t easy of course. Whether its origin is from a sad beginning or a happy one, it sets a path that anyone can choose how to end up. I ended up here, working two jobs, studying my second degree in design and striking up a conversation with good-natured strangers. Every different moment, whether it’s riding the bus to work or feeling the mood when the sun sets, everything is authentic, real, and truly worth breathing in. I am thankful every day.