I ended October on a positive note. I was grateful for many reasons. We were safe from the strong typhoon. My cousins joined me in celebrating Kuya's birthday. I received donations from my book sponsorship project. (Thank you for the support, it means so much to me.)  I was given the opportunity to present in a crowd of Catholic educators with my superiors. I miss real lecture in a classroom but I realized, I had two humble public speaking engagements this year. 

I had my most awaited hair and dental treatment, which ripped off a significant amount of my money. The decision on the correction of my birth certificate arrived after three months with some disappointments. I'm frustrated with the local civil registry of Marikina. I followed their advice only to be later denied by the Philippine Statistics Authority. If only they adhered to what I've wanted months ago, I'm already all done today. 

November entered and after two years, cemeteries were opened on All Saints and All Souls Day. Though in my case, I visited my mother's resting place a day before to avoid the crowd. After many years, I also joined my cousins to visit my grandparents. The holiday was a great breather. 



Then here comes my most awaited project at work. Days before, there were unexpected challenges to be addressed. Frustration came in, people who made life harder, my grief made its presence felt and in a snap, I had a series of silent crying episode last Friday until the entire weekend. One project down, three more before the academic year ends. Two projects are doing well, the other is testing my strength and character.  I'm beginning to lose hope. It felt like people are just taking advantage of my hard work. I discovered how some people can become so dishonest. When in fact, I tend to admire people who admit to their mistakes. Then there are those intervening your best intentions with their greed. I dealt with entitled individuals, who believe they are victims of their own shortcomings. I've experienced so much since I worked on this project a year ago. 

Amidst the frustrations, I'd like to believe that November will be better. I hope it does happens.