Overnight Stay at Splash Oasis in Laguna

Looking fresh and relaxed - I just woke up in one of the rooms at Splash Oasis. For documentation purposes, I have this photo showing the entrance of the resort. Our travel to Laguna was in time for my birthday.

Splash Oasis is located at Kilometer 58, Los Banos, Laguna. It is part of the Splash Mountain Resort, a hot spring hotel in the area. It's easy to find since it's just located along the highway.

We had breakfast that was served in an informal setting that made the experience even more relaxing. They have swimming pools with natural hot spring water that caters to all guests, even the kids.

Our stay in the resort is memorable just because of a scary experience. In one of the rooms that we selected, we can't sleep because there seems to be spirits lingering in the area. As a result, we asked to be transferred to another room. They agreed to our request so we're able to sleep without issues. 

If you have visited Splash Oasis lately, you can share your experiences in the comments below. Take care! 💜

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The Strait Jacketed Soul

In the financial disaster of the late 2000s, hundreds of smart, rational people lost trillions of dollars’ worth of wealth. How could such smart people have been so foolish? These people knew the system, knew how the markets were supposed to work, and had managed billions, if not trillions, of dollars. And yet, almost to a person, they were wrong and wrong to the tune of global market havoc.

It’s not hard to look at that situation and understand that greed was some part of the problem. Greed was what led people to create complex markets that no one understood in the hope of making a quick buck. Greed caused other people to make trades on strange pools of debt. Greed prevented anyone from calling out this situation for what it was a house of cards just waiting for the slightest breeze to knock it all down.

It doesn’t do you much good to criticize those folks after the fact. It’s better to look at how greed and vices might be having a similar effect in your own life. What lapses in judgment might your vices be causing you? What “sicknesses” might you have?

And how can your rational mind step in and regulate them?

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Buffet 101 Eat All You Can Restaurant at Mall of Asia Complex

One of my memorable dining experiences is eating at Buffet 101 in Mall of Asia Complex. Here are reasons why I love the place.

First, there are a lot of food choices. I've tried all their Japanese, Italian and Korean offerings. I like their Braised Pork Legs with Black Pepper, Fish Fillet and Lemon Butter Sauce.

Second, I like the interior design of the restaurant. It's perfect to try local and international cuisine at Buffet 101, SM Mall of Asia Complex.

Third, I can't forget the taste of their Spicy Spareribs. It's so delicious. It's one of the dishes that I love at Buffet 101.

Have you been to this dining place before? Let's talk about it in the comments below. Take care! 💟

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The Beauty of Choice

It’s that line in the movie Fight Club: “You are not your job, you’re not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet.” Obviously our friend Epictetus never saw that movie or read the book—but apparently the consumerism of the 1990s existed in ancient Rome too.

It’s easy to confuse the image we present to the world for who we actually are, especially when media messaging deliberately blurs that distinction. You might look beautiful today, but if that was the result of vain obsession in the mirror this morning, the Stoics would ask, are you actually beautiful? A body built from hard work is admirable. A body built to impress gym rats is not.

That’s what the Stoics urge us to consider. Not how things appear, but what effort, activity, and choices they are a result of.

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Trip to Napo Beach Resort in Dapitan City

Napo Beach Resort in Dapitan City, Philippines is far from the city proper. However, the place is easier to find even if it's your first time to go there. We just asked a few locals for directions. Luckily, a few people told us a few essential things to reach the place safely and quickly.

Upon arrival, I noticed the picturesque landscape of the area. It's so breathtaking! The Instagram-worthy seashore captivated me. Since I prepared for the trip, I was able to go swimming before lunch time. Although the water is a little bit itchy, I still had a great time there.

If you want to visit this place, just ride a small bus to Dapitan City at Dipolog City public terminal. Then, tell the conductor that you're going to Napo Dapitan City so they'll endorse you to motorcycle drivers terminal that is located at the public market area.

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Deceived and Divided

Woman says she wants to meet a nice guy and get married yet she spends all her time around jerks. A man says that he wishes he could find a great job, but he hasn't actually bothered to do the looking. Business executives try to pursue two different strategies at the same time—straddling it’s called—and they are shocked when they succeed at neither.

All of these people, just as is often true for us too, are deceived and divided. One hand is working against the other. As Martin Luther King Jr. once put it, “There is something of a civil war going on within all of our lives,” a war inside each individual between the good parts of their soul and the bad.

The Stoics say that that war is usually a result of our conflicting desires, our screwed-up judgments or biased thoughts. We don’t stop and ask: OK, what do I really want? What am I actually after here? If we did, we’d notice the contradictory and inconsistent wishes that we have. And then we’d stop working against ourselves.

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Count Your Blessings

You should feel significantly better and happier after each time you Count Your Blessings, and how good you feel is your measure of how much gratitude you felt. The more gratitude you felt, the happier you will feel, and the faster your life will change. Some days you will feel happy really quickly, and other days it may take a little longer. But as you continue to Count Your Blessings every day, you will notice a bigger and bigger difference in the way you feel each time, and you will see your blessings magically multiply!

Here is a list of subjects that will remind you of the major areas you can look for blessings to be grateful for.

* Health and body
* Work and success
* Money
* Relationships
* Passions
* Happiness
* Love
* Life
* Nature: planet Earth, air, water, and the sun
* Material goods and services
* Any subject of your choosing

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
Willie Nelson (B. 1933)
SINGER-SONGWRITER

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