Writer's Musings

23 Dec 2017

How my father spent Christmas Eve 1941

Dec. 24, 1941 As they were nearing Tarlac, they were hearing explosions close by. There were more explosions it seemed. Looking further out, they could see clouds of black smoke billowing up in the sky, then more explosions. Every so often, they would stop on their trek and waited till the explosion stopped. It just…

1 Dec 2017

I am a 2017 NaNoWriMo Winner

I made it to the finish line. I am a 2017 NANOWRIMO WINNER! This year was tough. I didn’t think I could make it. Back in October, I was not even sure I’d do the challenge. With encouragement from some friends, I took the challenge. I knew if I joined, I would finish. I knew…

11 Nov 2017

Veteran’s Day Remembrance

Reblogged from last year – Evolution of Veteran’s Day Veteran’s Day evolved in the years following World War I, or “The Great War,” as it was known at the time. The Great War, a war to end all wars, ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month in 1918 when…

11 Nov 2017

NaNoWriMo Update – Day 10

It’s Day 10 on my 2017 NaNoWriMo challenge. I’m a third of the way to the finish line. So far so good. The story is moving along at a steady pace. Since I started on Day 1, I have a faint idea of what I wanted to write. Unlike my previous books which are all…

2 Nov 2017

NANOWRIMO, HERE I COME

As a follow up to my blog of Oct. 12 when I was on the fence whether to take the NaNoWriMo challenge this year or not, I came up with my decision at the last minute, last night at midnight. With three newsletters to write, I didn’t think I could manage to finish them before…

20 Oct 2017

I Have Returned

Seventy-three ago today, Gen. Douglas MacArthur said, “I have returned.” Below is an excerpt from “BAHALA NA (Come What May”: “On October 20, 1944, MacArthur landed in Leyte, fulfilling his promise to the Filipino people by wading ashore at Leyte, but the evening before the Leyte landing, MacArthur spoke through a radio transmitter announcing .…

14 Oct 2017

Fifty years ago, I came to America as a legal immigrant

Fifty years ago on October 14, 1967, I stepped out of a Philippine Airline flight from Manila into a new country with a third preference visa for professionals. I was a CPA from the Philippines. I arrived at Honolulu International Airport with my vanity case, my handbag with my Philippines passport and a hundred dollars…

12 Oct 2017

Do I take the 2017 NaNoWriMo Challenge or not?

I took the NaNoWriMo challenge in 2013 with The Iron Butterfly, a story based on the life of my grandmother, a young widow with nine children to support after her husband died unexpectedly. She was a strong woman of great conviction. I won the challenge and self-published The Iron Butterfly in 2015 after several edits…

16 Sep 2017

How to Stay Debt Free While Living on Social Security and Stay Happy

Are you one of those people who can’t seem to keep up with your expenses? Keeping up with the Joneses will put you in the poor house. We had, even while my husband and I were both gainfully employed at that time. I was making good money and more so than my husband. But in…

11 Sep 2017

Rose Day of Remembrance – September 11

“To remember, lest we forget.” There isn’t an American who is not affected by that tragedy at the New York Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Everyone who died in that tragedy left someone behind who loved them. Rose is a flower of love. To honor and pay tribute to all the victims of the…