This month’s guiding thought was: Prediabetes is your body’s way of saying, “Pay attention.” It reminded me that health challenges are not the end, but a chance to make better choices. The rains from June to August helped refill dams that had been running dangerously low, yet they also caused flooding across Metro Manila and parts of Luzon. Much of the flooding was worsened by trash accumulation and delayed flood-control projects.
On the personal side, I struggled with dry, swollen feet and a non-healing injury that eventually produced pus. Delaying medical care made things harder, and blood tests revealed high uric acid, prediabetes, and elevated cholesterol. These results pushed me to start gout maintenance, cut down on sweets, and reduce salty, oily foods. It was a wake-up call to take responsibility for my health and be more proactive.
I visited the Santolan Super Health Center, expecting little but finding the process organized and efficient. In two hours, I completed registration, measurements, consultations, and received free antibiotics, plus a prescription for gout medicine. The visit reassured me and gave me a clearer direction for ongoing care.
On the tech side, I upgraded my DigitalOcean server from Ubuntu v14 to v26 and PHP v4 to v8, while downgrading to a lower tier to save costs. I refreshed SSL certificates, updated plugins, and fixed bugs in my Pstahl PHP application.
Finally, though my injury slowed me down, I managed to read two isekai-themed stories: The Novel’s Extra Remake and The Tutorial is Too Hard. These tales of survival and adaptation mirrored my own slower pace, offering escape and imagination during recovery.

This Month's Quote

Prediabetes is your body’s way of saying, ‘Pay attention.’ It’s not the end—it’s a chance to make better choices while you still can.

Flooding caused by the Habagat rains and accumulated trash

Trash accumulation worsens flooding across Metro Manila...

This has been a rainy month, and while water is crucial—especially with dam levels running dangerously low—the continuous rains from June to August have almost restored them to normal. Unfortunately, the heavy rainfall also led to widespread flooding across Metro Manila, as well as in Northern and Central Luzon. Much of the problem stems from delayed or missed flood-control projects, which left many areas vulnerable despite the replenished water supply.

Injured and Swollen Feet

Foot infection accompanied by dryness...

This month has been a wake-up call for my health. It started with dry, swollen feet and a stubborn injury that refused to heal, eventually producing pus. I delayed seeing the doctor for a week, and then waited another week for the medical results before starting medication. Looking back, I realize that if I had taken antibiotics earlier, the problem might have resolved more quickly.

The blood tests revealed more than just the infection. My uric acid levels were high, which meant I needed to begin maintenance medication for gout. I also learned that I was pre-diabetic, so sweets and sugary foods had to be flagged from my diet. On top of that, my cholesterol was elevated, reminding me to watch my food intake, drink more water, and cut down on salt and oily fried dishes.

Though the experience was difficult, it pushed me to reflect on my lifestyle. It reminded me that health cannot be taken for granted, and small choices—like diet, hydration, and timely medical care—make a big difference. This episode became more than just about treating an injury; it was about learning to take responsibility for my body and making changes that will hopefully lead to a healthier future.

Santolan Super Health Center

Public health care...

Because of my foot injury, I decided to drop by the nearest super clinic. To my surprise, the experience was better than I expected—I went in anticipating the worst, but it turned out to be fairly organized. The entire process took about two hours, starting from registration, followed by pre-medical measurements, a preliminary consultation with the staff, and finally the doctor’s assessment.

I was also able to receive free medications, including antibiotics, which were a relief. The doctor prescribed gout medication as well, though the clinic didn’t carry it, so I had to purchase that separately at the pharmacy. Overall, the visit felt efficient and reassuring, giving me both immediate treatment and a clearer direction for my ongoing health management, SSHCG: Santolan Pasig Super Health Center.

DigitalOcean Project: OS Upgrade & Server Plan Adjustment

Managing servers and web services with a cloud provider...

It’s been over a decade since I first started using https://www.digitalocean.com/. Back in 2014, I switched from a small hosting provider, and since then it has been my go-to platform for servers and web services. This time around, I upgraded my server OS from Ubuntu v14 to v26 and bumped my PHP version from v4 to v8, ensuring my stack is up to date.

To balance performance with cost, I also downgraded my server to a lower tier—enough to meet my needs without sacrificing utility. Alongside the upgrade, I refreshed my SSL certificates and updated my free cert-open plugin to keep everything secure. During the process, I discovered a few bugs in my Pstahl PHP application, which I managed to fix.

Overall, the upgrade felt like a necessary step forward: modernizing my environment, tightening security, and optimizing costs, all while keeping my projects running smoothly.

Manwha: The Novels Extra Remake and The Tutorial is too Hard

Reading novels over the month...

Due to my injury, I haven’t been able to read much this month. Most of my time was spent exercising my swollen feet or moving slowly through daily routines. Rest became my chance to catch up on stories, though at a gentler pace than usual. During those quiet moments, I browsed through two titles that both explore isekai or summoned-world concepts: The Novels Extra Remake — a reimagining of a familiar story where the protagonist navigates a world he was never meant to belong to.
The Tutorial is too Hard — a survival tale where a seemingly simple tutorial becomes a brutal test of endurance and wit.
Though my reading was limited, these stories offered a welcome escape, carrying me into other worlds while I was grounded by recovery. They reminded me that even in slowed-down days, imagination can still move freely.

This year, Jace’s June birthday and Joyce’s July birthday were celebrated together at home with cakes from Conti’s, classic dishes, and family visits, followed by a church trip. The celebrations also included foodie outings at Tim Ho Wan and Din Tai Fung, plus masses at SM Megamall and Ayala Felix. Reading became my main pastime this month, replacing Netflix, with manga, manhwa, and novels like The Exiled Heavy Knight, The Return of the Crazy Demon, The Ruler of Darkness, and The World After the End. These stories offered a mix of strategy, humor, dark fantasy, and survival themes, making reading both relaxing and addictive. On the gamedev side, I invested in Kenney All-In, a $10 bundle of versatile assets perfect for prototyping and simple projects, adding to my earlier purchases of Asset Forge and Kenney packs. For content creation, I experimented with Kokoclone, a fork of Kokoro TTS, to voice my Kdrama Pajama YouTube channel, though the voice-copy quality still needs improvement. I also explored Gemma 4 Eb models via LM Studio, finding them useful for lightweight AI tasks like OCR summaries and text automation. Altogether, the month blended family milestones, creative experiments, and tech exploration—a balance of food, faith, fun, and future projects.

This Month's Quote

“Every morning, remind yourself: maximize your strengths, expand wisely into related opportunities, and protect your health — because wealth without wellness is incomplete.”
“Strengths create wealth, pivots spark growth, health sustains it all.”

Jace and Joyce Birthdays'

A year of blessing...

Technically, Jace’s birthday falls in June, while Joyce’s is in July—just a week apart. Since their celebrations are so close together, I usually combine them into one entry. This year, both birthdays were celebrated at home in a simple but meaningful way. We bought different cakes from Conti’s and prepared the usual spread of spaghetti, pancit, chicken, and assorted dishes. Nanay, Joyce, and Jace’s cousins came over, making it a warm family gathering. After lunch, we also visited the church to keep the day special and grounded.

Aside from the birthdays, this month we tried dining at Tim Ho Wan and Din Tai Fung, which added a fun foodie twist to the celebrations. We also dropped by SM Megamall for our weekend church mass, even though it was quite far, and later tried attending mass at Ayala Felix. Altogether, it was a month filled with family, food, and faith—simple joys that made both Jace and Joyce’s birthdays memorable.

Manwha Manga

Reading manga and manwha is addictive...

This month I’ve been hooked on reading manga and manhwa. I haven’t opened Netflix for several days, so reading has become my go-to way to relax—or maybe my favorite procrastination chore. On top of that, I’ve started diving into novels, though I realized I should probably stick to completed ones so I can binge them straight through without waiting for updates. Read the ff. The Exiled Heavy Knight knows How to Game the System (mangafox), The Return of the Crazy Demon, The Ruler of Darkness and The World After the End. Here are the ones I’ve started:

1. The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System — A fallen knight uses cunning strategies and loopholes to rise again in a world that underestimated him.
2. The Return of the Crazy Demon — A wild, unpredictable martial artist makes his comeback, bringing chaos and humor to the world of martial arts.
3. The Ruler of Darkness — A dark fantasy tale of power, ambition, and survival as the protagonist seeks dominance in a dangerous realm.
4. The World After the End — Humanity faces extinction, but one survivor discovers secrets that could change the fate of the world forever.

Kenney All in Assets

Gamedev but No talent for arts go for paid assets...

I’ve been a Kenney asset user for quite some time now. Over the years, I’ve purchased a few of his products like Asset Forge and the Kenney 1 and 2 packs. Recently, I was contemplating whether to buy Kenney All-In, and in the end, I gave in because I needed some specific assets for my projects. Honestly, at just $10, it felt like a no-brainer—basically the price of a coffee or a couple of drinks, but in exchange you get a massive library of usable assets. For prototyping or even simple projects, it’s an incredible deal. Kenney’s work has always been reliable, clean, and versatile, which makes it perfect for quick game development experiments or jams. If you’re curious, you can check out his full collection here: Kenney Game Assets https://kenney.itch.io/kenney-game-assets.

Kokoclone

Clone your voice but not really...

I’ve been experimenting with Kokoclone (Hugging Face https://huggingface.co/spaces/PatnaikAshish/kokoclone), which is forked from Kokoro TTS Voice AI (kokorottsai.com https://kokorottsai.com/). I mainly use Kokoro TTS to voice my Kdrama Pajama YouTube Channel, since it offers natural-sounding voices that fit well with the content style.

With Kokoclone, I’ve been testing its translator and voice-copying features. While it works, the quality isn’t quite there yet—certain aspects of the original voice don’t get fully replicated, and the emotional tone sometimes feels flat. It’s promising, but definitely needs further improvements before it can fully capture the nuances of a voice.

That said, tools like Kokoro and Kokoclone are exciting because they open up creative possibilities for content creators like me. Even if the tech isn’t perfect yet, it’s affordable, accessible, and evolving quickly. For now, I’m using it as a supplement to my workflow, while keeping an eye on updates that might improve accuracy and naturalness.

LM Studio Engine

Locally run ai models...

Aside from running local image and video AI models on my M4 Mac Mini, I’ve also been exploring the Gemma 4 Eb models through LM Studio. I find them quite useful for automating simple AI tasks such as OCR summaries and other minor workflows. The experience has been surprisingly efficient—LM Studio makes it easy to run these models locally without needing heavy cloud setups. While they’re not perfect for complex tasks, they’re excellent for lightweight automation, quick text processing, and experimenting with different AI-driven utilities.

For me, it’s a nice complement to my usual image and video AI experiments. Running Gemma alongside my local models gives me flexibility: visual tasks on the Mac Mini, and text-based automation through LM Studio. It feels like a balanced setup for prototyping and everyday productivity.

Joyce has begun her junior high journey in a public school in Pasig, which turned out to be surprisingly competitive and stronger than many second‑tier private schools. Public schooling offers free tuition, access to DepEd programs, and a diverse social environment, though facilities like air conditioning remain limited. Despite larger class sizes, the teachers are motivated, well‑compensated, and supported by replacements when needed, making the system robust. Joyce continues her piano hobby through Yousician, an affordable app that provides structured lessons and real‑time feedback, keeping her engaged in practice. To reinforce systematic learning, a custom app was developed for Joyce that combines quizzes and daily tasks, following an agile methodology to achieve consistent progress. At home, long‑stored balikbayan boxes were finally opened and organized, turning forgotten piles into accessible belongings and marking a major step in decluttering. The family also maintained their car’s PMS at Toyota Bicutan, where it was purchased, benefiting from low mileage and a cost‑free service round. Government benefits were secured by converting and availing both PWD and Yakap PhilHealth programs, ensuring coverage and financial support for health needs. On the personal side, reading habits were revived with Academy’s Genius Swordsmaster, a manhwa that blends fantasy, discipline, and growth, inspiring perseverance and creativity. Altogether, these updates reflect progress in education, organization, health, and personal enrichment, shaping a more intentional and balanced family journey.

This Month's Quote

Welcome to junior high—be bold, stay curious, and let your light shine brighter every day.

Joyce’s Journey Through Junior High

Choosing between public high school and private school...

Joyce entered a public school for grade 7. The normal public school in Pasig is surpisingly competive and better than most 2nd class private school. The following are the Pros and Cons.

1. Free tuition (government-funded, no monthly fees).
2. Wider access to resources like DepEd programs and free textbooks.
3. Diverse social environment — children interact with peers from different backgrounds.
4. Strong community ties — public schools are often central to barangay activities.

1. Large class sizes, the class size is only 40. The size of 30 in private school vs. 40 in public school doesn't really make a difference.
2. Assumed Limited facilities, may lack labs and libraries. The laboratory and libraries are decent, by the way who goes to the library nowadays. The only major cons is the lack of air conditioner.
3. Teacher workload is assumed to be very heavy. Public school teachers are better paid than second rate private school. They usually have teacher replacement if a teacher is absent. The school event makes the teacher be competitive to ensure their promotion track goes well. Second rate private school promotion trak is meh!
4. Competition is touch in the public school! This is a Pro instead a Cons for us.

Re-Practising Piano through Yousician

Nothing beats constant practise...

My daughter enjoys playing the piano as a hobby, so we subscribed to Yousician to help her learn and play popular songs in a fun, interactive way. We also considered Simply Piano, but its subscription was a bit too expensive for someone who only practices casually. Although Yousician doesn't have the largest selection of songs, it offers enough variety to keep her interested and motivated to practice regularly. The app's real-time feedback and structured lessons make learning easier, especially for beginners. Overall, we feel Yousician provides good value for hobbyists who want an affordable and enjoyable way to learn piano.

Development for a Learning Application

Pushing this through...

We believe in systematic learning reinforced by consistent testing and verification. To support this, I created a simple learning application for Joyce that engages her with quizzes and daily tasks. These activities are directly connected to her school subjects while also including tasks designed to broaden her personal knowledge and skills. The approach follows an agile methodology, where short, focused sprints help achieve specific learning goals and foster continuous improvement.

Decluttering the Balikbayan Boxes

We have finally opened and carefully arranged all the boxes...

We have finally opened and carefully sorted all the balikbayan boxes that had been left untouched in storage for years. Some of these boxes were nearly a decade old, while others had been packed more recently, around three years ago, all kept at Kat’s house. For the longest time, they sat there gathering dust because we lacked both the time and the proper space to organize them. After much delay, we managed to transfer, unload, and arrange the contents into cabinets, drawers, and labeled clothing boxes. Although the items are not yet perfectly categorized, they are now accessible and no longer hidden away. This marks a significant step toward decluttering and reclaiming valuable space in our home. It feels deeply satisfying to see progress after years of postponement, turning forgotten piles into a manageable collection. What was once a burden of neglected boxes has now become a foundation for better organization and renewed use of our belongings. The process also reminded us of how much we had accumulated over the years, and how important it is to manage possessions more mindfully. Each box carried memories, from old clothes to keepsakes, making the task both practical and sentimental. Now, instead of being overwhelmed by clutter, we can focus on gradually refining and categorizing what remains. This accomplishment feels like the beginning of a more organized and intentional chapter in our household.

Toyota Service Center

Car periodic check-up...

I recently brought the car in for its scheduled check‑up. Even though we’ve already moved to Pasig, we still plan to continue doing our PMS (Periodic Maintenance Service) at Toyota Bicutan, where the car was originally purchased. The dealership has been consistent with its service, and we feel more comfortable keeping the records centralized there. This round of PMS was straightforward since the car has relatively low mileage. Everything checked out fine, and I didn’t have to pay anything for this visit. It’s reassuring to know that the vehicle remains in good condition despite the limited use. Maintaining the routine at Bicutan also gives us peace of mind, knowing the service team is familiar with the car’s history. Overall, it was a smooth and cost‑free maintenance experience.

Philhealth Person with Disability and Yakap

Enabling government benifits...

We have successfully converted and availed both PWD and Yakap PhilHealth benefits. This step ensures that our family members are properly covered and can access the government programs designed to support their health and well‑being. The process involved sorting through requirements, submitting documents, and coordinating with the appropriate offices to make sure everything was in order. Some of the benefits include reduced medical costs, easier access to healthcare services, and additional financial support for treatments. By completing this, I wanted to guarantee that no one is left out and that we can maximize the assistance available. It also provides peace of mind knowing that these benefits are now active and ready to be used when needed. Beyond the immediate coverage, this effort reflects our commitment to long‑term planning and responsible management of family resources. Overall, it feels rewarding to have cleared this task and secured valuable support for everyone’s health and personal improvement.

Manwha Genius Swordsmaster

I have started to pick up my reading habit again this month, and my current book is Academy’s Genius Swordsmaster. It feels refreshing to return to a structured routine of daily reading, especially with a story that blends fantasy, discipline, and growth. The novel follows the journey of a gifted swordsman navigating challenges in both training and personal development, which makes it engaging and inspiring. I’ve been setting aside quiet time each evening to immerse myself in the chapters, treating it as both relaxation and mental exercise. This practice not only helps me unwind but also sharpens focus and imagination. Rediscovering the joy of reading reminds me of how important it is to balance work, family, and personal enrichment. The book’s themes of perseverance and mastery resonate with my own goals of continuous learning and improvement. Overall, this marks a positive step in rebuilding a consistent reading habit and reconnecting with stories that spark creativity and motivation.

I have started to pick-up my reading this month. Academys Genius Swordsmaster.