How we buried our mother

It was March 21, Wednesday when I woke up to hundreds of text, missed calls, and FB msgs about mom. I sleep early if it's workweek so when they all tried to contact me, I was dead asleep. My mom was brought to ICU. She had a mild stroke.

I was not really panicking since I don't know these medical terms and stuff they were discussing so I was just updating everyone about me just waking up and all, messages, SMS still keep on pouring in. I have no choice but to come to work since of course, everyone else was on the morning shift and I didn't get permission from them first.

I was not really panicking since I don't know these medical terms and stuff they were discussing with me so I was working, but still praying that she'll be fine. My mind was a bit at lost though as they said mom is under observation. I thought, "Okay, she's being observed, nothing to be worried about." I also thought that for someone that's very healthy and don't have any "sickness," everything should be fine.

Morning came and I asked permission, they did give me permission to go home. The last message I received was that mum was under observation for 3 days. Okay, I thought she will be better in 3 days so I packed my clothes for 3 days over the weekend, and the majority of my clean clothes that time were RED. My cousin booked me the last flight to Manila Thursday evening (March 22) and arrived already in Manila, of course, due to delays, March 23 morning. I rushed to Los Baños, Laguna and straight to LBDH (Los Baños Doctor's Hospital) ICU. It was around 9am when I arrived and good thing it was the time where I can visit mom at the ICU.

I still wasn't panicking since I don't know what's going on and what's happening. It was like in the movies, tv series I watched; the ICU machines, the tubes and all.

I talked to her like in the movies, tv series I watched; I held her hand, stared at her and told her to wake up because I'm there already. I told her to wake up because I look stupid talking to her and she's not replying. I told her to wake up because I'm home and I need to taste her home-cooked sinigang because the one in Cebu doesn't taste sour and as delicious as her cooking.  I told her to wake up because there are still lots of things need to be cleaned at home. I told her to wake up because I need to go back to Cebu already and I'm just waiting for her to wake up.

"Mommy (as we fondly call her), gising ka na (wake up already). Andito na ako (I'm here already), pagluluto mo pa ako ng sinigang (You'll still have to cook sinigang for me!)!"

"Mommy, ang dami mo pang lilinisin sa bahay, at kailangan ko na bumalik sa Cebu, hinihintay ko lang na gumising ka, kaya gumising ka na."

I went out and my brother came and together with everyone else, it was timing the doctor gave us an update; my mom's BP is 60/40 and the blood isn't getting pumped that strong enough to make her feel better. Her body is not taking the medicines anymore and they've already given the maximum dose and can't give higher one because there might be complications. I haven't had proper sleep that time so I'm just taking it as it is, however, everyone else were already crying and I'm just like "duh."

We went outside and ate lunch, waited for my niece and nephew and some other relatives, and family friends. In the afternoon, around 6, her heartbeat went down and she went flatline. The doctor was asking us if we wanted to revive her. Everyone agreed and she was revived. They have to cover the tv monitor on the ICU because the doctor said we wouldn't want to see how they do it; they literally look like they are beating my mom.

She was revived. They asked us to sign a waiver and we already have a feeling on what will happen. Around 7:30 pm since everyone were exhausted, tired and weary, we went out to eat and it was rather ironic and peculiar that all other tables were family celebrations because it was graduation, however, for us, our faces were literally like someone died. We all sat down and ordered, and just a few minutes passed, they called my brother over the phone and asked to come over. My sister, sister-in-law and father went with him while me, my niece and nephew were left. My cousin came and delivered the bad news; at 8:05 pm, my mom passed away. I told and forced the two to eat, and just asked for the food to be taken out instead.

We went back to the ICU after and they were already preparing mom's body. My niece and nephew can't stop crying, while I went inside and they allowed me to talk to her one last time. I told her to say hi to my grandmother and aunt who passed away. I told her that when I go back to Cebu, to visit me in my dreams. I was still joking that her hands was still so cold and told her to look after dad, my sister, my niece and nephew and that I will stay for a little bit longer for her. I told my final good bye, good night and may she rest in peace.


March 20, Tuesday
I was told that morning, mom was taking her daily vitamins and problem is, she always takes/drinks several tablets, capsules all at the same time. One of our neighbor, who is also our family friend (Ate Jen) then saw her, calling her, waving her hands frantically saying that she can't breathe. She was alone as my sister went to work, my father was then at Bulacan, taking care of his brother's burial (my uncle) as he recently passed away as well. My niece and nephew were at school at that time. She went to hail a tricycle (our primary mode of transportation at our town) and went to the nearest hospital. Just a minute or two away from the hospital, my mom lost consciousness. She was brought at first at HealthServ Los Baños Medical Center, however, the two ICU's were already occupied. She was then revived at that time already and was transferred to LBDH. Meanwhile, my cousin went back to our home and closed the gate and our doors and tried to contact my sister. My sister was contacted and he was the one who called my father telling him that mom was hospitalized. The doctor said that mom was already in comatose, however, they think that she chocked as there were still some medicines left at the table when they got home.


March 24, Saturday
It was really weird where my mom was not at home; it is now up to us, everyone of us to move around the house, where it was previously her doing everything. One realization was they were trying to find rags and everyone was just looking at each other trying to find someone who knows where they are. It was rather lucky that I grew up going to the market with my mom so I know where to buy stuff - coffee, candies, eggs, paper cups and all. Everyone were able to cry all their tears last Friday that we were all joking already - asking mom to wake up and help around the house, asking my niece and nephew to call mom since she haven't eaten anything yet for days, and telling them that I need new clothes because the clothes I have are all RED.

March 28, Wednesday
since Tuesday night, my best friends-Sheenah and RV, high school classmates and friends stayed until mid-morning to show respect for mom; it was the last day and she will be buried then. Around 7 am, we all prepared and they went earlier since my bestfriend RV still has work that day and needs to go back to  Manila.  We all wore a white polo shirt with same design bought from a local boutique. It was brought to the church, and my dad, my brother (eldest) and my niece gave their speeches. We then went to the local cemetery where she was buried with my grandmother and great-grandmother.

Last Day with Mom at home!

HighSchool friends visited!

Tourist feels

Favorite Cafe!

and that's how we buried our mother.

Why Join Cebu Content Creators (C3)

Why Join Cebu Content Creators (C3)

An entry.

A child's dream to be a doctor, policeman, scientist, artist, singer, or whatever it may be sometimes is destroyed when it's not aligned with their parent's dream for them.

Some are lucky enough that their dream is aligned with their parent's dream for them too and support them through and through.

Some aren't and pursue things that they don't love and do the things they love on the side. 

Just like Ricky Lee's Trip To Quiapo, I will never forget the line that he said; create your own path. I haunted me throughout my college years and I was unlucky and lucky at the same time that I may not be with the school I wanted to be, but I was indeed successful with the school I was with that time. 

Fast forward, the year 2018, Almost 22 years after my college years, I've been through a lot and continuing my journey to learning.  I never had anything that I can say I'm very good at because the moment I think I was good at something, I'll suddenly learn that I  still have a lot to learn. 

Blogging back then was my pastime since I love writing in paper journals. During my internship with Men's Health Philippines magazine, I had a blast and wanted to share it with my friends and so I started an online journal and turned to blogging. 

I joined a community of bloggers (successful ones like manilagayguy, McVie, redthemod, etc ) when I was still in Manila, but after some time, I disappeared, drowned in work and all.

I now have the time to further improve my craft and not just improve, but really be good and hopefully earn from it. 

A child's dream to be a doctor, policeman, scientist, artist, singer or whatever it may be sometimes is destroyed when it's not aligned with their parent's dream for them; but since I'm now living alone and on my own, I guess I can build it back again and own my dream and really do what I really love.

-vondraye 

Love Confessions A Pre-Valentine's day Show

Love, as a concept will always be beyond comprehension; however, we can delineate it with a few associations of it as an experience. Love Confessions tackles a few issues and blatantly expose the many imagery of love from flirting, romantic, filial and bitterness.

It was indeed a very special pre-Valentine's Day Show by Cebu's homegrown Our House last February 11, held at A SPACE Cebu at Crossroads, Banilad, Cebu City.

Together with my friends Evan James owner of Desargves blog and who also helped me with this review, and our other friend, LJ, we enjoyed the last full performance of the show.

Comfortably Seated waiting for the show!

Beautiful Tickets!

What made the show more interesting is that the 7 pm time slot got a surprise bonus composition by Josh Eballe who shared his piece on HOT APE: The Science of Flirting. This piece is very dear to him as this is his thesis research for his Masters in Psychology. It was a performance slash Flirting 101 Class slash 50 Shades of Cebu! HOT APE is short for the 6 Behaviors of Flirting - Humor, Open Body Language, Touch, Attention, Proximity, and Eye Contact and we were a lucky bunch to learn about it!

As I have said, the HOT APE  was a bonus and a very special one. Followed by the great 8 other masterpieces and here goes.

Josh Eballe; man of many talents!

AKIN KA NALANG, PLEASE? written by Mark Ghosn and performed by Clint Solante is a story about a guy and his girl best friend and his love for her, but there's one problem; The girl is in love with someone else. It was a monologue of his feelings towards the girl and how he's the better man for her versus the other guy. What made the story interesting is how it was delivered with subtle adlibs, Clint's charm and of course, as premier actors of Our House, they delievered it as if they are the characters of the monologue.

"Mas madami pa syang date kesa sa kalendaryo!"

LISOD KARIBAL SI PAPA JESUS written by Abyy Orbeta, translated to Cebuano and performed by Ansel Ancajas is a story about a girl's longing for his longtime crush from her college years until they graduated and years after, she still wasn't over with him. Until one day, one trip to Baguio, they met and didn't expect to see him on the same bus and their journey to Baguio led her to the news that he will be soon joining the seminary. and it was indeed she knew then, that her rival will be Jesus with the love of her life and it was indeed hard to be a rival of Jesus.

 

Everyone loved Ansel's performance here!

"Nag pray nako sa ampuan para machange lang iyang mind! 

Nag ampo nako sa langit, sa lupa, kay Buddha, kay Allah! 

kay Je... ay karibal baya ko ni Jesus.. 

sa mga angels.. ay close man sila ni Jesus... 

basta nag ampo ako sa mga dili close ni Jesus!"

DILI PWEDE NGA DILI NA written by Mark Ghosn, translated to Cebuano by Josh Eballe and performed by Nash Durano who gave a very startling entrance! His facial expression sang Jennifer Hudson's "And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going" without opening his mouth, which brought to the monologue of his confrontation with his partner that's breaking up with him even if they've been together for a very long time. He even changed himself for the guy who wants him to be the discreet manly gay guy. The lines and delivery of Nash may come out as comedy, but this is one of the realities that most LGBT sadly faces. The twist at the end of him not letting his lover break up with him and stepping his foot down proved that if you really love someone, you really have to fight for it; in one way or another.

"So no, you're stuck with me because I'm not accepting your break up. 

You have to give me a more valid reason than that. Now, dinner is ready."

DALAWANG KURAP, written by Mark Ghosn and performed by Rachel Laya-og is my favorite both in monologue and Rachel being a performer as well. This was already proven with her history of monologues and performances before. Her monologue is a story about her confrontation about her boss' break up with his relationship, however, what seems to be a conversation of trying to know the story, ended up of his confession of his feelings for her that he really loves her.

Rachel Laya-og always gives her best!

"at ikatlo, magpaalam ka muna kina mama at papa ha. 

Kasi baka magulat nalang sila pupunta ka bukas ng alas-10 ng gabi 

tapos may dala kang isang box ngFerrero nakakagulat kaya...

kung ayaw mo eh di dalawa."

KILALA NA KITA written by Denise Danielle and performed by OurHouse cast and this was one of the masterpieces of their performance. They performed it in such a way that the last few lines of the first person will be continued by the second cast and so on and so forth. It was a simple performance that I got lost in their performance and mesmerized by the monologue as well. This is a monologue about someone's love for a special someone and how that person knows everything about that special someone from their first heartbeat, to their heartbreak,  and letting that special someone the very special kind of love.

"Nung unang beses na tumibok ang puso mo, kilala na kita."

PINAKA MAHIRAP PATAWARIN ANG SARILI

Love for One’s Self—acknowledging the inevitability to err but never living in the definition of the mistakes.

Nothing is more courageous than knowing and acknowledging your flaws and making it an asset to improve. It may be inevitable, as humans, to err but it should not be a part of us as a definition. Cliché as it may sound, but loving one’s self may be the greatest gift one can give to his or herself. Oftentimes, we discredit the beauty of our deeds. We tend to downplay the experiences that ought to be lauded and instead we hide in the stains of our mistakes, like as if it has become our psyche. We live in the imperfections of our deed—feeding our insecurities and lack of self-worth. We look too closely at it that we forget to look at the bigger picture. We are too engulfed in the stain that we miss out the rest of the details that makes the picture a wonderful experience. Indeed even though how bad our actions may be at times, there will always be beauty in it. That it will always impart a lesson that should be cherished, and not regrets.

Pinakamahirap Patawarin ang Sarili written by Rod Mamol, performed by Troy Tomarong circles around the theme of self-worth and self-love. In his portrayal, he highlighted his imperfections: the time when he cooked rice but turned it into porridge, the time when he got a failing mark in Geometry when he was late in his first day of work. The story, however, ended with a consolation of his mistakes. He looked at the brighter side of it: that instead of looking at the semi-porridge rice they must instead be happy that there is food, the lessons learned in every mistake.

Troy’s portrayal was effective and his funny tricks also made it through. He balanced the heaviness of the theme with his quirky self. It is very commendable especially when you have to juggle from being serious to throwing antics every once in a while. However, it was not all smooth. There were times when he stutters or he forgets his line but it wasn’t that obvious. Overall, Troy’s portrayal of the story was splendidly done. -Desargves

KUNG ALAM KO LANG

Love for a family—the certainty of goodbyes in a lifetime.

Memories last long. People come and go but memories are there to stay, even in the absence of the person the memory is attached. Memories aren’t easily voided. When someone dear departs, we cry and the solace is brought about by the memories—the happiness, the hardships, the very essence of the person. Memories give comfort. It gives a consolation beyond the comfort of physical touch.

Memories swarm like that of stars. They twinkle but they never fool your sight. And every night, when the need arises, you just need to look up and watch the memories twinkle, as they fill your heart and sight with happiness and nostalgia.

Kung Alam Ko Lang, written by Brian Vee and performed by Everlid Catugal revolves around the story of a son storytelling that tragic night his mother befell at the hands of death. The main character, as portrayed, drowned in the thoughts of regrets as he failed to accompany his mom on the night of her demise.

He introduced with a concept in science—Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The act used the imagery of stars as a symbolism of the memory of the mother. The act was presented in Filipino (Tagalog) which I think would have been more effective if it were delivered in English or Cebuano since Cebuano/Bisaya are more efficient in those two languages. The theme was heavy, which required the actor, Everlid, to cry but he wasn’t that effective in portraying his tears. More so, I feel that he was conflicted with his lines and his act that none of it were efficiently delivered. Everlid is somehow detached with the nature of his character that portraying him tasted unnatural.  Anyhow, he was still able to deliver the message he has to impart. -Desargves



MAAYONG ADLAW, LANGGA! KUMUSTA NA MAN KA DIHA?

Love that lasts a Lifetime—’til death do us part: of a love that was and a love that will last.

Enjoy everything while they last because once they’re lost they’re lost for a lifetime, they say. But never true love. Love, like energy, can never lose its essence. Instead, it lasts longer than a lifetime. The memorabilia, the testimonies—these are what makes it last. An act of love, no matter how small, never fades into the nothingness but instead is celebrated.  A love that was is the same love as it lasts. Most times, it is never jaded by adversities instead it is strengthened.

THE Mr. Nicholas Ampatin!

Maayong Adlaw, Langga! Kumusta Na Man Ka Diha? written by Zuella Herrera, translated to Cebuano by Josh Eballe, performed by Nicholas Ampatin is a sad story of a long time couple separated by death. It is also rather a hopeful realization of the fervent love that was and still is. The whole ride was a reminiscence of the acts of love from the dearly departed wife to his husband.

Theatre certainly knows no age and Nicholas Ampatin is undeniably aging well. Nicholas Ampatin portrayed the character well. The act was presented in Bisaya so the language isn’t a barrier to effectively convey what there is to convey. Although the crying scene wasn’t as effective as it should be, it still brought a slight twitch in me. The script was somehow repetitive and the images were redundant. The act may have been prolonged with more lines, more experience. Overall, Nicholas brought the character to life very well. -Desargves

-*-

It was rather interesting that the first few monologues were performed in Filipino ( aka Tagalog) which actually made my friends wonder because most of the performance they did before was in Bisaya. It was when some of the pieces where performed in Bisaya that made them at ease, not knowing that this is actually a challenge for them and made me appreciate them more in terms of translating into Bisaya and the performers speaking in Filipino (aka Tagalog), because we know, there are people who are challenged to speak in that language.

Overall, I give a 9/10 rating for this show.

When Josh shared his piece HOT APE: The Science of Flirting, I didn't know that, one, it was part of the show, two, it was a last minute composition that he did for the show which really made it even more special. How many performances/plays/shows have you watched last minute compositions like this!

The performers did a great job in portraying their characters. It was as if they were the characters in the monologue they performed and were speaking to us.

It was also a rather humbling experience when Josh shared with everyone his awards from the recent Sinulog Short Film Competition. He wasn't able to attend the Awarding Ceremony due to the show. From their previous performance Pit Senyor kay Merci Kini, they turned it into a film that made him the 2nd Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay/Story as well. The Best Supporting Actor, Mr. Nicolas Ampatin wasn't aware that he won the award since they just announced it during the show and emotions really filled the air.


There were just a few minor technical slips during the surprise, last-minute performance for HOT APE, some minor lighting, and a few lines that didn't sync, however, these were just dust in the wind in terms of the overall performance, because that, the message and their hard work are more important.



Beyond the act, the monologues, the simplicity, and sincerity of their performance, the emotions, the tears, the audience's laughter, the words, the lights, the darkness, the warm embrace, the awards. They continue to deliver the best pieces, monologues, and performance. From someone who has a background in theatre, they just didn't do monologues but made sure that these performances were made special- the translation to Cebuano, the very intricate performance KILALA NA KITA, and I would definitely would like to shout out to Mr. Nicolas Ampatin - I've never known someone who at his time, still has the passion and energy to do theatre plays.


To Our house, our sincerest and deepest thank you for giving Cebuanos the chance to enjoy the life of an audience watching theatre plays at a very reasonable price, yet delivers extravagantly.  - Mark aka Vondraye

Taking their final bow

Overall, the experience I had in the play was more than splendid. With the various acts, it will bring you to the many dimensions there is in love. The atmosphere was also engaging. The spectators followed the house rules which made the experience even grander. The acts from two ladies and Nash were superb. They were really in character. Their humor was never bland. Very natural. A little discomfort though for their comfort room since it’s slightly far from the venue but what gives? The comfort room is of littlest concern since the play is the highlight (hahaha). There were also a minute technicality problems, yet they didn’t hinder the actors from portraying their characters. - Evan James aka  Desargves

You can visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ourhousecebu/ to get updates on their next performances and get to know the performers as well! 

Si M.A., si Vondraye ug si ate Mark; A Review and a Blog about the play: Si Chris, Claire, ug Merci

with the Cast (missing Everild aka Carlos)
thank you Issa Layaog for the photo!

the Play is About to Start!

A Review and a Blog about the play: Si Chris, Claire, ug Merci

Si M.A., si Vondraye ug si ate Mark 

"The only excuse I'm going to accept is if you're dead or dying." 

-My Theatre Mentor

Sweating like a pig, I walked from IT Park to Crossroads Banilad around 3:45 in the afternoon for the 4pm show - Si Chris, Claire, ug Merci. I actually already arrived at 3 in the afternoon but realized I was an hour earlier. Yes, I was THAT excited for that play.

This is the 2nd time I'll be watching a play from Our House, a renowned and proud locally born Cebuano theatre group. Members of the said theatre group are also composed of Cebuanos with a fire inside everyone with the love of and for theatre. If you have watched them perform Love Confessions before, you'd know what I'm talking about. If not, here's your chance to really how Cebuanos, specifically Our House do it. 

Si Chris, Claire, ug Merci features Three Original One-Act Plays written by their own actor Josh Eballe and directed by one of their own actors too, Troy Tomarong. 

I was pretty excited to watch this on their first day, and as expected, they indeed delivered. I guess, not only me, but many people did find and loved their performance. 

Living the Values of Smart, Authentic, Passionate, Collaborative, Professional, and Disciplined, they indeed showcased everything.

Dinhi Nalang Ba Kutob Ang Tanan? (Hanggang Dito na Lang Ba ang Lahat? -Will Everything End Here?)

Play-ception; A play within a play. This is my first reaction when the lights turned on. This tells the story of Chris who wrote a script for a play he's directing as well.  Paul came to rehearse scenes and lines with him, but while rehearsing, it unfolded Chris' inner feelings; Chris' inner TRUE feelings. 

I like most what Paul told Chris - People talk about their problems and not write them on scripts for plays (something like that). Ouch. 

Ang Tulo ka Panagway ni Claire (Ang Tatlong Mukha ni Claire - Claire's Three Faces)

Persona-ception. A persona within a pesona. Claire having her two personalities - Carlos and Cassandra, is in a predicament of who to follow. Forgiveness is a big word, a big issue, and a big discussion. 

She maybe a successful lawyer, but behind closed doors, she's battling herself with Carlos and Cassandra. Ouch strike 2.

Pit Senyor, kay Merci Kini! (Pit Senyor, ito ay para kay Merci! - Pit Senyor, this is for Merci!)

Kilig-ception. You wanna know why? WATCH IT THEN!

Merci, a transwoman, living with her loving father, Tatay Ben, and Jomer who sincerely offers his love to Merci but too much affected by our society's intolerance towards LGBT. This may be a light story, but definitely, tells a story of most of our LGBT's in real life struggling in the eyes of the society.

My Review: The lights, the props, the symbolism used(rubics cube, earrings, alcohol bottle, Flower shop, demolished building) elevated the audience to further feel the emotions. Each play portrayed with their striking lines and scripts that made me close to tears because they did target human emotions and make people realize that these are really happening. I can't speak for others but watching the 3 plays made me think that I was watching alone and my life unfold in front of me and these people portraying and left me thinking... THAT's ME! THAT's MY LIFE! THAT's WHAT THE LIFE I WANT! 

I quite knew these people personally and they did justice in their portrayal of their characters, though I would recommend adlibs because their characters in real life would give more justice giving their own personal lines with the play. I didn't notice adlibs or if there were, good job to them then because I didn't notice it. 

They did justice on making it timely as these are really happening. People throwing their emotions on what they do, People successful on the outside, damaged on the inside, and of course, the LGBT love story. 

I've read some reviews and I myself feel "disappointed" because the script and storyline can still be lengthened, just like the usual TV shows that frustrate you that it ended so fast, you'd want them to have more. However, theatre is something that always tickles your mind, and kills you with suspense, plays with your emotions and like a warfare, you have to think fast, feel fast, and die fast.

I do recommend people to watch this play to give yourself and your inner self a slap of reality that everyone has their story to tell - this is theirs, or you may never know; this might be yours.

Catch the final leg of "Si Chris, Claire, ug Merci" 

this weekend:

September 9 & 10 | 10AM, 1PM, 4PM, 7PM

Artist Hall, Benedicto College

A.S. Fortuna St., Mandaue, Cebu

Cassandra vs Carlos

poor Claire

Cassandra is my spirit animal!

everyone needs a Tatay Ben in our life

everyone needs a Jomer MORE in our life! 

I wish I was Merci!!!

Pak! Merci For the WIN!

"Tarung na Tubag sa Tarung na Pangutana"

the love of a Father to his Daughter

#LoveWins

Bow!

the Whole Cast!

with THE DIRECTOR Troy!

with the cast missing Carlos (Everild)

Selfie with IDOL RACHEL LAYA-OG!

Play Poster

Vondraye's Tuna Spread Recipe

Last Friday (Good Friday of the Holy Week) I brought tuna spread since we were advised that the office pantry will be closed. I don't want to gamble and work without feeding my dragons. I don't have enough time to prepare so I just mixed the ingredients in a whip.
I don't know if they really like it or they're just saying it... Nyahaha!!

Here goes the recipe:
I will be using my original recipe since this  one I did last (Good) Friday wasn't my original.

*1 big bottle of Sandwich Spread (I used the big bottle of Tuna Sandwich Spread costs around 190php as of April 2017)
 3 big cans of Tuna and 1 big can of spicy tuna (or if you want it to be more spicy, you can change the 1 can of spicy to 2)
1 small can of mushroom, sliced
1 small pack of pineapple tidbits (you have the option of buying the crushed, but I'd rather crush/finely chop them myself)
2 bulbs onion (I use 1 red and 1 white), finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 hardboiled eggs diced
Cheese, diced (it depends on you, if you're a cheese lover like me, use one bar of cheese by all means)
Carrots, finely chopped 


Drain Tuna and mash them up until they're coarse. 
Mix in mushroom and onions. 
Mix in salt and pepper. 
Then mix with the diced hard boiled eggs, cheese carrots, chopped pineapple and mayonaise.

Yes, my version is protein on protein on protein... 

Enjoy!

10 Websites To Boost Your Career

"The best things in life are free, the second best are very expensive."-Coco Chanel

So I say, why pay for mastery classes if you can get it for free? That’s why I’m sharing with you 10 websites where you can get free online courses to boost your career growth. Here are some websites to quench that thirst for learning, because if there’s something that we want to feed nonstop; it’s our brains.

These 10 websites may look just a number but these websites offer a door to thousands of windows to thousands and millions of courses that can open your mind and boost your career growth!


1. Hubspot Academy  

Wanna boost your career with inbound marketing and sales? This is the place. Hubspot academy will help your career in marketing and sales boost to the top as they are the worldwide leader on this matter.

They already gave out more than 50,000 certifications to their learners and you can add up to that number as they offer free online courses that specialize in marketing and sales. We have team members who already are Hubspot certified and have excelled and enhanced their marketing know-hows.

Whether you have a sales or marketing background, Hubspot will definitely help you with it!

2. Coursera

The website highlights the specializations and subjects available, highlighting Top Specializations, Popular Courses and Top Rated Courses, however, you still have the search box if you need specific course details whether it will be business, marketing or IT, they have courses available for you. This is no joke as they have 150 partners over 29 countries offering 2065 courses; that’s a lot of food for the brain!

On the go? Coursera is available on the App Store for Apple users and Google Play for Android, so whether you’re using a desktop, mobile phone or tablet, you can access them anytime anywhere.

Whether you’re a businessman wanting to learn about IT or on Social Science but wanting to learn about Management, or just want to further enhance what you already know and keep in the loop, this site can offer you such.

The best of all, what’s the proof of your course? You can get a certificate from them too!

3. Codecademy  

Looking into boost your career in coding? Codecademy literally gives you free coding course for FREE. One of Time’s 50 Best Websites will surely bring that uncertainty to serenity, and join other 25 million learners around the globe who already have their fair share of success from this site. Watch their video or read people’s testimonies upfront on the first page to know how their career skyrocketed with Code Academy.

They do have free learning for school or education and also one for business, and for a fee, you get more services from them too.

4. EDX

EDX was founded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology also known as MIT, so you know you’re getting high-quality learning. This massive open online course provides high-quality courses pairing up with world’s leading universities, nonprofits, and institutions with more than 90 global partners.

They are proud to say that they are established and led by colleges and universities, nonprofit, and open source of online courses.
From Language to Biology, boost your career in marketing, management skills, keep up to date your IT and Programming skills with EDX.
EDX provides a certificate of your achievement once you’ve finished the course. What’s more, they also offer specialized programs for a more advanced learning to further progress your career.

5. MIT Open Courseware 

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is one of the founding father of EDX and they too, have their own version of free web-based online courses for your career growth. They boast 200 million visitors with 2340 courses to choose from and you can be added to their statistics as they publish all their course materials online and make them widely available to everyone.

6. Udemy 

Udemy website may sound intimidating onset of the page because of the prices, but this site offers free courses that you can take as well. Just search via the search button and there are dozens of free online courses to choose from to boost your career.
Their site offers different categories from Level, Language, Features and Price and sort from most relevant, most reviewed, highest rated, newest, from the highest price to lowest and vice versa.

7. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania  

The Kutztown University of Pennsylvania – Small Business Development Center offers Online Learning programs to start off your career in entrepreneur, business, management, marketing and so on. They have a wide range of courses to choose from, and a long list of over 90 free on-demand online programs and they keep adding more.

More than the free online courses, they also offer consultation services, workshops, and business planning in case you have that extra funds that you can spend on.

8. Harvard University Online Learning 

Free.Online.Harvard.Courses. Yes, you read it right, I don’t know why you won’t visit this, it’s Harvard! FOR FREE! There’s a pool of free courses that you can access on their website that you can take mostly done online they also have paid online courses if you opt for a more in depth more specific learning. The search button is helpful to search and the filter section is also a big help narrowing down your search criteria.

9. Open 2 study 

Open 2 study lets you access courses on the Free courses page and what’s more is that they also provide free certificate of successful completion of it. What makes the site interesting is that once you’ve created your account either from scratch or using your social media- Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, you can connect to people and it works like a classroom having classmates; make that, cyber classmates, or you can invite your friends to join too.
This website will help you with your career as they have a wide range of courses to choose from. You can search by Level of Study, Category, or Free Course in their Accredited Course tab.
This will definitely boost your career and further improve on your chosen field and give that career growth an edge.

10. inLearning of LinkedIn 

This is a bit tricky as they do provide free learning for a month, however, they need a credit card, the payment will take place after a month. I took as many learning as I can within a month and there were just too many interesting and helpful courses to take so I just took the most important. They will e-mail you and it is also helpful to keep a reminder to unsubscribe after 29 days so that they will not charge your credit card. It was indeed a hassle to monitor the date, but all the learnings were all worth it. What I love about this is that it automatically records your courses and attach it to your Linkedin profile. The courses have a video and transcript available for you to view.




You can choose from a wide range of courses to boost your career, even change careers from business to IT, adult learning to management, whatever career path you choose, they have a course for you. I know, because my team members did!

*Blog first appeared at GO-VA Company Website and my LinkedIn Account