Picture this - the sun was blazing in the sky, sending its fiery rays down upon the earth, and of all the places it could hit, it hits where you are at—you are done.

For someone like me, running errands like I often do, it is pretty normal to endure the scorching heat because it is what it is all throughout the year if it is not raining. While I had become accustomed to this kind of weather we have, I felt something different this time around—it is getting intense I can feel the fluid in my head reaching its boiling point. If you are familiar with the feeling of getting sunburned while lounging on the beach, I guess you may get the same effect just by walking down the street on a sunny day.

Because of this, I cannot help but think that the increasing intensity of the heat is an indication of humanity’s greatest threat, global warming. To some, it may still seem like a work of fiction and I do not know how long will they remain blinded when it is clearly happening. From devastating wildfires to rising sea levels, the effects of climate change are becoming obvious with each passing day. Soon enough, we would be looking somewhere else to continue the legacy of the human race, maybe on *ehem* Mars.

But is global warming really a threat? An article from NASA Earth Observatory suggests that the Earth went through a warming and cooling state since time immemorial. It only got intensified due to another force that has made an impact on Earth’s climate, accelerating its impending doom and this force is no other than*drumroll* humanity.

Over the past few years, we have heard the news about melting glaciers, rising sea level, sudden change in rain patterns, wildfires—you name it. While they are expected to occur as it has been part of the Earth’s natural cycles millions of years ago it has been amplified which is outside the range of what has been observed in the past.

For example, the rising sea level puts Venice, Italy at risk of sinking. An article from BBC mentioned the plan of mitigating the sinking of Venice by constructing a system of movable flood barriers designed to protect the city from high tides and storm surges. They call it the MOSE project which stands for "Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico" (Experimental Electromechanical Module).

The rising sea level in Venice is one example of a place that is now being impacted by global warming causing the Earth’s glaciers and ice caps to melt which in turn, adds more water to the ocean. You probably know how it works. Many other cities and communities as well around the world are at risk of these rising sea levels including increased flooding, erosion, and driving away communities occupying coastal areas.

The first quarter of the year is not what we expected, especially since we just recovered from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. The devastating earthquake in Turkey, the Severe Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle that wreaked havoc in New Zealand, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and now there’s this Willow Project that has been circulating online.

Although there are individuals, communities, and governments taking action to help reduce the impact of global warming, it feels like there’s no stopping all these from happening. Some made it better while some made it worst.

Overall, addressing global warming will greatly require a collective effort from EVERYONE! We were able to save to ozone layer which helps us protect from harmful UV rays through the implementation of Montreal Protocol. Also, we were successful in achieving the Paris Agreement bringing the countries together to work towards one common goal, to limit global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Through the initiative of these organizations, only demonstrates that international cooperation can be effective in addressing the challenges of worsening global warming, avoiding setting the world on fire.

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As Father Rodel Alameda bids farewell from his assignment as the Parochial Vicar of the Holy Child Parish of Lingig, I feel the need to share my personal experience with him.

Although we had crossed paths many times during his monthly masses at the Sr. San Vicente Ferrer Chapel, I never thought of myself as someone he would recognize outside of our chapel. But one day, during the orientation of the Aspiring Lay Ministers at the San Thomas de Padua Parish in Bislig City, while we were standing for the entrance hymn, someone approached me and tapped my back. As I turned, I was greeted with a warm smile and a look of excitement in his eyes; it was Father Rodel. He did this while they were marching toward the altar. With that little time he could spare, he chose to spend it with me. It was a fleeting moment I will never forget.

This encounter may appear to be like one of the small and not-so-significant moments, but for me, it spoke volumes about his character. His willingness to reach out to someone he didn't know well and make them feel valued only reveals his humility and care for others. It has left a lasting impression because, with that alone, I can feel his dedication to nurturing a sense of community within the Catholic Church. I was blessed, I was inspired, and I felt elated to become the servant of the Lord.

Throughout my interactions with him, during his masses, or through his teachings, I have always been amazed by his deep understanding of God's love and compassion. Not to mention, the way he delivers his homilies was one of the best I have ever experienced.

As Father Rodel moves on to new endeavors with the grace of God, I want to express my gratitude for his service and spiritual guidance. His unwavering commitment to the Church and his community has left an indelible mark on those he has touched. May God continue to bless him on his journey and guide him as he continues to inspire and guide others on their spiritual path.

These past few days I have been burning out my head to improve my skills and learning new things I believe will be beneficial but despite taking on so much, I feel like I haven't made as much progress as I had hoped. It's been challenging to keep everything in place. I shared this struggle with a friend of mine and he said, maybe I was just reading too much. I don't know, I have always considered reading to be one of my most extraordinary talents I would constantly scan my surroundings for any written words I could read. This could be what they say, the rocky path to success.

Anyway, as I go through the process, I have come to realize that upskilling is not just a good idea, but a necessity! Things change rapidly and the more you learn new things, the more you realize how little you have learned. Considering my age and the number of professionals that have established their name in the industry I am eager to be part of, I can't help but feel somewhat limited. As much as I would love to, it looks like there's only so much I can do at this point. Although I feel little, I believe I can still achieve my goals and make a meaningful impact in the industry and on those, to which I'm dedicating my efforts.

So, what's up? Well, I've been keeping myself busy with various upskilling programs. Recently, I completed the 5-day mentorship program for Social Media Marketing and I also completed a short course on the Basics of Excel. Right now, I'm taking the short course for the Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate and improving my Excel skills for Data Analytics. The other day I started doing my portfolio, it's still a work in progress, and I'm happy with how it's doing.

Finally! I was able to write this out. It's been in my head for quite some time now and I've come to the realization that my friend was right, maybe I've been overdoing my upskilling efforts. Maybe I need to slow down a bit and approach things at a more manageable level despite the limited time I have (no, I'm not gonna die, not yet lol).

I'm happy to share that I've finished 40 hours of self-paced learning on the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing through Google Digital Garage today, even though the self-study was challenging and-- well, tedious at times.

This is one of the things that I'm trying to make up for not getting into this field earlier because I discovered during the learning period that many of the topics were already familiar to me. I mean, been there, done that! I've dabbled in data analytics, search engine optimization, and content writing. I even won a blogging competition for an e-commerce site, and I wasn't even that good at it back then!

And it's crazy how many different types of freelancing jobs are out there, and I'm feeling pretty confident that I could handle quite a few of them. Stuff like transcription, data entry, lead generation, and even a bit of coding. How did I miss out on all this before?

Right now, I'm on a mission to learn all the skills I think I could use as a freelancer, and I'm eager to get started ASAP! But the reality hit me like a ton of bricks, and I realized I couldn't become a pro overnight. I mean, I do have some knowledge that's been laying dormant for years, but it needs some fine-tuning and a bit of a refresh. I learned that I need to start from the top again. Although it would take me some time to work through everything, at least it'll be a little less complicated since I already have a solid grasp of how it all works.

Well, finishing up the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing with Google Digital Garage was the first step in my mission to refresh my skills. Next is completing this 5-day online training for social media marketing for beginners, which just started today. In fact, the session for today is already over, and that's why I'm taking a little break to write this blog. On top of that, I'm also doing some self-study to improve my Excel proficiency, and I'm considering diving into the world of coding too.

That's it for today's blog! Ciao!

I'm home! Yes, I'm finally back after almost a few years away from my blog. I sure have missed so many important memories that could've been here, but I'm going to do it anyway, little by little.

It's funny how close I came to giving up on this blog. I made a new one on WordPress, which took me weeks to set up since I'm new to the platform. I've been through a lot of frustrations because I cannot customize it the way I want as how I did on this blog. Once I got used to the limitations of a free subscription, I published my first post, which included statements like "a new beginning," "goodbye to my old blog," and other things that, in hindsight, seemed silly and took me a while to realize.

So, I came back here. Starred at it for too long it could start a fight. And after so much consideration, I decided to stay. I changed the name of the blog from "dadedidhodong" to "about Leomar" (because I can) and made modifications to some HTML elements and other changes.

Even though I haven't been posting on this blog as frequently as I used to (not that I ever was that consistent LOL), I still write lengthy posts on my Facebook account. Writing is something that comes naturally to me, and every time I see a pen and paper, my passion for writing gets fired up, as if it's racing against my red blood cells, which is technically accurate.

I'm back with more tools and resources that will undoubtedly make things easier for me to do something like this. Oh, how I remember those days when doing a blog was as tricky as getting lost in Obrero, Davao City. But as time goes by, well, I'd still get lost, but we now have a much more sophisticated GPS to guide us, just like the tools I've discovered to make blogging a lot easier.

Anyway, it's getting late, but I'm just glad to be back. Here's to more blogging! Good night!