Call Me Kate

Kate was my childhood name.

It's what family friends and cousins call me to this day. My dad gave me that nickname. Because of my Visayan heritage, the name has seen several variants -- "Kit" "Ket" "Kety" "Kitty"  -- nevertheless, it's still a term of endearment from those who know me really well.

So I'm blogging again and enjoying it. I took a long pause -- three years to be exact -- but now I'm back and hope to be here for a very long time. I'll try to post as often as life, work and other responsibilities permit me. I know now that in the age of Tumblr, brevity is key and one can actually say much simply through a photograph.  My daughter who blogs over at Photograpia knows that so well and does an excellent job. I say that without any bias. You can check out her blog yourself.

So why did I opt to use my childhood nickname? 

Well, for the simple reason that nowadays, I find myself once again looking at the world with child-like wonder but with wiser eyes. The viewfinder can also sometimes be my children's eyes -- they who show me parts of myself and parts of the world that I would not be able to see otherwise.

This blog will also serve as a repository for some of the writing that I do every Sunday for the the Philippine Daily Inquirer as I put together my thoughts for a project I'm hoping to complete in a few years. This is also my own private space in the digital world where I can share whatever thoughts I may have that I am unable to put on print due to space constraints.

At 47, I try to find something to be joyful and grateful about with each day that I am given. Everyday, we come across things we read, food we eat, places we visit, and people we meet who inspire us or make us think. I hope to be able to put them all in here as I begin this new chapter in my life.

I'm very transparent and what you see is what you get. I've always worn my heart on my sleeve and have always believed in doing things with great passion especially when it comes to advocacies  that are close to my heart. The word courage finds it's roots in the French word "coeur".  Courage is something that I grew into early on in life because of the many losses that I've had. Thus, what better day to launch this site than on the day of hearts, in my year -- the year of the dragon. Stories by Kate will be about that -- the places in my heart where I have found courage, and joy, laughter and the wisdom I wish to share with the world.

Come and join me turn the pages of this new chapter :-)