Personal Blog - Xavy & Mom

Personal Blog

Richard Marx Newcastle Experience: Nostalgia, After Hours, and Leftovers

If there is one thing I’ve learned about living in Australia, it’s that life here is a constant exercise in “expect the unexpected.” Take last night, for example. Joyeth booked tickets to see Richard Marx just last week. Since it was hirit sa tag-init—a total last-minute scramble—the prime seats were already gone. But luckily, the Newcastle Civic Theatre is small and intimate, so there’s really no such thing as a bad seat. The Integrity App We headed out early because,

Xavy's Mom 23.04.2026 No Comments

Personal Blog

Chasing Autumn Leaves at Blue Mountains

So, quick life update before we get into the scenic stuff! Xavy and I officially escaped the crazy PH heat and are spending his entire school break down under in Australia. We flew out last April 1st—and no, definitely not an April Fools prank, besh, legit umalis talaga kami! Right now, we’re happily crashing at my sister Joyeth’s place all the way in Newcastle. Laking tipid sa accommodation, thank God for family! Makakapag-chill din sa wakas. But of course, a

Xavy's Mom 21.04.2026 No Comments

Life Lessons

Our Simala Pilgrimage (2026)

There is something about Simala that makes you go quiet before you even get there. The drive up already feels like a slow letting go of whatever was weighing on you that week. We went last weekend — kasama namin si cousin and her kids — and it felt heavier and more meaningful than any of our previous visits. This was her first time back since her husband passed away last year. Watching her walk that road again, navigating this

Xavy's Mom 24.03.2026 No Comments

Daily Ramblings

Top 5 KDramas for a System Reboot

Subtitle: Survival Guide for Sci-Hi Exam Week and the Full-Remote Shift If you’ve been following my recent “system logs,” you know my life recently underwent a major server migration. After getting retrenched from my IT Manager office job last January, I’ve transitioned into a fully online workspace. No more office commutes—just me, my laptop, my OnlineJobs.ph and Upwork dashboards, and the unpredictable WiFi of the province. This week, the “Triple Life” load is particularly heavy. Xavy is in Grade 7

Xavy's Mom 22.03.2026 No Comments

Daily Ramblings

Sunday System Restore

Prepping Xavy’s School Week & My Freelancer Queue Sundays are supposed to be “rest days.” If you’re a solo parent with a “Happy Pessimist” Operating System, you know that “Rest Mode” is a myth. Sundays aren’t a rest; they are a necessary System Restore. Living in the Philippine province with a teenager, two furbabies, a full-time job, and freelance IT gigs means my energy levels get severely fragmented by the time Friday night hits. My memory (RAM) is full of

Xavy's Mom 20.03.2026 No Comments

Daily Ramblings

The Solo Parent’s ReadMe File

Essential Documentation for the “Triple Life” OS If you’ve ever downloaded a new piece of software or joined a project on GitHub, the first thing you look for is the README.md. It tells you what the project does, how to install it, and—most importantly—what to do when it inevitably breaks. As a solo parent juggling an IT career, freelance gigs, and a teenager in the province, I realized I’ve never actually published my own documentation. New people enter my life

Xavy's Mom 18.03.2026 No Comments

Freelancing

High Latency, High Stakes

When My WiFi is “Hibernating” but My Client is “Active Now” There is a very specific kind of panic that only a freelance mom in the province understands. It’s the moment you’re sitting on your veranda, enjoying the rhythmic sound of the waves or the neighbor’s karaoke (it’s always someone’s birthday, isn’t it?), and you see that little green dot on your messaging app. Your client in New York or London is “Active Now,” and they have a “quick question”

Xavy's Mom 16.03.2026 No Comments

Daily Ramblings

Mama.exe Has Stopped Working

If you’ve ever tried to run a high-end video editing suite on a ten-year-old laptop, you know the sound. That frantic, high-pitched whirring of the fan? That smell of slightly toasted plastic? That’s exactly how I felt this morning at 6:30 AM. In the world of Xavy & Mom, I like to think of my life in two distinct layers: the Hardware (my physical body, my energy levels, and the actual four walls of our home here in the province)

Xavy's Mom 15.03.2026 1 Comment

Daily Ramblings

The Solo Parent’s Guide to Debugging “Nonsense” Thoughts

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know my life operates on a very specific OS: Happy Pessimism. It’s that internal firmware that tells me, “Yes, the sun is shining today, but you’d better pack three umbrellas and a backup generator just in case.” In the world of IT, we call this “disaster recovery planning.” In the world of solo parenting, we call it “Tuesday.” Lately, however, I’ve been dealing with a different kind of system error.

Xavy's Mom 12.03.2026 No Comments

Category: Personal Blog