A Hectic Rest Day: A Day Radiating with Heat and Happiness!

Konnichiwa Hivers, it's me, your ridgette again! For today, I'm going to share with you all my weekend experiences from last Sunday. I really thought that my Sunday would be quite bland because I have classes. I really find it quite a drag to go to campus on Sundays because our home is really far from it. It's almost an hour's ride from our place, so I really need to get up early to avoid traffic while commuting. Little did I know that my Sunday experience would be far from usual—the ones that I had expected that day.

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As we all know, Sunday is supposed to be a free day or a rest day. But not in my case, and for all the first-year NSTP students in our school, because Sunday is our day for our NSTP class. A week before that Sunday, I was really planning to not attend that class, but it turns out, it's a day for our clean-up drive and feeding program, so I was kind of obliged to really attend. Like usual, I woke up early and traveled towards our campus early. Even though it's just 6:00 in the morning, the sun is up and it's starting to get hot. Thankfully, I was able to get a ride just before I was totally scorched by the rising heat.

_{photo op. with @helianthus-chloe and my classmates}

I arrived at school a few minutes before 7:00, and technically, I'm late. To avoid further misfortunes, I immediately helped in cooking the soup that we'll be distributing later. The combined heat of the sun and fire was something else (it's like having a free trial down there). Despite the heat, I enjoyed helping with stirring the soup and keeping up the fire. By the way, I wasn't able to participate in the clean-up drive because at that time we were still cooking the soup. Later on, after almost an hour of cooking, the soup is finally ready, and it really looks yummy!

After we finished cooking, I decided to take a rest for a while. Even though the event was about to start, the participants who were in the venue were still few, so we looked for other people whom we could invite. It's Sunday, so there weren't a lot of children prowling along the streets. We spent some time looking for children whom we could bring, but they seemed afraid of us. In the end, even though we really did our best to find children to invite, we weren't able to successfully bring any of them.

_{photo op. after the program (lol, I'm lost among the crowd)}
After our failed attempts, we went back to the venue. The moment we came back, the program had already started. The program was brief, yet it was entertaining. The energy of the first-year NSTP students who participated in the event was something else. The event ended earlier than we anticipated it to. We stay for a while after the program to clean up the venue, and after that, it's home, sweet home. It was really a tiring morning, and I was hoping I could get some rest when I got home, but unfortunately I will not. What could possibly be the reason?

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I mentioned earlier that I wasn't supposed to attend my class last Sunday, and it's because it's my younger brother's birthday. I'm supposed to help with the preparation, but unfortunately I have an NSTP class, so I'll be quite late in helping. Also, one of the reasons why I'm upset about having a class on that day is that they're going out to eat at a fast food chain. I really like to go with them, and since our program ended earlier than expected, I ended up joining them. Although I wasn't able to get my rest after our class, I'm thankful I was able to join them.

It was refreshing to be with my cousins because they're really different interactions from what I've used to on our campus. They're really full of energy, and it seems they're always living their lives to the fullest without inhibitions. Oh, how I longed to be a child again. Seeing them with such good spirits made me reminisce about my old self—one who once dreamed of everything she wanted without any worry. Growing up and realizing you can't do anything you want when you get old is sure tough.

_{my cousins and younger brother on attack mode!}

Anyway, enough with the melodrama; after we ate, we didn't go home immediately. They decided to take my cousins to a mall where there's an indoor playground. Since my mother requested that we buy something, we readily agreed to go to the mall. After buying what we were asked to, we immediately went to them, only to find that they're still playing. My cousins seem to have had the best time of their lives at that moment. Their happiness is evident in their faces as they play with other children, and after a few more minutes of waiting, their one-hour play was over. They look like they still wanted to play, but I guess it's already enough for them.

We're on our way home, and they're still as noisy as ever. They're yapping and playing for almost two hours didn't diminish their energy. It's really astounding how much energy children can have. As I'm looking at them, I feel so old (lol). I'm just nineteen years old, but apparently I can't keep up with their energy level already. Even if we already got home, their energy levels are still high, and since I'm really yearning for a rest, I immediately decided to take a nap for a while.

_{photo op before going home}

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After a well-deserved nap, I woke up because of the heat. Even if it's already 4:00 in the afternoon, the heat is still scorching. When I woke up, I found out that my mother was going to already fetch the ordered cake. She asked me if I could accompany her, but I declined because I feel quite dizzy and my head is aching a little. Because I'm not going with them, my mother requested that I prepare the spices that we'll use in cooking, which I did later. After preparing the spices, I decided to clean a little before proceeding to my own personal work.

_{setting up the alarm earlier, but still ends up oversleeping}

The preparation and cooking of food went smoothly, and before 7:00 in the evening, my mother had already cooked the food that we're going to eat. My cousins definitely came, and they're really excited for the cake! Well, given that they're already hovering around the moment it arrived, it shows that they're obviously looking forward to tasting it. The cake was a chocolate one with yellow frosting on it. Its theme is Bumblebee from Transformers, just the way my younger brother likes it. Anyway, after we ate, I excused myself early because I really needed to study for the upcoming quiz on Monday.

Despite studying, I still find myself distracted due to the festivities. They had karaoke, and I can really hear them singing happily. It's distracting, yet somehow I felt happy that they're having fun. Before 10:00, they ended their karaoke singing because we live in a place with a lot of neighbors, so we definitely need to stop to let them sleep. Not that they're bad singers (haha), but I guess it's also time for them to rest. Next year, I really hope that I'll be able to join them in singing because I know it's really fun. I'm hoping that next time exams will stay out of my rest day! Hopefully.

_{karaoke time!
photo ctto: my younger sis}

That's all for now, Hivers! I hope you enjoyed reading about my hectic and unpredictable Sunday that radiates a lot of heat (definitely!) and happiness! Arigathanks, and see you in my next blog!