Today is the day my Kuya Jori moves on to the afterlife. His passing away came as a shock especially for us whom he had lived with for years. Last Sunday, when we heard about the motorcycle accident he got involved in, I knew - being medically adept - that he wouldn’t last long and yet as a relative and a friend, I was hoping against hope for a miracle that would let him walk again and do the things he used to do back in the days. But today, I was proven wrong. The Lord had better plans not only for him but for us that he left as well. I’ve been crying my eyes out all day. My eyes are puffy. Everywhere I go there are things that remind me so much of him: the song “Bye Bye” by Mariah Carey that played in Greenwich while I was having dinner alone tonight; the pink pedestrian line outside which costed him 200 pesos when he parked the car outside of it; the stairs to our apartment unit that Kuya Jori regularly walks on when he comes over to pick either my laundry or me; the near-broken doorknob that he badly wanted to change ‘coz of my constant complaints about not being able to smoothly open the door; the shower curtain that he had changed because the old one hadn’t been replaced for months; the jalousies inside our bedroom that he advised we should cover with an illustration board so the cold air-conditioned air won’t seep through… these are just a few of the things that remind me of him. It is so hard for me because everywhere I look, I seemingly see him or hear his comments as if he’s just around. It is very surreal and the reality of him being gone - forever in our life - is like a bitter pill that’s difficult to swallow. Kuya Jori was like everyone’s trusty ol’ brother and now, that ol’ brother has gone to be with the Lord.

Kuya, thank you so much for sharing 14 years of your life with our family. Sorry I didn’t even teach you how to search directory submissions online. Thank you for everything. We truly love you.

Sleep is perhaps one of the most natural acne treatments ever discovered. I’ve seen the beauty of sleep myself whenever I get more than 8 hours’ worth of sleep… most especially during weekends off. Bring me back to my old routine and there goes my zit-free face going haywire. This is because lack of sleep increases cortisol production which also increases the amount of androgens in the body, hence, there are more androgen-sensitive oil glands working heavier than usual. An overproductive oil gland equals oiliness and zits for zit-prone individuals like me.

The same principle of overworked androgen-sensitive oil glands is in play in women who get pimples when they’re about to have their period. This is because there’s a lot more androgens circulating in the woman’s body due to the natural shift in hormone-production. At times like these, keeping the face clean and bacteria-free is of utmost importance so you won’t get blocked pores which make you more predisposed to acne during periods.

However, when sleep becomes the culprit to acne, there is no other best solution for your acne problem than getting enough zzzzzs to keep your hormones from going haywire.