setting my foot on the first step

I was browsing through a magazine of home designs in a bookstore when it caught my eye. It was a picture of a back porch. And I don't know how and why, but I fell in love with that porch. I have a few house designs in my head, stuff I dream up. But none of them have a porch. And so from then on a porch became a necessity to me.

Reflecting on the incident, I can now come up with a couple of theories on why porches fascinate me so.

1. I grew up in a home that had one. I have memories of many afternoons spent on the porch. Me playing with my dolls, my dad teaching me how to play chess, my mom and grandmother sitting there talking, my brothers learning how to skate.

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2. A porch offers you a larger and more interactive view of the world. You can watch sunsets and dawns. You can watch people walk by. You can talk to the people who come by. You can invite them over for some refreshments. It's ideal for catching some inspiration.




3. It's where a man will walk me to. It's where me and him can watch sunsets and dawns together. It'll be where we go out to to clear our heads during an argument. Every marriage has them. It'll be where I'll sit with my baby on the swing, where I'll watch my child go to school, where I'll meet them when they come in after school. It'll be where I'll see my kid and grandkids off. It'll be where me and my husband, after the years, will sit in rocking chairs and watch the sun set.




And here I digress. Sort of. I have another blog, but it's title and theme pressure me in a way. I wanted to take a "breather" and I found myself looking for some sort of "safe ground". A place where I'd feel free to discuss anything and everything and not think about what I should be talking about.

And so I decided to create a porch. A place where I can sit, cradle a cup of coffee and let things unravel where they may. A place where any theme, topic, discussion can find a couple of soft cushions and sun beams and the space.

Blogging is much like hunting for your place. You go through a couple until you find one that you're most at home in. And this will be my third stop. It's looking good so far.

Come on over neighbor and let's chat.

A Brief on The Porch

Just posting this as a reference for any and all newcomers who might stumble upon this blog, and maybe to answer some questions even the frequent visitors might have. Not everyone's been here from the beginning, and even if you have you might not know everything about the place, so here goes:

Who are you?

My name's Kristina. Most people have taken to calling me Tin but it's a nickname I just haven't grown into. So I'm trying to turn the tide away by asserting that my nickname is really Krissy. My parents call me Nina. But that's a nickname reserved for their use and for the use of relatives and the guy I'm getting inthe future.

At present, I'm a junior at the University of the Philippines. Actually I've been here five years, the first three I spent as a Physics major but then I shifted and now I'm a Statistics major with a third year standing. I live with three roommates (Nellie, Gillian and Apple), 250+ other dorm mates, a laptop named Jerusalai and my faithful friend who's always there and always in blue, whom I call Bed. When not residing in the strictest women only dormitory on campus, I live with my parents, two brothers and Grandma in Pangasinan. Pangasinan is a province in northern Philippines known for it's good fish and this smelly fish paste I've never grown to love.

Why do you blog?

To do something in my boredom, to get my thoughts out there, to update people, to hopefully encourage some, to remind myself of what I've been through and survived, to testify about God, to keep nice and neat lists, to complain. Um, and to get some attention. Yeah. There, I've said it. Online Narcissism.

What's with the whole "porch" thing?

I like porches. I grew up in houses that had one. A porch is something I associate with comfort, community, serenity, openness and love. It's a place of many stories, many laughs, many tears. It's always where we've received and entertained most people at home during the late afternoon hours. The family has always drifted there for jokes and talks. My friends have liked hanging out there during the hot summer days when the living room couches just get too warm on our skins.

So in light of all that, I wanted a web space where people could relax and unwind, an open space for stories, jokes and teasing. I'd love to provide you coffee. But unless I can meet you in person, Ican't. So just settle down infront of your computer with your drink of choice and I hope you don't fall asleep.

So...what do you believe in?

I'm a Protestant Christian. I became a Christian in my freshman year. Christianity means a lot of different things to different people. But I believe it's about the broken and the sinful coming into redemption through Jesus Christ, walking intimately with a God who knows and loves us, and becoming new creations in the Creator's hands.

That's all I'll say for now. You'll find out more about my faith as we go along. And you could tell me about yours too.

That is an insane sidebar over there.

I love collecting things. And that's only part of my hefty collection of links. Try 'em. *Winks*