Arlene Manocot's Blog, page 3

Taiwan Blog Episode 1: Flights, Hotel, and Tour

Taiwan is one of my dream destinations. My desire to go to this country is rooted in the Taiwanese drama I used to watch with my cousin when I was a teenager, and somewhere around my high school era. This trip will gratify my lifelong dream of going to the country of Dao Ming Si and San Chai, the two leads in the Taiwanese drama. 
When I had an 11-hour layover during my trip from the US to the Philippines, I was able to step on the ground of Taiwan, but I did not attempt to get out of the airport despite the long hours of staying there. I just thought to myself that I would return there as a tourist, not as a passerby. And I did. 
Travelling the world is also one of my many dreams in life. I guess dreams keep us going, too, in life, like hope. This is my first time doing solo travelling. I am a bit nervous, which is normal, I think. I tried to prepare properly for this trip. 
The Trip.com app has been my go-to online software for my travel ever since I booked that ticket with my friends for a Cebu trip, which was seven years ago.
Use my code: 5DG4H9
Every time I travel, my goal is to find the cheapest but safest flight, hotel, and tour. I am always travelling on a budget. 
This time for the booking I used US dollar currency, since it felt more affordable and not painful on my pocket when I look at it. Well, yes, it is more of a psychological thing, and hopefully, it is helping rather than damaging me.
Flights. For the plane tickets, I spent $110.50. It is a round-trip ticket already for 4 4-day and 3-night trips, or more like three (3) days and three (3) nights because of the flight schedule.
Hotel. For the accommodation, I tried booking in a hostel. I booked for 2 nights, since I would be spending the 1st night at the airport. I spent $24.10 for the hostel. I made sure that the hostel is a walking distance of the training station.
Tour. I decided to avail a package tour since I would be travelling in an unfamiliar land. I thought it would be safer and cheaper because the tour includes the transportation. As it was advertised, the tour is composed of 7 tourist attractions to visit. It is a one-day tour. I paid $49.75 for the packaged tour.
In total, for the plane tickets, accommodation, and guided tour, I spent $184.35, which roughly converted to 10,139.25 Philippine pesos.
I am excited and nervous at the same time for this trip, but I am definitely looking forward to it. 
Join me as I travel the world. Tara!

Taiwan Blog (Episode 1): Flights, Hotel, and Tour

Taiwan is one of my dream destinations. My desire to got to this country is rooted from the Taiwanese drama I used to watch with my cousin when I was a teenager and somewhere around my high school era. This trip will gratify my lifelong dream of going to the country of Dao Ming Si and San Chai, the two leads in the Taiwanese drama. 
When I had an 11-hour layover during my trip from US to Philippines, I was able to step on the ground of Taiwan, but I did not attempt to get out of the airport despite the long hours of staying there. I just thought to myself that I would return there as a tourist, not as a passerby. And I did. 
Travelling the world is also one of my many dreams in life. I guess dreams keep us going too in life, like hope. This is my first time doing solo travelling. I am bit nervous, which is normal I think. I tried to prepare rightfully for this trip. 
The Trip.com app has been my go to online software for my travel ever since I booked that ticket with my friends for Cebu trip which is seven years ago.

Everytime I travel my goal is to find the cheapest but safest flight, hotel, and tour. I am always travelling on a budget. 
This time for the booking I used US dollar currency, since it felt more affordable and not painful on my pocket when I look at it. Well, yes, it is more of a psychological thing and hopefully, it is helping rather that damaging me.
Flights. For the plane tickets, I spent $110.50. It is a round trip ticket already for 4 days and 3 nights trip or more like 3 days and 3 nights because of the flight schedule.
Hotel. For the accommodation, I tried booking in a hostel. I booked for 2 nights, since I would be spending the 1st night at the airport. I spent $24.10 for the hostel. I made sure that hostel is a walking distance to the training station.
Tour. I decided to avail a package tour since I would be travelling in a unfamiliar land. I thought it would be safer and cheaper because the tour includes the transportation. As it was advertised, the tour is composed of 7 tourist attractions to visit. It is a one-day tour. I paid $49.75 for the packaged tour.
In total for the plane tickets, accommodation, and guided tour, I spent $184.35 which roughly converted to 10,139.25 Philippine peso.
I am excited and nervous at the same time for this trip, but I am definitely looking forward to it. 
Join me as I travel the world. Tara!
Love,
Ang Manlalakbay

Touring Places in Tyler, TX

Whenever I hear Tyler, TX the first thing that comes into mind is Rose Garden. A friend’s post on Facebook left this impression on me, since it is always fun to visit places with flowers I got interested in that part of Texas. So when I got the chance to go to an area near Tyler with my boyfriend, I didn’t want to miss the chance to be able to visit the flower garden. 
It was always a long drive getting to Tyler and aware that driving was not easy, I always tried my best to be of use to the driver. I tried my best to be the navigator which I did okay and food commander which I did good feeding him while he drove us safely to our destination, and he always did a good job behind the wheels. 
I got to be in Tyler more than once and visited a few places, thanks to my generous and kind tour guide. Here’s the list of places we got to drop by from all our visits to Tyler:
Broadway Square Mall. It is an old mall in Tyler. You could see pictures of the old mall on the wall of the hallway going to the restroom which felt nostalgic. 
Boba Loompia. So good! Filipino food in Tyler, represent! It was so good and nostalgic. 


Rose Garden. I was so in love with all the flowers. They were gorgeous  and some of them were in full bloom.


Painted Tree. It was a boutique where you might find some of the curios things you would ever see. 

Crumble Cookie. Yum! Yum! Yum! I got no other words but delicioso! Bon appetit!
UT Tyler. His graduate university and my heart was full when he took me there. I love him for sharing that part of him to me.  




Bass Pro Shop. It is an outfitter store. It is still amazed me by their wide selection of outdoor clothes, equipments, vehicles, and a lot more. They got everything you need for a wild adventure.

We also got to try some restaurants and this list is not comprehensive since I forgot some of the places we ate at. I am going to update this list as I remember those places. Hopefully, fingercross.
Rotolo's Pizzeria. The Angry Pig was so good. Non-traditional pizza with spicy BBQ sauce, Italian sausage, bacon, jalapeños, and cheddar cheese.
Another Broken Egg. We had our Valentine's date here. The food was good and serving was big. I was so full and so happy to spend the day with him. 



The homemade food was the best part. I got to experience real and authentic American food. So good!
I miss Tyler, I miss Flint. I miss him so much. 

Joyful Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot

No post for June. It was a month of tears, heartbreaks, pain, and disappoinment. 
But for the month of June, I finished reading the book Joyful Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot. I guess that was the book I needed that time. It was a good book companion going through the process of another surrender in my life.  

There is nothing joyful in surrendering the fight to be with the one you love. Never in my entire existence thought of struggling to be with the one I love physically would come my way. I had this thought that it was something that could be won easily. Like as long you love each other, it will work out, and I am pretty sure it is going to be hard, but at the end of the day it is still going to work out. 
I was never ready to give up. Though I had anxious thoughts, I always thought that if I stick with him through thick and thin, he will do the same too, and he did, but up to a certain level only. He wouldn't go down deep in the dirt with me, and I get him. I so get him that I tried so hard to convince him that we could make it through together physically, but he would not try it. And I still love him. 
He was right it was a lot more complicated, but my simple mind saw it simple. It was simple for me. 
Maybe he was right when he said everything was falling apart. On my side, I thought I was doing a good job trying to keep it together. I was breaking, falling apart, but I tried to stay in one piece to keep the relationship, to stay together physically, because distance, a long, long distance can bring loneliness in a relationship.
He decided to let me go and it was something I did not want him to do. I thought he would not want to be apart from me, as much as I hated the idea. But he made his decision, and I did not have nothing to change that decision. 
I decided to surrender in hope that it would give him peace and joy. In hope that God will open doors for us. My heart was breaking, is. My soul was torn apart, is. It was the hardest decision I made in my life, to let go. To leave him, and be thousands miles apart from each other
I miss him every single day. I miss him in moments I am happy and in moments I am sad. I love him. But God should come first, and I guess that's the part that I missed, we missed maybe. He was the center of my universe. He was my world. I thought us going to church was putting God in the center of our relationship. But I guess, there were times we didn't put God above our relationship. We let Him down. I always pray that God will be glorified in our relationship and I still do. I pray that God is glorified in this season of my life as I wait again and try to live a life of freedom, joy, and faith all through Him and in Him.
Joyful surrender is hard at the beginning of letting go of the battle you have been fighting for to win. It is still hard and difficult during the process, loneliness is another constant battle I have to deal with. Only God can make it easy. If you let go, and let God. 
Before the end of June, it was also a month of hope and new beginning. As what he said, hope keeps us going.  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Self-Publishing 101: How to Print Your Book with IngramSpark?

This step is the part of self-publishing where you decide to have a print copy of your book. I have come upon this company that helps in printing self-published books. I am glad to find IngramSpark. 

Who is IngramSpark? 
IngramSpark offers printing services. It is a company built by indie publishers, for indie publishers. Fully integrated print, digital, wholesale, and global distribution to help you publish like a pro.

Now, here is the big question: Do you have a manuscript you want to print and an ISBN for your book? If your answer is yes, this might be the right time to try using IngramSpark. 
You just have to prepare two (2) documents: a formatted manuscript and a full book cover.
1. Formatted ManuscriptFor most of the books I self-published, the size I use is 8 by 5. I use Microsoft Word for the interior of the book or the manuscript itself.  
2. Full Book CoverThe application I work with to make my book covers is Canva. The front, back cover, and spine are all created with Canva. Just make sure you use the template book covers for you have the right dimension. Since I use an 8 by 5 size for the interior, it is only right to have your book's front and back cover in the same size. On the other hand, the width of the spine depends on the number of pages of the book, and the height remains the same as the front and back covers.
To calculate the width of your book spine, you may use this tool from IngramSpark: Spine and Weight Calculator
Here’s a sample of the book I published on demand with IngramSpark. Behold! 😂

I hope this helps.

Self-publishing 101: How to apply ISBN for your self-published books from NLP online?

Do you want to sell your books through a physical bookstore just like me?

As a self-published author, one of my dreams is to see my books in the shelves of many physical bookstores which seems like a pie in the sky for me before the boom of internet age. Right now, I can see light and hope for that dream. There are a lot of ways to make it possible and I am hoping and praying it will work. 
But first, I needed that ISBN. So I did get it for my new book and good news just recently, I got approved of ISBNs for the book I have written entitled The Restless Mind. I got the ISBNs for ebook and print version and I did online. 

Who is NLP?
The National Library of the Philippines (NLP) is the repository of the printed and recorded cultural heritage of the country and other intellectual, literary resources and information sources.
MissionThe National Library of the Philippines is an ISO certified national repository of printed and recorded cultural heritage in the country that acquires, organizes, conserves, and preserves Filipiniana resources and provides equitable access to information resources on various platforms.
VisionPremier national repository and gateway of knowledge, culture and innovation empowering Philippine society.

How to get ISBNs for your self-published books from NLP online?

1. First thing first, register as an author/writer with NBDB and here is how I did it: 
Self-publishing 101: How to register as an Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB? and you can do it too, just click the link.
The confirmation email I received from NBDB.
2. Create an account on this website: https://web.nlp.gov.ph/isbn/
3. Prepare a document that contains the full book cover of the book/s and copyright page. Remember, make sure you follow the prescribed format of the NLP or else they will reject it, but you can still revise your application.
The proof of work I submitted for the ISBN application.
4. Submit a request by clicking ISBN Application tab and filling out all the necessary information about your book and uploading the document.
You will receive an email verifying your application and it may take up to two business days to evaluate your application. 
This is the email I received when my ISBN application has approved.

I hope for your success in your ISBN application.

Self-publishing 101: How to register as an Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB?

As a self-published author, I had a little desire of registering with NBDB. I thought the process was tedious so I decided to forego the idea of being a registered author despite free online registration the agency was offering. I thought I could not squeeze it in my busy schedule.
But these past few months, I got no more excuses not to consolidate documents required to be registered as an author in the date base National Book Development Board or NBDB. The best part is the whole registration process can be done online. Tada! Isn't that good news?
Another reason to pursue this author registration is for me to be able to apply for ISBNs of my books, since I also plan to sell my books in bookstores and they require ISBN on books to be sold at their store. There is going to be a separate blogpost on how to get ISBN for books, once I got my author registration certificate.

Who is NBDB?
The enactment of Republic Act 8047, also known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, was a clear demonstration of the government's attention to the important role of books in nation building. The law created the National Book Development Board (NBDB) which is tasked primarily to formulate and implement a National Book Policy with a corresponding National Book Development Plan geared towards the development of the book publishing industry. The birth of the NBDB was a long struggle that started in 1998 in the halls of Congress by men who shared a vision and the desire to see the growth of the book publishing industry in the Philippines. That remarkable struggle ended on June 7, 1995 when His Excellency, President Fidel V. Ramos, signed into law Republic Act No. 8047, otherwise known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act which created the National Book Development Board. RA 8047 repealed Executive Order 492, series of 1991, as amended, the law which created the Instructional Materials Development Center, under the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS).

How to register as an Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB? What are the requirements? How many days will it take to receive the author registration certificate? These were the same questions I had where started thinking about the process of the application. 
Here is list the documents or requirements I needed to prepare:1. One (1) valid government-issued ID. I submitted a copy of my passport.2. Bionote. I limited my bionote to five (5) sentences, but I am sure you can write more than that. Here is a sample of my bionote for your referece.

3. List of Published and/or Unpublished Titles. There is a downloadable prescribed template by the NBDB that I had to fill out diligently and it looks like this:

4. Proof of Work. I consolidated the book covers and copyright of all my published books in Word document file. For my unpublished titles, I also put them together in a Word document file and most of my unpublished manuscript do not even reach twenty (20) pages, so I just put whatever I have. I saved the documents for my proof of work as PDF. 

After I finalized all the requirements, I sent them to this email: registration@books.gov.ph. All the documents will undergo evaluation by the NBDB and it may take up to seven (7) days. 
Please feel free to comment or send me a message if you have any clarification. This link will give you the full details of the registration process: NBDB E-Registration
Be a registered Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB and start your application now!

Book Review & Full Book Cover Reveal: The Restless Mind

Good day y’all! 
Good news, I just released a book for my birthday. I’ve been self-publishing for almost ten years. I am happy doing that, and I find purpose in all the books I write. I hope you’re having fun, too, doing your purpose! 
Here’s the full cover for the print copies of my latest book, The Restless Mind:

The Advance Reader’s E-book Copy is now available for reviews and interested readers. Please feel free to message me or comment on my posts, so I can send you a copy of The Restless Mind. You may add the book to your Goodreads account. 

Please don’t hesitate to post your honest review of the book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231233037

If you’re interested, please send me a message via Messenger, comment on this post, or e-mail me: arlenemanocot@gmail.com. I will send you an e-book version of the book for review. 
Your time and interest are highly appreciated. Thank you and have a nice day! 🙏🤗 

Self-Publishing 101: Where to Print Your Books?

As you all know, I am about to release another collection of poems. It is a collection of my written thoughts and feelings in the most creative way I can. It is also my way of releasing overwhelming or underwhelming positive and negative emotions.
The title of the new book to be released is The Restless Mind. You can know more about it from the article that I posted on this website. You may click this link to read more about the book: https://www.arlenemanocot.com/2025/04/new-book-reveal-restless-mind.html?m=1
So going back to the question, where to publish or to print book? This inquiry was sent to me privately by a Facebook friend and I was thinking maybe aside from him there are others who might want to know something about self-publishing. 
In my ten (10) years of experience in self-publishing, I would consider that there are different parts of publishing: writing, editing, formatting, and publishing. I had to ask that friend of mine what specific part of publishing and it turned out, he wanted to print his own collection of poems. 
There are two printing company where I can get print books for my self-published books, one in the Philippines and the other is in the US.
1. PH printsI submit my soft copy and all the details of the books to JMD Prints. They have Facebook page, but personally I like to message Ate Joy on her Messenger account for every transaction I have with JMD Prints. They will ask you send the digital materials via e-mail. Here’s the link for their FB page if you want to get in touch with them and planning to print in the Philippines. In my experience they got the most affordable and high quality output. 
JMD Prints Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C8RBXWX2A/?mibextid=wwXIfr

2. US PrintsThis is the first time I am going to try printing in the US and also using Ingram Spark. I inquired to one printing company, but their rate was a little pricey. I have created an account on their website starting to format my latest book according to their requirements. Here’s the link Ingram Spark website for to explore and decide if it is the best option for you. 
Ingram Spark: https://www.ingramspark.com/

I hope this article helps you to get an idea about book printing. Please don’t hesitate to send me a question about self-publishing or anything maybe hehe. Have a nice day!

The Birthday Book and The Birthday Girl

I am the birthday girl!

I don’t usually celebrate my birthday and maybe never post something about celebrating my birthday. It is hard to remember. But this year, my heart is just overflowing with gratitude to God for giving me this opportunity to live and to have a life. Even though life hasn’t always been easy, I thank You God for this gift of life. 
Well, now that I think about it. I never had a sort of celebration for my birthday. Usually, it is just eating together or going somewhere to explore, and I like that idea, that’s the kind of celebration I would prefer. Never had the cakes and balloons with lots of confetti, and it’s fine. I guess that’s kind of celebration is never in my radar. 

Birthday gifts from my love 🥰

Thank you Angie, Savior, Jared, Nay, at Tay for the video greetings and cake! 

Thirty five is the age now. I am in the middle of my thirty’s. Right now as old as I am, I am in the phase of my life where I know exactly what to do but I do not know how to do it. Like I know what I want, I know my purpose, but I am scared because I just got out of one of the many things on earth that makes me feel secured which like everything else is temporary and will definitely perish. 

Thank you for all those who didn’t forget to greet me on my birthday! 🎊 

I just have this thought that I have surrendered everything to God. My trust and hope is in Him. I always pray for provisions, safety, protection, wisdom, endurance, and guidance for me, my family, and loved ones. My prayer also is to live a life that is content and glorifying to You, my LORD. 

And this is the birthday book!

I tried to release every year and during my birthday. The Restless Mind is the birthday book this year and it contains some of my confessions. Maybe, I wrote this book out of grumbling and complaining about life or a specific situation and circumstance I needed to deal with. 
I just hope and pray to inspire other people specifically women through this book. Another prayer of mine for this book is to earn a living out of my books. Please get a copy of this book. You may order a print copy of The Restless Mind through this pre-order form: https://forms.gle/B2MrroFvYJCY5fnm8
Please don’t forget to tag me on a post or send me a message if you want to get in touch. Have a blessed day y’all!