Construction and creation is an inspiring and inspired thing. It’s been an incredible past couple of weeks; Ray and I have really grown and changed so much just since being here.

It seems funny to be able to say that, to know that. Usually these things happen in more subtle ways in more drawn out timeframes. But sometimes, once in awhile, something comes along that is cataclysmic.

For all the wonder, intrigue, and many things I have absolutely enjoyed over the past 27 years and for which I am very grateful, I’ve had only two of those moments in my life that I would call truly, completely, and unequivocally life-changing: France. And Sjoerd. I was set up par for the course of becoming Me (thanks Mom!), but it was those two parts of my life that without which, I would not be who I Am.

These past few weeks at our beach hut have brought me my third life-altering experience: the Empire Building Kit. I know without a smidgen of a doubt that it was my gut decision on that day in our room in Donsol that said GO FOR IT that will be the ultimate cataclysmic reason I become who I Will Be. The journey Ray and I are taking by even attempting to build a lifestyle business is one that will not leave us unchanged, and we know it. It’s awesome to know that.

It’s true I bought the kit during its inaugural launch about a month and a half ago across the country. But it was here in El Nido that we sat down and started working our way through the emails I had compiled as we let our trip take precedence above all else for the few weeks following its purchase. So it was here, now, that even I, a notorious over-achiever full of ambition, drive, motivation and follow-through, realized I can still ratchet it up another level or twenty – and had a fantastic tool in front of me to lead the way down that elusive, mystery road of How.

I’ve always been interested in personal development, self-betterment, relationship building. Even though this kit is primarily about building a business, it’s inextricably encompassing of all those things too. Above all, it may well be what helps us turn this beautiful trip, which is reward enough in itself, into an ultimately profitable venture. Where will this ride take us!? We are so excited to see and enjoy whatever comes of it all.

We love and relish every moment we live and breathe.

And so our days have been a sort of kaleidoscope of beautiful, sparkling-water sunny days, where water laps at the shore just outside our window in the morning, deep enough to swim in and then retreats to ankle-deep in the evening. It’s been an odd merry-go-round of too-short-here and too-soon-gone friends from all around the world, whose faces have helped mark our days and weeks as different from each other in our long tenure here.

It’s been the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, my beloved hammock that hangs laughably 2 inches off the ground when I lay in it (but darn it I got my hammock on the porch!), our wonderful young 19-year-old Filipina caretaker of these 5 cottages who diligently sweeps our porch (and, mysteriously, the sand yard that connects us to the beach), always wearing a big smile and a pleasant air of happiness.

Through it all, my dear little black Porch Dog (known as Porch Dawgg on Facebook, due to “We don’t recognize that as a name” restrictions on sign-up), who has padded along beside us on the beach on the way to the Art Cafe, down the street to Squidoo’s or the little burger place, or snoozed on the porch beside us.

We’ve had many packets of tang, too many jars of Cheez Wiz – any time you get into plurals of jars of Cheez Wiz it’s become too many – so many packets of crackers, plenty of packs of ramen noodles, offset by our beloved cognac-peppersauce steaks on the beach, our scrambled egg, bacon and bread breakfasts, divine milky banana shakes, a couple of salami and olive platters, a few great salami pizzas (yesssssss we have actually tried the local food – the Filipino fare here just hasn’t been too memorable).

It’s been days of rum and chess and coconuts on the beach at sunset, a few beautifully rainy and stormy days that we sat on our porch and enjoyed the downpour, some of the best snorkeling in the world with comical clown fish and psychedelic underwater coral and plant life, waters of shocking blue and ridiculous clarity, a few fantastic scuba dives that put enough notches in our weight belts to nudge us into the realm where breathing underwater doesn’t seem so incredibly unnatural and stressful anymore, and we can actually sit back and enjoy the view.

In short, it’s been absolutely completely awesome. Just the time here that we’ve enjoyed, being sedentary, having friends, getting to know people in a way that develops naturally and slowly over time like it would in “normal life”; calm days punctuated by the occasional great, fun activity – all this alone would have been unforgettable. That our perusal of the EBK marked a significant turning point in our personal developments and undoubtedly our entrepreneurial ones catapults it all into truly remarkable. I am so glad that we got to experience a time like this in our lives. We look forward now with great excitement to the wilds of Mongolia.

But first, another reunion awaits.

Remember how I said France changed my life? Well it wasn’t just France the country; it was France the experience, the embodiment of which to me came in the form of one person: a Parisian fellow named Arnaud. It was just two days, eight long years ago. But I knew nothing would be the same again after those two days, and it hasn’t been.

Then he kissed my cheek and was gone, melted into the crowd at the Charles de Gaulle airport. I haven’t seen him since.

Well it just so happens, Arnaud is in Manila at the same time we’ll be passing back through.

And we thought the reunion with Kevin was interesting.