RJMarmol.com – Since 2008.

Heart and Sole

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How do you walk a mile in one’s shoes when that person doesn’t even have one to begin with?

Simple. You walk a mile barefoot. Or maybe, not really a mile. :)

Question: What part of our body is usually taken for granted and is one of the (if not ‘the’) most underrated when it
comes to efficiency?
Answer: Our feet.

It supports our entire weight (bones, muscles and all), takes us to places, and more.

And yet, not many people talk about it and even less people talk about how many of our brothers and sisters go through life without even one decent and functional pair of slippers, much less, shoes.

It is uncomfortable to not have shoes. But it’s more uncomfortable to have more than one pair for a single ‘purpose’ while seeing our unfortunate brethren walking barefoot in the hot sand, cracked or cold soil.

I would like to ask for a little birthday present. Join me as I go barefoot for a day on April 8, 2010 Thursday, just to feel what it’s like to tread the earth without foot protection or support.

But, more than the experience, it’s about raising awareness. And more than raising awareness, it’s about taking action in our littlest of ways by supporting organizations who have the means to carry out large-scale efforts to deliver shoes to people in remote areas — where it is most needed.

You can choose to go barefoot all day, part of the day or an hour or a few minutes. Your choice. If you can’t go barefoot on April 8 but would like to participate in another way, it would be lovely if you could spread the news to your social networks to promote the cause and the event itself.

To know more about this cause, please visit One Day Without Shoes and find out how you can help kids without shoes today. ODWS is organized by Toms.com. Learn about their “One for One” (For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS gives a pair to a child in need.) mission and how it is helping children with Podoconiosis.

There is one event I have located here, happening at  the Bonifacio High Street around 3:45 – 6:00pm. If you’re within the area around that time, you might want to check it out.

“We are asking people to go the day, part of the day or even just a few minutes barefoot, to experience a life without shoes first hand, and help spread awareness of the impact a simple pair of shoes can bring a child’s life.”

Let’s all go walk around Bonifacio High Street without our shoes on April 8, 2010 in support of children around the world who go shoe-less everyday :)

Thank you for your time. And thank you for your birthday present. :)

Let me know what you think… :)

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● About Me
Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera Marmol aka RJ Marmol profile picture

I’m RJ Marmol — writer, musician, and independent creator based in Manila.

I write songs, essays, and books about the messy overlap between money, overwhelm, creativity, identity, and rebuilding. Much of my work circles around what happens when life stops feeling manageable — and how we try to think clearly, make decisions, and keep moving anyway.

I’m also the author of Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur, a nonfiction book published under Steady Hand Press. The paperback edition is listed under my full publishing name, Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera.

On the music side, I release work as HeyRJ. On the writing side, this site is where I gather my books, essays, notes, and whatever I’m building next.

Music

HeyRJ is my sonic soul project. I create raw, minimalist-style and deeply personal music interpretations that feel like a late-night conversation with your truest self.

By blending lo-fi acoustic textures with poetic honesty, my work explores love, loss, grief, healing, and the quiet in-betweens of life. Each song is a letter — a journal entry — a gentle companion for when the world feels too loud or too quiet.

While my catalogue began with intimate cover renditions, my work is increasingly being shaped by original writing, drawing from years of poems, lived questions, and emotional survival.

“Stuck Home Syndrome” released on March 20, 2026 is my first original 20-track album written during a period when time felt compressed and days began to blur into each other. The songs came from sitting with thoughts that had nowhere else to go — unfiltered, repetitive, and sometimes uncomfortable. It’s a concept album that isn’t built around singles or polish. It’s closer to a continuous inner monologue, recorded with minimal production and very little ornamentation and meant to be listened to as one cohesive body of work. The goal wasn’t to resolve anything, only to document how it felt while it was happening.

On May 29, 2026 I released new original singles – “Rapturous”, “Uh Huh”, “Look At You”, “All That” and “Blew Print”. I continue to release both original and cover songs and intend to so for as long as I can so check back every once in a while — you might. just find something you’ll like.

For business inquiries relating to music, email me at: heyrjmusic[at]gmail[dot]com or my personal email at: rjmarmol[at]gmail[dot]com.

Books

Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur

A nonfiction book about what debt does to the mind — and how to begin functioning again when financial stress has made everything feel blurred, urgent, and overwhelming.

Rather than treating debt only as a financial math problem, the book explores the emotional and cognitive realities of financial distress: shame, decision fatigue, avoidance, panic, relationship strain, and the difficulty of making sound decisions while mentally depleted.

Published under Steady Hand Press. It’s available worldwide in ebook and paperback formats on Amazon. Bookstores and libraries can also be order it wholesale via Ingram.

Contact

For book-related inquiries, media requests, bookstore questions, or discussion-group invitations, you can reach me through the contact page on this site or send me an email to rjmarmol[at]gmail[dot]com or hello[at]steadyhandpress.com

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