Farewell 2010, Hello 2011!

My 2010 was very eventful and memorable, to say the least. In the last few moments of the year, I find myself wistful recounting those memories and looking back to the year that was. So, here is my Best in 2010 list in pictures:

Best ka-bonding: My brother, Carlo. Manila would've been much more unbearable without him.


Best vacation: Bohol! Got to do lots of crazy things with the best travel buddies.


Best day: My 30th birthday. Together with my 18th, this year's the best celebration ever!


Best healthy addiction: Running. Too bad I wasn't able to join any fun runs in the latter part of the year.


Best thing about my new job: Traveling around the country. I'd never have gone to these places in the last 4 months if not for my job. There really is a silver lining. Always.


Best place to relax and unwind: The beach. Hearing the sound of waves and seeing the blue waters immediately brings me to a good place.


Best Eureka! moment: Coming up with the First Things List. It made me get off my ass and try new things everyday.

Best discovery: New friends. They make the daily grind tolerable, and the boring days interesting.


Best scrapbook moment/s: Cementing old friendships. Like wine, friendships only get better in time.


Best fearless decision: Taking the FSO exam for the first time. Although I didn't make it past the 3rd stage, I'm proud to have made it that far.

Best 'Dear Diary' moment: Good to note that this year, I met someone I really like after a long, long time. Let's just leave it at that. =)


Best returning habit: Blogging. Old habits die hard, and I'm glad to be back writing about stuff here. This is one habit I'll definitely won't let go of next year.

That's just a few of the great (and not so great) things that happened to me this year. Here's to more wonderful and greater adventures in 2011! Cheers! =)

So Not Worth It

I can't believe it was absolute crap. I had my hopes up for this one, waiting for its release for a couple of months now, but it was such an absolute let-down. It was trying so hard to be an art film, and failing miserably.

The plot was pretty basic, but the (inexperienced) director dragged it on to an hour or so of snoozefest. They took a lot of artsy and close-up shots but the cast (especially the lead) didn't have the depth to be able to get away with scenes like this.

The costume design looks a bit off and they could do with a bit more research. And don't let me get started on the dialogues. I don't think people in the 20s uttered sentences like this: "Ang galing mo pala'ng mag-piano." Maybe, they said something like this? "Mahusay ka pala'ng tumugtog ng piano." But what should I know, I never lived in the 20s.

In short, I was sorely disappointed (and to think I have not seen the entire movie). I'm not so sure why the ratings board gave it an A.

If you're going to watch any movie for the Metro Manila Film Festival, just watch Tanging Ina. It's mindless entertainment and it doesn't pretend to be something more than that.

A Christmas Post

They say that Christmas is for kids, and I'd have to agree. Everything seems to be brighter and more joyful at Christmastime when you're a kid. Personally, most, if not all, of my best Christmas memories were from my childhood:

Hanging out with the gang. When we were very little and still living in Manila, we would go house-hopping during Christmas Eve. Our friends would come over our house and eat, then we would go to theirs and eat more food. That's at least 4 houses in one night, so it's one big food fest for us on Christmas Eve. After stuffing our faces, we would all hang out on the street and play with firecrackers. Oh yes, those were the days when we don't worry about getting our fingers blown off. Good times!

Go caroling with friends. We would make our own instruments- drums out of milk cans, and tambourines out of flattened bottle caps- and practice our Christmas repertoire days before our series of performances start. Of course, our 'repertoire' was limited to Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit, Joy To The World, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Santa Clause Is Coming To Town and then our grand finale: "Thank You, Thank You, ambabait ninyo, thank you!". We would go from house to house in our village, and torture our neighbors until they give us the much-desired coins...er, cash. I don't remember now what we did with our loot, but probably these were spent on candies and more fattening junk.

Writing our Christmas wish list for Santa. I remember my sister and I writing letters to Santa and placing them in our socks (we didn't have Christmas stockings, sob sob) hung by our door. Although I believed in Santa then, I recall wondering how he'd give us our gifts when our house didn't have a chimney!

Getting lots of presents. Of course, Christmas gotta be about the presents when you're a kid! I loved going from one godparent to another, looking oh-so-cute and angelic, to collect my gifts: Rainbow Brite bag, Sailor Barbie, snazzy pencil box with lots of buttons and compartments, and most importantly, cold hard cash!
We've also made it very hard for our parents to keep our Christmas gifts a surprise. Whenever they leave for work, we would search all over the house to check if they got us the gift we wanted. Yes, early manifestation of our low EQs.
One year, when the small battery-operated piano (and piano pencil boxes, for that matter) were all the rage, we found 2 of these (colored pink and blue) hidden inside the closet. My sis and I asked our mom if these are for us, but she said these were for her goddaughters. We were disappointed so we did what any normal jealous kid would do, we secretly played with the pianos when my parents were away. Oh how we envied them, so lucky to be receiving this wonderful toy. And then we got caught red-handed, so my mom just 'fessed up out of frustration and said that they were really for us. We didn't play much with the piano after that. What with the danger and excitement now lost.

Watching the Christmas display at C.O.D. Every December in the 80s, C.O.D., a now-defunct department store in Cubao, would mount a moving mannequin presentation about the birth of Jesus Christ. I remember sitting on my dad's shoulders looking up at the store's facade and watch the show with wonder and amazement.
I wish someone could bring this tradition back as it's not only a good way for kids to learn the lesson of Christmas, but it also brings families together even for just a while.

Christmas has somehow changed for me now. It isn't as magical as it used to be, but I guess that's okay. It's not about having fun and getting lots of presents anymore, but instead it means celebrating with loved ones and remembering the true reason for the season- Christ.

A blessed Christmas, everyone!

Still on The List

It's almost a year since I made the resolution to come up with a First Things list. I initially thought of doing 30 new things before I celebrate the big 3-0, but then I realized it's somewhat impossible. So I made it a year-long project. And, until now I haven't completed the list! Am I that boring that I can't even do 30 new things in a year? Sheesh!

Anyway, I still got a few days to go and less than 10 things to do. Who knows, I might get the chance to do new stuff while enjoying my Christmas holiday.

First Thing #21 - Go on a business trip.

Fortunately for someone like me who loves traveling, I've had the utter good fortune of landing jobs that required me to be stuck to a desk and computer.

But as luck would have it, I got moved to a different department that allowed me to travel to different places for work. For a couple of weeks, I basically lived out of a suitcase, moved from airport to airport, and stayed in different hotels. Sounds like hell? Nah! I remember thinking, "Ahhh, I can get used to this!"

One, I love packing. I've mastered the art of traveling light and have already developed a system that would put any packaging company to shame. Two, I love airports. I like watching people head off to some destination or come home from a long trip. And three, who doesn't like staying in a hotel??

So after that experience, I made up my mind that I will definitely have to get me job that involves lots of traveling. My goal now is to become a Travel Blogger. Can anyone hire me please?

First Thing #22 - Visit Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and Dagupan.
I was able to go to these places because of the business trips mentioned above. Being Filipino and living here in the Philippines all my life, I can't believe I've never been to these places before.

So when I had the chance to go there, I felt like being an ambassador of the Pilipinas Kay Ganda campaign, taking note of the unique qualities in each so that I may spread the word and encourage everyone to visit these cities.

Downside though, is that I was only able to stay a day or two in each, so my my observations were limited and basically...irrelevant hehe. But I promised myself to go back very soon and experience everything these places have to offer.

First Thing #23 - See a Hedgehog.
OK, I know this has nothing to do with the first two, but then it's my first time seeing a hedgehog. I never thought I'd see one here in the Philippines, much less three.

They were small, cute and cuddly but I hesitated in touching them cos I'm afraid their "bristles" might hurt. They really look much like a toilet bowl brush.





So I still have 7 things to add on my list before I can say that this project is completed. If anyone has ideas on what else I can do, or if you can tag me along to one of your adventures, please let me know. You'll make one miserable old maid's Christmas and New Year, very happy.