I know it’s a bit late for New Year’s Resolutions, but I was sooooo busy during the first week because of my Brunei trip that I forgot to do this.. Hopefully, I’ll be able to tick some or all of these. I have another list, but I’ve opted not to post it here. My faith goals are to remain secret for now.. =)
Yes, last Monday, I celebrated my 33rd birthday. And that means I get to have my birthday leave for some supposedly rest and relaxation. BUT, I had several errands to run, I used the opportunity to do them all.
First Stop – Land Transportation Office – SM Manila.
Waking up late was probably the only leisure I experienced on my birthday. I normally wake up at 7am on Mondays, but since it was my birthday, I decided to get up at 10am. I wanted to be sure that my processing will not be interrupted by lunch break, so I needed to be at SM Manila LTO at 11am. I was running late because of the traffic, however I finished renewing my license by 12:30pm. Took me an hour to do so. I sort of like my new license, I got away with a little more than the “Mona Lisa smile” requirement for government IDs. =)
Second Stop – The Bank / My Pad
I failed on this one. Instead of heading off to the bank, I decided to stay in my pad for the rest of the afternoon. I did a little tidying, I couldn’t find my dining table anymore because of my clothes that needed ironing! hahaha.. I didn’t iron them (I didn’t want to work on my birthday!), I just hung them on my clothes rack. =D
Third Stop – The Office = GIFTS!
I received a phone call from my sister at about 11am, asking me if I was at the office, I said I was on leave as I needed to run several errands, and she told me I needed to go to the office because she sent me something. So I headed to the office (not to work) to receive her gift. She sent me a bouquet of tulips and a birthday card. So sweet. I also received Alicia Keys’ new album, Girl on Fire, a gift from Sir Glen (my boss). He has been giving me Alicia Keys albums as birthday or Christmas gifts (it’s actually my request! hahaha). And lastly, I received this beautiful handbag from my loveys: David, Darren, Pauline, Rain and TJ. It was unexpected so I was really surprised.
The Unexpected Dinner
I really had nothing planned on my birthday, I just wanted to eat with some people for a small celebration. I sent text messages to a few people, including my father and my brother. My co-workers finally had the chance to meet (some of) my family as I never invited anyone to the house for 10 years now! hahaha! It ended with a facetime call with my sis in Singapore. =)
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It may have been an uneventful birthday, but it was a happy one, because I got to celebrate it with the people I love and share my life events with. =D
I had a sad end of 2011, praying that 2012 would be better. Since I was truly stressed with the 2011 year-end, I took some time off by asking my supervisors not to give me any teaching load for the first 3 months. I really wanted to rest. To get my bearings back, I planned to fly to Hong Kong for my birthday, and to South Korea for the summer break. But things didn’t work out the way I wanted to, and I was blind-sighted with unbelievable “news” at the beginning of the year, which sunk my spirit a few feet more. By the end of February, my favorite activity would be asking myself, “how did all of this happen to me?”, and sulking in my pad in Manila. The only thing that was keeping me up was my trip to South Korea which I pestered my good friend Mina to join me back in January since I couldn’t go to Hong Kong.
So, in March, Mina and I journeyed to Seoul, South Korea to visit the palaces, Everland and some drama shooting locations. I was in make up heaven when we shopped in Myeongdong. I think I spent at least Php 7,000 on cosmetics alone (hahaha!). I have to say, I was traumatized with the spring season, I couldn’t stand the cold! Maybe because the “Spring Season” I prepared for was the tailend of it, when we arrived, the season was just starting! We stayed for a week in Seoul, and I did not get enough of it. I didn’t want to leave!
By April, I needed to attend a conference in Malaysia, so I thought of segueing to Singapore to visit family and friends (plus the fare was cheaper than booking a direct flight to Malaysia!). As usual, my trip to Singapore will not be complete if I do not do major damage to my credit card. I think I spent a lot on Ikea buying “unnecessary” household items. My Malaysia trip was also great, I had a taste of travelling alone. I was not really able to go out and tour because my trip was purely business. But I got to see the Petronas towers though.
I had a pretty boring summer, my annual Boracay trip has been canceled because I was preparing budget for yet another Singapore FIELD trip in July. This time, I traveled with former student assistants who are working as engineers in different “big time” companies here in the Philippines. Literally, I’d call this a FIELD trip because we were almost as big as a size of a class! hahaha! I enjoyed our time at Universal Studios (for the nth time) because it was my first time to ride the Transformers attraction. Our field trip has its ups and downs, it was a good learning experience though.
By August, I was supposed to take a break from all the travelling I did for the 2nd quarter of the year, but Mina asked me if I wanted to go and watch her favorite K-Pop artist who was visiting Singapore. In a heartbeat, I said yes! It was another opportunity for me to relax and unwind even for just a long weekend. We watched 이승기 at Singapore stadium, it was my first time to watch a Korean artist perform, so I was a bit overwhelmed that they prepare a lot even if it was just a fan meeting.
I returned home vowed to never travel again for the year. I’ve had enough personal travels and honestly, my supposedly bottomless pit of money has it’s limits too. (hahaha!) So I was so surprised to find myself in South Korea for the second time in November. I joined this contest on Visit Seoul in September because I wanted to win a wireless mouse. To my surprise (albeit all doubts it was a scam), I really did win the first prize which is a round-trip ticket to South Korea. Mina could not join me so I journeyed on my own. I was fearless, even venturing in a nearby town outside of Seoul. I learned a lot on my solo trip, not only about Korea but also a lot about myself.
Although I had a rough start in 2012, and I am still experiencing the effects of it until now, I vow to keep a positive attitude and keep on fighting. 2012 may not be the year I expected it to be, but my 2013 will be a whole lot better as I embark on new adventures I had planned out for myself. =)
A Student of Life 