Archive for December 2017

I am taking a break from all the holiday drama binge watching to write my thoughts on the last day of the year. As I type this down, the household smells of roasted meat and everyone busy with the New Year's Eve preparations. On the other hand, I am in my pink bathrobe and with a purple towel on top of my head.

A few weeks ago, out of sheer playfulness, I took that silly quiz on Facebook about how the summary of my 2017, it was described in a single word: Blessed. And looking back, believe these photos speak strongly.

Two months after the release of results, I finally obtained my eligibility certificate last February -- which made my feat official!

While my career service award arrived in May, I finally reached my fifth year in the company in March.

I went on a few personal missions. One of which was attending Dia Internacional del Libro (International Book Day) of Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Spain in April. And aside from the attendance, what made it more special was I took part in another endeavor -- as one of the 500 writers who volunteered to write Don Quixote dela Mancha -- by hand!

Photo: @iam_aru

2017 was also a year of meeting new people. In the case of the photo above, it's meeting fellow volunteer employees from different offices (most of them I don't get to see often) during our annual project planning.

This year, I graced the page of a finance magazine, Moneysense Philippines in their Millennials and Money issue. It felt kind of surreal because during one period in my life, I was the one chasing others and asking for interviews. But this time around, tables just turned as I am now a resource person giving a talk about my career to millennials!

I turned 33 in November. and celebrated the occasion three times! :-)

After being in the company for half a decade, I got to experience how it is to celebrate one of America's favorite holidays for the first time: Thanksgiving with fellow volunteers and Career interns.

Photo: @jukariluna

I ended the year with another meaningful endeavor: by choosing to volunteer for the gift-giving event in a depressed area in Tondo for the first time. While this was something new to me, and at one point, made me feel worry for myself healthwise, conquering this kind of activity felt good and was also a humbling experience.

Most of the time, Wittybunny to me is just a silly application. But this time, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. This year was filled with ups and downs, stresses and easy days. It's a mixture of the equal stuff. This morning, upon waking up and realizing it's the last day of the year, I prayed for a number of things -- including another meaningful, blessed year.

I shall now resume my holiday programming but not without wishing you one thing: to have a safe, peaceful and happy new year.

Taking some time again writing on this blog during the holiday break. the last few weeks leading to Christmas has been busy and was somewhat stressful. I'm trying to give myself some well-deserved leeway from everything because it's been taking some toll on my health. And because of the busy schedule I had the past few weeks, there are some things I would either do in a hurry, or worst, had to skip entirely this year. One of them was attending and completing the anticipated masses for Simbang Gabi.

But in spite of an erratic schedule, preparing and holding Christmas parties and a bridal shower, I still had the chance to attend at least one of the 9 nights of the mass held at the church near my workplace.

Next to thinking of how the Homily relates to someone else's situation, I believe I got to be there to hear it for a reason. Just days before, I went through a quite scary ordeal, falling a victim to theft as I was waiting for a ride home from our team's Christmas dinner. My wallet, ATM card and a sum of money was among those that were stolen. It stressed me and left me worried that I failed to get some sleep.

And hearing the words of the priest made me recall of what happened and what I have forgotten -- gratitude. When I got home that night, on my Facebook wall was a comment that Januver left on my status post. Reading it made me think how spot on his words were. All those times, I was worrying about what I have lost and how it could lead to financial issues and how I could make ends meet. Whereas here he is, saying and implying how my safety is more important than anything else.

I disregarded the fact that I was safe and unharmed. A thing that he seemed to care about more. And it shook me back to my senses. Next to his words, it was also my parents' advice that pacified my worries and consoled my heart from the somewhat traumatic experience I want through.

In the end, I may have lost something but by God's grace, I was able to make ends meet -- more than what I expected.

I never thought I would write a nostalgic throwback post on Christmas Eve. Blame it on the recent news that Meteor Garden will get a millennial remake, but for the past weeks, I found myself binge watching Taiwanese dramas. First on my list is Meteor Garden, of course!

When this drama series was aires here in the Philippines 14 years ago, I was still in college at 19. A few weeks ago, I remember confessing to my office mate Cherry about re-watching the show and told her of the realization that your perception about things do differ as you age.

And true enough, as I was watching Meteor Garden's episodes, I can't help but realize that. Iba ang pagtingin mo sa mga sitwasyon at bagay when you are only 19, but it becomes all the more different (and real) when you are 33.

And that includes things involving love and relationships. At 19, you only see love and romance as that one with those handsome boys that give you the giddy feels. But watching this drama series at a time I consider myself to be "old", left me with a few lessons that I never learned back when I was a teenager filled with "kilig" hormones over a group of boys who never spoke English on TV!

So what did watching Meteor Garden at 33 made me realize? These would have to be the following:

Sacrifices (and doing them) are really an essential ingredient, and is always present to any relationship (and sometimes, you need them in order to make your bond work).
While they say actions speak louder than words, there also are times that love has to be declared.
Patience always come with wonderful rewards.
It might look complicated, even difficult, but despite the adversities along the way, love is still the most wonderful feeling in the world.
Though they might look complicated, silent guys more often are men of sense. They think sensibly and deeply -- something which compensates their silence.
It pays to have a kick-ass sister and group of friends as a source of support -- and someone to seek help.
You don't really need to mold yourself and be someone else just to fit in with the crowd and find love. Sometimes, even a strong character is enough to earn one's respect and more -- love included.
Love is a powerful force that can really transform a person. It could bring out a kind heart even out of a "bad boy".
Some bad boys do have soft hearts, and can still possibly become ideal boyfriends.
Even if people and circumstances are against two persons in love, with perseverance and faith, love wins -- always.

I still have a number of episode to watch. The kilig feeling is still present just like how it was when I watched it in 14 years ago, though I know that just like me, the characters in the series have also grown up and gotten old. And while I have yet to see the remake (it's scheduled to come out next year), I guess I would still prefer the first and original version than any others.

MABUHAY!

POPULAR POSTS

Categories

Contact Form

Zone of Solitude

BLOG STATS SAYS...

Blog Archive

Advertisement

MY BLOG READING LIST

MY ENTRIES ARE LICENSED

GOOGLE SUBSCRIBED? FOLLOW ME