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Year-End Survey 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is starting to become a year-end tradition. I've been answering this survey since 2003. I guess it's safe to answer this now since we only have 2 days to go til the end of the year. Here's hoping that nothing astounding will happen in the next couple of days and proof that I lived through 2006:

 

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
A lot! First-time bridesmaid, donned a bikini , rode in a banana boat in Puerto Galera, swam in Pagudpud, snorkled in Anilao (i love the beach!), walked in the streets of Auckland, took pictures of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, felt the cold at a Tagaytay Helipad, and a lot more...

 

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I guess I wasn't able to keep my "papayat" resolution as I believe I've gained weight in the past year.  But IMHO, I believe I've obtained a stronger faith.  Next year? Papayat uli!!! Hahaha. Stronger faith uli. Happiness -- find something that will make me happy. And I will not sell my soul to work. I will not work myself to the ground.

 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes!  My cousin, Ate Cel, gave birth to Sean Matthew on October 12, 2006.

 

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, no one.

 

5. What countries did you visit?  
Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand

 

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?

Life! I feel I've spent 2006 in the office, wallowing in self pity and not actually enjoying life. I hope I get to enjoy life more in 2007 and not have perennial spells of depression, either at home or away from home.

7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 17, 2006    UP FAIR 2006, Eraserfest

May 13, 2006            Ate Cel and Kuya Sonny's Wedding

July 1, 2006              Gillette ANZ Cutover!

October 12, 2006     Sean Matthew's birth

December 4, 2006   NZ Distributor Delayering Cutover

 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Two Cutovers!  I'm so glad we all pulled it through. Especially for ANZ, after all the pagod, puyat, pawis, and hirap, akalain mong naka-Cutover kami?!?

 

9. What was your biggest failure?

I failed on having healthy relationships with the people I love. I failed in actually loving my work.

 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Yes, ako si sakiting bata. I was sick in Singapore during BAT for Phase 1 and Phase 2. It sucks to be sick when you're away from home. I was also sick just before SIT-2, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I bought myself a lot more books this year because I got addicted to book shopping in Singapore.  I also bought Mama crystal earrings for Mother's Day. And lastly, I bought life insurance, which is the best gift to my family when I die. Hahaha.

 

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
A lot of surprises this year:

Family: Thank you for supporting me all the way through. Thank you for lifting me up during each and every one of those numerous spells of depression this year.

Jensen, Krizel and AR: Thank you for listening to my rants and raves. And thank you for trusting me with yours.

RG: Thank you for the surprise email. I'm happy to hear from you again.

Hanna: Thank you for pointing out things I don't see and for that long Coffeebean and Big Buddha talk/UBE.

 

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Depressed? Super super demanding customers. Complicated situations.

 

14. Where did most of your money go?

Food, books!!!, pasalubongs, shoes, movies, life insurance!

 

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Ate Cel and Kuya Sonny's Wedding! Wooohooo! =)

UAAP Season 69!

1-week long leave with our Ilocos adventure!

Pisay Jubilarian Homecoming - That I missed for NZ DD M&P

Engg Week 2006 - That I missed for NZ DD Cutover

 

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?

Sorry ah pero Boom Tarat Tarat. Hahaha  Babae Po Ako dahil eto nagpasaya sa min ni Krizel nung Gillette ANZ. At! Why don't you kiss her?

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? sadder

ii. thinner or fatter? fatter

iii. richer or poorer? richer

 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

I wish I spent more time with my family and friends.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

I wish I didn't work when I didn't need to. I wish I spent less time in the office and went home early.

 

20. How will you be spending Christmas? 
I spent Christmas at home with my family. Perfect attendance with great food. I opened great presents! And enjoyed my time with my family, especially Sean! =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22. Did you fall in love in 2006?

No.  2 straight years!

23. How many one-night stands? 
Zero

 

24. What was your favourite TV program?

Mababaw: Project Runway, America's Next Top Model

Nerd: Jeopardy

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nope!

 

26. What was the best book you read?

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Broadway songs! Kat sent me Les Miserables and Miss Saigon songs. I was listening to them for a chunk of the year.

28. What did you want and get?

New friends at work.

29. What did you want and not get?

Again, love life!!! Hahahahaha! Tatawa nalang ako [again]!

 

30. favorite film of this year?

Step Up, The Prestige, Happy Feet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 22 this year. Yuck. Haha. I'm getting older by the minute. On my birthday, I "worked from home" and stalked people in Friendster. I added lines to programs for work, I remember because I was so excited to put my birthday in the comments. I went to mass at PMIC. My family and I had dinner with my favorite Italian food. We got take out from Aveneto (pasta) and Shakey's (pizza). The best ice cream too (chocolate and vanilla, yum!). All my favorite food for my birthday!

 

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

If I was able to attend the Engg Week events year. If I was at home for all the important events of the year.

 

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?

More formal because of the dress code. More and more skirts and drawstring pants, less jeans (because they fit nastily )

 

34. What kept you sane?

My faith and my family.

 

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Hugh Jackman! Wahaha! Crush!!!  And Channing Tatum! Sexy!

 

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Again, I'm so in the dark with politics!

 

37. Who did you miss?

I missed my family whenever I'm on a business trip (especially the 3-week-long ones).

 

38. Who was the best new person you met?

A lot of new people joined HP this year. And a lot of new great people joined TOM this year.  But for me the best was Flo. I got to know her better lately and I'm very thankful. *hug*

 

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.

"Hindi ka ipagpapatayo ng rebulto ni HP." --Tans

I learned not to work myself to the ground because it's not worth it. I reaffirmed that the simplest things in life, like spending time with my family and sleeping all day, are the best things in life. I learned that if I just have faith, eventually, everything will turn out to be okay.

 

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Hinahanap-hanap kita Manila

Ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga

Mga dyipni mong nagliliparan

Mga babae mong naggagandahan

Take me back in your arms Manila

Promise me you'll never let me go

 

 

Have a great 2007, everyone!

Maligayang Pasko!

Tulad ng marami, hindi ko malaman kung bakit hindi ko masyadong maramdaman ang diwa ng Pasko ngayong taon. Dahil ba hindi kasing lamig ang panahon? Dahil ba hindi ako kumanta sa Awitan o hindi man lang ako nakapanuod ng Latern Parade? Dahil ba kakaunti ang dekorasyon at ilaw sa Ortigas?

Marami naman akong nakitang iba't ibang puno sa Singapore. Marami naman akong natanggap na regalo mula sa mga kaibigan at kamag-anak. May hamon naman na nakahanda halos araw-araw dito sa bahay. Pero bakit 24 na at hindi pa rin Pasko?

Siguro nagbabago ang pananaw ng tao sa Pasko habang tumatanda. Para sa kin, pinakamasaya pa din ang Pasko nung bata ako. At kung ikukumpara dito, napakasimple ng mga pagdiriwang ngayon. Kung ikukumpara, mas nawawala ang pananabik sa araw ng Pasko.

Ngunit sa kabila ng lahat ng ito, hindi malungkot ang Pasko. Dahil alam ko mamayang gabi, sama-sama ang pamilya ko sa pagdiwang nito. Dahil alam kong kahit nakapambahay lang at simple lang ang handa, hindi namin inaasam ang pagdiriwang na higit pa dito. Dahil alam kong mas maswerte pa rin kami kay sa marami sa atin. At dahil sa kahit anong paraan ng pagdiriwang, alam kong sapat na ang pagdiriwang ng ating mga puso sa pagdating ni Kristo sa mundo.

Maligayang Pasko sa inyo at sa mga mahal niyo sa buhay!

Solitude

On this night of solitude

I didn't finish my food

Crappy
poetry, I know. But that was exactly what I was thinking as I stared at
my El Pollo Loco leftovers after dinner tonight. I stared across the
table and found… no one. This is not unusual for me. On nights like
this, I reaffirm that I’m a loner at heart.

Tonight,
I wanted to do some thinking thinking (in Tagalog, muni-muni. Ngek,
corny). I just wanted to think with no interruption. To let my thoughts
flow. To daydream. To observe people. And indulge in food.

I
thought about what would have happened if I spent this night
differently. I thought about what dessert would do the best job in
cheering me up. I thought about our move to Production. I thought about
how things never change. I daydreamed of what would have happened if
things did change. I guessed if the couples passing by the window would
really end up together. And I ate a lot of chicken, salsa, and Spanish
rice in pita wraps -- the works.

I
walked back to the office with a big tummy with no room for dessert and
a full mind with thoughts running around. I went back to the office
thinking that like my times of driving and jogging, tonight's date with
myself is alone time well-spent.

Have Faith

We all have expectations. More often than not, we expect that whatever
we give will equal what we receive. We expect that when we give our all
on something, we will reap grand rewards. We expect people to be
willing to spend the same time and effort that we spend on them.
Anything short of that is a disappointment.



It's disappointing when you expect a friend to act a certain way, but
he/she doesn't. It's disappointing when you love, but you aren't loved
back. It's disappointing when you work hard on something, but you still
fail miserably in the end.



On my cynical days, I think that life is just one disappointment after
another. On my truly cynical days, I think that life is just one BIG
disappointment. But eventually, I learned to just have faith and let it
be.



Have faith in your friends, because even with time, distance and lots
of arguments, they will never fail you. Have faith in love, because you
will always be very rich of it. There are a lot more people who love
you than you could ever imagine. Have faith in your hard work. It's the
most reliable source of success.



I guess what I’m trying to say is, when you don't expect and just have
faith – just let everything be – there will be no disappointments at
all. When you have faith and know that everything will turn out for the
best, you’ll understand that every lost friendship, broken heart, and
failure is in the grand scheme of things. And when you have faith in
God and know that He always has your back, then you’ll believe that
things will happen exactly as He planned.

Red Cups are Here!

I first felt the Christmas spirit this year when I started getting my Starbucks coffee served in red cups. Of course, this comes with the yearly drive to complete the icicle stickers to get that much-awaited Starbucks planner. I got one last year and have been making it my mini-scrapbook since.

 

 

One of the more important events that happened this year is my Ate Cel and Kuya Sonny's wedding. I made a May weekend-long entry in their wedding motif and some pressed rose petals from my bouquet.

 

 

For my birthday this year, I treated my officemates to Gonuts Donuts. I made a little puzzle of doughnuts in my journal in October.

I love traveling and I've done a lot of it this year. My favorite travel entries are our Ilocos trip in August

and my Auckland spread in September.

 

 

One of my favorites in my 2006 journal is my Summer Checklist. Here I listed all the things I needed and wanted to do in the summer. It includes things like "Go to a beach/resort/pool with friendskami," "Go for ice cream (FIC) at SC at least once," "Wear something summery to the office," and "Keep Tempra Forte/Advil at hand for the heat headache."

 

 

 

 

Lastly, of course it wouldn't be a journal without the sentimental and inspired musings. A lot are for God

and some are for other people found here -->

Hindi ko maisip kung wala ka sa buhay ko... -Hale
Ngayon alam ko na. - Chubbs

So care to treat me to a drink at Starbucks? I promise I'll put the planner to good use.

What I've Been Up To Lately...

 

1. Saying good-bye to Arlene during her despedida dinner with HP batchmates at CPK Shangrila.

 

 

2. Getting addicted to PrimeSuspects.

 

 

 

 

3. Tracking a consistently delayed BAT. Getting used to the terms "delayed," "target," and "tasks."

 

 

4. Being Sick in Singapore during Gillette Integration Phase 2.

 

5. Taking mirror projects and accompanying Krizel to buy her Hans breakfast.

 

 

6. PMS-ing and bitching on Sametime.

 

7. Eating the best Indonesian cuisine at Clarke Quay on a Friday night.

 

8. Bonding with my gelays at Wee Nam Kee and Sheraton Singapore.

 

9. Finally watching The Prestige with my sister a few hours after I got back from Singapore. *Photo taken from http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809267303/photo/970409784.

 

10. Celebrating Sean Matthew's 1st month in this world! =) Love you, Sean! =)