the year that has been

December 31, 2007

In few hours’ time, 2007 is over. I still have bunch of things to do. There’s a lot of overdue pics uploading to do. There are still a lot a topics I should be blogging about like the Avenue Q, our HS barkada get-together or about the EK children outreach. But here I am being emotional about the year that has been.

To describe a year as rollercoaster is overrated but it really was. The last quarter dawned many LSE moments. When I was answering the year-end survey, I realized that I dwelled on the latter part of the year. I guess it’s human nature that we dwell on the recent no matter how good the not-so-recent past was. So rather than feel bad on the not so good times, I’ll just be thankful on the low times. 

There was a discussion in OM that said that not being the best in your field is a good time because being the best sometimes cause complacency. Also, our sorority motto is ‘Altiora Peto’, to seek for higher things in life. So being down is the a good place because it means there’s no other way but up. 

At least I’ll remember 2007 as the best bad year for now. That’s sounds better than saying that 2007 passed and it didn’t matter that much!

I owe this year to the Iskidrow and Aclan families, the wakieboardies, BJs, click berks, my HS barkada, MBA friends, Badats, US TV series creators, writers of great books among others. Cheers!

Here’s a better 2008 to all my loved ones! 

tag time

December 28, 2007

I was tagged by Tin… 

1. Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 keywords given below (family, friend, yourself, your love and anything you like).

2. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.

3. Don’t forget to read the archived post and leave comments.

family– most wonderful time of the year - super love my weirdo family. kung ano ang puno, ganon ang bunga. look at me! : )

friends – of friends and of alcohol and  haler baler - the ones who kept me sane and insane at the same time. I realize I really group my frineds. haha.. the BJs and the wakeboardies. : ) I am not the same when I am with the other. Different lights.

myself — pursuit of happiness or happiness of pursuit - still in question of which I want.

love – career at lovelife  -  trade off?!

anything – trading off - trade-off nga! haha

I'm now tagging karina, iyna and grace : ) 3 lang… hehe

new year chuvas.. again

Year-end surveys! I always love doing this just so to check how good have I been.

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Travelled alone  (here I meant travel of 4 hours). Studied tarot cards.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I can’t remember but I always say that I will quit smoking. Was only able to quit last OCt but I think that counts as something good. 

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Martha

Did anyone close to you die?
Nah

What countries did you visit?
None

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
uhmm.. savings?! haha 

What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I can't think of any so I'd say Christmas with my family. It's the most wonderful time of the year : ) 

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
MBA… Though there's nothing really extraordinary about that, I feel that little by little I am investing something for my life dreams. And can I add surfing?! haha

What was your biggest failure?
Haven’t attended any retreat so I guess spirituality. (again, same as last year)

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Uhmm.. none really though I thought I had pneumonia. It was not confirmed because I was too scared for the confirmation so I did not follow my doctor's advice to have X-ray.

What was the best thing you bought?
Laptop!

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Me! Seriously!

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mine too! Haha… schizophrenic na ako!

Where did most of your money go?
Food. Phone bill. shoes.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Out of town trips (as always)

What song(s) will always remind you of 2007?
Natalie Merchant's One Fine Day and Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten and Avenue Q OST

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? —indifferent
ii. thinner or fatter? – can't tell. I felt thinner but towards the end of the year, I seemed fatter

iii. richer or poorer? – poorer

What do you wish you'd done more?
Save!

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Spend

How many one-night stands?
Wala.

What was your favorite TV program?
I don't watch oftern. When I can usually travel and living (party planner), ETC 

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
no one really. loving ako this year! : )

What was the best book you read?
Kite Runner

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Avenue Q OST.. hehe

What did you want and get?
MBA, surf, travels. reconciliations

What was your favorite film of this year?
Stardust : )

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Official birthday - salubong with wakieboardies. Technical birthday - ECT party @ Batangas. Week after, Wake party with Tin and Dino. 2weeks after, Cebu-Bohol trip with BJs - 24

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
the dizizits!

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
anything goes. though I cut my hair short again this year so Urven said I got funkier! haha

What kept you sane?
my mom. friends. alcohol. 

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Wentworth my hunny!

What political issue stirred you the most?
Manila Pen issue

Who did you miss?
ANGELA!!!

Who was the best new person you met?
MBA friends

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Timing is everything!

What was the nicest thing someone told you about yourself:
hmmm.. wala ako maalala.. bad siguro ako this year  

The most touching experience you've had this year?
the family thing on the eve of Christmas.

What did you like most about yourself this year?
my sense a planning (for a change).

What did you hate most about yourself this year?
my out of the line sense of planning.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Feel the rain on your skin .. live your life with eyes wide open … today is where your book begins… the rest is still unwritten

Was 2007 a good year for you?
Every year is always a good year. I was a rollercoaster guide. There are tough times and sometimes I feel it's not as good as prior years. If I hav to put it in a more positive light, this is the best bad year… ; )

What was your favorite moment of the year? Christmastime with family
 
What was your least favorite moment of the year?
after my birthday

Where were you when 2007 began?
Lolo's

Who were you with?
with my family

Where will you be when 2007 ends?
Our home

Who will you be with when 2007 ends?
My family of course

Do you have a new years resolution for 2008?
Save more. Live a healthy life

What was your favorite month of 2007?
December.

Did you lose anybody close to you in 2007?
You can put it that way.

Did you miss anybody in the past year?
Angela. Rey! HS friends: Rica, Patty, Icy, Mae, Kim, Kat.

How many concerts did you see in 2007?
Nada unless you count the performances at Sykes events

Did you drink a lot of alchohol in 2007?
Pacing for 2007 : )

Do a lot of drugs in 2007?
Nope to dope. haha

You do anything you are ashamed of this year?
For a change, nothing rings a bell here. : D

How much money did you spend in 2007?
I don't want to know. Though I will keep up to my accounting habit in 2008.

What was your proudest moment of 2007?
My brother passing his board exam.

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2007?
Bora poopers.

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2007 and change something, what would it be?
There were I’d-rather-not-reminisce-about-this things but all in all, I wouldn’t want things any other way.

What are your plans for 2008?
better career opportunities I hope.

How are you different now that the year has ended?
Not much

What are your wishes for the new year?
More dizizit moments with my family and friends! 

most wonderful time of the year

December 27, 2007

Christmas is really the most wonderful time of the year! Every year, come December time, I usually don’t go home until it’s the weekend before Christmas because there are always parties on weekends starting the last weekend of November. This year, aside from the usual ECT and Sykes fab year-end party, the BJs also had a get-together. And ok, we can say that the the wakieboardies had our mini-get-together (define mini!) with that Avenue Q stint.

Anyway, what gets me really excited is our family Christmas party. They say Christmas is for kids. I don’t really buy that because I am still enjoying my Christmases. I just don’t know if it’s just the merry season or the fact that we are a family with a lot of kids. I am the eldest grandchild in the Aclan family so you can just imagine how young my cousins are.

We always have our Christmas on our so-called ‘bukid’, a fair 1.5-hour drive from Batangas City. This year’s holiday has a big story in it. On the 24th, a couple of hours after we arrived, my Tita Fely had seizures and kept throwing up. We were all scared. My Tito, Mom and cousin accompanied her to the hospital. I really had goosebumps then because it was as if I was witnessing a near-death experience. Worse, it is on the eve of Christmas. They left their crying 6-month old son behind. Their 2 daughters, 12 and 10 were also crying. My lola was crying too. All of us who were left behind were consoling each other that things were no big deal although we knew that we were only convincing ourselves more than the kids. When they informed us that she was fine and just needed to be observed in the hospital, we were able to relax.

The moments seemed to be scenes from Brothers&Sisters. This is a series I got hooked lately. It’s about a family with all the good, the bad and the ugly stories intertwined. The reason I so love the series is that I can relate to the weirdness of their arguments. Day in and day out there are always conflicts but at the end of the day, they still depend on no one else except on each other to get through the tough times.

I have the same feeling with my family. With the Aclans at least. The maternal side of my family is as closely-knitted as how unclosely-knitted the Iskidrows are. haha.. Believe me if I said I hardly know my first cousins from the paternal side. Anyway,  I always think that our family, the Aclans, is such a weird combo. It’s as if each one is really unique and that the weird thing because no one is ever the same as the others. My mother are 7 kids in the family and they are very close with each other. They never outgrow this habit even though all of them have families of their own. Though there are others who live abroad, come Christmas time, if fate permits, they come home and celebrate Chistmas the Aclan way. I am really thankful for my family! I am the eldest child but I never really felt that much need for a kuya because I have lots of surrogate kuyas. My mother is the eldest too so all four younger brothers she has seemed to be my kuya. The youngest among them I don’t call Tito, Kuya Sonny because he is just 9 years older than me and acts really as my kuya. I am also an only daughter but I never felt the unica hija material because I have lots of female cousins though the closest to my age is 18 and 16.

By the way, this year by the way, we had a PINK CHRISTMAS PARTY! (pictures to follow.. hehe.. may Beng syndrome na ko. Beng syndrome = matagal mag-upload ng pics)

*ETO NA!

 

 

  

Sometimes I get tired of this we-are-family thing as if we need to do things always all-together. All our birthdays, graduation, first communion and even any simple celebration like Girl Scout rites, we have to be together. Ever since I was a kid, we always have barbecue parties, swimming parties, we-just-want-to-pig-out get-togethers, we-really-really-want-to-pig-out get-togethers, inuman sessions. Yes, I am proud to say that I have a family who I drink with. On the eve of Christmas, we downed Kahlua, Bailey’s and Vodka after we found out that my Tita was ok in the hospital. My gawd! We are a family of alcoholics. haha.  Every occasion, there should be wine, hard drinks or beer. At least a single drink must have alcohol in it.  Nobody is really an alcoholic by the definition of it. It’s just our way to be merry. As I told my Lolo, our drinking sessions defy age. It seems that when we are drinking, age is disregarded. We talk as if we are really friends. We laugh like hyenas. Joke around really corny ones. Sing videoke like nobody cares. Get togethers can be tiring and sometimes you just want to celebrate with your nuclear family but  it has always been like this and really I don’t think anyone would want it any other way.

Whatever we feel towards this family, we owe this to our Lolo and Lola, especially my super cool Lolo!  (When I get married someday, I want my husband to be at least half the man my Lolo is. Talagang extra pa to?! Haha) Here’s to another vavavoom year to my family! God bless us all. I love you very very much! Cheers!

what are the odds

December 11, 2007

When Bogart told me that 'What are the odds" is one of my most overused statements, I did not initially believe her until my other friends kept repeating the line to me in mocking tone.

In the office, our group always mock each other's gestures and expressions. I was surprised when Martha imitated my way of saying 'what are the odds' with matching enlarged eyes and spirit fingers. ahaha

Then Corleai kept using the line too. In fact she told me before that I have a very contagious spirit in my speech. In college, DLS would easily spot an EconSoc once she hears one of my expressions. Actually some of which aren't really originally from me. I just have good networks to let themp ropagate. haha. Some of them are:

1. Jukas! (for just joking!). Originally jukas manucas!

2. Define <fill in the blank here whatever you want to overemphasize>. Example: Define sleeping pill - referring to our teacher whose lecture can put you in trance. Case 2,  we had a soro shirt with Define Beauty in front and the soro's name at the back. In fact even in one of the anniversaries after I graduated, they used "Define …"  again as theme name. haha.. immortalized na ko sa soro. Define legacy! haha. Case 3, One time, someone from another org in our college asked me why my EconSoc friends always ask for definitions. My response: Define definitions. : )

3. "For more…" or simple "For…" <insert anything you want to emphasize again> factor. Usually used as a reply when people ask why? Example: Why not self-declare no classes. For a change of heart (another overused response). Why wear that? For more star factor. Eventually we use 'for more' uhhm 'for anything'. haha.. Bakit ka late? For more andami mong tanong.For more sarap matulog.  Walang sense di ba pero nagkakaintindihan na kami.

4. Nakakaoffend ka na! - As is. Pero sometimes we use it so loosely to the awe of people thinking may nagawa talaga silang offensive.

5. Nakakapikon - Higher form of nakakaoffend!

6. Masyado kang judgemental! - There was a time na kahit anong negative thing sa ibang tao, judgmental ang tawag namin. But then come to think of it, being judgmental can be the root of all evil so we manage to reason things out. hehe

7. Dizizit! - as in 'this is it!'

8. Party pooper and party poppers. Kahit hindi party at mejo pasaway ka, party pooper ka na! Party poppers naman ang mga game na tao!

9. <Fill in person's name> Syndrome. There's the Beng Syndrome - inuulit lang ang sinasabi ng ibang tao to the point of balimbing. Gabe Syndrome - mga paliguy-ligoy na di sinasagot ang tanong. Tumac syndrome-turned-Casiñas syndrome - nagkakalat ng maling kwento. Mica Syndrome - matigas ang ulo. Rey Syndrome - party pooper at biglang nawawala sa night gimik or antisocial na laging may katext at kausap sa phone. Cesar added: Emcee syndrome - mahilig mag-depressed-depressan, QLC, LSE pero pag nakita mo tawa ng tawa.

10. ADIK! sa mga siraulo! hehe.. feeling ko kasi mas offensive ang siraulo at baliw kaya adik na lang.. hehe.. balak ko ng magpalit ng number sa globe e. 0917-808-ADIK

And now: What are the odds? Even Corleai's boyfriend Aries uses it too. What are the odds of a fratman would say 'what are the odds' in a chick way. Nakakatawa si Ser! haha…

Speaking of what are the odds, what are the odds talaga that Rey ang I would have those not-out-typical-kind-chats. hehe.. Labyu Rey! Miss na namin ang pisikal mong anyo (Pisikal lang kasi lagi naman kita ka-chat at lagi ka naman tumatawag.. hehe).