A few hours to go and it's Christmas

I'm not used to thinking about things on Christmas Day (or in this case, a few hours before Christmas). Usually I get introspective as New Year draws near.

But for some reason, I got to thinking about how much has happened this year. How many new people have come into my life, only to leave again, this year. Time flies, indeed. And you never know what can happen in just a year.

Who would've thought that K would resign early this year, follow her Singaporean dream, and thrive there? While R had been preparing for D-Day, I never really thought that day would come this year and that I would find myself in a position to really build a team, have a vision for us, and think of all the things that a leader should do and should be. And G, well, let's just call it a year-end surprise.

In a seminar almost two weeks ago, the facilitator taught us about how to come up with a vision. One thing he pointed out was that a vision should not be rooted in current reality-- after all, when the US wanted to put a man on the moon, the technology to do so wasn't even available yet. All they knew was they wanted a man on the moon. So come up with a vision, and then think of what you can do or maybe create in order to achieve it.

And so my vision for myself is to be healthy next year. I'm tired of getting easily winded and getting sick so easily. At 28 (rounding up already since my birthday is just three months away), I'm not getting any younger and I feel that my body is telling me that. I'm really praying that I have enough motivation this time. I also had another vision, but that one isn't exactly in my hands. Haha!

Christmas and all the events leading to it is making me think of what I want next year to be like, both for myself and for my team. Perhaps it is the time to look ahead, and as New Year draws near, I will find myself looking back instead at the year that was, and all the things I was thankful for this year.

Until then, I leave you with this song. It turns out that the lyrics are concise but meaningful. This is my Christmas message to you all. :)

ave yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
Our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yuletide gay,
From now on,
Our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Merry Christmas, everyone! :)

Updated reading list as of December 23

11/33! One-third down the list!

From the old list

1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

2. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

3. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

4. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

6. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

From the Powerbooks Powerbarter (aka the Guilty Pleasures)

7. Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steel

8. Up Close and Personal by Fern Michaels

9. The Long Walk Home by Will North

10. The Debutante Divorcee by Plum Sykes

11. Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding

12. Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself by Judy Blume

13. Diary of a Mad Mother-to-Be by Laura Wolf

14. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

15. Wives Behaving Badly by Elizabeth Buchan

16. The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith

From the Fully Booked sale

17. The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld

18. Brown Owl's Guide to Life by Kate Harrison

19. The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

20. Why Men Want Sex and Women Need Love by Allan and Barbara Pease

From the Powerbooks sale

21. The Position by Meg Wolitzer

22. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

From the National Bookstore sale

23. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

24. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

On the borrowed list

25. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Yet another new list

26. Shi*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

27. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

Books for Learning

28. The Difference Maker by John Maxwell

29. The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell

30. 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People by David Niven

31. A New Breed of Leader by Sheila Murray Bethel

32. Nikon D5000 For Dummies by Julie Adair King

33. The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John Maxwell

Updated reading list as of November 28

From the old list

1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

2. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

3. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

4. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

6. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

From the Powerbooks Powerbarter (aka the Guilty Pleasures)

7. Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steel

8. Up Close and Personal by Fern Michaels

9. The Long Walk Home by Will North

10. The Debutante Divorcee by Plum Sykes

11. Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding

12. Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself by Judy Blume

13. Diary of a Mad Mother-to-Be by Laura Wolf

14. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

15. Wives Behaving Badly by Elizabeth Buchan

16. The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith

From the Fully Booked sale

17. The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld

18. Brown Owl's Guide to Life by Kate Harrison

19. The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

20. Why Men Want Sex and Women Need Love by Allan and Barbara Pease

From the Powerbooks sale

21. The Position by Meg Wolitzer

22. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

From the National Bookstore sale

23. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

24. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

On the borrowed list

25. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Yet another new list

26. Shi*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

27. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

Books for Learning

28. The Difference Maker by John Maxwell

29. The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell

30. 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People by David Niven

31. A New Breed of Leader by Sheila Murray Bethel

32. Nikon D5000 For Dummies by Julie Adair King

A quick update on my list of 101 things in 1,001 days

1. I have crossed two books off my list but added one more-- in fairness, it's a book on leadership, which I will need.

2. I finally got my camera! A Nikon D5000. The goal is to familiarize myself with it by Christmas so that I can take kick-ass photos over the holidays.

3. I got promoted again-- well, sort-of. I'm heading my team now, but will be evaluated after six months before they truly give me the title.

That's it so far! Told you that was quick. I'm off!

The reading list just keeps on growing!

Here's where my reading list stands. Yes, I've added titles. Que horror.

From the old list

1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

2. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

3. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

4. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

6. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

From the Powerbooks Powerbarter (aka the Guilty Pleasures)

7. Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steel

8. Up Close and Personal by Fern Michaels

9. The Long Walk Home by Will North

10. The Debutante Divorcee by Plum Sykes

11. Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding

12. Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself by Judy Blume

13. Diary of a Mad Mother-to-Be by Laura Wolf

14. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

15. Wives Behaving Badly by Elizabeth Buchan

16. The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith

From the Fully Booked sale

17. The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld

18. Brown Owl's Guide to Life by Kate Harrison

19. The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

20. Why Men Want Sex and Women Need Love by Allan and Barbara Pease

From the Powerbooks sale

21. The Position by Meg Wolitzer

22. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

From the National Bookstore sale

23. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

24. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

On the borrowed list

25. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Yet another new list

26. Shi*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

27. The Difference Maker by John Maxwell

28. The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell (actually an old book I just started reading)

29. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

30. 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People by David Niven

Yes, friends, I expanded my list by five books. But I'm currently reading two books at the same time: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader  and 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People. I need to attack a book that doesn't require a lot of brain cells. Hahaha.

The New Reading List

Because the Book Hoarder struck again, I now have a new reading list to contend with:

From the old list
1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
2. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
3. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
4. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
6. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

From the Powerbooks Powerbarter (aka the Guilty Pleasures)
7. Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steel
8. Up Close and Personal by Fern Michaels
9. The Long Walk Home by Will North
10. The Debutante Divorcee by Plum Sykes
11. Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding
12. Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself by Judy Blume
13. Diary of a Mad Mother-to-Be by Laura Wolf
14. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
15. Wives Behaving Badly by Elizabeth Buchan
16. The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith

From the Fully Booked sale
17. The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld
18. Brown Owl's Guide to Life by Kate Harrison
19. The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax
20. Why Men Want Sex and Women Need Love by Allan and Barbara Pease

From the Powerbooks sale
21. The Position by Meg Wolitzer
22. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

From the National Bookstore sale
23. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares
24. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

On the borrowed list
25. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella


Whew! Now that I've struck out two out of 25, I wonder what I should read next. I need some light reading-- Her Fearful Symmetry turned out to be a tad disturbing. :O

Update: 101 Things in 1,001 Days

It's now August, and the last time I posted an update was in April. So it's high time that I reevaluate this list!

START DATE: 01 January 2010

END DATE: 28 September 2012

READING AND WRITING

1. Write one journal entry every day for two weeks. (0/14)

2. Write one blog entry per week for one month. (0/4)

3. Finish my reading list. (7/12) --The list has grown to 24! Oh no, oh no!

4. Write a short story.

5. Write a poem.

6. Read "Pride and Prejudice" then watch the movie again. --I just bought myself a copy of the book, so that's a step!

7. Read five books I already own on TIME's All-Time Top 100 Books list

- Animal Farm

- Catcher in the Rye

- The French Lieutenant's Woman

- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

- To Kill a Mockingbird

8. Read three books from my Gabriel Garcia Marquez collection. (0/3)

9. No buying books until I've completed my reading list. --I broke this. :( See previous entry.

10. Come up with five books I would recommend to anyone. (2/5) --I would recommend "The Time-Traveller's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger and "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult.

MOVIES

11. Finish watching my VCD and DVD movie collection.

12. Watch the whole series of "30 Rock". --I ended up finishing the first season of "Modern Family" instead, and buying the first season of "The Mentalist" and a boxed set of CSI NY. Yikes!

13. Watch "Terms of Endearment", Academy Award winner for Best Picture on the year I was born.

14. Watch five Academy Award winners for Best Picture:

- Casablanca

- Gone With the Wind

- Kramer vs. Kramer

- Amadeus

- Rain Man

PHOTOGRAPHY

15. Own and maximize the features of an SLR camera --This is almost happening, hopefully this month! *crosses fingers*

16. Learn something new from the Digital Photography School once a week for six months. (0/24)

17. Have photos from travels printed and organized in an album per trip.

18. Join Project 365.

19. Take more pictures of family and friends.

Still unsuccessful with Project 365, and I haven't been able to take photos lately. But I'm working towards getting that SLR, and it's not even going to be a joint purchase anymore! I'm looking forward to photography dates with M though, who is equally excited for me and is talking about going to parks and other places where I can practice shooting. :)

ARTS

20. Re-learn how to play "Tarantella" on the piano.

21. Learn a popular song on the piano.

22. Be able to play three pieces from memory. (0/3)

23. Learn more Photoshop tricks.

Still nothing from this part of the list. :(

TRAVEL

24. Visit three new places in the Philippines. (1/3) --Bantayan, Cebu

25. Go on at least one trip abroad.

26. Go on a beach trip. --Check! I went to Boracay over the summer for work, and to Batangas with M and the girls!

27. Explore a city I've never been to.

FOOD AND HEALTH

28. Eat in a new restaurant once a month. --The tight budget still rules. :(

29. Eat vegetables once a week for a month. (0/4)

30. Sleep before midnight every night for a week. (0/7)

31. Enroll in a gym and work out for a minimum of three months. --Still zero motivation for gym, but I'm now trying to start a routine of walking in the village at night for 30 minutes.

32. Try eating kare-kare. --I tried it once when we stopped over for lunch on the way to the Batangas beach trip. It was okay.

33. Learn to make five different fruit shakes. (0/5)

34. Finish my jug of water everyday. --There are days when I get to finish my jug!

35. Have some cotton candy on a random day.

36. Learn how to swim.

37. Cut down on sweets. --This has been working, largely because my tummy doesn't tolerate chocolate anymore. :(

FASHION AND BEAUTY

38. Buy ten dresses. (5/10) --3 dresses for the Boracay trip, 1 for date night, and a black dress for an event.

39. Update my wardrobe. --This has been happening steadily.

40. Grow my hair to ponytail length before getting a drastic cut. --It's at ponytail length now!

41. Wear my hair differently once a month.

42. Learn how to put on eye makeup.

ORGANIZATION

43. Clean up my office email.

44. Clean up my personal email.

45. Do a general cleanup of my room quarterly. --The first quarter cleanup happens tomorrow! :)

46. Do a general cleanup of my office space monthly. --I was able to a massive cleanup when my allergologist told me that the number one culprit for my allergic rhinitis is dust mites.

INTERNET

47. Get all dishes on Restaurant City up to Level 10. --This is becoming more difficult to do, as the game keeps adding new recipes to learn!

48. Use the computer for only two hours a day during the weekend, twice a month for a year. (0/24)

49. Go for an entire day without Facebook once a month for six months. (0/6)

50. Submit a secret to Post Secret.

51. Greet all my Facebook friends a happy birthday-- even the ones I don't know. --I've been doing this as best as I could, although there are some days when I neglected to check the birthdays section.

WORK-RELATED

52. Get to work by 9:00 A.M. everyday for one week. (0/5) --I've been coming to work everyday before 9AM, so I think I can strike this off my list. :)

53. Update my resume.

54. Get promoted. --CHECK! :D 

55. Get a raise. --CHECK! :D

FINANCES

56. Get my bank account to 100K by the end of this list.

57. Save all spare change for 1,001 days.

58. Make a budget and stick to it.

59. After computing for my expenses budget, withdraw everything and deposit into my savings account.

DRIVING

60. Be able to drive the big cars.

61. Take a different route to work once a week.

62. Take a different route home once a week.

63. Conquer my fear of driving in Makati by driving around on a Sunday for no reason.

FAMILY TIME

64. Get home in time for dinner twice a week for one month. (0/8)

65. Treat siblings out to lunch/dinner, just the three of us.

66. Have a sleepover with my cousins.

67. File a leave on my parents' birthdays. (1/2) --Didn't file a leave on Dad's birthday because he wasn't home anyway. I would've ended up hanging out with my mom, haha!

68. Go on five random weekday mall trips with my mom. (0/5)

69. Bring home pasalubong for my family on a random day. (0/3)

70. Have a Scrabble night with the family.

MELBERT

71. Go on an arcade date.

72. Watch DVDs together for an entire afternoon.

73. File a leave that coincides with his day-off and go on an unplanned, spontaneous date.

74. Go on a videoke date.

75. Go on a fancy dinner date. --CHECK! We got a little more dressed up than usual and had dinner in "The Chocolate Kiss" in UP Diliman. :)

76. Go on a trip together. --CHECK! We went to Bantayan with my officemates and Batangas with my college girlfriends. We hope to hit Bohol someday.

FRIENDS

77. Catch up with an old friend over dinner or coffee. --CHECK! Still need to work on keeping it up though.

78. Make a personalized gift for friends this Christmas.

79. Have a videoke night with the girls.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

80. Give 12 "saw this and thought of you" gifts to people who are not Melbert. (0/12)

81. Treat an officemate to lunch for no reason.

82. Buy fries and a drink at a drive-thru and give to a street kid on the way home. If not, to the neighborhood guard.

83. Leave a very generous tip at a restaurant.

84. Send a "just thought of you and hope you're well" text to ten people. (0/10)

ME-TIME

85. Take a birthday leave. (1/3) --Granted, the birthday leave wasn't exactly on my birthday, but still.

86. Have a massage monthly for a year. (0/12)

87. Pray every morning and every night.

88. Write down something I'm thankful for everyday.

89. File a leave just to stay home three times. (0/3)

90. Go to Ateneo on a Sunday for some quiet time. (0/3)

91. Take an afternoon nap during weekends twice a month.

THE FUTURE

92. Decide if I want to take graduate studies or not.

93. Have a list of things I would like in my future wedding.

94. Have a list of random things about my future.

MISCELLANEOUS

95. Write an entry for each day in my Starbucks 2010 planner. --CHECK! My Starbucks planner has my daily to-do list, and I feel naked without it.

96. Watch a concert. --CHECK! Watched Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and Jojo last March. If all goes well, I'll get to watch Boyz II Men with M this coming Friday!

97. Finish a coloring book.

98. Vote wisely in the 2010 national elections. --CHECK!

99. Get braces removed.

100. Join the lotto.

101. Get a henna tattoo, just because I've never tried it. --CHECK!

The return of the book hoarder

It was bound to happen: I finally broke my promise to not buy any books until I was done with my reading list. In fairness, here's where my book list stands:

1. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
2. Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
3. The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes
4. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
5. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
6.The Birth Order Book by Dr. Kevin Leman
7. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
8. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
9. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
10. Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
11. The Diary by Eileen Goudge
12. Old School Ties by Kate Harrison

So I had four more books to go before all hell struck loose. By "all hell", I mean "before all bookstores decided to go on sale and have 80% off bins". Gaaaaah...

I kinda already cheated with the Powerbooks Powerbarter, which had me trading in eleven of my old books for eleven new-old books, whose titles I don't even remember now. (Classic sign of a book hoarder.)

Then I hit Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, which held an exclusive sale for discount card holders in honor of its anniversary. I was able to get The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld (hardbound edition) and Brown Owl's Guide to Life by Kate Harrison (trade paperback edition) from the 80% off bin and The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax and The Don't Sweat Guide for Couples at 20% off. Thank goodness their anniversary sale ended yesterday!

Powerbooks was up next, where I ended up getting two books again, The Position by Meg Wolitzer (hardbound edition) at 80% off and Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (trade paperback edition) at 40% off. The Powerbooks sale ends on August 15, so it looks like I should steer clear until then.

Then I dropped by National Bookstore in Shangri-La yesterday and was surprised to see that all imported books have a 20% discount. Apparently, the annual Cut-Price Booksale kicked off last July 30 and runs until August 22. I already had My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares in my hands, and I was really thinking if I should get it already (trade paperback at P420?! A steal, my mind screamed). Good thing my parents called to say we were leaving, so I dropped the book like a hot potato and ran out of the bookstore before I could change my mind.

Thing is... I can't get that book off my mind! Waaaah! And it even has five star reviews on Amazon! That's totally not helping! Granted, the cover available in National is different from the one that's on Amazon (which is also the trade paperback edition available in Powerbooks), but it's also P224 cheaper. Oh no oh no oh no!!!

That means that with my new acquisitions... 11 books from Powerbarter, plus 4 books from Fully Booked, plus 2 books from Powerbooks, plus the 4 books carried over from my previous reading list... my book list is now up to 21!!! Thank goodness I'm starting to read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger!

[Edited 07 August 2010] So I couldn't resist. I ended up getting a copy of "My Name is Memory" by Ann Brashares because I saw a copy in National Bookstore SM Megamall: it was the last piece, had the same cover as the one in Amazon, and was still cheaper than the one in Powerbooks. Original price was P675, so with the 20% discount, I was able to get it for P540. Then I also took the chance to get the P99.00 edition of "Pride and Prejudice", just so I could somehow move along on my list of 101 things in 1,001 days. So... that brings the book list to 24, including the book I received for my birthday! Yikes!

June already?!

For that matter, it's June 14 already. Meaning half of the month has already gone by. How time flies!

I've been terribly remiss with blogging, I know, but there isn't really much going on in life right now. It has been a cycle of going to work early, coming home, and ending the day by talking to M on the phone. There have been a few highlights, and those are:

1. I voted for the very first time in my life, and I'm proud that I really voted for someone that I believed in. Even if many people are strategic about their voting choices (i.e. "I believe in Candidate A, but I think that Candidate B has a bigger chance of winning."), I didn't let this sway my choice. In the end, even if my bet had only 500,000 people voting for him, I'm still proud to be part of that number.

Now I hope that the 13 million people who voted for our new President will really stand by their choice and not scream "People Power" the minute he makes a misstep.


2. My phone got stolen. And if I'm not mistaken, this is the very first time I've had my phone stolen. Ever. The incident made me discover that when faced with a crisis, I don't cry and I don't make a fuss. I end up feeling all numb inside, and maybe that's what "shellshocked" really means. And in the end, I console myself by beginning each sentence with "At least": at least it wasn't my work phone, at least it's easier to rebuild my personal contact list, at least I wasn't harmed, et cetera.

Now, with a new line, a new phone, and a new number, a new era also begins. Now, I have in my phone book only the people that I really care about. Now, I take on the new responsibility of paying for my own bill monthly. And now, I don't have to worry about unwanted people suddenly calling me up! A big bonus is that I really love my new phone!


3. I got promoted! Of course, with that comes a raise! Yay! :) I've yet to feel the effects of my new salary, but at least this brings me a step closer to my new camera. It also pushes me to really take stock of my finances and be wiser about saving up. I will need to sit down and do some number-crunching once I get my latest payslip. I'm also looking forward to the new responsibilities that await, which definitely includes training the two new members of our team.


I guess that's the top three so far. Haven't read any new books nor seen any new films, and I really do need to work on getting through my list. I hope the second half of the year brings new things as well. Ciao! :)

The Exercise Dilemma

I have never had a good relationship with exercise and any form of physical activity.

As a child, I was never allowed to really run around with other kids, and my games were more of the creative, indoors type. I always dreaded Physical Education classes-- I was no good at sports, and had two left feet that didn't do me any good at those different folk dances. Not only that, I hated having people watch you look awkward, get sweaty, and basically make a fool of yourself for an hour thrice a week.

Almost two decades later, I find that I haven't outgrown this. I don't want to go to the gym because it bores me. I don't want to workout in my room because I'm deathly afraid of doing things wrong and injuring myself. I don't want to join any classes because they remind me of PE classes all over again, yet when I attempt to do something solitary like walking, I still feel like people are watching and whispering about every move I make.

And while my head knows that exercise (or any form of physical activity, for that matter) is important, my body somehow doesn't want to follow. It has helped somewhat to be handling Women's Health Philippines for work, as the magazine really espouses that women should find a form of activity that they enjoy doing so that they will always be motivated to exercise. But I realize that there just isn't any physical activity I enjoy doing.

One of these days, I will have to wrap my head around the idea that there are just some things that you have to do, even if every fiber of your being is screaming "NO!!!" :(

Acoustic Memories

The radio dial was on 93.1, and it being a Wednesday, long-forgotten and much-missed tunes of the 90s blasted through the airwaves. And as I listened to an acoustic version of John Mayer's "No Such Thing", I was transported to another time and place-- college at the Ateneo.

Acoustic was a big hit in college, with John Mayer and Jason Mraz getting heavy rotation on our playlists. In the local front, we swooned when Paolo Santos crooned "Moonlight Over Paris" and people either loved or hated MYMP's covers. Those were the days when it was normal for my friends to be toting around their guitars, jamming a three-hour break away. It was a carefree time when I could just chime in and sing my heart out as they plucked and strummed on their guitars.

Those three minutes of my day were a throwback to simpler days. I miss. :(

Update: 101 things in 1,001 days

Edited on April 21! :)

It's April 1, meaning the first quarter of the year is over. I thought I'd see how I've been doing so far on my list. :) 

START DATE: 01 January 2010

END DATE: 28 September 2012

READING AND WRITING

1. Write one journal entry every day for two weeks. (0/14)

2. Write one blog entry per week for one month. (0/4)

3. Finish my reading list. (3/12) --It's now 7/12, yay! :)

4. Write a short story.

5. Write a poem.

6. Read "Pride and Prejudice" then watch the movie again.

7. Read five books I already own on TIME's All-Time Top 100 Books list

- Animal Farm

- Catcher in the Rye

- The French Lieutenant's Woman

- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

- To Kill a Mockingbird

8. Read three books from my Gabriel Garcia Marquez collection. (0/3)

9. No buying books until I've completed my reading list. --Still successful with this one! :)

10. Come up with five books I would recommend to anyone. (0/5)

I haven't read anything in a long time, but I'm happy to say that I've been so far successful in not buying any new books. There's only been one addition to my list, as I was given The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows as a birthday gift. It has a very unusual title, and what's more intriguing is the rave reviews I've been hearing!

As for writing, it's not on my list, but I was able to attend a free Creative Writing seminar on Travel Writing. Even if the seminar turned out to be a refresher course on writing descriptively, it was still very helpful. I'm also looking forward to attending the two-day iBlog Summit on April 16-17. Yay for learning!

MOVIES

11. Finish watching my VCD and DVD movie collection.

12. Watch the whole series of "30 Rock".

13. Watch "Terms of Endearment", Academy Award winner for Best Picture on the year I was born.

14. Watch five Academy Award winners for Best Picture:

- Casablanca

- Gone With the Wind

- Kramer vs. Kramer

- Amadeus

- Rain Man

Haven't been able to accomplish anything on this part of the list yet, although my DVD collection has grown to include the Pixar collection. I've so far enjoyed watching Cars and Wall-E again. Just tonight, I watched a little-known movie by Renee Zellweger called My One and Only. It was a little disconcerting to see her playing a mother, and I didn't quite enjoy the film, but at least that's one film off my list. I'm looking forward to picking out a movie to watch after work, just so I have something to look forward to all day.

PHOTOGRAPHY

15. Own and maximize the features of an SLR camera

16. Learn something new from the Digital Photography School once a week for six months. (0/24)

17. Have photos from travels printed and organized in an album per trip.

18. Join Project 365.

19. Take more pictures of family and friends.

You may have noticed I've been terribly remiss in Project 365. It's not as easy as I thought it would be, and I thought that taking photos would be second nature for me. Apparently you can lose yourself in going through the daily motions of living, and it becomes a struggle to remember to photograph something meaningful. I hope to be able to take more photos though, especially since I'm seriously lusting after an SLR camera now, and am annoyed to see many people just toting it around as if it was a point-and-shoot. I would hate to think that these people have an SLR and just shoot on Auto Mode. As the Facebook page says: just because you have an SLR, it doesn't instantly make you a photographer.

I've recently taken concrete steps towards getting an SLR-- done my research, found out how much it costs, and now I know what model I want and how much I'll need to get it. Thankfully, it's turning it out to be a joint purchase between M and I, so yay for having faith in the future! :D

ARTS

20. Re-learn how to play "Tarantella" on the piano.

21. Learn a popular song on the piano.

22. Be able to play three pieces from memory. (0/3)

23. Learn more Photoshop tricks.

Alas, nothing from here. Except maybe the Photoshop tricks, thanks to my patient artist friends, who are generous with their time and talent. :)

TRAVEL

24. Visit three new places in the Philippines. (0/3) --I visited Bantayan, Cebu last February, so that's 1/3!

25. Go on at least one trip abroad.

26. Go on a beach trip. --I'll be going to Boracay next week, and hopefully to Batangas over the summer.

27. Explore a city I've never been to.

FOOD AND HEALTH

28. Eat in a new restaurant once a month. --Alas, the budget does not allow for this. :(

29. Eat vegetables once a week for a month. (0/4)

30. Sleep before midnight every night for a week. (0/7)

31. Enroll in a gym and work out for a minimum of three months. --The motivation is at zero. :(

32. Try eating kare-kare.

33. Learn to make five different fruit shakes. (0/5) --I learned that one apple makes two shakes, and you should go easy on the water.

34. Finish my jug of water everyday.

35. Have some cotton candy on a random day.

36. Learn how to swim.

37. Cut down on sweets.

FASHION AND BEAUTY

38. Buy ten dresses. (3/10) I bought three dresses for my Boracay trip, and I have my eye on one more!

39. Update my wardrobe.

40. Grow my hair to ponytail length before getting a drastic cut.

41. Wear my hair differently once a month.

42. Learn how to put on eye makeup.

ORGANIZATION

43. Clean up my office email. --I did this! I was able to organize everything into different mailboxes, but I think I could still do a better cleanup job. :)

44. Clean up my personal email.

45. Do a general cleanup of my room quarterly. --The first quarter cleanup happens tomorrow! :)

46. Do a general cleanup of my office space monthly.

INTERNET

47. Get all dishes on Restaurant City up to Level 10. --This is becoming more difficult to do, as the game keeps adding new recipes to learn!

48. Use the computer for only two hours a day during the weekend, twice a month for a year. (0/24)

49. Go for an entire day without Facebook once a month for six months. (0/6)

50. Submit a secret to Post Secret.

51. Greet all my Facebook friends a happy birthday-- even the ones I don't know. --I've been doing this as best as I could, although there are some days when I neglected to check the birthdays section.

WORK-RELATED

52. Get to work by 9:00 A.M. everyday for one week. (0/5) --I've been coming to work everyday before 9AM, so I think I can strike this off my list. :)

53. Update my resume.

54. Get promoted.

55. Get a raise.

FINANCES

56. Get my bank account to 100K by the end of this list.

57. Save all spare change for 1,001 days.

58. Make a budget and stick to it.

59. After computing for my expenses budget, withdraw everything and deposit into my savings account.

I computed my entire expenses budget until the end of the year (that is, the things I have to pay for and save up for on a monthly basis), but I haven't been successful with #59. Also forgot about #57, I think now I have some use for that piggy bank that was given to me as a Kris Kringle gift.

DRIVING

60. Be able to drive the big cars.

61. Take a different route to work once a week.

62. Take a different route home once a week.

63. Conquer my fear of driving in Makati by driving around on a Sunday for no reason.

FAMILY TIME

64. Get home in time for dinner twice a week for one month. (0/8)

65. Treat siblings out to lunch/dinner, just the three of us.

66. Have a sleepover with my cousins.

67. File a leave on my parents' birthdays. (0/2) --I'm filing a leave on Mom's birthday! :)

68. Go on five random weekday mall trips with my mom. (0/5)

69. Bring home pasalubong for my family on a random day. (0/3)

70. Have a Scrabble night with the family.

MELBERT

71. Go on an arcade date.

72. Watch DVDs together for an entire afternoon.

73. File a leave that coincides with his day-off and go on an unplanned, spontaneous date.

74. Go on a videoke date.

75. Go on a fancy dinner date. We're going on a dinner date this Saturday! Not super fancy because I realized that we're not really fancy people-- no point in paying for a really expensive meal that has really small servings. :p

76. Go on a trip together. --We went to Bantayan together! It may have been with my officemates, but it's a start. I hope we get to go to Bohol also, this time with his officemates. The Bohol trip has been revised to maybe Boracay! :D

FRIENDS

77. Catch up with an old friend over dinner or coffee. --I had dinner with a good friend of mine from college and we ended up talking until midnight. We vowed to have dinner with each other once a month. I hope we get to stick to it!

78. Make a personalized gift for friends this Christmas.

79. Have a videoke night with the girls.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

80. Give 12 "saw this and thought of you" gifts to people who are not Melbert. (0/12)

81. Treat an officemate to lunch for no reason.

82. Buy fries and a drink at a drive-thru and give to a street kid on the way home. If not, to the neighborhood guard.

83. Leave a very generous tip at a restaurant.

84. Send a "just thought of you and hope you're well" text to ten people. (0/10)

ME-TIME

85. Take a birthday leave. (0/3) --I decided not to take a leave on my birthday this year because it fell on a Thursday, and it seemed like such a bummer to have to still come to work the next day. So I decided to come to work, leave early, then file for my "birthday leave" on Holy Wednesday instead, heading straight into the Holy Week break. :)

86. Have a massage monthly for a year. (0/12)

87. Pray every morning and every night.

88. Write down something I'm thankful for everyday.

89. File a leave just to stay home three times. (0/3)

90. Go to Ateneo on a Sunday for some quiet time. (0/3)

91. Take an afternoon nap during weekends twice a month.

THE FUTURE

92. Decide if I want to take graduate studies or not.

93. Have a list of things I would like in my future wedding.

94. Have a list of random things about my future.

MISCELLANEOUS

95. Write an entry for each day in my Starbucks 2010 planner. Since I've decided to make my Starbucks 2010 planner the keeper of my daily to-do list, I've been successful with this so far!

96. Watch a concert. --I watched the Timbaland concert with Justin Timberlake and Jojo as special guests. So I hit two birds with one stone: I kept my promise to myself that I wouldn't pass up the chance to watch Justin in concert, and I crossed this off my list. :)

97. Finish a coloring book.

98. Vote wisely in the 2010 national elections.

99. Get braces removed.

100. Join the lotto.

101. Get a henna tattoo, just because I've never tried it. I got not one, but two! One that looks like a bracelet on my wrist, and another on my right shoulder. I found it funny that my relatives thought it was a real tattoo, and one aunt actually asked, "Did it hurt?" :))

There are still many things I have to do on this list! I hope I do better at crossing things off over the second quarter. :)

27

1
If you multiply 111,111,111 x 111,111,111, the product is 12,345,678,987,654,321. Notice the sequence of the numbers 1 to 9 and back to 1. :) ONE. DAY. TO. GO!!! :D

D-Day
And now, the finale: Once upon a time, New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25. Charlie Brown Encyclopedia from my childhood said it was because people considered the start of spring (mid-March) as the start of a new year. People only started celebrating New Year on January 1 when they adopted the Gregorian calendar-- for the British, they didn't do so until 1752. :) Happy New Year to me, then! :)

-=-=-=-=-=-

I thought I would've been married by now.

After all, 27 seemed like a ripe, old age back when I was 16. Back then, my view of my future fit a cookie-cutter mold: graduate high school at 18, graduate college at 22 (after all, my birthday always falls on Graduation Season, so I'm always older than the rest when I graduate), work for four years and save up enough money to get me my own place and maybe my own car, then get married by 26. So if my sixteen-year-old self had her way, I'd be celebrating my first wedding anniversary by now.

But nine years later, I am light years away from my sixteen-year-old self and realizing that life is not so simple, after all.

That four years into a job, you realize that "Fun that happens to be work! (and the prerequisite 'I can't believe I'm being paid to do this!')" does turn into "Work that happens to be fun." And it's up to you to keep the fun alive so that it doesn't turn into "Work is just something I have to do to survive."

That after years of chugging down mug after mug of coffee, staying awake for over 24 hours, surviving on an hour's worth of sleep a day, and filling your body with fast-food in every imaginable form, your health really does catch up with you and your body demands better treatment.

That after all the heartaches in your life, all of The Ones that turned out to be flukes and good-for-nothings that you wasted your tears over, you realize (however belatedly) that Regine Velasquez was right: "You made me stronger by breaking my heart. You ended my life and made a better one start. You taught me everything from falling in love to letting go of a lie. You made me stronger by saying goodbye." And that Peter Cetera was right, too, when he said, "The next time I fall in love, I'll know better what to do." Because, if we learn our lessons well, we really do.

That nothing in life is perfect. There is no perfect job, no perfect friendship, no perfect family, no perfect relationship. And no matter how hard you try, it will never be perfect. So it's always best to just love what it is instead of wishing for what it isn't.

That it's okay to admit that you don't like people. Because there are also probably tons of people in the world who aren't crazy about you too. You don't have to like everyone you know, and you don't have to be liked by everyone you know. Choose to surround yourself with the people who wish you the best, instead of those who are bent on pulling you down.

That mentors are important. Without mentors and the guidance of people who are older than yourself, you find yourself floating along, not really sure where all this will take you. Annoying as it may sound, they've been there and done that.

That you have to choose your battles and set your priorities. Not everything is worth getting stressed over, not everyone is worth convincing, not all opinions need to be addressed, not all activities are worth your time. And for the people and activities that are worth it, you don't find the time-- you make it.

That love isn't measured by the number of times you see each other in a week, the number of phone calls you make or texts you receive, or the number of things you do together. Love is about how you value, respect, and trust each other, how you commit to loving this person each and every day, how you find ways to make each other smile, how you always say "Thank you" for every little thing you do for each other, and how you know in your heart that the sun shines a little bit brighter and the world seems better whenever they're around.

That the best birthday comes in the form of welcoming it with CSI, pizza, and the one you love; followed by breakfast with a team you're blessed to be a part of; greetings from friends and acquaintances in your past and present; capped off by dinner with the family and a box of donuts that stand as the birthday cake.

That at 27, I look forward to eating in restaurants that always make me happy, never mind that they're nothing fancy. I look forward to sleeping in, watching TV, and curling up with a good book on weekends. I look forward to making new friends and going on new adventures. And I look forward to more laughter, more blessings, and more love, even if my life is already filled with so much more than I could wish for. :)

Happy New Year to me! :) And to you, who patiently waited for me to make my point as I rambled on, thank you for being a part of my life. :)

The Birthday Countdown

If there is one thing I regret, it's that I didn't start my unique countdown from March 1.

I could've had 25 pieces of interesting trivia, but the idea came to me late in the game. In any case, I've been updating my Facebook profile with a daily bit of trivia about numbers as a way of counting down the days to my 27th birthday. Some are cool, some are witty, some I just really made fun of. And on the days when I couldn't find any interesting bits to share, I shared my disappointment and counted down nonetheless.

Here, a compilation of my status updates since March 5:

20
Sabi sa Wikipedia, "Twenty is the third composite number comprising the product of a squared prime and a prime." Wala akong naintindihan dun. Basta ang alam ko, 20 days na lang, tatanda na ako ulit!

19
Tried to look for interesting trivia about the number 19, but couldn't find any. Oh well! 19 days to go!

18
Wikipedia's trivia about the number 18: "The Hebrew word for "alive" is חי (chai), which has a numerical value of 18. Consequently, the custom has arisen in Jewish circles to give donations and monetary gifts in multiples of 18 as an expression of blessing for long life." 18 days to go! :)

17
Did you know that the number 17 is considered unlucky in Italy? When you rearrange the Roman numerals XVII into VIXI, it means "My life is over" in Italian. At least, sabi ng Wikipedia. :O 17 days to go!

16
did not find interesting trivia about the Number 16, but is counting down anyway. 16 days to go!

15
What do the words "uncopyrightable", "dermatoglyphics", "misconjugatedly", and "hydropneumatics" have in common? They are the longest words in the dictionary that don't repeat a single letter, and they have 15 letters each! 15 days to go! :)

14
There are 14 lines in a sonnet, and 14 days to go before my birthday! :)

13
The fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia. 13 days to go! :)

12
There are 12 signs in the zodiac, 12 people in a jury, 12 pairs of ribs in the human body, and 12 days to go before my birthday! :D

11
is disappointed that there aren't any interesting facts about the number 11 that don't involve math. Oh well, 11 days to go! :)

10
Trivia from Wikipedia: "There are ten cents in a U.S. or Canadian dime, itself one tenth of a dollar. The word was shortened from decime." 10 days to go! :)

9
Trivia: If you multiply 9 by any number and add the digits of the answer until it is just one digit, that final digit will always be 9. Try it! :) 9 days to go!

8
Wikipedia says that in Chinese, "The word for 'eight' sounds similar to the word which means 'prosper' or 'wealth'." I hope that's a good sign for Year 27! :) 8 days to go!

7
Found on blogniinday.com: "Why is the number 7 God’s perfect number? There are 7 days a week, 7 wonders of the world. In the Bible, you must forgive a person 70 X 7 times. Even the word FORGIVE has 7 letters, and so do the words PROMISE and MYSTERY. Maybe God designed it… And now, use Olay Total Effects to fight the 7 signs of skin aging!” -nag-apply si Inday bilang endorser ng Olay Total Effects :)) One week to go!

6
Found on a random blog: "In numerology, 6 is the number of cooperation and the number of love and romance." I'm lucky to be loved! ♥ 6 days to go!

5
did not know that the four basic elements (water, air, fire, and earth) need a fifth element to complete them all. Some say the fifth element is spirit, some say quintessence, but I say... it's CAPTAIN PLANET!!! :D 5 days to go! :)

4
In the game Tetris, each shape is made up of four blocks each. The game was named after "tetra", the Greek word for four. Also, in the English language, four is the only number with the same number of letters as its value. :) 4 days to go! :)

3
I never noticed that the letters A F H K N Y Z are all made up of three lines. Now I know! :) 3 days to go! :)

2
There are actually two places on Earth called "Hell": one is a village in Norway and the other is a group of black limestone formations in the Grand Cayman islands. How cool is that?! :) 2 days to go! :)

I'm down to my last two posts, and I must say that this has made counting down to my birthday so much more interesting than in previous years! Many have told me that 27 is a good age, and this countdown has made me look forward to turning older and entering a good year.

I'll put my last two posts when I blog on my birthday. :)