Just like any other year, 2018 has been filled with a lot of great memories with my friends and loved ones… So many that I can barely write them in one sitting (also, I am cramming as of the moment, haha!) So let me just share with you my monthly highlights for this year. 😉
JANUARY
I’m excited when I found out that we would be visiting Roxas
City again after 7 years for our family reunion. I’m glad to see Papa with all his
siblings and Lola Lilia; it was a good time to bond with my cousins as well.
Papa’s ancestral home really gives me a sense of relaxation; with the short
period that I have, it has given me a peace of mind away from Manila (and my
work haha). It was too bad that we don’t have enough time to explore other
parts of the city (although we went to Santa Monica Church in Panay, which is
considered to be the largest bell in Asia). Nonetheless, that weekend was
priceless because we were all able to find time to take time off from our daily
grind from school and work for a much needed family time. 💖
FEBRUARY
We’re not the type who gives each other expensive gifts,
dine at fancy restaurants, and even travel together when it’s our anniversary.
Just the company of Kevin on our special day is enough. Our anniversary date fell
on a Monday, so we decided to celebrate it on a Saturday. We ate early dinner
at Kko Kko, it was both our first time eating to that restaurant,
unfortunately, the food is not really that delicious 😢 and the melting cheese was
just overly hyped, I love the ambiance though. After which, we went to get our
photos done at Fujifilm. Admittedly, I’m hesitant to get our photos taken at a
professional photo studio because I don’t really like to pose hahaha, ang awkward kasi LOL. But he insisted and good thing that I went along with it because the photos were beautiful. 💛
MARCH
Keene, Eunice, Shalee, and I rarely bond given our ever-conflicting
time schedules 😆, although we were able to squeeze in some time to meet
last January for our post-Christmas party and gift-giving. This month, we bonded
again over watching I Remember a Boy, a play where Shalee is part of the cast.
The story is about a group of friends who reunited at a café and recalled how
their friendship came together, how they fell in love and fell apart. It also
features the music from classic Original Pinoy Music (OPM) hits from ‘70s to
the ‘90s. I love the story and is very relatable as well. Shalee and the rest
of the cast were just as equally good and fitting for their roles.
APRIL
Last April 2017, I was fortunate to have bought tickets
(thanks, Globe pre-selling event) for Jassy and I for Coldplay’s A Head
Full of Dreams Tour in Manila. It was my first-ever legit concert with my
favorite band, and it truly was an awesome night. A year after, on the same
month this year, Jassy and I attended our first ever K-Pop concert at the Mall
of Asia Arena, together with other EXO-L trashes, Jenica and Jia, for EXO’s ElyXiOn
in Manila Tour! 🙌 We were at the queuing line at around 2:30pm; Jia and Jenica
were able to secure good spots, it is just that the fans were surprisingly
wild, I was not able to anticipate it. I thought that I will not survive the
craziness and rudeness of some international fans (even PHIXOS, sadly), but I
guess it is just mind over matter, LOL. Nonetheless, even quite a number of
casualties happened in the VIP mosh pit section, I’m very happy to see all of
them up close and perform live! They were all just equally handsome and oozing
with appeal… special mention to my bias, Oh-Sehun 😍 HAHAHA!
MAY
Patrick is my closest guy friend from late grade
school to high school, but we kind of lost in touch eventually when
he moved to Japan. Thankfully, after 6 years, we were able to meet
again and he introduced us to his wife, Roxy. We ate our dinner at Yellow Cab
while reminiscing all our GS and HS moments. After Yellow Cab, we proceeded to
The Pad and had drinks, I was surprised when Patrick sang for open-mic a
6Cyclemind song 🎤, it feels good seeing him happy and carefree.
JUNE
It was June 15
when I was able to finally meet my soul sister again. We ate lunch at Barcino (the pasta’s good!) while catching up on a lot of things, drank
coffee at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf while using the SNOW app to take cute
selfies 😋, and sang for an hour at Karaoke Hub at SM North EDSA while remembering
our “music sessions” in college just like the old times. It was also a good
timing because prior our meeting, she called me for a great news that she was
granted a scholarship by the National University of Singapore!
JULY
We visited Batangas once again as we had our little
celebration and (sort of) reunion because Kuya Eric and Ate Joan arrived here
in PH after almost 5 years of residing in Canada. Kuya became emotional when we
arrived, he’s just very happy that we’re almost complete. The following week,
they visited us in Malabon and stayed in the house a little bit then went to
the cementery to visit Lolo because they weren’t there during the burial. We
went to SM North EDSA and treated them lunch at Barrio Fiesta (because every
balikbayan would always crave for Filipino food upon arrival here for sure
haha). We also went to the Venice Grand Canal because they haven’t been there
and they wanted to take pictures, luckily the weather was fair and we were able
to take lots of pictures and selfies (special mention to Ate Joan’s iPhone X!) 📷
AUGUST
I have been a Korean skincare junkie since early 2016 and so
when a skincare products retailer, Go Bloom and Glow opened applications for
part-time content writers, Jassy and I immediately applied. Luckily, we both
passed and it was just an achievement for us as we get to write and impart our
thoughts and knowledge on Korean skincare to a different platform other than
our respectively blogsites even just for a while. The experience made me feel
like I was a professional content writer, especially the exchanging of ideas and
revisions. It was also a breather for me because my nature of work includes
writing financial analysis and this opportunity from Go Bloom challenged my
writing skills as the content is different from what I was used to.
SEPTEMBER
Eunice, Keene, and I have always been planning on an out of
the country trip together, good thing I Eunice and I were able to book a promo
flight. We decided that our travel dates coincide that of Keene’s because she
already booked a flight (with Rods) which is also bound for Taipei. We arrived
during lunch time, left our baggage after checking in and met Keene, Rods, and
his friends where we ate at the Modern Toilet (it was a little bit pricey and
the food isn’t that good as well). We went to Longshan Temple and the Sun-Yat
Sen Memorial, the following day we booked a day tour care of KKDay going to
Jiufen, Yehliu, and Shifen. Unfortunately, it was raining hard so we don’t have
many pictures. 😢 Then upon arrival to Taipei Main Station, we went to the Shilin
Night Market. On our last day, we just went to 288 Peace Memorial Park,
Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Taipei 101, bought cakes at Sunmerry and oolong
tea from Ten Ren, and stroll around the Ximending Youth Shopping District. I
wish there was more time to explore Taipei but I still enjoyed it. I love how
clean the surroundings are and how effective their transportation system is.
Cannot wait to go back! (P.S. Do not miss eating ramen at Ichiran!)
OCTOBER
I don’t know why but I suddenly find myself holding back my
tears during some moments during my brother’s commencement exercises. Hahaha. I
tried so hard not to cry even for a second because I was embarrassed because
Mama might tease me! I guess I’m just overfilled with joy and proud to see JR
graduate and awarded with best thesis. His years of studying finally paid off. 🎓
NOVEMBER
There are two things that I am grateful for this month, first
was EXO’s comeback! Really loving EXO’s new album, Tempo, which was out last
November 2. Luckily it was a holiday and so I was able to get crazy with the
EXO-Ls around the world as the music video was almost simultaneously released
with EXO’s live comeback performance in Music Bank. Finally, drought’s over! 🎶
Second was my birthday, of course (which I’m just as equally
grateful for as EXO’s comeback LOL). I took a day off from the office to
celebrate my birthday at home with Mama and JR. Mama cooked my favorite dish,
sinigang for lunch and bought a black forest cake and ice cream. Kevin also
visited home later that evening and brought Domino’s pizzas. It was a simple
celebration with my most treasured ones and all I wish is for God to give me more years to live so that I can serve Him more. ☝
DECEMBER
Besides December 25, the 23rd was probably the
highlight for this month because Papa was home for Christmas 🎅 We thought
that he will not be coming home but thankfully he was able to celebrate this
festive season with us. I’m happy that we will also welcomed the new year
together. These moments spent with my family will always be priceless.
〰
〰
I have been in constant
struggle of trying to look for what I really want to do. Last March, I was
diagnosed with bell’s palsy (BP) and still am not fully recovered as of
writing. Having diagnosed with BP has never been easy for me especially during
the past few weeks, I became more conscious with my face, I lost my appetite,
and I barely talk to people. I was devastated. I have been filled with
self-doubt.
Probably the greatest thing that I learned this year is to be grateful despite the challenges that come your way. God reminded me that despite of me having a condition and battling against my own struggles, I must not forget to be grateful that I have my ever-supportive family, friends, and cherished loved ones who never fails to be there for me and support my decisions. Looking back to all the things that transpired in my life this year, I know that God taught me not to dwell into negativities but instead try to look into the other side of things, ika nga ni Catriona Gray, to the “silver lining”, kumbaga.
Praying that this 2019, I will get better, hustle more, and strive to put extra effort into the things that truly matter… ultimately praying that this year, I can get what I truly deserve. 🌈
Probably the greatest thing that I learned this year is to be grateful despite the challenges that come your way. God reminded me that despite of me having a condition and battling against my own struggles, I must not forget to be grateful that I have my ever-supportive family, friends, and cherished loved ones who never fails to be there for me and support my decisions. Looking back to all the things that transpired in my life this year, I know that God taught me not to dwell into negativities but instead try to look into the other side of things, ika nga ni Catriona Gray, to the “silver lining”, kumbaga.
Praying that this 2019, I will get better, hustle more, and strive to put extra effort into the things that truly matter… ultimately praying that this year, I can get what I truly deserve. 🌈
Let's all continue to aim for our goals as we embrace 2019!
Abby 💗
