The Best of My 2011
“Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” ~ Hal Borland
I started writing the best of my year last year. This is a glimpse of how my life went and things that I will never forget on that year. 2011 for me was a year of decision making. A year to make significant choices that changed my life and made me who I am right now. Looking back on my planner, my tag line for 2011 was FOCUS: Feel great and look great; Out of town adventures; Celebrate life by maintaining positive attitude; United with family and friends; and Save money.
New Year Celebration - 2011.
This was the first time I celebrated the New Year in the office. I’ve been working for about four years now and this was the first time I spent New Year’s Eve at work. But it was worth it because effective that day, January 1, 2010 was my promotion as a Quality Specialist.
“Being ready isn't enough; you have to be prepared for a promotion or any other significant change.” - Pat Riley |
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Kung Hei Fat Choi – A Chinese New Year.
Year 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit by the Chinese calendar. This was the first time I experienced celebrating Chinese New Year when I was invited by a Chinese friend named Jacky to spend the Chinese New Year with our friends Bryan, Oneal and Robin in Chinatown, Manila. We had a tour around Ongpin in Binondo and observed how Filipino-Chinese celebrated the occasion. And I never thought this would be a great start for a great friendship with them.
Feel Great and Look Great.
“If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want.” ~ Elbert Hubbard
The first thing on my list was to feel great and look great and I did this by doing a healthy lifestyle and regular workout (though I only visit the gym when I’m not busy at work, hehe). This is the year when I started working out and be serious with it. And guess what, from 139lbs, currently I’m at 160lbs already. Thank you Gold’s Gym! LOL! I also started joining Fun Runs in 2011. This year, I had Rizal Run in September and Run for the Pasig River in November.
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| Run for the Pasig River, November 2011 at Seaside Blvd. |
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| Run for Rizal, September 2011 at Rizal Park. |
Out of Town Adventures.
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
Baguio City (January 2011)
Baguio for me is my second home. This was my 7th visit to this place – The Summer Capital of the Philippines. Every year, I always find myself going back to this place. And this is my first stop for 2011. Thanks to Bryan, Amben and Rax for joining this one of the best Baguio tours I had! We stayed at Hotel Henricos and the same usual routes – Mines View Park, The Mansion, Burnham Park, Strawberry Farm, Session Road, SM Baguio, Camp John Hay to name a few.
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| In Baguio City with Bryan, Rax and Amben. |
Tagaytay City (February 2011)
This was my second time here. It’s like Baguio because of its foggy-cold weather plus the delicious Bulalo. I was with my best buddies is college this time: Aj, Adi, Bryan and Joy. This was the first time we met and rode with Bumblebee (Aj’s car). It was an overnight road-trip; ate at Leslie’s, had coffee at Starbucks – Tagaytay and night tour around the city.
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| My best buddies since college! Dinner at Leslie's. |
Cebu – Bohol (March 2011)
Yeah, one of my goal this year was to visit Cebu. Thank you to Ate Anj, Kuya Fred, Kuya Nico, Bryan, Adi, Joy, Amben and Rax for making this trip possible! It was a 4D3N tour (2D in Cebu and 2D in Bohol). We survived the Edge Coaster and Skywalk Adventure in Crowne Regency – Cebu. We also had the chance to visit some of Cebu’s pride like Magellan’s Cross, Port de San Pedro, Lapu-lapu Shrine, Taoist Temple, Sto Nino Basilica and many more. In Bohol, some of the places we visited were the Blood Compact Site, Baclayon Church, Loboc River, Bilar Man-Made Forest, and Bohol’s Chocolate Hills. We stayed at Dumaluan Beach Resort in Panglao, just along Bohol Beach Club.
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| Magellan's Cross - Cebu |
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| Bohol's pride - Chocolate Hills |
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| At Crowne Regency's Skywalk Adventure |
Quezon Province (April 2011)
My mother’s hometown and the place where I grew up. This place will always be a part of me. We spent the holy week at Lola’s house, family outing at the Fishing Paradise and the best part of it, we went to our relatives’ place that I haven’t visited for the last 10 years.
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| Family Outing during the Holy Week of 2011 at Fishing Paradise. |
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| This is where we usually swim during summer when i was a kid. |
Puerto Galera (May 2011)
One of the highlights of my 2011. This was my first time here and I really love the place. Awesome place plus great friends = once in a lifetime experience. Yes, this was really one of my unforgettable trips this year. And no words can explain that. (with a big smile on my face while writing this!) Thank you Nini, Richmond, Bryan, Jeff, Jim, Nyhro, Ylleber and Chad for one of the happiest and wackiest trips of my life!
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| Snorkeling at Puerta Galera, summer of 2011 |
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| This people never fail to make me smile! |
Valentino Resort and Spa – Batangas (May 2011)
Mother hen (TL Diana) came home from Singapore and as a treat and reunion with one of the best teams I handled, we went to Valentino Resort and Spa in Batangas. It is situated within the calm and picturesque limits of Lipa, with a breathtakingly panoramic view of Mt. Makulot. Thank you Team Diana! I miss you mother hen and the babies!
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| Sexy people in the house!!! |
Tagaytay City (August 2011)
I’ve been busy at work that’s why I don’t have trips for June and July. I just moved to a different account and I spent the month of June for training and July for adjusting with my new scope of support. But this did not hinder me to get back to my out of town trips. And this time, with my previous team, we went to Tagaytay City (my 3rd time this time). Thanks Team KamiKC!
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| First market visit of TL KC. LOL |
Puerto Galera (September 2011)
Yes baby, I told you I love this place! Hahaha! So for the second time around and just on the same year, I went back to Puerto Galera. This time it’s with TL Diana and friends to celebrate her birthday. She flew from Singapore just to celebrate her birthday with us and she wanted to get wet and wild that’s why we chose to go Puerto Galera. And we didn’t get disappointed, right mother hen? Kiddin :p
Island Cove – Cavite (October 2011)
This year’s CVG Family Day was held at Island Cove in Cavite. It was a wonderful experience to spend a day with your workmates and at the same time with their families. Every Family Day, I always see to it that I bring my family with me to make them experience how CVG cares to its employees and to their families. This year was one of the best Family Day I attended for that past four years in CVG.
Tagaytay City (November 2011)
My 3rd time in Tagaytay City just for this year alone. Hahaha! Perhaps it’s because it was just an hour or two ride from Manila plus I can’t resist their special Bulalo! Thank you to Wave 11.8.5 – France, Myk, Jenn, Lea and my TAs Ayi and GK! It was the first time we went out of town with this team and these people are one of the craziest.
Celebrate Life by Maintaining Positive Attitude
“If we are ever to enjoy life, now is the time, not tomorrow or next year...Today should always be our most wonderful day.” – Thomas Dreier
This year was one of the most challenging years of my life too. I’ve been broken hearted not just once but twice. Yeah, I know you’ll laugh but it’s true. Let me say that this was the year also that I hurt a lot of people (unintentionally). And I wanna take this opportunity to say sorry to those people that been hurt by my actions and/or choices. I learned from these mistakes and moving forward, with positive attitude, am gonna start 2012 anew. A better and matured me plus will take this every choice seriously. I don’t wanna hurt anybody because I knew how it feels but in one way or another, sometime we really can’t avoid it. But you know what’s the best part of it, if we’ve happy with the wrong ones then how much more when the right one comes. I am not looking for that right one at this moment but if ever that right one comes on the most perfect timing, I will do my best to keep it forever.
My 25th Birthday Celebration (August 11, 2011)
“Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had, and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.” - Anonymous
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| BDay celebration with my HS classmates. |
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| BDay bash with friends. |
United with Family and Friends
My family will always be my top priority no matter what. I’m thankful because I have a supportive and loving family. They are the reason of my hard work, my smiles and my existence. To my mom and dad, to my sibs – Leenlie, Lilette and Jetron, I love you so much!
“The love of a family is life's greatest blessing” - Anonymous
This year also was the year of friendship for me. I still have the old ones but a lot more came. And I want to thank these people whom I really felt that I am of a family and that I am a part of them too. Thank you for the friendship that I will cherish forever. Thank you for letting me feel that life is full of fun and happiness!
"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil." - Baltasar Gracian
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| Trumpeta :) |
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| My best buddies since college! |
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| UVRR Support Staff - the best! |
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| Trumpeta :) |
Save Money.
This has been the hardest New Year’s resolution and I know everyone would agree with that. But this year, I bought my laptop (February), a refrigerator for our apartment (April), and my blackberry phone (August). My younger brother is now on his 4th year in college, taking up Electronics and Communications Engineering, plus the highlight would be last October, I started the construction of our house in Masbate. Thank You Lord for all the blessings and I give everything back to You!
Lastly, let me show you my FIRST’s in 2011:
FIRST time in Cebu!
FIRST time to drink Red Horse! (yeah, it’s true)
FIRST time to have a Foot Spa!
FIRST time to receive a book as a gift! (Thanks to France!)
FIRST watch because I don’t usually wear watches. (Thanks babe for 1st monthsary gift!)
FIRST time to have a puppy as a gift! (Thanks again babe! You know how much I love dogs.)
FIRST Fun Run (Run for Rizal, September 2011)
FIRST time in Mamang Taho (located near UST)
FIRST coffee to have a message on it! (though it was our 2nd, but this was the first coffee I got with one of the sweetest messages I ever received)
FIRST Transition Team I handled in UVRR!
FIRST time in Showtime!
FIRST time to watch a movie in 3D! (Harry Potter 7 Part 2)
FIRST time to celebrate Chinese New Year! (Thanks Jacky for inviting me!)
FIRST time in Puerto Galera!
FIRST Christmas Party with UVRR!
My Year-End Prayer
Father, I just want to thank You for the Year 2011! What a year!
It was a very long year with each day bringing something new, something unknown; yet you sustained us.
Teach us to draw closer to You, to find out what Your perfect will is for our lives.
Teach us and show us step by step how You want Your agenda to flow using us as messengers and instruments.
Teach us humility and give us the ability to forgive and to love purposefully.
Strengthen our hearts with compassion and unselfishness.
Allow us to grow spiritually.
Show us how to be quick to repent continually and teach us that we are not perfect.
Thank You for the continual demonstration of Your endless Love!
Show us how there are many ways and not just our way as individuals interlocked in friendships, relationships and partnerships.
Give us an allowance and understanding so that we may enter into Your rest consistently and continually.
Teach us diligence so that we will know it so well.
Father we have seen remnants of all of these things and we are ever thankful and please allow us to move to new levels of knowledge, wisdom, understanding and revelations.
Thank You for forgiveness. We thank You for corrections and peace in this.
In Jesus name, AMEN!
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