Blessed year of savory mix

Whoa! Time is indeed quick! Year 2013 is over and we’re now greeted by 2014—another year of happiness and laughter, of sadness and pain, of excitement and energy.

When 2013 started, I wrote an entry on my previous blog about words describing each month of 2012. Now, I’m listing down 13 of the most significant and unforgettable events and experiences I went through and dealt with last year. We're now more than halfway through January, but I hope this post isn't late yet.

Undeniably, it was a year of ups and downs (well, which year wasn't), of joy and sorrow, of laughter and tears. But, guess what, even though 2013 was a roller coaster ride, and even though there were instances I thought of giving up on some things, I survived. I stand with my hopes high and my dreams getting fulfilled every step of the way.

Oh, about the list, here it goes:

1. My birthday.

With or without a grand celebration, my birthday (January7) will always be memorable for me. Last year, unlike the one that I had in 2012 (an escapade in a resort in Pampanga, although that wasn’t for my birthday primarily), we just had a small get together at a friend’s house. I feel guilty, though, for I didn’t reserve that special day for my family.

My elder sister, Lauren, was generous enough to order a pizza for my pre-birthday bash last year.

2. Albay laid out its glory as I attended the lastpress conference in my college life.

That was the last press conference I attended in college as a staff of our student publication, The Students’ Herald. In a few months’ time, I’d be leaving the university. And so it felt like I received the grandest gift in my life so far as my colleagues and I went to Albay for the Luzonwide Higher Education Press Conference. All my life, I wanted to see Mt. Mayon and last February, it stood in front of my very own eyes, screaming its heart-warming welcome to this traveller. What made it more special was that it was my first time to ride on a plane!

I was really looking forward to our Albay tour. Unfortunately, we were left by the bus at the hotel. Not that we were late. Coordination was not done properly, that was why.

3. My application for graduation got approved.

With all the pressure and heap of tasks in college, it would sometimes feel that you would fail to graduate on time. But, after I wrote on the blank spaces and filled the boxes on the form, I filed my application for graduation. When it got approved, I knew in my heart—and I was sure about it—that 2013 would definitely be the year I would finish my course.

4. Four years after, I finished my course.
And so, it did happen. In April 2013, after going onstage and bumping fists with the university president, I got my diploma. (Well, not my diploma; only the case. I received the real deal a few months after.) I even recited our pledge in front of my fellow graduates. After four years of many sleepless nights and stressful days, I earned my college degree…without spending a single centavo on tuition as I had a scholarship. That was a great help to my parents, a blessing I would forever be thankful for.

5. I landed a job.

Definitely, after graduation, a person faces bigger challenges in the bigger world. And with that, I mean looking for a job. While others chose to take a rest, I got to my feet and made a career move by submitting my resume to the company I used to render my service at as an intern. Guess what, I got hired right away. Well, it actually happened four days before graduation, so rest was alien to me.

Bloggers' at Talk, one of the productions we worked  at Talk TV Global on one month after I got my job.

6. This is something I’m absolutely not supposed to talk about. So, let’s move on to the next one…

7. The beginning of a relationship.

I’m not really the type of guy who talks a lot about my relationship with my girl, but I just would like to acknowledge how significant it was for me when our relationship started in summer. Exchanges of sweet messages made the ants go gaga, although we were still on the courtship stage back then. Before it all happened, we were two happy individuals with separate lives, minding our own business and contented with our single status. And then it hit us. Cupid’s arrow struck us at the time we both least expected it.

8. …and on June 5, our relationship became official about two months after courtship. That day she said yes to me was one of the happiest days of my life.

9. I attended Blogapalooza.

Fast forward to November. My credibility as a blogger (that’s how it felt, at least) was recognized as I attended the annual gathering of bloggers, Blogapalooza, at the SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premier in Taguig City. It was a business-to-blogger meet up where companies offering diverse brands participated and presented their products to bloggers who gladly received freebies and gift certificates. Hopping from booth to booth made me immensely ecstatic especially that it was the first blogging event I’ve ever attended.

Photo op with Bogart the Explorer.

10. I was at the Mobile Festival 2013.

True enough, learning doesn’t stop at finishing a degree. It continues even at work. On Nov. 25 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, I’ve been enlightened on the growing trend among companies—international and local—of going mobile, thereby reaching their target market anytime, anywhere, without having to place commercials on TV, or put their ads on billboards. Creating a mobile app for your company and product is one remarkable innovation.

11. Hundred Islands unfolded its beauty.

Remember my plan to go to Hundred Islands on my birthday last year which didn’t push through? Well, I’m quite grateful that before 2013 ended, I finally got the chance to marvel at the world-renowned tourist destination. It wasn’t purely leisure, though. It was part of my job as co-manager of GBG Pangasinan. We were there on Dec. 17 for the inaugural meet up of the group.

12. That very special Bolinao getaway.

Now, this is a travel that was not work-related. The level of enjoyment reached the sky as I got the chance to explore Bolinao, a place where you can enjoy the clear water of its beach and the marvellous seascape on the view deck of the Bolinao Lighthouse.

13. And yes, I was overjoyed to end the year and welcome 2014 with my family. My aunts and cousins came home from abroad, and the celebration at my grandmother’s house in Novaliches was a happy get together with them, a prelude to our grand reunion.

You might think that my 2013 was all leisure and enjoyment because of the things listed here. Well, no. There were lots of sadness and pain, just like the previous years I went through, which I won’t write about because there’s no use in doing that and focusing on the negative side of things.

It was a rough year, but one that I truly savored and enjoyed nevertheless. It marked memories and etched another set of principles on my being.

God blessed me with a load of wonderful gifts that I’m quite thankful for. And I’m certain that 2014 will be grander and more alive as God continues to bless me and my family.