As the year comes to a close, I look back on the things that happened to me this year. To quote my boss, 2010 was my year. I roared in this year of the tiger. A lot of good things happened. A lot of blessings. Sometimes, I stop to think if I really deserved them all. Was I worthy of all those? No one can answer that but He who gave all those to me. And for that, I'll forever be thankful.
This 2010, I:
1. Fell in love and was loved in return, even more than I expected.
2. Got promoted from editorial assistant to staff writer.
3. Got to travel to new places. I experienced my first plane ride, been to a place out of Luzon, and out of the country (Hong Kong! Yeah!).
4. Engaged in a sport and met new friends.
5. Got introduced to my boyfriend's family and felt thankful and happy to be accepted.
6. Wrote new poems and found people who appreciate them through this blog.
7. Experienced being a "recording artist" (hahaha!) when we recorded songs for our office Christmas Party, and got to know and make friends with quite a lot of my officemates.
8. Got a medal because our team won third place in last summer's Heads Up Summer Clinic.
9. Had a sweet and unforgettable birthday.
10. Was genuinely happy.
I wanted to always be positive and attract good vibes, and that's just what I did! Now, I realize that if I would always welcome each day with a smile on my face, the world would always smile back. That if I would let go of my emotional baggage, my hands would be free to carry better ones. That if I continue to trust and have faith in Him, there would always be beautiful days ahead.
And with this, I can say that my song for 2010 is I've Had The Time of My Life. Because, yes, in 2010, I felt that way, and I'm positive that it's a start of wonderful years of loving, living, smiling, and being happy.
And one more thing about my 2010. If I were to describe it, aside from the words I've said above, I would use a line from Katy Perry's Teenage Dream - no regrets, just love. :)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Teenage Dream
As I was doing my aimless net surfing, I suddenly remembered Boyce Avenue and how I loved their covers. So I visited their Youtube channel and came across their version of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream.
The piano-accompanied version made me reflect and look back on my years as a teen. High school in particular. What was my teenage dream then? I can only think of one thing: to be a writer. What I would be in the future. I wasn't thinking of how my crush would notice me because in the first place, I didn't have one in our all-girls school (I had a crush on a drummer who belonged to a band who played in our school when I was a sophomore. But that's it. The "crush" feeling vanished soon enough). I wasn't thinking of who my prom date would be because we didn't have a prom. All those scenes in a typical American high school movie - pretty cheerleaders, cute basketball players, proms - we didn't have them in our school. So I was left with nothing to think about but my writing, academics, the school paper, piano lessons, and my friends who are different.
If I were to place my friends and I in a social pyramid, I could say we were at the second to the bottom tier. We weren't losers, but we weren't popular. We weren't weird, but we were different. We would spend mornings beside the Chemistry Lab to review (if we had a test that day) or simply to talk about school, puppy love, musings, and things that we love. We were the type who would voluntarily sit at the front row of the bus during field trips when everyone else would prefer to sit at the back.
With true friends like them, I didn't feel there was anything missing in my high school life. But to be honest, I would've wanted us to have a prom. I would've wanted to dress up and see my friends all dressed up as well for a special night like prom. And had I truly liked someone then, I would've wanted to go to the prom with him, and we would dance a slow, romantic dance. Sweet. And that's the teenage dream I would secretly think of.
Well of course it didn't happen, and looking back, I can only wish it did. I once told my boyfriend that we didn't have a prom in high school and that I had never danced with anyone. So during our office Christmas Party, when the band was playing rock, upbeat tunes, and everyone was dancing their heads off on the dance floor, he danced with me. "Eh kasi hindi mo pa yun nae-experience, di ba?" (Because you haven't experienced it, right?), he said. So there. My first dance with somebody. It wasn't the slow, romantic dance I wanted in high school, but that dance is more than the fulfillment of my secret teenage dream. It's a dance with the one I love.
The piano-accompanied version made me reflect and look back on my years as a teen. High school in particular. What was my teenage dream then? I can only think of one thing: to be a writer. What I would be in the future. I wasn't thinking of how my crush would notice me because in the first place, I didn't have one in our all-girls school (I had a crush on a drummer who belonged to a band who played in our school when I was a sophomore. But that's it. The "crush" feeling vanished soon enough). I wasn't thinking of who my prom date would be because we didn't have a prom. All those scenes in a typical American high school movie - pretty cheerleaders, cute basketball players, proms - we didn't have them in our school. So I was left with nothing to think about but my writing, academics, the school paper, piano lessons, and my friends who are different.
If I were to place my friends and I in a social pyramid, I could say we were at the second to the bottom tier. We weren't losers, but we weren't popular. We weren't weird, but we were different. We would spend mornings beside the Chemistry Lab to review (if we had a test that day) or simply to talk about school, puppy love, musings, and things that we love. We were the type who would voluntarily sit at the front row of the bus during field trips when everyone else would prefer to sit at the back.
With true friends like them, I didn't feel there was anything missing in my high school life. But to be honest, I would've wanted us to have a prom. I would've wanted to dress up and see my friends all dressed up as well for a special night like prom. And had I truly liked someone then, I would've wanted to go to the prom with him, and we would dance a slow, romantic dance. Sweet. And that's the teenage dream I would secretly think of.
Well of course it didn't happen, and looking back, I can only wish it did. I once told my boyfriend that we didn't have a prom in high school and that I had never danced with anyone. So during our office Christmas Party, when the band was playing rock, upbeat tunes, and everyone was dancing their heads off on the dance floor, he danced with me. "Eh kasi hindi mo pa yun nae-experience, di ba?" (Because you haven't experienced it, right?), he said. So there. My first dance with somebody. It wasn't the slow, romantic dance I wanted in high school, but that dance is more than the fulfillment of my secret teenage dream. It's a dance with the one I love.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
New Frames
Because I lost my eyeglasses during our office Christmas Party, I had no choice but to get a new pair. Here's how I look with it:
I look mean. So here's another photo:
Taken last Christmas when I was camwhoring in my room. How vain!
I love my new pair of eyeglasses. It's more stylish than my previous one. So maybe its getting lost is a blessing in disguise. Haha. And besides, it has quite a lot of scratches already so maybe indeed it's time for me to get a new one.
So with this new pair, I'll be facing the new year with something new to aid my vision. Sounds metaphorical, right? Well, maybe it is. Maybe my getting a new pair of eyeglasses is a sign for me to look at things in a new perspective and get over the things that stop me from seeing clearly.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Gifts
It’s Your birthday
Yet You gave me
So many gifts
The gift of family
The gift of friends
The gift of life
The gift of work
The gift of laughter
The gift of love
They’re so big
They can’t fit
In boxes.
They’re so precious
They must be guarded
All the time.
How wonderful Your gifts are!
I’ll never grow tired
Of unwrapping them.
-Katherine Lopez
26 December 2010
---000---
Merry Christmas, fellow bloggers, poets, friends, everyone! :) I hope you all had a blessed one, and I hope you all had a great time! I had (and still have) colds and mild cough yesterday, but I still enjoyed celebrating with my family, giving gifts, opening gifts, and simply being thankful for everything that was given to me, material and non-material things.
Christmas 2010 is, so far, my happiest Christmas. I hope each Christmas will be the same, if not better. Cheers! :)
Yet You gave me
So many gifts
The gift of family
The gift of friends
The gift of life
The gift of work
The gift of laughter
The gift of love
They’re so big
They can’t fit
In boxes.
They’re so precious
They must be guarded
All the time.
How wonderful Your gifts are!
I’ll never grow tired
Of unwrapping them.
-Katherine Lopez
26 December 2010
---000---
Merry Christmas, fellow bloggers, poets, friends, everyone! :) I hope you all had a blessed one, and I hope you all had a great time! I had (and still have) colds and mild cough yesterday, but I still enjoyed celebrating with my family, giving gifts, opening gifts, and simply being thankful for everything that was given to me, material and non-material things.
Christmas 2010 is, so far, my happiest Christmas. I hope each Christmas will be the same, if not better. Cheers! :)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Cup of tea
Lately, I've been feeling what I dread every time I eat - I feel like throwing up after. I first felt this several months ago, and I thought it's just because of oily food, or eating something heavy after my stomach has been empty for so long. Or maybe I can no longer eat as much as I do before, so my packed lunch has shrunk in serving size, which is probably why my mom said I'm becoming slimmer (something I did not intend to do). When last week, I felt like throwing up again even if I didn't eat something oily, I kinda worried. Do I need to eat smaller amounts of food, smaller than it already is?
So I went to the doctor yesterday. The doctor asked to have my blood count checked. At the laboratory, the lady (nurse? lab person?) after having found the vein, pricked my right arm to extract blood. Nothing came out, and guess what she did next? She moved and moved the needle, trying to find my vein, while it's still inserted in my right arm. Ouch. It didn't hurt much though, but it stung! Like hello, she could've pulled that needle off my arm first when she couldn't find that freakin' vein! When she finally did, she stepped out of the extraction room after saying that we'll do another try. Then, another lady came in. She asked me from what arm usually does my blood get extracted from. I told her it's from the left (the first lady didn't ask me that. She could've asked me pala, instead of just moving that freakin' needle when she couldn't find the vein). So there. She inserted the needle in my left arm, and out came the blood.
I'm going back on Friday for the results. The doctor asked me if I'm taking medications or something. I said I've been taking iron supplements since I was 15 because of anemia. He said if my blood count is okay and I'm not anemic, those iron supplements could be causing that I-wanna-throw-up feeling. I hope it's just that and nothing serious. I'm going back on Friday for the results.
Anyway, in the meantime, whenever I feel like throwing up, I turn to a cup of tea to help me keep the food down. It works, so I kept packets of jasmine green tea in my office cabinet.
So I went to the doctor yesterday. The doctor asked to have my blood count checked. At the laboratory, the lady (nurse? lab person?) after having found the vein, pricked my right arm to extract blood. Nothing came out, and guess what she did next? She moved and moved the needle, trying to find my vein, while it's still inserted in my right arm. Ouch. It didn't hurt much though, but it stung! Like hello, she could've pulled that needle off my arm first when she couldn't find that freakin' vein! When she finally did, she stepped out of the extraction room after saying that we'll do another try. Then, another lady came in. She asked me from what arm usually does my blood get extracted from. I told her it's from the left (the first lady didn't ask me that. She could've asked me pala, instead of just moving that freakin' needle when she couldn't find the vein). So there. She inserted the needle in my left arm, and out came the blood.
I'm going back on Friday for the results. The doctor asked me if I'm taking medications or something. I said I've been taking iron supplements since I was 15 because of anemia. He said if my blood count is okay and I'm not anemic, those iron supplements could be causing that I-wanna-throw-up feeling. I hope it's just that and nothing serious. I'm going back on Friday for the results.
Anyway, in the meantime, whenever I feel like throwing up, I turn to a cup of tea to help me keep the food down. It works, so I kept packets of jasmine green tea in my office cabinet.
My cup and my tea
Thanks for this tea I haven't thrown up in the office after eating. I don't want that to happen, because I might not make it to the washroom and just leave a mess on the floor (eew!). And to my dear stomach, please keep the food down. I seriously want to eat without worrying that I might throw up after. And I want to enjoy eating. Okay? Work with me, please. :)