525,600 minutes
Being anal is my only redemption from an otherwise rather messy head of dreams, ideals and a dogged, overly optimistic attitude of one day being able to come up with at least one original idea that will benefit the world. Yes, I am that restless and sometimes that sure of myself. (pagbigyan nyo na ko) =)) So I bought myself a diary in November and laid out my plans for 2007 until I realized I haven’t even spanked myself for all the people I annoyed in 2006 hehe. This year has been free of heartaches but has not been without its share of anecdotes. What I managed to accomplish this year is nothing short of amazing… to me. I do not expect anyone else to drool over my humdrum existence, don’t worry. Nevertheless, it is my journal, which gives me the right to narrate whatever I want (sabi nga nila, hawak ko ang mic). This year has been extremely busy and yet very fulfilling. It is several times happier than 2005 and without the unsolicited characters anymore. Although I’m more and more feeling the pangs of homesickness, the fact that I have fully settled in p r a g u e. with my own support system and comfort zones in place – I do feel more at home. So if you should give me your kind indulgence, here is what I’ve been up to, especially during those times when I failed to update this grow box.
-I managed several short vacations, mostly in s p a i n .
One with babuy (that’s how my boyfriend and I call each other, and now his friends do too after they found out what it means) in Barcelona, one with Lynn in Madrid (plus a Copenhagen side trip where I met up with wonderful Mama Liezel) and one in Budapest with G, the longest being ten days and the shortest four. I have also taken special liking to traveling to Austria for wonderfully cheap and great Japanese food and Filipino patis, bagoong and sinigang mix, or to Legoland in Gunzberg and race with German cars in their no speed limit highways (mehn, orgasmic, even if it meant driving from 5-8 hours each time) or to Parndorf for the designer outlet. I haven’t been home and that hurts like crazy, though. Major booboo.
- I moved to another flat and became an expert in Ikea furniture mounting. Moving was a bitch. Looking for the new flat and moving took a lot of time and a lot of nerves.
- I did manage to finally snag my EU driving license and improve my Czech tremendously. I never really wanted to learn the language since my plans a couple of years ago did not include staying here for longer. I thought that I only needed enough Czech to be polite, to order food in a restaurant, to talk to the police if I get stopped, to small talk a bit, to not get lost or to cuss (joke)… but as I got surprised by several uninvited events in 2005, I chose to stay and thus I need to learn. As for Spanish I’m still on level 2, malamang na-trauma ako sa Czech dahil with it, I didn’t have any other language to derive from.
- I finally bought my first SLR camera and I hope that one project I am planning for the coming year pushes through. Most probably, I’ll update about it. The most interesting photo projects I was able to accomplish this year were two female nudes. Both of them were acquaintances and they fortunately liked the final product. Kabado ako the first time, pero it seemed that since I am also a girl, they both felt more comfortable doing it with me. The shoot, I mean. =) I have a couple more requests but I still haven’t had the time to do them. That was as far as I went with photography this year aside from a couple of out of town photo trips. And mostly that was because…
- I’ve been traveling a lot although not all the time for the pure satisfaction of my wanderlust. Our general manager resigned in March. All of his work was spread among us and thus they had to make sure that I had full training to manage some of the crap he left, additionally I had to meet with several different people to ensure that we are still fully capable even without him, myemye. Most of the year went by in a blur of airports, friendly cab drivers and mixed up currencies. I was not fortunate enough to be able to go around and be an annoying tourist. When I am home in p r a g u e , it’s a circus of business dinners, presentations and asking myself – ‘ano nga sinabi ko ulit kahapon?”. I was missing my usual battery recharging which I used to have from the home leave, I got a bit depressed around August. Isang malaki Huwaat? Marunong pala akong ma-depress. But in September when I attended some two week training in b r u s s e l s, I bounced back. The people were great and course put me back on track. Right now I’m quite happy with how the whole department is performing and I love my colleagues, but I still know that I want to and have to move soon. Since I’ve spent more time working this year, it also meant that partying was on an all time low, I did attend a couple of good ones this year with Armin Van Buuren, Lee Dagger, Martin Solveig and Paul Van Dyk playing. I’ve never really had a special fondness for pop star concerts but I would have given my arm (including the platinum on the broken one) for one Madonna concert ticket which was sold out on the first day the tickets were released. I like her for her sheer regal status, but mostly I want to see her before the pop icon melts into old age, because she will… even with all the kabala water and energy drinks she consumes.
- My two greatest achievements are as trivial as they are potentially amazing to people who know me well. I now know how to cook and I am not afraid of the kitchen anymore. Woohoo!!! I have to thank my boyfriend (for this award, echos) for being really supportive, for not counting the countless times I burnt rice (or other rather likely toxic substances I concocted in the kitchen) because I thought that while cooking, I can check my work emails or take a shower simultaneously. And to Gerard who has been my cooking buddy and closest friend here – he taught me the relaxing art of cooking a mean caldereta even when you’ve already had too much red wine before the pressure cooker goes toot. Now, I am able to jazz up pasta like a motherf… igure. Hehe. I can cook adobo, may gata man o wala and I can sautee like the devil can eat fire. Hehe *apir* On Mondays while W goes for football, I pretend to be a domesticated diva in a kitchen bitch apron. My next achievement is owed to the www for teaching me how to apply makeup and to another friend of mine here who relentlessly bought me makeup items until they eventually appealed to me because I didn’t want to put money to waste (if you’re stingy enough, people can make you do anything). Believe it or not, this is an achievement. In high school, I was the type who lost handkerchiefs and would go to school without blow drying my hair (well, I still do that now, but never in winter, kundi pulmonya aabutin ko). No I am not a pro (yet, hehe ilusyonada), but hey I can already keep my eyes open while I apply mascara and I don’t look like Manny P’s latest victim when I apply eyeshadow.
- I still haven’t gotten the platinum out of my arm from when I broke it last summer, kaya limitado ang physical activity. That’s another excuse if you’re counting. I usually just go for a swim or go dancing – so in salsa I’m already at level 4 … 5 is very advanced. I really just did salsa for the fun of it and mostly because I think there comes a time in your life when you’re just too old for hip hop –- when you go into a class and realize that everyone else is under fifteen (comedy) — and too lazy for something as strenuous as jazz. I still went for hiphop camp this year (long story) and noticed that everyone is getting younger, hehehe, I’m terribly old for sleeping in a tent or in the car. I’m supposed to learn snowboarding soon but since there is still no snow in most of Europe aside from the a l p s, my black-and-blues are still delayed.
- Now I’m really getting serious about getting the MBA, I’ve attended a couple of orientation sessions and I already received a GMAT book as a gift (lahat ng gifts ko useful). 2007 is really a deciding year, otherwise I might be too old for it.
O ayan, that was my 2006. The only thing I have been constantly aware of is how everyone seems to be getting married or having children, whichever. Minsan naiisip ko hindi kaya konti na lang e magra-rally na rin ang mga obaryo ko? I am sincerely happy for you guys but I can’t stop thinking how maybe I should too. Nah, maybe not. At this point in my life there’s still too many things I see in front of me, I just really want to be fair to my future children that I’m fully able to devote myself to them when they come (and hope they’re prepared for me too, goodlak).I hope that everyone had a great mix of new things, new people and new garbage to deal with in 2006. 2007 should be just as interesting as long as you keep your heart big and open and free for everyone… even when and if it gets trampled, believe me, hearts are wonderfully resilient, they can take anything you throw at them. Enjoy!
