Not a Bad Year After All Ü

My 2009 kicked off with a freaking dark cloud over it. Last January, a relationship that stood more than four years ended because of reasons any person won't be proud of. : ( February witnessed my thinnest physique, an aftermath of the January ordeal. March provided a pain-in-the-arse closure to what went floating for a couple of months. In April, we tried again but not a single thing got fixed, prompting a final break-up in June. I experienced stress that I never thought existed in my life's script. Peace of mind was so scarce. I lost one good person this year. I like to believe she lost two -- the person she was before, and me. Then again, that's just my opinion.

Now, the happy stuff. Ü I've been to a lot of places and events this year. By "a lot", I mean: Hot Air Balloon Fest in Subic, Flower Fest in Baguio, Anawangin Cove in Zambales, Intramuros tour, horseback-riding in Taal Volcano, another trip to Baguio, tried out the famous Empanada in Laoag, holy week road trip to Pagudpod, saw Kabigan Falls in Ilocos, saw the windmills in Bangui, visited some friends in Pangasinan, celebrated my mom's 50th birthday in Tagaytay, watched the Pacquiao-Hatton fight in Tagaytay Country Club, stayed in an office-sponsored hotel in Makati for some weeks, went to a lot of parties, dined in Zuni, People's Palace and Felix, ate in a floating resto in Loboc River, went crazy dancing in a floating stage in Bohol, went "crazier" dancing in Laguna : þ, rode an airplane for the first (second, third and fourth) time, saw Hinagdanan Cave in Bohol, went swimming in Bohol Beach Club, went swimming in the cheaper resort beside BBC : þ, saw Prony the insanely-huge-phyton-who-didn't-give-a-damn-about-us-being-in-his-cage-even-if-we're-acting-like-chicken, put a Tarsier on my head, saw Chocolate Hills, went to Magellan's Cross, went to a lot of churches in Cebu, rode the Edge Coaster up in the 38th floor of Cebu Regency Hotel, swam and jumped in Kawasan Falls, experienced Boracay, finished a whole 15-inch pizza in Cebu by myself, went to a Greece-like place in La Union, went to Baguio another time, went to Anawangin another time, scaled Mount Pundaquit, saw the Capones Lighthouse, did skimboarding a lot, played frisbee a lot, I also tried dragon boat rowing, among other things. I can go on all day with all the stuff that I did. Hehe. Ü I gained more cronies whom I drank troubles away with. I turned quarter-of-a-century this year. I discovered that I have this long list of real people around me. Ü Ties between my immediate family got stronger. I learned a lot about life and fun and plenty of cheesy stuff. : þ I got the chance to play with my favorite inaanak all day last Fathers Day. Ü I was given the chance to teach. I was given the chance to help charities through my passions. I was blessed with opportunities and resources to help my friends in need. I got promoted at work! Ü I got to go out with someone so dear and important to me. Mushy, I know. Hehe. Go away and create your own blog unsupportive readers! : þ

The icing on the cake? I have a pending US assignment before the year ends. I hope this one pushes through to cap off a surreal year chock full of necessary experiences. God is really good indeed. Ü