2011 IN REVIEW, WORDPRESS & MINE

.los angeles.california.usa.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,200 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

I’m digging through the 2011 memory box in my brain to find something that I did in 2011 that I have never done before and I found these:

• book our trip to the Bellarocca Island, and my own trip to NY to meet up with Spidey. All my travels before were booked for me/us (out of gigs, or family gatherings, or the Kennedy program). I never had to go through the pain of reading reviews of hotels, budgeting airfares + accommodations + food, making reservations, etc. Ang sakit sa ulo. But it was fun, and hihinga ka talaga ng malalim pagnandun ka na.
• DRIVE IN THE USA! I have been going back & forth Manila-USA since 2005 and I have never ever, not even tried, driving here! I was always treated as a bisita, even when I was with my family, so it never really occurred to me that I should drive. Maybe I should’ve had. Then I wouldn’t have failed my driving test thrice.
• skateboarding through that steep ramp in the Venice’s skatepark. I had always let my fears get over me, and when I finally did it, my gawd, it was exhilarating!
• the thing that I abhorred most in my life and has vowed to never do: be in the workforce & get tied to a desk for 8 hours. I still don’t like it, but at this time in my life, I need it. So yeah, I work in an office, in a bank, graveyard shift & I look forward to it every night. (The mindlessness & monotony of what I do is therapeutic. It pacifies the chaos in my mind.)
• bag groceries. I have always wanted to try doing that coz it seemed fun to put together and organize all those stuff that varies in shapes & sizes (& temperature) in small bags. I have worked as a Vons.com shopper, and when my schedule there had overlapped with my schedule at the bank, I had asked to resign. But they didn’t want me to leave so they put me over at the front as a courtesy clerk, and so yeah I was able to experience bagging for a while! Heeee!
• wear colored contact lenses. Well, this was technically in the latter part of 2010, but I just want to put this in this list coz I feel that I am such a late bloomer in wearing colored lenses.
• (EDITED, how could I have forgotten??) getting married in a civil ceremony. <3

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I never ever had any new year’s resolution… but I will make one for this year. And that is to eat less meat & rice. For health reasons.

3. What do you wish you’d done more of?

I wish I had spent more time teaching Tala her ABCs and 123s. I think she is behind other kids. But then, tita Rose told me that every kid excels in different areas. And I see that Tala is amazing with anything physical. I think she will be a stunt woman someday.

4. What do you wish you’d done less of?

I wish I’d feel less guilty about not teaching Tala her ABCs & 123s. Kids are kids. They will learn what they want to learn. Though I have not focused on her in teaching things, I have seen how very independent she has become. Most of the things she writes & draws are out of her own willingness to do it. She is sometimes picky with food, but she knows when & how to tell anyone of us here at home what she wants to eat. She knows that she wants ballet and not hip hop. Most of all, I see her love for animals, no matter how big or small and I could see how she would play and take care of them.

I don’t want to be pressured anymore about not putting her in gym or art class (she had attended one art class, but she was way too advanced). I’ll take it from my sister Rio who never put my nephews Marcus and Allen to preschool, but are both doing good in school now and are active in chess & karate.

5. What was your greatest musical discovery?

None. Music and I are on a break.

6. What did you want and get?

Rarrrrr!!!

I have always wanted a Wrangler Jeep. But since we got a kid & some hobbies, I’ve settled for something bigger… and I love it!

I gave Sheena the privilege to name him, and she baptized him as “Blake.” I was like, nah, that sounds gay. So until now, my Jeep has no name. But I think I’ll call him “Puti” (White in English). Coz I’m feeling that mine and my Spidey’s vehicles will come in different colors.

7. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I honestly do not remember what happened on my birthday. Seriously… I guess I was caught up in the turmoil of my moving here as I was about to leave in a couple of days. And that was more eventful than my birthday.

And I stopped counting when I turned 25. Seriously.

8. Most favorite person/s I met

My Athletic Garage family especially the Neon Pandas! Neon Panda is the name Timothy coined for the 2011 AG Scholars. He was one of the 5 original scholies, but he got replaced by Bekah coz he had to work . These girls are so amaaaazing!

• Gerry is an American-Chinese who I got along with so well coz we have a loooot in common. First off, she is an Aquarius too! She doesn’t like wearing make-up, and we both don’t understand why girls have to put it on heavy everyday. We both laugh at ourselves for giving expensive gifts to others but buying cheap, sometimes, 2nd-hand stuff for ourselves. We like to try out new dishes. We have the same views about life in general that I can talk to her about anything for hours!
• Hannah, a Korean-American, is my own personal Barbie doll. She makes me laugh so hard because she would always change clothes in the middle of the class. One time, she totally changed outfit like 3 times! Haha! I can understand her coz it’s really better to be dancing if you’re wearing nice outfit in class, especially if you constantly have to look at yourself in the mirror. She also has a platinum blonde hair.
• Taylor is black, and because of her I want to be black in my next lifetime. Hahaha! I just looove her vibe. She is so bubbly and so sunny that you wouldn’t see that there are a lot of sh*t going on in her life. She knows how to hadle sh*it! I told her that I will be taking her autograph before the scholarship’s up because I know she will become so big someday.
• Bekah is also one of the reasons I want to be black. Omg, this girl just only turned 18 but she dances like way beyond her age! She is amazing in all styles of dance, from jazz to hip hop to salsa. And she can also sing! She is our own Eryka Badu. Her voice is sooo soulful. She is sooo soulful, I guess that’s why she sings and dances that way. And one nice thing about her is that she is way too humble. You’d meet her and look at her and think that she is just one of those run-off-the-mill girls but she will totally blow you away when you see her dance or hear her sing. I will also get her autograph.

9. Best destination

Bellarocca Island in Marinduque because it provided a temporary respite during a chaotic time in my life this year, i.e. moving to the USA.

10. Best accomplishment for 2011

Doing a triple pirouette.

11. My blooper of the year

Crying in front of Allstars (during a meeting in Vegas). I shouldn’t have explained why & how and what I feel about leaving, moving to the US. Some things are meant to be taken as it is. You don’t owe anyone any explanation for any small/big decisions that you make in life. It will be up to them if they get it or not. And I shouldn’t have said that I would always check each and everyone of their Facebook page just to tell them that I miss them. Coz it was not true. I do miss them, but not to that point. Sometimes, we do say things out of the heat of the moment. Some of them know this, so I don’t really care if they read this. I still love them nonetheless.

12. What are your goals/plans for 2012

• go out of the country (out of the USA/Philippines).
• go back to school, although I’ll play it by ear with this one coz I will see if I’ll be dancing more this year… and that brings us to my 3rd goal–
• do at least one really big LA gig
• write more (notebook or blog), read more and less tambay on online networking sites
• learn at least one skateboarding skill
• continue my waacking/punkin’ training with Angel after I’m done with the scholarship
• go to church more
• buy a lot of batteries… in case the Myan prophecy comes true

13. People you are thankful for

• my parents for putting up with my quirkiness… and for taking care of Tala because Jhong is in the Philippines, and I am busy working/dancing
• my sisters Rio & Sasa for helping us settle comfortably in the US
• Jhong for taming me. And for being, still, my lover, partner & best friend after all that we’ve been through
• Jhong’s family for being amazing
• Tala for always cracking me up
• Paolo Alcedo for inspiring me to continue dancing, thus rekindling my fire
• Sandy, our “mother” at the Athletic Garage, for giving me a chance to audition and be part of the scholarship even if I was overage. And for not kicking me out because of my absences due to and out of motherhood & work.
• my bosses (at Von’s, my first job, and my current job at the bank) for seeing my hardwork & my willingness to learn. I think Dorothy is the coolest boss one can ever have!

14. 2012 Wish List

• DSLR camera
• Calvin & Hobbes collection
• new laptop, maybe an Apple Macbook  Pro so I can better practice editing photos & videos

Most of the gadgets I have are hand-me-downs or I got out of my prize money (laptop I got from my Hep Hep Hoooray cash prize, PAK!), so if no one gives me any of these this year, I’ll buy them! That’s one good thing about having a regular job, you can afford to buy stuff. I just recently acquired a TV. My mom bought it and I will pay her for 6mos. Ayos!

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Thank you Lord for 2011…
Hello 2012!!! Let’s get to know each other! )

Ang sarap ng bagong taon, parang feeling ng bagong sipilyo, bagong bukas ng rolyo ng tissue, parang amoy ng bagong gupit na damo, o ng bagong biling libro, feeling ng bagong gupit na kuko, kasing init at bango ng bagong lutong pagkain, at kasing sarap ng unang halik. (Sorry, all these are better said in tagalog, haha! Use translate.google.com/ if you don’t understand.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! ♥ \m/,