2006 year-ender, 2007 year-starter

candid shots courtesy of the trickmeister

"life is beautiful.
always strive to look at it from the right angle."

she tagged me, so i have to do this...

What did you do in 2006 that you’ve never done before?
dragon-boat rowing. tinikling. whitewater rafting.

What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
normal weight.

What date(s) from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
january 8, 2006. clear affirmation of a regained friendship. i was so taken by surprise, i almost fell off my seat.

february 5, 2006. ikot ride misadventure. painful and embarrassing.

february 12, 2006. bisaya bloggers' get-together in sta. mesa. we went inside a brickhouse sooooo grand that we ended up thinking we've reached europe via LRT and jeepney!

may 20, 2006. dragon-boat rowing and amazing (race) saturday adventure with the bisaya bloggers.

august 19, 2006. white-water rafting. high five!

october 15-16, 2006. corregidor trip with malinta tunnel nighttime exploration.

september 29, 2006. milenyo experience.

december 9-10, 2006. higgle-haggle adventure in divisoria and greenhills... with a sidetrip to mall of asia.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
productive juggling... juggling work, acads, books, movies, travel&adventure, family&friends...

What was your biggest failure?
i lost my cool and had a really nasty word fight with my sister last november after she complained about the shadow that i cast on her / on them.

What was the best thing you bought?
for myself, an iPaQ with biometric analyzer at a bargain price (yey, eBay worked for me!) and a nice pair of black tribu sandals.

for another person, 1:10 F1 RC race car.

Did you suffer illnes or injury?
kaayo! i fell off the ikot jeep, remember?

Whose behavior merited celebration?
mine... (how self-absorbed, eh?)

What did you really, really get excited about?
white-water rafting and malinta tunnel nighttime visit... unparalleled thrill factor!

What songs will always remind you of 2006?
seasons of love (from the musical RENT, the movie version of which was released last year). it's more-than-a-decade-old song with beautiful lyrics and lively melody.

sarangeengayo (OST of goong a.k.a. princess hours, in korean at that). blame my goong addiction for this!

boom tarat tarat. pffft! enough said.

Compared to this time last year, I am…
more relaxed.

What do you wish you’d done more?
traveled home more times than i actually did. acquired and read more books. watched more movies. wrote more.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
procrastination

How many one-night stands?
ewwww... i don't engage in such things.

What was your fave TV program?
only you during early part of 2006. princess hours during the late part of 2006.

What was the best book you’ve read?
this is hard. i can't choose among love in the time of cholera (gabriel garcia marquez), one hundred years of solitude (gabriel garcia marquez), by the river piedra i sat down and wept (paulo coelho), and eleven minutes (paulo coelho).

What was your greatest musical discovery?
that it's possible to sing both anak and theme from a love story in a rough way and they'd still sound good.

What was your fave film of the year?
march of the penguins. i adore those penguins.

What did you do on you bday, and how old were you?
party with the clan. i turned 24.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
more of the usual... except that they were mostly in pink and yellow.

What kept you sane?
juggling.

Which celebrity figure did you fancy the most?
shin-goon! he's a fictitious celebrity figure. again, blame my goong addiction.


todo na 'to!
at first you won't root for him because he's damn cold but, as he starts to suffer pangs of jealousy and his sensitive side unfolds, his character starts to grow on you.

and, well, if you see him beaming that way, you get reminded of "happily ever after" possibilities for him and his princess. kilig! what more if you throw in his teddy bear... awww, very cute.

What political issue stirred you the most?
raul gonzales. he is a political issue himself. gawd, why is he still in the payroll?

Who did you miss…in Manila?
this question confused me. when i was in manila, i kept missing my family and some friends. when i came home to iligan, i missed the friends that i left there.

Who was the best new person you met?
kuya edward, the one who guided us through the laterals and sub-laterals of the malinta tunnel in corregidor... in the sense that he had this aura of being down-to-earth and very accommodating.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
nurture!

What was the nicest thing someone told you about yourself?
weng: "all of the universe conspired so you'd have something to fight for. you can, that's why"

The most touching experience you’ve had this year?
i can't decide which of these tops the rest:

getting an unexpected call from my mother last july because she missed me -- she called at a time when i was also thinking of calling her.

a good friend took time off from work just to attend my thesis defense -- it was unexpected because i didn't ask for it.

a shower of unexpected kindness from people i encountered in my most dreaded place, the airport.

notice that the experiences which i consider touching are all unexpected.

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2006 and change something, what would it be?
if i could go back to that time when i got so drunk that i couldn't remember a thing, i'd manipulate circumstances so i could have an independent recollection of my most bangag moments.

What are your plans for 2007?
secret! that will do.

How are you different now that the year has ended?
older and wiser and stronger... and crazier?

What are your wishes for the new year?
a new work environment. more happy doses. world peace?

wanna be tagged? worry not, you're tagged! you have to do this, too. ;-)