first and foremost, a belated merry christmas to everyone. i’m sure most of you are still recovering from the binge that was the countless christmas parties and the midnight christmas meal. but there’s still new year’s celebration, so don’t go huffing and puffing your way back to the gym anytime soon. relax, you have the right to indulge. so go crazy.

 

with barely 24 hours left until 2010 ends, i decided to do a quick year-end write-up (like what i’ve done in previous years) to look back how the year that was from my personal point of view. it has been said numerous times that before you look ahead, you must know where you came from. so whether be it achievements or challenges, smiles or sadness, triumph or defeat, laughter or tears, monotony or surprises, 2010 had them all.

 

i would say that 2010 was the year i started to take my physical fitness seriously. actually, i had it planned last christmas that i’d really start losing weight come january. i weighed myself one last time on january 3 and i was at 198lbs. i weighed that much weeks before and it dawned on me that i’ll be reaching 200lbs soon if i don’t do something about it. “discipline and focus” was my mantra whenever i started my daily two-hour jog-walk sessions. i didn’t use my ipod, thinking that it’ll just keep me distracted. i know, i love music, but i felt that music in the background will just tire me out, so i had to utilize my full concentration on the task at hand. my goal: to reach 160lbs before the year ends. so for five days a week, i would sweat it out. the first few weeks were painful to say the least. muscles and joints hurt like they never hurt before, a way of resisting my new found drive. but, in time, my body adjusted to the routine and i’d be feeling better every time i finished those two hours. add to that, a significant reduction to my food intake. i lowered my meal consumptions by at least 50 percent, and took out rice at dinner time. either i’ll just have a sandwich, a fruit, or no dinner at all. i have lost 20lbs come the month of may, and another 10 more by september. unfortunately, when i decided to stop jog-walking for the year a week before christmas, i was only at 165lbs. admittedly, i eased back from my routine during the last couple of months, a crucial mistake on my part. though i did lose a significant amount of weight, a goal is a goal. i realized that if you’re happy with not reaching your goal, then don’t set a goal at all. maybe some of you would say, “at least you came close to your goal. that’s something in itself.” no. being second best is not acceptable. whatever the case may be. that is why i’m starting 2011 with an all-or-nothing mindset. more on that on my first entry for 2011. but, with the goal i didn’t reach for this year, i only blame myself. yes, i acknowledge that i’ve lost weight, but i won’t overly dwell on that. it’s still a fail.

 

2010 also was the first time the country had it’s elections for president wherein president arroyo was stepping down. i openly campaigned for senator richard gordon, believing that he was (and still is, in my book) the best man, the right man to be president. sadly, the thinking and educated man’s vote was overwhelmed with a sure-bet, showbiz-influenced, easy-name-recall, and sympathy-for-a-recently-deceased-parent vote. there’s nothing much to say about the one sitting in malacañang right now. i have no faith and belief in him whatsoever, he’s a lame-duck president with stupidity personified; and if an opportunity to leave the country to work abroad presents itself, unlike before where i would stay, this time, i’d take it in a heartbeat.

 

this was also the year our country figured prominently on the world stage. when i say prominently, it doesn’t matter if it was in a good way or a bad way. you know us filipinos, whatever it takes to be front and center of the world’s attention, we’ll do it. you know in the vernacular, we’re really “lacking in attention.” it’s a given that the two wins by manny pacquiao in the boxing ring (three if you count his absurdly win in the congressional elections) takes the cake. i mean, the man is just that damn good and throws that powerful of a punch. he’s not an 8-division champ for just nothing; he rules the boxing ring, period. but that doesn’t mean that i like him (sorry, i really had to put that one in). but what’s more uplifting is the win by our football team against defending champion vietnam in the AFF suzuki cup which earned a place in the semi-finals. football was never seen the same again by filipinos and finally, the sport has the attention of mainstream fans. how will the mostly half-breed football players (who, i think don’t have the initiative to speak the local language) handle the newfound spotlight on them remains to be seen. then there’s the what’s-up-with-the-over-exposure-and-attention finish by “venus” raj in the miss universe pageant (sorry, i really have to put the quotation marks in between her name simply because when we say venus, it means beauty; but with how she looks, i don’t think she’s worthy of that name; ugh). she finishes fifth and the country goes gaga over it? reality check: you’re there to win, that’s spelled W-I-N, no excuses. well, maybe her not getting the crown is worth it. after all, i think i couldn’t stand seeing the sight of her being miss universe. eww. from one tragedy to another, the manila bus hostage crisis was another event that our country was thrust into the world’s spotlight. our inept, cowardly, ill-trained police just showed mankind how not to engage a hostage taker. hopefully that event AND display of stupidity didn’t convince terrorists that it’s open season on the country. and lastly, there’s our local female version of justin bieber named charice appearing on the US hit tv series Glee (okay, maybe she’s not half-bad as jb). many thought that she’ll be there the entire season. good thing it was only one episode. i don’t like the series, never liked it, and will never like it. period. there are, of course, under-the-radar recognitions of filipino films in foreign movie festivals which, ironically are not shown here because they’re either too “talky” or controversial. sad. very sad.

 

on a more personal note, 2010 was the year i set foot on boracay island for the first time ever.  thanks to an aunt and a visiting cousin from germany who invited me to tag along, it turned out to be the most memorable vacation i’ve had in years.  the place is simply breathtaking.  spending five days there felt like it wasn’t enough.  snorkeling and fish feeding was the wholesome highlight for me.  seeing the diverse species of fish all around me and eating the bread off my hand made me appreciate mother nature more than ever.  though i didn’t get the chance to meet and flirt with women during the everyday nightlife we went to when we were there, the eye candy was just aplenty.  and of course, the food!  buffet offerings left and right, plus the fresh seafood for the picking and having it cooked before your eyes, it’s every foodie’s dream come true.

 

the year also became one of the most trying times for me and our family.  what we thought was just a simple sickness turned out to be a three-week, two hospital confinement for my mother.  it turned out to be a severe case of pneumonia.  the images of my mom vomiting blood while having difficulty breathing, as well as how she was when she was transferred in the ICU of the hospital will forever be burned in my mind.  the feeling of helplessness and not knowing whether she’ll make it or not hounded me for most of the time.  yet with our immediate and close relatives and family’s support and prayers, sh
e was able to make a full recovery and is feeling better than ever.  that ordeal also helped the relationship between me and my mom become closer, and having that result is always a good thing.

 

this year will also be remembered for a popular radio station closing down.  NU107 has been the hotbed of local rock and alternative acts and helped boost the band scene in the country.  but alas, lack of sponsors due to the genre and format not being catered to the masses (which it stupidity personified) became it’s demise.  hordes of fans that gathered around the radio station in it’s final hours of broadcast became a testament of it’s popularity among the real, upright listeners who won’t take cheesy, gutter-trash humor, and degrading, humiliating manner of being a disc jockey; and of course, who are listening to real music.  here’s hoping that somehow, that kind of radio station would emerge again in the near future.

 

friendships come and go.  this year was no different.  i’ve lost some and made some; there are others that have been rekindled.  with how my professional career has been going lately, i’ve come to realize who my real friends are.  and i’m thankful for them more than ever.  there were those who just disappeared without even saying goodbye, others who slowly faded out of existence.  some kept promises, others treated promises like a piece of paper–made now, thrown later.  surprisingly–and in a good way–there are those who suddenly appear and it’s as if nothing had happened.  it’s good to rekindle lost friendships, but not always.  having experienced (again) losing friends made me think of whether or not to let it be rekindled again if the opportunity arises.  but more importantly, treasure those who stand by you and really be a friend through thick and thin.

 

in hindsight, i consider 2010 to be a not-so-good year. okay, if i would rate it from one to 10, with 10 being the best, i would give it a five. or even a 4.9. it’s not that the bad or negative things that happened to me this year outweigh the good ones, it’s more on how i did things.  or how things ended up for me.  or maybe things i missed out that could’ve made a difference. not that i wasn’t proud of my achievements, believe me, i am; but deep down inside, i know that i could’ve done things better and not settled for just mere results.  but as they say, the past is the past.  with the new year just hours away, all the baggage that came with the old one will be discarded as soon as the clock strikes 12 midnight.  and as always–with me being me–i’ll be welcoming 2011 with renewed optimism, a positive outlook, and a new attitude.  hope everyone else at least almost feels the same way as i do.  hey, i suppose we all agree on one thing:  to start the new year right.

 

have a safe and boisterous welcome to the new year!  😀