I made 2012 happen.

The title sounds a bit too arrogant, maybe? Well, I chose it because this year, 2012, has been dubbed as my "Make It Happen" year. :D

If 2011 was a year of going through the motions, 2012 was about seizing the moment and taking chances, of jumping off cliffs and diving headfirst into the water. Not literally, though. At least not yet. ;)

This year...

I welcomed the New Year on top of the world.

All my life, I've celebrated the coming of the new year with my family. But I guess there's always a first for everything.

Sometimes, we just have to make the most out of what we're given, even if things aren't the way we wanted them to be. My co-pharmacists and I went up to Mountain View just before midnight struck, and it was right there--while watching as the sky lit up with glorious fireworks--that I realized that wherever in the world we may be, we are still under the same sky. We can never be too far.

I signed my regularization contract at Chong Hua Hospital.

Time flies when you're having fun. Yes, work has been exasperating, exhausting, and really draining on chosen days, but I'm happy. This job gives me just the right mix of familiarity to keep me levelheaded and uncharted territories to make sure that I never stop seeking knowledge. Everyday is a challenge to be conquered. :)

I completed my Project 365.

Day 356 - 07.22.12: Coz I remember every sunset.

If you don't know by now, I have a flair for the overdramatic. I wrote (passionately) about the completion of my 365 here. It was such an amazing journey, and long after I finished the project, there were days when I would fret about not having taken a photo only to remember that it's over. I guess it's a proof that a habit really is hard to break, especially if it's been something you look forward to everyday.

I celebrated the beauty of heartwarming Sunday mornings.

A year's worth of Sunday notes.

On Sundays, regardless of how many hours of sleep I get, I wake up with a smile. On Sundays, I magically turn into a morning person. Never had I been this eager before. But in Him, I have found peace, I have found joy, and I never want to lose my way ever again.

I crossed vast oceans and chased splendid sunsets.

And everything was amazingly beautiful. I've gone whitewater rafting in Cagayan de Oro, ziplining in Bukidnon, cruising and watching fireworks in Davao, and finally, snorkeling in Puerto Princesa, and my wanderlusting soul had sighed happily in gratitude. Of course, I will never stop longing to getaway, but I feel so blessed to have been given the chance to see how infinitely amazing our country is.

On my 22nd birthday, I remember being so afraid that my first ziplining experience would be my last, leaving me forever 22. But it actually turned out to be a religious experience for me. It felt so magical to be suspended mid-air surrounded with nothing but beauty so perfect, so surreal that you could actually feel God's love wrap itself around you. And I hung there wide-eyed and completely awestruck by His magnificence.

Dahilayan Adventure Park, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.

The Philippine Eagle Center, Davao City.

Underground River, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Starfish Beach, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

I have a newfound love.

Last September, albeit very unwillingly and only after much coaxing from my friend Kristi who was joining numerous fun runs by then, I started running. Everybody was surprised--including myself--that I would actually enjoy it. I did. I do. It gives me a unique sense of freedom. It makes me feel like I'm flying.

11.25.12: Silk Air Fun Run, Ayala Center Cebu.

10.14.12: Pink (Breast Cancer Awareness) Run, Ayala Center Cebu.

And then there were the little moments, so easy to overlook. Like singing my heart out during the concert of one of my favorite bands. Having random reunions with my college batchmates. Enjoying a heavenly cup of peppermint mocha before heading off to work. Or even replying to my mom's I love yous at the end of a tiring day.

Because my 2012 is not made up of months, or seasons. It's made up of moments, of seconds, and I'm thankful for the 31,622,400 seconds I've been given this year to hope, to dream, to make things happen.

And if I could sum up how I've been, how I've felt this year, it would be this: beyond blessed and indescribably grateful. I truly am. I may not have been given everything I wanted, and there are things I long for that I might never acquire, but I can get by. I have everything I need and so, so much more.

Because it's His love that keeps me going, day after day, 365 days a year, 366 days a leap-year. And I just can't wait to see the heights and depths He'll be taking me to this 2013. ♥

Let's sing "Merry Christmas."

Today I woke up to thoughts of my family, particularly my dad.

I could begin this post with a complaint about being stuck in a place far from the warmth and comfort of home. I can further rant that unlike normal people with normal jobs, I have to work on Christmas Day. I could, but I won't.

Because I'm grateful.

For a hundred million things, I am grateful.

For I have come to learn that Christmas turns our mourning into dancing. That Christmas means smiling in times of sorrow. Christmas means not getting what you want but being thankful anyway. Because Christmas is not about us, it's not about selfishness. It's beyond the meticulously wrapped presents we exchange, the extravagant parties we attend, the joyful carols that we sing. It's about Him loving us, us loving Him, us loving one another, and the hundred million miracles that are bound to happen because of the existence of that great love.

Merry Christmas everyone! ♥

12.21.12

I've always been skeptical about the 12/21/12 "prediction", and we can now laugh about the ridiculousness of it all. Still, I can't help but feel so blessed to be alive, safe and sound right this moment. ♥

12.12.12

12:12PM

"Make a wish," they said, but I was too busy making it happen.

Early Morning Incoherence

It always starts with a non-threatening "hello."

For years now, I had been psyching myself into deleting my old blog and all its awkwardness, but I just couldn't press that final button. It was, after all, 4 years worth of genius (and not-so-genius) moments and reflections.

Fast forward to Friday last week when I received an email from Multiply which suggested that I preserve all my content from my account, and all I could think was, "Oh my gosh, this is it. I'm finally letting you go."

The universe steals away what we cannot willingly give away, I guess. So goodbye, Multiply. For real this time. :')

Little Victories

From usually being an anticlimactic month, November turned out to be an interesting jumble of memories for me this year. There are memories I would recall with such heart-clenching longing, while there are others I could've lived without.

But life is a two-way street. I'm grateful not only for everything I've gained, but for everything I lost as well. Because loss and defeat give us pain, and pain builds character. Pain makes us stronger.

Amidst living in a world that believes in the survival of the fittest, a world where one is measured by his successes, I have come to learn that I could live with failure--that I don't have to win every race, just those races that matter. :)

If nothing else, I'll always have Sundays to look forward to. ♥

It's foreign on this side, but it feels like I'm home again.

Listen.

Puerto Princesa, 2012

Jetsetter

My heart aches to wander, aches for that feeling you get when you take the first step towards your own personal New World. That feeling of trying to capture every single curve, every single angle, every single hue of what you see around you like a baby opening his eyes for the very first time.

I think that the moment we set our feet somewhere, we become a part of that place, and it becomes a part of us. That even when we leave, a fragment of ourselves gets left behind, leaving us forever longing, resembling a jigsaw puzzle that misses a piece.

Hence the ache.

Hence the endless search for the missing piece.

Hence the urge to getaway. Again.

Davao, 2012

November

"Sometimes you have to forget what's gone, 

appreciate what still remains, 

and look forward to what's coming next."

                    - Anonymous

One year and six months to go ~

So she ran away in her sleep.

That amazing moment when you're running and you close your eyes for a second, take a deep breath, take a leap, and suddenly you feel like you're flying. ♥

Beyond Blessed and Indescribably Grateful

“If the only prayer you said 

in your whole life was

thank you,

 that would be enough.” 

― Meister Eckhart