2009 in retro

i'll sum up my 2009 with a prayer.

Thank you Lord. For everything, this year. For taking care of me and my family. For answered prayers and fulfilled wishes. For pleasant surprises and unexpected blessings. For blessing me with just the right amount of sunshine after a year of relative darkness. For drawing up a path for me, somehow. For bringing me to what could possibly be home. For letting the dust of recent years settle down in peace. For justifying my hopes. For, yet again, proving that blind, absolute faith in your goodness truly has its rewards (not that you really need to prove anything, of course). For graces that I may not deserve but you have given me, anyhow. For the little things that made my life happy in 2009, for the joys of a contented simple life. For moments of enlightenment and paradigm shifts. For peace and calm, inside and out.

For 2010, i promise to do more. to try to grow and be more. to be there more often, to pay it forward. to do more, not only for myself, but for others. those whom i love and would give anything for. those who would need my help, in one way or another.

that out of the way, let's move on to the standard year-long survey (grabbed from fb):

1. What did you do in 2009 that you've never done before?

- went to ilocos norte. took my cat for professional studding. went to boystown. revised a week's worth of scripts. directed a tv-style kind of drama on a two-cam setup. wrote for a primetime soap. took writing seriously. took my savings account seriously. provided for my family in ways that have actual bearing. had my legs waxed for the first time. haha!

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

no resolutions last year. hate breaking promises to myself.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

- my keanna! dalawang beses syang nanganak last year! landi ng baby ko!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

- thank god, wala naman. knock on wood.

5. What countries did you visit?

- wala. sana next year meron!

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

- nothing tangible. basta alam na yun ni god :-)

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

- the usual. april 25, my birthday (nasa isang hotel ako noon with my co-writers, simultaneously trying to get drunk and write a script for b0yst0wn). december 31, anniversary namin ng bosobear kong tabachuychuy (january 1 namin sinelebrate, with the usual stressful star city rides).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

- by stroke of luck (and the kindness of friends), i got a chance to be a writer for TV. k@torse was my ultimate adventure for 2009. and for the first time nga, sineryoso ko na ang pagpu-put-up ng savings account.

9. What was your biggest failure?

- i probably could have learned more on the job. pero minsan i'd slack off. sana mas marami pa kong matutunan (not the emotionally-hard way, i hope!) sa 2010, twice or thrice as much as what i'd already learned in '09.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

- thank god, wala naman. knock on wood. nag-faint lang ako minsan. tapos flu nang matindi around mid-year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

- my MSI wind mini-notebook :-) 100% bought by me! (kasi yung isa kong laptop, hati pa kami ng tatay ko)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

- waterfowl. for a gift that i won't ever forget!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

- yung nag-massacre sa mga babae at media people sa maguindanao. napapamura ako each time i remember!

14. Where did most of your money go?

- taxi transpo, as always. expenses sa bahay.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

- little things. too many to mention!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

- t-shirt. tamis ng unang halik. i gotta feeling...that tonight's gonna be a good night!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter
iii. richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

- reading. watching more tv shows. traveling.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

- eating! smoking! procrastinating! spending!

20. How did you spend Christmas?

- at home, with family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

- been in love for a long time :-)

22. How many one-night stands?

- 0

23. What was your favorite TV program(s)?

- katorse. your song. hehe.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

- wala naman.

25. What was the best book you read?

- "reservation road", a christmas gift by friend beatlebum. just finished it tonight!

27. What did you want and got?

- a writing job. a stabler, peaceful, state of life. a stabler savings account.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

- sa dinami-dami ng napanood ko, wala akong matandaan. ano ba yun. so sad.

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

- i turned 29 on april 25, i was at the imperial hotel in a lock-in brainstorm with co-writers. when the clock struck 12 i was in front of my laptop, drinking smirnoff while trying to start my script. i succeeded in getting drunk but i didn't get any writing done!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

- probably a little more of what i've already been blessed with, but i'm not complaining. i'm grateful. (more money would've been ideal, but like i said...not complaining, lord! ty po!)

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

- same old. i chucked the skirts and shorts by last quarter of the year because i was gaining weight. ugh.

32. What kept you sane?

- family and friends. god. love.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

- haha. si robi domingo! crush ko siya nang bongga for around three weeks yata!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

- maguindanao massacre. tapos yung ondoy. hindi siya political, though. pero kasi taga-marikina ako.

35. Who did you miss?

- my Dream Team friends.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

- my current writing workmates. the pc people.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:

- Blind, absolute faith will see you through! Claim it and it will be yours! :-)