2008's Most Memorable: A New Year's Day Post

Jason Mraz - "Live High"

I don't have statistical data to prove this, but I bet that most people in their early 20's worry about turning the big 25. There's just something about that age - a quarter of a century, 1/4 of a hundred years! - that gets people asking life- and self- defining questions: "What have I done with my life so far?", "What now?", "Am I doing this right?"

My turn at freaking out at 25 has yet to come (and I look forward to it in 2010...right), which is why I was very surprised at how turning 23 this year gave me a very strange feeling...and got me thinking about "my age". I never worried about "my age" before, to be honest - I always thought it was nothing but a number. The year I turned 21 was a year of twisted abandon fueled by unrestrained youth. At 21, the world is at your feet, and well, all you wanna do is have fun and party, really, so you could care less about the number that goes before "years old" in your resume/social network profile. And it's such a great, fun age to begin with - people look forward to turning 21, so what was there to be bummed about?

Then there was the year I turned 22, and it was pretty much a continuation of the previous year, kind of like a sequel. Of course, there were already hints of the "growing up" that was about to take place in the near future, but the parties and the crazy friends and the alcohol helped brush that aside.

Fast forward to 2008, the year I turned 23, and things were a little different. There was work, and a driving desire to prove that I was worthy of my position, to prove to myself that I could get the job done, and I could get it done right. Work was no longer just work, it wasn't just that daily chore that paid the bills: "work" became "career" and "career" became an important - though not the sole and primary - aspect of my life, and who I was. Of course, right before that, on the same year, I questioned my work, asked myself why I was really doing it - the phrase "corporate sell-out" comes to mind when I recall those moments. Thankfully, I gained a bit of enlightenment on that matter late this year.

There was also the matter of goals and commitments - I wanted to do something I wasn't obliged by anybody else to do. I wanted to start something that was mine, wanted to commit to something that I could honestly say started because I triggered it. The cause didn't have to be something serious or world-changing - I was taking it slow. I just wanted to prove that I would be able to commit to something long enough so that it could grow and have a life of its own.

Of course, I'm happy to say that fragments (maybe even chunks) of my pre-23 year-old self still remained this year, from the crazy friends, the parties, the twisted abandon of youth. I'd like to think there will always be that part of me, whatever my age is. But 23 is definitely a turning point - and it took me by surprise because I hadn't muddled over turning 23 at all, until it was right in front of me. I always thought 25 was the big number, the earth-shattering, life-altering, make-or-break, existential crisis-laden year! So you can imagine my surprise at how 2008 turned out.

Don't assume it's been a depressing, dramatic year though - it was actually a FANTASTIC year! Different, but fantastic nonetheless, and now the "fantastic" had a bit more meaning to it.

On to the 23 most memorable moments and people that made 2008 an awesome year, in no particular order:

1. Surviving my 1st Revalida. A personal, character-building milestone I won't soon forget, but it's only Part 1.

2. My Sales Stint! This year I got to come back home and live in Batangas when I was assigned to South Luzon. Afterwards, I moved to Pampanga when I was assigned to North Luzon. There were a few weeks when I was eating lunch at a carinderia everyday, riding a van past fields and other images of provincial life that got me wondering why we have to make our lives so complicated. Someday I think I'll prefer that kind of life, but I'm not ready to give up the crazy one I'm living right now just yet. Those van rides and long drives made for some good memories, though.

3. My first car! Technically it wasn't mine, it was a company car assigned to me. But nevertheless, I had a lot of good memories in that car - all the road trips, the places we went to, all the times I got lost, all the songs I played in that car on my long drives, and I miss it so! I'm very much looking forward to my next one next year, fingers crossed!

4. My Dumaguete-Siquijor Trip. Thanks to Cebu Pacific, I scored a pair of tickets that would let me fly anywhere in the Philippines, and I chose peaceful and quaint Dumaguete as my destination, with a side trip to Siquijor.

5. All the Road Trips! Puerto Galera with Edell and Mabz at the start of the summer, Tagaytay with the entire Gang (except Carlo), and my "cultural" trip to Pampanga, again with Edell and Mabz. Good conversation, memorable one-liners, and great places to visit - there's no other way to go on a road trip than with friends.

6. Twilight Coven Philippines!The site was born in April and from 1-3 members, we're now up to over 800 in our forums and a good thousand in Multiply, and the site has received nearly 200,000 page views! Even though the movie kind of sucked and the series has gotten all mainstream, I'm glad I was a part of the craziness around Twilight because it was super fun, and I got to meet a lot of great people because of it!

7. The Cagayan De Oro - Camiguin - Bukidnon Trip with the Echoes! Could be the most adventure-filled trip of the year. White water rafting, sliding off rocks, jumping off cliffs and rappelling down a waterfall. That trip was just crazy fun, and I got to hang out and bond with J-Anne, Jon, Ayi and Nill. Until our next trip you guys!


8. The Panic at the Disco concert! Oh Brendon Urie and Ryan Ross, hehe. "Northern Downpour" was the highlight of that concert for me. Best concert of the year.

9. The Third Eye Blind Concert! Yes, it took place in Oktoberfest, the scariest event of the year, but you must understand that this was a tribute to the music of my adolescence, and since we got a good spot at the concert, away from the crowds, it was a pretty awesome night, all things considered.

10. Surviving my 2nd Revalida! Part two of the management training program, a very stressful ordeal, but it taught me a lot about perseverance and discipline. Now all I need to do is graduate! Please pray I make it!

11. My First Business Review Presentation. Which also took place the day Barack Obama got elected as the President of the United States. A career moment I won't soon forget, and a great way to start my stint back in Marketing.

12. The Saints and Sinners party! A crazy double birthday celebration with Mazie. Nothing makes me happier than to see all my friends in crazy Saint or Sinner costumes (from Tom Cruise in Risky Business to Juno to the Victoria Court logo), having pizza and beer, jello shots and other forms of alcohol, playing poker and having their pictures taken in front of a mugshot wall. Until next year friends!

13. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. First international trip with friends, and it was a great one! And very inexpensive! Where to next year you guys?

14. All the other trips I took this year! And there were plenty! 2008 might as well be known as The Year I Was Never Home because I really rarely was!

Finally, a shout-out to all the people who filled my 2008 with awesome-ness:

15. The CD and Marketing Teams at work. I met some great new people and developed new friendships all throughout this year, and I learned so much from you guys! A real big thank you for all the help and all the free lessons! To Pongy and Tine, the ates I never had! Thanks for taking me under your wing! :)

16. Twilight Friends! Especially the admins, Meann, Sheila and Mabz, and the other VIPs like Ronald, Echo, Jam, Gary (and Paul na rin! hehe), Caz, Tobbie, Rome et. al, you made 2008 a very entertaining year! If I had to pick one thing that makes me thankful I got into Twilight, meeting you guys trumps discovering the awesome-ness of Edward Cullen (and Eric Yorkie). You're THAT awesome! Haha!

17. The Echoes! Original and honorary members (like Alex, Jona and Bom, hehe!). Hehe. Honestly, work wouldn't be the same without you guys. And mostly, I wanna thank you because I was able to share the drama of revalida with people who truly understood what I was going through, because you guys were going through the same thing! Here's to more karaoke nights and the boys doing covers of 90's boyband music!

18. The Playpen Peeps! We didn't get to see each other as much as we did last year, but all the emails and rare get-togethers were great fun, and brought back memories of the good ol' playpen days. Let's try to see each other more often in 2009!

19. This year's travel buddies, Saints and Sinners!Good times were had, alcohol was consumed, and there was fun, fun, fun all around. Thanks you guys for making my life crazy and hilarious...until next year!

20. My family. For the constant support and love. :)

21. The IMC Peeps! Nadez, Bert, Jen, Nina, Shars, Kate, Luann, Angel, Sam, Aspe, Arthur, kat, et al - we're all living different lives now, but I'm glad we still get to hang out and make fun of ourselves. I'll look forward to more of that in 2009!

22. My Two Best Queens!To the Ice Queen and the Queen of the Aborigines, Tiff and Ris: I'm glad that even though we live far apart we still manage to keep in touch and make each other laugh. All your emails and random phone calls and messages have been a treat - I really hope I can visit you next year!

23. Finally, to Aldous, Carlo, Anj, Carmz, Edz, Mabz, Maze, and Trish.The craziest gang a girl could ever have. Your one-liners and witty banter can rival the best episodes of Friends, and I love you guys for it. We've been friends for ages and it's still a blast! You guys totally rock :

Ok it's 11:21 pm and I have to post this now or else it won't be a New Year's entry anymore. To wrap it up, 2008 was pretty awesome, all things considered - actually, it was super awesome! And this growing up stuff, well, it's not all bad. Until next year!