Tag Archives: goals

Dear Diary

Run, run, run!

February 21, 2010 marked the fulfillment of one of my declarations for 2010: I will run at least 5k in a marathon this year. Yep, I’m one of the 11,000+ people who joined the Century Tuna Superbods Run at Fort Bonifacio Global City.

I have to make it clear, though: 5k is not a marathon, so I should change that word. But it sounds cooler and more impressive…right? Then again, who’s impressing who?

But anyway. Last Sunday, some of my friends and I joined this humongous event, as seen in the photo above (that was actually after the run already). Originally, it was only me, Toni and Noel who was supposed to go there, but Gel joined in a few weeks later. I was kind of nervous about the race, especially the day before (when the four of us were also together to watch Rent) because I didn’t know what to expect. True, I’ve been practicing on the treadmill a lot, and once at the UP Oval, and I knew I could do 5k easily (or not so easily, but you know what I mean), but I still couldn’t help but feel the jitters. What if something happens, you know?

I shouldn’t have worried, really, because the race went by smoothly, at least for me. I didn’t have much expectations since it was my first race ever, plus I wasn’t really running to win or to beat a specific time — I was running to have some kind of record to break, eventually.

So there. It was a fun race, but there were so. many. racers. In 5k, specifically, which I heard were about 4,000 runners all in all? Wow. I was already on my way back when I saw some people still on their way at the half of the 5k route — man that’s a lot of runners. It was also kind of hard to really run because there were so many people around. It was kind of funny being at the start line at the gun start: everyone were just jogging up and down in their place until the person in front of them finally moved. Heh.

Sometime in the middle of the race, I started feeling some fatigue in my legs. That’s when I slowed down and just let people run by me. However, by the time I started running, the people in front of me were now walking, so hello elbows and cutting and all that!

I also wanted to have a “running finish”, but everyone in front of me were walking already so I walked too. I could have had a shorter time if I managed to run there…but I don’t mind.

All in all, I finished 5k in 43:50, according to the race results at the website. It’s not so bad, since I clocked around 39:27 at the treadmill when I tried 5k for the first time. At least I’m under 50 minutes, and I now have a personal record to beat. :D

And my overall ranking isn’t so shabby either: I’m #550 for the Female Division for 5k (out of 1711 runners) and #1729 for the overall 5k (out of 3706 runners). I’m still in the upper half, so it isn’t so bad. :)

Will I run again? Yes, I definitely will. I don’t know if I’ll really take this thing seriously, and invest in shoes and other stuff, but I will definitely join another race again. :) It’s fun, and it’s another way to exercise and be healthy (which reduces stress and hair loss), plus it’s a great experience. :D Who knows, I may be able to run 10k by the end of the year. :P I’m not closing any doors on that.

Oh and the best part about Sunday?

Wohoo!

Oh yeah. I’ll definitely run again. :P

Big, Fun and Scary Things, Dear Diary

2010 Declarations

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Ugh, I can’t find the Bible verse about this post just as when I need it. I know there’s got to be one about declarations in the Bible, but I can’t remember it. This is why I should read my Bible more often.

BUT ANYWAY. Hello, this is my fourth post for January 1, 2010, and I’m not quite tired yet. Which is just good because I still have another blog post and two articles to write. *sigh* No rest, no rest.

No, I’m not complaining.

So I’ve been pouring out “Yay, it’s 2010” posts in this blog just because I can, and this is the fourth one. I never had the time to do this a few weeks back because I was busy with work, workout and going out with friends, which just proved that I somehow have a life somewhere out there. Today I’ve holed myself inside the house, and it’s kind of nice to be back to this kind of routine, even just for today. That, and going out means the lingering firecracker smoke will trigger all my allergies and make me sick and I don’t want that for 2010.

But, I digress.

It’s time now to write down my 2010 goals, which I will call my 2010 Declarations. Why the name? A couple of days ago, some friends and I were chatting and we were talking about — haha don’t laugh — guys and dating. A friend said something about the topic and I agreed, and then she said, “Yes, let’s declare it.”

I have never read The Secret or anything that is related to the topic of focusing on your goals/dreams to make them come true, but I do believe in accountability and that the first step in making your dreams become reality is to write them down to where you could see it everyday. I also learned just recently that being specific and positive about your goals helps a lot too…so this year, I’m making my 2010 goals into specific, positive declarations in hopes of being able to achieve them this year. :)

So let’s start!

Continue reading 2010 Declarations →

Big, Fun and Scary Things, Dear Diary

2009 Goals: Looking Back

So, onto my third post for 2010. Hah. This is what I get for cramming. :P I will be spamming your RSS readers and overwhelming you with another one later, just because I feel like these two posts need to have one of their own. So…sorry for that. :D

It’s the first day of 2010, and it’s time to look back at my 2009 goals and see how I did last year. :)

BIG, FUN AND SCARY THINGS TO DO FOR 2009

  • Write a piece of fiction everyday for 2009. I lasted…for 78 entries, I think? I set up Wordplay just for this, and was going well for January, but February got me tired and cranky and stressed about this goal, until I finally gave up. I told myself I’d settle for 200 pieces, but I didn’t reach it either. I did try to write consistently for 30 days in this blog, but failed that because of Ondoy, too. I realize I should have gone down a smaller scale on this one. But I also learned that I can write stuff when I put my mind into it. :) I’ll still keep Wordplay up to put my shorter pieces in, so watch that every now and then. :)
  • Lose at least 3 inches and/or 20 pounds. I am proud to say that I did this! Okay, I don’t think I lost 3 inches, but I did lose 20 pounds — from 154lbs (haha surprise), I’m now down to 134lbs! I’m really happy about this, but I’ve got a long way to go — 10lbs to go on my overall weight, and still a bit on the total body fat, but I’ve started on it, and I’m happy. I’ve never felt so good physically and I can’t believe it took me this long to do this. :) So yay for this one. :)
  • Finish my 2008 Novel. So I didn’t get to do this, either, but I got started. I promise to get this done this year. :D
  • 100 Nanowrimo winners for our region in 2009! This is was one thing I didn’t really have any control over, but we tried. It was a difficult year for the region, but if it’s any comfort, the region doubled this year. It should be easier to get to 100 winners next year, right? :)
  • Read 50 books in 2009. Another yay! I reached 50 books by the third quarter of the year, I think? I finished a total of 70 books last year, which is probably the most I’ve read in an entire year. :) I didn’t get to read 50 classics, but I finally finished Pride and Prejudice! :)
  • Watch 25 movies in 2009. I’m proud of this one, too. :) I got to 44 movies last year, which is the most I’ve watched in an year, too. 13 of that were watched in the cinema, and I look forward to watching more this year. ;) My movie buddies and computer’s video card better be up to it. :D
  • Travel. Batangas, Hong Kong and Palawan, check! :)
  • Bake a double layer cake and/or apple pie. Unfortunately, I took time off from baking this year. Plus Ondoy threw us out of whack again, and I lost some of the ingredients to the flood. :(
  • Drive by myself. ARGH. This one. Ack. I suck at this. I don’t think I even sat in the driver’s seat this year. :(
  • Submit a written work somewhere. I think the only writing thing I submitted this year was for a small contest. Tsk tsk.
  • Enroll in some classes — either writing or anything web related or even something entirely new. I didn’t get to do this on my own…but I did attend a leadership training for work that helped lots.
  • Prepare for graduate school application. I think the only thing I did this year about this was think about it. I wanted to start school again, but finances and the new role at work took my time, as well as working out. I don’t know if I can manage to do that this year because the latter part of the year is going to be busy with our family, so…this might have to wait again. :(
  • Pray more. I tried, really. But I’m always so stubborn. :( That doesn’t stop me from trying again this year, right?
  • Go to work early and leave work early. I think I managed to do this? Being on midshift did wonders to my working hours — it never tempted me to stay in the office too late. :P
  • Take care of myself more. I did most of the shopping at the end of the year because I can fit better in the clothes I want. :D
  • Be healthier. Yay for this one. :D
  • Keep in touch/get back in touch with old friends. I think I managed to do this too. I got in touch with my high school friends, met up with my college friends and made time for a lot of them, I think?
  • Better time management. I think I was pretty consistent with my big rocks every week, and my planner was very used, up until Ondoy. Heee. I love planners and this year, I’ve got a power planner to help me out.

I think I did pretty well because I managed to cross out some of the long standing goals off my list, and push myself to reach some of the goals that I didn’t get to reach before. I don’t see any use in crying over unreached goals, because the new year meant I can try reaching (and exceeding) them again. :)

Goodbye and thank you, 2009. I didn’t like you, but in a way, you were still a bit good to me. :D

Big, Fun and Scary Things, Dear Diary

On Trying to Be Fitter

Okay, I think it’s just about time I blog about this (plus I admit there’s a certain excitement in blogging when you have a shiny new theme).

I used to go to Gold’s Gym early 2007, because my office friends went there and we had a company discount. It was okay at first, and I enjoyed going there, but I didn’t last. Mostly because there’s no one to go with, plus my schedule has been always hard to deal with that I eventually let go of the membership. I’ve always been trying to lose weight since…well, since junior year in college, probably, but I never had enough discipline to stick to any of the weight loss programs that I have heard/read/watched.

I tried, really. I got myself a copy of Hip Hop Abs but was too conscious to do it whenever there’s someone at home. I tried boxing, bought gloves, but was too lazy to go and always used my money for boxing for other things. I’m not sporty, and I can only control my diet so much…so yes, I tried almost everything, but nothing really worked.

There’s only one thing left to do, and it’s to sign up for the gym and be motivated by the fact that my gym fees get charged in my card every month.

And what do you know, it worked.

So I’ve been a member of Fitness First for almost two months, much thanks to Toni who convinced me to go (after making our gym days hell for me haha).  It’s one of the biggest non-gadget investment I have ever made (and believe me, it is), and right now I’m wondering why it took me this long to actually invest (oh wait, I know, budget. :P). Seriously, though, I’m actually glad I invested on this.

My initial weigh-in results were kind of scary — how bad were my results? Okay, not exactly bad, but you know, there’s a lot of things that I need to do to get back to my ideal weight. I knew it was going to be hard work. I just didn’t know how hard…but again, nothing worth having ever comes easy, right? (Thanks, Ginger Foutley)

I wish I could say I’ve lost like so much pounds already that it’s almost a miracle. I’ve lost about 5lbs for the past four weeks, which according to my friends, is just all right. I’ve started being mindful of the things I eat, like eating every four hours, portion control and eating more veggies, too. I’ve started to like the feeling of sweating it out, and I love getting my dose of endorphins. :D Yes, I’ve been feeling healthier, too.

Again: why did I wait so long to do this?

Oh yeah, budget.

I’m not saying that it’s the only way to lose weight and be healthier, of course. It’s just the way that is working for me, and for others it could be totally different. I still wish I can get into any sport (which…I’d say impossible, but who knows)…but I’ll take it one step at a time. :)

And honestly? I’ve never felt better physically. :D Save for the muscle pains, of course. ;)

Dear Diary

Hello February

I should have made this post yesterday, but I was too busy with my sideline that I didn’t have enough juice to write at night. The thing is, I’m still not done with that, and I really should get to coding that…so I’ll do it tomorrow morning. Which means I should go to bed now. Hm.

But I shall blog first. In bullets because it’s easier to compartmentalize thoughts that way. :P

  • I finished my first month in Wordplay – YAY. I still haven’t made a huge dent on the days though, and I’m thinking if writing in advance would be classified as cheating — would it? I really should get down to writing those rules already. Anyway, February feels like I shall still write mushy stuff. I wonder how long I can last with that, haha.
  • I’ve made it to nine books out of 50 for January — better than what I did last year, I think! :) Ebooks are love. ♥
  • Five movies out of 25 – not bad. There are more movies to watch for the rest of the year — starting with Marley and Me this week! :P
  • As for weight loss…ergh. Well, I’ve been eating less, but there’s still so much evil that is chocolate and sweets at home that my “eating less” is just useless. I know, I know, I should exercise, but I can’t (or won’t?) find a good schedule yet. I need someone to go with me on physical stuff, seriously — swimming, boxing, other stuff. I’m still too cheap to join the gym, haha. Or maybe I should just bite the bullet and go enroll. That should give me enough motivation…right? Would it? ARGH. But no, no diet pills — I’m not that desperate. I just need…well, maybe I should just quit being shy at home and dance to my Hip Hop Abs DVDs instead. *facepalm*
  • And more on the weight loss thing. I should probably take my SparkPeople profile seriously now…and I just checked, and my measurements just kind of freaked me out. ACK. Tomorrow I use our punching bag.
  • Taylor Swift has nice songs. :) I’ve had her on repeat for the past weekend. :)
  • There’s still a lot of work at work (ergh), and I am about to face a decision in the upcoming weeks/months that I don’t know if it’s the right one. Well, it’s definitely a step forward — upward, even — but I’m just…well, scared. I don’t know, it’s a big decision, and I really should pray about it.
  • Dave Barnes is releasing a new EP this month!
  • Again, I am still seriously freaked out about my weight. Geez, I hate weighing scales. T_T

Now that I am freaked out, I think I will go to bed so I can do some exercises tomorrow. Seriously now. This post went from February to weight, how pathetic is that.

Still, regardless of my weight, I know I am beautiful. ;)

And that is confidence. :P

Happy February everyone. :)

Big, Fun and Scary Things, Dear Diary

Oh, Saturday

So it was a lazy Saturday for me, which kind of made up for the fact that I was out almost all day yesterday. I still feel like I wasted this day a lot, but then again, who knows when I’ll be able to have a relaxing (not to mention very chilly) Saturday holiday again?

Anyway. What have I been doing since yesterday?

  • Worked on wordplay entries. I knew writing a piece for 365 days is crazy and difficult, but the first day felt like pulling teeth. The next two days were easier, but I have a feeling it’s only because I was doing it at an earlier time. I wonder how it’d be once I get back to work. I’m thinking I should set some rules on this, like how many excuses I am allowed to have, and how many misses…I don’t want to feel like I’m cheating myself though. So it won’t be 365 pieces anymore. Hm. Let’s see how long I can hold out. :p Oh, and if anything, I have no idea what to write about tomorrow.
  • Watched Baler with Happy yesterday. :) It’s a loooong movie, but it’s pretty good. I’m no movie expert, but I enjoyed it. I still prefer romantic comedies and animation, though. I got to watch Bolt that night when I got home, so that’s 2 movies out of the 25 I told myself I’d watch this year. I want to watch Dayo.
  • Again, yesterday was a day out with my parents and Happy. My parents and I heard mass at Megamall (love their Atrium!), then ate at Eat and Go (I might write a review sometime, if I feel like it haha) and then shopped. I love shopping with my parents, I get so many free stuff. Then Happy and I watched a movie, ate at Yogurbud, talked about Chuck ♥ and dinner at Amici. Great day. :)
  • Today, I stayed home and watched The 4400 all day. I’m on Season 3 already, and it’s starting to get really interesting. I just have to stop spoiling myself with Wikipedia entries. :P

Tomorrow’s the last day of vacation, and somehow I still don’t feel like going to work on Monday. I know everyone’s saying the same thing on Plurk, so I really echo your sympathies. Heh. I found it really weird that last year I was looking forward to going to work, and now I just want to stay at home and be on vacation, even if I’d end up watching TV and reading most of the time. Maybe it’s because I feel the incoming stress? Bleh. Think positively.

Tomorrow there’s a high school reunion (which I heard that there might be some fishy stuff that might happen, hmm) and I’m planning to go, provided my other friends go too. Hm, now I think I might have something for wordplay tomorrow. :P

Hm. And I want to go to Tagaytay before this chilly weather disappears.

Anyway, it’s getting late and I should start sleeping already if I want to change my body clock. Haha. One more episode of The 4400 before I sleep. :D Enjoy the last day of vacation everyone!

Big, Fun and Scary Things

Big, Fun and Scary Things to do for 2009

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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I spent the first day of 2008 in Ortigas, where we watched Manila being covered in smoke from all the fireworks as 12 midnight approached. My parents and I headed to the condo’s roof top to watch the fireworks at midnight and the people who were with us were singing Auld Lang Syne as we stood in the slight drizzle.

Yes, that’s me trying to be descriptive. I suck, I know.

Anyway, as with what I did last year and as with what I posted yesterday, it’s time again to set goals and resolutions for 2009! I’m naming this one the Big, Fun and Scary Things to do for 2009. I’m using this post to make it official because this year I intend to join the worldwide challenge (click that link to know more!) that Chris Baty, NaNoWriMo founder started two years ago. Nothing like having an entire group of people doing the same thing to motivate me to actually do these things. :P

  • Write a piece of fiction everyday for 2009. I figured at the end of 2008 that I really missed writing, and I felt that I can only be better at writing if I practice. So to help me with that, I have started wordplay, my writing blog for this purpose. It’s proving to be a difficult challenge already — I’ve been trying to write my first piece in the past hour and it feels like pulling teeth. T_T
  • Lose at least 3 inches and/or 20 pounds. Ah yes, the weight loss goal. I figure to support this, I’ve got to be more drastic: I’ll be writing down what I eat everyday in my planner, and will be really serious with my boxing/exercise. Cors! Game?
  • Finish my 2008 Novel. I really want to do this, I swear. This is one novel that I knew I should finish. And besides, I promised Julie. Now if only I can finish that outline…
  • 100 Nanowrimo winners for our region in 2009! Last year, I wanted to increase the participation of the region. This year I want to get 100 winners for the region. :D We can do this, right?
  • Read 50 books in 2009. I managed to reach 44 last year, and I think I would have been able to reach 50 if I didn’t stop reading in the middle of the year. This year, I swear I’ll get that number. I also added a twist to this goal: 25 books should be books I’ve never read before, and 5 should be classics. :D
  • Watch 25 movies in 2009. I’m not much of a movie watcher, so most of the time I feel left out when people talk about movies. This year, let’s try to change that. :D Fireproof movie seems interesting; I wonder if this will be shown here.
  • Travel. This is a given. :P I’m eying Baguio this February (the last time I’ve been there was when I was 12!), another beach place in the summer and hopefully Hong Kong within the year. :)
  • Bake a double layer cake and/or apple pie. Self-explanatory. :D
  • Drive by myself. Again, for the nth time. I swear, I should do that this year.
  • Submit a written work somewhere. I’m not so sure how I’d do this, but I’m going to try. I hope this gives me courage to enroll in writing classes. And speaking of…
  • Enroll in some classes — either writing or anything web related or even something entirely new.
  • Prepare for graduate school application. I’m seriously considering going back to school (see previous bullet), so I’m going to start scouting this year. I can start by the next school year, God willing, but if not, I can start preparing this year.

My dad told me yesterday that these were goals and not New Year’s Resolutions, but I told him having goals seem easier and I can form my resolutions around them. But just for kicks (and for old time’s sake), here are my 2009 resolutions (which might be the resolution of other people too haha):

  • Pray more. 2008 was a rollercoaster for my spiritual life and I know 2009 will e the same, but still, I’d like to revive my prayer life again. I just have to keep on trying no matter how hard it is. This includes the first Wednesday and Friday masses and confession.
  • Go to work early and leave work early. I was known as the office girl last year because of all my commitments at work. This year though, I’m going to cut back on that. I enjoyed them, yes, but this year, I’m putting myself first. I’m going to stop going to work at 10 and start going to work at 8, so I can go home at 5 and have enough time to work on my other goals and to-do’s outside of work. I need to start taking care of myself again, you know. I will only stay at work for more than 8 hours if I absolutely have to, otherwise, I’m out of there.
  • Take care of myself more. This is quite ambiguous, but I figured I’d have to start taking care of myself because…well, I need to. Which means, more time for myself, my family and the things I love to do. Yes, this involves pampering and shopping. :P
  • Be healthier. This supports my second bullet up there. I swear, I’ll do better this time.
  • Keep in touch/get back in touch with old friends. I’ve mentioned this a lot of times: I suck at keeping in touch. This year I’m going to try (yet again) to catch up with old friends (so friends, let’s go out!).
  • Better time management. With all these commitments and, I’ve definitely learned that I need to manage my time more wisely!

I think that’s it? Goal-setting has always inspired me, and I find it really fun (yet intimidating) to do. But I love the feeling of being new, regardless of how much I accomplished last year. The important thing is that we try, no matter how many times we fail. After all, He makes all things new. :)

Happy 2009 everyone! May this year bring more blessings and make all of us the persons we want to be. :) *cheers*

Big, Fun and Scary Things

2008 Goals – Looking Back

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Okay, so it turns out I have enough time to do one more post, and I guess it’s more appropriate to do this now before the year actually ends and then make a post on the new goals tomorrow.

To be honest, I didn’t feel like doing this because I know most of the goals here are miserable failures. However, I realized that I won’t be able to be at peace with this year and my 2009 goals if I don’t close this one, so, regardless of the results, here’s the assessment of my 2008 goals, posted January 1, 2008.

  • Go to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. – I don’t want to call this a miserable failure, because even if I didn’t get to go to WYD 2008, I still learned a lot from the experience of preparing for this. I did come thisclose, so that’s good enough I guess. Australia will still be there (although no WYD), and I have more than enough time to prepare for WYD 2011 in Madrid. :D Here’s to hoping my WYD dream comes true.
  • And speaking of traveling…visit at least two other places in the Philippines. – I didn’t get to visit new places, but I did get to go on outings: Subic (Hot Air Balloon Festival), Laiya, Batangas (company outing), Laguna (team pool party) and Cebu.
  • Drive on my own. Naaaah. I drove a bit during January, and all the driving I did after was to bring the car out of the garage. *headdesk*
  • Lose at least 20 lbs and/or 3 inches. Naaaah on this too. I think I managed to stay within what I currently weigh/my current pant size, so that’s something. I will try better next year.
  • Learn how to jumprope. Again, naaaah. I have a jumprope, but after six jumps, I need to stop because I was out of breath! I think the length of my rope is making it hard for me. :| Practice practice!
  • Finish my 2006 NaNoWriMo novel. I made a start on version 2, but I stopped. I have an outline waiting, but the 2008 novel got me more interested. ^^;
  • Establish the PinoyWrimo community and bring attendance to events to at least 20 people. This is probably the goal that really surpassed its expectations. There was 100% increase in attendance in almost all events. The Kick-Off was surprisingly well-attended, as well as one of the write-ins, and we had two TGIO’s which was attended by most of the active people. I love my Wrimos. :)
  • Read at least 50 books in one year, and review at least half of it. I might reach up to 46 this year (see list of books here), but it’s okay. It’s probably the most I read in a year. I finished my review goal though (will post a list soon).
  • Reward myself with new clothes/shoes every month. I think I only managed to do this like…five out of 12 months?
  • Revive Godchicks. Still nothing on the website. Limbo.
  • Start my own blog hosting/hosting business. I started something, but it was more for students who know me. Heh. I still want to host people, but maybe I need a better plan for this. (Oh and if you need hosting, yes, do email me because I am hosting).
  • Bake any one of the following: apple pie, double-layered cake or cheesecake. I have conquered the cheesecake! Next year I’m going to do both the double layer cake and apple pie (not necessarily mixed together ;) ), especially now that we have 9″ spring form pans now. :D Which reminds me, I owe my boys and a girl a cheesecake when we get back to work.
  • Try/learn something new. This is so general! But the main new thing I could think of for 2008 was IBM Club and all the activities, joining the Townhall committee for work, buying my own camera with my own card, watch musicals, traveling with my own money…there’s so many! This is definitely the year of new things. :)
  • Give time for Gawad Kalinga. I…didn’t get to do this either. :( I did get involved in other charities come the end of the year. I want to do more though.
  • Renew my prayer time and grow in my faith. I honestly feel like I didn’t get to do this either. I’m happy I got to confess again, but I know my prayer time is still not as regular as it was before, and I know there’s so much more room to grow. This is why I’m going back to basics in 2009, because I feel like with all my busyness in doing everything that I want to try and trying to be extraordinary, I think I may have lost my way somewhere. So I can’t really measure this one, but I just know there’s still more refining to do.
  • Document everything. Well, I didn’t get to document everything, but I think I managed to take more photos of events this year than last year’s. :) Maybe this year I can start doing a photo essay or something like that.

And so there it is. I don’t know how to assess it, really, since these things are mostly subjective, but I guess this just means 2008 was truly an eventful year. It would’ve been stellar if I managed to do everything, but then…what challenge would that leave for next year?

And yes, I will definitely do this again for 2009. Are you with me? :)

Big, Fun and Scary Things

Goals for 2008

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Blogging is more fun if you have a new layout, yes?

Just like last year, I spent the first hour of 2008 in reflection and prayer. I admit my prayer time is very different from last year’s (sometimes even non-existent…hay), but this year’s first ever prayer time is still a prayer nonetheless.

I re-read my journal from last year and I just have to laugh at my old goals. I won’t list them down anymore since I hardly fulfilled any (see, 2007 was a difficult year), but this year, I want it to be different. As what Bo Sanchez said in today’s Didache reflection: Friend, write your dreams! So…here we go!

2008 Goals (The Year of Big, Fun and Scary Stuff):

  • Go to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. The thought of this scares and excites me, and a part of me feels like I should not push through. Sometimes I feel too lazy to save up or plan…but this is the first BIG trip I’m planning for myself. I want this. And by God’s grace, I will get to Sydney…with friends, of course. :) I heard the screening for Philippine delegates (the sponsored ones, I think?) is over, but I can still go! This just means I’m going to have to be stricter with my budget (say goodbye to any plans of getting anything big and expensive, like plasma tv lifts) and do a lot of planning. Hmm.
  • And speaking of traveling…visit at least two other places in the Philippines. 2007 was a year without beaches, or special trips out of town, except for Naga and Singapore. This year, I want to be able to go to out of town trips around the country. Not necessarily the beach, but at least somewhere outside Manila. Oh, and properly document it.
  • Drive on my own. This has been on my goals list since I learned how to drive, and I haven’t done it. Ehehe. The only driving I do lately is take out the car from the garage. I just keep on having visions of myself crashing whenever I drive. Or bumping someone. Bah. This year, I promise to practice driving whenever I can and to get rid of all the bad visions and trust that I would not get into a car crash nor scratch the car or be the cause of traffic.
  • Lose at least 20 lbs and/or 3 inches. I’d say 50 lbs, but I figured I should start slow. I will eat healthier: more fruits and veggies, less meat. I will stop eating too many sweets and fast food, drink more water and juice instead of soda. And I will exercise. Time to get those boxing gloves out again!
  • Learn how to jumprope. My coordination skills are so blah. This year, I promise to master the jumprope!
  • Finish my 2006 NaNoWriMo novel. Because I missed writing chicklit last year and I really want to finish Rain’s story.
  • Establish the PinoyWrimo community and bring attendance to events to at least 20 people. After the success of last year’s events, this year should be better, right? :)
  • Read at least 50 books in one year, and review at least half of it. Hello, 50 book challenge! This means I’ll be reviewing more books come 2008.
  • Reward myself with new clothes/shoes every month. This is in connection with what I elaborated with in this post. Yes, this is a goal, because I am not a “shopper”, even if I am a girl. I’d rather spend my money on food or books, instead of this one, really.
  • Revive Godchicks. The group of girls are okay, but the website is dying. ^^;
  • Start my own blog hosting/hosting business. I did not sign up for Dreamhost for nothing. :)
  • Bake any one of the following: apple pie, double-layered cake or cheesecake. It’s time to expand my baking abilities, yes?
  • Try/learn something new. What “something” is, it’s yet to be determined. New food, new sport, new place, new anything. I’ll have to make a list of this after this year’s over. :P
  • Give time for Gawad Kalinga. I read the company’s report on GK for last year and I got psyched again. This year, I’ll volunteer for Gawad Kalinga again, and bring some teammates as well. :)
  • Renew my prayer time and grow in my faith. In what way I will accomplish that, I have no idea. But I will do my best to attend first Wednesday and first Friday mass and confess at least every two months.

And in an attempt to watch over these goals (which I bet will still grow), I created a new category just for this one to keep track of my goals. Oh wait, one more goal:

  • Document everything. Bring my camera everywhere to “capture moments” and write about everything I can (online and offline).

There you go. Like I said, this list will most probably grow and I will favorite this so I can keep track. Also, feel free to bug me about these goals every now and then, especially if I’m not posting anything about them. :D

Before the first day of 2008 ends, I’d like to share something from Pareng Oswald (Chambers), in his My Utmost for His Highest devotional. I wrote this in my journal last year, and I wrote it again this year because it’s beautiful:

It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of God. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands and step out into the invincible future with Him.

Good night everyone!

Randomnities

10 Things

My ex-partner and YFC brother Niki tagged me to do this list in his Multiply so I thought I’d write it here instead of there. I used to have this kind of list I entitled All These Things, which I got from an old online friend but I stopped doing it because…well, because I was lazy. I guess making this list is also a part of The Great Adventure, so some of the items in this list would be the same in my first 5 Great Adventures list.

So let’s do this again, shall we? According to the tag, I’m supposed to write 10 things I want to do before I die, and then tag 5 people after. Here we go!

 

10 Things I Want to do Before I Die

  1. Publish a book. Or two. I consider myself a writer as well as a computer scientist/geek, and I still want to publish a book. Preferably fiction, but I like nonfiction too. I think I’ll go towards the young adult/chicklit genre for the fiction. :P
  2. Travel, travel, travel. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I want to see the world! I’ve got Sydney up for 2008, for the upcoming World Youth Day (I’ll be putting up a blog for this sometime soon, so watch out for it!) but I also want to go visit other places before I turn 30 or get married (whichever comes first). I want to go backpacking in Europe, go shopping in the streets of Bangkok (for the second time) with my friends, explore the beautiful beaches right here in this hometown, visit different Disney parks in the US and drop by the Big Apple to see if it’s really filled with people and if it’s really everything I’ve read about. Besides all that Heroes watching makes me want to see the city, and yes, including the plastic surgery in Manhattan. The world is waiting! I want to see!
  3. Receive sunflower(s) on my birthday. My favorite flower is a sunflower, and every year I wish for someone to give it to me on my birthday. Still no such luck, but I’m young, I can still wait. Even just one sunflower would be nice. :D
  4. Put up a bookstore/coffee shop. My mom and I have been playing with this idea and I threw this idea to my best friend as well. I love books, I like coffee — so why not start a business that has both? I have yet to think of a way to make that bookstore different — or maybe I should put it up in the province or something. Not a remote province, of course, but on a semi-remote place where there’s no close access to Powerbooks or any bookstore not counting National Bookstore.
  5. And since we’re on the topic of provinces, I want to have my dream house built. My dream house, as I envisioned it a year ago, would be in the semi-remote province (Tagaytay?). It’s a two-storey house with spacious rooms. No TVs in the bedrooms, only in the family room and there’s going to be a library/study and a prayer room. The house will be built on a huge yard where there’s room for a flower garden on the side (with a big sunflower patch!) as well as a swingset for the kids. And surrounding the house should be white picket fence. :P
  6. Fall in love, get married and have a beautiful family. Enough said. :P
  7. Raise enough money for a GK house and help build it.
  8. Be a missionary. In what way, only God knows. :)
  9. Send a kid to school.
  10. Be surprised on my birthday. As in the Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you went through all this kind of surprise. :P
    .

There’s more, but I’ll stop here or else I might blab the whole day. :) Anyway, I’m tagging…well, I’m really not in the mood to tag anyone. :P If you feel like getting this survey, then consider yourself tagged. Come on, it’s fun to write things like this. :P

Now I’m off to help my mom clear up on her just concluded dinner with her CFC friends. :) Good night!