Salamat, Alabat!

Also known as: Quezon trip with book lovers

I realized when I got back from Europe that I did not hit the beach this year. I don’t really count the one in Pinatubo because…well, I didn’t get to swim then, and it wasn’t really the ocean, so no sea breeze. I was feeling kind of sad about that fact, so when one of our book club moderators invited me to join them for the (now) annual Alabat, Quezon trip, I said yes ((Even if this meant I had to offset my sudden leave for the trip)). Who was I to say no to the beach?

Okay, so it wasn’t entirely a beach trip the entire time, but I think we got to spend most of it there. :)

It was my first overnight trip with my book club friends, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, save for talking about books all day. But it turned out to be a weekend with more than books, and it was a very, very welcome getaway.

Alabat Year 2, at 3 in the morning!

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Looking Back

Also known as: The 2010 recap that I thought I wouldn’t be doing

I really wasn’t planning to do this, for reasons that I do not know because I was really feeling lazy. But my sentimentality reared its head and I felt the need to do a recap of how 2010 was, even if I thought it was quiet for the most part. Perhaps this is the wise part of me saying that I need to do this, or maybe because I don’t feel like reading so I do the next best thing: write.

Anyway. Like I said, 2010 was mostly quiet. This is relative to 2009, which totally beat me up as it ended, so I’m pretty sure my definition of quiet in 2010 is not the same as others. Nevertheless, I do consider 2010 as a good year, even if it isn’t really as busy as 2008.

So what exactly happened in 2010?

A word of warning: this is a very long entry.

January

  • I started the year by attending my friend’s mom’s wake. :( I think I speak for all when I say wakes give you a chance to reevaluate your life and your relationships with other people. I never met my friend’s mom, but from the stories I hear from her, she seemed like an awesome woman. She’s doing a 365 days of Mom in her blog, so you may want to drop by and read about this woman who raised such a beautiful person.
  • And to further emphasize how life really is in the world, I attended a surprise birthday party for my friend the next day. It was the first of many, many surprises for the year, and it was fun! Plus I realized how much I love Grimace the mascot, especially when he (she? it?) looks like this:

    Grimace!!!
    Grimace!!!
  • I opened my book blog. Because books are awesome.
  • Met up with my thesismates, aka “the three most important guys in my college life.” Haha I can’t believe I called them that. :))
  • I got attacked by allergies…and then got sick for real. Then I had to go back on steroids.
  • Watched Legion and it bothered me so much that I just had to write about it.
  • My most favorite singer in the world, Dave Barnes, released a new single, God Gave Me You. I wouldn’t have included it here, but I love this song so much that I had to include it. :P
  • Ended the month by having a team building/planning with some office folks in Baguio. It was the first time I went to Baguio again after 11 years. Fun times and I love, love, loooove the cold weather. Friendships, can we go to Baguio again before January ends?

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