2012: Resolutions, Goals and Purpose

2011 will be over in a few hours so as I always do, let me run down on my resolutions and goals for the coming year of the water dragon (as they say in Feng Shui). Creating lists are not required for everyone, but a lot of people still do it to guide them throughout the year or just for fun :) . A new year's resolution list is similar to that of a child's Santa Clause wishlist, a Santa Clause wishlist maybe a kiddie version of a New Year's wishlist as aspirations, goals and wants change over time.

To start off, here's my new year's resolutions:

1. To attain financial wellness - i need to cut down on my unnecessary expenses, WHATEVER it is.
2. To live a healthier lifestyle - minimize or ultimately quit smoking this year as i am not getting any younger anymore.
3. Minimize tardiness - not only in work, but in other commitments, in meeting deadlines, in school work, and in the on-the-side work that i do.
4. Read more books - though this is not a problem for me, i think i should be more open to other genres as well as not only look but MAKE time for it.
5. Fix my desk at the office and room at home - studies show that a more organized and cleaner workplace can be more beneficial for the person.

On top of my new year's resolutions, I also have a separate list of goals for 2012:

1. Hopefully finish my degree :) - excited about having an M.S. after my surname in due time, but diligence and patience on passing through Comprehensive Examinations and Master's Thesis within the year is the key.
2. Learn a new language - a multilingual individual can go a long way, so as this has been always on my list each and every year, I need to do this asap so as to not lose the momentum.
3. Travel and discover the world - Malaysia and Indonesia is within reach in the next few months. More to come for the next few years.
4. Learn a new skill - would love to enroll in a writing or painting workshop or might go back to violin classes or learn something else. The possibilities are endless.
5. Meet new people - to establish great friendships and network which in due time will really pay off.

However long our lists are, the very essence of it is that we have aspirations and dreams that make us live life in its fullest. It is with these dreams and aspirations where we get the ultimate source of that flame that lights a fire under our asses, the very purpose of how we want to live. Speaking of purpose, let me share with you a very good song from the 2004 Tony Awards' Best Musical Avenue Q, titled Purpose.

2 years and all the cheesy pick-up lines

Just want to share my facebook wall post for Cat & I's 2nd Anniversary:

It has been two years and we are still standing strong, happy and very much in love. We may not agree in a few things, but that's part of it. There are so many words i want to utter in my mouth right now but let me put it down into three simple words "I LOVE YOU". Let me get back to that day when i delivered my classic pickup line that swept you off your feet and started my intense appreciation for the what they say, kabaduyan ng mga pick-up lines. :))

Setting: Meeting Room while preparing some Christmas decors

Characters: Myself, johnlloydwannabe & Cat, johnlloydwannabewith

Me: Mayroon isang lugar na gusto ko talagang puntahan...
Cat: Saan? Sa Aman Pulo? (and some other places)
Me: Malapit lang yun, soobrang lapit lang! as in!
Cat: Saan nga?! Nasa Makati?
Me: Hinde
Cat: Saan!?
Me: SA PUSO MO! :)

The rest was history ika nga.

Happy Happy 2nd anniversary!! I LOVE YOU

Wishing that this wall post doesn't destruct you on your exam later today rather will give you INSPIRATION. :)

HAIRvironment

As a working professional in my mid-20s there have been a multitude of dillemas that I have experienced through the years. Besides the so called unofficial quarter life crisis I am supposed to be experiencing, there comes the multiple adaptations that I go through from everyday life shifting from being single to being in a relationship, from being a full-time student to being a working one, from transferring from one workplace to another, from meeting new people or just meeting people from my past, this world is such a whirlwind of whichever is under the sun.

Much from my very kathartic and long introduction, my point being is to introduce a truly amazing product that i started using just a few months ago to sort of address my unhealthy, hair-thinning/balding problem.

Presenting JĀSÖN, a 100% all-natural personal care brand from the US which is being locally distributed by Healthy Options, one of my favorite shops around. I am using their thin-to-thick hair care system. The product in all fairness has been addressing my hair problems. One, my white hairs suddenly disappeared after just a few months after using, second as weeks pass by, I see that my hair has been going back to that thickness it has been before (though gradually, more moths to come), there were time a few months back that I was really desperate in getting all my hair shaved so i could not see or feel that I am already losing hair at such a young age. Third, my hair became softer and more healthy looking as before. It looks like that I am doing a very manufactured-prime time TV-major multinational company-advertisement but the bottom line is that this particular product works.

Scanning through products out in the market, I can say that JĀSÖN's thin-to-thick hair care system is such a wonder. Not only this, but what truly made me admire the brand itself is that it doesn't need to have multimillion dollar advertising campaigns to sell its products, second it is very close to my heart since we have the same goal of being environmentally conscious of not using harmful chemicals in its ingredients thus protecting the environment in the long run.

At the end of the day its good to know that there are still companies/brands that are very conscious in meeting halfway in terms of satisfying both the customers, as well as the environment at the same time. Corporate greed is not in their line of thought. Just quality, life-changing, and lastly and importantly environmentally-conscious products.

Indeed, going back to the shower is more responsibly done :)

"I want to serve other people"

As i was fixing my things in my room i was surprised to stumble upon this old piece of paper from high school, i think an output from an activity during career counseling for those in senior year.

Looking at it further, it's both a realization and a reflection of my aspirations. I am so proud of myself that even at the age of 15 i was already having the very essence of my existence embedded in the tapestry of my neurons in making this world a better place to live in by putting into number 1 "I want to serve other people".My chosen fields of study it seems that i haven't indicated psychology or behavioral science on it but still, i am a son of the social sciences and will forever be forever grateful about it :)

On power dreams, I am quite surprised that i wanted to be a political leader because as of now and maybe in a long time I wouldn't want to be one, seeing how our political system works on our country, but why not if the likes of Nelson Mandela, Cory Aquino or even Mahatma Gandhi who were all icons of making this world a better place to live in and in my opinion reached the top of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs by being SELF-ACTUALIZED with what they have done for our world.

Looking at the list made me realize that there's still tons of work, patience and powerdeaming (as i may say) to do to reach the top of my own hierarchy of needs :)

Confirmation and 15 years

(JC with Tita Chari, JC's Confirmation Godmother)

Yesterday, JC had her confirmation in school. In all fairness to St. Paul-Pasig, they are organized in conducting such school events given the limited space in their venue and more than 300+ confirmants. Bishop Vergara of the Archdiocese of Pasig was the celebrant of the event, needless to say, I also had my confirmation when I was 12 years old here in our parish, but compared to my sister's, it was a little unorganized and uncomfortable since it was the yearly "kumpilang bayan" you expect almost all of the parishioners' children to participate, add the humid sunday midday church temperature, the long homily and the VERY unorganized picture-taking part of the program. Anyways, I would like to congratulate JC for being confirmed (pwede na siya ikasal), kidding aside you can see below a school project i did way back in grade school which contains a poem I composed for my sister. Obvious ba na I am truly proud of her? :)

Again, congratulations to my sister JC for being confirmed, may you continue being a responsible Catholic and spread the word of God, and YES, after mong mag-debut and ang Japan trip natin pwede ka na ikasal in... 15 years :)

Beginnings and Conclusions

The end of the year is fast approaching and we could already feel the cool air surrounding us, the longest Christmas season in the world has begun about a month ago and i bet you could already hear the Christmas songs being played on the radio, how about the Christmas decorations that your LGUs are putting on display ALMOST everywhere?

I intended to start this blog by talking about the early Christmas atmosphere that we feel even months before the actual Christmas month, December. It's so ironic to think that December means two totally different things, it's both a beginning and an end. A beginning because Christ was born, also it's that time of the year when new lives are transformed, enemies became friends, friends become lovers (*coughs*), electric bills shoot up compared to other months of the year, or it;s just that everything turns to positive for the sake of Christmas, everyone seems to be as nice as they could ever be. On the other hand, December is an end as well, an end of a fruitful year (at least for me).

Talking about beginnings and conclusions, I've was invited to attend a wedding of one of our dearest friends and former office mate, Jayme and her husband, Mao and needless to say a very pleasant wedding with a twist of rock and alcoholic drinks which basically reflects the personality and interests of the couple. Just like December, a wedding is as well both a beginning and and end, a beginning in the sense that its a union of two hearts, a beginning of a new chapter for two single individuals who were joined together by God, a beginning of a journey of a lifetime. It's also an end for being single, an end for the what we say kalokohans of youth. New responsibilities, new commitments, and definitely new priorities.

Cyber Life Reengineering

Yes, you read the title right, reengineering. Such a powerful word, but really applies to my cyber life. After having lunch today, I managed to check on how my blog is and to a coincidence the last time i had an entry was the same month last year. Blogspot life was ZERO. I also checked on the blog of those I always follow and to my surprise, they have either cancelled, refurbished, transferred to another account or just like me, have not updated for ages.

I haven't blogged for quite some time and come to think of it, the last time i wrote something out of my cyber pen "nawalan ata ng tinta for some time" :)) was September of last year, what a coincidence really :) Then I was blogging about my 9th monthsary with girlfriend and the previous entry was about the UAAP cheerdance and this coming weekend I will also be in Araneta (hopeful about getting tickets) to watch the cheerdance with my girlfriend and our friends. A lot of things have happened to me in the past months I was not blogging, and to give you a rundown here are some of them:

I was able to complete my academic subjects for my master's degree, now i'm off to my practicum, comprehensive examinations, and my master's thesis, i'm giving myself up to October 2012 to finish my degree.

I also haven't featured my travels in and out of the country in the last few months and even those I had years ago. I may be so swamped with work that I totally forgot about injecting ink to my cyber pen or i am just plain busy juggling, work, school, business and personal life.

The emergence of the other popular social networking outlets like facebook and twitter also snatched my time away from blogspot. Gone were the days that friendster, myspace and multiply were the ultimate attention rivals of blogspot.

We also moved in our new yet unfinished house still in Taguig,

I am with my employer for more than a year now, and so far, no plans to resign.

Why Reengineering?

In the last few years and months that I was not blogging, Lots of ideas and things went into my mind which gave me this concepts in reengineering this blog

Whatever I blog must at least contribute to the ultimate goal of making this world a better place to live in? Sounds ambitious I know, but as they said everything starts small, like how plants came from seeds, chickens from eggs (still debatable though lol), the complex human beings from the primodial soup. etc. I can do it one step at a time.