Life, Day by Day

Welcoming the New Year is a big tradition in this country, and people everywhere celebrate new year's eve literally with a bang! My family is a little different because we would usually spend it at home, with less fun fare compared to our neighbors, since our house help would all go off-duty to be with their respective families. But there were those special occasions where we did celebrate in the hotels or clubs. In fact, one of the most memorable and fun experiences I had growing up was spending new year's eve in a hotel with my parents and brothers. I remember with nostalgia, the music, the laughter and the warm camaraderie among family, friends and yes, even strangers. 

The year 2013 will soon end...and I suddenly think, where did all that time go?  In fact, it's more like...where did all those years go?  Like the song Sunrise, Sunset in the musical Fiddler on the Roof (with a little twist)..."I don't remember growing older...when did I? Wasn't it yesterday, When I was small?"

What is it about a new year that makes people so optimistic?  After all, it's just the next day after the 31st of December, it is just another day.  January 1 does not really change anything, but the fact that it is the start of a new year gives people a change in perspective, at least for a while and the cycle goes on and on since every new year is like having second chances. It's a fool's belief. Having said this, I realized that unlike most people, I celebrate the new year because it's a tradition and not because it is important to me. I have no expectations because basically my life just goes on, nothing really changes.  I am talking here about my life in general, the day to day kind of living and interacting with people.  But the many oppressions, sadness, disasters and life challenges of 2011 gave this New Year a new meaning for me.  It gave me HOPE. And indeed these first 10 days of 2012 have already shown me that indeed life would be better this y...

I spoke too soon....I think.  January 2011 started on a very positive note...and then...uh,oh... First, how could so many people I know or know of die in one week's time?  There was the mother of a fellow doctor and a staff nurse, all within 24 hours of each other...then 2 of our neighbors just dropped dead, also in a span of 1 or 2 days from each other!  And before I could even give my respects, last 01-11-2011...it rained! It rained so much from evening until the next day, that it caused flooding all over the city (as well as 3 other neighboring cities and one town), causing mass evacuation of people in several barangays, stranded passengers in stalled vehicles and trapped employees who could not get out of their work place because of the rising flood waters. You can see people getting off buses and walking home in knee high waters...my son walked for about 2 and a half kilometer in the dark (there was a blackout to avoid electrical accidents) in order to get home....

Who would have thought that the year that started so-so would turn out to be one amazing year?  The troubles and problems that came in  2009 continued to hound me at the beginning of 2010, so I was not really looking forward to another stressful year. My energy level was pretty low and I was at the threshold of another mid-life crisis.  Then, quietly, unobtrusively, subtlety...the air changed.   I don't exactly remember what or when or how...but suddenly, things seem better and life was actually fun again.  And it's not because life was easier or there were less challenges that were faced in 2010...on the contrary, there were more challenges faced at work and in my personal life but somehow, I got through it all feeling positive and energized.  Maybe because, attitudes changed and people come together to work for the common good. it has also been a year of reflections and healing...a spiritual year that gave me strength and a stronger faith. And if there is...

As 2009 ended, and remembering new years past, I had a lightbulb moment when I realized that hey! 2010 is the last year of  the first decade of the new millennium. I remember when the year 2000 was approaching, how people were placed in a panic mode because of all the dire predictions being thrown around as early as 1997. I admit I had some blessed candles available "just in case".  Of course, nothing really happened...January 1, 2000 was just an ordinary sleepy day (after all that celebrations) and life went on.  But since I am a list person, I can't help but think about what I did and did not do...what changed or did not change, what happened and did not happen during the last 9 years?  The first 5 years were basically uneventful...I say so because I could not remember anything important, so I presume nothing happened.  For posterity and remembrance and before I forget everything I decided to make a list (being a compulsive lister who most of the time misplac...

This question was posted on Avalon.ph as part of a contest to win a Moleskine Colour a Month Daily Planner in 12 Notebooks 2010 . For those who are not familiar with moleskines, this is a brand that identifies a family of notebooks, diaries, and folio books. It was created as a brand in 1997, bringing back to life the legendary notebook used by artists and thinkers over the past two centuries: among them Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Ernest Hemingway. I have a small handy black notebook which I carry everywhere I go and frankly, it is one of my best finds in 2009, one that would count for someone addicted to notebooks like me, as one of those things to be thankful for. The year 2009 has been both a blessing and a stressful time for me...so many things have been happening day in and day out since January that I seem to have lost track of time and suddenly, December is here! But one thing for sure, in everything that has happened to me this year, God's hand was there...He sen...

It's a brand new year and almost everyone I know is thinking about what is in store for them and for the world in 2009. But, I don't look that far ahead...I think that planning and then failing is too depressing...so, although I do follow a schedule, flexible at that...I always think and plan my life in terms of days...or if needed, 2-3 months max. I don't dwell on what if's or what could be...but that does not mean that I am not introspective or that I am impulsive...it just means that I don't worry about it. The fact is I am a cautious and deliberate person...I don't do things without thinking of consequences...and because I am like this, I believe that nothing happens by chance. So my wish for 2009 is that it will be a year of happy consequences for me, my loved ones, my work and the people I work with. Happy New Year!!!

January 2008 is halfway over and I have spent most of the first 2 weeks of the year doing, thinking, planning NOTHING. Somehow I could not bring myself to focus on anything. Not that there is nothing to focus on, on the contrary, there are so many things to do...so much more important that what I am wasting my time on. There are issues to face, conflicts to resolve, problems to work out, finances to manage, meetings to attend to...in other words, RESPONSIBILITIES that I have to face sooner than later. But, everyday I wake up not wanting to do anything constructive. Well, I have always been a procrastinator but this time...I just can't get my energy and concentration up. It's like...what am I doing all this for...why am I doing this? And the answers I get do not excite me at all because they are reasons that tell me because I have to...not because I want to... But, if I continue being like this and January 2008 ends with me still sleepwalking, I'm afraid that I might n...