My 2009 in Review

Personally, I still think 2009 was a good year. I know we had the economic crisis, deaths of 80’s icons, a flu outbreak, typhoons, an erupting volcano, a celebrity sex scandal and two deadly massacres: Maguindanao and DLSU’s second half of the UAAP season but we also had our share of happy success stories like Efren “The Hero”, Pacquiao over Hatton and Cotto, Obama winning the US elections, a celebrity sex scandal (for pervs) and Filipinos being reminded of the importance of democracy.

Why 2009 was a happy year: Jaye was always on my side through peaks and valleys. Always.

Where I was when I welcomed 2009: Hooters

Where I spent my birthday in 2009: Hooters

Where I had my last dinner out in 2009: Hooters… uh…

I saved so much on tips to barbers. I only had six haircuts the whole year.

“Alam mo ba nung 2009…” (stories I would tell my grandchildren): the Ondoy and Pepeng typhoons, the Mt. Mayon semi-eruption, the swine flu scare (and corresponding “end of mankind” theories), death of Cory and Jacko, the Maguindanao Massacre and Obama sworn as the 44th US president.

Discovered something useful that everyone else already knew. This was the year I learned about using your cellphone as a modem to access the Internet.

The top 5 expenses for the year: (1) Honda Casa car repairs, (2) and (3) two HP laptops, (4) my Nokia 5800 and (5) four Michelin tires for my car. Oh, I also bought a Nikon SB-600 (external flash) and a Nike basketball shoe (Kobe).

Farthest away from home: Hong Kong.

Most helpful quote or motto: “You won’t find new cheese unless you let go of your old one.”

Personal Finance Metrics. I was able to log all my expenses for 2009 and while I confirmed that I spent a lot on personal / leisure items, most of it were worth it. I just realized though that I spent more than I thought on Starbucks coffee in November and December trying to get that planner.

Books I loved the most: “Who Moved My Cheese”, “One Minute Manager”, “Peaks and Valleys” and “The Book of Basketball”. I’ve started reading Twilight in December but while I was expecting this to be about vampires fighting werewolves, the story is more about a girl who’s in love with a guy who has a perfect face… and it goes on and on and on until the end.

Join the club. This was the year I configured my PSP to play downloaded games. For the past 2 years, I played nothing but MLB The Show (07, 08 and 09). The last game I downloaded: NBA The Inside 10.

Lost Interest. I loved my first moon shot so much that I plotted the full moon dates on my planner for the year. I took a picture on January then February then on March, my pictures all looked the same and I never bothered taking another moon picture until December 31. I only have three astronomy related dates on my calendar: January 15 (solar eclipse), June 26 (lunar eclipse) and December 21 (lunar eclipse).

Movies watched: 6 (Yes Man, Monsters vs Aliens, Night at the Museum 2, Up, Fast and Furious, New Moon). Jaye and I had lots of other movies lined up (Slumdog Millionaire, New Moon, Transformers, Harry Potter, etc.) but work has been too demanding.

Most Memorable Moment with Jaye: Strolling along the streets of Macau - setting up the tripod and taking pictures of ourselves, eating at McDonald’s and enjoying a foreign place. Reminds me so much of walking with her in Chicago.

Weight difference: -20 lbs (from super heavyweight to welterweight).

Games of the year: Plants vs Zombies (PC), MLB The Show 08 (PSP) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex (Wii).

Best Meal of the Year: That steak Jaye and I ordered from Antonio’s in Tagaytay. That was hands down the best thing I ate the whole year (and the most expensive at 4,000 pesos).

Irony of the year: I bugged Jaye to go to Johnny Rockets with me where I had one of the best burgers I had in Chicago. I was babbling about burgers for weeks and when we finally went there, I ordered a Philly Cheese Steak.

Catch Phrase of the Year: “Yiheeeee, sobraang cheesy!”

Most hated song: “Nobody” (Wonder Girls)

TV Event of the year: Pacquiao vs Cotto

Stupidest Thing I Bought: a punching bag, hand wrap and gloves. It made sense when I bought it since I needed an aerobic exercise without burning out my already aching knees. The problem with punching bags is that you need to have a perfect place to hang it, you need space to bob and weave, you need to hang it somewhere sturdy and you need to place it somewhere dry and indoors or else it rusts up and insects might crawl inside and lay eggs. Our house didn’t have an area that fit all requirements. Now I have a really really really big paperweight.

The chore that eluded me for a year: cleaning my room. 2009 started with my room close to be declared a disaster area. The funny thing is (and my mom never understood) is that while it looked chaotic, I knew where everything was. There was order in this little space and to prove that – I never really lost anything. I wanted to greet 2009 with a clean room and so I placed that on my to do list and it was there all the way until December 31 when I finally was able to tidy things up though it was only finished on January 3, 2010.

Person from work I referred to the most: Zarina Docken

The Year of the Facebook. Friendster who? People flocked to Facebook and I found myself being a FB addict. I loved playing the different games such as Typewriter Maniac, Farm Town, Restaurant City, Farmville, Café World and Mafia Wars until I realized that my level was inversely proportional to my social life.

Special mention to Wikipedia as I found myself researching everything from world history, art, religion, science, medicine and general knowledge. I wish I could go back in time and tell my high school self not to spend so much time memorizing things since these information will be available to anyone who has a cellphone or iPod and an Internet connection.

Do Over wishes:
1) That Jaye and I could have eaten less outside and cooked ourselves. I missed my kitchen adventures last year.
2) That Jaye and I continued our “something new weekly” and “out of town monthly” plans.
3) That I had a good picture of the solar eclipse or the new year blue moon.
4) That I didn’t jump on the Adam Lambert bandwagon after Danny Gokey was voted off.
5) That I allocated more time for photography.

Revived Hobby from the previous year: Lomography.

Biggest Emo Moment: Around May / June, I set aside my Nikon DSLR and went back to my Canon Ixus digicam. I went through this phase where my pictures have become too commercial and I didn’t like where my art was going. I believed that I was focusing too much on rules and technology that I missed the old days where I would just take pictures just because I wanted to preserve a particular moment. I guess I was pressuring myself to come up with my photo masterpiece of the year.

The only person who registered an assist in basketball for me: Sonn Chan

Biggest life lesson: Work doesn’t love you. Work will stab you in the back if it has to. Work is business and the goal of business is to make money, not look after you.

Most used camera / lens: Nikon D300 + battery grip / Tamron 18-50mm.

2009 resolution that I kept: Pick less fights with EDSA bus drivers and jeepney drivers.

2009 resolution I wished I kept: Eat less burgers and fries.

2009 prediction that came true: That I’ll learn a lot in photography but I’ll still choose not to turn pro.

2009 prediction that didn’t come true: That I’ll be able to vacation somewhere in the Philippines well outside Manila.