Things I did to survive this year!!

Well it has always been my blog tradition to have a year end round-up of sorts but this year, I finally decided to get creative with the title..hehehe So here it is a year end round-up or a year in-review blog post! Also, this time around I won’t be lazy or ‘pressured’ to make this post, believe it or not I really took time to plan and write about this blog post since I’ve always been jealous of other bloggers (like Mikyu) who makes a very ridiculously comprehensive year end posts. :3

Monthly Highlights:

January - Free HUGS during Sinulog!!

February - 1st time to cook my own Japanese food inside a restaurant

March -  I felt unworthy but still overly humbled to have witnessed and interacted with various South East Asians and Europeans thru an Urban Development Forum

April - Summer Chillin @ the Beach

May - Summer kicks in and learned me some basics of Wing Chun Kung Fu!

June - June was no doubt the craziest month of 2011 --more than 5 speaking engagements, 1st time TV Shooting :D; met Brother Bo Sanchez & Amar Delon and indulged in a lot of fooood (Authentic Cantonese Chinese Cuisine)!

July - interacted with some awesome Russian musicians (ROSSIYA)

August - Got news that KRISPY KREME is now in Cebu by late quarter of 2011

September - my birthday passed peacefully but I was moved with the movie 'Christmas in August' thru the Korean Film Fest

October - got blown away by KFC's Zinger Double Down!! --shout-out to sponsor Donna.K. :D

November - Papa kit's Marina and Fishing Lagoon

December - Major2 Live blog on iPhone4S Cebu launch and met Siri

Of Health:

• Health Advocacies – breast cancer, cervical
• MIND 7 – NNC7 ~Breastfeeding
• Nutrition Learning Visit in Bohol

On Blogging:

• This year marks my 6^th year in blogging (Started 2005 with friendster-multiply-blogger[2008-super active]-Tumblr-WP~now)
• Helped organized Cebu Blog Camp 2011 this year!
• I won an award given by the CAMMA – Cebu Archdiocese MassMedia Awards~ Best in personal website
• Made a successful transition of responsibilities and powers with CBSi’s new head; this includes the fulfillment of a personal goal to get new members in, in which became the new movers of the organization
• Gained new followers via social networking accounts and broke the 100K views of my personal blog –weeeee
• Went back to school, but this time via E-Learning with Ateneo De Manila University-Digital Filipino’s Module 1 on becoming a Certified Blog-Social Media Entrepreneur (First time to experience E-Learning!!! ^_^)
• Did my first paid workshop~ UNPLUGGED TALK SERIES
• A very active year for my speaking engagements, the most by far and ended with the highlight of VBS2011

Panglao, Bohol ~ Preview ^_^

 On Travel:

• Went to Bohol early December (Backlog posts xD)
• Somewhere in the middle Mactan and Bohol strait thru a sunset cruise
• Pre-HolyWeek attack @ Bantayan Island
• Discovered some Cebuano Metal-Age ancestors in San Remegio, Cebu
• Exploring Badian, Cebu thru Terra Manna

South-bound during the Kalag2 towards Dumanjug--another backlog hehee~

 On Writing:

• The gift of Volunteerism this Holiday Season - Link 1 - Link 2
• Hope, Honor, Heroism (For our nation) - Link 1 - Link 2
• Bloggers Gather for a Camp
• Historical and Cultural Tourism: A youth's perspective

At the Capitol during the Rossiya Musical but an awesome place to do a speaking engagement I'd say

On being a Speaker:

• "Getting Steady with Blogging"
• "Blogging 101: Introduction and Opportunities"
• "Blogging Basics" 
• "Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN' Philippines" Orientation/IEC
•  "Round table Discussion on World Communications Day: Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age (Papal Message)"
•  "Cebu Bloggers' Annual Report"
•  "The Filipino Blogosphere: Political Expression, Communication, and Participation"- A Dissemination Forum
• Panel Member~Public Speaking and Presentation application
• "Let your Passion Shape your Blog" 
• "Hello, Social MEdia"
• "Video+Blogging Talk"
• "CNU Youth Talk"

  
On Business:

• Hey I’m an Entrepreneur!!! (A female friend commented  ...so you’re unemployed!? -_-) In the strictest sense I experienced it more heavily this year and yes you could say one is unemployed…
• Launched our Start-Up Restaurant Business
• First time to pay percentage tax to BIR monthly~ehehehe
• Got paid by my first big client!! Yehey! But then one splurges…and parents sucked on it as well
• Invested in some books which ended up as a backlog, also bought a bunch of Entrepreneur Magazines

On self-learning:

• Visayas Blogging Summit 2011
• Learned about our New Philippine Currency design and Security features
• Money Summit & Wealth Expo 2011
• Entrepreneur Ph Networking Night
• Money Magnet Seminar
• Truly Rich Seminar
• Philippine Stock Exchange Campaign
• RAFI's Branding & Community Identity
• Bitter-Sweet 6th AFLBS
• One Cebu Business and Sustainability Summit 2011 (My 2nd year)
• Cebu Blog Camp 2011
• Learning and understanding the Kto12 Initiative PH
• Urban Development & Governance: Risks and Opportunities, learning from other cities
• Met & listened to Industrial Engineer-Entrepreneurs!!!

Walang Iwanan!

 On Community Work:

• 5th GK Builder's Camp :3
• MoonWalk 2011 
• Multi-Culture Youth Exchange
• Children's hour relaunch in Cebu
• Project NOWTBUKS
• GK Bayani Challenge 2011 :)

House Build with Dutch, Belgians and Spaniards

 On People, VIPs:

• Met the new Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.
• Atty. Antonio Oposa Jr. (Although I've met him a couple of times before, this was the 1st full blown face-to-face talks and engagement)
• Meeting Bam Aquino
• Brother Bo Sanchez
• Being Happy with Amar Delon
• Martial Arts Master - Sifu Sergio Iadarola
• Face to Face with Miriam Quiambao

Yehey!

 Random Notes:

• Had many fun moments with friends!!! :D 
• had some emo and self-motivating posts as well EXAMPLE
• Also a very active year in terms of exercise, compared to the last 5 years (Tried Chinese Martial Arts called Wing Chun; consistently ran, lift some weights)
• Engaged in new areas of personal advocacy – tourism, health, and social welfare ~all of which were totally unplanned
• Traveled to Bantayan Island and witnessed the GK Bayani Challenge 2011;
• Joined in with GK Builders’ Camp with other volunteers and did about 5 House Builds this year with one non-GK
• Traveled once outside Cebu this year –explored Bohol (still need to blog about it though); compared to last year’s 3 times
• I have a new look and hair cut :D
• Influencing People to Blog randomly or whenever I go and meet some students and random people..I'm seeing some progress from them!! :3
• Saw some new animes which touched my heart and soul – Gintama and Gurren Lagann ~they do have some life lessons in’em :P

How could I forget the various types of food I ate this year? Check out the FOOD section at the top of this blog :3

2011 will be a year I will never forget, a year full of twists,  firsts and major turning points:
I was at the beginning of the year, in terms of matters of the heart, a Man who can't be moved..But then I had to say "Never Mind I'll find someone like you.." or hope for a better one to rock my world.

On the same instance, I was also betrayed..well one can't really control how people may change or feel but one thing's for sure; there are a lot of demons in human form in this world and people can be really insincere and lie with a straight face IN MY FACE! As this was a test of my sanity and emotions, I was almost overcome by RAGE but then I had to channel it somewhere else for I was for the most part of the year incapable of working properly and it took a long while to recover.

Finding hope in the constant - GOD ~ as this year reminded me also that there are always second chances in life, especially to those who would keep on moving (even if it is slow) forward. No retreat, no surrender, never give up and give in. Your demons may be bigger, better, stronger and just simply better; but if you lay your heart, your soul, your faith on the line, from the strengths of your backs, the soles of your feet, with every ounce of blood you've got in your body and fight on as if you are to die, then you will never be defeated.

Keep Moving Forward:
I am not interested in the posibilities of defeat but I do welcome failure more now. Be Not Afraid of Failure, if possible Fail Brilliantly, for failure teaches you more things that you can ever imagine compared to Success: "Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths"- Walt Disney (~Meet the Robinsons --Keep moving forward) :3

Who the heck do you think I am? Believe in the Impossible and Kick Reason in the Face!!!

I'm thankful for the pain, indecision, loss, regret, every bit of challenge, fear, and rejection this year. All these things helped me live a much fuller, filled-with-lessons life; and with them in my past now, I can look forward to 2012 with more cheer, love, grace, and faith.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Check out my previous year-enders:
2009 a year of growth
my 2010 Highlights
Kaizen Plan 2010