My 2014 - Part 1

Yes, I know.  I am fully aware how less I blogged in 2014.  I posted the fewest blogs in a year from the time I started blogging.  Let me just say that my hands were indeed full.  Nevertheless, to cap the year that was, here is my 2014 summary.

JANUARY

I celebrated New Year's Eve in one of my favorite cities in the world - Melbourne.  And on the first day of 2014, took a plane from Melbourne to Manila and from Manila to Davao City.

Happy New Year from Melbourne! 

Of course, I was very happy to be a part of my friends' special events - attending Teen's birthday and thanksgiving party as well as Cloud's baptism.  

 With law school friends at Teen's party (Ate Jo not ready for the picture .. hehe)

 Godparents at Cloud's baptism

 And there's that once in a blue moon beach outing with law school friends.

Beach time at Paradise!

This was also the year I turned 33.  I was very lucky to have people greet me before, during and after my birthday.  I feel so special having celebrated it with family and friends.  

Turning 33 at Yakimix!

How sweet!

Simple but fun lunch with this bunch!

FEBRUARY

My February usually starts with a joint birthday celebration with Lyn.  This time, we spent it at Vikings!

 Mukhang busog na ako dito :)

Teaching wise, I was very flattered having a talk with my former teacher now my co-teacher in undergrad.  

And of course, my BL Entrep Class was very amused with my perfect circle in class.  I do not have any picture of it, but my students surely took a picture of it.  I just drew a circle on the board and amazingly, it looked as if it was a perfect circle.

MARCH

I had a sumptuous dinner sometime the first week of March with friends.  

Food galore at Cellar de Oboza

Things happened so fast towards the last week of March.  It was quite shocking and surprising for the whole family and we just all hoped for the best.  To this day, I always thank GOD for the strength He has given our family as we went this ordeal together. 

Taken at 1 am after we fetched Jeni and Ally from the airport.

Our dad was very surprised when Ally was the one who woke him up at 1 am! 

Paradise again with family!

APRIL

One thing I will be always grateful is that of GOD's presence in my life.  Without Him, I have already faltered.  But what is amazing is that my faith remains steadfast in Him.  Our family has truly been blessed by Him, and with that I am always thankful.

To be continued ...

My 2013 - Part I

Yes, this is indeed a late post.  But better late than never.

In fact, this is my first post for 2014.  Where was I for the first two months of the year? Ah, that would deserve another blog.

For now, here's a look back at how blessed I was last 2013.

JANUARY

I could say my 2013 started with a blast since I traveled to Cebu with one of my everdearest and longest friend, Elaine.  As she is very familiar with Cebu, she prepared an itinerary so that we could make the best out of our 2-day stay there.  Food, places and friendship celebrated indeed ...

Just as we arrived back in our hometown, Davao City, I remained busy with the IBP National Convention.  I was more than a participant since I was part of the Programme Committee, which was in-charge for the opening ceremonies and the evening programme.  I was some kind of an FBI agent on-stage/near the stage, since I was in full suit mode, with radio on hand and ear-piece.

I also turned 32 .. ooh, ooh, ooh!

FEBRUARY

Our family, together with Tita Grace got to experience the Venue Party Boat.  I have to remind myself to bring Allan here.

MARCH/APRIL

March and April were awesome as our family was complete for JJ's graduation.  Johanna was home from Australia while Jennifer and her cutest daughter, Ally, were also in town, all the way from US of A.  It has been years since we were complete.  I think, the last time was in 2005.

Words and pictures are not enough to show how happy and grateful I am with our family.

APRIL/MAY

After my sisters left, I was nevertheless busy with the remaining summer as I had my "racket" ... I taught summer classes in Law School.  It was no easy task since I have to prepare for it everyday, in addition the work I do at the office.  It is not really easy to prepare for a 2-hour class everyday, in law school at that.  And it was my first time to teach Business Organization 1 in Law School.  But, hey, I survived!

It was also in April when I decided to take the New York State Bar Exam .. as I have posted in my status before, "This is it!".  As such, I began reading (seriously).  Although, it was hard since I was also preparing for my class during these months.

I also volunteered during the election period.

JUNE

This time, I was in full mode for my review for the New York State Bar Exam.  Yes, I took time off from the office, although I go there once or twice a week just to do some work on urgent cases.  I spent my time studying at home.

I also made arrangements for my undergrad teaching load.  I asked permission to take time off for one semester but I'll be back by November.  The only load I accepted was my law school class, in which I had advance and make-up classes for lost time when I will be away in July and August.

And that is just the first half of my 2013 :)

Boracay

Out of the blue, I just heard them booking a trip to Boracay. Honestly, I wasn't that much excited because I wasn't prepared (haha, what a reason!).

Anyway, as our trip was approaching, I got excited. However, weather somehow dampened my mood because there was a typhoon. And then, I just had that centipede bite, which, thankfully, didn't affect my ability to go to this trip, hehe.

So, we took a plane ride to Iloilo then rode a van to Aklan. There were rains along the way and it somehow made me concerned. According to the weather report, the next day should be better (yeah, right!)

We got to Tabon Port (alternative route to Boracay) and I wasn't impressed. Since it was low tide, some were asked if they were willing to ride a small boat towards a bigger boat. And so, we volunteered so that we could get to Boracay quicker.

At Tambisaan Port, we rode a tricycle towards our hotel, Boracay Holiday Resort. It was quite nice - not too expensive but we liked it somehow because the room was big and there was a pool. Thereafter, we went to the beach and had some early dinner. The beach was nice but dark clouds were hovering. It was quite a long walk from our hotel up to somewhere near Jonas' Shakes and back.

Here are some of our Day 1 pics:

That's my brother!

Took this picture!

Family picture

We did not go out anymore at night. The four of them had their massage and then we went to sleep. We woke up hearing the rain. After eating breakfast, we decided that we would go out despite the rain. There were times when the rain wasn't that strong. But there were times when the rain was accompanied by a strong wind. Now, the bad news was that the alley towards the beach from our hotel was flooded. Our hotel wasn't beach front, ok? So, we braved the rain and flood .. imagine? When we got to the beach, we could not stay under the tents exclusively for specific hotel guests. Eventually, we found a vacant tent. Dad, JJ and Bajeck had fun swimming while Mom and I watched them. We decided to go to the D'Talipapa for our lunch and thus, we braved the flood again. Mind you, the Talipapa was really flooded and you can even see Koreans wading through the flooded alleys. After eating, we went back to our hotel, which was near the Talipapa so we did not wade through much flood. We stayed at the hotel and my brother, realizing that a little bit of sun was coming up, tried to ask if we can have the beach activities we already planned. So, at 2 pm, off we went to Bulabog Beach where we had helmet diving, fly fishing and parasailing. It was so fun!

Helmet diving was a unique experience. I was happy that my dad got to experience it. My mom was afraid so she just waited for us. While it was nice, I was worried about the coral reefs.

Helmet Divers!

Fly fish was up next. I was excited for my brother and sister. I have tried the banana boat twice so I already had an idea, more or less. But with just the three of us, the fly fish went flying. Each of us fell only once - it would not be that fun if we could not get to experience it.

All set!

Flying! We're at the back of this holding for our dear lives .. hehe

Initially, we thought we could not go parasailing that afternoon due to the weather. But the weather turned out to be better and so we were able to parasail. Woot! Woot! It was a nice experience being up in the air! Admittedly, we got a bit dizzy towards the end thereof. And then, we were dipped into the water twice. I am also happy because Mom and Dad got to tag along and got to experience speed boat rides!

Up, up and away we go!

Beautiful eyes .. haha!

It started to drizzle on our way back to the shore. And while riding the shuttle on our way back to the hotel, it started to rain hard. Call it lucky! I call it blessed! In the 3 hours when the sun was up and the weather was ok, we were able to do the activities we planned. For the rest of the night, we had dinner and watched some tv inside the hotel. We could not go out because the rain was hard and the alley was flooded.

On our third and last day, we woke up with a bit of sunshine but the alley was still flooded. We walked through the main road in order to get to the beach. It was a longer walk, but at least, we did not have to wade through the flood. I was looking forward to swimming at the beach but the waves were too strong and there lumot and nature's "dirt" all over. So, we just went around D'Mall to shop for souvenirs. We went back to the hotel and swam at the pool. After a while, it rained again. I prayed that the weather would be ok by the time we cross the sea. We checked out and we crossed the sea towards Tabon port safely.

We went back to Iloilo and stayed overnight at a hotel. We had a sumptuous dinner and off we went to bed.

Admittedly, I had high hopes for Boracay. Maybe I just expected too much. I don't know. All I know is that I am lucky I live in Davao where nice beaches are not that far away ;)

All in all I was happy I got to spend time with the family and visit Boracay for the first time. I am also grateful that we had a safe travel, with no delays, and that we got to experience Boracay despite and inspite of the rain.

Until the next trip!