Thank You, 2011

I seemed to have lost the resolve to write a lengthy reflection of the year past and my expectation of the year ahead.
I find myself a bit overwhelmed because 2011 has been so awesome I can't quite wrap my head around it yet! How do you bid goodbye to the year that finally nailed the coffin on our Friendster accounts while giving us the Facebook timeline?
Well, here's one idea.

JANUARY
- Family reunion!
- Jovan's birthday at Big Sky Mind!
- Yale New Years Party!
- Geek Fight Team Yale Guest Night!
- UST's Quadricentennial!
- TRIP TO ILOCOS!
- PASSPORT RENEWED!

FEBRUARY
- Balloon Fiesta Trooping / Clark Trip!
- Watched Pat in Askals!
- New kitty!
- SDP wins 5/7 seats (including the presidency) in the ABSC elections
- TRIP TO CANADA!

MARCH
- Goodbye, Cowie
- KaCASA lost 5/7 seats (including the presidency) in the CASA elections
- Next to Normal with Gen, Shey, Jovan, Mark, Jay-R and Armi!
- Karaoke at the Hive!
- Racket with Allstar!
- Catch up with college friends at the Collective!

APRIL
- THOR! (Thanks Meann for the tix)
- Sir Joel's birthday at Centerstage Tomas Morato!
- Jon's birthday at Yale!
- Tal's birthday in Ortigas!
- GAME OF THRONES!

MAY
- CAGBALETE with college friends!
- Free Comic Book Day!
- Urim's Stag Party!
- Urim and Elaine's Wedding!
- Karen's birthday at her place!

JUNE
- 30 years of SDP
- X-men First Class! (Thanks Meann for the tix)
- Monopoly Deal tournament!
- Aida with Ingrid!
- The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with Ingrid!
- Pat's birthday at Bowlers Makati!
- Nono's birthday at Big Sky Mind!
- Green Lantern with Gen and Icheb!
- Committee Geek Fight Anniversary!
- Nik's birthday at Big Sky Mind!
- JOINED GOOGLE+!

JULY
- Happy birthday Paul!
- Fund-raiser for Penny and Dexter!
- Urim and Elaine's Baby Shower!
- Started singing lessons at Manila Philharmonic!
- Karaoke with the Geeks at Chicago KTV
- Captain America with Ingrid!
- TRIP TO SINGAPORE!
- Captain America with Hec!
- The Lion King Musical with Gen, Ninay and Wilson!

AUGUST
- Anya's birthday at her place!
- Visiting and saying goodbye to COLF!
- Karaoke with Giselle!
- Rest in Peace, Lelay Odulio
- Zombadings with the geek friends!
- Happy birthday Joaquin and Clara's Baptism

SEPTEMBER
- In the Heights with Ingrid!
- Bon Voyage, Dek! (Big Sky Mind)!
- Bon Voyage, Zuri! (Ateneo)!
- All-4-One/Color Me Badd with Anya!
- Racket with Leo Burnett!
- Rest in Peace, Tita Baby Rosero
- Macy's birthday at her house!
- Reunion with Center for Arts
- Hanna's birthday at her place!

OCTOBER
- Hanging out with CashCashPinoy peeps!
- Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary with Mama!
- Urim's birthday at Big Sky Mind!
- MY 30TH BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!
- TRIP TO HONG KONG!
- Welcome back, Hec and Alec!
- Hec and Carl's birthday at Last Home!

NOVEMBER
- Rej's surprise birthday party at Roseroland!
- Welcome back, Lola!
- Welcome home, Tita Vicky and Tita Bubbles!
- Rest in Peace, Sunny "Juice" Kompleto
- Danes' birthday at Krispy Kreme The Fort!
- Ryan and Jacqui's wedding!
- Lost phone!
- Photoshoot for GISHWHES!

DECEMBER
- HOSPITAL! SURGERY! APPENDECTOMY!
- New phone! New number!
- Raket with RCG!
- Adam's birthday at Papa John's Makati!
- Office X-mas party!
- X-mas party with the Trekkies!
- X-mas party with the Troopers!
- Holiday get-together with college friends at Spazzio!

I also did a lot of growing up in 2011. While 2010 was about making up for lost time, 2011 became more about owning up to my past mistakes - like finally revealing my dark years as an out-of-school youth and my true origins as a kid growing up in the province.
It was also a year of progression. I realized how much I've gone from that awkward boy who thought he'd never find true friends to that man whose friends accept him for who he is. With these revelations and realizations, I've also achieved a great deal of confidence. I allowed myself to win and celebrate my victories. I know now what I'm doing as far as my career is concerned. Heck, I even traveled to a foreign country all by myself!
Speaking of, traveling was never on my list of things to do for 2011, but that's probably what I would remember the most: The year of the new passport and the foreign travels!

All these blessings and invigorated confidence leave me feeling a bit more invulnerable and invincible. I feel like it's prepping me up for when I have to deal with major disappointments somewhere down the road. I now feel more ready to take on whatever life and fate has to throw at me.

I hope 2012 would be more awesome, but just in case, I'll always have 2011. Well 2012 is bound to be epic for me anyway - at least on two VERY IMPORTANT fronts:
The Avengers movie.
And the last Wheel of Time book - A Memory of Light.
(*Both of which are absent from my 2011 list*)

So bring it on, 2012! I'm ready for you!

*PS: Not that I forgot the little things - like the books I've read, the shows I started following, etc. It's just that I have similar subjects I want to blog about and they could easily fall into those topics.