2012... what a year!

2012 is all about me. how to make me happy. how to enjoy new friends and new hobbies. how to make me love life even more. and i love it.

for the entire year i am single and i only got myself to love. i did plenty of things that i wanted to do at the time that i wanted to do them. yes, having a boyfriend would have been nice, but really (i honestly say this without being defensive), my 2012 wasn't so bad. it's splendid to say the least. i can absolutely say it's my best year so far. this year didn't disappoint and it followed the pattern of beating the previous year on being the best year of my life.

it started with a life-changing bangkok and cambodia trip. then i was sent again to spain and my jaw dropped when i saw valencia and i finally got to see salamanca. as a growing child in the PH during my time you'd be familiar with this place from the famous morning cartoons.

you know i am a beach and water lover. but somehow i couldn't swim. i have a constant fear of drowning so when i swim i usually just go to the kiddie pool. but the stubborn me says it's time to conquer the fear and just do it. i signed up for a swimming class and i was able to use the skill in my phuket, pagudpud and puerto galera getaways. now i go for a weekly swim and i go to the main pools. it's a liberating feeling being able to swim for a few meters and get back to the shore on your own.

our family getaway this year was in northern PH and we were able to see a lot of nice places. i came up close to windmills, camped with my family and our dog, and i swam to my heart's content at the beach and falls. come the month of may i signed up for scuba diving, windsurfing, stand up paddling and squash lessons. im an open water diver now! my first real dive outside the class was during my birthday. best.bday.gift.to.myself...ever.

when i returned from our easter outing i found out my flat was broken into. they got plenty of material stuff. i wallowed over it by a week, but after a while it's just one of those bad experiences that you tell your friends but you know deep inside that you've moved on from it faster than they could absorb the fact that it happens in HK. that's when i realized i am not too attached to them afterall. and that's a good thing. when a gadget is more important that your sanity then you have to think about your life. the first thing i checked when i saw my flat in a mess was my hard drive. imagine all 5 years of pictures and memories. when i found out it's still there, i didn't feel like i lost a lot. i can buy two new computers. i can earn back all the cash stolen... but i can never replace the memories of all those years of travels, those good times.

july was an important month. apart from seeing 3 ex's in 2 weeeks, this is the month that my bestfriend got married. it's a simple civil wedding, but it's full of love nonetheless. i saw all the friends and families that attended the reception and i am happy that their union is supported by every one. i am happy she found her happiness.

as i mentioned i went to puerto galera to dive. it's my first bday in 6 years that i was with my family. yeba! then my friends surprised me and other august celebrators on a beach camping weekend. it's so apt! there was a mishap but im glad no one was seriously hurt.

on september my sister and i went on a hardcore backpacking trip on southern PH. i shed a tear when i saw the tinuy-an falls. our country is sooo beautiful! the enchanted river is also giving it a run for it's money. it's the first time that i was diving into water (putting my newly acquired swimming skills to use) and it's beyond liberating. those few seconds of floating mid-air... priceless. and splashing on clear blue freshwater isn't so bad either.

october, november and december were spent on weekend hikes. i've gotten serious about it now that I sometimes go alone on some saturdays. on mondays im already looking forward to where we'd go on sunday. i have a sunday hiking group and they are the sweetest bunch of women. they are purely nice and very brave. i like being around with them. i know im the weakest link in their group when we go out and i hope they dont get tired of looking out for me. i like being with them because for a few hours every week i feel invincible. they go for extreme trails, the ones that make me cry out to heavens because i could feel that it’s my end… then we finish every time and i always come out a different person. just before the year ended i climbed kota kinabalu. it’s one of my greatest achievement. i’ve had more difficult trails in HK than this, but it holds a special place in my heart.

so 2013… you have a lot of things to do to top 2012. im sure you’re going to be one hell of an exciting ride. im ready!!!