the year that was 2009

i did this last year lacking the time for introspection and review of what 2008 was for me. now i have the time to introspect, but i can't seem to put the right words together. so i do this once more to review what the year was like for me. thanks to diane for reminding me of this 'quiz'


2009 Year-End Report

What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
write a research paper

Did you keep your New Years’ Resolutions, and will you make more for 2010?
i don't make new year's resolutions. but i made one this year, so let's see how i do in 12 months time.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
yep, toni. and may be some that i might have forgotten because i was away.

Did anyone close to you die?
none. but i was really affected by the death of alexis tioseco.

What countries did you visit?
dami! france, germany, spain, switzerland, greece, italy, slovakia, hungary, austria. i think my masters was MA in Budget Tourism rather than development studies. heehee.

What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
quality and quantity time with jan. and savings.

What date/s from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
december 11. graduation! june 12. the day before my wedding anniversary. the hubby finally made it to netherlands, just in time for us to be together again a year after our wedding.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
graduating with merit despite the fact that i did too much television, facebook and travel and hardly gave as much as i should with my studies.

What was your biggest failure?
not appealing for a better grade for my research paper when i knew i deserved a better one. i did feel a little better when my supervisor herself told me that i should have gotten higher.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
flu several times of the year and regular bouts of dysmenorrhea plus weird discomfort in my achilles heel.

What was the best thing you bought?
plane tickets to athens and boat tickets to santorini for jan and me

Whose behavior merited celebration?
jan. for being so patient with me being away

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Where did most of your money go?
travel

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
jan finally getting his schengen visa.

What song(s) will always remind you of 2009?
i gotta feeling by the black eyed peas. it will always remind me of the great vibes of the ISS community

Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder?
happier.

ii. thinner or fatter?
definitely fatter. i was so sedentary and i'm in my 30's. bad combination for someone who loves to eat like me. hahaha.

iii. richer or poorer?
definitely poorer! but still happy

What do you wish you’d done more?
focused on my research paper. seriously.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
TV and FB

How many one-night stands?
why is this an important question? and none, to answer.

What was your favorite TV program?
how i met your mother, glee, america's next top model, american idol, top model, coffee prince. shows that got in the way of proper studying.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
the ampatuans

What was/were the best book/s you read?
I didn't get to read as much as I wanted to because of academics. But because of school, I finally got to read Ch. 1 and 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Hope to finish it someday. And definitely loved "The Graveyard Book."

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Queef and Dave! my classmates rock!

What did you want and get?
a trip to a greek island.

What was your favorite film of this year?
star trek. 500 days of summer.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
nothing. i turned 31!

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
a higher RP grade. ;p

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
european - coats, jackets and boots. me likey!

What kept you sane?
the pinoy mafia.

What political issue stirred you the most?
The Maguindanao massacre!

Who did you miss?
jan

Who was/were the best new person/s you met?
Peter and Anky Jansz. My dear dutch family

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
It's a small world after all.

What was the nicest thing someone told you about yourself.
everyone loves the pinoys.

The most touching experience you’ve had this year?
seeing the filipino unite for ondoy/pepeng and cory aquino's passing

What did you like most about yourself this year?
i had the guts to travel by myself. it's nothing new, but i did it a lot more this year.

What did you hate most about yourself this year?
not having the discipline to be focused in my studies.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
'the rest is still unwritten' from natasha bedingfield's unwritten. it is the ode to my RP

Was 2009 a good year for you?
very much

What was your favorite moment of the year?
riding the atv with jan around santorini island.

What was your least favorite moment of the year?
finding out about ondoy and not having any communication with jan during that time.

Where were you when 2009 began?
In Paris

Who were you with?
crevette and albert, our french-vietnamese hosts. rino, reg, bernice, alma, maricar, risa, dani, nick. and crevette's french guest.

Do you have a new year’s resolution for 2010?
to buy a filipino book or smart non-fiction book for every juvenile fiction book i buy. which should also translate to reading it.

What was your favorite month of 2009?
november, june-july

How many concerts did you see in 2009?
two

Did you drink a lot of alchohol in 2009?
not much. hardly.

Do a lot of drugs in 2009?
tried some marijuana but was unaffected by it. figured it's no use spending my money on something that does not do anything for me.

How much money did you spend in 2009?
too much

What was your proudest moment of 2009?
graduation day

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2009?
i probably blocked it out of my memory.

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be?
booking tickets for my trip with jan. i'd have found a way to sneak in rome somewhere.

What are your plans for 2010?
get a job. get an apartment. spend lots of time with jan. travel locally and hopefully one south east asian country.

How are you different now that the year has ended?
i'm now a master of the universe.

What are your wishes for the new year?
a job i will love and still pay well. a comfortable and accessible home/apartment jan and i can afford. good health and safety to all those i love. to keep communicating with my ISS friends. a clean and honest elections.