Boo hoo, one year older at 26!!! 🙁

Wow, how time runs SO fast, and again, I look in awe on how my life had changed 180 degrees in just the past couple of months. I’m much different from the woman I was before.

Exactly a year ago, I was broken, confused, lost and unhappy. Sure, it was probably because my ex-boyfriend had the worst timing of breaking up with me 2 weeks before my birthday (*bonks him on the head*), but at that time, I felt that my stint of working for the global PC company was almost coming to a dead end and my life wasn’t going anywhere. The work was not challenging enough, and it was taking a toll on my life.

In short, I was miserable.

Even so, I became a lot less nicer, much to the chargin of my closest friends. If you’d read a year back, most posts are a reply to attacks that I’ve “changed,” and they weren’t positive changes. My friends almost had a heart attack and rushed to my side asking me why the heck I was telling everyone I was no longer being Miss Nice.

No regrets though, after being so much of a Little-Miss-Sweet, I’ve realized that being too sweet isn’t all that great, and sometimes, you have to assert yourself in order to keep sane.

So you just don’t smile because people expect you to.

And yes, it’s okay to be moody, cry and scream at times so long as you don’t dwell on the feelings too much.

To tell you the truth, it was great not being as nice as before. “Nice” is when you’re falling over your back trying to please everybody else. Not being so nice means being nicer to yourself. If people are screwing you over, then heck no, they can’t be your really close friends.

Meanwhile, a lot has changed over the past couple of months.

I’m still an active part of the organization am in, but so much less now — and last weekend, have started to look for a successor to pass the torch to. Even when I’m socializing, I’m pickier with those I hang out with and politely ignore those who are mere blimps on my radar. Haha, I think am being more jaded — exhibiting a been-there, done-that behavior.

My life has also gone a lot busier, not due to a lot of parties, but rather with work, and I feel more accomplished since my life has a future. I know if I work my butt off, rewards should come in due time maybe not monetarily, but more on growth and experience, which for me are more valuable assets.

Sure, I keep in touch with a lot less friends now, and a lot of my time is spent on doing the things that I love with people I really enjoy… but hey, after spending so much time in the social scene, I needed to take a breather and I’m having the time of my life spending my time with something more meaningful.

So anyway, in accordance to my blog’s tradition, I’ll ask myself the same questions I’ve asked exactly a year ago and see how different things had become. And yes, it would again be very difficult to top last year, as it’s been really an emotional roller coaster ride, but hopefully, being 26 brings a whole new world of change and excitement into my life.

So C’est La Vie and thanks for not giving up on me and this blog when things got really busy!

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1) What have you done when you were 25 that you’ve never done before?

– Surfed, river traced, tried out capoeira, paintball, salsa, riding jeep buggies over sand dunes, dressed in a French Maid’s outfit 😉

– Climbed Taiwan’s tallest Jade mountain — torturous but I did it! It’s a once in a lifetime experience, meaning, NEVER AGAIN! 😀

– Traveled to Cambodia, Phuket (Thailand) and Myanmar and locally, there’s Alishan, Kenting and Green Island

– Took care of my face more… with great results!

– Had my first biz trip, traveled in style ALL the way and met great people

2) Did anyone close to you give birth?

– Not within my relatives, but my new colleagues have been popping out babies like crazy! I think there were around 5 births on the last month!

3) Did anyone close to you die?

– Thankfully no… but some did in spirit.

4) What countries did you visit?

– Cambodia in December, Thailand in February, Myanmar in June, Hong Kong and Singapore last September. Wanted to go out for our 5-day mid-autumn festival holiday, but all flights are booked! Boo hoo!!! So I stayed home and still had a blast, as always.

5) What would you like to have when you’re 26 that you lacked when you were 25?

– More discipline and energy to achieve more and get ahead, more focus on getting my priorities straight, continuous encouragement to reach the stars, the luck to make the right connections and somebody wonderful right by my side while I’m conquering the world! 🙂

Haha, it’s been a year since I’ve been officially single so it would be great if somebody could just stop this dry spell. Well, we’ll see… am going out on a date tonight. Sounds like there’s potential.

6) What date this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

– August 2, 2006 when I first started this new job — which literally changed my life forever.

Before, I used to have a life… now I don’t! 😀

– Going to Cambodia and Myanmar which were heavenly vacations. Thailand was hell, but that’s another story. Lesson: Choose your travel companions well!

7) What was your biggest achievement of the year?

– Keeping up the good work of being the head of a now-2,000+ member organization though plateauing at 2-3 projects a month — all the while balancing it by having a life anybody in this world can be proud of

– Healing beautifully (with a lot of bumpy roads in between) after a surprise breakup and being civil to the ex who I still see almost every day

– Finally being comfortable with myself and my own skin. I love being single!

8) What was your biggest failure?

– Not being able to get tickets to go abroad for the 5-week mid-autumn vacation. 🙂 Kidding aside, I think it’s in not seeing my ex for what he really was, and not figuring out my life earlier!

– Buying the iPod Nano — I am NOT happy with this purchase. 5 hours of music time only?! Blech!

– Not spending enough time with people I used to spend a lot of time with ever since I started with this new job and not working out as much as I used to

9) Did you suffer illness or injury?

– Is my broken heart (since healed) included?

– Tons of big bruises as a result of the numerous outdoor activities I’ve been doing lately but what’s new? Sigh, that’s why cocktail dresses are out… I have bruises all around my feet!

– Eye-strain from looking too much at the computer.

10) What was the best thing you bought?

– My Lumix FX01 camera — taking great pictures in Jade Mountain, Hong Kong and Singapore!

– NT$3,500 kick-ass black high-heeled boots! They are going to rock despite being a pain in my pocket.

11) Whose behavior merited celebration?

– My 20 year old brother — for starting his own business of importing HID lamps and car accessories at such a tender age and getting my parents to go to to China to do orders for him. Gosh, he’s going to be so much richer than I am in a few years!

– To Lisa, whose courage and strength is admirable despite all the chaos going around her. Good luck with that new job!

– BritGuy, for only a few moments, I took a view of your life and was impressed that you had your priorities straight and you know EXACTLY what you want. Bravo!

12) Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

– My ex – he just wasn’t what I thought he was, and disappointed me in so many ways after we broke up. Guess that’s why God works in mysterious ways! He’s behaves a lot more these days, but we’ll see.

– PG who showed me that some guys, though they really make great friends, make awful boyfriends. Thanks for showing me that some guys can be real dogs. Didn’t make me depressed, just an eye-opening experience

– MC who has such a negative impression of me that it’s so hard to correct anymore. This saddens me

– Aussie guy who has me running around in circles. When is this game going to stop?

– Corporates who are unreasonably demanding and act like little spoiled brats

13) Where did most of your money go?

– Traveling, fine dining (I love steak!), entertainment (e.g., clubbing, outdoor trips, eating out, movies, etc.), rent and most recently shoes and bags (yes, I’ve officially become more of a girly girl!)

14) What did you get really, really, really excited about?

– My new job

– Traveling is a far second

15) What song will always remind you of this year?

– Danceable songs like Nelly Furtado’s “ManEater” and “Promiscuous Girl.” I just heart these songs!

There’s also “Buttons” and “Beep” by Pussycat Dolls, “Let’s Make Love” by Deep Dish, Three 6 Mafia’s “Pretty Fly,” Cassie’s “Me & U,” Eminem’s “When I’m Gone,” Rihanna’s “Unfaithful,” Nelly’s “Grillz,” Chris Brown’s “Run It,” T-Pain’s “I’m in Love with a Stripper,” Linkin Park’s “Numb” (featured in Miami Vice, which sucked), Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” and my all-time fave, “I’m Sprung”

16) Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? Happier and much more fulfilled

ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter, unfortunately so

iii. richer or poorer? Richer, or so I hope.

17) What do you wish you’d done more of?

– Taken more risks and kissed more guys. Guess I thought too much, was too cautious and unfortunately, was too quick to judge men, which resulted to the Aussie guy disaster. But I guess, I’ve never learned from my Michan experience. Won’t say no the next time around!!! 😉

– Traveled more! Vietnam anyone?!

– Cleaned my place and did my laundry more regularly

– Exercise… definitely! And more wallclimbing time!

18) What do you wish you’d done less of?

– Obliterate guys’ ego into teeny-tiny bits… cause I fall for them afterwards!

– B*tching that my life wasn’t going anywhere… Lisa’s right! Stop bitching about it, and do something about it! So worried less and done more

19) How will you be spending Christmas?

Christmas is on a Monday, so probably working… or take my vacation leaves at last and go abroad!!!

20) Did you fall in love between October 2005 to October 2006?

– Does crushes help? There’s the cute French beau who’s still adorable even though he’s not relationship material, Aussie guy who’s a friend-plus and Britguy who showed me how a girl should be treated!

21) How many one-night stands?

– No comment 🙂

22) What was your favorite TV program?

– God, now have a TV but don’t really watch it. But prolly CSI.

23) Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

– Dislike, yes. Hate, no.

24) What was the best book you read?

– This year? Just finished “Pride & Prejudice” by Jane Austen. Very classic — totally enjoyed this read!

25) What was your greatest musical discovery?

– Rediscovery: Nelly Furtado. Also found out the voices of some girls on my organization kicks ass!

26) What did you want and got?

– A job I loved. Knowing what types of guys I should NOT date. Traveling in style and eating good food. Red wine!

27) What was your favorite film of this year?

– Ummm… who has time to watch films? Lake House probably… I cried. Didn’t watch as many films this year as the year before.

28) How did you celebrate your birthday?

– On the 14th, had a nice steak dinner with several super good friends at Herbs, lost my wallet, but still partied on at Room 18 till the very wee hours in the morning. My acquaintances from the industry, MT, was also celebrating her birthday then, so our group got merged. One notable fact about my celebration was that 75% of the participants were male. Ooops! This shows that I need more girlfriends, but it was fun having all the my good guy friends in attendance. 🙂

On the day itself, I worked since it was my birthday, but went out with my Japanese friends who treated me to Watami. Really, really nice! In addition, got several birthday wishies from around the globe which was very sweet.

29) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

– Someone to share it with! Single for a year lo! 🙁

30) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?

– Tons of sexy one piece dresses in classic yet flirty styles, tanktops and shorts, and tight jogging pants for wallclimbing. New addition — power suits and conservative yet colorful cardigans for work!

31) What kept you sane?

– Mike S., Lisa and good ol’ Dave C.

– REALLY LOUD music!

– Wallclimbing — always lifts my spirits up!

35) Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

– Tough. Actually none. Everyone was disappointing.

36) What political issue stirred you the most?

– The recent anti-Chen rally happening around Taiwan. I personally think it’s silly as the only way a president can step down is via due process (he’s been convicted of a crime, and corruption evidence is solid). Just think that a lot of political opportunists are taking advantage of the situation.

37) Who did you miss?

– My mom

38) Who was the best new person you met?

– Mike S. — I knew him from last year but our friendship deepened a lot this year

39) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned between October 2005 to October 2006:

– The only person responsible for your failures/success is yourself. Don’t depend on other people and the best person you can depend on is yourself.

– Choosing the right travel companions is crucial if you want to have a great vacation.

– Buy those expensive boots if you want them! You deserve them!

– Sometimes people are just incompatible, so just move on. However, it takes wisdom to find out which relationships you can cut bait in… and which you can fight for. So note, Aussie guy… yes, we’re still hanging.

– Overtime ain’t that bad, and it’s best to call people at 10:00 am.

– You make your life. Hence, you can’t blame your happiness/depression on anybody else. Things change, situations change, but oftentimes, it’s up to you to make the best out of it!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

– “Beep” by Pussycat Dolls — tells us what the priorities of most guys are! 😉

– “ManEater” by Nelly Furtado — what I aspire to be!