It’s that time of the year again where I celebrate yet another birthday.
As I looked back on my blog posts, I realized that I haven’t been blogging as much as I should. That’s what happens when you get engaged (November 2013), plan your wedding, enjoy the wedding, go on a 28-day honeymoon, and then start managing your own business. There are so many posts I want to share and yet so little time to write them.
How time really flies…
Anyway, it’s been another interesting year for me. For one, last October, I never realized I would be married by this year. In fact, that was the FARTHEST thing on my mind.
I also didn’t think I would be managing my own business. Ever since I graduated from college, I’ve always wanted to manage my own business. And now, I am.
Truth be told, I’m still very new and inexperienced. There’s still a long way to go. Managing your own business is hard. I managed to hire a bad area supervisor and sales dropped 30%. I got a few bad employees and got involved in some labor cases. On the flip side, our business is stabilizing and the core group is coming on nicely. Our staff quality is getting better, and I love our company culture. People are workaholics and thankfully, through God’s grace, their heads are in the right place. I really do hope that this period of stability will last.
And finally, I love being married.
It’s only been 5 months, but it’s been blissful so far. People say it’s the honeymoon period but I really do hope this is forever. My husband is so sweet and loving, I’m glad I married him!
Anyway, enough with the summaries. As per tradition, here are the Q&As:
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1) What have you done when you were 33 that you’ve never done before?
– Bought wedding magazines. I’ve never bought them in my life!
– Shoot pre-nup photos and videos.
– Get engaged. Whoah, I never knew organizing a tinghun was so tedious! Lots of traditions to follow! It was tons of fun though.
– Get married! Yeah, that was a night to remember. Right, Hubby? 😉
– Travel with my Husband. Believe it or not, we’ve never stayed overnight together. Our honeymoon was our first foray in how to co-live together. And boy, was that an adjustment.
– Smoke weed. And then have sex while still high. Chronicled here.
– Visit Amsterdam, Milan, Venice, Verona, Athens, Mykonos and Santorini.
– Ate delicious durian fresh in Singapore. Never thought they could taste so darn good. They tasted like warm chocolates! First time in my life!
2) Did anyone close to you give birth?
– Yes, my sister-in-law gave birth to my husband’s family first grandkid. She’s six months now and uber fat! Cries a lot though…
3) Did anyone close to you die?
– Not really. I wasn’t also allowed to go to any wakes.
4) What countries did you visit?
– Singapore and Hong Kong to buy things for our tinghun.
– The Netherlands: Have I mentioned I love their curry fries? I still dream of them till today.
– Italy: George Clooney made a good decision to get married in Venice. It’s one of the most romantic and most interesting places on earth. And I’ve been to MANY countries.
– Greece: I loved their laid-backness and their Frappes! Can’t get any cheaper coffees than these in Europe! I could drink them morning, noon and night… for only about EUR1.5!
5) What would you like to have when you’re 34 that you lacked when you were 33?
– For me to have a good relationship again with my brother. So far it’s been a year and we’ve come to a friendly truce, but I would love to have that level of closeness back.
– For my husband and my brother to repair their relationship together. They still dislike each other and it’s awkward during family gatherings. Since they’re the two men I love most in my life, I would like for them to have a good relationship with each other.
– Even better relationship with my mom and my in-laws. I love my parents-in-laws but since it’s the first year they have with me around, there are still things that are new. I hope that they can love me more deeply and we can enjoy good relationships together.
– Good business acumen: I’m far from perfect and am still learning every single day. I still get frustrated and there are days when my head would just hurt. I would like to make less expensive mistakes in business and more better business decisions in the future.
– Better people at work: I’ve chronicled in several posts — You Get What You Pay For and Disappointed with the Philippine Workforce — how hard it is to find good people here in the Philippines. I pray for better people in the coming year.
– For growth. I hope to grow our business more aggressively in 2015. I hope that the road would be smooth and our plans would come to fruition.
– For me to be able to blog more with more interesting and relevant posts. 🙂
6) What date this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
– June 1, 2014: Our new anniversary date
7) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
– Surviving wedding planning while still maintaining good relationships with my family and all my in-laws. Weddings can be expensive and can be an easy source of tension for both families. Thankfully, both families survived and we were able to organize a nice wedding.
– Making a livable home with Hubby. Thank you SM Our Home for reasonably-priced furniture! My cousin sells expensive furniture and we managed to buy our sofa, dining, and bedroom set for a price that is just a sofa in their store. Proud! 🙂
– Staying happily married with Hubby. Almost five months and counting… hey, it’s not easy! Marriage is all about give and take. Thankfully, Hubby is also generous with the giving and letting me take more than my fair share of goodies.
8 ) What was your biggest failure?
– Not spending enough time with my mom. I miss her and understandably, I could not spend more time with her. It’s good though that we spend Saturday afternoons together.
– Not increasing sales in my business. I blame my folly for hiring the wrong people in the organization. Yes, it’s been a steep learning curve. Ganbatte for 2015!
9) Did you suffer illness or injury?
– Not really, maybe just a lot of back ache due to stress. Same as last year.
10) What was the best thing you bought?
– Our Tempur Original Collection bed. Actually it was a wedding gift from my mom and it’s money very well spent. Now, most beds cannot compete and our backs ache when we live elsewhere. Once we sleep, we don’t want to get up. 🙂
– A Chanel GST with gold hardware in Athens. Should’ve bought it in Venice where it was cheaper, oh well. Isn’t it an impractical beauty? Should be the last expensive bag I’d ever buy.
– Rolex watch for my engagement party. It’s a watch I’ll most likely buy once in my lifetime.
11) Whose behavior merited celebration?
– Husband: for putting up with my quirks and idiosyncrasies. And for letting me have my way most of the time.
– My mom: for being a great mother and mom-in-law.
12) Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
– Our area supervisor whom I fired a month ago. Honestly, she was a manipulative liar.
13) Where did most of your money go?
– After getting married, mostly savings? We’ve been saving up most days and eating at my in-laws. You suddenly become more responsible after getting married.
14) What did you get really, really, really excited about?
– My marriage and our business. 🙂
15) What song will always remind you of this year?
– Katy Perry, “Unconditionally” and “Dark Horse”
– Pentatonix, “Daft Punk”
– Christina Aguilera & A Great Big World, “Say Something”
– Pharrell Williams, “Happy”
– Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minah, “Bang Bang”
16) Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier. Being married is good!
ii. thinner or fatter? Oh gosh, fatter.
iii. richer or poorer? A LOT poorer. Being an entrepreneur means lots of sacrifice and savings!
17) What do you wish you’d done more of?
– Spent more time with mom when I was still single. How the hell was I supposed to know I was getting married this year?
– Maybe spent more time with my brother. I wonder if there was anything I could do that would’ve made my relationship with my brother better.
– Gone to Morroco with my girlfriends before I got married. Oh well, put it in the bucket list of places to go with Hubby.
18) What do you wish you’d done less of?
– Get mad at work. Useless stress.
19) How will you be spending Christmas?
– I don’t know yet. When you’re married, you follow Hubby’s family’s instructions. So far, I don’t know what we’re going to do yet.
20) Did you fall in love between October 2013 to October 2014?
– Yes! I’ve fallen more deeply in love as time goes on. 
21) How many one-night stands?
– Hahaha, do many night stands count?
22) What was your favorite TV program?
– “House of Cards” – I wonder what would happen to Underwood once he gets what he wants. What else would keep us at the edge of our seats?
– “Scandal” – Premise was interesting in the beginning but went downhill really fast. Enough with the sappiness and more with the intelligence!
– “The Americans” – Russian spies posing as Americans? Count me in!
23) Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
– Yes, let’s keep it at that.
24) What was the best book you read?
– Haven’t been reading a lot of books this year. Too much Anipop. 🙁
25) What was your greatest musical discovery?
– Tiffany Alvord: See her haunting rendition of “Royals”
– Ed Sheeran, “Lego House”
– Labrinth feat. Emelie Sande, “Beneath your Beautiful”
26) What did you want and got?
– The Chanel GST. It was half the price of the Chanel Classic and bigger, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make.
– A very nice engagement and wedding party
– A European honeymoon
– A loving marriage
27) What was your favorite film of this year?
– “Snowpiercer” – Interesting story. It tells of a high speed train that runs 24/7, 365 days a year on a rail that goes around the world. The premise is something that I haven’t seen before, and I couldn’t help but be in suspense every time Chris Evans opened a new carriage.
28) How did you celebrate your birthday?
– I was sick with fever the night before my birthday. 38.6! My hubby nursed me back to health — with lots of love and water. Come noontime I was fine and we tried out a restaurant in Rockwell, Grace Park.
Had 2-way chicharon (Php250), hubby had muscovado beef belly (php580) and the seafood pasta for me. The food was fine but not as satisfying as I’ve thought. Company was great though! Always love spending time with hubby especially our green tea latte in Starbucks.
Dinner at Gumbo followed and some relaxing one on one time with hubby. Overall a peaceful yet pleasant birthday! 🙂
29) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
– A good relationship with my brother.
30) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
– Still the same, lots of skirts and dresses, interspersed with a little pants and shorts. Lots of cardigans since the AC in the office is especially cold.
31) What kept you sane?
– My husband and my mom.
35) Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
– Joy Tan-Chi, she is the writer of the TeachwithJoy.com blog. Her candor, faith and good example is a model for many women and wives everywhere.
36) What political issue stirred you the most?
– The Umbrella Protest in Hong Kong – then again, it got old pretty quickly
37) Who did you miss?
– My dad, hands down.
38) Who was the best new person you met?
– None really. I’ve not met a lot of great people lately. Maybe Tess, our office manager, who has been employed by my parents-in-law for the last 18 years. Her steady presence, retail expertise and willingness to teach have really helped me in learning more about business. I really appreciate her presence in the office.
39) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned between October 2012 to October 2013:
– Good people are not easy to find.
– People have no qualms lying to your face. They will be frustrating and irritating. The most important thing is to stand your ground and stick to your principles. Just do the right thing.
– Managing a business is HARD. It’s not easy to make money. Every day is a learning experience, and you really have to love what you do. Otherwise it’ll be hell on earth.
– Prioritize your husband. Make him feel special and he will make you feel special.
– Buy a good bed. And nice pillows.
– If your wife irrationally wants to see the Santorini sunset, you give her the freaking sunset. It’s not worth arguing with her.
– Getting fat is inevitable. Remnants of stress. Oh well.
– You really have to trust God in His ultimate wisdom. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
40) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Taylor Swift, “Shake it Off” — Sometimes, you have to stop caring what other people think of you.
I stay out too late
Got nothing in my brain
That’s what people say, mmm-mmm
That’s what people say, mmm-mmmI go on too many dates [chuckle]
But I can’t make ’em stay
At least that’s what people say, mmm-mmm
That’s what people say, mmm-mmmBut I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop moving
It’s like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, “It’s gonna be alright.”‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it offI never miss a beat
I’m lightning on my feet
And that’s what they don’t see, mmm-mmm
that’s what they don’t see, mmm-mmmI’m dancing on my own (dancing on my own)
I make the moves up as I go (moves up as I go)
And that’s what they don’t know, mmm-mmm
that’s what they don’t know, mmm-mmmBut I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop grooving
It’s like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, “It’s gonna be alright.”‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it offShake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it offHey, hey, hey
Just think while you’ve been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world,
You could’ve been getting down to this sick beat.My ex-man brought his new girlfriend
She’s like “Oh, my god!” but I’m just gonna shake.
And to the fella over there with the hella good hair
Won’t you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shakeYeah ohhh
‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate (haters gonna hate)
I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break (mmmm)
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake (and fake, and fake, and fake)
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it offShake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it offShake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it offShake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off (you’ve got to),
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off
Have a great week ahead everyone!
