2009 in a Nutshell

Had been meaning to do this since 2010 began but I never got around to doing that. So before January ends, here goes my annual blogging tradition.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
It was my first time to go parasailing during the summer…my first time to be on a parachute actually. I was partly thrilled, partly nervous but I absolutely enjoyed every minute I was being dragged through the air.

I had never been caught in the middle of a raging typhoon before - until 2009. When Ondoy swept through Manila, bringing heavy, unceasing rains in its wake, I was driving my car through the northbound lane of EDSA. When I got to Pasig, the floodwaters were getting deeper and my dashboard lights were coming alive in colors I had never seen before. Tried to go back home via EDSA's southbound lane this time with floodwaters raging. Took me two whole hours to get home (normally takes 10 to 15 minutes) and by the time I walked in the front door, I was so shaken up I had to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a pillow and watch helplessly as water invaded Metro Manila.

2. Did you keep your new years's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
Yes, I kept almost all of my resolutions for 2009 but I still need to work on other things. I'm getting better with the cooking thing. If I made dessert (Ate Jocy's no-bake cheesecake) for giving away as gifts two Christmases ago, I made pasta this year almost single-handedly. Almost! Will definitely be making more resolutions (and food) this year. Yay!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Had a new cousin (and another namesake) this year in the person of baby Aida Shara.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Didn't know President Cory Aquino personally but she holds a special place in the hearts of all Filipinos, including mine. Michael Jackson's death was a shocker too.

5. What countries did you visit in 2009?
Didn't travel outside the Philippines this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Haha! A Mini Cooper! In my dreams.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched in your memory and why?
Lots!
August 3, 2009: Walking alongside Pres. Aquino's funeral cortege along Ayala en route to the transfer of her remains from San Juan to Intramuros. The procession stopped for a while in the corner of Ayala and Paseo de Roxas and in the midst of a downpour of yellow ribbons, yellow balloons and confetti, everybody started singing "Bayan Ko" while flashing the Laban sign.

December 27, 2009: Finding the perfect place and time to sing for my Creator.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Starting out the school year with insecurity and uncertainty and emerging victorious in the end. As my friend Rachel said, "Go happy endings!"

9. What was your biggest failure?
Hmmm…I can't think of anything.

10. Did you suffer illness of injury?
Had stomach flu about twice or thrice this year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A nice red dress which looks good, fits well and cost me less than $6! Wait…did I just say the best thing I bought was a dress?!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Every Filipino.

The Bayanihan spirit once more made an appearance when Ondoy ransacked much of Luzon. It wasn't just about helping each other out in times of need. It was also about looking at every Filipino and finding a bayani, a true hero, right before your eyes.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Sad to say, the President. This seems like a pretty constant answer. Yes, PGMA and Peter Pan. :D

14. Where did most of your money go?
Photocopies, load for my Broadband stick, KFC Twister treats on Saturday afternoons and buying my sister's dog.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting Fully Booked gift certificates for my birthday! I schedule the books I buy so that I don't consume the gift certificates in one trip. I still have a couple more left!

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2009?
a. "The Show" by Lenka because it's the first song I hear every morning…overtime my alarm goes off.
b. "Defying Gravity" from the Wicked soundtrack because it's a beautiful song with great lyrics (and Idina Menzel and Kristine Chenoweth really blow my socks off overtime I listen to the song).
c. "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Danny Gokey. First time I heard him sing it live on American Idol was mind-blowing. And my goodness, how does he come up with those runs?
d. "Stray Italian Greyhound" by Vienna Teng. Great song, perfect lyrics with the right amount of abstruseness and very fitting for my year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? -- Way happier!
ii. thinner or fatter? -- Ha! Fatter…slightly fatter. :D
iii. richer or poorer? -- Richer! YES! :)

18. What do you wish you'd done more?
I wish I laced up my sneakers and spent more time running or hit the pool more often rather than just sleeping. I wish I read a lot more law-unrelated books this year. I only read a handful and it's pitiful!

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Less procrastination! My gosh, it's like a disease!

20. What was your favorite TV program?
American Idol Season 8 made my year! Everyone on that particular season was really good. As for teleseryes, I was so hung up on Tayong Dalawa despite the horrendous ending and Boys Over Flowers even if the Korean version of Rui Hanazawa/Hua Ze Lei looks like a girl in some angles.

21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No…not really.

22. What was the best book you read?
The Time Traveller's Wife was a great book to just sink into. It was a different kind of read - very straightforward prose, very masculine even in some instances but surprisingly emotion-laden.

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I realized that I was not a Michael Jackson fan but many of his songs were ranked among my favorites. Slightly irreconcilable but true.

24. What did you want and get?
Mara Jade, my new laptop and latest manifestation of geekdom! :D And getting published in the Inquirer again in January of 2009 was certainly a thrill. :) I was on Cloud 11 for days.

25. What was your favorite film of this year?
Toss-up between Slumdog Millionaire and (500) Days of Summer. Slumdog Millionaire was the best feel-good movie I have seen in a long time whereas (500) Days of Summer was hilarious, quirky and boasted of a great soundtrack.

26. What was the worst film you saw this year?
Didn't get to see a movie I didn't like in 2009…which is good. :D

27. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 26 this year and on my birthday, I wore my red headband and had dinner in Glorietta with my high school friends and classmates.

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Watching the Lea Salonga Your Songs concert would have definitely been like a cherry on top of my parfait that is 2009!

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
I love the long shirts/tops and fitted jeans ensemble and that plaid made a comeback!

30. What kept you sane?
As always, the Bible. :)

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Oh my goodness…Danny Gokey! He's a guy who sings like no other and does so with his heart! Kristin Chenoweth is hilarious and Idina Menzel is a showstopper!

32. What political issue stirred you the most?
Hmmmm…the controversy surround election automation, PGMA's supposed extravagant dinner abroad and the Maguindanao massacre, of course. The Maguindanao massacre was especially disturbing since it made me reflect on whether or not the value for human life is almost nil in this country to the point that politics is enough a motivation to brutally slaughter so many people. What for?

33. Who did you miss?
Pastor Acosta. I always looked forward to his sermons whenever I went home for vacation and I still need to get used to the fact that I will never hear him speak again.

34. Who was the best new person you met?
Getting to know people more is better than meeting new persons. I thank God for giving me the chance to get to know Ate Wawa and Ate Germaine this year. I was also so glad be "bus mother" to my Evidence posse, people who have become not just a support group but friends (you know who you guys are). :)

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
It's good to make long-range plans but always be on the look-out for detours - and be ready to take them. They may faze you at first but going through them be something you won't regret doing.

36. What was the nicest thing someone told you about yourself?
My cousin James to me when I was parking rear first: "Do you realize how sexy that is?"
That got me thinking: if a parking slot were a runway, I'd be a supermodel! HAHA!

37. The most touching experience you had this year.
Sitting next to Lolo's bed in his hospital room and reading the Bible to him.
Crouching beside Mamang's tombstone and clearing it of grass and dried leaves, all the while hearing her speak to me in my head, "Finish your story, Aida Rose."

38. What did you like most about yourself this year?
I liked the fact that I didn't let fear take hold of me this year. I didn't dwell too much on not getting what I wanted but instead made do with what was given to me.

39. What did you hate about yourself this year?
My hissy fits! I need to install a circuit breaker in my head or something. Still working on it…still working on it.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Oh no not now,
Please not now,
I just settled into the glass half empty
Made myself at home

So what do I do with this?
This stray Italian greyhound
These inconvenient fireworks
This ice-cream-covered screaming hyperactive thought

So what do I do with this?
This sudden burst of sunlight
And me with my umbrella
Cross-indexing every weatherman's report
I was ready for the downslide
But not for spring to well up

What do I do
With a love that won't sit still
Won't do what it's told
What do I do
With a love that won't sit still?"
- snippets from Stray Italian Greyhound, Vienna Teng

41. Was 2009 a good year for you?
Yes, it was a great year.

42. What was your favorite moment of the year?
My cousin Loida's wedding was something all of us had been looking forward to for a long, long time. Getting to dance "Jai Ho" during her wedding with the rest of my cousins was a blast…and the rehearsals were more of a riot.

Going on a homecoming trip to Pangasinan with Tita Vilma, Tito Dan and my cousin James was quite poignant.

Coming home in October to find my grandfather moving past the fact that he was practically married to his wheelchair and was now "walking for real."

43. What was your least favorite moment of the year?
Having to go through this school year's enrollment by bidding for subjects. Everything was just so uncertain…and I ended up in a class that I really didn't want to be in! Yikes!
The summer was also particularly difficult to deal with as total nerve compression paralyzed my Lolo from the waist down and I know I will never see him walk again.

44. Where were you when 2009 began?
In Taguhangin, Ajuy, Iloilo.

45. Who were you with?
With my parents, sister and grandparents.

46. Where will you be when 2009 ends?
Still in Ajuy, Iloilo.

47. Who will you be with when 2009 ends?
Hopefully…still the same people.

48. Do you have new year's resolution for 2010?
I hope to be more patient, more optimistic and less of a pain.

49. What was your favorite month of 2009?
December! I took a lot of pictures during Christmas season in 2009. Plus, Tito Stan and Tita Ping took us to a surprise road trip to Aklan where we visited the Sampaguita Gardens and practically froze our toes off in the cold springs of Nabas! Wooohooo!

50. What was your favorite record from 2009?
Lots! I loved Lenka's The Show, the original Broadway cast recording of Wicked and Rock of Ages and the soundtrack to (500) Days of Summer. And oh, my own personal compilation of MP3s of Danny Gokey's live and studio performances.

51. How many concerts did you see in 2009?
None…except the Easter and the Christmas cantatas in church.

52. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2009?
No. Ha!

53. Do a lot of drugs in 2009?
Evervon-C.

54. You do anything you are ashamed of this year?
As always, yes. :)

55. How much money did you spend in 2009?
I'm not an accountant.

56. What was your proudest moment in 2009?
The day I got a text that Evidence grades were out and I ran to the OCS to see for myself how I did. And I actually fared well! I was so freaking scared to be in that class and every class session was always met with apprehension.

57. What was your most embarrassing moment of 2009?
Ask Sue about December 26, 2009. :) HAHAHA! I wanna hide under a rock.

58. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be?
Ask me…but not here.

59. What are your plans for 2010?
Hope to enjoy whatever academic work is hurled at me this year. I keep on forgetting I'm in the rut...er…place I'm in because I chose to be here and because it is something I'm interested in. I plan to live a bit more healthy this year - cutting down on Coke, going back to swimming and running, giving up on fries and hamburgers (except when I think I deserve a reward). I hope to get the chance to write more.

60. How are you different now that the year has ended?
I hope I've become more mature and more appreciative of the smallest things that every day throws at me. I'm thankful for anything and everything.

61. What are your wishes for the new year?
I wish this year would be the year for change. I say that every year and I do mean it. I pray for a complete overhaul in terms of not just our lives but also with regard to our country, our families, our homes and our relationship with our Maker.

When the Laws of Science Collide

One of the many things that I love about science is its universality in terms of application. Many scientific concepts have found their way in daily conversation and sometimes, their scientific root is forgotten.

In high school, chemistry and physics were two subjects I had to study. I loathed physics whereas chemistry was always the more interesting read (nothing beat biology, though). There were two concepts from these branches of science which have come to have a different meaning for me as time goes by: momentum and catalyst. One starts things off and the other technically gets the ball rolling.

A catalyst, if my high school memory would not fail me, is a substance which allows a chemical reaction to proceed at a much faster rate. The catalyst itself does not undergo any major change in the course of the chemical reaction. Momentum, on the other hand, is one of the simplest formulas to remember. It is simply defined as M = (m) (v) or mass multiplied by velocity. It is that amount or quantity of motion of a body which would depend on how heavy it is and on how fast it is going at a point in time. The easiest example for such a concept is a ball rolling (thus the last sentence in the previous paragraph). A bigger ball rolling at a faster speed naturally has more momentum than a smaller, slower ball. Both the concept of a catalyst and of momentum have no apparent relation in the realm of science but upon closer examination, one can see that both fit the earlier correlation I earlier made. As I said, a catalyst gets things started at a much faster rate whereas the momentum keeps the ball rolling.

In both the theoretical and the figurative sense, a catalyst may not be the equivalent of momentum. After all, what started the spark in the first place may not be the same as that which keeps the candle burning. The natural progress of the inquiry would then delve into the question of which among the two would be more important: the firestarter or the one which keeps the party going. An almost immediate answer would naturally point to momentum. After all, any explosion can start but if nothing propels it forward like a grenade launcher, it's going to pretty much burn itself into the oblivion that it dust particles. But upon closer introspection, the catalyst itself is also rather important. In the first place, it gives the push, the shove and practically determines how far one can go. It sets the direction for the movement, where everything is headed and whatever it is that needs to be hit, crashed into or, simply, achieved.

If every new door, every new opportunity, every new year were a catalyst, I'd wish it were the type that would accelerate the right chemical reaction at the right pace with a particular end product in mind. If it were to be the momentum one seeks, I wish it would be the perfect combination of the optimal mass, the appropriate speed, the best angle and the most favorable of circumstances so as to send any ball rolling and any pendulum swinging for as long as it is possible.