Life Lately: 2021 recap

#AJ  #books  #chicken 

Story by gioweeargao

January 19, 2022

AJ and Gwe during sunset in San Juan, La Union

Happy 2022!! πŸ₯³ Looking back, so many things happened in 2021 (and I am still trying an attempt to blog about them all), so here’s a mini recap for me to remember this past year. 

  • March 06 2021. HBD Gwe 🎈. First travel since pandemic going to Tagaytay, in one of our dream destinations, Escala. Did not disappoint. Also I am now 25 years old whaaaaaat? πŸ‘΅πŸΌ
  • Staycation in Escala Tagaytay with birthday setup
  • March 07 2021. We are now furparents 🐢! AJ got a little bored with staying inside the house all the time (meanwhile me I loved it) that he decided it's time we take care of a puppy. Now we have Chicken πŸ“, a red toy poodle puppy who eats his poop and sleeps with his belly up.
  • Toy poodle, Chicken
  • March 15 2021. AJ's first day as Infrastructure Engineer at Xendit πŸ’». I applied first but was not hired (long story but check out my technical exam output! πŸ€“). When our colleague working there asked AJ to apply too, I told him to do his best because we like the company, and so he did! A week later and we were in La Union for a workation 🌊, one of the best weeks of the year!
  • Workation at Clean Beach, San Juan, La Union
  • June 22 2021. First upload in Tiktok πŸ“š. After months of lurking in the #booktok community of Tiktok, finally decided to upload my own content (probably out of FOMO/inggit). I was not expecting the amount of welcome I received. Indeed the best community out there. Plus I now read around 10 books a month! πŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌ, see my top 5 reads of 2021.
  • Tiktok Kwe's Account screenshot
  • July 11 2021. HBD AJ 🎈. It was a luxury staycation in Shangri-La BGC 🏨, primarily because I wanted to go to Fully Booked (we don’t have a branch in Pampanga). Slowly getting used to stress free luxury travel, send help.
  • AJ and Gwe at Shangri-La pool, BGC
  • September 23 and Oct 21 2021. Vaccine days in BGC πŸ’‰. AKA hello Fully Booked again πŸ“š! Side note: why was it so hard to get vaccinated when you don't know anyone in government??? 
  • Gwe at Fully Booked BGC branch
  • September 25 2021. HAU Webinar Guest Speaker πŸ“’. This is my third time as a speaker for the topic β€œIntroduction to HTML5 and CSS3” to HAU students. And it still gives me anxiety to speak in front of a crowd but will always consider these as a win! πŸŽ‰
  • Screenshot of webinar banner, guest speaker Gwe
  • Oct 29 2021. Last day as Lead Software Engineer at Owens Asia πŸ‘‹πŸ». I got tired of the micromanagement and the (subtle-but-still-there) misogyny πŸ™ˆ. No backup plans. It was AJ who insisted I resign and was more than happy to let me afford unemployment. What a privilege!! Update: Still no plans to find new work but I am starting to code again with my personal small projects. 
  • Google Meet screenshot for Gwe's last day announcement
  • November 03 2021. Third Anniversary πŸ’›. The day we discovered we don’t need to drive far to have fun. My long term vacation started right. πŸ’›
  • AJ and Gwe at Fabrika Villas
  • November 27 2021. We got engaged πŸ’! What I thought was date night in Souq was actually an overnight stay in Tropical Stay. Blogged all about our magical night here.
  • AJ and Gwe after engagement proposal
  • December 12 2021. QiWellness Living with friends πŸ’†πŸ»β€β™€οΈ. The most relaxing travel I ever had. 5 star service and location and view and company.
  • View at QiWellness Living in Tagaytay
  • December 29 2021. Umbrella Rocks and Masamirey Cove πŸ–. A little bit disappointed and a little bit not used to long drives any more (at the very end of Pangasinan). But still enjoyed ofc! Ended the year with a bang and probably our last travel for a while due to recent covid spread and I am running out of my backup money hihi πŸ’Έ. 
  • AJ and Gwe in Masamirey Cove pool, Pangasinan

And here I thought 2021 wasn't a productive year? This. This is why I like lists. πŸ’›

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