Life Lately: 2024 recap

(Sun Jan 19 2025)

2024 was not the best year. It had been a series of highs and lowest of lows. If you will notice there was a lot of shopping done as a quick fix? Yep, thank you capitalism 🫡

The very end of December 2023. Joined RJ in Molarsoft. There are just moments when the timing is perfect. This was one of those. When we went to California late last year (because my dad was sick), I also left my job because it was an overall bad time. So when we came back home I was free for the opportunity of a lifetime. 🦷✨

Jan 5. HBD Chicken. 3 years old! Still mellowing out. Learning to like cuddles like Boomie.

March 6. HBD Kwe. Celebrated in Tana Villas in Batangas. This was the calm before the storms of 2024. The sunset (on our first day) was amazing, have not experienced for a long time.

April 27. Fully Booked's bookworm day event. Got invited for the second time! Highlights were: 1.) got to meet booktok friends (Dems and Koji and more) in person, 2.) the very long bookish chika after the event, it turns out we have mostly read or are interested in Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evanglista. (lowkey emotional that I found my people ✊🏼)

May 1. Big Bad Wolf is back in Pampanga. Thankful for my small bookish network that got me invited to join and promote BBW in Clark. It had been 5 years since the last time they were here and I just know my cabalens are waiting for it.

May. AJ in Jakarta 🇮🇩. For work, and his very last time to meet this particular team in person. Also, he got sick 👻 which is at this point the norm for us (sakitins during travel)

May. Gwe in Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾. Friends invited us to join their trip! My first time in a while to travel without my husband (as he was in Jakarta). It was a test that I can still survive without him. Very fun but tiring.

May 23. Sister graduated high school!! + 2 cousins 🎓. Ha! I feel old 👵🏼.

May 27. First wedding anniversary 💍. Hotel hopping at Swissotel and Hilton.

June - July. California trip 🇺🇸. For the first time in a long while, lived in the same house as my dad and my sister/s. Precious family time (aside from how mentally damaging it was too). And as it turns out it will be the last.

Another highlight of this trip was the fact that it was a girlie girl's trip. I have been living with my husband for almost 4 years now (no complaints!!), and I didn't realize how much I needed this feminine energy. From binge watching documentaries and 90s sitcoms to shopping aimlessly to doing each others' hair 🌸

June 28. Santa Monica Pier. We're complete for the first time!

July 5. Delmar Fair in San Diego. My sister and husband joined forces to pressure me into scary rides 🎢🎡🎠. Not related but broke down at the end of this day 🕶️👻

July 11. HBD AJ at Universal Studios. We tried to go VIP since it's AJ's birthday. So fun and worth it, specially never having to line up for the day ☀️.

Aug 22. Hello Eve 🚗. After years and years of prioritizing me, his family, and my family, AJ finally bought himself something. 🙏🏼

Aug 24 ... 🤍

Sept. MIBF. My booktok account is barely alive, considering the year I've had and the business I am running. What never stopped though was my love for reading. So I took this opportunity to spend the week in Manila with AJ and my sister to shop for books by filipino authors. And celebrate my sister's day.

Sept 19. HBD Boom. Our disney princess 💅🏼

Nov 3. 6 years anniversary. Just layed back and checked in at our favorite, Swissotel. So many dates to celebrate but I am not complaining 💖

Nov 16. Hikaru Mobile Bar's first anniversary 🥂. It had been inspiring to watch my bessie's business thrive. We were just baby frontend developers back in 2016.

Dec 20 - Jan 10. NYC trip 🇺🇸. It was just last year when my big sister said that if we'd ever go to New York (where she lives now), it should be for Christmas/holidays. It wasn't planned or anything but we're here now.

Personally I just could not bear to be in our country this Christmas because of the major changes in our lives. And with that, we'd made the very poor financial decision instead to be with my sisters 2 months prior. My other sister, Gab, has been temporarily staying here since October.

TLDR; It was cold 🥶❄️.

(Will upload the 2nd half of this trip on my 2025 recap). I hope to eventually post a separate blog about it soon, for now some highlights:

Watched Hamilton in NY. This time we're watching with my sister, who was the reason I learned all about this musical. In 2019, she played Satisfied again and again and again back home and I got hooked.

Watched Romeo + Juliet. Starring Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor. My first time to watch a non musical play. Personally I struggled with the language but I liked how modern (v genz) it was. Rachel was not there when we watched (it was okay I liked her understudy). I was just telling my sister before the show that if someone's absent, I'd prefer if it's not Kit Connor. Nag dilang anghel oops.

AJ invested in his first luxury watch. Just had to write this here because it is seldom for AJ to prioritize himself.

We attempted an awkward siblings photoshoot because why not.

Holidays spent well with movies and hot chocolate and trying to stay up until 12am (as per Gab's request). We'll be ok.