Life Lately: 2025 Recap

(Tue Dec 30 2025)

I am 100% sure I became a much worse introvert this year. I complained a lot when we have to go out multiple days a week. I stopped checking out my friend's social media updates. I have the worst reading slump and I even became inactive in bookish communities online. 🙈

All I wanted was my bed.

Okay but after writing these down, it seems so much has happened in my year of rest and relaxation.

General musings

Separated bookish events and fan girl experiences below because why not.

Dec 20 - Jan 10. NYC trip 🇺🇸. My first year to spend the holidays outside of home. Some highlights (continuation from last year):

Brooklyn Bridge at 4AM. It was so cold we were struggling to survive for the photos.

Rockefeller tree. 🎄 We went back here again and again and again because my sister got attached to the tree.

Top of the Rock. Also went up for a good view. Same thoughts: it was very cold.

Jan 5. HBD Chi 🎂🐶. We were still in New York. This is our first time to celebrate apart ☹️

Jan 18. Pau and Cho’s wedding 💍. Bridesmaid and Groomsman for a day! What a tiring but fun gig. This is not for introverts.

Feb 15. Tattoo with Yehey. Our second tattoo together! This time, we matched 🦑🐒

Why squid and monkey? We've always been squid and monkey! Cringe photos of us in high school coming up 🙉:

Feb 25. Tattoo with sibs. We have been planning this since July of last year but it was so expensive to get in the USA. So instead, we waited for when we’re all in the Philippines. This is probably my favorite one, it's Gabby's doodle ✍🏼.

Feb 26. Tattoo with ate Pau. Seems like everyone’s inviting me to get a tattoo. No complaints here! All these recent tattoos were from: Inkdustry Tattoo Studio 🖋️

For this one, I just really wanted to be there with ate Pau as she gets here first tattoo. Didn't really post this online because some people might not like that my lucky number is 666 😈.

March 6. Birthday in Taiwan. 🇹🇼 So it turns out, photoshoot aside, I really really like Taiwan. Will try to post a separate blog, soon!

May 23. 2nd wedding anniv @ Tana Beach Villas. This is slowly becoming our default trip location. It's really nice here.

June 16. Weekend with the cousins in Pangasinan. This was the first time ever that we went on a trip and we’re complete!

July 11. HBD AJ @ Bale Miguel. Soooo, this is my new dream house 🏠.

Sept 10-14. Macau + HK with Yehey. 🇭🇰🇲🇴 Our last travel was 2019 in Thailand. We’ve been struggling to push through our plans ever since. Turns out all we needed were concerts.

Sept 19. HBD Boom 🐶! We accidentally forgot all about it 🤡

Sept 26-29. HK again with Yehey. 🇭🇰 We’re back after 2 weeks! We didn't take much photos this trip, it was really short just for the concert.

Oct 31 - Nov 6. Thailand for our 7th anniversary. 🇹🇭 It's so funny to me how SB19's lore aligns so much with mine 😆, because wdym they celebrated 7 years since debut a week apart from my anniversary with AJ?

It is confirmed, AJ has no fear of heights. This thing has a heart monitor and his was consistently on 70 something per minute ‼️‼️, meanwhile the one on the machine next to him is already at 100+ and it was not tilted yet. Meanwhile the only reason I got on the glass floor was I got jealous of AJ's photos 😆. I could not look down 😆

Nov 8. One Piece Orchestra at Solaire. I do not know anything about One Piece nor anime but still had lots of fun watching the orchestra do their thing, so many people dressed up too!

Dec 25. Christmas day in Manila.We were three indecisive individuals who had an impulsive thought of spending Christmas far from home. Traffic was not bad actually.

Oh, and I started taking pilates classes 🤸🏽 a few months ago and I like it! We also played pickeball with cousins once a week for a while there but stopped when college classes started.

Bookish

Feb 12. Philippine Book Fest media launch. This was one of those events wherein I hesitated a lot because of my social anxiety. In reality though, after 5 minutes I already found my bookish friends and was having the time of my life 🫂.

March 5. Big Bad Wolf Pampanga media launch. Finally made bookish friends based in my hometown! We even created a book club!

March 13. Big Bad Wolf in SM Clark. The first time I experienced making content as a group! I think I got overwhelmed after this because I got very introverted after.

April 5. Fully Booked’s bookworm day. What a privilege to still be invited here, probably the best bookish event out there in our country. My favorite part is geeking out with people as nerdy as me. 🤓

Our first time to try Mamou 🥩. I want to write this here because we have kept going back since.

July 5. Philippine International Comics Festival. At this point in my inactive online era, I am just glad to be invited and was able to contribute to marketing the event (even just a little).

Loved that they have Palestine 🇵🇸 focused areas and they are at the very center. Much needed considering that our country was invited as a special guest or whatever to Frankfurt book fair, an event we should be boycotting but so many people still supported it.

Fan girl / concerts

March or April or May 2025, became a fan of SB19. And my life was changed forever. My 2025 plot twist. My new tahanan. My simula at wakas. I don’t know the exact date because I was in denial for a while there.

June 1. Simula at Wakas kick off day 2. My first concert since 2018, wow that was a long time! I said I only needed to see them once 🤡.

July 5. Simula at Wakas Experience. Since we were already in Manila for a book event, decided to also visit here.

While everyone on tiktok was screaming and shrieking 🦅 🦅 🦅 during the VR performances because the boys were so close, I was malfunctioning and was constantly trying to step back 👻. It may not look like it but I loved every minute though.

The only downside was most of the merch were sold out 😤

Sept 13. Simula at Wakas HK day 2. Our seats were not the best but I loved how intimate it was! Such a contrast from how far away we were during the kick off in PH Arena.

Sept 27. Seventeen New tour in HK. My first kpop concert as a casual!

Oct 26. Fast Zone, SB19’s 7th anniversary concert/fashion show. Now this one's impulsive. We took the risk and bought VIP tickets from twitter the day before the concert 😬.

Nov 2. Simula at Wakas Bangkok. My favorite part about this specific concert stop were our seats - at the very center. The complete visuals were so much better here.

Nov 29. BINIfied. I wasn't that attached but we actually like BINI since last year when we were in California. Our bias was Gwen because we have the same name and she even had short hair at the time. My twin 👯‍♀️

The girls did great actually. I know there’s a fanwar between SB19 and BINI fans that’s why I am avoiding speaking up. All my complaints though are because of their management and organizers, first of which is how poor were the quality of the merch ☹️ They looked so good in the photos ☹️

This year I finally stopped buying books. Unfortunately (to my husband's wallet), I go on autopilot and buy most merch I stumble upon. Good thing SB19 merch are high quality 🙏🏼. Also started getting into more expensive clothes because that's what I get for choosing the fashionista as my bias 😆

And I am still (impatiently) waiting for my 7sins anniversay merch...