The Year that was 2012

So what happened in 2012? The world did not end, the skies did not fall, and life went on as usual. It was a good year. It was a year of many small blessings, simple joys. It still brought its share of frustration and sleep deprivation, but 2012 was also a year of achievements, fun, and adventure. God is good... all the time.

The year started as usual, but it was probably the most lethargic New Year's Eve celebration we ever had- we had a hearty family dinner with extended family members, then we each found our places on the couch, went to sleep, and woke up as the fireworks were about to start. We joined in by lighting our Dragon fountains, sparklers, and fireworks with a prayer for another round of blessings in 2012.

Gianne Graduates from Elementary School
This was the year our daughter, Gianne, finished primary school and went to high school. She was aiming to qualify for two science high schools- Makati Science High School (MakSci) and Manila Science High School (MaSci). During the school year, Gianne had been busy with school work making sure she had the required minimum grade to qualify for the entrance exams, and at the same time she had to make time to review for the tests.

Exam results came out during the first quarter of the year. I was ecstatic to find that she qualified for both schools! Since she was the first in her school to qualify for these Science high schools, her school made a congratulatory poster of her and displayed it during graduation:

Proud parent moment

Wearing her two medals: Honorable Mention and Writer of the Year

Summer
Summer was spent mostly at home doing chores and working on my struggling "business venture." Since I did not have househelp, life revolved around chores, occasional outdoor trips, my favorite halo-halo bought from the corner store, errands, and more chores, and more errands. As has been the trend, the temperature seemed to get higher every year. There were days when I was just completely unproductive as I refused to leave the comfort of a soft couch and a fan on full blast.
To keep herself busy, Gianne joined the Fully Booked Junior Book Crew. Three days a week for four weeks, we went to Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City for three hours of workshops and bookstore task assignments. It was truly a worthwhile summer activity especially for a bookworm like her. You can read more about it in a separate blog post.

Fully Booked Junior Book Crew 2012
(Photo by Fully Booked)

Road Trips
It was also our first year with our first car, FoFi. As with any car owner in this city, parking was an issue as availability of pay parking is rare. There was finally a vacancy at the parking space in our street, but much to our dismay, after more than a decade of accepting pay parking clients, the owner decided to sell the lot and we were all evicted. And the hunt for pay parking goes on.

Having a car also meant road trips:

Lobo, Batangas
Our first "long" drive was to Lobo, Batangas for an outing with hubby's officemates. The long winding road that descended to Lobo was a challenging yet fun drive for new drivers like us. Hubby did all of the driving, I navigated only a tiny bit as we were part of a convoy anyway.

Lobo, Batangas. In the distance, one can see Mindoro and what looks like Mt. Halcon.

The beach was a nice escape from the city, and it was a quiet, peaceful place to spend the weekend. Unlike most of the popular beaches in other parts of Batangas, the beaches of Lobo had its share of summer visitors but it was not crowded nor did it have a loud party atmosphere.

Balagbag Falls in Real, Quezon
Balagbag Falls is a four to five-hour drive from Manila. We drove there in November and spent the night in a nearby resort. It was a great bonding time for us as it was our first time to drive and navigate to our destination. The long winding road from Laguna to Quezon was a challenge and a thrill. The cool stream and beautiful cascades of Balagbag Falls made it worth the trip.

Sual, Pangasinan
This trip was a last-minute decision. The car just had it's regular maintenance check when my father who works in a cargo ship happened to be in Sual, Pangasinan as their ship was to unload coal in the Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant. So we drove 8 hours to see him.

Navigational tools

Gianne looking out from MV Ocean Emperor

And below are my other outdoor trips. I intend to blog about them, thus I will forego posting photos in the mean time. I shall, however, update this page with the link to the entries later on.

Beaches
Honda Bay Tour in Palawan- Side trip after successfully completing Mt Mantalingajan Traverse.
Kwebang Lampas (Puting Buhangin) in Pagbilao, Quezon- Beach camping with PALMC
Dampalitan Island in Burgos, Quezon- Year-end beach camping

Hiking trips

Mt Ugo Traverse in Itogon, Benguet- First climb of the year.
Mt Makiling Traverse from Sto Tomas, Batangas to Los Baños, Laguna- Training climb for Mt Mantalingajan.
Mt Mantalingajan Traverse from Rizal to Brooke's Point, Palawan- My toughest and longest climb so far (5 days)
Mt Batulao Dayhike in Nasugbu, Batangas- Did this twice- Once with rainy weather, another on a sunny day
Mt. Palay-Palay (Pico De Loro) in Ternate, Cavite- My second time in Pico De Loro. Climbed the Parrot's Beak this time.
Mt Maculot Traverse in Cuenca, Batangas- My first traverse of Mt Maculot, and Gianne's first time in Mt  Maculot

Other Trips 
In 2012, I also made a few trips to my mother's hometown in Initao, Misamis Oriental via Cagayan De Oro, more popularly referred to as CDO. On one of my trips, a group of friends were scheduled to be in CDO and we got to see some of the sights tourist spots together.

Dahilayan Adventure Park in Bukidnon
I psyched myself into conquering my fear of heights and trying Asia's longest zipline.

Tinago Falls
With the same group, I revisited the magnificent Tinago Falls in Iligan City. Read more about it here.

Health
Last year was a year of joint injuries. I twisted my ankle on the way to Gianne's school one time. Because of this, I had to miss the annual Ateneo Aquathlon. Then the ankle gave me a hard time during the hike in Mt Ugo. On the same hiking trip, I seem to have injured both knees. I had to give it time to heal because I was then preparing for the difficult Mt Mantalingajan climb..

In April I had to cope with intense pain on my right shoulder and upper back. The pain was so bad that even breathing was painful and I woke up at night in tears. It turned out to have been caused by herniated discs on my spine. After therapy, my back felt better, but the pain never really completely went away. Nevertheless, by the end of the year, through proper therapy and treatment, and God's grace I have recovered, I consider myself healed and ready to bounce back.

Treatment for my TMJ disorder was still ongoing. As part of it, I was fixed with a new set of braces for my teeth on my upper jaw in August. Felt like I was a teenager once again. This was meant to align my teeth as my misaligned jaw was also to be kept in proper position.

In May, Gianne was stung by a jellyfish while snorkeling in Pagbilao, Quezon. She developed an allergic reaction a few days after the incident- the affected part on her arms were swollen and had rashes, and she started to develop keloid on her scars. I took her to a dermatologist who then gave her antihistamines and creams. Treatment on her scars was still ongoing by the end of the year.

Gianne Goes to High School
Gianne started school in June. She picked Makati Science High School. It was a massive adjustment since she came from a small Christian school with about 300 students, and her new school housed about 1,000 in a four story public school building. The academic challenge was also unparalleled in her experience, plus there was the pressure of maintaining a grade of at least 85%.

This was also the first year that the Department of Education implemented the K+12 curriculum which meant an additional 2 years in high school. We went through a whole lot of birthing pains as textbooks have not been published and the kids had to source their reference materials themselves.

Birthdays
And then of course I turned a year older. My birthday was rather uneventful, but I made it a point to kick back and wind down. I got myself a massage at a nearby spa, then bought takeout dinner. Nothing much happened. I was just grateful for another year of blessings and adventures.

Naldy's birthday was spent with family in Tagaytay City. We drove through fog to have a heavy eat-all-you-can lunch in Celina's Restaurant.

Foggy Tagaytay City

Gianne's birthday came in last. She didn't want anything fancy, so she treated her service-mates (kids who ride the school "bus" with her) to two large pizzas which they ate while the service was making its way to their drop-off points.

In Hindsight
Despite being a seemingly uneventful year, 2012 was actually a year of many blessings. I was blessed with travel, good health, a happy marriage, and more time spent with family and friends. One of the year's highlights was Gianne's academic achievements, taking her a step closer to fulfilling her dreams and God's plans for her. As parents, we continue to pray for guidance in raising her and leading her in the right direction.

Inevitably, there were disappointments and things that did not go as planned. I try not to dwell on them, but I make sure to learn from them. As they say: a year older, a year wiser. After all, I have too many things to be grateful for and they far outweigh life's imperfections.