2019 Recap

Before the year ends, I would like to share some memorable events that happened to me this 2019:

Personal

• Got my 2nd (insurance) policy! #PlanWithJac
• Bought a travel planner for next year
• Spent more time using Grab as an alternative to stressful commuting
• Spent more time using GrabFood in ordering food online
• Spent more time using GCash and PayMaya when paying bills and online transactions
• Spent my entire Bitcoin savings
• Survived the year dealing with anxiety and burnout
• Maintained by expense tracker for 4 straight years
• Completed the Christian Life Development Program 2 (CLDP2) with my fellow churchmates
• Hosted the annual Limpin family reunion
• Frequently used Grammarly to form a habit of writing with good grammar.
• Replaced my laptop charger after overusing it for more than a year
• Supported a friend to try ear piercing
• First time to organize a Christmas party with close friends
• First time to formally introduce a student to my family
• Had some catch-ups with my close ex-students
• Enjoyed eating in our local restaurant offering 24/7 breakfast items
• Taught basic violin to a close friend
• Introduced a friend to my grandma for the first time
• Visited Metropolitan Medical Center for the first time after a long time
• Celebrated a birthday dinner with my mom
• Tried Angkas for the first time and did not disappoint with their service
• Survived 11/11 and 12/12 promos from Lazada and Shopee
• Spent more time in Agoda and Klook to score great deals and discounts
• Experienced booking for promo flights for next year
• Saved more than 5k from the 5 and 10 peso coin challenge
• Tried the 50 peso challenge but failed after the 3rd quarter
• Tried hiking after a long time
• Lost my school ID twice
• Got my phone stolen; was able to trace the last location near our place but unfortunately didn’t retrieve it back.
• Tried Battlestar Gallactica for the first (and last time)
• Celebrated Toby’s 3rd furbirthday (he is now 26 in human years)
• Got my wallet (and travel funds) stolen hours before leaving Manila for Thailand
• Voted during May 13 election
• Took Toby to a vet clinic for his annual vaccination last February
• Celebrated my birthday week with friends
• Taught my close friends how to develop and create an e-commerce site using WordPress
• Enjoyed more long walks
• Went to Harrison Plaza one last time before it gets demolished next year
• Perfected my pesto Spanish sardines pasta dish
• Stayed single (again) for the entire year

Dev

• Improved my ASP.NET MVC skills
• Improved usage of Azure features and other services
• Explored AWS
• Spent more time deploying in-house applications (e.g., sales, purchases, inventory, accounting)
• Acquired web developer (freelance) jobs throughout the 2nd half of the year
• Joined with 2 new programmers in the dev team
• Terminated a web development job because of scope creep
• Purchased a Boostrap Studio subscription
• Maintained bycamilla.co
• Developed konstructmate.com
• Maintained further2021.com
• Maintained and improved Themes & Motifs website
• Developed Directories Plus kiosk system for Robinsons Forum
• Maintained and improved a web application for SDA-AR students and faculty
• Maintained my StackOverflow profile, with at least 4k reputation points (need more contribution next year)

Academe

• Received consecutive outstanding and very satisfactory STAR and PARF ratings for the entire school year
• Took 3-hour Friday classes for the entire term
• Participated in our school program’s annual Christmas community outreach with a school organization
• Joined a web design and development competition as a mentor
• Handled advising and paneling for ISPROJ1 and ISPROJ2 groups
• Handle academic advising for the entire year
• Handled ENTPROG (new course code for ISPROG3) for the first time
• Maintained perfect attendance for the entire school year
• Attended mental health first responder workshop last October 4
• First time to announce a free cut in my class because of technical concerns inside the laboratory room
• Attended our annual teambuilding last June 29
• Skipped attending graduation due to work commitments
• Attended a syllabus workshop last April 5
• Attended an Android workshop
• Maximized usage of BigSky to disseminate class topics, exercises, and other activities
• Handled bullying incident for the first time
• Attended SDA – Architecture strategic planning event last February 9
• Went to Finastra with fellow IS faculty last January 16 for future linkages
• Celebrated birthday celebrations with my close friends at Rizal last January

Health

• Ended the year donating blood as an annual tradition
• Started eating rice in November 2019 (hello more carbs)
• Started eating potato chips and French fries in October 2019 (so unhealthy)
• Ate several times at unlimited Korean BBQ restaurants throughout the year
• Drank a LOT of coffee and tea
• Drank 5-hour booster shots to survived zombie days
• Maintained drinking at least 6 glasses of water every day
• Skipped breakfast most of the time during school days
• Weighed at least 90 kilos at the end of the year
• 34 38 40 inch waistline!
• Took Muay Thai class for the entire April; lose weight by at least 5 kilos
• Got rejected to donate blood for the first time because of hypertension

Travel

• Went to Baguio with my close friends to celebrate annual Christmas party last December 20-21; went to BenCab museum for the first time
• Went to Hongkong last November 18-20 with a travel buddy; survived the streets in the metro despite protests and limited transportation
• Went to Bacolod with my family to spend the holiday break from November 1 to 4
• Went to Punong Gary’s Place last November 3 for the first time
• Went to Singapore last September 14 to 15 with a travel buddy; tried GrabWheels for the first time
• Went to Thailand with my close friends last July 30 to August 4
• Went to an impromptu trip at Baguio with 2 former students last July 6 to 7

Events

• Attended our annual Limpin family reunion with relatives last December 28 at Pampanga
• Celebrated Edmar’s birthday with close friends last November 28
• Participated in our church’s hiking for a cause last October 19 at Mt. Mapalad
• Watched performances of local artists during Pinoy Musical Festival 2019 at BGC last October 13
• Spent some family time at Manila Ocean Park last September 23
• Attended One Click Straight’s gig at Ibis Singapore last September 14
• Attended a send-off fundraiser gig last September 3 at Saguijo
• Celebrated our church’s 29th anniversary last August
• Attended CCF’s 35th anniversary last August 25
• Celebrated a birthday gig last August 10 #ygopalooza
• Watched a busking performance last July 28 at SM Bacoor
• Attended Ben&Ben’s album tour at The District – Imus last June 23; saw them up close during a meet and greet
• Watched She’s Only Sixteen and Lions & Acrobat’s Manila Tour last June 15 at Sagujio and May 25 at Route 196
• Celebrated two birthdays of my close friends last May 25
• Attended and watched the entire Red Ninja Year Fest (10th) last May 4 to 5
• Attended a soundtrack launch gig last April 27 at The Green Sun
• Attended an Offshore Sessions’ gig last April with gig buddies
• Watched a gig performance last March 21 at Saguijo
• Attended Banna Harbera’s Kept In Mind album launch last February 23 at Social House, Makati
• Attended a gig anniversary last January 19 at SOMA Bistro

Social Media

• Started using Snapchat again but not posting anything
• Maintained my #onesecondeveryday Instagram posts every month
• Maintained my Platinum status from Grab
• Improved my engagement and impressions in my Twitter account
• Increased my LinkedIn network, with at least 1400 connections
• Uploaded more gig and concert videos (100+) at my YouTube channel
• Almost 2k check-ins using the Swarm app, with 100+ new places and maintained 80+ mayorships
• Joined Clarafied Fam, Any Name’s Okay, and Nostalgic’s Facebook group to support my favorite local artists and bands
• Frequently posting in one of my favorite Facebook groups, Who’s your pupper, senpai?
• Maintained my Platinum status from Grab

Leisure / Entertainment

• Spent more time listening to Pinoy indie, indie pop, pop-rock, indie soul and folk-pop
• Discovered 700+ new artists this year thru Spotify
• Maintained lyrics of my favorite artists in Genius
• Watched Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker with my sister this December
• Watched Aladdin with a childhood friend last June 5
• Watched the last Avengers movie during a premiere last April 24
• Binge-watched the FRIENDS, The Community, The IT Crowd, Silicon Valley, and Money Heist series
• Played NBA Live Mobile Season 4 with level 88 overall players; spent some cash for upgrades
• Tried playing Mario Kart mobile

Looking forward to more memorable travel and gig experience next year! Thank you for reading.