Just finished summarizing the events of my year in my 2022 journal, and I realized that it has been quite eventful compared to the last two years. I thought my year would be the end of me considering how I started it getting terribly sick twice first in January then in March-April. Plus, I was carrying along with me this year the heavy cloud I’ve been having since late last year, which prompted me to go on a few counseling sessions this summer. I did write that I was feeling ’22 in last year’s summation, but the Fates really said the joke’s on me.
However, upon retrospect, 2022 wasn’t entirely a bad year. If anything, I did manage to distract myself by putting myself out there more often that I did the past couple of years. Dipping into water drowned the chaos out by enveloping me with splashing, gurgling silence on my night outs with my Circle of friends in Los Baños in February and Calamba in November, with the officemates in Laguna for our team building, with my new gym buddies in Antipolo, and even with a friend at Cityland just close to home.
Good company and good food also never failed to remind me of how tolerable it is to exist in the world. I went from Din Tai Fung with my 2012 core trio of friends to Bag of Beans in Tagaytay with my office team, to a biglaan Maginhawa dinner with my friend Mark, to Filling Station with my friend Enzo, to Panda Express with my friend Lilibs, to the chill nights with friends in Colina, Laguna, to the numerous eatouts during onsite days with my work friends, and the occasional drunken sleepovers and videoké nights at Yanna’s place in San Pedro. Would like to emphasize also my trip around Intramuros and Binondo with Enzo because I just discovered awesome places and lots of foods that I would love to revisit.
Furthermore, this year brought forth some heartbreaks as well: I ended a relationship just a couple of weeks in the first month of 2022; I received the news that one of my exes passed away; our dog Longlong crossed the Rainbow bridge while our other dog, Lee, has gone missing up to now; and I finally had a breakdown in October after the last one back in 2019. But if there’s bad news, we must also give highlight to the good news: I’ve finally achieved becoming a top performer at work; I got myself a new phone; there’s visible progress with my workouts; I finally attended my first Pride March last June in QC; and I have tried/started learning how to drive (and forgetting to handle the steering wheel because I was busy figuring out the brakes lol) .
In addition, I got to be able to practice some social media break by deactivating my Facebook and Instagram accounts right on the first day of the year. I learned how to hold back sharing to people pieces of my days especially when I got to do stuff like bowling with my friends, climbing the 360 tower in Cloud9, Antipolo, getting my boostershot, going to the Miting de Avance for Leni Robredo during the election, going on nightouts with my friend Deo and another with Symon, and so on. I returned late in May which is people had an idea I have gone through three gyms already this year, watched Zack Tabudlo live, relaxed at Lasema whenever I could, attended our friend’s beautiful wedding in Tanay, Rizal, went on a dance class Christmas party at my current gym, and read the Fire And Blood book.
I feel like I have learned a lot this year about myself. Many circumstances have taught me how to be and who to be and to accept my place in this world. It’s as if the core of personality in the coming years has taken root right now to prepare me for future battles, and this makes me equipped for what lies ahead. So, baby let the games begin, 2023.
Everything Eric 