The 2016 Year-in-review: Two weddings and a homecoming

To say that 2016 was an eventful year would be an understatement. All over the world, events happened that changed the way we live, think, and feel.

"Change" must have been the most used phrase this year, and change resonated from as near as the Philippines to as far as the U.S.

Personally, there were also a lot of notable events this 2016. Every month, there was something interesting, and it was almost hard to keep track of everything.

But if I were to summarize the best of the year that was, it's encapsulated in the phrase: "Two weddings and a homecoming."

WEDDING # 1: The Golden Couple

This year, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and we celebrated it in the usual fun, happy and crazy Morales style.

It was a beautiful celebration to recognize a beautiful couple who continue to be an inspiration to all of us - Mom and Dad.

WEDDING # 2: The Next Generation

You know you're getting old when one of your nephews gets married. And last July, I became officially old!

My eldest nephew - Jul - married his long-time sweetheart - Jen - in a beautiful and intimate ceremony in Dallas, Georgia. It was the first wedding of his generation, so we came in full force.

And yes, we all were teary eyed during the wedding.

HOMECOMING

After 5 years, Mark finally came home with his doctorate in tow. Having been in Japan for those 5 years, I've seen how hard he worked, the sacrifices he's made and the time he's put in. And after all that, he finally graduated and is now a doctor! Woot!

While having merienda at Jollibee this afternoon, he told me that this is actually the first new year that we'll celebrate without the thought of him leaving the next day. It's a truism that I'm so glad to hear.

These 3 highlights of the year 2016 are just the beginning. I'm sure they'll result in much more exciting prospects ahead in 2017.

Can't wait for the new year!

An Executive review

There were a lot of notable events this 2014. Among them were traveling to Hakone for the first time, bringing my students to Bicol and Singapore, wearing my party planner hat to organize office parties, and of course, planning Alfie's wedding.

But there were 2 notable work-related events that were quite noteworthy. This year, I was given "executive" positions, both in school and work.

In June, I was appointed Department Chairman of the Mass Comm department in St. Scholastica's College. A few months after, I was named Associate Executive Creative Director at work.

Since these appointments happened the same year, the last 6 months were super crazy-busy. Sometimes, I even ask myself why I'm subjecting myself to all these challenges.

Then I remember, I'm not one to shy away from challenges.

After all, those challenges made the year 2014 more memorable and fulfilling.

The 2013 Year-in-review: Firsts and last

At the last day of the year, the thoughts of all the wonderful firsts that happened in 2013 make me grateful for a year well-spent. Firsts that were shared with the most precious and important people in my life.

Firsts such as:

- First time for my Barcelona-based nephews and nieces to visit Manila. And they loved it here so much, they want to move here.
- First time to experience a Hanami in Tokyo.
- First time for Mark and I to hit the beaches of Boracay
- First time for the family to get together in Bataan
- First time to finish my Christmas shopping and wrapping early

And as the new year arrives in a few minutes, I can help but look forward to the many more firsts that will come in 2014. Firsts that are both planned and spontaneous. Firsts that will make life more fun and richer in the year to come.

Here's to the new year!

The 2012 Year-in-review: Top 12 of 2012

The last day of the year is the same day when all networks air their yearend special Whether it's a local news channel, or an international news agency, there is no shortage of programs that count down the top events of 2012.

In keeping with that theme, my last post for 2012 is a look at the 12 events this year which I will always remember and be grateful for. Unlike the big and grandiose events that news outlets usually report on, my 12 events are small in scale, but big in impact. So, here they are in chronological order:

1. Complete New Year - The first day of 2012 was a complete day because our family members from abroad came home. On our side, Biboy and family came to Manila, so the 5 siblings in the Regalado-Morales clan were home. On Dad's side, Tita Evelyn came home from Barcelona, at Titos Orestes and Hector flew in from Bicol. So, after a long, long time, the Murillo-Morales siblings were complete.

2. Travel first class - This year, I had my first travel to HKG with my entire Feature and Technical Writing class! It was stressful because I had to watch over a group of gregarious girls, but it was fun since it was educational in more ways than one.

3. Church duty - During the school's baccalaureate mass for batch 2012, I was asked to be an acolyte. Despite being out of the acolyte circles for decades, I took on the task. It turned out that I was going to be an acolyte for Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle! (Who's now Cardinal, by the way.)

4. Back to School - After a long time, I participated in an international learning conference which was hosted by RNTC from The Netherlands. It was fun being a student again after a long time.

5. Back to Japan! - After 4 years, I said "Konnichiwa" to Japan once again. Mark and I spent 2 weeks in Tokyo, which is the longest I've stayed in the big city. During those 14 days, we were able to accomplish a lot of things, both new and familiar. We tried out new restaurants, made new friends, heard mass at a new church, met up with old friends, and finally went to an onsen! Sugoi!

5. Life begins - This was the year when a lot of my friends marked the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Needless to say, fun, fabulous and frou-frou celebrations were in order.

7. Back to my regular programming - After a few years out of the local advertising industry, I went back to agency work!

8. Back to bowling - One of the things that the new office made me do was to play bowling! And it turns out that I'm still good at it. I ranked number 4 out of more than 50 players!

9. Museum hopping - This year, I was able to go around a number of museums - more than I ever did in one year. From the old National Museum in Manila, to the new Mind Museum in Taguig, it was fun to immerse myself in different exhibits after a long time.

10. Teaching a new subject - I used to produce a lot of Audio-Visual Presentations in my former jobs. So, when Chally asked me to teach AVP, I took on the job with much gusto. It was definitely a great decision as my students came up with so many good productions in one semester.

11. By design - Last November, Ate Bullet had their family portraits taken and I was on-hand to help in the layout and styling. Before the photo session ended, the photographer asked the two of us to pose like a "designer and muse." After photo came out, some of my friends in HKG and SG thought that this was my new career! One of them even sent me a lengthy email saying that if only she knew that my new career path was in design, she would've asked me to fly to New York and make her wedding gown. Alas, the "designer" photo was just conceptual, and I couldn't make her wedding gown even if I wanted to. (I'll take that free trip to New York, though. Harhar.)

Then again, I did do a couple of design jobs this year. These include designing accessories for Mona and her sisters-in-law, and designing a dress for Ate Bullet, which she also wore for that shoot.

12. Christmas missions accomplished - This year was also the year when I was able to do a lot of the Christmas-related activities that I set out to accomplish. This included sending out Christmas cards early, buy and wrap gifts (most of it, at least) a week before Christmas, celebrate Christmas with family, celebrate Christmas with Mark in Manila, spend time with our friends from both sides, and just savor the spirit of the season. This 2012, Christmas was truly, truly Merry!

Like most countdown shows, I'll end by saying that I'm very grateful for all the wonderful events, experiences and people that shaped 2012. And I'm looking forward to the even more wonderful events, experiences and people that will arrive in the new year.