MY 2016 RECAP – DIARY STYLE
6:03 PM
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! You know what the hardest part of writing a blog
post is? The introduction. I always had difficulty starting my articles but
once I get on with it, it becomes easier and sometimes even great, just like my
2016. It started gloomy but ended miraculously bright and wonderful! So while
there are already lots of posts out there about their “goals for this year”,
their “resolutions” and the whatnots, and you probably wouldn’t even care about
this post of mine, I still want to write and publish this. Even if no one would
read this, I know I would because this will always remind me how God has always
been great to me despite my nonsense whining at times (or most of the time). So
without further ado, allow me to share with you a recap of the year that was
for me.
JANUARY 2016
We again celebrated the New Year here in Singapore. Since we moved here for work in 2010, we’ve celebrated both Christmas and the New Year here year after year. While the fireworks here are also awesome, I have to admit that I miss the noise (and the smoke?) of the New Year when celebrated in the Philippines. This month is also part of my 2-month resignation notice from my previous job. During my notice period, I started to continue working on my story (Hindi Ito Basketball) again and successfully published a new episode/chapter on my Art and Story YouTube channel on 15th Jan 2016.
FEBRUARY 2016
I was officially resigned from my office job (IT) and while I was not employed, I focused on finishing my then on-going story and posted Chapters 7 and 8 on my youtube channel.
Chapter 7: ARE WE… JUST FRIENDS?
Chapter 8: FLASHBACK
I also created a Facebook Page for my Art and Story Channel (https://www.facebook.com/beckaroopresents) and posted my tribute to OTWOL (On The Wings of Love) when it was nearing its finale.
In this month, my hubby also surprised me with a Valentines getaway at Equarius Hotel in Sentosa. I was actually contemplating on writing a little review about it even if it’s been almost a year ago. Hmmm…
MARCH 2016
Because of the OTWOL fever, I got sooo inspired to make an Animation - FANMADE Music Video (of course super beginner level) for one of James Reid’s songs from the Reid Alert’s album titled “Randomantic” and posted it on my Art and Story channel.
RANDOMANTIC by James Reid – Animation (Fanmade MV)
Because I worked for more than three weeks for this Animation MV, posting the succeeding chapters of my then on-going story was postponed to the following month.
APRIL 2016
When you decide to work on drawings/animations, it can sometimes get a little exhausting which was why I was only able to post one chapter for my story in this month.
Chapter 9: PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE MINE
I can still remember how I would get up as early as my hubby would to go for his work and would start drawing as early as I could to finish as much drawings as possible and would finish so late in the day just to meet the deadline I have set for myself. Yes, it was very tiring and since I was doing it because of nothing but just my desire to finish my story, I, of course, didn’t get anything from it aside from… well, the satisfaction that I was able to finish another chapter. I worked hard for it - as hard as how I worked when I was still employed and I didn’t get any penny for it, hahaha. Not that you should only work hard when you’re getting paid, all I’m saying is I guess that’s one of the things even those great and veteran artists out there go through on a normal day --- not getting paid/not getting anything at all despite working hard every day. I’m not like other artists though. I don’t do this for a living, but they do and despite all the sweats and tears they put into their works, they sometimes don’t even get anything from it and yet I still see most of them happy and satisfied. I totally salute artists!
MAY 2016
I was able to finish and post another chapter for my story before we flew to the Philippines for my best friend’s wedding.
Chapter 10: SI NICOLE PA RIN BA?
I did my best friend’s bridal makeup as well as all her sisters’, mom and mom-in-law. It was a magical moment for me. I’m not a pro at makeup by any means but she just wouldn’t give up on her request to have me do her makeup for her wedding and so even though it was as tiring as hell (tell me if 6 hours of applying makeup to 7 ladies while standing is not tiring), the experience was exceptionally rewarding and even if others forget about it, I wouldn’t.
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| PHOTO GRABBED FROM HER FB PROFILE (PEACE). BY THE WAY SHE DESIGNED AND SEWED HER OWN WEDDING GOWN AS WELL AS THE GOWNS OF HER ENTOURAGE. SHE'S REALLY GIFTED! :) |
The other best thing about May 2016 was the experience of finally being able to bring my sister here in Singapore. When she got married in 2015, I told her that I have a “Honeymoon package” gift for her and her hubby but because it was not a good time for her to travel, it happened this year (2016) and I couldn’t be happier.
So my sister, her hubby, my hubby’s brother and girlfriend, hubby and I all flew back to Singapore together and went to Nirwana Resorts in Bintan Indonesia as part of our treat for them! What an amazing month that was! It was one full week of unforgettable memories for all of us.
So my sister, her hubby, my hubby’s brother and girlfriend, hubby and I all flew back to Singapore together and went to Nirwana Resorts in Bintan Indonesia as part of our treat for them! What an amazing month that was! It was one full week of unforgettable memories for all of us.
After that one week vacation with our siblings, I pushed myself as hard as I could to finish another chapter and successfully posted it before the month of May ended.
Chapter 11: HINDI ITO BASKETBALL!
JUNE 2016
What happened in June? Hmmm… Oh yeah! It’s our 5th Wedding Anniv and my sweet hubby booked us a 3D2N stay in Fullerton Hotel, one of my dream hotels to stay at here in Singapore. For a full story of how our stay went, click here!
June was also the hardest month for me for my story because it’s about to end and I almost had no idea how I could finish the drawings and animation on time. You see, it was a one-woman-production haha, so when I was down on some days and couldn’t do anything at all, the production stops. And so I had no choice but to post the last chapter to my story on the following month.
JULY 2016
It’s my birthday month! My hubby surprised me with a necklace. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time he gave me a necklace and that’s not all, he also gave me a bracelet. Oh man! He’s definitely a keeper.
And for my story, I was able to finally post the final chapter and though it was really satisfying, it also was at the same time a bit sad coz I’d been used to waking up early everyday to work on it and then it’s over. It’s finished.
Chapter 12: I’M YOURS
In this same month, we again went back to the Philippines to witness and be part of my niece’s (also goddaughter) Christening and 1st birthday!
I’m sooo happy for my sister. After all the hardships and painful series of events that she went through, she was rewarded with this beautiful and precious gem.
AUGUST 2016
After coming back to Singapore, I felt a little drained from all those months that I’ve been waking up early and sleeping late because of drawings, kinda what I felt after graduating from college, from 5 years of constant staying up late at nights for drawings/designs and cramming to meet deadlines (#ARCHILife #ARCHITorture). And then I remembered how good I felt when I was doing my best friend’s makeup during her wedding and how much I’ve missed playing with makeup and observing how products performed and basically just being “kikay” again. I gave it a lot of thoughts and before I knew it, there I was, setting up my camera and all my beauty stuff, prepping to film a new video for my Beauty and Lifestyle channel.
SM MAKEUP HAUL 2016 (BYS, LOL, ELF, EB Advance)
HALO-HALO MAKEUP HAUL (AVON, ELF, MILANI)
I got so pumped up about posting videos again on my beauty and lifestyle channel that I filmed videos after videos and even started vlogging, too!
VLOG #1: ANG PAGBABALIK SA YOUTUBE + MAKEUP COLLECTION?
VLOG #2: POKEMON HUNTING WITH HUBBY DITO SA SINGAPORE! (Pokemon Go Vlog)
VLOG #3: VIDEO EDITING DAY + INTROVERT KASI AKO
VLOG#4: KAT VON D SWATCHES WITH WICKERMOSS + ANNIE MUSICAL BROADWAY
(This, by the way, is my first time to ever watch a Musical, all thanks to Charles a.k.a. the WickeRmoss a.k.a. my fairygodmother)
I also went back to reviewing beauty products and my very first “Tagalog First Impression Review” video also went up in this month!
BYS Velvet Lips Liquid Lipstick (Creme Brulee) First Impression Demo and Review
Wow! I posted 7 videos in a month? I probably must have missed posting videos so freaking much that I went a little crazy for the month of August. I know there’s a lot of other YouTubers out there who post even more videos in a month than I do but posting this much for me is a new thing. I should give myself a pat-on-the-back for this like seriously hahaha. I also started writing on this blog again in this month. Wow! That was a lot for a month, don’t you think so? Hmmm... Maybe not because others can even blog every single day but c’mon! I’ve been gone for a while, so cut me some slack, will you?
SEPTEMBER 2016
You know what’s funny? I went upload-crazy in the month of August and slacked in the month of September. What’s wrong with me?!!
ELF EYEBROW TREAT and TAME | FIRST IMPRESSION DEMO and REVIEW
POND'S Acne Clear White Review
The video I had a hard time deciding on whether I would upload or not was this one I filmed about the transformation of my teeth. It’s always been a big deal for me and so posting it up on YouTube was me facing one of my greatest fears.
HOW MY TEETH GOT FIXED
I also published a bunch of new posts here on my blog:
http://thelatebloomer11.blogspot.sg/2016_09_01_archive.html
OCTOBER 2016
October is my hubby’s birthday month but because he had work on his birthday and it was not possible for him to file a vacation leave at that time, I just surprised him with lots of birthday gifts coz I really wanted him to open lots of presents.
I also posted quite a bunch of new videos on my beauty and lifestyle channel in this month:
OCTOBER 2016 VIDEOS
This is also the month I first held a giveaway on my beauty channel but I totally forgot to also post it here on my blog because October was such a busy month not just for me but for all of us here.
It was in this month that my sister got invited for a job interview here in Singapore. When I first brought here here in Singapore in May, I secretly wished for her to stay longer as since we got closer as siblings, we never really got to experience to be with each other for more than a week because I was always working far from them. I always thought it’s kinda impossible especially now that she’s already got a family of her own and her daughter is still a baby but my hubby always thinks otherwise. He thought and confessed that the chances of my sister working abroad is even higher now than ever because of her responsibilities and dreams for her family. And he’s sooo right!
So when she got invited for an interview here, you have no idea how excited and nervous I was! I had to always calm myself down because you know, when you get too excited you think about the future and everything that could just make you sooo damn sad and frustrated if none of em happen, y’know what I mean?! But God is just…. Ugh! He’s so awesome, d'ya know that?! He made all things possible. My sister passed the interview and so the following month is a month full of praying and waiting for God’s will for her, for all of us.
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| TRIVIA: I was responsible for her makeup here hahaha (photo grabbed from her fb - peace!) |
So when she got invited for an interview here, you have no idea how excited and nervous I was! I had to always calm myself down because you know, when you get too excited you think about the future and everything that could just make you sooo damn sad and frustrated if none of em happen, y’know what I mean?! But God is just…. Ugh! He’s so awesome, d'ya know that?! He made all things possible. My sister passed the interview and so the following month is a month full of praying and waiting for God’s will for her, for all of us.
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| Another photo grabbed from her FB account. Sissy and Me in SG! :) |
NOVEMBER 2016
Remember my hubby’s birthday month? Well, it’s been a tradition for us to book a trip for our birthday month and since we’re not able to do it in October, we did it in November! And yes, I am yet to write about it (shy grin).
KRABI THAILAND VLOGS!
NOVEMBER 2016 VIDEOS
All of these happened while we were all praying hard for my sister’s job application and God really has a way of surprising us every single day. Every week, we received progress update about her job application. We were given confirmation that she’d be working here in Singapore for real before the month of November ended. I have no words to describe how awesome that felt! I was just dreaming of the day that my sister and I would spend more than a week in one place together and now I get to see her every day. EVERY DAY!!! I have wished, dreamed, longed and prayed hard for this to happen and it finally did!
DECEMBER 2016
My hubby bought me a new camera (Canon G7x Mark II) as a Christmas present while I gave him an action camera (GoPro Hero 5 Black). Yeah, we just exchanged gifts hahaha.
Here’s the first video I filmed and posted using my new camera:
VLOGMAS NA BA ITO? SINUBUKAN ANG BAGONG CAMERA
After 6 long years, I finally got to celebrate Christmas with my sister. Of course, it could’ve been so much better if our parents were here with us, too, but we got to chat with them on the eve of Christmas and it was amazing.
My sister is now working here in Singapore and is living with us. Although it’s hard for her because she’s far from her family especially her little angel who’s growing up so fast, I know that the thought of a bright future for her daughter keeps her going despite the mad homesickness that I know she’s feeling every single second that she's away from them.
My hubby’s sister also flew to Singapore from Japan and spent the holidays with us. What an amazing month! Really! And for the first time in 6 years, we’re finally going back to the Philippines for the New Year.
We flew on 31st of December and landed at NAIA, I think about half an hour before the New Year officially said hello to us. We drove all the way to Batangas and we got to witness all the fireworks on our way home. What a great way to end 2016!
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And that’s it for my 2016 recap. I almost didn’t want to do this post because I was thinking that not a lot happened because I was not employed in the majority of 2016, but then I realized that my life didn’t stop when I resigned from my job. If anything, my life became even more colorful. And you know what? We have been praying to have a baby for years now. In fact, we even specifically prayed to have one before 2016 ended but it didn’t happen while almost all the other things that we prayed for for other people have materialized. I could be really sad right now and could be thinking that 2016 hasn’t been good to me but I have witnessed that God answers prayers. He truly does. And while I already know that He has a plan for each and everyone of us, 2016 made me realize that His time to answer our prayers is different from our own schedule. He knows well when to give us what we need because He knows us more than we know ourselves. He knows our needs before we can even think of them. And so that is why, I decided to still get on with this post because now that I’m about to finish writing it, I’ve seen how God has mightily moved in my life the whole year of 2016 and I can’t wait for what God has in store for me, my family and friends for this year. I may not write and publish any resolutions or goals for this year but in my heart, I will keep a list of what I will do this year not for my own satisfaction or for other people's approval but for the glory of God.
Happy New Year again and may our 2017 be the year that we all have prayed and wished for it to be!
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