the old year

I always find online surveys the most mundane thing ever conjured up by the most disconcerted and bored internet surfer in the world. But in one way or another, I recently find that it also serves a good—if not best—assessment of one’s self so before anyone would inflict curses on me for having stated my first line with so much loathing, pardon me and let me have a take on this New Year Survey.

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?

Stand up to what I really believe. Literally; standing up and shouting back.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

There are some that I did keep till the end of the year and there are some that I will continue for this year.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Supposedly, my sister but the child doesn’t want to see the world.

Did anyone close to you die?
Though not that close, Alzen Joy Icalina was one person who I knew well.

What countries did you visit?
Philippines. Philippines. And Middle Earth.

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

Aside from great (not only good) grades that most people are awfully looking forward to, I would like to have a good ear and a better mouth.

What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

August 4 would be it. Why? Well, the date just comes into my mind.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Telling someone, finally, that water ants are existing.

What was your biggest failure?

I almost failed in Tradition of Drama. Got into an immense silent dispute between an acquaintance. And there are some people who I haven’t told yet that water ants are real.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

I didn’t feel that much pain this year compared last year which was caused by a very rare ailment.

What was the best thing you bought?
Shoes. I finally bought a pair of shoes from my very own money.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Can’t think of any. Maybe I am just so apathetic I do not notice anyone’s celebratory behavior.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

This time, there’s one. The person indeed brought a lot of sighs from me.

Where did most of your money go?

Food. There goes the guilt!

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I am in my third year now and most of my subjects are pure, hardcore Creative Writing subjects. Actually, I am drowning in letters even this Christmas break.

What song(s) will always remind you of 2007?

Moonlane Gardens, and My Butterfly by Orange and Lemons and Two of Us by Aimee Mann.

Compared to this time last year, are you:

1. happier or sadder? – Never been this sad.

2. thinner or fatter? – Fatter and loving it.

3. richer or poorer? – Poorer. Every move has its price I have to pay.

What do you wish you'd done more?

Seriously hone my craft.

What do you wish you'd done less of?

Wandering, both physically and mentally, in broad daylight.

How many one-night stands?

Plenty. I tell you, it is hard standing on one leg while breathing fire to amuse people’s fervent desires for three straight hours. Nah, of course, nothing.

What was your favorite TV program?

Not much TV viewing in the year 2007.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Yes, so much, but the opposite is much stronger than the previous feeling.

What was the best book you read?

I expect it to be the final book of the Harry Potter series (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) but it did not hit a mark. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez are, without doubt, books that influenced my writings that year.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

I have a singing voice. I can actually sing up to the note of “me!” Do-re-me! Do-re-me!

What did you want and get?

As for a material thing, I have a lap now that has a great top.

What was your favorite film of this year?

Pan’s Labyrinth shakes my senses and it feels good. Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros was one ambitious local leap, too.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Bumming around in our ancestral house and still stagnating at nineteen. My birth date always falls on the vacation season that's why I can’t celebrate it with some acquaintances.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I should have stretched my perception of certain things more.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?

Great. I did astound a few orthodox.

What kept you sane?

Almost-daily poetic nosebleeds.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

As what I’ve said earlier, not much TV viewing that year but Angel Locsin and the Piolo-Sam controversy did get my attention.

What political issue stirred you the most?

Joseph Ejercito Estrada’s release and Oprah Winfry’s support to Barack Obama (and I appreciate it).

Who did you miss?

My mother (of course, she’s in our hometown while I’m stuck in Dumaguete), Marianne Catherine Tapales, and one odd water ant.

Who was the best new person you met?

Who else but the quirkiest newswriter in the Weekly Sillimanian office: Junie! Good thing we did not clash with each other. Imagine a dancer and a frustrated writer talking incessantly about all sorts of things in every possible gathering, now that’s a weird combination.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

Lyde quoted this line for me of which, humility aside, comes from a short story I wrote: “Waiting is never a stressful task nor is it unproductive, as long as you are willing to accept the end as it is, good or bad. Waiting is rewarding.”

What was the nicest thing someone told you about yourself?
“…don’t let undue anxiety get in the way.” I am trying hard to follow this. Thanks for the advice.

The most touching experience you've had that year?

A hug while tricycles and other vehicles run beside us.

What did you like most about yourself that year?

I soften up a bit.

What did you hate most about yourself this year?

Sentimentality, being a crammer, and excessiveness in things tangible and not.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Will you take me with you
And share the night
With flaring passion
The moon is full and she's smiling so cool

And I hate to spend the night alone again.

Well it's not very easy
To live a life like this
With all the space between us
You won't let me fill
Even when I try to make things work
You leave me awfully unnerved
And I'm sure
You'd give in to my desires
My butterfly.

Was 2007 a good year for you?

Though full of bitter surprises, it is sorely great.

What was your favorite moment of the year?
I force myself to assume that it mustn’t be my favorite. Straightforward, I am not telling.

What was your least favorite moment of the year?

I force myself to assume that it mustn’t be my least favorite. Straightforward, I am not telling.

Where were you when 2007 began?
Tagbilaran City, Bohol; specifically at Calceta Street, Cogon District.

Who were you with?

Who should I be with?! My family, of course.

Where will you be when 2008 ends?

Same place as to where I begin it.

Who will you be with when 2008 ends?

Same aging bunch of jesters.

Do you have a new year’s resolution for 2007?

1. Be a stone for pete’s sake.

2. Eat more but spend less (love this contradiction in terms)

3. Better writing skill or specifically write in regimented shortness.

4. Better memory but has the ability to immediately trash some sticky trash.

5. And more.

What was your favorite month of 2007?

December. Lot of things happen in this crammed up month.

Did you lose anybody close to you in 2007?

Yes.

What was your favorite record from 2007?

Okay, music once again. Café Bossa by Sitti and Moonlane Gardens of Orange and Lemons.

How many concerts did you see in 2007?

One? A piano concert to be exact.

Did you drink a lot of alchohol in 2007?

Nope. Ask anyone who knows me. Go.

Do a lot of drugs in 2007?

Yes? Whappak!

You do anything you are ashamed of this year?

If it is considered a shameful act, well, yes.

How much money did you spend in 2007?

Just a hint: My wallet can be categorized as under-nourished every week.

What was your proudest moment of 2007?

Not much to be proud of but I was awarded Most Outstanding Male Sophomore of the College of Arts and Sciences considering there were more guys out there who were more deserving.

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2007?

Countless moments, must-be-forgotten moments.

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2007 and change something, what would it be?

Go back to this particular class last school year, second semester and not speak to this particular person.

What are your plans for 2008?

Be stronger. Live up to my military high school class’s batch distinction: Matatag.

How are you different now that the year has ended?

I am slowly becoming what I am destined to be.

What are your wishes for the New Year?

I wish to have an unlimited supply of concentrated joy, a dozen of preserved patience, a huge box filled with canned contentment, a daily dosage of flavored solidity, a handful of real acquaintances, and a monthly spa treatment of understanding.

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