Year 2007

Dec 31, 2007

Clutching a cold San Mig Light on one hand I watched, as the sun dipped on the horizon. And so 2007 came to a close. Well almost.

Sunsets especially the ones on the beaches of San Jose have always been a religious experience for me. There is an overwhelming calming of the senses as one marvels at the sun- slowly yet inevitably touching the ocean. It is somewhat a satisfying closure- and a stark contrast - to a whirlwind day.

For this day however, it seemed an apt closure for a year that has been.

Watching sunset on the last day of the year was a ritual I have started back in 1999. During those days, rumors of the end of the world abound, it seemed satisfying an idea to appreciate life’s everyday miracles if these were the last reminders of one’s stay on earth.

But 2000 came and the world, surprisingly, still rotated on its axis. Images of the winged creatures ablaze storming on the night sky, announcing Judgment Day never materialized. On hindsight, doomsday happening on the stroke of midnight seemed rather foolish because not all parts of the world reach midnight simultaneously. It will therefore be a series of pathetic and impotent “gotchas!” - not the cataclysmic big bang, fireballs, explosions and all, the way doomsayers have conjured it to be. No, THE END has to be more enthralling and climactic than this.

Which was rather fortunate. It meant 8 more sunsets on the last day of the year to behold. And counting.

And so there I was, Dec 31, 2007 contemplating on the year that has been, on the beaches of my childhood.

It has been a dramatic year, one that has caught me by surprise, like being snagged in a roller coaster, swirled in dizzying rounds and hurled backed to the ground before anything else made sense.

It has been a year of firsts. It was my first time to set foot on London, embrace its cranky weather and understand why Englishmen kept breaking the ice by asking ” How’s the weather there?”.

It was my first time to surf…..to teeter on the board and brave the harsh midday heat and the fury of waves if only to experience the elusive stoke.

It was my first time to visit the provinces of Biliran and Leyte. Now those would be two provinces off my list… About 30 more to go…

It has been a year of travels. New York, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Jakarta Kuala Lumpur. Expanding my role to cover SEA regions has opened a delightful world of possibilities.

It has been a year of adventure. My life has never been the same after meeting Empoy and Longgoy, two true blue mountaineers. I slid off the grassy paths of Sembrano, grappled with the menacing boulders of Batulao, clambered through the crevices of Pico de Loro, stared at the jaws of death of Tres Marias, all for the pursuit of whatever is up there on the summit.

It has been a year of excitement. Sat beside Jeff Immelt, our big big boss, in an award dinner for volunteers. Only 0.5% would ever have that chance to sit beside the most important person in the company, much less engage in a conversation for 3 hours.

It has been a year of surprises. A close friend came out of the closet. A rather funny and surreal experience; I almost choked on my food when she made the revelation. I thought I was in “Bitoy’s Yari ka video segment” but no punchline ever came. It took about fifteen minutes after the jolt, before my brain could process normally again.

It has been a year of reconnection. Had the chance to catch up with Steph and Anton, two of the people who’ve made an impact on my life. I had the chance to hear my alter ego in one drinking session. The drunk indeed speaks the longings of the sober heart. I am now back pursuing my masters in Psychology

It has been a year of farewells… We left our old site in Pasong Tamo, which has been home for some for 30 years. Some good old friends left the company presumably to search for greener pastures. Some colleagues from another site were retrenched as a painful decision to keep the business thriving. Funny how you only realize the importance of people when they’re no longer around.

It has been a year of fun and fascination, of trials and tribulations, of losses and triumphs, of beginnings and endings.

It will be another year that I would look back with much fondness and longing many years from now.

A year that I have just relived for one last time as I look at its last sunset.