What's up for 2009

Year 2009 is another awesome year, something I look forward to as a fresh opportunity to enjoy new experiences, visit new places, meet new people, and learn new things. Right now I couldn't help but think of all the things in line for me this year and of all the stuff I want to do.

What's up for 2009? Here it goes.

My Trip to Mystical Mumbai on Saturday. Let me get this straight. I am not going to Mumbai as a tourist, I am going there for work - heaps of work. My one-week visit to India's financial capital will be a week-long intensive training. When I come back to Manila, expect me to be busier than ever. But of course, all work and no play is bad for the health. I have prepared an itinerary for my own exploration into this unique and diverse urban melting pot that is Mumbai.

Dragonboat races. Aside from the quarterly regattas in Manila Bay, the highlights of this year are the races in Subic on February and in Boracay on April. After the food-filled season of Christmas, I am now getting ready for my team's trainings. I know this is going to be tough, and I am ready for this. Time to go back to the gym and loose the flabs. Go UPDT!

Mt. Pulag and Sagada. To explore the Cordilleras has always been in my to do list for years. This 2009, I really hope I can make it to Luzon's apex and visit the mummies of the mountains.

Anawangin, Caramones, Puerto Galera, Boracay. These are the beaches I want to visit this summer. I hope work permits to get some days off so I can enjoy the summer sun at the beach.

Backpacking in the Indochinese Peninsula. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos: Southeast Asian countries that each offer a different flavor of adventure. The food in Vietnam, the ancient Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the temples and elephants in Thailand, the tranquil forests in Laos. Awesome.

Getting a license for scuba diving. When I was young I used to spend some afternoons after school by the beach collecting shells, fish, and other critters trapped in puddles during low tide. Now I want to explore the depths of the archipelago's teeming marine ecosystem. Diving the Philippine seas is probably the best way to explore the islands as the country has the richest marine waters in the world.

CFA certification. Now let's talk about career plan. I have set my plan to study for my masters degree in finance or economics in 2010. For the meantime, I would like to try my luck in getting the Chartered Financial Analyst certification this year. It's hard and expensive - double whammy. But if I succeed, it's going to be a boost to my career. I never stop wondering where this graduate in molecular biology and biotechnology ends up in the corporate world.

To get my very first two-week break from work. It's going to be my second year in Citi come April But I haven't yet enjoyed that thing called a mandatory two-week leave. Workload and conflicts in schedule have always pushed it back. I have wasted money in rebooking my flights four times last year. Simply frustrating. I couldn't wait to spend two weeks free of work-related stress.

To go home to the province. Stranger to my own home - this is me. I have lived alone in Manila for six years now, and only got to visit my folks for two weeks - that's 14 days - at the longest every year. The last time I was home last November for two days, I felt like being warped back to the time when I was a younger. My room hardly changed at all. Same old bed. Same old picture frames. Same old school projects displayed on my desk. Same old pillows. My mom said she never changed them because they are the only remaining identity of me at home. I missed my home, I missed my parents. But I am my own man now, and growing up means leaving home.

To remove my wisdom teeth and get braces. It's painful and expensive - another double whammy. I have two impacted wisdom teeth due for operation. It hurts a lot. Now my teeth are all moving. Even my two front teeth of the upper jaw are becoming more visibly misaligned. My dentist is going to be one of my biggest financial beneficiary this year.

To re-enroll in a Spanish class. Te quiero estudiar la lengua español. But I was dropped out of my class in Instituto Cervanteslast November because of my absences. Nonetheless, I'll be taking a diagnostic exam to get accelerated to level III this year. I hope I can make it.

To take a refresher course in driving. I'm not good at driving, the last time I drove was in high school. I can drive people crazy, but I can never drive them safely back home. About buying my own car? Well, I am thinking about it. But I am inclined not to.

There they are. I have loads of other things in mind, but I think tama na muna 'tong mga to. Masyado nang marami. Haha.

Best of luck for me for the next twelve months. By year-end, I would like to go back to these plans to see how far I have gone.

Cheers lifeaholics!