My Oh-Nine

Neither is 2009 a remarkable year nor is it something that does not have any trace of significance. However, I think that there were many things which happened in the last year (as of this hour that I was writing it) which are noteworthy, and these are experiences that served to be a significant part of my life. So for the year in review, I had a recap of nine gems of experience of the year two thousand and nine.

9.Of course, free times were spent like forever, considering the busy junior and senior year that I had. A particular favorite: Rock Band 2. It was the only way that I would bring out all the boiling passion for music and playing drums while looking up to the likes of Travis Barker and Andy Hurley. Can't form a band due to a busy schedule? Easy. Just prepare a few bucks and be the rockstar that you are.

8. The later part of the year was spent on relishing the last moments of college life. Our block went everywhere, ate anything, played all the games, and, most importantly, did philosophy in the most hardcore way possible (Okay, I was quite lying, we were digressing). It was the most important last year of our lives, and we were determined to spend it in the best ways possible.

7.For me, every year is a basketball fan's year, and for me, '09 has been the best year for a fan like me. First off, the Los Angeles Lakers, of which I am a fan of, won their 15th championship, and I consider perhaps as a climax to star Kobe Bryant's meta-narrative which dates back to 2000. The better side of it, though, is the fact that they haven't exhausted their full potential yet. With defensive star Ron Artest in '09's lineup, a back-to-back title is never far. The other one in the winning side of 2009 is my own school's basketball team. The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles clinched their second straight title in the UAAP, which was followed by another title at the Philippine Collegiate Champions League. Indeed, it is a year of grace for the white-and-blue.

6.High school was the last time I went to a live concert (well, except for my Freshman OrSem), and with Mae & Katy Perry, I was able to bring back the experience of going live. I was with my brother Aaron, Mykee and Mon. Indeed, an awesome lineup of lively performances made charity more fun than ever, as the profits generated were used to offer help to the victims of Ondoy.

5.There are only one in a thousand chances that two siblings get to appear on a single school newspaper page, and me and my brother achieved the feat. While I was the interviewee for the article on my great teacher Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ, my bro's head became the banner of the Blue Babble Battalion on that page. As soon as I got the copy, I immediately sent it to mom to have it framed.

4.Being a figure for public viewing isn't really my thing. But then, isn't it a rare experience to be featured on television? For me, it is, but as an altar server, that is. I felt honored that I was part of a historical event, to be able to take part in the liturgy for the funeral of the late President Corazon Aquino. More than the small three-to-five second flashes in the idiot box was the fact that I was there in the event itself. Hmm… Probably I will end up at the back of a 2,000 peso bill.

3.It became a running joke among the organization that we are "dorks on parade." But, what kind of org has a special reading room and tambayan at the De La Costa Building. Accredited orgs can own the MVP for all they want, but for the Samahan sa Pilosopiya, we have a sacred space inside the Philosophy Department. As part of the core member of the Samahan, I was one of the guys who put forward projects (i.e. inuman and other social gatherings) and plan on Pilosopo Tasyo, the annual philosophical journal of the Ateneo. What a great honor indeed to be part of the philo family!

2. Lots of time were spent contacting other seminaries, printing t-shirts, and asking Ateneo orgs to perform in our programs. But then, by the end of November, all the efforts were not wasted. The twelve college seminarians of San Jose Seminary, together with their older brothers from the theology, successfully hosted a grand Inter-College Seminary meet of five hundred seminarians. How could anyone be more proud than that? All for God's glory, I say.

1.And of course, the most life-changing moment for me was the time that I got the job as the College Seminary beadle of a turbulent first semester of my senior year. I felt very much honored to lead this small community through the turbulent times, and hard as it might seem, I was able to grow and let others grow. Indeed, I discovered my ability to lead, and at the same time, I learned different attitudes and behavior that have to do with leadership which, I believe, made a better person out of me.

But then, all of this is nothing without the best gift that 2009 brought me, the gift of family and friends. Thank you to everyone for making the recently ended year a great one. As we look forward to 2010, let us altogether hope that things would be better this time around for everyone of us.