15

Minimum bus fare. A decade and a half. Fifteen minutes of fame. Junior High. Cheers to fifteen years here in my own tiny spot in the blogosphere.

Even if I don’t write as much as I did before, I’m still keeping this blog, yes, for memories.

Last year, 2025, was probably our most traveled year as a family. Hopefully, we could get the chance to do the same this year.

It was in January when we traveled to Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur to celebrate my birthday. We basically ate the whole time, devouring Vigan longganisa, bagnet, empanada, and all of Ilocos’ yummy food in between. We loved walking around Vigan City, and we’ll surely come back next time.

We also had the chance to visit the historical area of Taal in Batangas, as it was the venue for the wedding of Christian’s cousin. It was my first time there, and we got to see the old bahay na bato houses that are now turned into museums.

We spent the Holy Week in Cabangan, Zambales, where we did our tradition of spending the week on the beach with family and friends—like how we used to when we were kids. Akira’s older cousins prepared an egg-hunting event for the kids at the beach, and it was so much fun.

For our annual backpacking trip during the school break, we went to Fukuoka in Japan for eleven days, then went to Iloilo, Guimaras, and Capiz for thirteen days. We aptly called this trip #MoshiMoshiGid2025. It was a very memorable trip, as Akira learned to swim on his own on a public beach in Guimaras. He learned it on his own, as we weren’t too keen on forcing him to learn when he’s not ready. Apparently, he was practicing by seeing us swim.

We spent a night in Tagaytay in June for an aunt’s birthday, where Akira showed off his newly acquired skill of paddle swimming to his cousins.

I also did a solo trip in August, wherein I explored the provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, and Davao de Oro—my first time in these areas of Mindanao. People would often call me buang or crazy, upon learning that I’m doing this trip alone, usually the older ones.

In September, we celebrated the birthdays of Christian and Akira in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It’s Akira’s first time in the province, and we did the Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour. Of course, Akira showed off, again, his swimming skills. We also enjoyed the local food scene and, of course, our favorite chao long.

We spent the All Saints’ Day holiday in Laguna, where my brother is currently residing. We got to enjoy local food and knick-knacks, as well as more playtime for Akira and his cousin.

We ended the year with a trip to Baguio City. We started this tradition of spending the week between Christmas and New Year there to simply let Akira run freely as much as he wants. We bought him a Frisbee, which he happily used at the city’s open fields. We also noticed that he wasn’t as keen to go to the playgrounds and only did biking once—he said he was bored with doing the same thing all over again. He just turned six, and he’s already bored. What more in the coming years? Haha.

Akira mentioned several times that he wanted to experience snow in Japan, not any other place but Japan. He wasn’t pushy, though; he never was. He’s the kind of kid who never asks for anything for no reason, like a toy in the mall.

Got inked again at my favorite tattoo studio in Baguio, MNMLST. A wave tatt on my left rib and a sparkle tatt on my nape. I already have eight tattoos in a span of twenty months.

The past year was all about trying my best every single day. I’m 42 right now, and what I love about being in my forties is that I do not even try to prove anything to anyone anymore. I’m way past that feeling of being validated by other people. I guess it all stemmed from having a strong support system from my husband and my friends—we even have a group chat where we can be ourselves and not be judged by any of them. We could also dump whatever thoughts we have there and not get any reaction, but we’re all so secure with the friendship we have that we don’t take it against them if they do not react at all.

If I could say one thing to my past self, it would be, “Stop being so hard on yourself by pleasing everyone. Just be true to yourself and do the things that make you feel alive, and the right people will come to you eventually.”

Happy 15!