Moving Forward from 2021 to 2022

I was writing this during a lull after the festivities of Christmas Eve - the day of gift wrapping, preparing for the Noche Buena, and attending a jam-packed church for the evening Mass. The kids were asleep as well as My Beloved Wife, who is recuperating since she did all the cooking.

Looking at them sleeping peacefully tells me that all the hardships and difficulties that I went through this year is all worth it. They are the reason why I keep pushing forward.

So why the gloomy opening for this blog post? The answer is that we are now counting the hours to the end of 2021. Thus, it is the perfect time to be melancholic and reminisce about the year that was.

Treble Cubs = Treble Trouble

If 2020 is the year when we welcomed the third cub in the family, then 2021 is the year when the third cub joined the two older cubs in making the fun and messes in the house. Triple kids means tripled number of scattered toys on the floor, triple the laundry (good thing we got a new automatic washing machine), triple the kakulitan, and triple the scolding.

It was a difficult ordeal and there were times that I scolded and disciplined them to no avail. Sometimes I think that I am a failure as a father because I cannot go through with them. It seems like my words fall on deaf ears. I always scold them about the same things everyday, I remind them of the same things every single day.

Sounds horrible, right? Well no. Because triple the cubs also means triple the fun and the love.

It is fun to see the third cub learning new things - from learning how to stand on his own, to his first step without holding him, and now running and climbing on his own.

The second cub is the sweetest of all. Her hugs and even her requests to carry her like a baby (even though she's heavy now) melts my heart. How long will this last, I wonder. She grow up very fast.

The first cub is quite hardheaded and persistent in getting what he wants. He pesters me most of the time. This attitude of his is a pain but I know that such hardheadedness and persistence will be helpful to him in the future.

2021 is also the year when the two older cubs are enrolled in online class. I witnessed firsthand how difficult this mode of teaching for small kids. Focus is the problem for the kids. The only positive thing is that I can see the attitude and teaching style of their teachers, and I am not liking what I saw.

Well, these are my kids and I am very happy to have them - with all the mess and fun that they bring. I know deep in my heart that this phase will end and I will surely miss it.

Leading the Pack with more Experience

Year 2020 is the year when I was named as the supervisor of supervisors - in short, head over various units. It was not easy for me, who is an introvert and a pessimist.

I only supervised one unit in the past and now I have to deal with many people from different units. It is more challenging since I have to balance everything. I don't only deal with the producing outputs but also with people - their concerns, their relationships and conflicts, their reactions. On top of these, I have to deal with bosses, some of which have inflated egos.

My baby steps in 2020 became like a toddlers first walks in 2021. I learned a lot this year and the previous years.

Also, I am blessed to have a staff who are capable and professional. They make load much lighter.

Still, I have much to learn and the coming year will surely give plenty of opportunities to learn new things.

Family Trips, Finally

The pandemic situation in the Philippines somehow improved in 2021. The strict lockdowns were removed and people are allowed to travel, not only for work or business but also for leisure. The lockdown has negative effects to the mental health and emotional wellbeing to our children (and also us parents), so we decided to embark on a family trip by going to Woodside Farm & Water Park in Cabuyao, Laguna.

We also joined the neighbors outing somewhere in Nagcarlan, Laguna (I will blog about it later).

Our kids also managed to enter grocery stores, shopping malls, and restaurant this year. The best thing is that we can now attend Holy Mass regularly.

I do hope that the situation improve in 2022 despite the threat of Omicron and the incoming Wuhan Virus variants. 

Return to Anime and Manga

2021 is filled with stressful and exhausting situations. So, to ease the pressure a little bit, I returned to watching anime and reading manga.

My staple, of course, is One Piece that is already near the climax of the Wano Arc.

I also rewatched old anime like Hunter X Hunter (still on hiatus), Gundam Wing, Haruhi Suzumiya, and Code Geass (the ending of which always puts tears in my eyes). I also finished other anime ls that I watched last year like "Violet Evergarden", which ended with a great movie.

I also discovered good anime and manga like Higehiro, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Arte, Toradora.

The most disappointing anime that I watched this year is Quintessential Quintuplets.

The best find, I think, is Spy x Family (which is about a fake family formed by a spy, an assassin, and an esper).

I think I am back to anime and manga and I will continue to spend spare time with them this coming year.

Aside from anime and manga, I also enjoyed historical documentaries. The ones that I watched this year is about World War 2 and Netflix's documentary about the Age of Samurai. My staple of course are the docu from Epic History TV.

Contest Winner!

One of the highlights for this year is that I won a minor prize of 300 pesos Puregold e-cash from Palmolive. My win is insignificant but  I'm since it is my first time to win from such a contest. I guess I will try joining similar promo contest in the future.

Finally Done with an Long Overdue Project

Finally it is finished! My project in the office that I started more than a decade ago is now done. It is a book and it is now submitted to a printing press. I guess I can now resign and go to greener pastures?

Plans for the Far Future

Speaking of going to greener pastures, I made a plan of how I will accomplish that in the far future. I called it Operation Dunkirk and thought about it during days of despair. It is more an outline than an actual plan but  ido hope that I can accomplish this since I am already feeling the burn-out, boredom, agony, and despair of my current workplace. Or maybe this is just Quarter Life Crisis of some sort? I don't know.

Looking Forward to 2022

My pessimistic self tells me that the coming year is full of stress and despair. However, I do hope that the coming year is studded with happiness (especially from the family) and positivity.

Well, I guess I can just wait and see. I have no choice but to move forward and hope for the best.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. I hope that your 2022 is brighter than the brightest fireworks that will light up the sky this evening.

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