And I am back! Resting from sharing my thoughts and doing product reviews of which I am the only one or probably some friends also read at times was not necessarily a deliberate choice, I suppose I just wasn't that eager to air out what's on my mind or what is happening in my life to the world. Sure, I was still fairly active in other social media platforms but usually I just post memes 💁🏻♀️
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| So many memes, 2021 Nicole did her very best. |
But staying to the objective of this blog, which is to become a reference for my future child about my progress in becoming a better human being, let me share some highlights of my 2021 💁🏻♀️
1. NEW JOB!
Ever since I was a child it was my dream to go to a school within the proximity of my house, mainly because I am always late. Unfortunately, the nearest one I have ever been to was around 5km away from my house, still not so near 🥲 This 'goal' went on as I reach adulthood, but alas living in Quezon City always meant 2 hours of commute going to Makati, or BGC. But this year, I hit jackpot by landing a job in a company that is only 2.2km away from where I live- So near, I can walk home from the office!
But aside from the proximity, I think I hit a goldpot in Philusa Corporation when I got hired as a Brand Manager. Not being such a kiss-ass, but I think this is the best company I have been so far 💁🏻♀️ Aside from the win with the proximity of the office, I really enjoy the work and the brands that I am handling (Shout out to MEDIPLAST and Apollo Skin Solutions woot woot!), I made friends with other colleagues in the company, compensation is ok but thank God for incentives, and I also have a good boss who's generous not only with food but with knowledge. So really, I am pretty ok with this current gig 👌
Here are some random photos from work:
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| Huhu miss you AJ and Faye! |
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| Hey big eyes |
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| Supply Chain and Marketing team ❤ |
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| Hi Tin! |
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| Lunch break to, ok? Hahaha! |
2. DREAM BAGS GALORE!
... And shoes too! Ok, ok this one is pretty materialistic, but then again it is sort of a testament that hard work pays off especially a good Marni bag 👏
I am not a big fan of big designer labels like Gucci, Louis Vuitton (but I do fancy their On-The-Go tote hahaha), and Dior, oftentimes I find their monograms too gaudy, however I do adore other more 'artsy' and 'kitschy' equally luxurious brands such as Marni and Loewe. This year I was able to score some cute pieces from the brands mentioned, and even discovere a slew of other impressive brands such as Strathberry and Rejina Pyo.
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| SHAPPEEEEENG! |
Two of my favorite acquisitions are my red Strathberry MC Nano bag which I ended up giving to my sister because she likes it a lot, and of course, my beloved White Marni Pannier bucket bag!
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| I really love this bag, and I don’t mind giving it to my sister |
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| The Marni Pannier bucket bag! I am still obsessed with this bag despite the limited storage it can accommodate 😂 |
I also mentioned shoes, and yes I was able to score some ridiculously priced Repetto shoes just a couple of weeks ago! I have always wanted a pair, preferably their dainty AF ballet flats, however I got these really sexy heels choosy pa ba ako? Usually a pair would cost me around Php 18,000 to Php 21,000, but I got mine for only Php 1,000! And with that, I got three! 🤣🤣🤣
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| It was actually Ken who gave me the idea to buy more hahaha! |
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| I won’t spend 20k for a pair of shoes! Good thing I got this from a clearance sale 🤷🏻♀️ |
Take note though, for the bags I was able to score them in various second hand shops while these shoes from sales and outlets hence I did not break the bank nor it cost me an arm and leg to buy these items. It really pays to be a lurker to find amazing deals 👏
3. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE
I won't disclose much about this, but 2021 did bring prosperity to my life that I am able to save more than my goal amount this year 👌 I also have finally gave in to online banking and left my hermit tendencies behind 🥴
4. VISITED PARADISE
If it wasn't for a family trip with Ken's family I wouldn't have the desire to actually go to Boracay. We went there in July, and oh boy it was stormy as hell- but despite the tumultous weather, Boracay is truly a paradise.
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| The Sunniest it could get at that time. |
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| Living my best life in my jammies. |
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| No books were harmed when this photo was taken. |
The only thing I was not a fan of was how exorbitantly priced food and other stuff were in Boracay! Meals usually range around Php 250 to 300, hence Andok's and Mcdo were the best budget-friendly options. Also, I don't know if it still the same as of now but back in July 2021 they banned selling alcoholic drinks in the island. Not cool bruh, not cool.
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| saks lang. |
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| Buy one in advance before you go to Boracay! I got the same sunblock for only Php 200 in Shopee! |
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| Forlorn~ |
If the budget allows, I would love to go back when it's sunnier and I have a slimmer bod to achieve my hubadera goals hahaha!
5. TECH UPGRADE
One thing I am not is a techie, where I only ever upgrade when (yes, when not if) my gadgets are already close to being obsolete whether parts are becoming hard to come by or my gadgets can no longer support software upgrades. For this year, I made a major upgrade when I bought this:
Yes, I have finally gave in and bought myself an iPad Pro 11' 2020 hahahaha! I got it in February that's why I wasn't able to get the 2021 model, but meh I don't think a year behind makes a lot of difference.
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| Look at how whimsy my little corner is… was hahahah! |
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| I am actually doing this blogpost now via my iPad 🧏🏻♀️ |
Ken and I also bought a Nintendo Switch! HAHAHA! This is another purchase that took us more than a year of deliberation before we decided to finally buy.
6. SHORTER ‘DO
I’ve done more drastic things to my hair, like dip-dyed it to pink when I was in my senior year in college (I would definitely want to do that again in the future hahaha!), and also got a pixie thinking I would look like Karen Gillan when she had hers hahahaha, so cutting my hair after almost 2 years of not going to the salon isn’t that special. What’s a teeny bit special though is that I have donated my hair to an org who create wigs out of donated human hair.
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| Tadaaaah! |
Would I do this again? Maybe in the far future, at this moment I just want to keep my locks a bit longer.
7. COVID-19
Ah yes, the biggest elephant in the room: COVID-19. Not everything in 2021 was peachy, because in September 2021, me and Ken got COVID-19.
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| Started with buying copious amount of vitamins while we wait for our teleconsultation with a doctor. |
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| I look like trash, I had to host the launch of Philusa Online Store with 38 degrees celsius fever and nose dripping with snot 💪🏻 What’s your excuse, BBM? LOL.really. |
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| Thank you, Yumi 🙌🏼 |
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| What our baby boy’s first name will be hahahahah! |
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| He broke our chair at home, but it’s been fixed already✌🏻 |
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| No sickness will ever stop him from playing Tarkov, apparently 🤷🏻♀️ |
Given the tiny space we had in Pasig, we decided to stay in my house in Bulacan while my mom, who lives there, stayed in my aunt’s house a few blocks away. I guess we were luckier compared to others who got diagnosed of COVID-19 because our symptoms were milder (Vaccines work, people!), we have an amazing support system who brought us food and everything we need(shout out to Mama and Ken’s aunts!), and we have the financial capability to actually get tested. Now, don’t get me started, but test kits should be free! Otherwise where did the loaned trillions of pesos went to????? 🤦🏻♀️
I’m still praying that this pandemic will be over soon because 2 years into this pandemic a lot of opportunities were wasted, and hopefully 2022 or fine, 2023 the most possible time given that Omicron is waving at us now will be much better for everyone!
8. SANDY CHRISTMAS
Nothing much to say about this hahaha! This is a first time for us to spend the holidays outside the comforts of our home, and it was quite the experience 👌
9. SIRI, PLAY OLIVIA RODRIGO’S DRIVER’S LICENSE.
I will be honest, I never really had the desire to learn how to drive, no matter how hellish our commute is here in Metro Manila I will still opt to be a passenger than the driver. However given the requirement in our office that we must learn how to drive because each brand manager gets to have their own car, I have finally got mine- 10 years later the age I should have had it hahaha!
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| Crocs and Chuck Taylors are the 😘👌 driving shoes! |
Comparing to how acquiring a driver license was in the past, the newer process is quite a challenge since it is both time-consuming and funds-consuming. In the past, you can just merrily go to the nearest Land Transportation Office to apply for a Student License Permit, however nowadays you must undergo and pass the 15-hour Theoretical Driving Classes before you could apply for a student license. Another thing, you can no longer just ask anyone to teach you to drive, you must undergo practical driving lessons from an accredited driving school- and this will cost you around Php 5,000 for an 8-hour lesson for manual transmission cars, higher if you opt for an automatic transmission car. After finishing and passing the final assessment, only then you can apply for an actual Driver’s license.
By the end of it, you have already spent Php 10,000 on the classes, applications, and medical exams 🤦🏻♀️
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| Never knew I have black beady eyes |
10. FAMILY TIME
Unlike 2020, with the restrictions easing up a bit family time has become more frequent- no complaining here though 🧏🏻♀️
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| Day before my birthday. |
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| Julianna’s birthday. |
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| Random dinner in BGC. |
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| Dinner in Shangri-La celebrating the confirmation of my sister’s immigrant status in the US. |
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| HAHAHAHHAHAHA the kids want none of this photo thing. |
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| Julianna with her popsicile on Christmas day. She’s a big girl now, huhuhuhu. |
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| Christmas eve at the beach. |
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| Julianna being a natural with this bird. She can also mimic whistle hahahahah! |
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| Last day of 2021 with my favorites (pa-add nalang sila ate). |
2021 has been a good year compared to 2020, but hopefully it isn’t as amazing as 2022 hahaha! So far my goals for this year are pretty ‘conservative’ except for losing 60 pounds to be hubadera hahaha but fingers crossed that I’ll get to tick-off all the resolutions by the end of 2022!
So 2022, I won’t challenge you to ‘BRING IT ON’ because to be honest I just want an easygoing year full of things that are familiar and comfortable, so instead: 2022, please let us get our shit together.
Love always,
Nicole 🙋🏻♀️
