the 34th in review

wow, i'm still a bit sick but i owe you guys a lot of posts so let's get it rolling! here's that survey i was talking about. (thank you very much pazette!)

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done? opened a business and got married!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year? i cannot remember if i made any resolutions. actually i don't think i have in a long time. i'll try to come up with some this year

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? nope. unfortunately the exact opposite happened, our good friend giselle lost her baby.

4. Did anyone close to you die? someone close to the family did, our nana maria...

5. What countries did you visit? hmmm haven't been "out" for a loooonnnngggg time. i hope things will change this year

6. What would you like to have in 2005 (35th year) that you lacked in 2004 (34th year)? patience (tons of it), good health & spiritual guidance

7. What date/s from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory? december 30 - when ricky and i got married

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? i'd have to say opening the store and preparing for our wedding simultaneously. whew! i even shed a few pounds because of that.

9. What was your biggest failure? failure...let me see...that would probably be quitting my job in the early part of 2004. i really don't know what went wrong. i guess i just wasn't cut out for that job. what makes it even more painful is that a lot of people actually thought i was well-suited for the position and that in a couple of months or years i'd be a top honcho.

10. Did you suffer an illness or injury? thank god nothing serious but i haven't gotten rid of my colds, rashes (allergies) and asthma...

11. What was the best thing you bought? i can't think of anything...

12. Where did most of your money go? i have absolutely no idea!

13. What did you get really, really excited about? opening the store and our wedding

14. What song will always remind you of 2004? i'd have to say minsan lang kitang iibigin (ariel rivera) which was my bridal march

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder? happier definitely!
ii. thinner or fatter? thinner but gaining it all back since i have been eating a lot
iii. Richer or poorer? hmmm i'd like to think richer, but not in the monetary sense

16. What do you wish you'd done more? i wish i blogged, danced, wrote and helped others more

17. What do you wish you'd done less of? procrastinating and worrying

18. How did you spend Christmas? i was with ricky's family for noche buena, alone at the apt after midnight then christmas day was at the store.

19. Did you fall in love in 2004? hell yeah! i got married!

20. How many one-night stands? none...

21. What was your favorite TV program? i got hooked on the amazing race especially when they came here. of course there are, my all-time faves, will & grace and oprah. i didn't have access to cable then; but now that i do, hopefully if i come across this survey again, i'll have more answers next year

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? hmmm, nope

23. What was the best book you read this year? oh gosh not one but, i'd have to say the dan brown novels

24. What was your greatest musical discovery? musical? to tell you the truth, nothing. if i may tweak the question a bit, my greatest "online" discovery was BLOGGING (it's so darn addictive!)

25. What do you want to get in 2005? unlike #6, i'm turning this into my mini wishlist (tangibles): 1.) a laptop 2.) i'm in dire need of either a hair straightening/rebonding session or hair color. i've too many "white hair" 3.) a new cellphone 4.) it wouldn't hurt to wish for a car (i must admit, this is impossible, nevertheless...) alright? well, i'll update this list as the days pass

26. What was your favorite film of this year? can i say filmS? Kill Bill 1, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo (forgive me but were all of these shown in '04?)

27. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? nothing special, was here at the store and just had dinner with ricky... i turned 35...

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? let me think about this one and see if i can tell you....

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? everything and anything casual, jeans, shirts, sandals, tennis shoes...

30. Who/what kept you sane? ricky, he always does

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? angelina jolie, the F.R.I.E.N.D.S trio (jennifer, courtney and lisa) and locally, kris aquino (not really fancy, but i am intrigued by this woman's life!)

32. What political issue stirred you the most? fortunately, i'm apolitical but maybe the pork barrel? or maybe fpj's decision to run? or the fact that we've been named one of the most corrupt nations in the world (or is it the asia-pacific region?)?

33. Who do you miss? my family (we are scattered around the world...) and tess, who migrated to canada

34. Who was the best new person you met? best NEW person? it's difficult to choose but, i must say that this year i've appreciated my friends more. we're about 6 (just us girls, 9 if you count the hubbies too) in our clique and we went through a lot last year. our wedding, one of us migrating to canada, one of us losing a baby, one of us getting an out-of-the-country assignment (then upon returning to the phils., an out-of-town assignment) and a lot more. but our friendship has grown STRONGER and we all treasure each other a lot...

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004: in the quest for our own happiness, we may hurt others; these people could even be those who are closest to your heart. never lose sight of what you feel so strongly about and wish to attain, we have only one life and it should be lived the way you see fit.