Every year, I’m a different person as I add new chapters to the book of life. 2018 was a good one but everything did not come easy. Victory goes to those who hustle.
Year of The Franc
Measuring a year has been as complicated as it gets. I’ve started this Year of the Franc recaps on a banner year, where I get all highs on all front. The thing is that everything has been a merry-go-round since then as I add chapters to the story of my life. One thing for sure, I’ve developed more facets on my skill sets and became a lot better on all fronts. Everything has a cost thought, success take efforts and also a lot of failures in between. I’m also back on the usual dead-tired ending a year mode because somehow, I never learn to hold back but that’s just me, win or lose, I have to give it my best shot. After all, life is short so it deserves nothing but the best.
My Thoughts
Then and now is such a different story because there are fewer things to balance and so easy to succeed. Then comes adulting, midlifing and a lot more passion projects for me, which consumes so much of time and resource but it also gives me a lot of satisfaction. So a year older and a year busier and I’m loving every minute of it.
2018 was the year I turned 40 and as usual, I started a new life without much fanfare as I was too busy during that stretch. 40 reminds me so much that life is short especially since my dad passed away when he was just 46 years old. 2018 has also been the year that my blog site hit a million hits and I’ve never expected it to be this big when I merged everything into a single dot com site. So many milestone for this site already including awards years back and the growth of another site, Pinoy Trails.com. I’m not drawn anymore by site traffic but I’d like to keep it a little bit more personal. My business has been a struggle but yeah, I don’t mind adding struggling businessman in my title.
My Travel
It’s not a banner year for travel for me but there were several highlights and a jet-setting stretch. I was able to get to visit the scenic Balesin island which merges the best beach and vacation concepts worldwide in a single Island. I was also able to do an international outdoor hike in Indonesia, where I got to scale the challenging peak of Mount Semuru and got to be on top of a crater in Bromo. That was in the middle of a 3 week stretch where I was practically hopping from one trip to another. I also got my regular Singapore and Taiwan visit.
My Runs
I’ve probably lost my weekend warrior status though I was still visible on runs and races on both road and trails. I’m still on my taking it easy phase, which has been for the past 2 years now. I am also spending a lot of time in events and am happy to start Trail Academy through Pinoy Trails, Active Pinas and Team Malaya. It’s always been my goal to offer this events for free or at minimal cost and I’ glad I get to share my love for the trails and outdoors.
When it comes to the trails, I probably found a home outdoors as I’m in the trails almost weekly. I usually get my regular dose of dirt on weekends and I’m still tinkering with a lot of trail ideas in the trail. So, I’ll see more of the trail in 2019.
My 2019
I’ve spent the last day of 2019 taking the crazy route from Baguio all the way too the peak of Mount Yangbew in La Trinidad. It’s a crazy idea but that’s how I get to squeeze my creative juices. I still have a lot left for 2019 and I say, just bring it!