12 Things I Rocked in 2012

2012 was a very amazing and memorable year for me. Looking back, I realised that I have done so much things. But then again, I wanted 2012 to be a “me” year to begin with. Back in Dec 2011, I already told myself that I’m gonna do things by myself and for myself in 2012 and I guess, I can say mission accomplished. Henceforth, I would like to immortalise the things I rocked in 2012.

1. Project Core 2 (Pailin, Cambodia)

Going to Pailin to teach kids the second time around really has twice the charm. Please refer to my previous blog post for all the juicy details. All I can is that I fell in love in love with that place. When I left a part of me was left behind. I mean, if you still chat and video call them after you’ve left, that says a lot about the kind of friendship which has been established in less than 2 weeks right?  I really hope that I can go back there again in Dec 2013.

2. Internship Part 1: Mulberry PR

I went into this internship not knowing anything about Public Relations and I must say that I have learnt and grown a lot. It gave me the opportunity to help organise a charity fashion show (super duper cool!) and discover that I would really love to work in that line. I loved that I was always on the go, coming up with ideas, and I was able to meet different sorts of people everyday. I loved the fact that I was given space to grow and the independence to make suggestions and decisions. I, especially, liked that people even said they didn’t even realise I was an intern because I didn’t act as such. haha. Don’t get me wrong, there were loads of ups and downs too but I guess when the shoes is given is that big, one really learns to fill those shoes in.

3. Internship Part 2: IE Singapore

The culture in this internship was very different from the previous one. A SME versus a big government corporation; necessity for being proactive versus being reactive; horizontal versus vertical hierarchy; and so much more. Nonetheless,this showed me the importance of working in different areas and exploring different experiences. Working with 4 male bosses and 8 other interns always meant endless jokes (and food) even during office hours. Plus, it was super cool to learn so much about Africa and interact with the Africans (even African ministers). We had so much to do (and a different time zone to deal with) that we would sometimes work in the office till past midnight but that only brought us closer, it seems. It’s such a bummer that I won’t be able to work there in 2013. Oh wells. It was an awesome experience which I am glad to have, either way. Our bosses are now our friends, and us babytundes will most probably the coolest babies they’ll ever have. hehe 🙂

4. My Concert Year

2012 is officially dubbed as my concert year. What else would I call a year wherein I attended 5 concerts, right? Here’s the ranking of my concert experiences in 2012 (from amazing to f*cking awesome!). \m/

1. Yellowcard: Here I am Alive
2. Maroon 5: Overexposed
3. Avenged Sevenfold
4. Jason Mraz: L-O-V-E
5. Snow Patrol

I think my overall concert experience was strongly affected by the concert crowd, how close I was to the front, and how much everyone engages with the artists. Yellowcard was the best one for me because I was within the first 5 rows (mosh pit, f*ckyeah!), everyone was really singing and jumping to the song, and I knew the lyrics to almost every song. Queuing and waiting for almost 3 hours was well worth it! It was the best concert experience ever that I took a while to get over it.

Maroon 5 was great too but since Adam Levine and friends squeezed the normal song list into an hour show, hence they barely interacted with the audience, so yeah. The friends I went with for A7X weren’t the mosh-type so it wasn’t as “concert-ish” for me while the crowd for Mr Mraz was a bit off. It was prolly coz of the genre not going with such a huge concert space (Gardens by the Bay) plus, many people were there for the sake of being there but they didn’t really know the song lyrics so it was a bit of a bummer. But Jason was still Jesus-like with his guitar so still, fyeaaah! We only “freeloaded” for Snow Patrol so we didn’t really feel the concert experience. But being able to sit comfortably and read the lyrics off our phones was a unique wonderful experience nevertheless so whatever, haters!

I was meant to put a breakdown of all these concerts in another blog post but I guess laziness took over me. Apologies for that. But then again, I’m not very sure of how to describe the awesomeness of all my concert experiences for 2012. The feelings of anticipation for your idol to step out onto the stage and shout, “Hello, Singapore!” The feeling of  being so close to hot awesome musicians and rockers is just breath-taking. Having a sea of people singing the same tune and screaming the same lyrics seems to make it redeem the fact that our sweaty body was rubbing against a million of other sweaty stinky bodies for almost more than 2 hours.

Shout out to Maine and Margie for being my wonderful and supportive concert buddies. Love yah, girls! ❤

5. Starcruise Virgo

This was my first time to go on a cruise (as far as I can remember) so it’s definitely on my best 2012 moments. It was near the end after 2 back-to-back internships so a little escape was a great experience. I’m not even gonna start on the scrumptious buffet spread over for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There was one night when we had TWO dinners with an ice cream buffet before and a chocolate buffet after that. It was a weight gain-fest! Of course, I went swimming and had Jacuzzi as much as possible to redeem myself.  Armed with a fictional book, I also had a fair share of sunbathing and reading (and napping) al fresco. Oh. We also went had drinks and went clubbing on the cruise. We even watched a magic show and played bingo. I wanted to watch a play but we were too busy having 2 dinners so whoops. Plus, it was quite fun that my bosses didn’t know where I was going so they were guessing about it endlessly. They even hypothesized that I went to some off-beaten island to marry some prince or sultan. Haha! yeah right. I wish!

6. 1 Altitude

Considering that I started 2012 as a 1-Alt virgin, I think 1 Alt officially became my drinking hang out place through the year. I don’t usually go to the same drinking place but I went to 1 Altitude on so many occasions in 2012. I celebrated my 23rd birthday there (I wanted to feel like I was on top of the world! haha), some random night outs, and the end of my 2nd internship as well. And well, partying in the bar on top of the highest building in Singapore is obviously awesome thus, it is definitely on my best 2012 memories list.

7. Spring Awakening

I am super super glad that Fritzie and I managed to catch Spring Awakening. We’ve always wanted to watch plays and musical and stuff and Spring Awakening was the best choice we could have have. Being on our final year, the theme, the cast, the lyrics, and the songs were just so inspiring. I liked that it was so raw and real and radical and relevant despite being set in a totally different socio-cultural background. I hope I can catch more musicals in the years to come! Blah blah blah blah.

8. Ballet Under the Stars

I have been trying to catch this annual ballet for the past 4 years and I finally managed to in 2012. The schedule and company has always been the issue. So this year, I am really glad that I managed to drag my friends and that we are all free to go! It would have been tougher to organise that when we all start working. Anyway, the ballet performances were so good and it was super fun that we prepared and brought our own food for picnic-ing too! so, that’s my number 8! (even the number 8 looks like it’s doing ballet!)

9. Harry Potter Exhibition

Growing up in the Harry Potter Generation, going for the Harry Potter Exhibition in Marina Bay is A MUST! Albeit the space was not as majestic as I hoped, it was pretty cool to look at all the original props and stuffs used for the movie. Imagine having the chance to get sorted by the sorting hat, walk into the great hall, and immerse yourself in the Hogwarts realm. It was really pretty awesome!

PS: The Babytundes actually colour-coded our attire to blue in preparation of this event. haha! 🙂

10. Random Days

Lucky number 10 are all the random small stuff that only occurs once in a lifetime also made my list.

This includes when I did a Tagalog radio recording with Rowland to help my friend’s fyp. Not to mention, my time as publicity officer with Psych Society, especially when we sold Polaroid-service in school. Also, I enjoyed the time when the core team painted houses as part of Project Core. Last but not the least, when Tiffany and Erika (on different occasions) visited me in Singapore.

11. Final Year Project (FYP)

Since fyp is covered over 2 semesters, it definitely took a huge chunk of my 2012. I must say that my fyp journey was a rollercoaster ride which defintely had it’s delightful ups which more than compensated for all the downs. I guess I’m really fortunate to have such wonderful fyp-mates.

Moreover, there’s no better proof that one has completed their undergrad years other than completing one’s “final year project.” Plus, getting an A for it was definitely something I am really proud of . It was an awesome hurrah to end my undergrad year! (:

12. Family time

Last but not the least, I loved the fact that I was able to start and end the year with my family. My mother’s side welcomed 2012 with fireworks while I celebrated Christmas and the end of 2012 with my father’s side. As I get older, I’m starting to realise the value of families and how I’m enjoying their company more and more. I even sometimes toy with the idea of just working in the Philippines just to spend more time with all of them. In fact, a closer and more constant communication with the extended family is something I’d like to aim for in 2013.

So, that’s how I rocked 2012. How did you rock yours? \m/