Life Almost Starts At Thirty

"Well, just because they say life starts at forty."

When I started living on my own, celebrating my birthday had always meant sleeping for at least 10 hours, having dinner in a restaurant, watching a random movie in the cinema, and having a massage, all of these on my own. I never worried about doing things alone because it's rarely complicated. The only struggle I experienced was not knowing what I wanted to eat on that day and perhaps not being exactly sure if a movie was good enough for me to spend money on to watch it on the big screen. Now that I'm turning 30, it's somehow different. Though I still celebrated it with a lot of sleep, my boyfriend surprised me with a bouquet of roses and a cake. I'd say that my 30th birthday was a little extra. One weekend, after my birthday, my boyfriend and I, along with one of my best friends and his girlfriend, spent the weekend in the City of Pines, Baguio. We left the metro at two o'clock in the morning on Saturday, and by seven, we were already in Baguio. We had breakfast at Hill Station, went to see some tourist spots, checked into our hotel, and had dinner at Le Chef in The Manor. The following day was just another tour of the city, and we ended our mini vacation with four hours of relaxation at North Haven Spa. Onto the things that I want to do in my 30s... I want to have a two-story house with a mini-library, a super quiet bedroom, a pantry, and an outside space for ornamental and edible plants. I love having my own space where I have dedicated shelves for my books, a bedroom with thick blackout curtains, a storage area for my fermentation plans and the household's supplies, and a yard for an herb garden, rose, and orchid collection, some fruit-bearing trees, and day-to-day vegetables.

My partner and I already have some random designs in mind, but nothing is fixed yet. As for the location, it's outside the metro but still just one or two hours away. It's perfect this way to make sure that we can easily visit or meet up with our friends whenever we want to. Furthermore, it's going to be easier for me whenever I have some business at work that I need to do in our office. At this age, I'm all for this mantra: a small circle, a clear mind, a happy heart, a private life, and peaceful days. Throughout the years, since I started working, I've managed to keep my social circle tight and small. I have my two best friends with their partners, very few work friends, my badminton friends, and some good friends of my partner. I intend to keep it this way. Having a small circle means that I can give more time to all of them whenever I'm free, which is always the case if a friend needs me, rather than spending it with a lot of people without having any meaningful connections and conversations. Even though I am a self-proclaimed introvert, I also enjoy the company of my friends. At this age, I just want to spend most of my time with my partner and enjoy the warmth of our home with our dog, and hopefully a cat in the near future. But of course, frequent brunch and wine nights with my friends are always on my agenda. In my 30s, I want to focus more on my inner peace, that level of calm and comfort where I am not bothered by noises outside of my home, where the harmony between my partner and me is more important than the chatters of other people. And if we want to share laughter and stories with our friends, we can invite them to our home or meet them outside or probably visit them in their own homes. Part of my social life is playing badminton with my friends. I think this will be my sport until my old age. Since 2016, badminton has been one of my stress relievers. It's as if I can release my frustrations whenever I smash the shuttlecock. It's just a plus point if I can score through those smashes. Sometimes, I even use the bird to release my anger for someone; I imagine that I'm hitting their faces instead. As I grow older, I want to read books more than ever. I've been reading books to pass the time since I was in high school. Reading has always given me comfort, especially when it's raining, and I have nowhere to go but indoors. These days, I never leave the house without a book in my bag. And I plan to keep my relationship with books this way. In my 30s, I want to focus on books that will further enhance my knowledge in my current profession, homesteading, and sustainability. In my 30s, I want to excel further in my job. I want to earn more awards related to my role. I also want to find mentors for myself to become the best in data analytics, presentation, and call center financial management. Furthermore, I aim to continue as a mentor to my colleagues in the company. As my number one goal for this year, I aim to be promoted to a role related to data management, probably in the reporting or business analytics side of the business. All of these will be discussed once I have my one-on-one coaching session with my manager to prepare for the coming year. On the side, I want to explore data science. I'm currently using Coursera.org to learn the initial steps of learning this field. I found an article earlier on how to become a data analyst. There are steps there that include suggestions on where and what to start with and which courses to take on the platform. I also plan to complement it with the HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers. I've had this book since 2019 and haven't read it, so it's high time for me to turn its pages. With this plan laid out, I want to focus on experiencing new things by traveling. I want to be more adventurous when it comes to food. I want to explore new dining places and experiences. I also want to learn to cook new dishes, be they local or foreign cuisines. I think I will share them here too. I just finished putting up a goal board where my boyfriend and I will put our goals for the years to come. We will put our short-term goals, those that we want to accomplish within the following years, and our long-term goals, those that we want to achieve after a year or so. This year, I want to go to Siargao with my boyfriend. It's also a good idea to have a getaway with my best friends now that the pandemic has been somewhat controlled. Our last out-of-town trip was almost exactly three years ago. I also obtained a hotel membership recently that I plan to use during my #TravelGoals. I also plan to offer stays to my friends so they can enjoy the perks that I have during their travels. Throughout the years of having just enough money to live from paycheck to paycheck, I promised myself that in my 30s, I would do my best to invest part of my earnings so that once I hit my 40s, I would not worry about my financial stability. I've been constantly researching my current investments, and I think I'm on the right track. All these being said, I look forward to my 30s to experience things that I've never had before and continue enjoying those that make me have a small circle, a clear mind, a happy heart, a private life, and peaceful days.

29th As I Know and Want It to Be

"The past year had been a lot of things for me. I realized that some of what I had were not worth keeping and some of what I wanted were not worth aiming for."

I'm now 29 years old and I still say I'm 27 whenever someone asks about my age, at least unconsciously. The latest one happened almost two weeks ago when I had my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The doctor asked for my age at the interview station, I immediately said 27 and had it corrected on the vaccination station when I realized that I was not 27 years old anymore. But what's really with age? For me, it's just a number, so I say whatever age I want to say if it's not for legal purposes, of course. What's important is how I move forward with all the mistakes and achievements that I had in the previous years. So I think, I want to stick to 27. LOL.

From Yesterday And Today

In the past year, I tried to keep myself afloat and grounded in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic. It was extra challenging for a man like me who has been living on his own. But knowing that I have people who love me for who I am has been enough for me to be living this life rather than just surviving. For the most part, I've been staying in the comfort of my apartment with occasional runs to the supermarket, and if the quarantine restrictions would permit, jogging and walking around my neighborhood.

My apartment has been my safe haven since 2014. It's been witness to all of my highs and lows since then. And yes, I think I spent 90% of my time this past year in the warmth of my apartment. This warmth cleared my head when I made several important life-changing decisions this past year. My apartment was also the place where I realized that I no longer wish for temporary things in life, that I already want the constant and permanent things in life. I know, these things are not easy to come by these days but a man can dream.

In my 28th year, I realized that being in any relationship, be it romantic or friendship, that aimed for nothing but a stagnant one was not and will never be worth my time. Shoutout to the people that I had in my life for making me realized this. Thank you so much for spending a page of your life with me. I will forever cherish the memories that we shared. As for my career, this year made me realized that I would like to continue with the flexibility of my current post, not just because I have more time to spend on people who matter most but also it allows me to focus on myself.

As per my interests this year, since badminton isn't a good hobby to pursue at this time, reading and investing have been keeping me busy when I'm not working. Reading has been keeping me occupied whenever anxiety and stress try to pin me down. The sense of just being out of the real world calms me down every time I feel the space I'm in is shrinking around me. And whenever I want that thrill and excitement, I focus my attention on the world of investing. Though I haven't really explored the actual depth of investing, I'm still trying to figure out what specific financial instruments I want to focus on. I'm not willing to waste my resources just because of reckless and uninformed decisions.

Learning For Tomorrow

As I explore life in my 29th year, I want to move forward with some learnings from my experiences and with some plans for my future.

For my relationships, I want to be surrounded by people who are proud to be with me, know how to communicate themselves, and see their future with me. It's not just for a romantic relationship but also friendships. With my best friends, all I can say is they are the best! Being at this age, I think it's just normal that I want to keep my circle small and tight. So yes, I'm not very much interested anymore in meeting new people.

With my current career, I want to focus on my current post and not aim for a big career leap, at least in the next year. Don't get me wrong. I love the challenging nature of the industry that I'm in, I'm just not ready yet to give up the comfort that my current post gives me. But of course, I aim to improve and further widen my knowledge on how to be at my best in doing my job.

As for my interests, I want to read more! I can't be more serious with reading than this coming year, at least it's what I tell myself every year. I aim to read 24 books this year, 12 fiction and 12 non-fiction. I also plan to have a deeper knowledge of the investing world- have a better understanding of stocks and forex trading. With badminton, I will continue my weekly training once this pandemic is over. In addition, I see a brighter future for Acenotes, more on having more posts- at least one post per week.

To sum it all up, I plan to have the best 29th year, not that I have another shot at being 29 after this. HAHAHA!!!