As a self-confessed music lover, I listen to songs, dive into their meanings, and easily associate them with people, events, time, or place. And since today is Mother's Day, here are some songs in my "collection" that are best for all sorts of mothers in the world. :)

And to my mom, the last one would always be my song for you. Happy Mother's Day, Mum!

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i have had a lot of plans in my mind the past few months. there are a lot of things i want to do, i want to change, i want to just... you know, be hopeful for. and like always, i list them down. heck, publish it on a blog to get pressured in accomplishing it (coz you know, people read it and there are expectations). i think i'll just trim this down to 5... 10 is too much. :)

1. GET FIT.

i don't really mean a total diet. i know i gained weight but i'm not going to exercise to lose weight. it might come with it... but my sole reason is that i just miss getting fit. i miss playing badminton, tennis, and jogging around. i'm not best at those, but i just enjoy doing it. and also, i have a really awful working condition. too much cold... too early in the morning... too much work! so i need to somehow let all the stress and toxins out.

2. LAST SEM... HERE WE GO.

i'm looking forward to finishing my masters degree. if the dean would allow me for overload, then it would be my last sem. so i'm crossing my fingers for it. would it be a huge conflict with my job? i don't know. but one thing's for sure, my education comes first. ;)

3. IF SO, THROW A PARTY!

and if ever i'll indeed graduate this year, hell yeah i'll throw a party! i think i deserve it after everything i went through to get this over with.

4.HARD AT WORK

work hard and do my best when i'm at work. enjoy it while it's there. but of course, i won't let it affect my health and schooling. i should prioritize things well.

5. TRAVEL AND TIME FOR SELF

to say that i would want to travel is (in my thoughts) just a dream. i don't know if i could still do that - but heck i'll try. i can always try. i want to take care of myself. i want some time for myself. i want some ME time and give up a bit of WORK time. i will find a way to make this happen somehow. i can't stay in the station for the entire day. i should be out there doing something else other than work.

2011.

a lot has happened far too fast than i thought... or probably a bit slower. it's not much of a huge year (compared to 2010) but it wasn't that bad at all.

to be honest, i had a huge difficulty counting down the top moments of the year. it's like i haven't found anything THAT interesting.

sooo... anyway, like always (in every end of the year), here are the "highlights" of my year.

#10 The Trip Alone

so i did a trip alone. it wasn't big and it wasn't much. it's not all the time that i go travel with my family, and go home alone. and... the more exciting part, i'm tooka new route than what we usually take. so there... it was summer and i almost got lost and the plane almost left me behind. 

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# 9 Hello, Georgie! (and a friend got married!)

fact: we are growing older. we had dreams and we went after it. sometimes, there are special surprises... just like the first baby and first missus of the group. so we welcomed Georgina Samuelle Magnase Retuya in our lives... and we heard the I Do's of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Retuya. it was one happy moment to see a friend find real happiness in the arms of family. and oh! it was one great way to be reunited!

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#8 Diving with the Fishes

this is the part of media that i love - going to places and enjoying some little adventure. i swam with the fishes late august before i finally said goodbye to my free schedule. so i went and had a free ride to Boljoon, joined the shoot, and there we went! fishes were around me... just within my hands' reach - and it's friggin' ticklish, mind you.

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#7 Nutrition Tour (and everything that came with it)

thanks to National Nutrtion Council for a bit of a project. for one, i love doing segments. another thing, i went to places like Dumaguete and Bohol for work. i met different people and they would always be remembered. (oh yes, one of them most especially... ;p)

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#6 "Mom's" Birthday Surprise

it was worth it - everything. all i wanted for her was to remember birthdays and see it as something really special and something to look forward to. so i made everything that i could to make it perfect for her. and it was... and it was completely memorable.

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#5 Wakeboarding, Rapelling, and everything that came with the package

first times! i love it! cable wakeboarding, waterfall rapelling, zipline, horseback-riding... i loved the day! i would just love to think back and do everything all over again.

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#4 Building a Better and Stronger Team

for the entire time i was with PODD, i was really looking forward to a Team Building Activity... and i did got to experience one before leaving. although there were some down times (like the late night fiasco that had me crying myself to sleep because i badly wanted to rest), but it was a fun time. it was like relaxing after a really hell lot of a work.

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#3 Look at me, I'm 23... Beautiful, a sight to see♫♪

i turned 23 with a bang... in a place where i never thought i would be spending it. Tagaytay and Manila was lovely... and i spent it with 2 of the closest people i have in my life. although Bianca wasn't able to join us, but it was a hell lot of fun!

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#2 So this is goodbye?

until now, i still couldn't believe i left my 'comfort zone'. sometimes i wish everything was just a dream and that i would wake up still sitting on my swivel chair (which, by the way, i named DUKE). i miss the people so bad... and i miss how they are to me. each and every single day...

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#1 One Giant Leap

i quit my (really good) job because i had a dream of being in media. i was inspired by one of my masters classes to be there in the field and do work. and i did... although i can't really believe that i did... but, at least, i am where i'm supposed to be and where i hoped to be. the thing to do now is to take care of it and just do the best.

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and that, ladies and gentlemen, is 2011 for me. i can't wait for 2012. something tells me it's going to be better - not really great - just better. until next year, year-ender!

although tired from a day's work, i think it's just right to give time to sit down and write my thoughts down. afterall, it's been quite a while since i wrote down some silly stuff.

anywho... what made me write tonight is something that's making my heart break so much. at the middle of my travel home, Sara Bareilles 'Gravity' played on my iPod. i was expecting that the next songs to follow were of Sara's only to be disappointed. i forgot. i'm not on my PC anymore. i'm using my iPod played on shuffle. although i had a choice of playing it in shuffle or not, i just really shuffle it for the heck of it.

i miss listening to songs in playlists. i have quite a random one... depends on my mood. at times, when i feel girly, i listen to my Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat, Melissa Ethridge, Jason Reeves, and Adele line-up. or when i feel i need a bit of pick-me-up songs, i listen to my country music playlist headed by Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and (of course) Taylor Swift.

i miss the songs i used to listen when i am full of anger. Painting Flowers would often be the first song in mind and immediately cued on-loop in a full blast volume. when i feel like dancing, there's this line-up of songs mostly by Jay Sean, Iyaz, and the latest... Nicki Minaj.

and some of my randomness, which i just love to play because i would miss them eventually, include some instrumental music like Canon Rock, Canon on D Major, August's Rhapsody, Enchated Suite, and Love Story Meets Viva la Vida. there were also rare moments of doing a comparative listening of 'pre-idol' and 'post-idol' albums of David Cook and Brooke White.

bottom line is... i just miss the music i line up and and tune into. i miss how i am so familiar with what's the next song in line, how i skip the ones that doesn't suite my mood and just go back with it later. i miss playing them on loop.

this is a simple problem, really. i could make a playlist on my ipod and listen to them like i used to. but then, there's always a huge difference in listening to something you bring on the go as to something you listen to while sitting and writing things down.