Change is constant and in 2014, I had a handful. It has been a great year, for career, for my family and for myself! At the start of the year I bought a new brand of planner, a doodle planner and it was really cool. It had a lot of cool features like planning your activities for the year, the movies to watch, the book to read and generally what the year will be. It was my buddy all year round and it was my guide to keep myself on track. I realize how important it is to have a vision for your life, do the best in each day and change for the better. But, I can also say I'm a spontaneous type of person and most of the time i don't really have a plan on what to do in my life. Therefore I must say that i was really blessed because despite of my recklessness I still managed to have a good year. Like the previous years, I dug through my folders and looked for the highlights of each month. Take a peak of my crazy 2014.
JAN - I started my year with a lot of jogging. It was my new year's resolution to run farther and be consistent. I ran with my friends which made it more fun! I can say that I influenced them to run at Murok. I also had my first travel to Manila and Tagaytay for a wedding coverage with the Trebor Z team. I would love to go back to Tagaytay and just relax there. At the end of the month, I went to Manila with Tennyl and Wella for Graphika Manila.
FEB - We started the month in Manila for the Graphika Manila. Wella, unfortunately had dengue and wasn't feeling well so she stayed at the condo for the rest of the trip. Meanwhile, me and Tennyl enjoyed the conference. I was really inspired especially with Jessica Hische on her hand-lettering. Back in Zamboanga, Wella was confined in the hospital and she even had her birthday there. For the rest of the month, it was all about school, events and running. I had a new milestone together with my jogging buddy. We tried a new trail in Dulian which had a picturesque mountain view. We call it the New Zealand of Zamboanga.
MAR - It was the end of the school year and start of summer! I had an early summer vacation and it was awesome! Me, my sister and her friends joined our parents in their annual Rotary District Conference in Boracay! It was my first time there and it was beautiful! Truly its beaches is one of the world's finest! I enjoyed our activities there like zorbing, atv, snorkeling, eating, and, of course, swimming. There is no direct flight to Caticlan, so we also passed by Cebu.
APR - One of the highlights of this month is an event for Videographers which we organized here in Zamboanga. We called it Sweet Shots, and it's the first of its kind here and i was asked to be one of the speakers. I talked about Basic Cinematography (which was embarassing). Two speakers from Manila were invited, film-maker Mr Christian Andaya and Manila's finest glider Michael Jamandre. They were both fun speakers and we also learned a lot from them. Sweet Shots also united Zamboanga's videographers. We also had our family vacation to Cebu for our Grand Family Reunion. The Morales-Beron clan is composed of the families of my grandmother (mother's side) and her siblings. I also continued my habit of reading books! I did it better with audiobooks.
MAY - I had my first fun run which is called Color Run. It was indeed fun and colorful! My weekly running really paid off when I finished 11kilometers in 1hr and 13mins, a personal record of mine. I didn't have teaching units but it was a blessing in disguise because i had more time for myself. In weekends, I met my friends for running and just hanging out. Sometimes we declared fridays in the middle of the week. It was a lot of fun!
JUN - It's the start of the school year and I had 2 teaching units. This month i rekindled my artistic skills when my bosses at Vista de Lente asked my to create hand made boards as decors for their new office. I used scrap woods from the undergoing renovation of our house. Doing hand made crafts was awesome! Thanks Pinterest! We also celebrated Tennyl's Birthday and for Fathers day, i bought Papa this cool fondant cake! I met interesting people in this month.
JUL - I was asked by my Beacon's moderator and my college friend to do the layout for Marejada. It was like going back to college days doing the thing that i'm good at. Talking about art, I created three handmade pieces for an exhibit for Ateneo Faculty and Staff dubbed as Time Out. I gave a speech during the opening and I, as usual, had the nerves and was terrified. But the organize said she loved my speech, so i guess i didn't really fucked up. The exhibit made me realize how much people appreciate my talent and work of art. I felt blessed especially because my friends we're there to support me. Aside from my ADZU stuff, it was also confirmed that I got my job at the City Hall. I was busy processing my requirements for 2 weeks and finally i started my first day of work as PIO of City Mayor's Office on July 21. My friend Joanne also tied the knot with Ronald, and as they say "Love can't Wait!"hehehe
AUG - This is the month that I look forward every year, coz it's my birthmonth! I spent my birthday at work. I brought food at the office and in the afternoon I gave the midterm exam for my comm students. I also treated them with donuts. At home, I had a my birthday party with my family and friends at home. I simply felt loved. :') A week after, i had the greatest adventure of my life! Me and my friends decided to have a travel abroad together! It the first time for most of us to go outside the country. We went to Vietnam and Cambodia for 10 days! We went to Angkor Wat at Siem Reap, then to Phnom Penh, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Words are not enough to explain that experience but you can watch this video to see our crazy adventures. We went back home with renewed spirits and extreme separation anxiety. The hangover is still with me up to this day.
SEP - It's an awesome month at work. I was assigned to facilitate an Art Healing Workshop for kids affected by the seige. It was initiated by Zamboangueno Artist, Rameer Tawasil, who was my oil painting teacher, and his friend from Macau, Franco Joaquim. We spent a week with kids creating paintings, drawings and crafts. It culminated with an exhibit at the City Hall lobby where we sold the artworks to raise money for the kids. I'm really blessed to be part of this. In September 9, the city observed the anniversary of the Zamboanga Siege. We honored the heroes and the brave. I also had a mini reunion with college friends. And at the end of the month, it was Mama's birthday! I surprised her with a bouquet of flowers while she was at work.
OCT - It's Fiesta Hermosa month! Weeks before, I was really busy creating the poster and obb which was shown at the opening program. I had my best Fiesta Hermosa so far! I was inducted as the Representative for Digital Arts in the City Council for History, Arts and Culture. I enjoyed the Mascota / Balikbayan night with my students and the Wow Sardinas with my sister and my office mates. We also had the first ever street party "Danza La Vida" featuring Manila-based dj's and hosts. I had a blast! After the fiesta, I was also a part of the first Mindanao Visual Arts Festival called Mindanao Artbest. It was organized by the Adzu Center for Culture and Arts and the Gallery. The ArtBest Art exhibit featured amazing artworks of artists all over Mindanao and i was just blessed to my work featured side by side with theirs. Then finally, me, Christian and architects and urban planners of the city govt went to Manila with Mayor Beng for the Livable Cities Design Challenge. Our entry was selected for final presentation in the contest and luckily we placed third out of 12 participating entries all over the country. It was a humbling moment going back to our city with this achievement. October was really awesome!
NOV - During the fiesta, I joined a Photography contest and, fortunately, one of my photos was selected as one of the 25 photos which will exhibited. The photo exhibit was held at the Cafe Briza of Lantaka hotel and Maam Beng opened the exhibit herself. It was great rubbing elbows with these great Photographers. Back at City Hall, we had the commemoration for Zamboanga's iconic mayor, Cesar C Climaco's 30th death anniversary. I created vector portraits depicting his values as a leader. At school, it was the start of the 2nd sem and i had one teaching load. We also celebrated Joed's birthday with the Vietnam-Cambodia friends. Joed is my adventure buddy but he already transferred to Iloilo now. At the end of the month, the Christmas Spirit is already around. We had our office decorated with blue and silver ornaments.
DEC - We opened Pascua na Zamboanga with the grand lighting of the City hall. I, together with my Vista de Lente team, created a beautiful SDE which received great responses especially to Zamboanguenos who was away from home. During the Mayor's Christmas party, our division together with the computer division, won the Dance Presentation with our Grease musical performance. It was so much fun! Ateneo Fiesta also had its colorful comeback. I designed the shirt for the faculty and staff. Once again I experienced the fiesta spirit which i really look forward every year. December is also about homecomings. My brother came back home with my requests, cinnabon, books and socks. We had our Christmas eve's party with the family at home and exchanged gifts and laughs. I really love them! I attended our highschool homecoming, too, and we won the shirt design contest. I also received a recongition for outstanding alumnus in the field of Culture and Arts. And to cap off the year, we had another family reunion at Safety with our color of the year outfits. We had games which was super fun!
--- End of Year End Throwback ---
Time for serious shit. Disclaimer: some shocking revelations ahead. Brace thyself.
As i was writing down all of these moments of my life this year, I realize how much blessings i had. I can't help but be thankful especially to God for always reminding me of the wonderful life that He gave me. I am not the most religious person, and I may consider that i don't have a religion since college. But what I have is FAITH. I am still a Christian and i don't have to attend mass religiously. It's a way of life. I must be a Christian everyday, to please God according to my actions, decisions and what I do with my life. It's my goal in life to seize every day and actually live a happy life. I may not be the richest guy now but my wealth is in my heart. My family, my friends and all the people who is part of my little infinity (TFIOS much), all of them i lift up to God and will be forever thankful for. On the other hand, I want to say sorry to the people who i may have disappointed or wronged. This coming year, I am hoping for a better life. A life of constant change. Change for the better. Cheers for the New Year! and see you in my next adventure!
Cedrick S. Zabala "CSZ97" is a multimedia artist based in the City of Zamboanga. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology major in Multimedia and Computer Animation. Currently he works at the City Government of Zamboanga under the Mayor's Office as a Public Information Officer, and as a part-time Instructor in Ateneo de Zamboanga University. He is currently taking his Master's Degree in Public Administration in Western Mindanao State University. He lives a life with a passion for the arts, culture, and travel. This blog contains his works and travel journals. Carpe effin' Diem!
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