Blame games are inevitable. So does taking credit for something they didn't do. And when it happens in your work environment, it's a lot worse. The work relationship between you and whoever that person may be becomes toxic, you just dread every single day you go to work. When something goes wrong with your project or proposal or whatever, the blame goes to you. When something good happens, it's all him/her. Applaud the superficiality.

Another incredibly bad thing is when someone else's responsibilities fall on you. I was raised to own up on your responsibilities. When they're not yours, assist. But whatever happens, you are not to take responsibility for anything that wasn't yours to begin with. In work, there will always be people who will push their responsibilities to other people so they won't have to work a sweat and carry on with other activities. I made the mistake of letting someone push their responsibilities to me. I was new in work and I had little to no idea how everything works. But I learned. Safe to say, the relationship I have with the person is non-existent now.

But what pisses me off more is when people deliberately do things to possess things that are not even theirs. They would literally sacrifice their dignities for materialistic sake. I pity these people and they disgust me all the same. I pity them because they literally would lay down their dignity for something as materialistic as a phone or a tablet. It's mad what they do to be with the "in" crowd. And it's disgusting at the same time because you would rather own a smartphone or tablet that would fade in a couple of years (a couple of months, give or take) than dignity. It might look good now, but the road is bleak in the long run.

Everyone has faults. I know I'm not perfect and I have faults all the same. I tend to lose focus easily, I have a really sharp tongue and I tend to get aggressive when situation calls it. But I think I'd rather have these faults than have to sell my soul to the devil and let go of whatever dignity I have left.

Three weeks ago, we went to Palawan for a vacation with my sister's friends and their parents and siblings. The sun, the sea, the breeze, the people, and basically everything that made vacation a "vacation." When I'm not swimming (or doing something equally fun), I would sit down with the adults and listen to them talk about whatever. One of the topics that they always delved into was commuting. During these conversations, I learned that my sister's friend's siblings (who are older than me) did not know how to commute. My dad, safe to say, was surprised. It turns out, the parents of those people never did teach them how to commute and would literally make them carpool everywhere they went (taxis do not count).

Honestly, I think learning how to commute (and no, not taxis) is something like a rite of passage. When I was in high school, we had a whole course teaching us how to commute. And you wouldn't look so clueless when you need to go some place without a taxi. I think I'm actually one of the very few who likes commuting in the city. Most of the time, I use it as an excuse to explore the city. There's so much to see in Manila that we haven't really seen yet. Granted, the city also has its danger spots. But without commuting, one wouldn't learn of this.

And really, let's go on an adventure and let's start with Manila.

Learn a local language.

Learn a local language and find yourself getting big discounts from merchants at the market. There will always be two sets of rates and prices for food and pasalubong: one for the locals, and one for the tourists. They can tell you're a tourist when you only speak either Tagalog or English. Most of the time, just speaking the local language can give you at least a 10% discount (emphasis on AT LEAST).

Learn a local language and find yourself having even more fun during festivals. The country is absolutely festive, having at least one or two (or more!) fiestas in one month. If you find yourself on a mission to travel around the Philippines to attend every festival, you'll have an easier time finding your way through the throngs of people in the streets.

Learn a local language and get the warmest of greetings from food places and lodging. They know you're a tourist, but they (or at least from what I have observed) find it amusing that you took the time to learn at least the basics of Ilokano or Bisaya. Granted, they may be amused because you can't get the accent or pronunciation right, it's still A+ for effort on your part. And you don't sound snobbish too!

Learn a local language and immerse yourself in their culture. Find yourself in a culture so unlike your own, yet so like you at the same time. Find yourself fishing with the Ilokanos and Pangalatoks, or eating lechon with the Cebuanos. Go horseback-riding in Baguio, or looking at the eagles in Davao or the tarsiers in Bohol. Swim with the butandings (whale sharks) in Sorsogon, or with the pawikans and the dolphins in Ozamiz. How about looking at the difference between the crocodiles in Palawan and in Davao? Whatever the case, the local language is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in a local culture that you know it exists, but you have no idea how it feels like to be part of that.

Learn a local language and see the difference it makes.

Learn a local language and give the local cultures the love they deserve.

2013.

For some, this was the dreaded "13" year. For others, this was the year they felt was the best because let's face it, we "survived" the supposed doomsday.

For me, it was a bit of both.

This was the year where I was in transition. In just a matter of months, I went from being a student to being part of the real world, or the world of the working class. During the first three months of the year, the only problems I had were passing every subject and handing in a stellar thesis. When April came and I graduated from college, I thought, "what's next?" A month-long sabbatical was in order, and the vacation in the US was a welcome break from thinking of the immediate future. This trip was a milestone in my life, it being my first time to the country. Coming back from that dream, I realised that I couldn't put off the hunt for the job opportunities.

It was hard, I could tell you that much. I probably sent my resume to multiple companies and organisations, yet not one answered. Frankly speaking, I was not used to having page after page of my planner blank. I was in a slump for a week, until I pulled myself together and thought ahead. If, by the end of October, I still had nothing, I would pursue my dream of a career in international relations. And the only way to do that is to go back to studying, this time for an MA.

But fate was playful, and here came the opportunity. Currently, I am employed in an NGO and while I have no regrets to joining the organisation, the transition stage from student to employee is still a bit hard to overcome. While I may have adjusted fairly well to the environment, I still can't help but miss the feeling of being a student.

But those aren't the only changes in my life. To be quite honest, my taste in music and film has gone back to whatever I liked before K-Pop and some sort of revelation came to me—that K-Pop really was just a phase.

Friends are also a matter of interest this year. Just last February, we had our class retreat. I was rereading the retreat letters I received and I noticed that a lot of things changed since then. Many of the letters I got told me, "I will never leave you, no matter the circumstance, because that's what friends do." In a matter of months, about half the people who told me that were suddenly like strangers to me. I have no idea what they're doing and they have no idea what I'm doing. On the rare situations where we meet, the conversations are suddenly clipped and detached. The realisation that words could only be just that makes me feel disheartened. But I like to believe that these people may not be really meant to be part of my future. Rather, they're part of a past—a bright and colourful past that I will never forget. Plus, I won't lose my optimism over this—not when I think that a person out there somewhere is someone who could change my life (hopefully for the good and not the other way around).

For twenty years, I felt year after year pass by so fast. And in the last two years, I finally noticed that I was missing something. I still don't know what it is I'm missing and I'm pretty sure I haven't found it yet, but I'm in no rush to find it. My friend did tell me before, "take it easy, everything will come when you least expect it."

Still, 2013 is gone in a matter of hours and 2014 is coming in. A new book starts, a new planner is waiting to be filled, and new adventures are starting to arise. Who knows? I might find whatever it is that I'm looking for this year.

With this, I raise my glass to the New Year.

I have a sister who just stepped on to the 7th grade platform of her life. She's going to the same highschool I went to and it's safe to say that she's very much familiar with the inter-school athletic competitions. So when I got free tickets to Game 3 of the UAAP Finals, she asked to tag along. I told her to wear something yellow and support my beloved Alma Mater. While my passionate screaming was nothing new, I was really very much surprised with my sister who was so at home with the UST crowd. Granted, we lost the match (and I was so emotional over that loss for two days), I was amused to see the twinkle in my sister's eyes. With just one game, a game that we lost, she was enthralled. When we were going home, she asked me, "Do you think I'll do well in UST?" I was taken aback by her question because not only is she just in 7th grade, she suddenly contemplated on her college plans. At home, three UAAP teams are "staying", so to speak. My dad hails from UP, my mom studied in FEU, and me and my other sister are Thomasians through and through. Despite all these, my youngest sister has recently been seriously considering UST.

What's funny is that it was not even me who did the convincing—it was her fascination with King Tiger Jeric Teng that did it for her. She's only seen him a total of two times—the first was when they picked me up in school and Jeric Teng came out of our building (aka AB/Commerce Building), and the second being Game 3—but she's already sold. It was amusing to see that while she doesn't really follow the Tengs' post-Game 3 guestings and happenings, she was firm in her resolve for UST. Her reason for choosing UST was, "besides you guys studying in UST, you have really cool athletes." As a joke, I asked her why she didn't pick DLSU when it was already so near and that Jeron was studying there; she just answered me with "Oh, that's my second choice after UST."

She's still in 7th grade and she has five more years until college applications, but she's already planning for it. As an older sister, it's pretty fascinating to see her like that. While I'm not going as far as calling UST her dream school, I can conclude that it's pretty high up on her list.

And honestly (this may sound a little biased), it's so easy to fall in-love with UST.

Even the most optimistic person in the world has bad days. Where everything just goes wrong. Those are the days where you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you run out of coffee or tea, you're running late for school or work, you got reprimanded by your professor or boss, or you come home out of sorts. There are just those days. It's like every single thing is pissing you off. There's something that made you tick and now, you're whole day is ruined. All you want to do is to close yourself off to the world and never come out. You're in some sort of emotional turmoil, wanting someone to comfort you but want to be alone at the same time. You think you have to have this day to just have a bad day, yet think it's bloody ridiculous and you don't have time for this.

You feel as if the whole world's conspiring against you; as if it's trying very hard to screw you over. And you want to blame everyone, even yourself, because this rollercoaster ride you're on can't be good for your health.

But, really. Here's what you do. Find somewhere private, somewhere you know you won't be disturbed, even for at least 10 minutes, and cry it out. Think of it this way: all the tears you're crying out are the frustrations, the anger, the sadness, the disappointments, and basically every negative emotion you're feeling at the very moment. All of these, you're crying out. All of these, you're getting it out in the open. And when you're done, you suddenly feel lighter.

So when you find yourself in a state of emotional awry, cry it all out. You'll feel better when it's over.

In our household, talking about politics over dinner is a normal occurrence. Probably because my parents work for a newspaper (and my dad came from UP Diliman) and us children were brought up with Scholastican ideals. So it was no surprise that the five of us took part in the Million People March that happened in Luneta just hours ago.

This may not be my first protest, but the amount of people in the streets still overwhelms me. Thousands of people in white shirts flooded the highway and Quirino Grandstand. Flyers were given out, banners and posters were raised up high, costumes and jingles were seen and heard throughout the entire place. Cries of "Makibaka! 'Wag magbaboy!" was the chant of choice of the people. I even saw a few of my college professors in the protest.

Different people from different classes, cities, and possibly everything different were present. And the sentiments were all pretty much the same: We're tired of being taken advantage of and it's time the government did something about it. The fact that even with the President's speech last Friday about abolishing the pork barrel, the people still pushed through with the march, says something about the whole situation.

But now that we're done with the first step, what's next?

And every person I asked answered the same thing: Wait for it. The next step is coming and we need you until the end.