Dear 2010,

It has been a bittersweet love hate affair between you and I. The heartaches, the illness, work-related stress, and the personal struggles were equally matched with victories, awards, career opportunities, newfound friends, and another chance at life. Thank you!

It has been a life-changing year. The world really does have a way of making things go right or wrong to shake us and make us realize things. I would like to think that 2010 made me stronger, wiser, and better. Also bigger. Literally. I vow to change that in 2011. Figuratively, I guess I’ve done even better than I expected, as a blogger, as a writer, and as a person.

To all the people who made me laugh, who caused me grief, who helped me achieve victories, or contributed to my pains, salamat!

To Mommy and Daddy, to the Joses and the Abellas, and to my other relatives, thank you for being there! Always.

To my friends from grade school, high school, college, culinary school thank you for keeping in touch and for always reminding me of who I was and who I should be!

To my DotA and kubo friends, thank you for always making me laugh and smile! To my blogging friends, thank you for the fun times and even the more challenging ones!

To my poker friends, thank you for the moments of laughter!

To my other friends, thank you for being my friends! I know I’m not easy to be with, but you know you love me. 😉

To my bosses, clients, and colleagues, thank you for the work, tasks, chores, errands, and challenges that keep me busy! To my sponsors, thank you for all the glitz and glamor you give me! To my mentors and teachers, thank you for all the skills, lessons, and wisdom!

To the guys I dated, thank you for teaching me to be patient, to take care of others, to be generous, and most of all, for teaching me that I deserve better!

To my blog readers, subscribers, podcast listeners, vlog viewers, commenters, and flamers, thank you for inspiring me to do better each day!

And to the haters, keep on hating. You’ll realize soon enough that you really adore and idolize me. MWAH! 🙂

Once again, thank you for the speaking engagements, the awards, the accolades, the victories, the praises, the joys, and laughter! Most of all, thank you for keeping me alive! 🙂

Thank you for the tears, the heartaches and heartbreaks, the illnesses, the pains, the failures, challenges, and hurdles! If not for those, I won’t have good reasons to keep on fighting.

It has been a bittersweet journey which made for good blogging material and a good source for inspiration and hope. May I always keep in mind your memories and lessons. May the scars and bruises remind me that I should always strive to survive and do better.

Thank you 2010!

Live. Love. Learn. <3