For my 26th birthday, I felt so much gratitude despite the seemingly never-ending pandemic that I had to write my thoughts down. And so I made this post. 

Failed Birthday Plan

Even if we're still in the pandemic, I still wanted to have a little bit of fun for my birthday. My friends and I planned to book a hotel to celebrate my birthday. I was touched because my brother and sister-in-law offered to pay for our room. We were so into planning. I wanted the room to be filled with balloons sticking to the room's ceiling. We'd all be in silk PJs drinking wine, ~~learning~~ doing make-up, talk about personal budgeting. We'd dress up for a buffet dinner. -------------------- ---------- But COVID-19 is still here. I was reminded as cases were going up again in Cebu City (PH). I had to be extra careful because we have a baby in the house. So even if it was a bummer, I called off all the plans. Then, to make matters official, the city government has banned hotel room parties. There goes our failed plan.

Simple Home Celebration

 Of all the worst things that happened during the pandemic, what is one more lowkey family birthday gathering to compromise for our health and safety, right? I woke up early to read messages from my sweet friends who remembered my birthday. What's special this year is that I celebrate my birthday with a new family member -- my niece!   As do all babies, my niece brings joy to the household. I'm grateful for turning 1 year older in my beloved hometown Cebu with family.   

Unexpected Gifts

I'm so thankful to my workmates from Manila who sent me a cake at my house thru a food delivery rider. I was so touched I sent them boxes of pizza with soft drinks at the office for merienda! Turns out they had no idea about the cake lol. I was told that only our senior paid for the cake. He gave Christmas gifts to all teammates at the office, none for those working at home (I'm one of those). It served as a Christmas and birthday gift! Thank you, Kuya! (I should've just ordered 1 box of pizza for you. LOL just kidding).  I also got a lot of sweet treats from my friends who are also my clients! How sweet of you both. Thank you 😍 Most exciting of all, I gave 2 of my clients their late Christmas gifts together with their insurance policy booklets. I got to admit, the gift was quite pricey but I was happy (happier than stressed communicating with the seller) arranging for those to be made. When I gave one personally to a close friend and my first client at that, I was so happy to see her face light up! Thank you, sis 😍   

Celebrating With Friends

Buffet 101

The day before my birthday, I stuffed a lot of food with 2 of my closest high school friends in a buffet dinner. What's funny is that it wasn't planned! It was a week earlier than initially planned. But when one of us asked the others if they're free to meet, everyone was on the go. This is what I love about this group -- everyone is always ready!   We wanted to eat at Fat Dois -- a restaurant with a lot of cheese on its menu. But the queue was so long and we were already hungry. Since a buffet restaurant was nearby, we just went for it.  We did not leave the restaurant till their closing time at 9 PM because we had to breakeven with the expense (PHP 800+). Lol Asians. We had a good time exploring the long line of food trays. Going at them slowly but surely 😂

Circa 1900: Cicada Tapas & Bar

I also had lunch with my closest friends in college in an ancestral-house-turned-restaurant. These were the friends I planned to celebrate in the hotel with 😅 From a hotel party, we downgraded to a short lunch session with vintage-themed outfits.     I've been wanting to visit this place for a while already. Maybe because it's not accessible by the main road, I kept on postponing it. But now, I had the chance to visit Circa 1900. If you want a vintage yet modern feel of a restaurant, head on to Lahug, Cebu City especially for Hivers living around the area.    I loved the aura of the place. I have always been fascinated by the past, most especially the 80s. So I was really in love with the place. However, the food was quite expensive for me. There were a few complaints from us about the taste. The plates were too small, rice kept overspilling (lol). Then, there was a separate percentage for the service charge. For 6 people, I paid almost PHP 4,000. That price is better off with another buffet lunch 😆 But it doesn't matter, I enjoyed our short time there. And I love the overall ambiance of the place.     -------------------------

And that's how I celebrated my 26th Birthday!

Omg I'm already in my mid-twenties 😲 Sometimes I get overwhelmed just by thinking about it. I mean, I'm far from what I imagined life to be. I've heard stories about young ones buying properties for investments. But here I am, still figuring out how to augment my income. Like most of us, the pandemic has affected my job. Fortunately, I'm safe working from home. But that meant working for a half-day -- I receive half my salary. But I'm grateful because it pushed me to find other sources of income. I'm not yet a highly-paid freelance writer, but I'm way past the stage of praying I get hired in Upwork just to write a 3000-word article for $5. Way past that now, thankfully. I'm also grateful that it pushed me to what I really wanted to challenge myself with -- becoming a financial consultant. It's not a lot, but I'm amazed that some people trusted me to protect their family and their income. This may not sound right to others, but I'm just being grateful for what I have. If not for the pandemic, I wouldn't have introduced myself here in Hive, and opened up 2 more income streams. This year, my wish is to reach my freedom goal. For me, that's earning PHP 100,000 per month. In our country and for typical people my age, that's very ambitious. I don't how I'll achieve that but I'll keep trying. Because the alternative -- being comfortable with job "security" -- is even scarier. Here's to all of us working hard to achieve our dreams. Here's to the not-so-young ones in their 20s. Life isn't a race. Let's keep on experimenting until we discover our purpose. May all our birthday wishes be granted this year. 

🎂 END 🎂

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