It's Been a Great Year of Adventure, 2016

Oh, wow, haven't the last couple of months been busy? I've been reflecting on my trips this year (with the help of http://www.2016bestnine.com, which is an site that generates your best nine photos on Instagram), my planner, and my blog posts (or lack thereof).

How I Fell in Love with Travel

Most people fall in love with travel on the first trip that they take away from home. Kids who go on camping trips that are destined to change them forever. Who go to Disneyland or DisneyWorld or what other form of Disney there is and enjoy the delights of their childhood while screaming from the top of their lungs as the roller coaster whisks them from one spot or another in an exhilarating, dizzying, adrenaline-rushing ride. Or teens. Teens who are off on a school trip or any other trip where they get to volunteer rebuilding a school or a church. It might not be to another country, but a one-week venture to some place where the sights, sounds, and smells are so different from what they know to be home. Others are already adults when they take that first step into the unknown. Perhaps it is to visit a relative or family members. Perhaps they finally decided to take that long vacation their best friends have been convincing them to take. Perhaps they want to see what is this fascination with flying and travelling that they keep hearing everyone talking about.

Not so with me.

On Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and [Broken] Friendships

Photo from Huffington Post

So much spoilers here. Please, if you haven't seen the Captain America III: Civil War, and don't want things spoiled for you, don't read this post. Just bookmark it so you can come back here once you've seen the film and we can have a good tête-à-tête. *wink* So much fangirling here, too, albeit as subtly as I can put it. You have been warned.

I think this is—without a doubt—one of the most anticipated films for the year 2016. It's been several months after the battle of New York and the Avengers have often been seen on the streets, fighting crime and conspiracies, battling against bad guys who steal bio weapons, keeping hostile creatures at bay. Not all their missions have happy endings, however, and some even end in disaster, like the opening scenes of Civil War where, in trying to contain a bomb from exploding in a market place, Scarlet Witch diverts it to a building filled with people. This causes the leaders of the United Nations to ask "Who is keeping the Avengers in check?" The series of tragedies brings forth the Sokovia Accords which means that the Avengers can only operate under orders from the U.N. They are divided on the issue, with both sides of the argument having very compelling points, but, unlike the comics, which further explores the topic, this movie takes a different, more personal turn.

27 Things I'm Grateful for at 27 Years

Photo from Unsplash

Note: This is not enough to count all the blessings I have received in a lifetime and the blessings I receive everyday. But it is a list from my heart, a list of gratitude for all the people, circumstances, blessings in my life. So, in no particular order, here are things off the top of my head—things I'm truly grateful for:

Why The Hobbit (and Its Lessons) Make My Life Wonderful

Photo from here.

It all starts with a wee little man embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. Bilbo Baggins, certified Hobbit (a race of little people from the wonderful fantasy land called Middle Earth) and Peaceful Person gets the surprise of his life when a wizard storms into his door and declares him to be the fourteenth member of Thorin and Company, a band of dwarves with the mission of taking back Erebor, the once-majestic dwarven kingdom that has fallen into the hands, er, claws, of a dragon. Imagine Bilbo's bewilderment and protests as he declares himself unfit—and disinterseted—in such a venture. But curiosity and something else—perhaps a desire to see the world, to step out of the ordinary confines of a day-to-day life?—has him running off to join the dwarves.

The Job I Didn't Want

Some three years ago, I started my first job. It was great. I loved the community, loved the goal we strove towards, loved the advocacy that kept our hearts pumping, our adrenaline on a high. Then came The First Event which was basically my "baptism by fire". It wasn't solely my own project, but it sure was a big one that we were all involved in.

I thought it would be easy. We had event organizers in place, we had a marketing team in place. Promotions were garnering attendees that increased as the day grew closer. It was exciting and I was glad to be in the middle of it.

Until the actual day when everything fell apart.