A Piffle Princess Story

* * *  H A P P Y    2 0 1 2 !  * * *

Before saying it becomes passé, let me greet everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

(coin art.. w00t!)

I don't plan on making a long entry about my new year's resolutions, plans, etc... I've done those before and well, nothing really happened. XD But my theme for this year would be "Out with the old, and In with the New" as I am praying for new and exciting changes in my life.

First of all of course is to change my planner...

Owning a planner is very important for me cos I love to make little notes/doodles, and it helps me keep track of many aspects of my life. I picked the oak-colored Starbucks planner to be my trusted partner for 2012. It's smaller than last year's planner and though I don't really like the lay-out that much, but I think we will make many many sweet memories together for this year. This is my third SB planner in a row, and perhaps, my last. My boyfriend and I decided that we will start saving up some moolah and hence will stop buying luxurious items such as these (we will buy Moleskine planners instead!!!). Cholo and I also plan to stop being impulsive spenders, to be more disciplined, and SRSLY lose some weight. We have big visions for our not-so-distant future, and we really need to keep our focus and tighten our pockets to achieve our goals.

After ranting about the importance of money, ironically, the next major change in my life right now is that I've resigned from my job effective the first day of this year for reasons that I don't want to expound anymore. Suffice it to say that I just wanted to get out of my comfort zone and move on with my life. I know it's a bit foolish to leave behind a stable, relatively good-paying job, especially with both my parents jobless right now. But I have given it a lot of thought, discussed it with a lot of significant people, and most importantly, prayed about it. So I'm seeing this as a leap of faith, as an act of complete surrender and dependence on God's greater plan for me. I do not know what the future holds, but I know my God holds my future. Yes, I am very much afraid, but I am really looking forward to see what doors of opportunities will open and what exciting experiences await me for this year.

Since I'll be (hopefully) having a lot of free time in my hands for the first couple of weeks of 2012, I really want to make good use of this chance to organize my life, my priorities and... my room! I have hoarded lots of stuffs last year like books, mangas, DVDs, etc and I really need to stop doing that cos I don't really have the space to hold them and the time to use them. After the tragedy of super tyyphoon Sendong, of which our apartment was also not spared (we were flooded till knee level!), we have come to realize that in just one snap, everything material could easily be taken away from you. And I know this is quite silly cos my hoards have no eternal value, but still, if I can, I want to really make good use of them. So I have set some realistic(?) challenges for myself and hopefully I will be able to do them this year;

• Read and study the Bible twice everyday
• Finish the entire Bible twice this year
• Blog at least once or twice a week
• Make at least 30 new artworks
• Read at least 30 books
• Watch at least 30 drama/TV series
• Watch at least 60 anime series
• Read at least 100 mangas
• Watch at least 300 movies

I know the above list is quite ridiculous and shows only the irrational, materialistic side of me, but setting such quota may be able to help me make better use of my time. I want to stop wasting my energy and time on staring blankly at social network sites, or playing insignificant games, and be more productive. Of course if there are more important things to do for my spiritual or career growth, my family and friends and real-life matters, these would naturally take precedence. But I don't want to waste any more time and energy doing useless things that will not make me a better individual. I hope this will indeed be a more fruitful year.

As Joel Osteen said in his bestselling book, "I've made up my mind to not waste any more days. I'm celebrating each as a gift from God." Here's wishing all of us a great year of celebration ahead.