Hello everyone! First of all, I want to say
“Thank you and goodbye, 2017!”.
Time sure flies so fast! It seems only yesterday when I started my year full of stress and at the same time, excitement. Stressed because the project (my previous job) is coming to an end and we were struggling to meet the deadlines. Excited because I thought I could better myself for the coming months and dreamt of adventures that I never got to do. I can certainly say that last year had been a bittersweet year for me. The first half was bitter because I’ve cried so much. Looking back, I couldn’t even remember what those reasons are. It felt that my tears were wasted because of those trivial matters.
However the later half was sweet. Good things happened to me during those months. I got unexpectedly accepted to my job and met new people. I’ve learned new things and during the last month of the year, I started my Steemit journey. I also got my first cashout in time for the New Year celebration. Yeeeeeeeey!
The only thing that marred my December was the death of my idol. It got me so sad that I cried for 3 whole days. But all in all, the later half was good.
Anyway, this post is not just about my 2017. I want to remember last year as a good one and most probably, the only day that I would surely remember will be the last day. So this post is about how I spent my last day of 2017.
So here it goes…
December 31, 2017
Note: I wrote this on the evening of December 31 but did not have a chance to post it.
I usually wake up at 7:30am, being the lazy person that I am. But I woke up early today. Manse!
The reason was that we have to buy the necessary fruits for the New Year. We have to avoid the rush. Some people tend to buy on afternoons or on the last hours. I don’t know if other countries have this practice but in the Philippines, it is a tradition to have at least 13 kinds of fruits on the table. But these fruits should round because they said that round objects are lucky. These fruits should also be sweet. It is said that if you buy fruits that are sour, your upcoming year will also be sour or unlucky. These things or practices are considered to be superstitious but it has already planted its roots deep in our tradition so we tend to follow these.
Anyway, we went to the market early. We were so sleepy that our eyes were still puffy because of the lack of sleep.
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These were taken when we were on the way there and we were on a moving motorcycle, hence the blurriness.
Although it was still early, the market was already packed with people that even jeepneys can’t easily pass through. If it was this many, I couldn’t even imagine the amount of people on the afternoon. We first went to a meat shop. There were a lot of people and the shop was jam packed so I did not get to capture even a single photo.
This was taken outside the meat shop. This is the main highway and there were lesser people here than on the inside.
We then went to the market to buy the fruits that we need. The prices sky-rocketed and the fruits were more expensive than usual. For example, a kilo of grapes is only 280php on regular days. But every New Year, it would reach 400php per kilo.
There were different kinds of fruits displayed on the street. Some are fresh and some are rotten.
We bought 14 kinds of fruits all in all. It was tiring to carry those because of the heavy load. Thankfully, we have our own transportation. We were not hassled about having to ride a public jeepney.
The fruits that we bought are:
- Apple
- Orange
- Pear
- Pineapple
- Watermelon
- Papaya
- Guava
- Chico
- Avocado
- Lansones
- Mango
- Grapes
- Pomelo
- Kiat-kiat (Mini Oranges)
And because it is necessary to have something sweet, there were vendors who sold different kinds of cakes and rice cakes.
Fruit cake.
Cakes and mamon.
Rice cakes.
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Chiffon cakes and bread were a hit because those were not that expensive.
Also, because fireworks are prohibited on our city, plastic trumpets were the best sellers. Just to make the celebration lively and noisy.
I included the stuffed toys because they were cute.
We then went inside the wet market, where seafoods are usually sold, to buy some shrimps but alas, the prices are really high. The original price was 280php per kilo but today, it went up to 400php per kilo.
Even the small ones are very expensive.
The innermost side of the wet market was also jam packed with people. You have to fight your way through the crowd just to get out because it gets suffocating at some time. I felt so relieved when we finally got out.
And at last I see the light. And it’s like the fog is lifted. Haha.
After buying the necessary fruits, we then went home at around ten o’clock in the morning. We were so tired that after eating our brunch, we then slept for 3hours.
I did not plan on sleeping at first but my cat slept on my face. I did not want to disturb her so I ended up sleeping after not moving for a while.
After I woke up at around two o’clock in the afternoon, I went to 
(Note: Please visit
It rained heavily that day so we opted to eat noodles for some warmth.
I spent two hours there and went home at around four o’clock.
When I got home, I was asked to man our small store.
I had nothing to do at first so I decided to watch a Korean drama.
It got busy after a while so I didn’t have time for anything else.
Meanwhile, my mother was busy preparing for our meals and the fruits for New Year’s Eve. She, together with my sister, also put together a simple decoration. My father was preparing the meat that my mother needs.
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At around ten o’clock in the evening, it was my turn to cook. Just a simple spaghetti.
I was hungry so I ate a little. It's messy though.
We were so busy that we did not have the time to take care of ourselves. So we took turns at taking a bath.
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We also took turns at karaoke while waiting for our turn to shower.
I was the last one to shower and I was worried that I would spend my first moments of 2018 on the shower. Luckily, I finished at around fifteen minutes shy of 2018.
When midnight came, we celebrated it together.
The entire day was so tiring but it was all worth the effort.
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We didn’t have much but being together is enough for us.
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I hope this year will give us lots of joy and prosperity.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! ❤
Love lots,
- tomogiroe ❤❤❤
