2025: Solo (no more)

Condo blessing, 12 April 2025

This year marks my first full year of solo living. What literally is the biggest decision in 2024 changed the trajectory of my life this 2025, definitely for the better. It is liberating to depend only on myself and to establish a routine that makes sense or works for me. Especially for someone like me who is not used to doing chores before–doing the laundry, pressing clothes, washing the dishes, throwing out trash and overall maintaining a household while working full-time can get overwhelming. Not to mention the mental load from constantly having to make little, tiny decisions like figuring out what food to eat from breakfast to dinner. It didn't take much to fully adjust to the current set-up though, because I truly enjoy having the liberty to do things my own way. 

As if solo living is not enough alone time, I booked another solo trip to Boracay as early as January for my annual life planning. Likewise, I visited Tokyo during peak autumn in November for my first ever solo international trip. Seeing the Mt. Fuji with my own eyes for the first time is unreal. The colorful leaves in yellow, orange or red are likewise so beautiful and dreamy. Of course there are pros and cons to solo travel, but it was an experience worth trying at least once. Nevertheless, I believe this itch to do solo travel has started to subside since me-time is practically my default now. I realized that it is better to share wonderful experiences with friends and family. And so I did just that with repeat trips 10 years after to Sagada and Camiguin with my best friend's family and team FML, respectively. 

Nanay's 60th Birthday, 25 January 2025

I also look forward to coming home to my parents in Malabon for at least one weekend every month, just to relive my previous princess life for a few days. This is on top of special occasions, like the celebration of my mom's 60th birthday where we were all complete. Perhaps feeling the need to maximize such limited family time, we got even closer and we engage in lesser arguments because we are no longer picking on each other's annoying little habits. Every year, I also make sure to tag my parents along for an all-expense paid trip, this time in Iloilo. It was nice seeing my mom happy to be meeting an old friend, while I'm out there trying out legit Iloilo food like chicken inasal, la paz batchoy and pancit molo to name a few. 

All these trips were taken in consideration of my schedule as a full-time bank examiner. Almost onto my fourth year at the BSP, the learning curve remains steep. Every examination is the same but also very different as there will always be something to learn and uncover. This year I was also tapped to deliver a short lecture to a bunch of overly competent audience. I don't necessarily consider myself well-equipped to do this, so best believe I panicked, but luckily pulled through. Like I always say, it is important to simply show up regardless of circumstances. Along with that, I believe my work disposition has significantly improved over the years, knowing that work attitude is key in succeeding especially in a highly technical environment. To be honest, I'm just very lucky and grateful to even be here at all. And while this job rather sounds serious, there is always room to have fun with workmates and to fit some enjoyable activities in between assignments.  

If you've known me long enough you'll know I am a sucker for trying out new things, although I'm not exactly good at following through them. This year, I started posting random things on Instagram stories with caption, "When was the last time you did something for the first time?" to refer to various activities that I find interesting enough to try. This includes doing a pottery session, getting a Japanese head spa, going to a gay bar for a bridal shower party and watching various improv and stand-up comedy shows. Other activities I've tried this year revolved around wellness such as aerial hoop (definitely bruised!), reformer and chair pilates, bungee dance, virtual golf/golf simulator, spin class, and a 5-kilometer Minions run to cap it all off. I have yet to figure out which activity would best fit my interest in order for me to develop a more sustainable hobby moving forward. Until then, I will continue to discover and explore new things. 

Except I do not have to do them alone any more. 

Gallery by Chele, 10 December 2025

I met Janno through a multiverse of friendship. He is a banking professional so it is not surprising that we have a lot of common friends being in the same industry. Not to mention his very outgoing and extroverted personality. Literally put him in one room full of strangers and he will end up being friends with at least one of them, if not more. This is also probably one of the reasons why we clicked right away, starting from our first date which lasted for at least 6 hours of yapping and laughing with (or at?) each other. For once, I never have to carry the conversation because it just flows naturally. Second, third, fourth and fifth date followed in a span of one week, a Google calendar date invite funnily included. Landi professionally, as we would call our shared calendar. Fast forward to today, we have been together for 7 months and counting. We take turns planning our dates–trashtalking during the UAAP games, watching movies and comedy shows, visiting the bestie-in-law's newborn, or introducing each other to our many circles of friends. Another core memory for us is our first Michelin star experience at Gallery by Chele for our Christmas dinner. We even met Chef Chele himself. I have been meaning to try fine dining/tasting menu for quite a while now, and I am happy I now have my favorite person to share the experience with. In the mundane, we would share memes and reels all throughout the day, yapping, and simply enjoying every conversation and never running out of things to talk and laugh about. 

NYE, 31 December 2025

I remember at least five people sent me reels related to a trend that's blowing up on social media during the latter part of last year: eating (12) grapes under a table at midnight of the new year to manifest a love life. Although harmless, it sounded pathetic at first. Turns out I am gullible af, so I tried it. What is there to lose, right? Only everything to gain. 

So the next time a seemingly stupid Tiktok trend goes viral, it is important you jump on it. Who knows it can lead to something really special. I knew from the start I got myself a great guy–someone who matches my energy and genuinely enjoys my company, as I do his. The relationship was a pleasant surprise to the both of us, but one that I have always wished for: simple, mature, healthy and most importantly, light and easy. This whole relationship thing is new to me, having been single for practically my entire adult life. I hope I am doing a good job navigating through it. 

Although full of hope, my expectations were kept at a minimum when I manifested "my best year yet" on my first IG story for the year. Little did I know, 2025 will surprise me with everything I've been praying for: a newly renovated condo unit, a stable job, a pending promotion, and a life partner...all in one year. I still don't know what good I have done in the past to deserve all these blessings, but right now I am just TAKING IT ALL IN. Surely it will be hard to top 2025 but 2026 is already looking promising with a niece or nephew on the way, four trips booked, some weddings to attend, and more interesting things to try. As with the usual theme of my past 18 years of writing year-end blogs, God's timing is always perfect. Let my story this year be a testimony that everything will align eventually, but it is important that you continue showing up. 

Wishing 2025 treated you well, like it did me. Happy holidays and cheers to the new year.

Thank you for reading!

In my girlfriend era, 

KRTRT 

2024: The Big Move

Many people think I'm very independent, but that's probably because they see me doing things alone: going to concerts, watching movies, and even flying solo. Growing up, however, I am a real-life Disney princess who never had to lift a single finger at home. My family literally does all the chores for me. I would sometimes cook rice or wash the dishes, but that's about it. Never doing the laundry, never cleaning the toilet, and definitely not anything that involves the kitchen. We never had any household help all our lives either, only my superwoman of a mom waking up at the wee hours, cooking me breakfast and baon for lunch, pressing my clothes everyday–basically preparing everything for me. All I ever needed to do as a child was to study. While that meant I had it easy in life, that also meant I still have a lot of things to learn and a lot of growing up to do. 

And so this year I finally made what could be the boldest decision of my life so far: moving out of Malabon, forcing myself to live independently. The idea of moving out has been lingering at the back of my head for quite a while, but somehow it just would not materialize. Until one fine afternoon, while I was doomscrolling through social media, I saw a property posting that caught my attention. Shortly after, I did a visit/viewing and the next thing I know I'm working on various paperworks related to its purchase. Only my siblings and a few close friends know about it, as I am keeping it as lowkey as possible until everything gets sorted out. Not even my parents know. But largely because I'm not sure how they would react to it. Mad? Confused why? Worried? After all, this is not something really common in our Filipino culture. In fact this is a whole new experience for the family, having someone to move out without marrying (at least not yet). It was initially meant to be a big surprise, but I realized I also wanted to involve them in such a major decision. Lucky me they have been very supportive so far. Too supportive even, that I am starting to think it's possible they may have been waiting for me to leave.

Kidding aside, I can already tell the big difference with only three months in. Of course there will be disadvantages to it, but it has so far been outweighed by the many advantages in terms of learning, convenience, character development and growth. First, the convenience of living ~10 minutes by foot away from my workplace is unmatched. Not only does it save me gas and parking money, I also get to save a minimum of two hours of my time and energy per day to work on things that actually matter instead of wasting it in the worsening Metro Manila traffic. I've seen health-related improvements too: I now get to sleep 7-8 hours without worrying I'll be late for work, plus walking to and from the office forces me to complete my daily steps. Saying yes to catch-up dinners or weekend invites likewise became even easier now that I live nearby. My new setup takes a lot of getting used to, and I would say I'm still transitioning at this point. Following a slowly but surely approach, I have started developing a routine that appears to be both effective and efficient for my purposes. I'm proud of these baby steps, especially those related to cooking no matter how basic.

You can tell I'm enjoying this new life so far. Would I rather have done this earlier? Maybe. But also not really. As with other things, everything falls perfectly at the right time, and when we're ready. My prayer (verbatim) leading to this property purchase is for God to guide me through this decision, so that the space I'm creating for myself becomes a source of comfort, growth and refuge. God did not just grant said prayer, He showered me with so much more blessings, literally making me cry happy tears over that 1:49AM email, giving my heart utmost relief.

Relief also comes from the fulfillment and stability I feel with where I am career-wise. Almost three years after joining the BSP (See full story in my 2022 year-end blog: 2022: Dreams), I can say I have made significant progress at work although the learning curve remains steep. With more exposure to banking supervision and across different risk areas, I get to develop relevant skills to become a better bank examiner. I also hope to eventually reach my potential and gain more confidence, especially on the technical side. While I still get overwhelmed at times, at least emotional spirals are minimized, aka no more crying every assignment. As cliché and cheesy as this may sound, I do not see myself working elsewhere. Grateful as well to the old and new friendships nurtured through this job. 

Apart from moving out, there are other milestones or important events worth mentioning this 2024: the celebration of our dad's 60th birthday with friends and family, weddings of two of my closest friends, another LANY concert, a solo trip to Boracay and some family trips to Coron and Rizal, and of course a UAAP basketball championship for UP. In between those days, I also managed to appreciate the more mundane: gym sessions, self-care facials, exchange of Instagram reels and memes, movies and musicals, catchup dinners or bonding over food, meaningful conversations, and random phone calls or after-work debrief, etc. But also to navigate through: confusion, heartbreak, rejection and disappointments, impulse buying or poor financial decisions. I guess my realization this year (and I keep repeating this to myself) is that no matter the situation, it is important to simply show up. 

You know what else showed up? The cherry blossoms in Japan. I feel so blessed being able to share my first ever spring experience with my parents. Best believe I was ecstatic seeing the sakuras practically everywhere, but more particularly that whole stretch near the Osaka Castle. It was too beautiful and dreamy. The full bloom of the cherry blossoms was initially forecasted at around March 25 to 28, a week before our trip. Anxious, I would regularly search on Instagram geotags to check if the flowers are already in full bloom to manage my expectations. Luckily they came unusually late this year. I will forever tell this story as a reminder that God's timing is always perfect. 

Coming into 2025, I am looking forward to celebrating mom's 60th birthday (i.e. I'm excited for the additional senior citizen discount that comes with it haha), my sister coming home, some domestic travels, at least six fieldwork/bank assignments, a few concerts and more weddings of friends. These special occasions are equally as exciting as the days in between.  

Hoping my story this year inspires you to keep the faith and to make that move in your life, whether big or small. And lastly to trust God's perfect timing in your life, like I have done this year and in the past––my delaying gratification mantra serving me so damn well. Thank you, 2024. You were truly amazing. 

Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

Love, 

KRTRT 💕

2023: Dust settles

If you know me long enough you'll know the story about how it took nine long years for my dream of joining the BSP to materialize. But while it was everything I hoped and prayed for in 2022, the transition to my new role (at a new environment, with people I barely know at that time) shook me to the core. To say the least–I was lost, disoriented, and confused. 

In 2023, I believe the dust surrounding such a life-changing move has started to settle, albeit not completely. I have since been well-adjusted although time and again my emotions would still roller coaster, throwing existential crisis questions and things like that. But the perspective has changed and the disposition has significantly improved. 

One random afternoon, in the middle of endless scrolling on social media, I encountered something that struck me. It read, "If you weren't capable, the opportunity would have never come your way. You belong." Much like an epiphany, it occurred to me that maybe I am already where I should be, at exactly the right time. From there, I decided embracing the life I was given, because I was given this life for a reason. And because I am strong enough to live it.

To get to this point, however, entailed outgrowing (or putting off) certain things I used to like or enjoy in the past to make room for new ones. It can go as trivial as my favorite Mendokoro ramen which seems to taste differently now. Surprisingly this even included slowing down on taking too many trips than usual. Slowing down does not mean stopping though, and to be fair I still managed to fly to Boracay and Hongkong, and in La Union. Apart from the constraints associated with having quite a hectic work schedule to even fit quick getaways, travels get tiring physically and mentally too. (To be honest, it is already a blur trying to recall how in my 20s I can go straight from the airport to work and still have the energy.) A friend once commented, "Grabe noh, nagtrabaho lang tayo the whole year?". And although this may sound sad for other people, it is surprising that I am actually fine by it partly because I have already accepted it as just a small price to pay to build up the life I recently chose. I see this as a temporary trade-off I'm willing to take to establish something bigger, more tangible, and more stable.

Favorite assignment so far 

All these, while I focus on more important things specifically the career I am trying to build. The learning curve remains steep even twenty months and eight onsite assignments after, but I am also kinder to myself to acknowledge my progress, no matter how little.

In August, I was assigned to be in-charge for the TML examination of a digital bank for the first time, an experience I immensely enjoyed despite some challenges and tight deadlines. It is such a peat to be able to finish the engagement without necessarily breaking down mentally (haha) and with pretty reasonable feedback at that. With this being easily my favorite assignment so far, I would not have it any other way for my first DEIC role.

          Hyper, no more. 14 April 2023

Slowing down also means enjoying the weekends at home doing nothing, drinking coffee, catching up on sleep, whatever. And since we are not getting any younger at 30, I also had a renewed sense of putting my health as a priority. As early as 2014, a lump in my left neck became noticeable. I would go back and forth with medication throughout all these years, only for it to recur. My stubborn self would just shrug it off practically unalarmed. Fast forward to April 2023, I had my first ever surgery to finally address my longstanding hyperthyroidism. I wish it did not take me years (eight years to be exact) to finally undergo partial thyroidectomy, because I have never felt healthier. It is amazing how one surgery corrected a lot of issues in my body (among others): significantly less hairfall, better sleep, improved tolerance to hot temperature, balanced hormones. The only downside is the resulting slowdown in metabolism, making it difficult for me to maintain or lose weight, which I'm trying to manage now by signing up for a gym membership nearby. Thankful to my family and friends for supporting me during this time, as well as to the best team of doctors at PGH. To be honest, I was hesitant to receive the procedure from PGH at first due to many misconceptions, but everything actually went smoothly and we are completely satisfied with their services. 

KSH, Neyo, Westlife, Honne, Lauv, Zack
 

Other 2023 highlights include attending various events/concerts of my favorite artists: Kim Seon Ho fanmeet, Neyo, Westlife, Honne, Lauv, Hamilton, and Zack Tabudlo. This year I also attended my friends' weddings one after another, including that of my bestfriend's, as well as my first ever destination wedding in Bohol. While for this new year, I have at least six onsite assignments lined up, plus an international trip and several domestic trips booked. I am also looking forward to attend the weddings of some of my closest friends, as well as the 60th birthday party we are arranging for dad. 

2023 will always be a special year for me, a milestone year as I turned 30. The big 3 and 0, as they say. Unlike the others, I loveeeeee being at this age and I consider this as just the start of my 'prime' years ahead of me. Sometimes I don't understand why some people prefer the 20s? At 30: I know better (or at least I think I do), I can support my needs and wants, I can buy nice things, I get to choose my circle, and I depend on myself. Generally speaking, life is reasonably comfortable. 

Despite not being comfortable all the time. I would go as far a comparison the chaotic but ever so alive New York City where literally I was at January 1st to how things were at the start of the year. But the calm and the steady resulting from the dust that settled in 2023 is something I would bring coming into 2024: to fully embrace the present, to enjoy even the most mundane of things, and to find peace in it. Quiet, and undisturbed.

Love, 

KRTRT

P.S. Funny how it took this long to publish the year-end blog. Life happened. The past month felt like an extension of 2023 in my life calendar. I even considered skipping this year in favor of creating a 2023 reel, because who still writes a blog to this day? But since I am extra AF, and also it is my 15th year (!!!) doing this, I'm doing both. Thanks for reading/watching. Happy Chinese New Year!