I turned 30 yesterday. And nope, I didn’t throw a big party nor vacationed somewhere remote and exotic. I would have if I wasn’t 38 weeks pregnant – or more of, if our family elders didn’t disapprove it.
My celebration was very boring simple. With a handful of relatives, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Tarlac City, about thirty minutes away from a small farming town my hubby and I temporarily reside in. Still, it meant a lot to me for it’s been ages since I last celebrated with my parents.
Yes I may be 30 now, but for me I started living at 21. I started living the moment I wore a pair of borrowed hiking sandals and used an overnight backpack for the very first time.
On my last semester in college, I finally had the guts to join Nature Knights, the school’s mountaineering org. I wasn’t into fitness stuff. Window shopping for half a day was my only cardio activity. I used to hate my morena (naturally tan) skin, and loathe being under the sun.
Pinay Travel Junkie confession: A bad two-year relationship break up left me devastated that year. I asked myself “Where do I go from here?”. So emo. Eew.
But that’s how it exactly started. I hungered for something rebellious, insane, and almost suicidal. Since I loved my long, black, shiny, shampoo commercial-material hair too much I didn’t chop it off and dyed it red or green. Instead… mountaineering, hiking, beaching, and backpacking entered the frame. And there was no turning back to my ol’ prim self.
Counting the years, I have been climbing mountains and backpacking for almost a decade now. This travel blog though just turned one the other day, and I still got heaps of unshared stories from the road. Most of these unwritten adventures happened during the first few years of my backpacking life, when none of us had digital cameras yet. When phone cameras were only VGA, and when ‘blogging’ was still unknown.
Details of these trips are now vague to me, yet their life lessons are still embedded in my heart and mind…
These are just a few. My stack of old travel photos and their corresponding tales may not be published here anymore and will remain as a private collection – not that they’re on demand anyway.
Okay, I will not bore you any further about my personal life (but hey you’ve already gone this far!)… But I sincerely thank you for reading my birthday post. It’s not everyday that we get so sentimental and mushy.
The big 3-0 has an effect on me after all. Or perhaps I’m just under pregnancy blues… Or maybe I just miss traveling!
Actually, the sagada pic came from a 1MP Kodak that could not take the cold. It started sweating inside but at least I was able to save the compact flash card! He he
Happy 30th birthday! It is not as good as 21 but it is a good year to keep LOL.
Belated happy birthday Gay! Looking forward to your adventures with Luna 😀
Oli, I did not know that. Hahaha! 1MP, classic! I think I brought a disposable cam then, pero di ko pa yata napapadevelop until now.
Bert and Nina, thanks for the greetings!
3 decades of stories of fun, survival, travels. that means a lot of wisdom. cheers to that!!!
Awww happy bday!!! Keep enjoying life! Keep traveling !!! 😀
Happy Birthday! And congratulations on your new baby! ♥
Pusang Kalye, cheers to three awesome decades!
Traveliztera, Chyng… thanks! Mabuhay ang mga manlalakbay na Pinay!
Thanks po. I checked out name.com but a bit expensive.. bought a domain already at godaddy for 2.17 USD.. dot info nga lang.. anywayz.. going to explore.. thanks po ulit.. congrats sa baby..
happy 9th bday kung ganun! more journeys to come
Haha! Thanks for the 9th birthday greeting James!
don’t you just love it when you look back at your trips, it makes the whole experience complete!
Whoa, well said Jerik! Hay, can hardly wait to hit the road again…