2024

I had a feeling that I’ll never finish this one. Not because there was a lot more to say in 2024, but life keeps getting in the way in 2025. I guess that’s still no reason to squeeze an hour or two of introspection but it’s just a weird that I’m writing this late in the future and I’m still trying to find a way to meaningfully talk about the previous year in as much vivid detail as possible.

Life has been generally calm and productive. Things felt normal. While we continue to go through this weird politically-induced whiplash that started in 2016, we found ways to coexist with it (or in some cases, just ignore it). But life really goes on at this point, our kids are growing up really fast and thankfully, we continue to do honest, good work with our respective careers. I remember this moment in our apartment elevator in New York City where a toddler, caught me exiting the elevator then sharing the same elevator a few minutes later as I picked up my laundry. She asked her mom why I was there. The mom just said “It’s called living”.

And she was right. We are indeed living. And boy are we busy. Not that anyone would mind though. But I’m keeping my promise! I hope to finish this by November. That’s the plan at least.

Travel

I now have a better view of travel, thanks to the Flighty app which I tried out in 2024 out of curiousity. I took a total of 22 flights, covering over 28,684 miles of which two were long haul (which is basically just one trip). It’s actually the most I’ve flown in a year but it’s only inflated because I made so many domestic trips due to work. Otherwise, everything sounds the same.

For one, I didn’t really visit any new countries this year. Instead, I just opted to go for what’s already familiar. You can also think of it as my way of doing “comfort” travel, reconnecting with places I consider among my favorites (or in some cases, home in a past life).

Bangkok

Thailand is our happy place, the city of Bangkok to be specific. We’ve been visiting the city at least once a year (except for the Pandemic years, of course) since we moved back from the States and find the city amazing for its great balance of food and shopping. While we’ve always traveled there for pleasure, this time it was for work (followed by pleasure, of course).

For a total of eight days, this is the longest I’ve stayed in the city. We were in town for Money 20/20, a conference for financial institutions, fintechs, regulators and vendors. It’s kind of a big deal in a sense that they’d invite central bankers and CEOs to speak. It was pretty busy for a three-day affair from Tuesday to Thursday. But we did manage to make good use of our time there and we met a lot of companies whom we ended up partnering with. It was also a great opportunity for us to go deep on key industry topics like embedded finance, artificial intelligence and regulatory trends. The event was held at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center which was quite nice. It’s also located in the general Sukhumvit area and we just stayed in a hotel across the event. It also had access to the Metro, which would then connect to the BTS.

It’s still a work trip and I genuinely had fun working the conference floors with people from work. We really came up with elaborate plans to cover as much ground as possible, meeting a few partners along the way too.

The pleasure part naturally followed and I just used this as an opportunity to connect with friends who were also in town. Ari, a dear friend from New York whom I haven’t seen in years decided to semi-retire there during the pandemic with his mother while my Manila travel group (the ones I hung out with in Singapore the year before) also followed with Rica. From there, we just did our usual bit of eating, shopping and just like that were officially in “Bangkok” mode. And these daily massages.

I was already homesick towards the end. I wanted to see the kids too. I think eight days is a bit too much. For a city we love so much, it’s still a four day, three-night affair for me.

Hong Kong

There was a time in my life where I’d find myself in Hong Kong multiple times in a year. And in some cases, I would stay there for an extended time for work (when I still based in the States). Hong Kong will always have a special spot in my heart and there’s still so much to love about this city.

I last visited the city in 2019 and so much has happened since then, even all my frequent flyer miles from OneWorld (through Cathay Pacific) expired, leaving me with zero. Also, my wife and I have settled on Bangkok as a city we don’t mind visiting multiple times a year. But it took a special promotion by Cathay Pacific (with help from HKIA) to draw us back in. Hey, the flights were cheap so we might as well right?

Something definitely changed and no, it was nothing to do with its politics or the economy. In fact, this could just be the normal passage of time and five years can really change a city as dynamic as Hong Kong. For this trip, we chose to do familiar things and didn’t really do anything novel. It was basically Causeway Bay, Central and a little bit of Mong Kok for shopping. I’m pretty happy with everything that we ate (more on this later) though.

Maybe we’ll be back soon. But three days and two night in the city was enough of a break for us. Hong Kong will always be our little city escape.

Osaka

Everyone is having a Japan moment and this rings especially true for Filipinos who have come in droves. With reasonably prized flights, a weak yen and the Japanese government actively encouraging people from all over to world to visit their country. Despite all of our imperfections as guests, we’re just very thankful that they’ve been so welcoming of us a country.

We travelled there as a big group of fifteen, representing my wife’s whole family. While traveling as a big group had its challenges, we made it work through a combination of practical trip planning (breakouts and plenaries). I’ve technically visited only three cities in Japan in my lifetime and for the sake of our kids, who traveled with us, we opted to go with Osaka this time. Everyone agreed with the choice.

I’ve only been to three cities since I started visiting Japan in 2019. This marks my third trip to the country and interestingly enough, my third time in the city. We were there for a week and by all intents and purposes, this was the kids’ big trip for the year.

Osaka’s plays well with kids. The hotel was stayed in was pretty good, right across a Lawson (I guess this applies to almost all buildings in the city!).

New York City

My subscription to the city was up and it was time to renew. It’s been two years since my last visit which translates to more than a million New York minutes. My wife and I opted to have separate “big trips” this time and with a lot of miles in my frequent flier account, heading back to the city was a no-brainer. It’s time for a little homecoming.

I would end up staying longer than the last, spending a full week (technically eight, given the time difference). I chose September due to limited award booking availability which also meant that I would spend my birthday away with family. But it’s the city! I couldn’t really think of a better place to celebrate (being with Rica and the kids would be great though).

It was my first time to fly non-stop to the city from Manila. Typically, you would stopover a regional hub like Hong Kong, Seoul or Tokyo. I actually dreaded spending that much time on the plane but it ended up becoming such a great experience, even in economy. I would land close to midnight in the city and after a slight mishap with my hotel in Times Square (via Hotel Tonight), I finally settled for another one and found myself lining up for Halal Guys at 2:00AM in the morning. It was gross, but it hit the spot.

Literally hit the ground running this time. Powered on a seeming lack of sleep, I just jogged towards Central Park, which was just a few block away. I didn’t waste any time with my to-do list. The plan was to really cover as much ground as possible in my running shoes. From there, I would eventually move downtown to the financial district to stay with a dear friend.

There was so much stuff happening in the city. I was in town for the 9/11 anniversary ceremony (attended by Kamala Harris and Donald Trump nonetheless) and the day Mayor Eric Adams got indicted for all sorts of things. We even watched a debate night party that saw us cheer Kamala as it were the Superbowl. It felt weird being so close to the news, knowing that we breathe the same New York air I’ve come to love, warts and all.

These trips have always been nostalgic, there was not much room to explore anything new. In all of my eight days, I just explored everything old and familiar (the Upper West Side, Flatiron, Midtown) trying to recreate certain situations and experiences just to see if they’re still real. It can be as mundane as a late night Duane Reade run, or taking the subway as all these memories coming rushing. The same can be said about taking out the trash, hanging out at a friend’s house. I had to exist in the city again.

Eight days was enough though. I’ll be back in 2026.

Domestic Affairs

There’s still so much to experience and explore in our tiny archipelagic country and I actually have a job that allows me to travel occasionally, which I don’t mind at all. And it’s also a bonus that I get opportunities to travel to places in the Philippines I never thought I’d visit in my lifetime.

I currently work for a company that’s literally named after a famous place (PalawanPay) so it’s only normal that I’d find myself flying to Puerto Princesa on an almost regular basis. Sometimes I’ll be there for as long as five days or just have an overnighter for a meeting.

My “Puerto Princesa” can be contained within a five kilometer radius from our head office and in many ways, this is already enough for me. I’ve always stayed in the same hotel and ate in the same restaurants. In this case, I’ve grown to love and appreciate the mothership as the initial novelty wore off and things entered into familiar territory. I still love visiting the “company beach” too and it’s always something I would look forward to.

My job also gives me an opportunity to other places in the Philippines and I never thought I’d visit Calbayog City, Samar in my lifetime. I was there to celebrate our annual thanksgiving activity with the people who work so hard to keep the lights on. Calbayog is a small, sleepy town in Eastern Visayas and in my case, my flight still had to go through Cebu before I get to the city itself. It’s populated by the cheerful Waray people and it was just fitting that they managed to convince me to dance the curacha (a courtship dance) on our gala night. I never thought I’d experience that but I’m glad I did! Still, I’m thankful to have had the chance to experience this side of the Philippines, there’s still so much to discover and we’re just really blessed with so many interesting islands.

Speaking of which, my wife and I made a promise that we should have at least one trip by the sea every year and we found ourselves visiting a perennial favorite, Boracay once again for her birthday. Again, we’ve always been creatures of habit and we found ourselves staying in the same hotel, doing the same things. Thankfully, nobody got sick and we had a great time as always. We didn’t mind the algae at all. The only thing with Boracay (and domestic travel in general) is that these destinations have gotten so expensive, and it’s much cheaper to travel overseas. Still, Boracay is Boracay and leaving the island is always bittersweet.

There are other beaches to explore too. I finally visited Balesin for the first time at work and I had a great experience at the Island, despite the fact that it was just a very short two-night affair. Still, it was nice to have a villa all to myself and drive my very own cart. I even jumped at the opportunity to take a tour around the island and explore all of its themed villages (I’m actually partial to the Bali-themed one, where I stayed in). I guess there’s a first time for everything and towards the end only thing the Island needed were some dinosaurs.

We ended the year with a short family trip to Baguio City, my second visit over two years. I know this shouldn’t be a big deal given its relative distance to Manila but it’s worth noting that we went here to celebrate Oz’s birthday and figured that a family roadtrip actually fits the bill. I would soon realize that it was actually my first time to drive to Baguio, it literally had to wait this long for me to do that. Thankfully, it wasn’t that stressful, it was just a bit tiring for someone not used to driving for more than two hours anymore (including Manila traffic).

Thankfully, we had a great guide in the form of Gabe, who’s made Baguio home since the pandemic. We ended up staying at the Baguio Country Club and I was just so happy to stay in their newly-renovated rooms with midcentury decor. It felt like we traveled back in time. Given that it was the kids’ first time in the city, we tried to let them experience Baguio as much as they can. We took them to Camp John Hay where we did a little bit of forest bathing along really nice trails that was good enough for the kids. I really wish we could’ve stayed much longer in retrospect (it was just an overnight trip!). And we should totally consider just taking the bus there. Things are just easier that way.

Life

Eating In

While things did indeed get more busy, the good news is that I still find ways to eat and feed my family at home. There are still dishes that I’m curious about and some tastes that I want to revisit. Otherwise, it’s really just pre-marinated food from the grocery (typically bulgogi), anything fried (pork chops) or some standard pasta dish like bolognese, a limone or amatriciana. Our weekly meal plans have gotten mostly predictable and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just one less thing you have to worry about.

Sardines

The hobby spirit that I acquired during the pandemic remains strong. Although my growing backlog of Gundams are gathering dust and I still have to build a “few” more bikes. But I’m always keen to try a lot of new things, and they usually follow a manic curve until things eventually settle to a more sustainable level. I’m sure there’s a German word for this. But illustrated poorly, it looks like this

It all started with a can of sardines my father gave to me as souvenir from him trip to the US. As with Filipino tradition, it is customary to bring home some spoils for friends and family to thoughtfully share your experience of the country. While this is generally hard to comply with, it’s still nice to be on receiving end and I really hope people continue to do so, despite the costs and inconvenience of making room in your luggage or in my father’s case, his balikbayan box.

Back to the Sardines, it was a simple, cheap can of Portuguese sardines in tomato sauce. It was quite bad and while I’m not entirely new to the concept of sardines, I usually have it in bottle form, Filipino-style (aptly called “Spanish Sardines”). But this can sparked something in me and I would ultimately buy, consume and rate 22 cans of sardines over a year. Figured I might as well incorporate more fish in diet and sardines are generally healthy and low in calories. I might even lose weight in the process!

This was lot of fun. Suddenly, sardines were on my radar every time I would go visit a country and check out the grocery. I would write 200-word reviews about the tins I’ve tried, taking photos along the way. I’ve tasted cans from the usual Portugal and Spain, but also checked out what Japan, Thailand, China, Norway, Germany (probably repackaged though) and the Philippines had to offer.

The verdict? Portuguese sardines, which are considered best in the world are not necessary a homerun. Spanish sardines, especially the high-quality ones are excellent. I like brisling sardines from Norway because they just taste so good (which is sold by King Oscar) and yes, just because one is expensive doesn’t mean it’s good. It can even be disgusting.

If you’re looking for recommendations. King Oscar (Norway), Bogar (Spain) and Matiz (Spain) is decent.

The Beginnings of Sobriety

2024 also marked the year where I started becoming more and more mindful about my alcohol consumption. Prior to that, I didn’t really thought much about my drinking habit. It was fairly normal for me to consume 2-3 cans of light beer or in some cases, a few cans of really strong Japanese Chu-hai (Strong Zeroes) on a weekday. I also tend to drink more on weekends too and I considered it as an essential element in a fun night. I got drunk and felt pretty terrible the day after. And it does get harder as your get older.

While I had no grand ambitions to completely quit, I just wanted to have a healthy non-relationship with ethanol. At around this time, studies were already coming out saying that moderation is a misnomer, and that we should just accept the fact that any amount of alcohol is considered poison to your body. But it was actually my Oura ring that showed a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and sleep quality. Drink and you’ll have pretty bad sleep. It’s as simple as that.

And to be fair, I did start tracking “dry” days as early as January. I’d be lucky if I skipped a day and I only managed to skip alcohol for 10 days in February because I was on antibiotics (see below for the reason why). But things just clicked in November and December, which is undoubtedly the most festive part of the year. I just woke up thinking that I’m capable of skipping a bottle or two. From an average of 3 dry days a month, I started skipping alcohol in an average of 13 days in month. Early 2024 wouldn’t believe it. It’s actually happening.

It continues to be a journey for me and I consider myself more of a non-drinker than one. And it looks like I’m not alone in my journey. More and more people are ditching booze altogether and I really believe that the world is a better place without it. I’m just happy to know that I’m still capable of changing my behavior.

Dining Out

We’ve really come a long way from having a TGI Fridays in late 90s. The whole dining scene continues to be vibrant, with more and more restaurants opening in the city, bringing a lot of new and exciting things with it. Gone are the days where we would all look forward to flying to the States for Shake Shack (and even Krispy Kreme). The world has officially come to the Philippines and it’s really just a matter of trying as much of these as possible without going broke (dining out can really put a dent in your wallet, after all).

A Taste of Japan

There’s a Japanese restaurant in every corner now, it seems. I have a feeling this has something to do with Filipinos discovering all these restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka and convincing them to set up shop in the Philippines. Some homegrown (yet still Japanese run) restaurants continue to thrive too which makes for an abundance of choice. One need not travel to Japan anymore to eat (yet we still do, only because there’s still so much to eat!).

And I do appreciate a proper Izakaya. I’m a fan of Nakaji along Adelantado Street in Legazpi Village where I order my usual shio kyabetsu, alongside some yakitori sticks and other quirky Japanese fare. Then there’s Hidamari found at the topmost floor of Creekside along Amorsolo which introduced us to a different kind of Japanese with tomatoes soaked in white wine, stingray jerky and what seems like the kind of food you would eat at home. Who would’ve thought that Okra would that that good. And their warm salad is also a must try. On those times where we felt like splurging, the yakiniku at Hiro along C. Palanca is also great.

I’ve also come to realize that Ramen Nagi isn’t really bad. But I still go to Marudori for their Chicken Paitan ramen.

Of course, it’s just different when you’re actually in Japan. Osaka remains to be one of my favorite eating cities and I’m just happy to eat at Matsusaka M, which is really popular with Filipinos. I also tried the famous Takoyaki Sandwich from Takoyaki Wannaka Sennichimae. And the Tempura from Tarojiro in the Namba area was also unforgettable. Max also went through a short-lived Tempura phase and he was clearly in heaven. Of course, I also made sure I helped myself to some pork buns and dumplings from 551 (which was actually just okay) and egg sandwiches from Lawson. But the great thing with Japan is that these places need not belong to a guide. The food is already great as it is.

A Taste of My Second Home

It was close to midnight and after dealing with a weird hotel booking snafu, I managed to snag a room midtown and I was hungry. Thankfully, I am now in the city that never sleeps™ and getting something edible wasn’t really that much of a challenge. It was just fitting for me to line up at 53rd and 6th for a good ol’ combo plate from Halal Guys. It doesn’t get any more glamorous than that. Welcome to New York!

The rest of my stay would see my try a few Tiktok famous joints (where else would I get these recommendations anyways?!). I managed to get a Bagel & Lox (pretty good) the next day at Apollo Bagels in an off-time while I also sat by the counter to try George Motz’s Fried Onion Burger (superb) in Hamburger America. Then there’s this unforgettable slice of Cacio e Pepe Pizza from Mama’s Too (it was bit too rich for my taste though).

And that’s pretty much it all things new. New York is all about revisiting that old self of mine reintroducing all these food to my body. I completely forgot how legendary the Lomo Saltado in Coppelia was I also shifted my allegiance from Oda House (only because they closed their East Vilage Outpost) to Chama Mama which introduced me to the wonderful world of Pkhalis but it was still a solid meal (of course I helped myself to some Adjaruli Khachapuri). Supper, also by the East Village was still great with their Pasta a Limone (which inspired a lot of home cooked meals) that came with some Tuscan white beans. I also paired it with some Chicken Parm, just for fun. The most surprising of the lot was the reincarnation of Eisenberg’s in Flatiron, which now calls itself S&P Lunch. I’m pleased to share that their Tuna Melt remains to be my favorite sandwich in town and this time, it comes with really excellent potato chips that you order as a side. Well, I’ll be damned, this is even better than the original!

It all boils down to the “nothing special but it hits hard” meal for me. I really went out of my way to eat my signature lunch special from downtown staple Spice where I had some Drunk Man Noodles paired with their signature fritters. Needless to say, any tourist wouldn’t even dare to go this place, but this meal reminded me of all those solo lunches I had while working in the Flatiron/Chelsea area. It was purely personal. Of course, any trip to New York wouldn’t be complete with my requisite slice of Spicy Spring from Prince StreeT Pizza, any egg and cheese on kaiser roll, the pollo a la Brasa from PioPio (where I actually celebrated my birthday). And I also grabbed the opportunity to eat lunch at Go Go Curry too. It was all worth it.

As I already mentioned, even the food is changing quite fast. I wasn’t really that surprised to see some restaurants close shop. And this is why I keep coming back “home” only because I got to know the city through its food.

Elsewhere

I travelled a considerable lot in 2024. Well, more than the usual. And I always made it a point to eat somewhere that’s either part of a list (like Michelin), mildly TikToked (especially for those places still unfamiliar to me) or included in the always reliable Eater 38 series.

Bangkok will always be a great food city for me. While we did our usual rounds at Polo Fried Chicken, Somboon and After You, we managed to level things up with a fancy dinner at Le Du, which was named as one of Asia’s Top restaurants. For one, it was definitely worth the money with a tasting menu that included all sorts of gastronomic delights (which reached its pinnacle with a decent piece of tenderloin). Otherwise, we just kept things generally casual and I really enjoyed our simple krapao meal at Easy Buddy, which you can find in most malls in the Sukhumvit area.

Hong Kong was quite a revelation for me and Rica. While the city remains familiar to us, we actually made it a point to try new things. And this made all the difference too.

And this is where things get really interesting. I could even go as far as to say that two of my best meals from the year were in Hong Kong, which was surprising considering that well, I’ve been to other cities like New York too. I’m pleased to share that I experienced a different kind of “Chinese” at SiJie Sichuan Restaurant in Causeway Bay of all places. I particularly enjoyed their signature sichuan noodles that was both tingly and refreshing at the same time. Their blistered green beans were such a delight too and of course some MaPo Tofu. I consider this my first big leap to Chinese cuisine outside of my usual Cantonese/Fujianese bubble and while they have been attempts in the past to do so. This one just felt right.

So it’s also surprising that I would have the best Yakitori experience (not necessarily food) in Yardbird, which was already well loved in gastronomic circles. The place was dark, loud and chaotic, but it just made the whole experience really fun and delicious.

Otherwise, it’s still the usual. We were happy to see an Eggslut outpost too (which has since closed) and we did revisit our meals in La Vache for a parisien-like steak frites experience and sadly, we found the food at Yung Kee quite expensive and not so great anymore. But that’s okay. The city has really changed a lot.

And Back Home

We’re getting more and more spoiled here in Manila and aside from all the Japanese restaurants I’ve had the pleasure of dining in 2024, I discovered a few good restaurants in the Metro that’s worth visiting.

It’s great to live in Salcedo Village and options keep getting better. I really found Don Baldosano’s menu in Bomb Vinos pretty inspired and I’m a fan of his Pares. Then there’s the food of Otomat, found in Karrivin Plaza with its ecletic menu. Aya, the sister restaurant of Hapag in Rockwell also had a great food best paired with their cocktails. Rasa Baru, an tiny “turo-turo” joint along Valero had affordable Indonesian home cooking with a punchy sambal (sadly, they closed in 2025).

But it really the allure of the old and familiar that makes me happy. I continue to be a fan of Tuding’s sticky yet chewy pork chop and fried rice, the Korean Fried Chicken at Gochugang, the Toyomansi Noodles of Kodawari, the Goto and Lumpiang Shanghai combo from Goto Tendon (which we typically enjoy after a long run), and Bibingka from practically anywhere (although I’ll always be partial to Ferrino’s). Then of course, there’s the crispy pork thai basil from Thai Plate. And I’ll always be a fan of Your Local’s Indo Smashed Chicken. I think it’s the best of the lot. Then there’s Manam in Ayala Triangle, of course (get the Chicken Inasal).

Boracay was a treat and we managed to hit almost all of the Sunny Side Group restaurants. I was particularly drawn to the eponymous cafe and really enjoyed their adobo rice and pancakes. Their seafood restaurant was perfect for the Island too and I just loved everything we ordered there (followed by dessert from Coco Mama). In fact, we loved it so much that we went out of our way to try Berry Mama in Baguio too. Craft 1945 in Baguio also deserves a special mention!

Manila food is never boring and I’m just so happy to support all of these restaurants that are doing a lot of cool stuff. We’ve really come a long way.

Sport

Running

After giving it much thought, I realized that I don’t really have to run a marathon every year or even participate in any running events in Manila. I’ve been running consistently for over 17 years and I don’t really see this habit as something novel. It will always be this core habit that has kept me relatively fit and centered. I don’t really have to ask much from it.

Still, I’ve been logging more miles than ever, racking up over 2,554 kilometers in 2024 or an average of 213 kilometers a month. I actually set a pretty modest mileage quota of 200 kilometers and it wasn’t surprised that I somehow exceeded in a big way. I just love to run, plain and simple.

I really just kept at it. My old training plans in Strava convinced me that only taking Mondays off was great so I was generally consistent with this. Makati Car-free made a huge difference in making it really easy for me to run outdoors on Sundays since it was literally in our backyard. Of course, I still consider myself a multitasking treadmill runner and it’s not unusual for me to attend meetings or read emails while logging 8-10Ks on the treadmill (except on Fridays, where I tend to run less).

As a core habit, I’ve developed all these weird rules around my running. No runs on a Monday (unless it’s a holiday). Easy runs only (which explains why I didn’t gain anything substantial in terms of fitness - it just maintained it) and outdoor long runs on Sunday, which can range from 10-15K. I draw the line at 15K for a year where nothing’s really happening. Towards the end of the year, I finally allowed myself to run half marathons. An extended off-season can get boring too.

It wasn’t actually boring. In fact, 2024 was the year I had my first running accident. It was just another car-free Sunday where I decided to traverse McKinley to run a few miles in BGC. I first discovered this possibility when I trained for Osaka in 2019 and realized that this was a wonderful way to burn some mileage.

Anyway, I fell into some random hole along McKinley and scratched my shin against some rough cement. I was crazy enough to actually finish my run while I was bleeding and just applied some alcohol from a convenience score before I headed back to Makati. This turned out to be a bad idea.

This whole episode would sideline me for a week and this will prompt me to visit the ER after much prodding from my mother, who floated the idea that I might actually get tetanus from that cement (apparently, it’s possible!). Anyway, I ended up getting shots and a bruised shin. Soon, I would find myself logging miles early in the year.

Of course, I would find myself taking another break again when my brother-in-law’s dog decided to bite the same leg in a moment of excitement. So yeah, my running year was marked by a series of anti-tetanus and anti-rabies shots. While this sucked in general, I’m comforted by the fact that at least I’m protected from any further mishap. And it didn’t really set me back from running itself. More than anything, it just made my whole running journey colorful. You don’t really need a race for that. Also, if you look hard enough, you’ll see a random invasive squirrel in Manila too.

It’s best when it’s not just part of a routine. I did technically join a fun run in Alabang just to see if I still have it in me to actually race one (it was a sub 1! I think). I also joined my running group, the BGC Road Runners while possible, enjoying the meals that would come after that. Likewise, it’s always nice to run the whole stretch of White Beach, a big chunk of Balesin (really loved this!) and even being drenched in sweat in Benchakitti park in Bangkok. My multiple trips to Puerto Princesa also gave me a window to see more of the city as well, although I’ve mostly kept within the general vicinity of Rizal Avenue.

I did try to find a race during my short trip to New York in September but alas, there nothing in store for me (maybe because it was hot and humid?). Still, it was nice to log major mileage along Westside Highway and Central Park like I never moved back to Manila. And since I stayed in the financial district this time, I even used this as an opportunity to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on my birthday.

Running in Osaka was also a huge, huge treat for me and it was so nice to run with family too. It was already November and you can just imagine how nice it was to run more of Osaka (whose Marathon I ran back in 2019). Temples! Empty streets! The River! Dotonbori the day after halloween (a bit gross, actually). I just love the fact that I get to see more of a destination when I run. Bonus points for the unexplored too, it just add to the whole excitement of things.

Running started becoming a thing in the middle of 2024, thanks to a surge in organized running groups and car-free streets that Makati popularized. Suddenly, you’ll see huge groups of people running and social media filled with people deep in their respective “running eras”. This reminds me of the great running boom of the late 2000s (where I practically joined a race every week) and I’m pretty excited for everyone’s journey to unravel. I hope they stick with it as much as I did.

I decided to run a marathon in 2025.

Some Cycling

If you were to ask me if I’m still cycling, I would say that I’m semi-retired at this point. And my uncle, who generously gifted me with a Colnago frame, would be very disappointed. Even now, I’ve already loaned my indoor trainer and my bike mount to a friend who continues to nurture his pandemic-era passion to this day.

Cycling used to be a big deal for me. And as I look at my two active bikes and two yet to be built frames, I fondly remember all those moments riding along bike lanes and climbing up hills and mountains with friends. Heck, I even managed to have a memorable gravel ride in Barcelona which remains to be a core memory. I went deep. I even commuted to work on my bike until I got eased out by all the motorcycles in the streets of Makati.

I do miss it. It’s a shame that I only logged five bike rides in 2024, logging a pretty dismal 173 kilometers in the process (I used to ride a hundred Ks a week). I don’t even remember why I biked in the first place.

As I resume my World Marathon Majors journey, I don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon. But it will always be there. Besides, what am I going to do with all this spandex anyways? Of course, I still wish that I was more of active transport guy, but as it turns out, I was just one of those MAMILs (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) that some people loathe.

Maybe I’ll be back in the future. Because this world continues to change.

Media

I started writing Media Diet posts a la Jason Kottke in my private journal a few years ago. These things usually take around 2,000-3,000 words and I do this monthly. This should partially explain why it’s just so hard for me to write about things in this essay because I’m already writing so much on a regular basis. Still, it’s good to have a year’s worth of media summarized.

Reads

I’m on my 11th (or 12th?) year of keeping up with my Goodreads’ reading challenge and while it can feel like I’m imposing undue pressure on myself, nothing beats the feeling of finishing your 30th book towards the end of the year. With everything happening in my world, even reading had to take a backseat at times and I would just find myself reading in bursts, especially during travel periods (where I kinda force myself to finish books on almost any flight - long or short).

2024 was a bit of a mixed bag and unlike others, I’m not one to just quit on a book, I just distract myself by picking up a new book, promising myself that I would catch up on my almost discarded book at a later date. This would explain why it took me so long to finish Dave Eggers’ “What is the What” a few years back.

Of the lot, a few stood out. First, I made it a point to revisit an old book that really influenced my thinking around work. I was so happy to read Bent Flyberg’s "How Big Things Get Done” only because I wanted all the lessons to stick (I’ve always been insecure about retaining much of the information in all the books I read). Then there’s Charles Wheelan’s “Naked Economics” which I read all the way back in 2007 and remains to be such a great book on understanding economics (I actually read everything in this “naked” series). I’ll always be a follower of Wheelan’s work. Even his book on writing was brilliant.

Other notable “work” books include Andrew Chen’s “The Cold Start Problem” (a great guide for those launching products in the wild and struggling with growth), Marty Cagan’s “Inspire” (a must-read for product people), Andrew Wilkinson’s “Never Enough” (this one was particularly very, very good and almost relatable). I also picked up some very specific fintech books that I enjoyed, like Martin Chorzempa’s “The Cashless Revolution” which talked about the growth of electronic wallets in Mainland China. I also thought “Shopkeeping” by Peter Miller was quite charming and can teach us a lesson or two in delivering a genuinely delightful customer experience as opposed to the gospel of “scale”. It’s a reminder that good things require love and craft (in no particular order).

But it’s not just all work. I really enjoyed Patrick Grant’s treatise on clothing with “Less”, begging us to quit our fast fashion addiction and focus on well-made products instead (the answer here is fairly obvious and I’m pretty much aware of the economics of this one). On a related note, I did read two of 2024’s most talked about books, there’s Ultra-Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken and “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt and picked up a thing or two along the way. I’m a fan of Cal Newport’s work but “Slow Productivity” felt a bit short in making things more memorable. Scott Galloway (sorry, Professor Scott Galloway) and his book on personal finance with “The Algebra of Wealth” felt a bit shallow too and you’re better off reading other material (I still recommend “The Index Card” by Helaine Olen).

I wish I had more variety in my reading. The novel du jour of 2024 by Azako Yuzuki was quite enjoyable and I wish I accommodated more fiction in my media diet. “Spring Cannot be Cancelled” by David Hockney was interesting and reminded me of the immersive exhibit I attended in London in 2023. I regret listening to “Poor Charlie’s Almanack” as an audiobook and should read it instead. And last, “The Mysteries of Taal”, an old book by Thomas Hargrove was quite a cool and informative read about our favorite volcano inside a volcano. I didn’t know that Taal Lake used to drain along Batangas! And there were multiple towns buried under.

It would take me much longer to talk about each and every book I’ve consumed in a year. I’ve offered more detailed reviews privately on a monthly basis in my journal. But words. They’re just way too many of these read and write about!

Music

I kinda trust Last.FM more in giving a more unbiased view of my listening year. Something about Spotify’s Wrapped schtick feels more algorithmic (although it’s the same data). Overall, I listened to more music than 2023 (it was up by 8%), with over 7,736 scrobbled (or tracks played - not unique) spread over 1,203 artists, 1,942 albums and 2,202 unique tracks (it’s a lot!).

I was a big fan of Mexican Artist, Reyna Tropical whom I randomly discovered in Spotify. Her song, “Cartegena” sucked me in, eventually leading to singles like “Lo Siento” and “Conexion Ancestral”. Her songs transport you to a hip, tropical jungle and the music felt generally fresh (yet familiar). But this wasn’t even my top track of the year and it went to K-Pop act, Illit with their single “Magnetic” only because it was such good earworm. Other notable tracks for the year include the drum and bass track “Zoom” by Machinedrum (with vocals by Tinashe) that powered me through speedy run sessions. I also discovered the NYC band Michelle which has pretty hip vocal music (they’re a vocal trio) and I liked “Oontz” the best. Obongjayar was also a breakout artist for me and “Just My Luck” was great. Other notable artists include Antony Szmierek (as recommended by Tracy Thorn of Everything But The Girl), LE SSERAFIM (which quenched our K-Pop thirst in light of NewJeans’ legal troubles).

But this was also the year of .brat and it did pretty well in my personal charts (and so did everyone’s). Clairo, of course was a crowd favorite, even for performative males (Am I one?). Then there’s Ice Spice. I’ve come to realize that I’ve also discovered a lot of music by way of TikTok.

What about new stuff from the old? I was happy to see Jensen Sportag release a new album. TWICE is just prolific and consistent at this point (I’m still a huge fan!). And wow Justice? I enjoyed that too.

Overall, I was pretty happy with last year’s haul. I think my listening stats were a clear indication of that (considering that I didn’t really have much opportunities to listen to music - like training for a marathon).

Gaming

It’s kinda hard to top 2023 as a gaming year. It was just the most amazing year in such a long time. I had such a fun time playing Diablo IV (despite all the issues around launch) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

I already made a reference to it in the previous year’s entry and here I am, officially confirming that Baldur’s Gate 3 was a moving, epic and glorious gaming experience. I’m sharing here an excerpt from my Media Diet journal entry in August.

Baldur’s Gate 3 - PC - I finally finished this wonderful game on the last day of July. Now that I’m finally here (and killed the Netherbrain a.k.a. the Absolute), I find myself struggling to find the right words to properly honor this game. And it’s not just hype, I promise. This was a game that gave me memories of my adventures spread across multiple acts. This also marks my first encounter with turn-based games and by extension, Dungeons and Dragons lore (really rich, fun and confusing). I loved everything about this game and no micro transactions were killed in the process. Just like Zelda, I don’t think I’ll enjoy another play through like my first but God, what an adventure this has been. I genuinely cared about my party and was emotionally invested in my relationships. I also liked that this game gave me enough of a challenge, especially with those boss fights that felt impossible at the start. A rich community of helpful people helped me solve these problems. I’d love to play this again with friends. But who? (A)

And I stand by this review! This was truly glorious and I was really sad that my first playthrough ended (and I never played another one after that). I don’t know if I’ll find another game like this and I did try by downloading “Divinity: Original Sin 2” by the same studio and I just ended up playing some casual games like Squad Busters by Supercell. I also had a brief affair with Palworld but it just felt too silly and grindy for me.

At this point, I just wish that I could find more time for gaming since it’s such a great form of escape. But as with a lot of things, life just happens and I’d be thankful if I can actually find myself in these worlds. But wow, it would be fairly hard to top 2023/24 for gaming.

Tech & Productivity

I kept my personal tech at manageable levels in 2024 and the closest thing I had to a “new” thing my Oura Ring, which has greatly impacted my life in so many ways. Not only did I managed to improve my sleep (starting in September), it also managed to convinced me to really keep my alcohol consumption in check (see above). My relationship with these sleep and fitness trackers go way, way back and for the first time in history, I think I’m ready to ditch my Fitbit after more than a decade of using it.

Other than that, no work laptops were placed, my gaming rig remained the same and I even kept things slow with random Lazada/Shopee and Temu electronics. But I did upgrade my phone to the then latest Titanium iPhone 16 Pro since I’ve been taking a lot of photos with my phone anyway.

So it all boils down to software and I logged 2,113 hours logged across my laptop and gaming PC (sadly, Rescuetime still can’t do a decent job logging iOS device time - but it was definitely a lot!) of which 1,367 hours were productive followed by 426 distracting hours (the rest were neutral).

This whole journaling business has gotten out of hand, with me spending 266 hours on Day One, which remains to be my most used app. I don’t even know what I’m trying to get from this since it does occupy a big chunk of my day (well, as long as I spend more time running than writing I guess?). This was followed by Microsoft Teams at 247 hours which makes a lot of sense. Other interesting numbers include 80 hours on my email client (it’s still Airmail), 65 hours of Viber (which is still mostly work-related) and 80 hours on Notion.

Twitter, now called X took a major hit and nobody’s surprised. From spending 177 hours in 2023, it was greatly reduced to a measly 37 hours after the great Twitter exodus of 2024. It’s really sad what happened there and I do have a lot to say about it. Sadly, this void was filled by Facebook at 117 hours and I also have to quit that too.

Other curious things include 63 hours on managing my to-do list (it’s still Teuxdeux) and 38 hours on my EMBA. So yeah, I actually started a purely online and unconventional postgrad degree in the form on Quantic School of Business’ Executive MBA program (which I started in September).

Looking Ahead

I officially finished this entry on December 27, 2025 and it just feels weird to write this section for obvious reasons. I’m beginning to actually revisit all of these commitments as I get older and life becomes more and more complicated (one would argue that it’s just getting more “nuanced”). But it’s just life happening, I guess?