I am Ulyssa Elaine - Travel, Food and Lifestyle Blogger: personal

What a year it has been! Thankfully, today is the second day of the year, 2019. I would like to look back at the best, worst and most significant moments of the year, and look forward to this year 2019.

With that in mind, I'll be sharing my 2018 highlights.

Owned a Best Seller Specs Reagan in Rose Gold - January

I started wearing eyeglasses last 2017. From 50/75 vision, it turned out to be 100/100 with astigmatism this 2018. I won't be surprised because of the nature of my job (constant exposure to gadgets such as laptop and mobile phone).

I'm still hesitant to try out Lasik eye surgery just like what my sister went through but I won't consider it from now. I don't think it will be worth it due to the nature of my job. I will give it a try when I get older or if I will change my career.

Travelled to Hong Kong and Macao - February

My mom and I have been to Hong Kong when I was 18 years old (we celebrated my debut there). Eight years after, we went back and we were complete. My dad and my sister were with us.

Last February was our 1st out-of-the-country trip sponsored by me, yours truly. 😁

Sold out my first Honda Jazz car - February

I love our family car so much but it's time to let it go and move on. I won't much elaborate on why we sold it. I'm still thankful that my childhood dream came true even though it was a short one. 💖

I'm not closing doors and I'm looking forward to own and have my 2nd car soon.

First time to be a Speaker in a Tech Event - February

It was an unexpected one. I was invited to speak in 1st Swift Ladies Meetup (Philippines). I was one of the speakers though. Never I imagined that I will speak in front of people (because I'm introvert) and talked about tvOS app development. Thank you SwiftPH for trusting me. 👌

First time to watch PyroMusical competition - March

Thank you Eunice, my sister, because she won 5 event tickets. I've been wanting to experience it since 2013 and it came true. Thank you also to my aunt and my uncle for the support.

Travelled to Taiwan - April

This trip was a memorable one! Imagine traveling with family of 10. We experienced bipolar weather when we got there. It was cold on the first day. On the second day, it was very hot and sunny. On the third day, it rained so hard. On the fourth and fifth day, it was windy.

MY LONG-TIME DREAM CAME TRUE - May

I won't elaborate this one because it's a secret for now. I will reveal this on May 2019 so watch out for that.

Got a new iPhone - June

I was torn if I will purchase iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X. In the end, I chose iPhone 8 Plus and will wait for stabilized Face ID.

Watched KZ Tandingan's first concert "SUPREME" - June

It was my first time to watch a concert in a Lower Box portion (I watch concert once in a blue moon). Congrats KZ! I love her voice... 👏

My 26th Birthday - August

Haha! I'm not afraid to reveal my age on my blog because I'm not ashamed of it.

I had many plans prior on my birthday but I chose to have a simpler one. Simple lunch and simple dinner with family are the best, right? 💞

Invited as a Speaker in the school's IT event - August & September

If you will be invited by your former school to be a speaker, will you say no? For me, it's an honor.

I was invited last August 29, 2018. I was updated last September 1 that the seminar will be on October 13. It's Saturday so I'm really available and I won't need to file a VL for that.

A week after (September 7), the seminar will move on November 9. I have to check my schedule and then I filed a VL for that.

A week after (September 13), the seminar will move on November 16 because of the Sports Fest. I cancelled my VL and filed another date.

October 1, I was given a heads up that the final date will be on November 14 because they have to prioritize other department for the venue. I then cancelled my VL and filed another date.

I still became optimistic on the upcoming event.

ACHIEVED ONE OF MY GOALS - October

Again, I won't elaborate on this one. Huh? What the heck I'm sharing this but I won't mention it. By the way, it feels so good to achieve your goal one step at a time.

Heartbreaking sequence of events - November

After my sister's birthday, we had a family (including uncle, aunt, cousins, etc) dinner at Tagaytay. After that day, my uncle died due to heart attack. It was very painful to my family.

I also cancelled my scheduled event. Due to the emotional breakdown, I felt sorry for my Alma Mater school because I really can't go to be the speaker on the IT event. It was a roller coaster ride experience. I felt that I'm not a professional individual. I put myself down. It was a depressing one.

Then, I reflected to the past events. Maybe it's not meant for me. Maybe God put me in this situation to test me, whether I will choose my family or will I go on my own (so called professionalism).

Featured in Acienda Designer Outlet's Facebook and Instagram page - December

Thank you Acienda for including me on chic and stylish shoppers! 👸 It's been a while since I fix and style myself.

How about you? How's your 2018?

Wednesday, January 02, 2019 No comments

I was inspired to post this entry when I read it (same title) from the blog of Clarisa. So what happened to me for the past 25 years? What did I achieve for the past 25 years?

Photo taken last January 2017

One.

I graduated a Bachelor's degree at the age 19 with no failed grades. But I was not a Cum Laude, either. I whole-heartedly dedicated this to my parents for their never ending love and care for me. Thank you so much! 😉

Two and Three.

I got my first job when I was 19, too. Although, I got regularized when I was 20 years old.

Four.

Travelled alone (without my parents) but I was with my relatives: aunt, cousins and nephews when I was 21 years old. We went to SG and Malaysia for 1 week last February-March 2014. This countries were the first 2 countries I travelled using my own money.

Five and Six.

Driver's License - Got my student permit when I was 21 years old, too. After 3 months, I applied for a non-professional license, which makes me feel happy that I can now drive legally.

Seven.

Own a car - When my family bought a car, they transferred it under my name so I can say it's my own car (even though I didn't buy it). I make it a habit to register it on time and to have a yearly maintenance.

Eight and Nine.

Travelled with my sister (without our parents) to South Korea for 1 whole week! It was our first time to do it and I was a bit afraid at first. Good thing, we were able to manage it and we survived!

We had a chance to experience skiing in Pyeongchang province in South Korea. Alpensia Ski Resort will be one of the venues of 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. I was very glad that me and my sister went there before the said event.

Ten.

First time to sponsor our family trip at Puerto Princesa, Palawan. My family really enjoyed this and they are looking forward for our next year's travel to HK and Macau. Yey!

Eleven.

Bought myself life insurance policies. This thing is a must. We need to secure our future for our loved ones.

Twelve.

I have watched more than 20 K-dramas for the past 3 years. I posted it on my blog.

Thirteen.

Enrolled myself in a 40-hour Mandarin class at Makati. Currently, I'm studying French, Spanish and Japanese using Duolingo app. I posted this on my blog.

Fourteen.

Had a chance to watch Super Junior concert in SM MOA Arena last 2013. Super Junior was my favorite K-pop band when I was 4th year high school. It was a great experience.

Fifteen.

Climbed in a mountain, Mt. Pico de Loro. It was a nice experience that we were able to try it but sorry, I won't do it again. It's very risky and really exhausting. Maybe sometime in the future I will try it again.

Sixteen and Seventeen.

Attended IT events in the country: DevCon Summit 2013: #MobileDevNBeyond and GDG DevFest Philippines 2016. I have attended also code camps before but currently, I'm not active on attending such events.

Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty and Twenty-one.

Visited the famous amusement parks in Asia: HK Disneyland (2010), HK Ocean Park (2010), Universal Studios SG (2014) and Lotte World (2016).

Twenty-two.

I'm continually share my blessings to my family. I really don't want to enumerate all of this because they already know what I usually do. I can say that they are proud of me. Thank you.

Twenty-three and Twenty-Four.

Opened up a blog in 2013 and bought a domain name last year (2016). I didn't establish a blog to brag about the things that I achieved. Hence, I want to show the world, to the universe rather that there's life beyond about me. Me: a nerd, skinny, studious, quiet, home-school-home, home-work-home person. That's why the name of the blog is I AM ULYSSA ELAINE. 😉

Twenty-five.

As of the moment, I never applied for a credit card. How did I book my online tickets? Using BDO debit card. How did I book my accommodation? Using BPI e-Prepaid card. It works like a credit card but the difference is you have to load it. I was able to manage my finances a lot because of this. That's the power of technology. 😉

» March «

» April «

» May «

» June «

» July «

» August «

» September «

» November «

» December «

About me

Featured Posts

Subscribe via Bloglovin'

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

Blog Stats