Looking Forward to 2009

I am excited about the coming 2009. I feel 2009 will be the year. 2008 was a year of mixed blessings. Yes, they were all blessings, despite the stresses and obstacles. But I feel 2009 will be a better year. I think though that the final months of 2009 will be quite unstable and ambigious as of the moment. I will be coming upon another crossroads in my life come October of 2009.

Nevertheless, a lot of things are going to come my way this 2009 and although I don't want to pre-empt them, I believe that if one is very determined to have things for himself, he needs only a little bit of faith.

1. Palawan Trip - my wife's family is planning a reunion in Puerto Princesa come April. By some coincidence, the Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines texted me a few weeks ago informing me in advance that the next AMHOP National Convention will be in Palawan on April 28 - May 1, 2009 at the Legend Hotel. It will be my first time to go to Palawan.

2. HLMP Training Module 2 - I am not yet even sure if I will be re-accepted in the HLMP series for Module 2 but in case I will be accepted, it will be another travel opportunity. There was some speculation that it will be in Palawan (for the Visayan Group) but I am not sure if HLMP will proceed with the "plan" for Palawan. Besides, I have already booked myself for Palawan with AMHOP.


3. DTTB 34th an 35th CME - well, especially the 35th CME because it will be my final DTTB CME. The last time I heard the 35th CME will be either in Bohol, Cebu or Ilocos. I would prefer Bohol against Ilocos. The journey to Ilocos will be very taxing, considering that we graduating DTTB's will be taking with us our "props" for our gallery presentation.

4. Candoni Activities - I have already laid out my plans for 2009 for Candoni's RHU. I have set February as our Heart Month and have already prepared more activities compared to the last time. April will be Child and Mother Month in line with Garantisadong Pambata Round 1. June will be Dengue Month and this time, schools will be actively involved through the Community Health Allies and Reform Team which we organized. August will be Lung Month and the focus will be more on PTB and anti-smoking. Of course, October will be my final month with Candoni.

5. "Family Investment" - I feel that by the end of the year, we will be able to accomplish our "Family Investment", a special project which my family and I are currently planning.

6. Rien Goes to Grade 1 - My eldest son will be entering Grade 1 by June 2009 and hopefully he gets to enter the alma mater of his dad.

7. Christmas of 2009 - will definitely be one of our best Christmases.

Happy New Year everyone!