Jan 1, 2025

New Year's started pretty great. I counted down with my family members on the rooftop (as we've done for the past few years) and I just kept taking photos of everyone. I took a lot of admittedly good photos of everyone and my cousins thankfully had AirDrop so I immediately sent them their pics. We all went back to the living room after taking photos and admiring the fireworks. We played games afterward but, initially, only my cousins played. I was too busy trying to get a "karaoke machine" working by using a Bluetooth speaker and my phone, even trying another phone and using an AUX connection instead of Bluetooth, but both attempts were to no avail. My sister also joined it to help. The latency was just bad and we couldn't properly hear our voices, so my sister and I gave up on doing karaoke for the night. I just continued to take videos of our family members playing games and they seemed to really enjoy it, so that was fun to see. I got to join in for Pinoy Henyo but all of the items I got were really difficult to guess since they revolved around Filipino actors and actresses, which I honestly don't know much about. After that, I chipped in to add 300 Pesos more (for a total of 500 Pesos) to help fund the next game which was just Pinoy Henyo again and it was difficult for me again. I don't mind losing anyway as long as the money goes to someone else. And after that, I just continued eating the Jollibee palabok and liempo. I also ate some leche flan before eventually going into my room and going on IG to see what my friends were up to. I talked to Naomi for a while and she gave me hints that seem obvious, but I'll hold off on my thoughts for it. I talked to my other friends as well and sent my New Year's greetings. I also wished LK a happy new year, as always. I passed out shortly afterward and I had the worst dream about someone. I actually dreamt of seeing them again and, even though it was only a dream, I could feel my heart hurt. I don't remember much but I dreamt of them being involved with another guy while I was on a beach/island with them and it was just a really horrible dream to have. When I woke up, I couldn't believe the dream I had. Even though I really don't care who they get involved with, I guess some part of me still worries and cares. I got up from bed and ate some food for a while. I watched the first two episodes of Squid Game Season 2 with my cousins, aunt, and Mom (who glanced for a bit) and I'm glad they're gripped by the story. Since I've watched the show in its entirety, I just gave out small hints without spoiling everything. Eventually, we all had to leave and go do our own things, with our family preparing to leave for a walk to BGC. When my mom and sister told me that we were going to walk there, they weren't joking. We started our walk from Libingan ng mga Bayani to Bonifacio High Street - Central Square, passing by Bayani Road and Venice Grand Canal. It was a record-breaking walk for me, we spent several kilometers just walking and talking while on the way. My Mom was really serious about getting us into shape and they agreed that they would help me buy an Apple Watch today, which was honestly great because I wanted to get it for my birthday. (Of course, I could buy one myself once my next salary arrives, but that was 2 weeks away.) We spent some time inside BGC Central Square, and got some gelato at Venchi. We took a lot of photos and I made a joke about how "gelato" is a word rich people use while we commoners use "ice cream" and it got a laugh out of my sister and my Mom. We then went to Muji upstairs and I got matcha while my sister and Mom browsed around the store. After that, we had to buy my Apple Watch. We stopped by Beyond the Box, which was actually just a servicing/repair center that didn't sell any devices, and then we went to Digital Walker at One Bonifacio High Street. At first, I was having trouble picking which color to choose from. I had 3 options: jet black, silver aluminum, and rose gold. I was initially set on getting the "rose gold" option even though my Mom thought it was too pink and girly, and I just told them that my iPhone is also kind of pink because of the "desert titanium" color. Ultimately, I settled on silver aluminum since it fits well with most of my outfit choices. ### So, yeah, I got it! I got an Apple Watch Series 10! I got the 46mm version, too, which fit well on my wrist. After that, I initially set it up before we ate at Goobne Philippines which was on the same floor. They didn't know what to eat and I suggested Korean fried chicken instead. We ordered this huge plate of Korean chicken with cheese in the middle, but it took a while before we actually got it. In the meantime, I'm exploring my Apple Watch and setting it up (despite the shoddy Internet connection). I also looked at the different TVs in the restaurant and some of them were playing Girls' Generation music videos. I was so happy seeing so many of their MVs playing, and it's actually been a while since I've seen those MVs myself. I pointed those out to my sister and the other table also noticed the Girls' Generation videos playing. I even overhear them talking about a B-side from Girls' Generation. We then got our order and it was served in a bowl that had a big amount of cheese in the middle. I have actually never seen anything like it before and it was pretty impressive seeing the cheese melt in the middle of the pot. Then a server came up and wrapped the melted cheese in front of the chicken for us and it was the most surprising thing I've seen in a restaurant yet, despite all the fancy dinners and meals I've had before. I don't think I ever had a server prepare my food tableside before, so that was another first as well. My sister loved the chicken and, while I... not so much. I actually surprised my Mom because she thought that I didn't like it, even though I think I like it. What shocked me the most was that I barely had anything all day and even walked several kilometers just to not feel hungry. Maybe it was the gelato earlier or the overabundance of food from the night before, but my appetite was not there. We ordered the rest for take-out and then left One Bonifacio. We stayed at the Kuube bench for a while and I got to play some songs. We booked a ride home and everything ended well. I was able to use a Ben 10 Omnitrix picture as my watch face, same as my old Samsung one, and I felt really good and excited to fully set up my Apple Watch when we arrived home. That wrapped up my New Year's Day.