30 things to do in 2015

Now that we have rung out the old year and rung in the new one (hopefully with all your 10 fingers still intact because you were law-abiding citizens and didn’t explode a single firecracker but made noise with only pots and pans, or with lung power), it’s time to take stock of the situation and what we plan or hope to do during the next 365 days.

Here are my usual unsolicited tips of at least 30 things to do:

Unload excess emotional baggage. Travel light and continue on the journey of life with a smile.

Learn to say no; don’t be guilty, it won’t really hurt.

Give your sweetest smile to the person who doesn’t seem to like you for something that you don’t know what. As they say, kill people with kindness.

Discover how much more fun it is in the Philippines by visiting local tourist spots before those in foreign shores.

Suffering from tired muscles and the aches and pains that come with, ehem, growing older? Consult Reynoldo Sta. Maria, clinic director and myotherapist at MsSquare Myotherapy & Rehab Clinic (7A Granada St., New Manila, Valencia, Quezon City; call 470-8476/546-3311/0917-5053655).

Take at least 10,000 steps a day. According to health experts, it’s good for your heart.

Read one best-seller every month.

Don’t patronize pirated films and music. Industry people have been complaining that piracy has been adversely affecting legitimate business.

The 2014 Metro Filmfest is good until Jan. 7, so you have more than enough time to watch the entries.

Careful when taking a cab; make sure that you get the name and plate number. Get off when you see an “air freshener” because it might be a sleep inducer.

Treat your family and friends to a meal at the newly-opened Pamana restaurant (owned and managed by Happy Ongpauco) at Mother Ignacia St., at the back of ABS-CBN. Yummy home-cooked food!

Collect photographs and published articles (if you’re a writer) in neat scrapbooks. It’s therapeutic.

Meditate at either the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel (on Hemady St., Quezon City) where the pink sisters are or at the adoration chapel of St. Paul’s Church (off Timog Avenue, also in Quezon City).

In your free time, watch old films on DVD (not pirated) and relive those easy/happy bygone days.

Don’t be onion-skinned. If you get bashed, simply shrug it off. Looking good and being cool is the best revenge.

If you get the chance (which I doubt), have a selfie with Pope Francis. Best alternative is doing it beside a Pope Francis standee displayed in churches around the country.

 Visit priest-healer Fr. Joey Faller’s Kamay ni Hesus Shrine in Lucban, Quezon, and stay at the Noah’s Ark Inn.

Want to have a new pair of glasses? See Dr. Vivian Sarabia, The Eyewear Specialist of the Stars, at her clinics (one of them at the third floor of Megamall).

Be vigilant. If you notice a suspicious character near you, call the emergency police number 117.

If you still don’t have one, find a lover (hehehehe!!!).

Educate the household help about the modus operandi of dugo-dugo gang, and to make sure they know who’s knocking before opening the gate.

Patronize our own, whether consumer products, concerts, music or films.

Bear in mind the popular Age of Aquarius line: Make love, not war!

Text people you love inspirational messages to perk up their day.

Give street children food instead of money. Remember, who gives himself with his alms feeds three, himself, his hungering neighbor and Me.

Be a Kapanalig/Kaibigan. Watch shows of the Kapatid, the Kapuso and the Kapamilya.

Have a bowlful of Chicken Mami plus bola-bola siopao special at Ma Mon Luk (on Quezon Avenue, Quezon City). Or Chinese food at Ha Yuan (on Mother Ignacia St., Quezon City, near St. Paul’s Church).

Don’t drink when you drive; don’t drive when you drink. Also, stop using your celfone while driving. The life you save may be your own.

Continue watching Startalk, The Showbiz Authority, Saturday afternoons on GMA, and get crispy showbiz items (fresh from the “oven”).

And, of course, read The STAR (“from cover to cover”) where the “Truth Shall Prevail.”

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