The countdown to 2007 has begun, to culminate at midnight tomorrow with the usual explosions (the harmless ones, let’s keep our fingers crossed...Hmmmm, count them and make sure you still have 10 in both hands after you have exploded those Super Lolos and those Sinturon ni Hudas).
Here are the first 30 of Funfare’s traditional "60 things to do" (the list is trimmed down from 100) in the next 365 days. (Clip page and paste on bedroom wall as reminder.)
1. Sleep early. Remember that early to bed and early to rise makes Juan healthy, wealthy and wise.
2. Treat your friends and family to a hearty meal (burp, burp, burp!!!) at Charlemagne Lim’s Little Asia restaurant (one on Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City, and a branch at the Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila).
3. Spend solemn moments at the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel on Hemady St. (near E. Rodriguez Ext.), Quezon City, with the Pink Sisters. (You loved Joseph even more after you saw how lovingly he was portrayed in The Nativity Story, didn’t you?)
4. Have your vision checked at any of the several outlets of Vivian Sarabia’s Sarabia Optical Clinics (one in Megamall).
5. Flash a bright smile at the neighbor you have been ignoring all these years when you bump into him in the morning. Remember that a smile a day drives the blues away.
6. Make it a habit to take Maxillium fiber (available at Watson’s outlets, distributed by my fellow Waray Alex Tan’s company)) as often as needed so you won’t be straining too hard in the bathroom in the morning. It makes you feel light and easy. (For inquiries, call 533-8988, 533-8986 or 533-9228.)
7. Drink as much water as you can to flush out toxins in your system.
8. Take time out to, as they say, smell the flowers and appreciate a bright new day.
9. Having problems with your skin, excess poundage and the like? Drop by at any of the outlets of Dr. Vicki Belo’s Belo Medical Group.
10. Exercise. Remember that to be considered fit, you have to take 10,000 steps per day. Ask Oprah (she does it!).
11. Having any blood-sugar problem (at risk of becoming diabetic)? Consult Dr. Wilson Lim (diabetes specialist) at his clinics at Metropolitan Hospital (Masangkay St., Binondo, Manila), FEU Hospital (Fairview, Quezon City) or St. Luke’s Medical Center (also in Q.C.).
12. Take time out to collect those loose photos in an album or those clippings in a scrapbook. It can be "therapeutic." Try it!
13. Hie off to Raymond Ong’s Panglao Island Nature Resort in Panglao, Bohol, with an ambience so serene that you could hear yourself think and thus have a chance to take stock of your life.
14. Read Mitch Albom’s new (third) novel For One More Day (after Tuesdays with Morrie and Five People You Meet In Heaven). It will make you long for your mom (especially when she’s gone for good) and make you cry and cry. (Ask Charo Santos-Concio who soaked the pages with copious tears while reading the book.)
15. As The STAR Entertainment Section keeps reminding you, "Relax and enjoy; see a movie."
16. Get a foot-and-back massage at Mercy T. Ong’s MTO Reflexology Clinics (one on Timog Ave., Quezon City, and another one in Malate, Manila).
17. Avoid using your cell phone in public, if you can help it. Beware. The guy next to you could be a snatcher.
18. Watch a movie at the Gateway Mall at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City. Very cozy and very comfortable.
19. Having any dental problems? Drop by at the Achacoso Clinic (near the Timog-Morato Rotunda, Quezon City). Its patients include stars like Susan Roces and Francis Magalona.
20. Have your hair cut, your nails done, your sole scrubbed and your ears cleaned at the Gruppo Barbero (the one on Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City, owned by Atty. Aga, Drew Arellano’s dad). Its star clients include Troy Montero, Ricky Davao, Tonton Gutierrez, Jericho Rosales, Polo Ravales and Rep. Ace Barbers.
21. Practice rhythmic, deep breathing. It relieves stress.
22. Donate money or used (or even new) clothes and other useful things you don’t need to victims of calamities (like those in Albay, Marinduque, Samar, Ormoc, etc.).
23. Attend the healing Masses of either Fr. Corsie Legaspi or Fr. Joey Faller. (Watch out for the schedules which Funfare publishes every now and then.)
24. Spend a weekend at the Imperial Palace Suites (Timog-Morato Rotunda, Quezon City, landline 411-0116) which is within walking distance to all kinds of restaurants and QC’s entertainment spots.
25. Obey traffic rules.
26. Choose very carefully the candidates you will vote for in next May’s elections. Don’t vote for "crooks" (if you know what I mean.)
27. Visit The Healing Zone Clinic & Spa (Your One-Stop Wellness and Natural Medicine Center, at 34 Kalayaan Ave., Quezon City) for acupuncture and other stress-relieving treatments. After I discovered the Zone, I’ve stopped going to another clinic (because of an unpleasant experience) that promised an oasis of relief. For inquiries and/or apppointment, call landline 433-4261.
28. Don’t work too hard to avoid being stressed-out or getting sick. Remember that nobody is indispensable. Remember that there’s always somebody out there better than you are.
29. Watch Blood Diamond, the new Leonardo DiCaprio starrer (after a two-year respite) opening on Jan. 8 after the ongoing Metro Filmfest.
30. Keep on reading The STAR and watching Showbiz Stripped (on GMA late Saturday nights).
(Note: Watch for the last 30 "2007 to-do ideas" on Monday, Jan. 1, 2007.)