Coincidence? Nah. 2011 was good for me.

On New Year's Eve, I went to the grocery to buy a few things. And guess what -- my bill added up to PhP 1,111.11! No bull. The year 2011 was a very good one for me and considering my birthday was sort of unique as it was on 11/11/11. The lady next to me in line offered to buy the receipt. I thought about it for a moment then said, "Sure. Is PhP10,000 okay?" I must have overstated its value. She didn't get it. Hahaha. But I did keep the receipt. As far I know the winning lotto number wasn't anywhere near this.

2011 was memorable for me

Going to Kuwait and Dubai * Seeing the Azkals grow into a phenomenon * Watching Liverpool in Malaysia * Teaching in Ateneo de Manila University for a second straight year * Getting to do television work on AKTV * Doing a regular podcast with some great friends * Patched up a bunch of broken relationships * Ditching my comic books for trade paperback and hardcover collections * Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba's Daytripper * Watching Marvel finally do a Captain America film justice * Katy Perry * The Walking Dead Season One * Pearl Jam 20 * Denden Lazaro * Ateneo Blue Eagles' four-peat * The Big Bang Theory * X-Men First Class * Broken Social Scene in Singapore * iPad 2 * Steve Jobs * Top Chef * Mark Waid on Daredevil * The Los Angeles Galaxy go to Manila * 

Loving Pearl Jam's 20

There are a couple of albums that I play at least once a month: The Boxer Rebellion's Union, Counting Crow's August and Everything After, Zwan's Mary Star of the Sea, and Pearl Jam's Rearview Mirror. Although I came of age with the punk and new wave scene of the 1980s, I have always preferred the 90's alternative music explosion. I was a huge Nirvana, Helmet, and Oasis fan then. I liked Pearl Jam but not in the way I do since the turn of the century. I sort of outgrew Nirvana (I still listen to Nevermind occasionally) and listening to the lyrics of Eddie Vedder really grew on me. When I first heard of Cameron Crowe doing "20" I was excited. Music has played a prominent role with his films and this one was the opposite because the music came first before the film. I picked up both the DVD and CD and spent hours listening and watching both. The songs remain as powerful as ever. Will grab the hardcover coffee table book in a few days. That will complete the experience.