
And just like that, it’s already February. By now, both New Years Days have already been celebrated, with most of the resolutions that have been made already broken or forgotten. 2025, the year of the wood snake is upon us and unless you are American, there is still hope that fortunes will change for the better for this calendar year.
The devotees of the Black Nazareno and Santo Nino have taken to the streets to renew and display their faith, with giant crowds, processions, street dancing, face painting, and even splashing water-based paint (hopefully) on each other.
Most of the country’s businessmen would have trooped to city halls and one-stop-shops to renew their permits by now, and after that, they’d be preparing their financial documents to deal with the BIR within a couple of months.
For those who regularly check on their health, the second month of the year could also serve as a reminder that a check-up or a visit to the laboratory is probably due. The sins of December excess should’ve been pissed or pooped away by now, hopefully giving the bloodwork slightly better scores.
Also coming up is Valentine’s Day, and lovers have less than two weeks to plan the perfect date and buy the most impressive gifts, because according to the modern mating rituals, they couples should have something nice to post on social media when the day arrives.
Aside from anticipating the day of hearts, February also means that we get a few couple of weeks of pleasantly cool weather, before the torment of the summer heat is unleashed all over the land. Personally, this is my favorite part of this time of the year, and it makes me wish that we could have it for a much longer time than what nature has given us. All we can do for now is enjoy the cool temperatures and pleasant breeze that allows the fashionistas to wear another layer and the homeowners to get away with not having to use air conditioning.
After hopefully more than two weeks, the weather will turn and we will have to face the inescapable wrath of summer. If it’s any consolation, our fickle school year is being changed back to its traditional setting once more, so it doesn’t seem like kids getting heat stroke in classrooms during the following months will be a problem again this year. Maybe they can now go back to spending the summer months indolently sweating at home, instead of doing it in a school uniform. This also means we are probably going back to the good old regular travel schedules. As for the kids, well they are going to lose a few school days due to the schedule shift, but after already losing so many days due to either extreme heat or wetness this school year, what’s another few days of no school? It strangely doesn’t seem to be that important anymore anyway.
While on the topic of school schedules, the 2nd month of the year is also a reminder for those with kids in senior high school to start looking at college entrance examination schedules, because quite a number of parents have been caught off guard by earlier-than-usual ones, just like the University of the Philippines last year, which held the UPCAT before some Grade 12 students had even started their school year. Such surprises can be avoided by starting the year aware and knowing what is coming up, especially if once-in-a-lifetime preparations have to be made for kids that are about to enter their university years.
As far as the weather is concerned, now would also be a good time to summer-proof homes and vehicles by having the aircons cleaned and checked while it is still relatively cool.
The first few months of an election year is also a good time to take a look at the local candidates in your area, while it is still early. Try to get to know them better, especially the local ones, so you know what they stand for or who they work for. Also take down the names of the premature campaigners and generators of trash, because those who cannot even follow the rules or keep clean the places that they claim to love and want to serve, surely cannot understand the meaning of public service.
Time marches on, and before we know it, 1/12th of 2025 has passed. Let us enjoy the cool weather while it lasts, because in a couple of weeks, the heat will start to become unbearable and before we know it, the first quarter of 2025 would’ve passed. All we can hope for is that we don’t waste too much time and don’t miss opportunities to live well.*