IN case you haven’t been informed and are now using an old but empty planner for 2024 because their Januarys are exactly the same, wait till you reach February. Good luck na lang. Haha.

2024 is a leap year. Meaning, it’s divisible by four. That’s the simple description. If you prefer the complicated one, learn about orbits and all that jazz.

So, if that old planner that you’re happy to find is not for a leap year, then, you still have to change all of its dates starting from March 1.

I have all these old and unused planners and have been using them instead of buying new ones. I’ve actually chosen one already for 2024 and had begun to change its dates. That was before I learned that the Cagayan de Oro Press Club was giving planners to its members. Yay! Saved me from all that trouble of editing the old planner.

Yes, I’m old school when it comes to my daily to-do list. I prefer writing them down in a planner instead of using the phone’s calendar.

Wait, I’m old school in almost everything because I’m, uh, old? When the 360-video-booth staff at Limketkai Luxe Hotel’s 10th anniversary wanted to transfer the vid to my phone via AirDrop, I gave her the absolute freedom to tinker with my phone because I didn’t even know my AirDrop name.

And this I discovered at the Luxe anniversary: I’m okay with standing for hours at cocktail parties while in two-and-three-fouth-inch heels—yes, I measured it. But once I start walking, it’s like learning to walk for the first time. Whew. Senior moment pa more.

Now, is falling asleep while watching “Gomburza” another senior moment? Since I slept through my History and Spanish classes, it was kind of natural for me to fall asleep while watching the film because it has both—lots of history and Spanish dialogue.

Being clueless about history can be a challenge when watching movies like “Gomburza” and even while touring, say, Europe.

When Paciano Mercado kept calling his younger brother as Pepe, I was like, Pepe as in Jose Rizal? What’s the connection? Juice colored.

No wonder Rizal said, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.”

And here’s Kenny Rankin again singing, “I have regrets, regrets.” For not staying awake during my History classes! Darn.

Amidst all the history that was unfolding then, the Mercado/Rizal family and their friends could have sung, “We are family/I got all my sisters with me/We are family/Get up everybody and sing.” Although it was more like, I got all my brothers, sisters, and friends with me, get up everybody and fight. Jose Rizal didn’t become Jose Rizal overnight. A series of the most important events in Philippine history shaped him into becoming a martyr and national hero.

Since “Gomburza” was too dark and sad, we opted to watch “Rewind” right after so at least we’d sleep with happy thoughts. But “Rewind” was perhaps even darker and sadder. At least we knew the ending of “Gomburza,” we were somehow prepared for it. But for “Rewind,” all we wanted was a happy ending.

What I need now is a “Gomburza” rewind by reading about Philippine history and watching the movie again.