What made 2022 a year to remember
It’s the end of 2022. All ready you might think? Indeed.
I’ve been writing the summary of the year across the months of November and December, my favorite time to get cozy and reflect on what has been lived through in a short 12 months.
Am I wiser? Am I healthier? Am I better in my pursuit of knowing myself and accepting more of what life provides? Have I been there for others as much as they have been there for me? Did I have fun? Have I had major moments of growth? Have I called or seen my family enough? This year was Tiger Year — my year based on Chinese Horoscope, so let’s get into it…
Here are 24 awesome things that happened in 2022.
What made the 2022 Epic:
- The year started with spending a lovely afternoon with my best friends in Lisbon and dipping into the very cold Atlantic Ocean with my besty Antonio! I smile every time I think about that day, but I cannot stress enough how great of a start that was. New Year's Day was awesome! I truly had a great start to 2022.
- Another gift that my dear Tony gave me last year was a record. Now, he knew I didn’t have a record player, but here I am today with not only a cool Sony Record Player but also a record collection of 65 records in just one year. A fun new hobby which is all thanks to Tony!
- In 2021, my sister asked me to curate the latest Style Cards for her business, which included me coming up with ten design trend themes, choosing artist work across multiple creative disciplines, and receiving over 200 creators' approvals to be part of the release. In 2022, The Style Cards were released. I’m proud of the curation that we achieved here!
4. In February, we experienced the legendary Revenge of the 90s party with a few friends and colleagues. Now I must say, there was a lot of plastic and a bunch of balloons.
5. In February I also took my first trip of the year — this time to Barcelona to visit the Mobile World Congress. I met us with few colleagues out there and boy did we have fun. We eat paella, went to see a cool street art exhibition (including work by Guillermo Lorca Bansky, Infinity Room), eat a lot of tapas, and ran to Barcelona Basicila with Darragh who nearly killed me. Some amazing memories!
6. New Apartment. I made a brave step to change my living space this year. It honestly was possible because of my incredible friends' support — from Antonio to Laura and Gio. Thank you, guys! It has not been an easy experience at all, but rewards were slowly creeping in. My friends know how long it has taken me to decorate the space, especially getting a table, but it’s a process that I thoroughly appreciated never less.
7. April till June was all about life transitions and the journey was way more enjoyable because of my friends. So many random happenings. From going to vegan restaurants to walking Lisbon streets at night, from spending every Tuesday for three months at Roccos with my buddy Tony, to long drives in my car, to trying every single workout class in town with my friend Gio, as well as attending Lisbon Fashion week. Going to meetings with my friend Ana Luisa to get my hair done. #greateful
8. In March, my mama visited me in Lisboa. I was incredibly grateful for her visit. We had a great time walking around, seeing some nature, and getting massages and facials done. As one does.
9. Tony, Tony, Tony! This was a very special day indeed. My dear Antonio turned 40! and he has never been the same guy ever since. 40th suits him very much.
10. Every day I had the pleasure to work with some of the most positive, creative, and wild people. We all came together in Lisbon to have a little team building by visiting the historic Academy of Science, playing lego, and ending up going on a boat trip across the river.
11. June included a trip to Toronto to produce Collision Conference and we started the countdown to our advernture of the year.
12. The second adventure of the year included a Trip To NEW YORK! The last time I was in New York City was in 2018, straight post-New Orleans. This was my first visit after the pandemic and I miss the vibes of the city a lot. We took a trip from Toronto via Seraquisse and Albany for us to greet the big apple with excitement. What a trip it has been! We went to Comedy Central, my friend Stephen Batista invited us to filming of Seth Meyers Show, and I won a chess game at central park! My prize was Grace Jones vinyl.
13. Wedding of Ana and Willy 2nd July. One of the most beautiful couples I know. This day was incredibly beautiful. I was super happy that my friend Ines Guimares helped them to organise the whole day and it was a very fun wedding.
14. Some of Summer highlights included: Guns and Roses Concert in Lisbon, Super bock Festival featuring ASAP Rocky, Watching Messi play against Benfica in the stadium, playing chess, watching a film in an open air cinema, taking a boat across the river for a sunset.
15. Spending precious time with my friend Ruth, firstly in Lisbon and secondly as part of her wedding in London! Big thanks to Ruth for encouraging me to start dating again.
16. Happening of 12th July 2022. #Grateful
Dim Sums, Discovering Ericeira, Estromaz, Chefs on Fire, Imminent Festival, Russel Peters at Tivoli, Ying Yang Tree House, Quita da Comporta, running, bowling, movies, chess, football.
17. The Third Trip Adventure of the year included a trip to RIO!
In August for the very first time in my life, I went to southern hemisphere. I visited Brazil and what I trip it has been! From flying a helicopter across Rio, to being escorted with police escorts to see Flamenco playing against Sao Paulo team in the legendary Maracana Stadium, to seeing a sunset at the Christ the Redeemer with exclusive private access for us the five of us. Lucky beyond belief!
18. Padel Tournament Adventures w/ Ricardo.
I started a padel club in April 2021 and for the past two years we have been playing padel every Friday without a fail. My buddy Ricardo and I signed up to a local padel tournament, and we managed to get to the final! We came in second, but we were very happy to make it that far. Great fun!
19. Web Summit delivery! What a team, great production quality, fun challenges.
20. I was featured in Time Out Portugal this year.
21. I also met the good People of Lisbon team and spent a bit of time with them during Web Summit. They were a dash under pressure to make a video, but it was really quite a fun experience. Here is an article and a video from our hanging out session:
Also, a lovely article about our time together is written here.
22. My Birthday Celebration by playing murder mystery game. Love this night! I will never forget the amazing table tinder gift my friends gifted to me. Thank you Laurita, Tony, Gio, Summer, Riccardo.
23. Early December was spent watching some of the best 80’s comedy films. My full list of 2022 best of list is available here.
24. Spending Christmas with my family. Happy times :)
This year was challenging and difficult, but I went through it by being surrounded by the best people around me. Thank you for making my life fulfilling! I’m looking forward to spending some great moments in 2023 together.
