My 47th Birthday: What I Got, and What I Wished for

So. I just  turned 47.

Wait, what? Another article about my 47^th birthday?

Well… my blog… my rules?

Anyway… you can skip this if you’re tired of reading my posts about my 47^th. Next year, I’ll be posting  a lot more about my 48^th.

So yeah… forty-seven years old.

I keep saying it out loud like it’ll start making sense.

It doesn’t, really.

But here we are.

I’ve never been the type to make a big deal out of birthdays. For years, my tradition was simple… sleep through the day, wake up the next morning when it’s already March 7, and just pretend nothing happened.

No cake.

No party.

No fuss.

Just another day.

But this year felt different.

I started realizing that each year is not just a number.

It’s evidence.

Evidence that you survived.

That you kept going.

That you’re still here, still showing up, still trying.

I think I’m starting to understand that. Finally.

For those of us here in the Philippines, there’s also something cultural about it. We Filipinos love celebrating life. Kaya naman every birthday, every fiesta, every milestone, we find a reason to gather, to eat, to remember. Because we know that life is fragile, and the people around us won’t always be around forever. That’s why birthdays matter. Not just for the celebrant, but for everyone who loves them.

What the Day Actually Looked Like

My birthday this year fell on a Friday. March 6, 2026. And if I’m being totaly honest, it was a mix of really good things… and one big, quiet ache.

Let me just say that since I share a birthday with my nephew, Javi, my birthdays have been children’s parties. So, I get a bouncy castle too.

This’ll be the last year we’re sharing a kids’ party so… let’s see what next year’ll look like.

I also got to spend my night with this naughty little monkey, and we went to Jollibee to get Pokemon toys for his mom.

The Loot (What I Actually Received)

Here’s a quick breakdown of what came in this birthday:

Gift	From	What It Meant
Facebook greeting post	Davao Bloggers Society	Saw it, smiled, kept going
Davao Bloggers Society jacket	DBS (not really a birthday gift but hey…)	Finally. Finally.
3D printed pick case	Mitch (AcidRadius bandmate)	Small gift, big heart
Old pictures from classmates	Barkada from back in the day	The kind of gift that makes you thankful that you outgrew that awkward phase
A night on stage at The Commons MTS	AcidRadius + the universe	Honestly the best birthday gift

The DBS Jacket

Okay so I need to talk about this one for a second because I’ve been waiting for it for a while now.

I finally received my Davao Bloggers Society jacket.

Finally.

I’m treating it like a birthday gift.

I know nobody planned it that way.

I know nobody in DBS wrapped it and said “happy birthday Chip.”

But the timing… I mean, come on.

The jacket arrived a day after my birthday and I’m choosing to take that as the universe having good timing.

I didn’t even tell them it was my birthday.

But I did get a cool Facebook greeting post from the group, which I genuinely appreciated more than I expected to. Being recognized by your community, by fellow bloggers and creatives in Davao… that’s so cool when you’ve been at this for years.

The jacket is mine now.

And it means something to me.

The 3D Printed Pick Case from Mitch

My bandmate Mitch gave me a 3D printed pick case.

It’s a small thing.

A pick case.

But here’s the thing about small things from musicians to other musicians… they always mean more than they look.

Mitch knows I’m always losing picks.

Every guitarist does.

It’s practically a universal condition.

So a custom 3D printed case for them?

That’s thoughtful.

That’s “I actually thought about what you need.”

That’s the kind of birthday gift that makes you feel genuinely seen.

I love it.

Old Pictures from My Classmates

This one got me.

My classmates sent over old pictures… and I’m not going to lie, I had to just sit with those for a while.

Old photographs have this strange power. You look at them and suddenly you’re not 47 anymore. You’re back in that moment, in that classroom, in that year. You remember who you were before life happened.

It’s the kind of gift that doesn’t cost anything but is somehow priceless.

You know?

Oh no I’m not showing those here. No way.

The Night at The Commons MTS (This Was the Real Gift)

Okay. So. My band, AcidRadius, played the 90s Alternative Rock Night at The Commons MTS in Matina Town Square, Davao City on the evening of March 6. My birthday.

Big Boss Productions and The Commons MTS put the whole thing together and it was… it was something else. The lineup that night was High & Dry, Cotton Candy, AcidRadius (we were subbing for Stone Fade, actually), T2, and Loo’sid. Five bands. Real musicians. Real Davao music scene energy.

AcidRadius doing an all-covers set was unfamiliar territory for us. We usually play original material. But we got through it. Without a hitch.

And then the moment happened.

Giovanni Gaite of Soundtank joined us onstage to perform Down’s “Stone the Crow.” Down, for those who don’t know, is the New Orleans supergroup with Phil Anselmo of Pantera. NOLA, their 1995 debut, is one of those records. And “Stone the Crow” is one of those songs.

I’ve looked up to Giovanni for a long time.

A long time.

And sharing that stage with him, on my birthday… that was the first time I ever shared a stage with him.

And it was the best birthday gift I could have asked for from the music side of my life.

The crowd went wild.

For him.

I won’t forget it.

The One Thing I Wished For

The one thing missing that night… the one thing I actually ached for… was Margaux.

My wife.

She had to work. She couldn’t be there.

And I know it’s not her fault.

I know she would have been there if she could.

But standing on that stage on my birthday, and looking out at a crowd where she wasn’t… that was the quiet sadness underneath all the good things.

I love my wife so much.

More than I probably say out loud often enough.

Everything I’ve done up to this point, every job I took, every hustle I ran, every early morning I dragged myself out of bed for, was mostly for her.

To provide.

To be worthy of her.

I fall short so many times.

I know that.

But I never stop trying.

Margaux married me on February 20, 2020, right before the world changed. And through everything that followed, through all the hard years and the uncertain ones, she’s been there.

So when she’s not there… I feel it.

I wished, more than anything else that night, that she could have been beside me. Celebrating.

Laughing.

Just… there.

That was my one birthday wish.

Simple, and real, and the most important one on the list.

I love you, Margaux.

Always have.

Always will.

So. 47…

I won’t lie and say 47 feels like nothing. It feels like something. It feels like the halfway point between where I started and where I’m still trying to go.

I’m not the same person I was at 37. Or 27. And I’m genuinely, deeply grateful for that.

I still have a list of things I want.

• A Sulcata tortoise.
• A Donner Hush I guitar.
• A healthier body. More music.
• More writing.
• More mornings on the farm where things actually make sense.

But on this birthday, what I got was already pretty good.

A jacket from the Davao Bloggers SOciety.

A pick case from my bandmate.

Old photos from friends who remembered.

A stage shared with someone I’ve admired for years.

And one quiet wish that I’m carrying into 48.

Here’s to being 47.

Onwards to 48!