birthday gift FROM the birthday boy!

magkasunod lang kami ng birthday ng youngest bro ko and we usually celebrate together. but now since i'm based in davao and he's in makati and there's no way he's going to shell out money to mail me a gift (hehe), he decided to send me this instead:

happy birthday, wexy! ate wuvs you vewy much!

my cup runneth over

i will never tire of saying this...THANK YOU!

i feel absolutely overwhelmed by the love.

the first text message arrived shortly after midnight from chie2x, my guillergan cousin. followed by elly's--aba, ba't gising ka pa! nag-oktoberfest ka noh?!--and greetings also from che-che who was still probably walking through dumaguete boulevard at that hour.

all throughout the day, i was continually blessed by friends and family.

my silliman friends who through the years have remained loyal. mia, i was pleasantly surprised and utterly grateful :) sha-anne, whose birthday is tomorrow, never fails to call on my birthday, knowing i'll also be returning the favor on her own special day.

my PSID friends, kahit na minsanan na lang kami nagkikita, didn't forget. special thanks to joseff who texted all the way from US, and to gian who sent me an e-note even though he's just arrived in australia & is still probably groggy from the trip. "the stage committee"!!! i miss you guys! especially my baby chester :D

my PWC friends, maraming salamat din! naku, forever na toh! haha! reunion! bing, it's never too late...salamat sa effort :D

my bai 8...lukaret kayo pero talagang love nyo ako. special mention to chevas: bru, i miss you, i love you. thanks for calling all the way from dubai! mingaw gyud!!!

to the people of my heart and spirit, thank you. i am still a part of you, as you are of me.

sa mga loyalista ng pamilya namin, sa kalisud o ginhawa, thank you for the care and affection.

to alexis na nagra-raket sa sm bacoor kahit sunday, salamat at paki-lutuan mo ng birthday breakfast si rex tomorrow...wag na naman chorizo please! hahaha!

to eric, langga, thank you for remembering.

last, but definitely not the least, a big THANKS to my family...champion kayo! "merienda" daw, pero nauwi sa dinner at muntikan nang maging midnight snacks kundi pa umawat si tita helen, hehe. ang aking dakilang ina na talagang sobrang labor of love ang paghanda...parang party nya, hehehe. ang aking faderhood na ang tanging concern eh dapat may ice cream--para akong six years old pa. my cousins--kuya digs, cuz ai, amy, malou & adling--who prepared and cooked and even cleaned up, salamat, salamat, at isa pang salamat! ate marla & attorney, kahit na eat & run, may criselda's cake naman dala kaya ooookkay lang.

i may not have mentioned the name of every single person who remembered me on my day, but i know i thanked you earlier and i'm still thanking you now. you have made my life so much more meaningful!

i'm full of food, laughter, love, family, lasting friendships, and chocolate cake. thank You, Lord.

sentihan

i'm becoming more sentimental as my birthday clock ticks closer to the deadline. or maybe, it's just because a few of my friends are leaving.

R. (no, the other one) is leaving for sydney, gian is going to melbourne tomorrow, and my longtime friend nenen has decided to shift his whole life to brisbane. australia is kidnapping my peeps!

but i'm especially sad that nenen, aka eugene lapore, is packing up again. ever since we met on silliman campus, by way of our regional org, hijos de davao, he's been globe-trotting.

i was a transferee living on edith carson hall and he, darwin obeso (whom we prefer to call "doogie") and rigel suarez (now married to susan vista of Ang Pamana)--all seniors by then--were regular visitors.

my fondest memories of that trio almost always involved singing and music. harana was still uso in those days. it sounded so barok when i was still such a city girl, but when i transferred to silliman, it actually felt like a privilege to have such an experience.

i was living on the ground floor on the east wing so it was a simple matter of standing outside our window, strumming their guitar and serenading me and my room mates. birthday serenades are the best.

nenen, who was 6th place on the C.E. board, got a scholarship to japan and left shortly after he graduated. a few years later, he took his MA in germany, and now he'll be studying yet again in brisbane, as well as do part-time consultancy.

time is running by so fast, it's alarming. but i also feel grateful that even though so many things have happened, this bond that i have with these people hasn't waned the slightest.

net junkie

i've been online for over four hours now. my latest addiction is facebook.

my friend, mapet, invited me to sign up which i had repeatedly ignored. until one day she caught me at YM and insisted i try it out. feeling guilty, i did...and had been hooked since!

kapuuy

it's been a hectic week.

monday was like trying to catch a train. malou and i were scampering about, trying to cram everything that needed to get done before the day ended...to no avail.

tuesday found me all alone in the office. malou left for the puerto princesa familiarization tour. i was soooo envious! i've wanted to visit palawan since i was roomies with the padilla brothers. but we decided malou should have that chance to go.

wednesday was the start of my amadeus training. it was supposed to start at 9:30 a.m. but ten o'clock came and went and i was still frantically trying to finish all the called-in bookings. i eventually got to the training venue; but all through the day and until thursday, i'd slip out when i can to go back to the office and book flights.

friday came and so did malou, fresh from traversing through palawan potholes. it was supposed to be a holiday, eid'l fitr, but people did not seem to notice and kept calling about promos and tickets. we had no choice but to go to the office and bid relaxation goodbye.

it's saturday today and we usually are open only until noon. unsurprisingly, we had to do overtime.

i should be grateful for the steady trickle of business--and i am really! but i do wish we have competent staff on board to do the "dirty work" so malou and i can concentrate on marketing. as it is, this is a two-women operation. two exhausted women.

R...no, the other one, hehe

the ex-boy toy called.

i had to stare long and hard at my cellphone's lcd, just to check na 'di ako namamalikmata. but yep, it really was him.

it was not a very amicable parting of ways when i decided to come home for good (for now! hehe, can't resist adding that!). it's been more than a month since we spoke and i never really expected to hear from him again.

he was lamenting about his globe-trotting life--funny how he can never "get" my restlessness yet he's been the more laagan of us two--about how he misses me, that he's gonna visit me here after he gets back from feeding the koalas. to all i say char.

walang kwenta

it's a quiet saturday afternoon. i'm all alone in the office, twiddling my thumbs, staring into space, pretty much doing nothing of substance.

nakakalokaaaaa!!!!

papatulan ko na invitation ni tootsie to watch "i've fallen for you". eeew...i know. jologs. bwahahahahaha!