for norie and chito

i had a nice fun time last night.

it was one of the few moments that i really enjoyed since coming home on a emergency break. with norie, who was on a "lagare" -- being omnipresent in the hundreds of activities that she's involved in, and chito, who flew in from cebu-bohol trip, harrased, haggard and still hyper -- going out for dinner is not only enjoyable but memorable as well.

the fun began when we went to this japanese resto i recommended (i ate there last year and it was fine). the waiter serving us could have been a model for the naruto series or those dragonball z villains. plucked eyebrows, pasty skin and thin-ness kate moss would have been jealous of - he was apologizing all the time for what is not available in the menu. after two rounds of sashimi and getting the last order of the night, i thought that the food was not so spectacular at all. oh but the coversations we had were. (maybe because i was the one speaking most of the time... hmmm...norie?)

it started with a trip down the memory lane: norie bickering about the ONLY time she fed me in vanuatu, me complaining about her lack of food in her fridge (she only has tomatoes!!!!) and me going out to the market at 7 am on a sunday, chito giving me the dish on the latest happenings and of the fun times drinking kava. hayyy... missing na lang si bong. pero mabait kami because we were so kind not to have mutilated nonoy through our conversations.

following the dinner, norie wanted to have some wine (though she will have an early morning flight the next day) and INSISTED that we should go and join her. afterall, it was her post-birthday celebration. guilt-trip. we went into one of these al fresco bars and not finding wine, we ended up with san miguel light. more kwento. i don't know if it was the atmosphere or me being with my friends that, i felt so relaxed.

since it was norie's birthday, chito and i gave her some wishes -- which i will not reveal here. akala mo, ha? but seriously, i love these guys. i am thankful for them, for being them and for being there. they were with me through the tough and fun times, and through all those times when i really needed preynds. we may not see each other or talk with each other but i know, nandiyan lang ang mga yan. ang nagagawa nga naman ng kava!

happy birthday norie. salamat sa t-shirt, to-chits. sa susunod, mag bi-beer house tayo!

Think Thanks

I am touched.

I have never received as much emails as I did in the past two days... not the spams, not those nasty(!) porn pop ups, not the viagra ads or the increase your penis size ads. I received emails from friends! And I have had more than 80 visitors since I opened the blog.

Wait.... On the other hand that sounds a bit depressing. Does that mean that you guys also have the same crisis I have? hehe. Why not, most of us are almost on the same age (less) range. The fact is men are more prone to develop "crisis" than women. Yes, it is true that women loose their curves (most of them) after the third or fourth baby. Yes, it is true that women have temperaments like the weather because their hormones go bazonkas. Yes, it is true that women (in the Philippines, at least) find more meaningful things to do when they reach 30's and 40's: raising a teenage son/daughter alone coz she got pregnant when she was 15; enjoying the joys of shopping and travelling because she now owns her company; showing off a new pair of boobs or a washboard tummy thanks to her cosmetic surgeon; or they just involve themselves more with the local chapter of the Legion of Mary.

Men, on the other hand have to deal with the fact that by the time he reaches30, he would have lost half of his hair already. No toupees can cover the fact that your head appears like a landing strip in the midst of a jungle. Men also had to deal with the fact that they have been having the same position in the company for 15 years without having been promoted, or worst at woman with a Master's degree has seeped her way through the promotion ladder. And the worst part of this is the performance level behind the sheets. Of course that could now be remedied by Viagra, but would it be nice if you could rise to the occasion at the just the thought of sex?

It is actually a vicious cycle. Loss of self-esteem=doing stupid things=drinking alot of beer=doing stupid things=Loss of self-esteem. Thank God I am superior than this!

Of course, I have issues with my body. I was not blessed with a model frame so I look like an aging ewok in a teenager's body. I have age spots, beer belly, sagging neck and eyebags you can store coins in.

However, looking at some of my contemporaries, I felt I am blessed. I met an old friend from high school when I was in Iloilo once, and I couldn't recognize him.He was giving me the details as to how we have been in school together, copied (yes!) from me --- and then it occured to me that this is the high school bully! Well, look at you now -- big fat blob! We actually laughed about it - he'd better - I was treating him for beer that night.

I have had career questions but all vanished when I got totally immersed in the NGO work.

I have had love and relationship issues but I realized that with these good looks......

So when I learned that more than 80 of my friends (I don't know if I have that much friends) visited this blog, I felt touched and at home. I was actually hearing Regine's voice signing "You'll never walk alone" in the background.

And oh yeah, thanks for confirming that it is indeed pathetic to live up to this age without a partner.