for someone who has never hosted a real party in her entire life, i think i did well.

but then again, "doing well" for me may simply mean people showing up. and, thank god, people loved me enough to actually show up at my party.

mwah, mwah, mwah. thank you all for being there. out of the 50 who were there, i think only one or two actually read this blog, but i'm thanking them here nonetheless. you never know if they might actually stumble here to check themselves out.

and, incidentally, see that huge smile on my face? well, i stumbled - uhm, actually gay stumbled - upon a certain piece of information that's solved a lot of issues that has been bugging me for the last couple of months. i know that i can't really pin all my hopes upon that info and i know that i have no right to expect anything from what i've learned but i'm happy.

happy, and totally taking back EVERYTHING i've said about a certain boy.

well, ilang tulog na lang and i'll be signing the roll of attorneys. i know i've been going on and on about that and forgive me if i've been boring you with it but it's the official act that will make me a lawyer and i can't wait until that happens. more than finding out i've passed the bar, more than taking the lawyer's oath, THIS is IT (at the risk of sounding like barbra), THIS is THE MOMENT (at the risk of sounding like christian bautista) that i've been looking forward to.

well, that and my dad's arrival.

dad's arrival which will also herald the arrival of a coach bag. yes, an authentic coach bag. my parents are being generous and have finally bought me a coach bag.

anyway, thank you all again. love you all!

pass bar exam. check.

take lawyer's oath. check.

now i just have to sign the roll of attorneys and i'll be a full-fledged lawyer. can't wait.

finally, i have recovered from my trip to occidental mindoro. if i have slept on you while on the phone, zoned out while we were having a face-to-face conversation, or was generally unresponsive the last couple of days, i hope you'll understand that it's not you, it was me.

my trip started late night saturday (after a really hectic day that involved lunch with friends at atc, quickie shopping at festival supermall, another quickie shopping at sm sucat, attempt to attend anticipate mass first at virra mall sucat then when there wasn't any on that particular saturday, anticipated mass - or what was left of it - at forbes, and a children's birthday party at jollibee fort) at the alabang bus station of dela rosa transit. i arrived at batangas pier sometime at 1:30 am and waited there until my companieons finally arrived a little before the boarding time which was 4 a.m.

can i just say that while i intended to read my book and listen to my ipod while waiting a security guard started chatting me up and by the time we left, it seemed like we were good friends already. such is the charm of a sleepy girl who had absolutely no skill sleeping at the pier.

me and my companions - 8 people from the IPT of lingkod qc - took the ferry to abra de ilog and it was daytime when we arrived at the port. after a harrowing three-hour road trip over a trail that alternated between paved and rocky (but was more of rocky), we finally arrived at gay's house in sablyan, occidental mindoro.

by that time, i wouldn't have minded staying at the garden inn my entire vacation. i was THAT tired. (on a side note, the garden inn is part of the homestay program at sablyan. if you're not into hardcore diving, i'd suggest you stay here, take the boat to pandan island first thing in the morning and come back at around 5pm and stay at the inn rather than sleep at pandan where there is no fresh water, no electricity, and absolutely zero breeze making sleep almost impossible).

but then the lure of the beach was too much and after a hearty lunch, a long shower, and a lengthy nap, we were on our way to our destination, pandan island.

let's just say it was very very nice there.

forget the fact that i'm so not a beach person. one look through my goggles at what the sea had to offer was enought to make me stay in the water every chance i got. save for the elusive pawikan, i saw a LOT of beautiful sea creatures and bright corals.

not only that, i also saw lapu-lapu and hito. can i just say again that i was so proud to see these LIVE instead of on my plate for a meal?

i totally loved the experience - the harrowing sea-and-road trip included and i can say with all conviction that i plan to go back there. unlike galera and boracay (not that i've ever been to bora), the beach was immaculate - not only in terms of litter but in terms of people. there were about five or six foreign little kids and around ten french and german divers and that was it. as we kept saying over and over again - THIS IS THE LIFE.

right now i am burned to a crisp. my shoulders have stopped being rosy read and are not just muddy burned and everyone who sees me would just say, "ang itim mo." my tan lines have criss-crossed each other and hardly makes sense anymore. i don't care though. i had just had one of the best vacations in my life and i am totally looking forward to having one again.

p.s. but maybe not for a while. my dad is coming home for HIS vacation and i am looking forward to spending some time with my papa.

p.p.s. will be signing the roll of attorneys on may 3, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. on that day, look at your watches, offer up a little prayer of thanks to god, and know that on that day, i - the girl who began as an angsty law student who couldn't drive one bit - had finally fulfilled the biggest dream of her life.

just like my new friend marlon, i'm too tired, too lazy, and such at a loss for words to write anything about my pandan island experience.

maybe tomorrow i'll get to upload pictures of the island, write about the amazing experience i've had, and just gush over every little thing. today, though, you're going to have to be satisfied with yet another picture of my foot. (i am totally doing the nic ruffy i'm-going-to-take-pictures-of-my-feet-wherever-i-am school of thought).

lemme sleep first - been up for more than 24 hours now - and i promise, i'll regale you soon with stories of my experience.

btw - thanks to pam, i'm on page C1 of today's PDI. i was tempted to grab all the copies i could get my hands on but then that would mean you wouldn't be able to get your own. haha.

go check, will ya?

soon :)

soon being 72 hours from now.

can't wait.

thanks to the lovely - and plentiful - greetings online and offline.





i wake up in the middle of the night having a sneezing fit and the first thought in my mind was "abogado na ako."





i wake up to the sound of the alarm clock - my uncle specifically instructed me to hear mass first thing in the morning to thank god - and i pinch myself as if everything that happened last night was a dream.





but it's real.





and lest i forget again, here's proof, thanks to gary.

i feel sad for friends who didn't make it, but as i told myself last year when i was faced with the same in-your-face-ton-of-bricks-damn-i-flunked-the-bar, it doesn't mean i'm stupid, it doesn't mean anything, it just wasn't my year.

oh well.

i bet the feeling's going to last for a pretty long time. a long, long, long time.

abogado na ako!

'With bated breath, and whispring humblenesse.'

bar results due out this week, and, if rumors are to be believed, tomorrow night to be more specific.

a friend in particular has announced that he will hide where no one can find him nor contact him. me, i'm a sucker for torture, so, while i won't be at the supreme court gates waiting for the results (like last year), i'll be around and hopefully, i'll be ready to face the news.

hopefully, the news will be good so it wouldn't be hard to face.

so what do i do while waiting?

well, i've prayed more than i've prayed my entire life, although for some weird reason i've found myself praying for everything EXCEPT what i want the most, that is, to pass the bar. i'm not pretending to be selfless, cause god knows i'm not, but maybe i'm just scared of asking for the one thing i want more than anything right now. (anything, pldt boy included, mwahahah.)

from the accompanying picture, you'd also realize that i've been reduced to curling my hair, which i've only recently cajoled into straightness. totally contrary to who i am, yes. the curls, while fetching IMHO, aren't permanent. i've finally tried out pam's curling technique - perm rods - and they came out this way. unfortunately, my curls last for about an hour and then they begin to deflate and i end up with weird wavy hair that looks like i just forgot to comb it after taking a bath.

today, i stayed at work until the lights flickered, reminding me of this guy's comment that he saw a ghost in our office. at first i tried ignoring it and told myself, one more MR and fix the desk first, but then the lights started flickering more and more until i got really scared.

for the record, i ran out of the room.

literally.

anyway, it'll be midnight soon. i'm supposed to be either asleep, or at the very least, packing my stuff since i'll be with family starting tomorrow, but my brain has refused to operate since that light blinking incident (and as clearly evidenced by this useless post). however, i am not doing any of the above and i blame the results on that. my tummy is a mess, and my allergies are attacking full force. i won't be surprised if tomorrow, i am unable to put a coherent sentence together.

unless of course i actually find myself passing the bar and sending this wonderful text to everyone in my phone book. "abogado na ako."

keep your fingers crossed, people. but more importantly, keep praying.