who knew i'd get to the point where i'd actually say time flies?

when i was a kid, i could never understand why adults would say ang bilis ng panahon. cause for me it seemed like it took forever for time to pass.

apparently, when you graduate from college and you're more or less in charge with your own life, time actually does fly.

the reality of it struck me when i mentioned an old officemate mentioned how she wanted to tap me for this project but thought twice about it since one of their resource persons happened to be my ex.

so she asked me, would i be okay with that? of course, i said. come on. it's been six years since i last talked to him.

then it hit me - it's been six years? if that were a child, that child will be on his way to grade school come june.

as if that weren't enough, when i did a lecture at ua&p the other day, one of the students came up to me, an employee who was relatively new when i joined the school, and said how proud she was to finally call me "attorney." then she asked - as people always do - when did i join ua&p and when did i leave them.

1999, i said, and i left 2005.

wow. 1999 meant ten years ago, i was about to embark on what i thought would be a lifelong career in the academe. ten years ago, i began my masters degree in education (to which i finished all the coursework, passed the comprehensive exams, but never completed the thesis requirement). ten years ago, i was young, hopeful, ready to take on the world, and becoming a lawyer was the farthest thing from my mind. ten years ago, i was 21.

so much has changed since then. i've gained more friends, weight, and a degree. i've changed jobs at least twice. i now know that straight hair can be only achieved either by a chemical process that involves hours and hours sitting in a parlor chair or by mechanically ironing my hair. i've become catholic again. i've deleted certain people from my life and added some. i learned to drive, wrecked a car, and bought spike. i've been through three laptops. my two bestfriends are now married while a third passed away before he could tie the knot. i've gone through several cellphones and simcards already.

when you break it down that way, i'm not really sure if time flew or i just wasn't so aware of what i did the last ten years of my life.

soundtrack of my life

a while back, apryll tagged me to list ten songs - shameful tunes included - that will appear after you hit shuffle. as i was reading bunny's blog - a blog i've been reading since forever - i came across something similar, although it's more of the soundtrack of one's life.

i'm taking a risk by hitting shuffle on mine and actually posting here the songs that come out. i'm just hoping they're not too embarassing.

RULES:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Media Player, iPod, Winamp etc.)
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing.
5. When you go to the next question,press the next button.
6. Don’t lie and pretend you’re cool.
7. When you’re finished, tag some other people to do it!

————

A. Opening credits:
Wonderwall by Oasis
(Oh, so college! I super loved this song then.)

B. Waking up:
A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
(This only means one thing: If you're from the south like I am, each day is marked by a long commute to work!)

C. First Day of School:
I Wish You Were Here by Incubus
(Hmmm... I don't think I even cried on my first day of school. I was actually super excited. Goes to show the nerd I really am.)

D. Falling in love:
Explosive by Bond
(Instrumental ... hmmm .... but then again isn't that how it feels? Like there are firecrackers going off?)

E. First song:
Cool With You by Jennifer Love Hewitt
(Ha ha ha ... if there's one thing I'm not, it's cool, calm, and collected.)

F. Breaking up:
Friday I'm In Love by The Cure
(Break-up na nga, in love pa rin. Positive talaga!)

G. Prom:
Satellite by Natalie Imbruglia

H. Life:
It's Over Now by Neve
(bakit naman over?)

I. Mental breakdown:
The Next Time I Fall by Peter Cetera
(Yun yun eh ... Clearly every time I fall in love its tantamount to a mental breakdown - all logic escapes. Bad Bad Bad ... no more na.)

J. Driving:
Piano in the Dark by Brenda Russel
(Ok ... I know I have this on my playlist. Kahiya.)

K. Flashback:
Angels or Devils by Dishwalla

L. Getting back together:
Higher Ground by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

M. Wedding:
Fallen by Lauren Wood

N. Birth of a child:
You've Got a Friend by James Taylor

O. Final battle:
More Today than Yesterday by Goldfinger

P. Death scene:
Someday We'll Know by New Radicals

Q. Funeral song:
Reptilia by The Strokes
(Now, I don't think I've ever even listened to this song! Hahahaha. Goes to show that of the 780 songs in my iPod, I listen to less than a hundred of them.)

R. End credits:
You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban
(Why not? Ang ibig sabihin lang niyan, when all is said and done, magbigay pugay naman kayo. Ha Ha Ha.

cute blogger award (or what you must really know about me)

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Blogger that are tagged, need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.

Here's my own list:

1. i've always teased people that i have five friends only. i think i have more ... but this simply means that notwithstanding the seemingly friendly facade and the ease with which i relate to people, i have a difficult time maintaining relationships. but i'd like to think that i am a loyal and loving friend, and once you've got me on your side, i'll love you and defend you and stand by you until i decide to stop.

2. 2006 was the toughest but also the brightest year in my life. that year, i found out i flunked the bar examinations. but that year, too, i found God working miracles every single day of my life. he gave me the remulla family who has virtually "adopted" me, he gave me lingkod, and he gave me new friends. and most of all, he gave me the grace to plow through all the materials again without any bitterness, rancor, or anger.

3. the songs on my ipod, put together, do not make much sense. i have worship songs and glam rock songs. i have fall out boy and britney spears. a year ago, i added a couple of pussycat dolls songs - which i happen to love with a passion - and a couple of months ago, ABB encouraged me to explore my musical horizons so i added an entire album of the primitives and some other artists i can't remember now. and you know what, i actually listen to all of them!

4. i am not a big fan of the beach. i prefer going somewhere cool like baguio or tagaytay than the beach. hence, i've never been to boracay.

5. i love tuyo. i can eat tuyo every single day if it won't kill my kidneys doing that. in high school, i had it all the time one summer vacation so much so that when a classmate made a surprise visit one day, i couldn't invite him to eat lunch with me cause all the made prepared was tuyo and scrambled eggs.

6. my first course in UP was molecular biology and biotechnology. i had visions of creating my own jurassic park. seriously, i just wanted a cool pre-med course.

7. my biggest insecurity used to be the fact that i couldn't drive. the summer before college, i took driving lessons and got my license when i turned 18. my parents, however, never really trusted me behind the wheel so i never really drove. an ex-boyfriend attempted to help me learn how to drive so that i can share in driving duties since i lived so far away from him but eventually gave up when he felt that i was a lost cause. it wasn't until i was 25 and unable to commute because of an operation that i really forced myself to drive. in tita mayu's words - "lata lang yan. pag nasira, eh di ipagawa."

8. my brother, in describing me to his friends, has always referred to me as "my smart sister." when i met his friends after his accident, i was surprised when one of them blurted out "di ka naman pala pangit." apparently, the entire time that was what they thought "smart sister" meant.

9. had it not been for my mom doing my home economics projects, i may not have been able to graduate from high school. in fact, i think the only thing i did was the cooking and baking part which, thankfully, i love.

10. in csa, we used to sing "yahweh you are near" all the time. it was a long song so it was sufficient so that all ten sections of my batch could take communion. singing it was very mechanical until i realized that my adult life is truly exemplified by the words of that song - i have run away from his grace and love so many times and he has pursued me relentlessly. i fear the day that i'll run away and i won't find him chasing after me.

hmmm... ten people who i want to answer this:

1. maxeene
2. pazi
3. anto
4. theo
5. annsley
6. carla
7. lestie
8. rashel <-- who knows what we may be able to add to "the list"!!!!
9. paolo
10. dek

it's the most wonderful time of the year!

before i buckle down and get to work, let me just say that all drama aside, i'd like to think that my holidays were simply smashing

1. week-long "vacation" at tita mayu's house ... just like when i was a kid
2. never-ending bonding with pazi and anto ... from our SM sucat trip with theo, to that night at central, to a trip to the parlor, to our second trip at central with ann and shrek, to coffee at figaro. for the record, i am glad that anto can now drive and that, like pazi and unlike me, masipag siya maghatid. sana parati ganito
   
3. road trip to ek with theo ... and never making it inside the theme park because of the sheer volume of people.
4. mini-reunion with gay and rache. it was crazy cold at bo's coffee and time was too short to really catch up on stuff. but it was great knowing that all those months apart still hasn't changed the friendship that began with "parang nanalo siya sa lotto" and was cemented by all the coffee we ingested at the old starbucks at the corner of orosa and UN ave.
   
5. videoke ... a first for me ... with anto, luke, theo, and jenny. of course i "recited" instead of singing.
6. mmff "marathon" (if you could call two movies a marathon) with ABB which was crazy fun. how i wish we got to watch shake, rattle, and roll too!
   

2008, unfortunately, wasn't the happiest year for me. but there's always 2009. and, for the record, i can't wait to see what it'll bring.