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.