it's been a while since i last had a really full day.

today was one of those days. and funny how because of that really full day, i am actually awake at 2:23 a.m.

and am actually feeling pretty good. i was able to bring spike for his 25,000 km check-up, catch up with an old officemate, have lunch and movie with veevee, finally said yes to coffee with insurance boy, parlor with caryl, uber late dinner with family and friends, and dessert so late that they basically closed the place down right after we gave our orders.

i had so much fun i got tired laughing.

as i shuttled from one appointment to the other, i realized that i don't need a boyfriend. i need to rekindle old ties with my friends, reach out to my family, and enjoy the fact that i am 28, free from obligations, and gifted with all the free time i need to make me a perfectly happy gal.

sitting here in my old office, the office where i learned to blog, made most of my templates, and enjoyed countless of hours of internet fun, i begin to think if it was worth giving it all up.

here i had my own cubicle, tissue paper in the bathroom (not to mention piped in music), unlimited internet (except you instant messaging), and aircon that can make you forget that the philippines is a tropical country. i also had reserved parking, a telephone at my desk, and was surrounded by people concerned not only about my love life but where my soul will spend eternity. this was where i was rescued after my shitty first job, where i almost earned a master's degree (damned thesis), where i met, fell in and out of love with someone special in my past, where i studied and wrote papers for law school. six and a half years of my life, and six months after i quit, here i am, using their internet access while waiting for a friend.

a former boss, after learning that i'm now with the court of appeals, couldn't contain her shock over the news that i am now a government employee. from the way she reacted, it seemed like i told her i had joined a cult or something.

but then it also got me thinking, do i have it better now than before? jdf plus amazing working hours plus a cool boss plus new friends plus law-related tasks plus the freedom to wear anything so long as its decent?

most definitely.

28 turning 29, lungs burning from inhaling too much cigarette smoke and all i want to do is to file my resignation and become an orange and lemons groupie.

i may have hated pinoy ako and may have gone deaf from hearing abot kamay over and over again but dang, the other songs are so bloody lovely.

when the alcohol wears off, i'll probably forget all about this momentary addiction and return to my boring self - the boring self that's positively addicted to the crime suspense channel. but for tonight, i'll be going to sleep channelling my kate hudson vibe from almost famous and imagine how life will be if i give this all up to simply listen to them all day and all night long.

it may just be me, but when i give someone a present, i like knowing exactly how that person feels about my present. after all, given the pains i usually go through in getting someone just the perfect present, i think i deserve seeing the person's reaction, from the moment i hand him the present to the time he actually finds out what's inside.

given that you never got to see how excited i was opening your present, let me give you a blow-by-blow account:

it came in a huge kick-ass christmas gift bag...



and while it wasn't filled to the brim with gifts, there were a number of things waiting for me inside the bag...



i first opened the box which contained this lovely blue thermal cup. it now has a place on my night table for those moments when i get a wee bit thirsty while reading a book or watching tv...

next thing i unwrapped was this lovely calendar. lovely, lovely, lovely. my desk may be your standard issue government desk but i am willing to bet that i am the only executive assistant v-ct in the entire court of appeals who can boast of having a different shoe each day of the year...



then there were these pens. i know i said i'm going to use them but ... well, the packaging was so lovely that am going to keep them in there for the meantime.



then there was this book. i've always wanted one, but couldn't afford it (being a shopaholic myself, disposable income goes to henry sy instead of socorro ramos). i know you just threw this in cause i asked for it, but, it's really, really special to me now.



there's also this, which makes me want to renew my passport and leave the country this weekend for some serious shopping in bangkok...



and last but not the least, you got me this,which while may hamper whatever chances i've got winning the ms. court of appeals tilt, will definitely make me quite happy.



thank you big time. happiness just doesn't quite capture what i'm feeling right now.