I'm stuck at twenty-five.

Yesterday afternoon, I was having an animated conversation with a colleague while we were eating shing-a-ling at my desk. She was telling me about her experience working in a convent school and the disappointing yet hilarious instances when she had to deal with the quirks of her boss. Somewhere along the conversation, the topic centered on age. She mentioned that at her age (39) she often feels and sometimes thinks or acts like she’s still 18. Then she asked me, how about you what age are you in? I thought for a second and said, “I feel that I’m stuck at 25.”

Now that I ponder why I said that, I realize that I really am stuck at 25. While my looks would defy that statement to the hilt, my mind says a different thing.

Some proof that I still am 25…

• I still get surprised or amused when I hear of former classmates/schoolmates who get married or have a child.

• I still enjoy playing computer games and can last one whole weekend in front of my laptop running the lives of my SIMS™.

• I still like playing pranks on people or fooling around with my friends. I still laugh heartily and without care in the world if something is really funny.

• I still feel that there is so much to learn in the world especially in terms of the career path I’ve taken. Thank God I have a boss who likes to teach as much as I like to learn.

• I’m still irresponsible and impulsive when it comes to handling money and still feel that it’s not the most important thing in the world.

• I still feel emotionally unequipped to have a child.

• I still laze around the TV even if there are stacks of dirty dishes on my sink.

• I still sleep late even when I get migraines from lack of it.

• I still enjoy junk food and put in as much fat and salt in my diet.

• I still enjoy the company of twenty-somethings, who make up my circle of friends at work.

• I still get a pimple every now and then.

• I still look at each day as a fresh new start, an opportunity to make a big difference (which I sometimes do not dare take).

But then again, no matter how many times I tell myself I am 25, these things happen to my days:

• My joints ache when I wake up to a cold morning.

• I pay bills and shop for grocery to run my household.

• The government takes out 32% off my paycheck for taxes.

• The songs of my teens are now classics, and some have been revived by new singers.

• Two of my nephews are teenagers now, one will be a high school freshman by June.

• My younger sister is 30 and her little one is now a year old.

• My laughlines are more pronounced and I see more grey hair on my head.

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Maybe time did pass, I just refused to acknowledge it. Hoping that by doing so I can believe that the decisions of my past will not permanently engrave my future.

And now at thirty-five, I'd like to believe that I still have plenty of future left. I can feel it in my bones (which go creak on a cold morning).

A Night of Freeloading

In early December, my office friends and I decided to have a fancy Christmas dinner as a way to reward ourselves. By fancy, we meant splurging on buffet at a five-star hotel. The first choice if of course Manila Diamond since Mark’s dad works there and so we have a better chance of getting a discount. On December 11, we went through with the plan but sadly, Ela and Enny couldn’t make it because of previous engagements. So Pia and I braved the Ortigas-Makati-Manila traffic in order to get to Manila Diamond where Mark was already nearing unconsciousness because of hunger.

When we arrived, Mark was already having his soup and soon after his dad called, looking for him. The General (Mark’s Dad) then came to sit with us over dinner, much to Mark’s disappointment. But when his dad started ordering different dishes straight from the kitchen, we were all thankful that he was there with us.

The menu theme for Thursday night was Spanish so most of the food fare were sumptuous, spicy and flavorful. We tried sampling everything but we had to leave room for dessert. Good thing we did because the cakes and pastries were heavenly! We even tried asking the chef if they can sell us whole cakes, but sadly, they don’t do that in their hotel.

Much later, Mark’s mom came, done with her spa treatment. They stayed for a while and when they said goodbye, they left us with a special treat… dinner is free! We thought that we were just getting a good discount but Mark’s dad footed the bill.

After dinner, we did a photo op at the hotel lobby. Manila Diamond has a very interesting Christmas tree so we thought of taking our pics with it.

We capped the night with coffee at Starbucks Magallanes. We were all feeling dizzy while making our orders and we all thought that it was probably from all the food we ate earlier. It was not even 12am then but we were feeling sleepy already. Pia attributed it to age, Mark from being tired from work, and me from having late nights for more than a week. Soon after we said goodbye and took separate rides home. It was weekday after all and there’s still work the next day.

It is always great being with these two, even if i have to be the "bridge" all the time.

Dinner @ Kabisera

Spent Friday night with old friends at Bonifacio High Street. We gathered to celebrate Minnie and Princess' birthdays which fall in November. Princess chose Kabisera sa Dencio's at B3 which was perfect since I live about 10 minutes away from the place.

Now the trouble was getting there from Ortigas where I work. I of course chose to ride with Annie and Tonton while I told Lyndon to go straight to BHS since he will be coming from our house in Pasig. Traffic that night was terrible; it took us almost 2 hours to get there much to the chagrin of everyone who were there on time.

After dinner, the group decided to have a nightcap at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Being partial to my favorite coffe shop, I excused myself for a few minutes and with Annie in tow, we proceeded to buy Dark Cherry Mocha (for me) and Toffee Nut Latte (for Lyndon) at Starbucks. More jeers and cheers later, then it was time to pack up.

I found it funny that as we were walking to OT's car, Rex was complaining that it was already too late...man, it was only 1:00AM! And earlier, after dinner, Jon's eyelids were already dropping saying he's too tired - this at 11PM! Do I see signs of aging from the younger ones in our group (by younger, I mean younger by months)?

As usual, I took some pictures for posterity...