11 Things to Know at 25(ish)

Some months ago, i had my  birthday celebration with dear friends and some familiar kids in the street of Metro Lipa. And i promised myself that i would post this article (which link i got from my beautiful friend, Olivia dela Rosa) for the sake of those twentysomething people who might find this helpful, too. 

What you need to know to be a real adult.


When you’re 25-ish, you’re old enough to know what kind of music you love, regardless of what your last boyfriend or roommate always used to play. You know how to walk in heels, how to tie a necktie, how to give a good toast at a wedding and how to make something for dinner. You don’t have to think much about skin care, home ownership or your retirement plan. Your life can look a lot of different ways when you’re 25: single, dating, engaged, married. You are working in dream jobs, pay-the-bills jobs and downright horrible jobs. You are young enough to believe that anything is possible, and you are old enough to make that belief a reality.

1. You Have Time to Find a Job You Love

Now is the time to figure out what kind of work you love to do. What are you good at? What makes you feel alive? What do you dream about? You can go back to school now, switch directions entirely. You can work for almost nothing, or live in another country or volunteer long hours for something that moves you. There will be a time when finances and schedules make this a little trickier, so do it now. Try it, apply for it, get up and do it.

When I was 25, I was in my third job in as many years—all in the same area at a church, but the responsibilities were different each time. I was frustrated at the end of the third year because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do next. I didn’t feel like I’d found my place yet. I met with my boss, who was in his 50s. I told him how anxious I was about finding the one perfect job for me, and quick. He asked me how old I was, and when I told him I was 25, he told me I couldn’t complain to him about finding the right job until I was 32. In his opinion, it takes about 10 years after college to find the right fit, and anyone who finds it earlier than that is just plain lucky. So use every bit of your 10 years: try things, take classes, start over.

 

2. Get Out of Debt and Stay Out of Debt 

Part of being a healthy, mature adult is learning to live within your means all the time, even if that means going without things you think you need, or doing work you don’t love for a while to be responsible financially. The ability to adjust your spending according to your income is a skill that will serve you your whole life. 

There will be times when you have more money than you need. In those seasons, tithe as always, save like crazy, and then let yourself buy fancy shampoo or an iPad or whatever it is you really get a kick out of. When the money’s not rolling in, buy your shampoo from the grocery store and eat eggs instead of steak—a much cheaper way to get protein. If you can get the hang of living within your means all the time—always tithing, never going into debt—you’ll be ahead of the game when life surprises you with bad financial news. 

I know a lot of people who have bright, passionate dreams but who can’t give their lives to those dreams because of the debt they carry. Don’t miss out on a great adventure God calls you to because you’ve been careless about debt.

  
3. Don’t Rush Dating and Marriage

Now is also the time to get serious about relationships. And “serious” might mean walking away from a dating relationship that’s good but not great. Some of the most life-shaping decisions you’ll make during this time will be about walking away from good-enough, in search of can’t-live-without. One of the only truly devastating mistakes you can make in this season is staying with the wrong person even though you know he or she is the wrong person. It’s not fair to that person, and it’s not fair to you.

“Who are you dating?” “Do you think he’s the one?” “Have you looked at rings?” It’s easy to be seduced by the romance-dating-marriage narrative. We confer a lot of status and respect on people who are getting married—we buy them presents and consider them as more adult and more responsible. 

But there’s nothing inherently more responsible or more admirable about being married. I’m thankful to be celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary this summer, but at the same time, I have a fair amount of friends whose marriages are ending—friends whose weddings we danced at, whose wedding cake we ate, whose rings we oohed-and-aahed over but that have been taken off fingers a long time ago. 

Some people view marriage as the next step to happiness or grown-up life or some kind of legitimacy, and in their mad desire to be married, they overlook significant issues in the relationship. 

Ask your friends, family members and mentors what they think of the person you’re dating and your relationship. Go through premarital counseling before you are engaged, because, really, engagement is largely about wedding planning, and it’s tough to see the flaws in a relationship clearly when you’re wearing a diamond and you have a deposit on an event space. 

I’m kind of a broken record on this. My younger friends will tell you I say the same things over and over when they talk to me about love, things like, “He seems great—what’s the rush?” and, “Yes, I like her—give it a year.” And they’ve heard this one a million times: “Time is on your side.” Really, it is.

4. Give Your Best to Friends and Family

While twentysomethings can sometimes spend a little too much energy on dating and marriage, they probably spend too little energy on friendships and family. That girl you just met and now text 76 times a day probably won’t be a part of your life in 10 years, but the guys you lived with in college, if you keep investing in them, will be friends for a lifetime. Lots of people move around in their 20s, but even across the distance, make an effort to invest in the friendships that are important to you. Loyalty is no small thing, especially in a season during which so many other things are shifting.

Family is a tricky thing in your 20s—to learn how to be an adult out on your own but to also maintain a healthy relationship with your parents—but those relationships are really, really worth investing in. I have a new vantage point on this now that I’m a parent. When my parents momentarily forget I’m an adult, I remind myself that someday this little boy of ours will drive a car, get a job and buy a home. I know that even then it will be hard not to scrape his hair across his forehead or tell him his eyes are looking sleepy, and I give my parents a break for still seeing me as their little girl every once in a while.

5. Get Some Counseling

Twenty-five is also a great time to get into counseling if you haven’t already, or begin round two of counseling if it’s been a while. You might have just enough space from your parents to start digging around your childhood a little bit. Unravel the knots that keep you from living a healthy, whole life, and do it now, before any more time passes.

Some people believe emotional and psychological issues should be solved through traditional spiritual means—that prayer and pastoral guidance are all that’s necessary when facing issues of mental health. I disagree. We generally trust medical doctors to help us heal from physical ailments. We can and should trust counselors and therapists to help us resolve emotional and psychological issues. Many pastors have no training in counseling, and while they care deeply about what you’re facing, sometimes the best gift they can give you is a referral to a therapist who does have the education to help you. 

Faith and counseling aren’t at odds with one another. Spiritual growth and emotional health are both part of God’s desire for us. Counseling—like time with a mentor, personal scriptural study, a small group experience and outside reading—can help you grow, and can help you connect more deeply with God.

So let your pastor do his or her thing, and let the person who has an advanced degree in mental health help you with yours.
  
6. Seek Out a Mentor

One of the most valuable relationships you can cultivate in your 20s is a mentoring relationship with someone who’s a little older, a little wiser, someone who can be a listening ear and sounding board during a high change season. When I look back on my life from 22 to 26, some of the most significant growth occurred as a direct result of the time I spent with my mentor, Nancy.

The best way to find a mentor is to ask, and then to work with the parameters they give you. If someone does agree to meet with you, let it be on their terms. Nancy and I met on Wednesdays at 7 in the morning. I guarantee that was not my preference. But it was what worked for her life, so once a month I dragged myself out of the house in what felt to me like the dead of night. It also helps to keep it to a limited-time period. It’s a lot to ask of someone to meet once a month until the end of time. But a one-year commitment feels pretty manageable for most people, and you can both decide to sign on for another year or not, depending on the connection you’ve made. 

7. Be a Part of a Church

Twenty-five is the perfect time to get involved in a church you love, no matter how different it is from the one you were a part of growing up. Be patient and prayerful, and decide that you’re going to be a person who grows, who seeks your own faith, who lives with intention. Set your alarm on Sunday mornings, no matter how late you were out on Saturday night. It will be dreadful at first, and then after a few weeks, you’ll find that you like it, that the pattern of it fills up something inside you. 

8. Find a Rhythm for Spiritual Disciplines

Going out into “the real world” after high school or college affects more than just your professional life. Where once you had free time, a flexible schedule and built-in community, now you have one hour for lunch, 10 days max to “skip” work and co-workers who are all over the place in age, stage of life and religion. 

In those first few years of work-life, it’s easy to get too busy, too stressed and too disconnected to keep up spiritual habits you may have built in school. Figuring out how to stay close to God and to grow that relationship through activities and disciplines that complement your new schedule is critical for life now—and those habits will serve you for years to come.

One of the best routines I adopted in my 20s was a monthly solitude day. In addition to my daily prayer time, I found I lived better if once a month I took the time to pray, read, rest and write, to ask myself about the choices I’d made in the past month and to ask for God’s guidance in the month to come. Some of the most important decisions I made in that season of life became clear as a result of that monthly commitment.

9. Volunteer

Give of your time and energy to make the world better in a way that doesn’t benefit you directly. Teach Sunday school, build houses with Habitat for Humanity, serve at a food pantry or clean up beaches on Saturdays.

It’s easy to get caught up in your own big life and big plan in your 20s—you’re building a career, building an identity, building for a future. Find some place in your life where you’re building for a purpose that’s bigger than your own life or plan.

When you’re serving on behalf of a cause you’re passionate about, you’ll also connect in a deep way with the people you’re serving with, and those connections can yield some of your most significant friendships.

When you serve as a volunteer, you can gain experience for future careers. Instead of, for example, quitting your banking job to pursue full-time ministry, volunteer to lead a small group, and see where it goes from there. Use volunteer experiences to learn about causes and fields you’re interested in, and consider using your vacation time to serve globally. 

10. Feed Yourself and the People You Love

If you can master these things, you’re off to a really great start: eggs, soup, a fantastic sandwich or burger, guacamole and some killer cookies. A few hints: The secret to great eggs is really low heat, and the trick to guacamole is lime juice—loads of it. Almost every soup starts the same way: onion, garlic, carrot, celery, stock.

People used to know how to make this list and more, but for all sorts of reasons, sometime in the last 60 or so years, convenience became more important than cooking and people began resorting to fake food (ever had GU?), fast food and frozen food. I literally had to call my mom from my first apartment because I didn’t know if you baked a potato for five minutes or two hours.

The act of feeding oneself is a skill every person can benefit from, and some of the most sacred moments in life happen when we gather around the table. The time we spend around the table, sharing meals and sharing stories, is significant, transforming time.

Learn to cook. Invite new and old friends to dinner. Practice hospitality and generosity. No one cares if they have to sit on lawn furniture, bring their own forks or drink out of a Mayor McCheese glass from 1982. What people want is to be heard and fed and nourished, physically and otherwise—to stop for just a little bit and have someone look them in the eye and listen to their stories and dreams. Make time for the table, and you’ll find it to be more than worth it every time.

11. Don’t Get Stuck

This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find God and themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults. Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. They mean to find a church, they mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.

Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal. 

Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? What have I learned about God this year? What parts of my childhood faith am I leaving behind, and what parts am I choosing to keep? Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?”

Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love, and with people who believe God is good and life is a grand adventure. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned. 

Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path. 

From the article http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/features/25956-11-things-to-know-at-25ish?start=1  by Shauna Niequest.

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i smell LOVE and HAPPINESS.

from my redbook, written January 19, 2012. - 11:46PM 

Today, nothing is perfect. My life is still in its kinda-“dysfunctional” form. To be honest, my sky-scraping hopes are starting to wane, and i can’t help but feel that i am the only one who is believing, and i feel tired. Actually, if i’m not on a rag, maybe by dawn, my feet will be making love with the sand and saltwater (these skinny feet are so much in an itch to bond with their bestfriends). But i guess, i am happier. Because, finally, my languor self was punched by Coelho when he wrote, People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.

And he was just so dead right! 

Though, i still have questions, tons of nonsense of them, yes. but, i am thankful.

i am thankful that for the past three years i have learned to accept how dysfunctional life is. And i was able to deal with it. And my faith was strengthened and deepened.

I am thankful for the day-by-day people that i meet, for the learning, for the inspiration, for the strength that they supply me to keep on holding on and for the people i decided to keep who remained true and wonderful and with respect, not just for me but for the people i love.

I am thankful that i have never hooked up with the boy who will carry my dreams away from me. because when that happens, we’ll surely end up both wounded and broken. 

I am thankful to realize that i do not need to fly to Europe, or to India or to Batanes island just to find myself, because it has been here all along. (but one of these days, i’ll still go there to fall in love with their culture or with what ever they have there, and let me add... Brazil, Marinduque, Vigan and Brazil again!) 

My dreams are waiting. And if i wait for my brain cells to start functioning right, they might get tired standing. What i can do now is follow Dr. Sara Jordan’s advice, Everyday, give yourself a good mental shampoo! 

So, how was this day?

Let me say: Today, i am still imperfect, with lots of flaws and everything that will prove that i am just another human. But today is the perfect day to thank GOD for this wonderful day and for the best days that are yet to come.  

P.S. and today, i had fun with my girlfriends and siblings and I’m gonna blog about my project happiness once i get the chance!

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BIRTHDAY PROJECT: postponed due to blustery weather.

 It was the 19^th day of the year 1986. It was dawn. It was a Sunday. For sure, it was cold and breezy. That was all I know about that day. That E-O day.

That was 25 years ago.

And that thought always makes me happy.

Actually, i was into a SILVER BIRTHDAY PROJECT. Everything’s carefully noted. Everything’s well-planned. But at the mid of my being excited, i needed to stop and discontinue the whole thing. Although i was endowed of making other people believe (whenever i want to), it is myself that i can never ever fool. There are things in life that can’t be changed by a crazy birthday project. There are things in life i am neither ready to embrace nor let go.

so here's my birthday status yesterday:

mind status: hopeful

heart status: weary

physical status: exhausted

 or maybe the past 19 days had just been so tiring and pressuring for me. and i know i needed to pause for a while to make something out of my silver year. Some time for myself, maybe.  Days before my birthday, my sister kept on bugging me about what i wanted to do. i so much wanted to tell her to invite people and we’ll party all night.  But i can’t find those words inside my heart.  To be honest, what’s circling in my aching head was to wear some running shoes and dash in wherever lane i can catch, or be somewhere near the sand, where i can feel the sun and taste the seawater and dive over and over and stay under without breathing until i can’t stand anymore. or just simply stand in the rain. Just to make an excuse for my tears to fall. Then i can go back at dinnertime, all nimble and refined, and sip some white wine with friends. 

but my job can't afford that. else i'll feel guilty "imploring for inner peace" while one of my office mates go through the pain of boredom and extra "gastos"  just to fill in for my being absent at work.  that's a no-no.

but today. a day after my birthday and now that i am 25 years and one day old. i want to make sure that every inch of the next 365 days will be in superb mode. well, i don't know how. i just know. maybe because, for the first time in 2011, it is just today that i am not late. maybe because i am loving the french vanilla coffee and fool's garden's lemon tree. and it has been the only music on my background for the whole day. or maybe because fool's garden is now following me on twitter! haha. i just know i'll be happy. 

Oh, thank you to ALL who wished me a happy birthday. Phone calls (sorry for those calls i was not able to answer), text messages, e-mails, fb wall greetings and messages, gifts, and greeting cards are all sweetly appreciated.

 

P.S: i have always believed that birthday is the only time where fairytale exists. it came, just as expected. and you didn't.  i guess, we can never really see each other. cause, far or near, I still CAN’T SEE YOU.

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let me start wishing upon a shooting star.

fireworks over. i heart fireworks. they never fail to mesmerize me. and make me want to kiss. =) the usual scent of the left-over foods give a warm feeling. the gifts, they are all   worth the wait. and the smiles from my nieces and nephews lips, they are lovely in every inch. 

 

 i stared at the first spot of sun on the grass near my feet. and realized that, hey, 19 more days and its gonna be my birthday! and not to give you anymore headache thinking what  my heart is beating for, here are 25 things this petite girl wants to see wrapped in fancy papers and ribboned with glittery silk. =)

1. sitti’s album
2. Neutrogena Fine Fairness UV Compact (i use the beige tone), and toner and moisturizer!
3. Perfume: lacoste yellow or Benetton cold or 3 bottles of Bench Grass Cucumber cedarwood!
4. oil paint
5. 3 pcs canvas
6. a study table
7. scented candles
8. Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain
9. burt’s bees lip balm (or if you can’t find any, body shop’s lip butter will do)
10. a portable sewing machine
11. yoga mat
12. a navy blue or gold belt ( i like the glossy one)
13. calculator
14. clear contact lenses (my vision is 200/200)
15. Coelho’s The Pilgrimage
16. a slice of cheesecake
17. tweezers, earwax cleaner, a cute nail cutter and 3 boxes of blade =)
18. a set of FOOT SPA. (you know i sOoo much LOVE my FEET!)
19. i’ll let you decide here.
20. Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Chronicle of a Death Foretold
21. Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of Geisha
22. color pencils and a sketch notebook
23. Coelho’s The Devil and Miss Prym
24. a classy wall clock.
25.  P 19,000.00 (or any cash will do!)

 but you know what? it’s okay if you can’t give me any of these items, really. A fervent prayer for my peace of mind and my dear ones’ happiness is more than any material gift would cost! This is just a twist to make a fun birthday project. What my heart truly desires is something that cannot be spoken by the human mouth, it's a project that i already entrusted to HIS will. =)  

P.S. tell me. will i wait for another 100 and who-knows-how-many-more-days and minutes, just like what was written on the paper? or should i let the coming of the first full moon put an end to my weary heart? 

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more of Johanna's Grille.

october 15.
first, today is my first day @ the UBLIPA Satellite Office.
second, is ate madel's birthday.
third, is johanna's grille. period.

pictures here!

have i told you that i am a pasta lover? so i tried their carbonara.  

the birthday girl ate madel, tita zeny and tin had a taste of Johanna's Grille's tear-jerkingly good bbr with garlic rice. much has been heard about their babyback ribs. it's getting so famous that its now being the favorite of the town and yes, cyberpeople, too.

ate grace had hungarian sausage and fries. see the mustard? I love dipping my french fries in mayo and mustard!

coffee for aiza 

 JD's homemade cheesecake which always gets a =( from me.

and, this one, i super like, tuna salad.  

haha. were all in our SMILES!

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two people.

nothing much to say. you should know that you are still the most beautifullest of all. (i remember the term i used when i was in my third grade, when my teacher ask us to draw and describe our parents, and i drew you and dad, you in your ribboned hair and checkered chinese collared white blouse  and pencil cut blue skirt. and dad in his long sleeved and famous hat. i thought you were a teacher because you looked like one, so i told the class that you were. maybe my taecher was surprised and laughing at me that time. well, i do not care. what i want is you to be happy. happy birthday, mother!

dad, this day is also for you. for all i know,  you will always be the only handsome man i know who ever existed in this lifetime. and i think i won't marry any guy because of that! hehe. i ♥ you BIG!

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August Birthday People

 no.1 on my list is the August-birthday people.



my eldest sister (Atet’s) birthday last August 12. this photo is from her last year's birthday. sorry, it's kinda blurry na, wala kasi xang ibang pic eh. 

and my Advo-outlet-bud, marnee. ikaw. ikaw ang nag-introduce muli sa akin sa mundo ng musika. salamat.

  

to the ever fashionista, tin. where's the cake,huh? 

and for this guy who has been an inspiration to me, dr. abelardo b. perez. thank you for your fatherly encouragement, especially during those days of my lost college life. i was not so successful with the last assignment that you gave me but i know you will forgive me for that. i hope you know that you aren't just being remembered, you are being badly missed by so many people.

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four good reasons why MAY smells so flowery-good.

i do not know what life would be without these people, maybe, DULL.

I super idolized this girl, young and free and principled. Oh, she’s a lot, actually, and this page isn’t enough to brag about her awe-inspiring self. She has taught me so much about life and I am always thankful to GOD for giving me a friend like her. i always tell her that she has inspired me so much and that she has made me appreciate life's imperfection, i love how she termed it "dysfunctional". i am waiting (and very much excited) to see her name in the bookshelves of National Bookstore (or sa fully-booked) because i know she has what i takes to affect people's lives. Thank you for singing Alanis’ songs for me, I love your voice. I love everything about you!

another free-spirited human being, Aien’s my college barkada and one of the closest. She’s the maarte type but there is so much about her that one will love. Kaya super love din yan ni Ate Grace. A person with a GOOD GOOD HEART, and I have witnessed that myself. I really miss our kikay moments, I hope we can spend more time together, more than the coffee talks na lagi naman namo-move. BFF for life!

Melanie, of course. We’ve shared the best of friends since first grader. She’s the school valedictorian who loves science, and now a noble teacher in a so rural area. I always tell her to move na in the city, pero lagi xang may doubts. Naku! wag ka, happy naman sa love life. and i am happy that she is. She always tell me how self-centered I am that somehow helped in improving myself. Up to now, whenever we get the chance to talk, lagi pa din nya sinasabi: "Naku, I know you, Gladi, you won’t give a care to other people as long as you’re happy." Which I guess is once true but i think, not anymore.

Tita Zeny is Aiza’s mom at higit sa lahat, Umpe ko yan! So lucky that there exists someone who has raised a so nice daughter like Aiza. Naku, stage mother talaga and very supportive kahit sa akin. lovelove. ay, she's giving me a cool headache thinking about the best present for her. hm, she has everything na naman kasi!

THANK YOU, GOD

for giving me these people.

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april's lovely fools

my life won't be as FUN without GOD creating these loving people.

It was in ADVO where I met Lloyd, he was the managing editor then, and later became my EIC. He was a snob, really. But when we became friends, ay, sobra. Sobra ko siyang na-appreciate. He was able to compliment the worst in me. I often tell him na ako na lang ang natitira nyang friend, (which of course is not true) it’s just that I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO GRAB HIM AWAY FROM ME.

Rea’s my first-day-high-bestfriend. Oh gosh, this sanguine (as she used to describe herself) is irrefutably a head-turner plus the art talent! Naku, panalo talaga. We love non-stop talking even pag naglalakad and I often end up talking to myself alone; kasi may nakikipagipagkilala na pala sa kanya. But she’s more than just a pretty face. We’ve been through a lot, and if there is one friend in my life who I let witnessed my worst, that is her. Thank you for keeping those and for staying amidst the distance.

And here is KUya Dong, my eldest bro. need I say more why he’s included here? He loves boots and cowboy things, and yes cigarettes! I do not think he can live without a stick in his lips. FYI, I super like this picture of him, reminds me of Francine, his eldest daughter. I am always fervently praying for his' everyday to be happy and free.

Lastly, na di sumipot sa birthday date is Janelle. BEST came from the opposite of it, she hated me ata dati. She didn’t like the supladita plus the opinionated me and plus my pagiging maarte (?) who cared to no one but myself. And we always made petty away; me ending with my eyeballs rolling and telling her "as if I care"? and her with her pasensyosang pag-iling. Haha. Tama ba, best? Pero naging swak kami sa isat isa. Although from head to toe, from trippings to principles ay opposite pa din kami, we were able to keep our friendship. We learned to accept each other’s flaws (or she learned to accept my flaws?)

happy birthday, guys.

and more of happy days to come.

 

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ANTI-DEPRESSION CONVENTION-PLUS-PLATES OF OLD GOOD SPAGHETTI-PLUS-SISTER'SBDAYBASH-SLASH-VALENTINE'SPARTY.

:last FEBRUARY 13 -14, 2010:

sorry for the delayed posting.

8am - 4pm:  2nd ICCS Convention @ the AFP theater.

last year, it was just me and aiza and i am overly happy that atcheng and jonjon were able to join this time. though, i must say that i'm still inlove with the 1st ICCS convention.

♥

4pm - 6:30 THE OLD SPAGHETTI HOUSE @ LIBIS

the convention finished earlier than expected and so we agreed to grab a quick pasta experience.

yeeee. i super love pasta with lotsa cheese!!!!

8PM: BIRTHDAY SURPRISE FOR ATE GRACE THAT LASTED 'TIL 5AM.

we surprised ate grace for her nth (giggles) birthday. it was supposed to be a black and red surprise party with all gifts wrapped in black and ribboned in red. together with black and red balloons and boys pretending to be macho dancers in a box biting a stem of rose. haha.  but not everyone supported the idea. though, ENJOY PA DIN.

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ZERO ONE NINETEEN TWO THOUSAND AND TEN.

THERE'S ONLY TWO WORDS LEFT

 THANK YOUS.

here's what i got: a pair of silver earings from ate wendy, girbaud bag from ate grace, beaded bracelet from ate madel, violin from tita zeny and aiza, gold ring from jane, fan and organizer from ate hyzell, a cake from ivy, birthday cards, a book on how to find love from my dear students (francis, jeliza, vielka, maryjan, jasper, krystell), chocolate from meynard, neutrogena compact from ate lea, a cute coin canister from tintin, an acoustic duets cd from jousen, have a little faith book from atcheng, gold necklace with heart pendant from inay.

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