after a very tiring 11-hour workday, i conditioned myself to meet with my highschool BFFs :) two were missing-in-action but it was fantastic nonetheless. one of the many things i thought of during my irrational hiatus is my often-denied need to reconnect and stay in touch with people from my past.
it was a very warm dinner at caffe milano. by the way, the food had quite gone down, quality-wise. when we ate there for lunch probably a year ago, it was sooo good. the second one was just satisfactory and tonight, well, it has become an ordinary italian dining place to me (but the ambience was still great). i insisted we get my favorite pizza corea (four types of cheese, salami, italian beef) but i was disappointed with their ravioli d' (something). for one, i've been used to raviolis that are square-shaped (well, i grew up having raviolis straight from a can, haha). theirs looked more like big elbow-shaped macaronis, in red sauce and ricotta cheese, and the beef inside each ravioli (raviolette? hehe.) was elllllll....the texture of the beef was a bit uncomfortable inside the mouth. llll.
anyway, more than the food, i was thrilled to hear the things i've missed about my friends' lives, and of people we know. neds' boyfriend was there but of course was still too shy to co-bash the universe with us (he, btw, ranked 4th in the recent dentistry licensure exam, and neds passed, too! congrats!). see, living away from them had me wanting a barrage of updates about a lot of things, people and events. i've been away for almost eight years! time wasn't enough because their lives and mine alone, dinner time wouldn't suffice.
in sum, our lives are eventful and good. lyndsey even had a "brief" lovelife...well, it was a shock when she was making kuwento about the guy because since time immemorial, she never had that. i shared my own foolish exploits last year but compared to what she went through, mine was okay. ang bottomline, she's only about 85% healed while i can proudly say i completely am. as in. in a way, may similarities sa circumstances, but i guess those stuff made the experience more...ah...realistic?
over coffee, we started fooling around like we used to in highschool. some good things never do change. there are actions that no matter how old you get, you still feel naturally comfortable doing especially when with people that you know know you inside out. all of a sudden nga lang, the thought of striking 25 made us wonder. well, i just turned 24 and in our group, my bestfriend em is the first among us who will turn 25 in august. that's what i told her naman...sa august pa. pero kahit na daw. she'll be 25...and it will only be a couple of months after that na each of us will turn 25, too. em and lynds were particularly a bit bothered...especially with their personal lives. neds is happily attached to robert, si tzai is, as far as i know, happy with her life, and lizette, whom i have not seen in a while eh happy din. then there's moi, who i said na masaya din naman. hah, easy for me to say but like what i told them, even if i'm single, hindi ko naman nararamdaman yung nafifeel nila. wanna know why? because last year, my heart has been through a hell of an emotional exercise. i have no one beside me pero like a machine, parang it was used, therefore has been oiled sufficiently to weather its usage, kahit hindi naman technically nagkaroon ng production, parang ganon.
in truth, i don't feel as pressured with life as i had been two years ago. i could probably panic when i reach my thirties...or not. well, i opened myself to dating naman, as my friends did open themselves as well. in fact, i'm not really into it seriously pero kung may ipapa-date naman sa akin, preferably yung type ko na na chubby at please, sana naman yung may sense kausap at hindi masyado self-centered. but i'm not looking, hahaha!!! i'm even more concerned with how to have the time to download all pertinent Friends videos through the years, and how safe it is to use limewire :)
i maybe 24 but now i realize that life isn't to be taken in a rush. savor each moment, take it slow sometimes, because there are too many things to look at, experience, think about.
and there will be countless moments worth to be captured:
two blurred images of us, girls. robert&neds, the two new dentists. the happy couple with lynds. em and i goofing around with the breads. em and lynds getting wacky with my lariats. sticking out my tongue. was too busy straining my neck to stare at the lady's book holder behind me.