i’m taking a short break from debugging, emptying thoughts and memories in my mind with the hope that i’ll be able to think more clearly.
pardon the randomness of everything written here. then again, this blog has been nothing but a journal of random thoughts and “plans-in-progress” (more like, infinitely in progress)
1. 25!
the first 2 years after college, i “celebrated” my birthday by doing paid/unpaid overtime in the office. i treat my birthday as an ordinary day. it’s the unexpected greetings from friends and the half-expected greetings from family that makes it special. otherwise, i don’t mind not celebrating it.
on the 3rd year after college, i decided to break away from my “OT/OS trend on birthdays” to concentrate on studying for an IT exam. it was my second take so i thought i owe it to myself to study extra hard. it would be sort of a gift to myself. (and i would be happy to report that i passed it, thank God!)
this year, i went back to my “OT/OS trend”. but what made this year different from the first 2 years after college was that i received a few surprises from friends, which made it special (yes, more special than receiving the usual messages from family and friends) 
i’m smiling right now recalling how wonderful the surprises were:
- DVD copy of 3 recommended animes from an officemate that i usually bump into at the pantry during lunch before my officemate (who gave me the DVD) learned from other officemates who learned about my birthday, the original arrangement about the DVD was that i furnish my officemate the DVD and she would burn the animes that she recommends i watch (does that make sense? basta.) when she learned that it was my birthday, she surprised me by leaving the DVD on my table. apparently, the DVD was on her. i was really happy. it’s been a long time that someone has been nice enough to give me a freebie.
- surprise ice cream treat from teammates
this year (around late March), i was transferred to a new team. since we don’t keep a list of birthdays (or maybe i have an Excel sheet containing personal details lying around in my computer somewhere and i forgot about it), i expected that my teammates wouldn’t know about my birthday. hehehe. which kinda made me feel victorious on my birthday. (the only other time when nobody other than my family greeted me was during third year college, i think. hehehe). but i think one teammate saw me reading birthday greetings from previous teammates because, somehow, they were able to surprise me with an ice cream treat on the next day. it was the first time when officemates surprised me with a birthday treat. and i really didn’t have a clue until the afternoon break when they told me to stay in the cube because we would be eating ice cream. i never thought i’d say this about my current teammates but i’m saying it now… i was touched. (awww… hehehe). even though i didn’t let it show too much. i would definitely remember it for a long time. though i doubt (and hope!) that my teammates would never get to read my blog, i still like to say “thanks, guys!”
- the book that gave me 3 surprises in 1
surprise #1: i was surprised when Faith asked a question on FB if i received something. i asked back “what was i supposed to receive?” it took me awhile to figure out that she might be referring to a gift she was sending me. haha. thanks, faith!
surprise #2: when Faith informed me that she sent a book for my birthday, i was again surprised that it hadn’t reached me yet. Faith had informed me that she sent it days before my birthday so that i would receive it on my birthday. then i thought, considering the 2 consecutive typhoons that ravaged the Philippines, especially the national capital where all mails would first land, there was a possibility that the book got lost/damaged/stolen and that i wouldn’t be able to get my hands on it.
surprise #3: just when i was nearly fully resigned to the possibility that i wouldn’t be able to receive my first gift from Japan, the book arrived, with no trace of being affected by the typhoons. yey! 
i remember feeling a little bit, well, okay, a lot strained on that day since it was around 2 days before the initial release date and receiving the book was the only good thing that happened to me. so thanks, Faith! the book really made me smile, especially when i was able to recognize the “ie” and “chikaku” kanji characters! hehehe. hopefully, the time will come when i can read it without having to look up the characters.
2. 25 is the new 18! 
recently, i’ve been feeling like my high school/first year college self because of #19. he’s among the few people i know (well, not personally) who has been able to live out the principle “magis”. an accomplished student (double major in a top university with cum laude honors in his first major), driven athlete, budding entrepreneur, inspiring media personality (and not just to the girls, mind you, but to little kids as well), and unknown to many, also a volunteer, the very well-rounded #19 shows us what “magis” is all about using his life as example (take note, not just mere lip service!). though far from being a living saint, this ideal son and student (and possibly teammate, friend, etc.) is, as some would say, close to perfect. which is why i’m gushing about him in this post. hehehe. well, at least, the thought of him being able to do all those stuff that he does and not complaining keeps me awake during crunch times in the office, trying to also work hard. well, then again, we have to consider other factors such as the availability of his resources. on the other hand, there are also privileged people out there who just waste their lives so i guess #19 is way better than them (heck, there are even those who are not as privileged but also waste their lives). so way to go, #19!
3. on a book binge
i’ve been buying several books lately, which caused a very big hole in my budget. tsk tsk tsk. and to think it turned out that i didn’t like or agree with some of those books (example: self-help)! i will be revising my saving strategy and avoid-too-much-book-buying strategy soon. but i guess my immediate avoid-too-much-book-buying strategy would be to avoid going to malls, especially those with bookstores. hahaha.
4. goals, goals, goals
most of the goals that i have set for myself have, er, remained as goals. will have to do something about it. will update hopefully soon.
ganbarimasu!
