Oh simple thing, where have you gone?

I'm getting old and I need something to rely on

So tell me when you're gonna let me in

I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

Keane

--- 

You sit in your comfortable corner and watch life unfold before your eyes: here is a distraught being, mustering all the courage left within to get through another minute in the midst of life's downpour; yet here is another character, tears falling from corners of the eyes from all the laughter, having difficulty breathing properly, but it's okay. And you: listening, laughing, but wistful within. What a fine life we are livin'. It really is a never-ending roller coaster -- of emotions, of events, of joyous moments, of kill-me-now obstacles, of pain, of relief, of good, of bad. But that's what makes life amazing, right? We move forward, drown in emotions, stumble, soar high, fall apart, get repaired, and continue to move forward.

Each day is a great day to be alive. Each day is a day for learning. (God knows how much I have been learning lately!) Each day is a day to be grateful -- whether you have a smile or a frown drawn across your face. Go crazy, cry your heart out, laugh like there's no tomorrow, wallow in life's miseries, party like a rock star -- and never apologize for feeling the way you do in each moment. Never apologize for what you feel. It's like saying sorry for being real. -Unknown

I don't want to be

Anything other than what I've been trying to be lately

All I have to do

Is think of me and I have peace of mind

I'm tired of looking 'round rooms

Wondering what I've got to do

Or who I'm supposed to be

I don't want to be anything other than me

Gavin DeGraw

Meet Andy (with his cutie-patootie first daughter, Si Eun). He has been my student since August 18, 2008. He goes off for a few months, when things get a little hectic in the company (he works for LG), but always returns to study with me. (And, modesty aside, only with me.) There was this instance wherein he demanded to take the time slot of another student, whose wife was a Study Manager. Haha! Even the husband of a SM couldn't go against Andy! Anyway, we were greeting each other during the start of class, like always. He asked me how my day went and if anything special happened.

Here's a gist of our conversation:

Andy: Is there a...good thing? A happy event?

Me: No...there's just a..Oh! Oh, no..Nothing. Nothing interesting.

Andy: You should give me great, good news. It's been 3-4 years that we've known each other...

Me: Yeah, it's been a very long time...

Andy: But still! You still have no boyfriend!

Me: HAHAHAHAHA!

Andy: You should get a boyfriend! What happened?

Me: Haha...No. Nobody likes me, so...

Andy: I think you work too hard. Your office time is too late. You have to go to a blind date, at night, with guys. But ahhh, it's impossible. 

Sometimes Andy's right.

---

Driver + bonding moments

I brought the car today, for the first time, on my own. I know I usually drive home really late at night (2-3am) on my own, but I've never really taken the car to work in the same manner. (Usually, I pick up Mommy Hope from her house or drive right behind Jem.) So yes, it was a bit of an accomplishment. Plus, I managed to park the car all by myself! I had to wait for quite a while, but yay! I didn't need Manong Guard to park my car for me. Thank God for keeping me safe at all times. =)

Anyway, I had to bring the car because I was tasked to fetch Baby Brother Bitok from Central as he was scheduled to have a night out with friends. He couldn't come home late unless I picked him up. I'm an awesome Ate, so duh, I told my parents I didn't mind. "Wait for your Ate. Don't commute if you're coming home past 10pm." Wow, protective much? Haha. So I was made to be this little kid's driver for the night. 

We ended up meeting at Mickey D's at ATC. When I got there, he was still with his Bene buddies. I told them to wait for a while so I could drive them where they needed to be (as agreed earlier), but they got all shy and said, "No. Okay lang po." Chos. I was already in line to get something to eat when the boys stood up, getting ready to leave. They were all half-drunk and I'm the big sister, so I insisted on driving them. I ended up driving  them off at the Fire Station (haha, a place too familiar to me) so they could just take the jeep from there. The car smelled like chico as I drove them. Hahaha! I was afraid someone was going to throw up in the car, but thankfully, they were still in good shape. Bitok was also complaining about being tipsy and how he was freezing in the car. LOL. Kids these days. Ha!

So we dropped them off and on the way back to McDonald's (I really wanted to chill for a while), I got into a beef with this truck. We pretty much raced along Commerce and I blocked his way at one point and I was cursing like hell in the car. HAHAHA. Oh my gahhh, road rage. Bitok was too drunk to care. I eventually let it go and drove slower. What an ass. Anyway.

We hung out at McD's for a while and talked about life. We talked about his friends and a ton of other random things. Then there was this conversation:

Me: Oh my gosh, you know what?

Bitok: What, is someone pregnant?
Me: WTF. No. What the hell are you thinking. Oh shit, what if I were pregnant?

Bitok: What the fuck. That's gross.
Me: What would you do if I got pregnant before I got married?

Bitok: What the hell. Dude, that's gross.
Me: I think I might get an abortion or something.

Bitok: What the hell, dude. No. Ikaw need to keep yung baby.

Me: Yeah, I know. Abortion is wrong. Well, I guess it depends on who the father is.

Bitok: Dude! What the fuck.

Me: Just sayin'.

Bitok: I'm adopting.
Me: Me, too! I wanna adopt. I wanna adopt, like, Asian babies. And an African baby. They're awesome.

Bitok: Me, too, dude! Gusto ko Thai baby eh. Sila cool.

Me: Hell yes, Asian babies are the best. You either get a super genius kid or a...a breakdancer! 

Bitok: Yeah, sila cool eh. But ako pa need to be a millionaire or something to adopt.
Me: Yeah, you do need tons of money for that. You can have like a huge place and be like, "Welcome to my zoo!" and babies would be running around!

Bitok: Dude, I'm not doing the Brangelina thing. That's stupid.

Me: Yeah, they have everything huh.
Bitok: Gusto ko lang Asian babies. Thai or...
Me: I was thinking of adopting Vietnamese babies!

Bitok: Yeah, me, too! I want to adopt a Thai baby...or a Vietnamese. They're what we call 'exotic'.

Me: Hey, Filipinos are 'exotic'...why not adopt a Filipino?

Bitok: Dude... -___-;;;

HAHAHAHAHA. The shit we talk about. Love it. The conversation would have been loads more interesting if Richie were around. :') I miss that kid brother during such bonding events. 

We got gas and drove home with the windows rolled down (I was in a bit of a road rage again; no beef with anyone on the road, but lots of overtaking occurred. haha geez, what's wrong with me?). Anyway, with the windows rolled down, we were just rocking out (with full head-banging action!) to Taking Back Sunday's Make Damn Sure and No Doubt's Spiderwebs -- full blast on the stereo. LOL. We got strange looks from people, but whatever. I realize that I turn into a vicious, mad driver after midnight (my driving during the day is seriously nothing compared to my night driving). It's kinda scary, but there's just this rush. It's crazy.

We finally got home at 1am. I love night hangouts. =)

Dear God,