Today... 16 June 2008

Today, I got up a full 15 minutes earlier than my usual waking time of 4:30am. The first thing that I said was, “Ang init!”

Today, I hardly slept. I had difficulty sleeping the night before, as is the case every Sunday. In addition to that, I was repeatedly roused by text messages at 12:30 am and 2:00 am. The latter said that the postcards my friend got for me got torn. It was his way of telling me that he was already back from the US to bug me with mindless text messages like the one that I had just received. Point taken.

Today, I counted 10 cats on my way to work. I consider it a good day when I at least see 4 cats. What else can a boring Monday bring?

Today, I was too tired to put on make up. I did not care that I looked pale nor did I mind that a few stray baby hairs were crowning my head already.

Today, my goddaughter Elisha officially turns two years old. My other goddaughter, Yuki, is officially six months old. I, on the other hand, just turned 27 years and 7 months old. I am just 5 months shy of my 28th birthday.

Today, I realized that I only have 2 more Mondays left in HSBC. That leaves me with 10 more banking days to work. My stint with the world’s local bank ends on June 30, 2008.

Today, a friend told me about an opening in Dubai.

Today, over at lunch, my officemates and I discuss our trips abroad and how our travels open our eyes to new realities. Again, we shake our heads and concede that the Philippines is going nowhere. Today, we realize that it is time to look beyond the confines of our own country for a better future.

Today, people approached me and asked about my impending resignation. Today, I had to again explain my reason for leaving. The reaction of course was all too familiar: the initial shock, followed by sadness, then excitement and in the end they all wished me well.

Today, I realize that a surprise is a surprise. That surprise came via a phone call from a beautiful stranger. He asked if I was free to join him for dinner. I was shocked as I was in the middle of reconstructing a cardholder’s letter. I had looked forward to going home at 7 pm. Faced with a decision, I just closed my eyes and said yes. People at work became curious who was on the other end of the line. They probably saw that I was a bit dumbstruck. Soon, everyone got kilig (Why do I always get that kind of reaction?). Someone started playing some cheesy love songs. Another opened my multiply page to play the songs that I have previously recorded. Almost the entire floor heard them. I was mortified that people were hearing my voice and I was embarrassed from their occasional teasing about this person inviting me to dinner. Suddenly I found myself in a sitcom-like situation. My female boss behaved like a mom and said I should fix myself. My male boss acted like a father and kept asking about this guy. All the rest were like members of my family, dishing out advice one after the other. Everyone looked as I left my table and they were all cheering and smiling at me. It was bizarre.

Today, I had to face the surprise, and luckily, I enjoyed it. Strangely, today was exactly a month after my first dinner with the beautiful stranger. Almost two hours were spent just having great conversations about our lives in the past, the present and the future. It was another great opportunity to know each other better. I had my share of Middle East and Diving 101. We learned about each other’s family, friends, work, the concept of beauty, food, relationships, etc. etc! Story after story and question over question poured over a hearty dinner of crispy tadyang and green mango with bagoong. Yum.

Today, I realized that I love to be around people who have lived abroad and/or who have traveled extensively. I relish the wealth of perspective that they give me and I appreciate their open-mindedness over anything and everything immensely.

Today, I am tired but I am happy.

Today, I am blessed.

This was written last night before I slept. Ü