ON BEING 23

By the time I would post this, it would already be past my birthday. But heck, inspiration strikes me like…once in a blue moon, so, might as well write this birthday (or post-birthday thoughts.)

Anyway, to start off yesterday, let me backtrack on Tuesday night. Some of my officemates and I were left at the office to decorate our office for Thanksgiving dinner. What happened, I went past my village curfew, which was 10 p.m. I called up my mom and said I would be sleeping over at my aunt’s house instead. Good thing a good friend accompanied me to my aunt's house.

So came birthday morning. I was planning to be absent but heck. I was only 5 minutes away from work. And what am I going to do in the house anyway? So, there I was, trooping along Buendia Ave, armed with my unwashed lunch box and clad in borrowed clothes. On my birthday. Just imagine.

Anyway, I had an okay day. My friends remembered my birthday, which was a big deal for me.:) My officemates greeted me, and they played a birthday song…well, I’d like to believe that that was for me even though chances were, I won’t really be around the CAD dept to appreciate it. I stopped decorating for the day, and my teammates didn’t seem to mind at all. My boss made do some stuff, and around afternoon he got stuck preparing for a lot of submittals, so he didn't have much time to think of things to assign to me, so I got stuck with the specs queries for another project...which was already done and needed his "touch". Good thing he didn’t make me work overtime. (Of all the days in the week, Wednesdays are usually prime days for overnight, since he has a weekly coordination meeting the following morning.) I think I was the first one to skedaddle out of the office.

***
So anyway, aside from that, nothing really unusual happened today. I kicked my heels (figuratively) and just relaxed…I had to watch Amazing Race first and think about serious (and not so serious things.)

So, it was great not having to think about work and responsibility. No editing, no profile, no racket, no bazaar (more on that later) – nada. For the first time in ages, I actually made time for thinking and I didn’t feel guilty about it.

It’s great to be clad in pink pajamas and not care.

***
So okay. Every time I turn a year older I feel that I’m becoming more and more detached from my real age. I’m not sure whether I’m regressing or this is how the typical early twenty-somethings really think – somewhat detached from the realities of life, but too “mature” to think of trivial things like boys and clothes.

But come to think of it, there are people my age who have started early with the true “grown up” phase, like thinking of having kids, settling down and blazing a trail in their chosen field. Well…I guess that shouldn’t be really weird. My friend was right. We are young, but we are not that young anymore. We have come into a phase in our lives that we are already capable of making huge changes in the way we want our lives to become….or at least, this undertaking is not just for the brave and adventurous ones.

The world is at our feet. *Sigh.* But why do I feel immobile?

So, pushing career aside, let’s talk about love. Yeah. Love. For ages, I was in this phase wherein I thought I really have lost connection with what this means. I was happy just by my lonesome, making friends in the process and not tied down to one person at all. Anyway, eons ago…fine, when I was sixteen, despite my inner angst (which should be another good topic), I really believed that loving someone was being ready to slay dragons for the one you love, a

All I can say is, I’m inspired. For the first time in years, I am inspired by someone. Thinking about someone actually makes me smile. And…well, it may not be as high and noble as what I thought of love when I was sixteen, but at this point I want to go back to zero and rediscover what love means.

23 seems like a good year.