thanks

Woke up today to several missed calls on my jawal phone and a whole lot more text messages in my smart roaming. Friends and family who never forget Aug 19 as the day that brought one more crazy soul like me into this world.

My Tiaong family was the very first to have officially greeted me dahil pumasok ang text message nila at around 9pm last night sent from Pinas 2am which is Aug 19 na. Kaya tumawag ako sa kanila and talked to everyone until my jawal credit ran out.

Mario from Libya e-mailed me and Raoul, as he did last year, has been sending cute bday cards since yesterday. Dear Mauie texted me pati ang mga pamangkin kong si Myles, Bong and Tong (cute ng rhyme hehehe!) My sisters, brothers, friends at work and old friends like Jonas, Tatz and Cesar (na ka-dinner ko mamaya) sent text messages/emails. Syempre it makes me happy knowing that there still are hearts and minds out there na hindi naman ako nakakalimutan.

Pero pag meron palang someone dear to your heart tapos hindi nakapag-greet, talaga nga palang you’ll feel one tiny bit of emptiness. This is the first birthday kasi I had na wala na akong Nanay na tatawag to greet me in her frail sweet voice. In fact, this is my first birthday that I’d celebrate as an ‘orphan’. Di ba, walang tatay, walang nanay, ulila!

But worry not my dear friends. I’m far from being dramatic nor depressed. Nasabi ko lang. Kilala nyo naman ako. I look at things with the most pragmatic pair of eyes you’d ever seen. And right now, ganon lang ang tingin ko sa sarili ko. Ulila. But definitely not in the beaten up definition of the word huh.

Syempre nakaka-miss sila. After 15 years I still haven’t forgotten how my father’s voice sound like when he greets me a happy birthday over the phone. Yong phone nong 90’s dito sa kingdom na pipilahan mo ng sangkatutak na coins or else mapuputol ang usapan nyo.

But as I said, hindi ako nagda-drama. I just want to share with you this feeling that I’m reaching another emotional milestone in my life. Na ganito pala mag-celebrate ng birthday pag wala nang magulang. Buti na lang I’m old enough to be strong and sensible about the whole thing. Aba, pag naman nag-emote ka pa sa ganong bagay at the age of 46, hindi na maganda. Oppsss… nadulas ba ako? Hahaha!

Salamat po sa lahat ng nag-greet! How I wish kasing-yaman ako ni Willie Revillame para mai-treat ko rin kayo to a yacht ride or whisk you off my private jet and bring you all to Barbados. For now, pagtiyagaan nyo muna ang pa-dinner sa tabi-tabi.

Ang masasabi ko lang, thank God for giving me the chance to experience another bday. Kasama na yong wish na sana marami pang bday ang ibigay nya sa akin so I can still be around to receive the love friends and family so generously shower me with especially during these days.