A Birthday Post

It is almost midnight and in just few ticks of a clock, it will be my birthday. Sleep is a stranger and it is when the surrounding universe is dead that thoughts come alive. Another year older. What have changed? Definitely a lot. This is probably the first time that I will celebrate my birthday away from home. I don’t even know if celebrate is a proper word because I will spend this birthday alone.

Then suddenly, in the stillness of the night, thoughts reverberate…

“You’re all alone”

“Nobody really cares.”

“Suppose you fall… suppose you get sick…”

“If anything happens, who would know?”

“How long before someone might find you?”

“Who would you call?”

“Who would rush over?”

“Who would care?”

“Everybody has somebody, you have nobody.”

“You’re getting older.”

“You need someone with you.”

“You shouldn’t be alone.”

“What if …”

So I thought yes… “what ifs?”. And it is definitely endless because “what ifs” subdivide. What if I didn’t let her go? What if I didn’t leave my former job? What if I didn’t pass the Bar? What if I listen? What if I didn’t listen? What if?

Regrets? Nah, in my more than three decades of existence, I didn’t have major, major regrets so far and I would like to thank my family for always been supportive of my decisions.

Kidding aside, life is full of choices and I do have my share of bad ones. But I do believe I am optimistic enough to see the good in every bad choice I made. What is important is to learn from those mistakes and just move on.
Now, on to lighter things:
Eight is my birth date and is my favorite number. If you happen to notice, I almost always put eight photos in every post. And since it is my birthday, let me share 8 things about me that I haven’t shared before:

1. I joined a singing contest twice. The first time was in a boy scout regional camping trip where I represented Nueva Ecija and I placed 3rd. The rain started to pour when I sang and it ended when I stopped. The second time was in a local radio station where my classmates forced me to join so that we could win a Romnick-Sheryl concert tickets and I did win the tickets.

2. I have a cousin who was a teen-age heartthrob in the seventees (remember apat na sikat?), but she got impregnated and migrated to Canada. She told me that when I was about 5 or 6 years old, I had a cameo appearance as a street child in one of their movies.

3. My parents almost named me Mario because I was born on Mama Mary’s birthday. I am the third eldest and my Diko was supposed to have my name but our neighbor preempted that by naming their son “Norman”. My Tatay, remembered that name at the last minute so there it goes.

4. I was so torpe in my elementary days that I cried when my crush found out that I like her. I cried because my classmates teased me no end.

5. As far I can remember, I almost died three times. First was when I was crossing a street and a car suddenly bumped me. The second time was when I was learning to ride a motor scooter and the bike suddenly sped-off hitting a building. The last one was when our boat overturned in the sea. In all instances, I only got minor bruises.

6. I pretended to have the “F” and the “V” syndrome to turn-off a date. And I have been using the trick eversince.

7. I do not know how to use Photoshop and I never had any formal training in photography. I do use Picasa and Canon’s Digital Photo Professional to edit my photos and I learn techniques from joining other photo-bloggers when traveling with them;

8. I am scared of spiders specially the big ones. It’s ok when they are not moving but when they start to crawl, it will always surely freak me out. But I do like Spiderman. 

And of course, what is birthday without wishes. So in no particular order, here are my 8 wish list:

1. A wife. Lots of children to follow.
2. Ultra-wide angle lens and a zoom lens to replace my lens taken by the sea.
3. A US visa so I can visit my Nanay anytime.
4. A week-long Batanes or Siargao trip.
5. A trimmed 65 kilo weight.
6. A condo unit.
7. An ideal law job.
8. A healthy (or at least cordial) relationship with my former colleagues.

If you happen to be kind enough and want to grant some of my wishes (hehe), my e-mail is at the bottom of this webpage. :)

What a journey it has been. More than three decades of existence… but I know I am only halfway through. Happy Birthday Lawstude!!!

Wherever the road may lead… I know I will find you there! - Oman