Age AIn't Nothing But A Number

Before anything else, I'd like to thank everyone who sent out their warm greetings and/or visited me last Saturday. Thanks for taking out the time to remember! :)

My birthday was last Saturday. Unlike the previous ones, I wasn't as excited or looked forward to it at all. Sure, I'm grateful that I've been blessed to live through another year but I didn't feel the same anticipation as I used to. As a kid, a grand birthday party would give me immense happiness (A delectable cake and gifts always do the trick, hehehe!). It didn't do the same this year (Well, I didn't get myself ANYTHING fancy this year due to my unemployment!). It even came to a point when I couldn't care less if people close to me forget the occasion when I used to condemn it as a malfeasance of friendship.

Maybe I'm beginning to understand why some people dread the coming of their own birthdays. Suddenly, you find yourself in an introspective mood, pondering on what achievements you've accomplished in the past year (if any) or figuring out how to realize your goals (if any).

As part of a self-motivation strategy, I've outlined things I should have fulfilled before I reach thirty (Damn, only got four years to go!). To make the list readable, I have excluded ideas that are so far-fetched (e.g. having a smart, understanding, drop-dead gorgeous, filthy rich man as my husband; winning an Oscar or a Grammy; acquiring wealth so limitless that my third-generation descendants (if any) wouldn't have to work a single day of their lives; or meeting Barbra Streisand in person). It's so easy to dream up fantasies you've wanted to come true, however, I have to keep it real and make them feasible.

Without further ado, here are the following:

1. Finish college. If I were to name a huge regret in my life, that would be not having graduated from college. I have my reasons for not having done so; still I have this nagging feeling that it would be a lot better had I dealt with it before. Right now, I'd have the call center industry to thank for keeping me alive with a respectable and good-paying job, but for how long? I couldn't imagine answering customer-related queries or pacifying irate callers as a lifetime career. (I challenge anyone to name five people they know who have stayed in one call center for five years or more. You can't? Enough said.)

2. Do bungee jumping. As of late, I think I have an adventurous side waiting to be actualized. I've never been a fan of dangerous sports because I think there's too much at risk. Nevertheless, I've always wanted to know the feeling of how it is to fly. Since modern science hasn’t arrived at anything to make flying for humans without contraptions a reality, I guess bungee jumping would be the next best thing. (Besides, skydiving would be OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive!)

3. Settle all I.O.U.s. I am not known to be a financial whiz. The word savings seems to be non-existent in my vocabulary. Major weakness: audio CDs. Just like smoking and caffeine, purchasing CDs is an addiction I couldn't shake off. It has become an overwhelming need instead of a self-indulging luxury; I can't seem to have enough.

4. Write a script for films. Way back in my elementary days, I’ve dreamed of writing a book. I don’t know, it just felt right; I felt like I had to share a lot of things with the world. Well, all the writing I’ve ever practiced was either for my personal journal or school-related matters. Since I’ve broadened my hobbies to watching films, it has inspired me to write a good script for the movies after watching more than a handful of them disappointed me. (Gudlak!)

5. Learn a foreign language. I’ve read somewhere in Jessica Zafra’s latest book that learning a foreign language can be good exercise for the brain. I’ve only taken six units of basic Spanish but obviously they aren’t enough. Aside from probably cursing a person you wouldn’t want to obviously offend, maybe my lifetime partner is some Hispanic hunk and I could put it to very good use (¡Hay, mi amor! Si, Señor Jose Fernando!)

I’ve ran out of ideas, I’ll continue this some other time…