Thanks!

So far, this year’s birthday can be considered extra-ordinary:

- It started as early as March 8 and ended last Sunday (March 24)

- It has the most number of lunch and dinners:

o Dinner with teammates (Ruel, Cesar, Aleli and family, Bunso, JK and Ryan) at Picadilly

o Dinner with Jeng, Anai, Gen, Jen, Dru, Jon and Joy in Kokopelli

o Dinner with highschool classmates (Arnel, Than-than, Jheck and Biboy) at Crustacian in Trinoma

o Lunch with Miko , SC , Gem, Bibo and Erik in Sbarro

o Dinner cum seafood tripping with 77 GSI friends (Zeny, Roselle , Thea, Estie, Peter, Lucy, Dexter, Eileen and Mario) in Dampa Ortigas

o Lunch buffet with Jovic, Ally and Zai in Italianni’s

o Dinner with JP and Victor in a Mexican resto in Cybergate

o Dinner with family at home where I cooked carbonara

o College friends get-together with Richie, Jannette, Mike, Cesar and Rio in Greenbelt Parkplace.

o Dinner with Mama, Cherie, Bryan and Tina in a resto nearby PAL office

- It is the birthday where I got the most number of birthday cake – a strawberry cheese cake with fresh strawberry slices, 3 dulce de leche (2 big and a small one) and a rectangular chocolate cake. I think that offset all those years that I got no birthday cake

- For this year, I never expect for gifts. But I got a couple of surprises – a card signed by friends, a special gmail account and more. And I bought my self my own PSP.

For all those who find time to celebrate with me, super thank you!

three decades and a year

Dear Lord.

I am officially 31 years old today.

As usual, I don’t feel my age. I guess my mental age is stuck at 25 – still too young to know everything but old enough to know what’s right from wrong.

I am thankful for the people sent to accompany me in this journey. I feel blessed to have all of them in my life. I am grateful to be a son, a brother, a friend, a student, a classmate, a subordinate, a leader, a mentor, etc.

I am thankful for the hurdles and potholes placed along the way to challenge my capabilities and skills. Each hurdle is a reminder that there are more to learn.

I am thankful for allowing me to make mistakes and learn from it.

There are a lot of things I realized lately and one of them is that I am a good person. I may have some imperfections but I am not a hopeless case. I should love myself more.

Amen.