What A Difference A Year Makes

I’m now 26. Yes, I’m approaching my late 20’s. Yes, I have lived a quarter of my life. And yes, I am aging.

But I don’t regret turning 26. In fact, when I look back at my 25th year on earth, I can say it has seen the worst and the best of me. I have gone through so much. I have learned so much. And I couldn’t have done it without the help of the people around me.

So here I am, all grown up at 26, reflecting yet again on all the many changes in my life. Looking back, I realize how different October 23, 2005 was from 2006…


Before. I was such a party girl. Post partum breakup, all I did was go to bars, drink and smoke and dance til dawn. I found happiness in friends, alcoholic drinks and psychedelic lights. Friday and Saturday nights, I’m at the Fort dining and wining and dancing to house or hiphop music. Occasional BOTs (Bottle or Two) at Good Earth or Gweilos helped me get through manic Mondays and well, manic anydays. I couldn’t stay at home. I couldn’t be left alone because I didn’t want silence or dead air and depressing thoughts. I filled my world with blaring music, loud laughter and sheer intoxication.


Now. I have toned down. It’s been 3 months since I last saw the inside of Cuisine, Embassy, Ponti, even Capones. Very rare BOTs on weekdays and no more partying til dawn. I rarely stay up late except when I’m working or catching a late night movie or a few rounds at Greenbelt or Alabang. I only see the break of dawn during poker nights with high school friends or house parties with my girlfriends. I have changed. I’m done with the excessive partying. Now I’m into quiet drinking with close friends than wild partying at clubs. It’s way way cheaper, safer and more intimate that way. It has now been my rule to avoid drinking and driving…but I wouldn’t mind an occasional Friday night at Piedra or Gaudi or Cuisine..with a designated driver of course ;)


Before. I only see my girlfriends for occasional Saturday or Sunday lunch/ coffee and sometimes for Friday dinners. Usually we only meet up to discuss a recent heartbreak or when someone’s going through a major fight or on the verge of a break-up. And when we do meet, we’re ALWAYS incomplete and we have an 11 PM Curfew (long story). It’s only during these meetings that we get the latest buzz. Other days, we go on with our lives with occasional yahoogroup emails (forwarded) and text messages (forwarded).

I only see my high school friends whenever someone gives birth, when someone’s kid gets baptized or celebrates a birthday or before someone leaves for the States. And we just eat and eat or sing videoke.


Now. My girlfriends and I are making up for all the lost time and early curfews. We see each other every week. We spend hours and hours chatting and discussing our life stories. And I mean hours. From dinner til dawn, we analyze one another’s situations and issues about our personal careers and lovelives. And we’re not satisfied with that, even at work, we YM each other individually or via conference. We SMS each other and forward gossip like we all have service phones from work. We celebrate birthdays together now, complete with themes and costumes. We cook food. Our friends with good culinary skills teach us mere undomesticated mortals. We know the ins and outs of each other’s lives. I have gone on a trip to Bangkok with one of my girlfriends, something we have always planned but never thought would actually happen. And we are closer than before. In a year, we have seen the following changes: (1) my break-up, new love and new life (2) Inja’s repeat relationship, breakup, and dating frenzy (3) Thiella’s shaky marriage, jealousy fits and imaginary dogs (4) Dana’s love and heartbreak over her guy best friend and the blossoming of her Havaianas love affair (5) Al Jean’s transition from girlfriend to life partner (6) Dior’s “medical affairs” -- her work work and nightlife imbalance and finally, the latest and most devastating and most complicated of them all (7) Eve’s love triangleS and Pinnochio syndrome (I’m a real boy!). From Desperate Housewives addiction to CSI and Grey’s Anatomy…from JD and Coke to Absolut Mandarin to All My Tea. From Paris the baby lobster to Paris the dead lobster, we’ve seen it all together. And next year this time, we may no longer be complete with 2 of us exploring options outside the country but at least we had this one full year where we shared everything together. Again, what a difference a year makes. Who would have thought we’d be reunited like this? Hopefully the bonds will never be severed, even when some of us are miles away. Like they say, boyfriends come and go, but girlfriends…like death and taxes, they’re among the only surefire things in life.

Same thing with people you have known during the best years of your life, my high school friends have been there for me during my troubled times. I remember my birthday last year, they celebrated with me at BSA and Joel got so drunk he was dirty dancing against the wall like he was auditioning at Chicos. I am no longer a frequent absentee with my high school friends. Now we get together more often. Usually for our common passion: POKER!! And alcohol and Will Ferell movies. These guys are the best. Really, they are. They will eat whatever you feed them and pretend its good, they will tell you your poker chips are barbaric yet use them still, they will drive from QC to Cavite or from Cavite to Makati and play poker til 4 AM then play tennis or spend time with their families a few hours after. Now we don’t need an occasion to get together, just a lil shuffle up and deal. Oh and Joel’s my officemate now, so we see each other at work plenty of times. And I’m really glad we’re colleagues. It’s always nice seeing him around. He’s like this mascot that cheers up everyone around him.

Before. Speaking of work, another change in my life is my new career. I used to work for Nestle where I spent 3 good life-changing professional years. Nestle was a good company. Good benefits, really nice office and the people were great but well I felt the need to move on and I did so…


Now... I’m with the All-American Wyeth. And the change has been scary but the people here have been so friendly, I feel like I’ve been here for ages. Wyeth is like one big happy family. And they’ve been sooo generous. It’s a less complicated, more kid-friendly place to work in. I’m absolutely loving it.

Before. I was devastated and I felt so worthless and alone (and I did nasty things only stalkers would do ;) My life was just so empty and sad.

Now. I have all the love in the world….I have found my missing piece and I know my life will never be empty or sad ever again.


The things that happen within a year. Makes you wonder, what will it be like the year after? I’ll be 27 then. Where will I be and what will I be like? Who will I be with and what will I be doing? I feel slightly anxious, slightly excited because I know it will be different then but I know, somehow, it will be for the better because I won’t be alone ;)