I completed 2005 spending time with friends and family, thus making the year fulfilling and more satisfying. It was like therapy, relieving me of the pressures of work and life in Manila. And it was also like a week-long nightly vigil (I barely slept), parties everywhere, reunions and get-togethers with almost everyone I know. And it's always good to come home to Cagayan de Oro once in a while. I'm happy to know that I will always have friends here, and that there is always a place to go home to.

The parties and get-togethers were fun and tiring. It's amazing how I can go on 19-hour days of activities sleep the 5 hours left to regain more strength and party the next day. Unfortunately I am paying for the lifestyle I embraced while in CDO -- for I am currently suffering from a very sore throat and colds.

It was great talking with friends again, catching up with each other's lives. And as usual, the topics of discussion are so amusing. Who's gayer? Who has kids? Who's seeing whom? Who's fatter and thinner? Who's working out? Who has kids? Who's married? Personally, I think every person (more notoriously, relatives) asked me if I was married or was getting married anytime soon. I usually dismiss each question with a perplexing look and a snort (maybe a little flaring of the nostrils). It's uncanny and a bit unsettling. But I guess it comes with age. I am now 25, and so the person next to me finds himself granted with the power to assume that I am now ready to get married, that is, if I haven't taken the plunge yet. Oh well. It's not worth raving about. I just find it a bit funny and somehow humanizing (because sometimes I feel like a robot). But it's annoying at times because some get judgemental, especially now that most marriages are the cause of, er, unintended "events." Baptism before marriage familiar? Quite so.

I am also glad I was able to spend time with my sisters. It makes me feel so proud now that they're living independently, taking care of the the expense, managing the household, all while studying and completing their Nursing degrees (they're pretty good at it, too.). I know they've worked so hard on their studies, sometimes staying up in the wee hours of the morning to study and do ward duty in the hospitals around Mindanao. I am proud that they've grown up so fast, and also grown so thin in the process. I hope to treat them to a vacation when they're done with their studies so they can replenish they're strength. Guys, don't forget to eat something, and for gosh sakes, get some sleep. Study hard and play hard. I love my sisters.

To all the people I wasn't able to spend time with or didn't even see while I was there, I'm really sorry. It was a case of "so little time, so much to do." I literally was running to and from events, trying to accomodate everyone. Apologies apologies apologies. I will be home again sometime soon, and I will remember to see you. :)

Till next time, CDO.

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