Today, I am unloving...

So I turned 40 last February. For a whole year before, my friend A kept telling me that "It's like clockwork. The day you hit 40, your eyesight deteriorates." For a whole year, I was constantly teased about getting reading glasses as my 40th birthday gift.

Thankfully, I didn't get reading glasses as my present. And it didn't seem like I needed them. I was reading perfectly fine, thank you very much!

Until, on a whim, I tried my friend A's reading glasses... And it was, literally, eye-opening. The text on my phone (my only reading material during that night at Barcino's) seemed larger, sharper, clearer! I was shocked.

A week later, when the shock  (and denial) wore off, I had my eyes checked. And... [sob!]... I do need reading glasses!

Today, I am unloving that the "oldometer" really is like clockwork. And that I need to read any scale - oldometer or other - with (gah!) reading glasses!

Photo from heritage.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am unloving... series.

rambling about getting old & not feeling it

I celebrated my birthday 2 weeks ago. Let's just say that I've gotten to that age when I don't automatically remember my age when asked (and I mean asked on a form to be filled out rather than, God forbid, someone actually asking me out loud) how old I am.

Seriously. I have to calculate it just like I do when asked how old my mom or grandmother are: 2013 minus year of birth...

And no, it isn't memory loss from old age yet because I remember my kids' ages perfectly well.

In a few years, I will go back to automatically remembering my age because I will have reached a milestone age. Ironically, I think it is nearing that milestone age that makes me forget my age today. :P

The funny thing is I don't feel old (until I have conversations with friends about cholesterol & SGPT levels). But seriously, I feel like I just graduated from highschool or college. Maybe because I've kept my highschool & college friends and still see them at least once a week. Of course, I realize I didn't just come out of school when I get to talk to the trainees in my old office who actually just graduated (who, by the way, described Leonardo DiCaprio as "middle-aged" in a recent Pinoy Henyo game! Horror!).

But when I paid for our realty tax last month (I used to ask my mom to do this for me), I left city hall like a kid bursting with pride having accomplished something so grown-up. Strange, because I am actually grown up.

I guess age is really relative. And maybe the point of birthdays is not to make me feel old, but to let me celebrate my youth (even in my late 30's). After all, on my birthday, I am younger than I'll ever be.

Photos from acupofjo & lushlee.

my birthday wish

*I wrote this post before my birthday but wasn't able to publish it on time.

My birthday wish... is to sleep in even for just 1 day. I just want to wake up on my own, when I've had a full REM. Not because of my alarm blaring in my ear.

Weekdays, I wake up at 520 to wake Noah up and nag (yes, nag!) him to go through the morning's necessary activities like eat breakfast, eat breakfast fast, eat breakfast faster, dress up, brush teeth, etc.

Saturdays are the same because Isabella has track practice at 730am and Noah has basketball school.

Sundays, we have Sunday School which isn't so early but Noah wakes me up early (why does he wake up early on his own on the one day he doesn't need to?!). I eventually get to go back to sleep. But that just gives me a few minutes before my alarm goes off to remind me to get ready for church.

So I just really want to sleep in...

These days, it would be the best birthday gift! :)

P.S. I was down with a really bad flu during my birthday week. And I got to sleep a lot. I felt horrible, but I did get my wish to sleep. Birthday Fairy, boy, you are one mischievous little imp! Sigh... I guess it's true you should be careful what you wish for.

Don't worry, I had a fun 5-day-long belated birthday celebration after I got well. I had 1 breakfast, 2 lunches & 3 birthday dinners with dear friends - with 2 of those birthday dates at Cafe 1771 so I got to have 2 slices of my fave coffee pie from here. :)

Photo from heritage.

what if today was your birthday?

I can't imagine what it would be like to be born on February 29... Celebrating on the right day every four years, and on a different day during those years in between...

As an adult, I imagine that it could be special. It could be an excuse to throw a party every leap year because after all, it doesn't happen every year.

But what if your child was born on this day? Can you imagine having to explain to your preschooler that his birthday is February 29 but that his birthday isn't in the calendar every year? How would you explain that it only comes every four years and most times, you'll be celebrating his birthday on March 1?

I wonder how he'll take it... Will he be wishing his real birthday would come again next year as he blows out his candles? Awww, I sure hope it isn't as sad as I'm imagining it...

If today happens to be your - or your child's - birthday, do tell me what it's like because as you can see, I am awfully curious.

Photo from here via nyctaughtme.

my impossible wishlist

After writing that post on my excessive wishlist, I got to thinking about an impossible wishlist...

1. To watch a Friends episode live. When we went on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Burbank, California two years ago, we went inside the Two and a Half Men studio. Filming the show wasn't scheduled that day but we got to sit where a live audience would and right in front of us was the set of Charlie's house. It hit me then how sad it was that I would never get a chance to watch the filming of a Friends show. Good thing the Friends Central Perk set was part of the WB Tour so I at least got to see it up close. 
2. To taste Trattoria Uno's Zuppa Marinara again. When I was growing up, there were very few mall choices. One of them was Ali Mall and they had this quaint little Italian restaurant there with patrons' graffiti all over the walls. We ate there all the time. They had freshly-baked bread and the best Seafood Marinara soup! If I am not mistaken, it was owned by the Aranetas and in later years, would sometimes be closed because the chefs were busy with a private party of the Araneta family. I remember going there in later years and Zuppa Marinara was no longer on their menu but the chef would gladly cook me and my mom our favorite tomato soup! But a few years ago, Trattoria Uno closed down. And tasting their Zuppa Marinara again sadly lands on my impossible wishlist. Sigh.  
3. To munch on Jack & Jill Barbecue Curls again. I haven't found anyone who remembers Jack & Jill  Barbecue Curls because only Chiz Curls survived the test of time. People remember Munchees (which I wasn't a fan of) but nobody remembers the Barbecue Curls packed in a red and yellow foil pouch. I remember loving it when I was a kid. But to be honest, decades later, I have a very faint recollection of it's actual taste. So I'd sure love to try it again! A snack I do remember so well - that I can almost taste it - is the original Planters Cheese Curls that came in big cardboard canisters. I remember they brought out the "selfish" in me. When my friends were over at my house, I'd hide my big can and offer everything we had to eat at home - except for my salty, cheesy Planters Cheese Curls. Now sometimes, a Cheetos Crunchy would start out tasting like my old Planters, but the flavor at the end will be quite different. And don't be fooled by the Cheese Curls you might spot nowadays in a blue canister and yellow lid (even those that use the Planters brand), they are so NOT the same. The Cheese Balls versions are pretty close to the original. But the Cheese Curls are never like the original.
4. To see a photo of my old toy creations. When my brother and I were little, we would make pretend horses using side tables as the body (with a pillow so it would be soft to sit on), our mom's belts as reins & stirrups, and our teddy bears as our horses' heads. I also remember building various things out of Lego... Like a dog with an open slit as his mouth. The flat hole led to his belly so we pretended the "smooth flat two" Lego pieces were dogfood. The memories are so clear in my head but it would be great to have a photo as a souvenir.

5. To be one of those names in the credits of Disney's Beauty and the Beast or Toy Story. When I first watched Belle, I was so in awe of her expressions & actions - how her eyebrows furrowed, how her eyes widened with emotion, how her hair would fall down her face and she would brush it off. She seemed like a real person! I was also captivated by the very realistic majestic ballroom. And to this day, I love the songs! As the credits rolled down, I remember wishing my name was one of those many names. It would have been great to be a part of such a grand project. It was, after all, the first ever animated film to be nominated in the Academy Awards for Best Picture. I would have also loved to be part of the Toy Story production team. The first-ever animated film in CGI with three-dimensional characters... and toys I grew up with as the characters! That would have been awesome! Oh and just so it's clear, this wishlist item is not only impossible because the movies were made a long time ago, but more because I have no idea how animated films are made! I don't even know how to use Photoshop! It's just really fun to dream of being part of such a Creative Team.

Oddly, I thought thinking up this impossible wishlist would make me sad. But dreaming up the possibility of these impossible wishes was actually quite enjoyable! 

Friends photo is my own and the Beauty & the Beast animated gif is from annnniegirl.

Click here and here for previous posts that show my addiction to Friends. Click here for another nostalgic post on Ali Mall and other old malls.   

excessive birthday wishlist

Since it's my birthday, I thought up an excessive wishlist. They're absolutely unnecessary everyday things that I would absolutely love! [You might notice that shoes & bags are conspicuously absent from my list - because, I argue, they are a necessity! Haha!].

1. Friends DVD box sets. Yes, plural. The regular kind which is exactly what aired on TV. And the kind with never-before-seen additional footage. So I can compare and spot the extra jokes. What makes this even more excessive is I already have all 10 seasons. It's just that some seasons are the regular kind and some are the ones with extra footage. When I watch my DVDs from the extra-footage sets, at certain points, I catch myself thinking, "hey, that's an extra joke!" I'm never totally sure which is why I'd [neurotically] like to compare the 2 DVD sets. And despite the fact that I've watched every episode at least a thousand times to the point that some episodes don't play well anymore, these extra jokes escape me now! The only extra footage I can remember now is the one of Naked Ross sipping tea with Ugly Naked Guy when he was trying to get Ugly Naked Guy's apartment. And that is one extra visual I don't quite care for. :) 

2. Daily delivery of large Bubble Tea Royal Milk Tea Cold with extra bubbles   

3. My own Candy Corner (candy bar) at home - with unlimited supply of my favorite candies! Hmmm... since I'm making excessive wishes anyway, I would love to have a wall of M&Ms - segregrated by color - in those clear tubes that you find in the M&Ms stores. And I'd love to have every color - especially those that are not available in the pouches from the grocery!

Ooohh! I just looove the idea of these things on my excessive birthday wishlist.

Photo of the various scenes from The One Where They All Turn Thirty from here. Click here, here and here for previous evidences of my Friends fanaticism.