In our many interesting conversations, her daughter had her fair share. In one instance, she exclaimed, “Oh my god! When we moved here to Belgium I couldn’t believe that I saw a blackboard in my new school! I mean, hello?? Who uses blackboards these days?”
Me: “Ummm…well, we do. As far as I know, we still use it back home. I mean, in my time, we used it and I don’t think I’m THAT old. What did you use in London?”
Daughter, “A smartboard.”, she said matter-of-factly.
I just had a blank look on my face. And for a moment, it took me back to the time when my bestfriend mentioned that she wanted to own a KINDLE and my first thought was, “What is a kindle?”.
Turning 30.
The first time I realized I was getting "old" was more than a decade ago, back when I was still in college. I was watching MTV Classics and all of a sudden I saw “Come As You Are” by Nirvana being played. I couldn’t believe my eyes (and ears)! It was just Nirvana! It wasn’t Michael Jackson, or Cyndi Lauper, or Boy George… You know, those 80’s groups. It was Nirvana!?@#%
And then it dawned upon me -- Nirvana began in the late 80s and “Nevermind” was the first cassette tape that I had proudly bought with my own money. They were supposed to be on MTV classics and I was getting old-ER. =)
Turning 30.
A lot of things have happened in my life. Some good, some bad, some wonderful, some terrible, some vague, and some I know will just stick with me for the rest of my life--or until I get amnesia.
I joined this social travelling organization a couple of days ago (www.couchsurfing.org) and one of the questions that I had to fill out was: What is one amazing thing you've seen/done?
Immediately, I began to write about diving and seeing sea turtles (awesome!) and mountain climbing with amazing views… For the most part of my life, sports have played a very essential role. I have never considered myself athletic but for some reason, I just like sports and I just want to be good at what I do. I HAVE to be--the competitive nature in me, but the thing is, I more often than not compete against myself. Ofcourse, I can be picky. I don’t like sissy sports but I will not expound on what I find to be sissy sports as I do not want to offend anyone in this essay. Sports have always made me feel alive and free and content. It gives me a natural high. But the sport that will always hold a special place in my heart is football.
Football. The greatest sport in the world. But as time passes, other sports have squeezed their way into my heart. Through the years, some sports that I have engaged in and have actually liked and have committed to are:
1. Football (since highschool) and Futsal (since college)
2. Swimming (since grade school)
3. Rollerblading (since highschool)
4. Skimboarding (post college)
5. Surfing (post college)
6. Adventure racing (post college), though I never really did enjoy biking for the sole reason that it made my thighs too big. Hey, I am still entitled to vanity.
7. Mountaineering (since college)
8. Wall & Rock climbing (since college)
9. Bouldering (just recently)
10. Ultimate Frisbee (since college)
11. Kayaking (since college)
12. Longboarding (since 2 years ago but it was just for a couple of times and I loved it =)
13. Snowboarding (just recently)
14. Scuba Diving (since 2 years ago)
15. English Boxing (for a year now)
And I will stop at 15 because admittedly, I can be a bit obsessive compulsive and right now, if it’s not multiples of 5 then it’ll make me feel strange. Freaky, I know.
So I wanted to write about my amazing experiences (even if the question stated to just give one [1]) and I did start to… but suddenly, I was struck by a single flashback. Something that I experienced a long time ago and it was one of the most ordinary of experiences but for some reason, it felt so extraordinary to me. And so I wrote about it and I will also share it with you…
ONE AMAZING THING I’VE SEEN/DONE
One afternoon I was skimboarding on a long stretch of beach back home. I was happy to have had the beach all to myself. Finally, dusk started settling in and the sky just burst into mesmerizing hues of pink, purple, orange, red, and blue.
I laid down on the shore with my board and just admired the awesomeness of it all.
Suddenly, I saw fireworks at a distance near the mountains. Fireworks have always amazed me, just like bubbles, rainbows, sunrises and moonrises; the simple yet beautiful things in life.
And at that moment, by myself and with silence only broken by the lapping of the gentle waves on the shore, I knew I was happy...that life was good and that I have been doing what I loved doing.
For some reason, that moment just stuck with me. For some reason, for me that moment was amazing...
Turning 30.
I have always felt that life is too short and there are just so many things that I want to do. Too many sports that I still want to try. Too many things that I still need to learn. Too many books that I still want to read. Too many stuff that I still want to Google. Too many stories that I still want to write. Too many places that I still want to visit. Too many people that I still want to help. Too many families that are still suffering from poverty. Too many animals facing extinction. Too many individuals not caring about the environment. Too many friends and relatives that I haven’t given enough hugs and attention to. Too many moments in my brothers’ and sister’s lives that I miss. Too many conversations that I still haven’t had with my mama and my papa. Too many memories that I still want to share with my partner. Too many… TOO many.
Turning 30? I can only hope that I will still live twice as long to be able to do even half of the things that I still want to do (not to mention have the energy for it!).
Turning 30. Life gets shorter when you turn 30...
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