For Claire

My dear friend Claire writes like a dream; not surprisingly, as she can carry on the most literate of conversations on life, love, and faith. One of her favorite subjects is the state of being single - also a subject of our numerous discussions over the years. Due to the "toxicity" of her schedule as a medical resident (newly graduated) and my frequent travels, we haven't had a chance to meet up for the coffee-and-conversation date we've been eternally planning, but I thought of Claire as I read this book over Good Friday (not exactly prescribed Holy Week reading!). The protagonists of How To Be Single: A Novel (Liz Tuccillo, 2008) are all single American women a little bit older than Clairebear (my age, for that matter), but their experiences are perhaps universal. The premise of the book, in fact, is just that: the narrator travels the world to seek out whether single women elsewhere have "got it figured out" (as far as she can tell, they haven't). Anyway, there are several passages that stand out, even out of the story's context, and I thought I'd share some of them here. For you, Claire, until we meet for that coffee and I can give you the book itself.

"The love of her life, the love of her life. As Alice took a shower, she realized it came down once again to one thing: What did she believe in? In other words, What kind of life did she want to live? Did she really think the love of her life was out there? Did she think it was wise to go back out into the wilds of being single just in the hope of finding him? What was she holding out for? As she toweled herself off, she realized that she didn't want to be the girl who refused to settle. She didn't want to be the girl who believed that life is short and it's better to be single and looking for the 'love of your life' than to just give up and settle. She didn't want to be that girl. She thought that girl was stupid. Naive. Alice liked being practical; she was a lawyer, so she preferred to be realistic. Waiting and searching for the love of your life was exhausting. It might even be delusional. Again, yes, she knew that some people win the love lottery and get to fall in love with someone who is also mad about them, and their life together is harmonious and filled with love. But she didn't want to be the girl who stubbornly held out for what might never come.

She sat back down on her bed, wrapped in a little towel, and she began to cry. She started sobbing, her arms wrapping around her legs as she put her head on her knees and rocked and wept.

She realized she was that girl.

That girl who, at thirty-eight, couldn't give up the dream that she would meet a man who made her heart soar and that they would share a life together. She cried knowing it meant that she had to worry about whether she was ever going to start a family, that she would be thrust back into a world where nothing was guaranteed and all she really had was hope. She knew it meant that she would be single again."

Here's to not settling, Clairebear. :-)

Maroon to the Core

My alma mater is celebrating its 100th year in 2008, and while I missed the kick-off festivities, I join in the revelry of the University of the Philippines' centennial. I'm a full-blooded Maroon, literally having spent almost the entirety of my academic life in the sprawling campus of UP Diliman (elementary, high school, college, law school - plus a stint doing my Masters' at UP Clark Air Base). It's therefore not surprising that I can sing U.P. Naming Mahal (U.P. Beloved) backwards, in both languages, in my sleep. My entire family is Maroon, and so are most of my oldest and dearest friends, as well as all the named partners of our law firm. Over the years, I've developed a magnanimous tolerance peaceful co-existence with non-UP grads, yet in my heart, U.P., for all its faults, will always be number one. Di rin magbabago ang damdamin, baby.

So as a personal tribute to the 100 years of the country's premiere institution of learning, I offer this...meme. He he. It's a little self-indulgent, but a nostalgic trip down 17 years in the State U is worth the time and the blogspace. Nicked this off Clairebear's space:

mga isko at iska, sagot na!

To commemorate our centennial year...
University of the Philippines

1. Student number? 85-14360. Yes, I was a 14-year old freshman (freak).

2. College? College of Arts and Letters, College of Mass Communication, College of Law, Diliman. UP College at Clark Air Base in between CMC and law school.

3. Ano ang course mo? (What did you Major in?) BS Humanities, BA Communication (Broadcasting), Bachelor of Laws, Masters in Public Administration and Asian Studies.

4. Nag-shift ka ba o na-kick out? (Did you shift majors/Courses or were you a kicked out of your College)? Shifted from a then pre-med BS Hum to BA Comm. One of the best decisions of my life!

5. Saan ka kumuha ng UPCAT? (Where did you take your entrance examination?) The big CS auditorium in Palma Hall (what used to be the Arts and Sciences Building)

6. Favorite GE subject? (General Education classes) Spanish with Senor Maranan. Vamos a la playa! Besame mucho...

7. Favorite PE? Swimming

8. Saan ka nag-aabang ng hot guys/girls sa UP? (Where did you hang out to check out the hot babes/dudes?) Definitely not at the UP CMC. Not that there weren't any hot guys - the men were hot all right, but they weren't exactly my idea of, er, guys. The College of Engineering was always a good place for sightseeing...

9. Favorite profs? (Favorite Professors?) Diane Teotico (RIP, Broad. 100 and Radio Production), Evelyn David (TV Production), Malu de Guzman (TV Performance), Tony La Vina (Criminal Law 1), Arno Sanidad (Criminal Procedure).

10. Pinaka-ayaw na GE subject (least favorite General Education class)? Nat. Sci 2 - Physics! Eeegh. And Math 11, my one and only Math class. Thank God for the EDSA I Revolution and mass promotion!

11. Kumuha ka ba ng Saturday classes? (Did you sign up for Saturday classes?) Involuntarily, and I cut through almost all of them.

12. Nakapag-field trip ka ba? (Did you join any field trips?) If I remember right, only once to Batangas to shoot our TV Performance finals.

13. Naging CS ka na ba or US sa UP? (Were you ever a College Scholar and or a University Scholar) Yes, before all the extra-curriculars. He he.

14. Ano ang Org/Frat/Soro mo? (What Organization/Fraternity/Sorority were you a member of?) This is why I didn't make CS or US ever again: UP Samaskom, Interschool Business Association, UP CMC Student Council, UP Law Portia Sorority, Paralegal Volunteers' Organization, Society of Law Students, UP Law Debate Team, Philippine Law Journal, UP Law Student Government, UP Inter-sorority Council, STRAW Alliance.

15. Dorm, Boarding house, o Bahay? (Did you stay at a dorm, boarding house or did you live at home during college?) Home, which is 15 minutes away from UP Dil, but I always slummed at my friends' dorm during law school.

16. Kung walang UPCAT test at malaya kang nakapili ng kurso mo sa UP, ano yun? (If you had your way, what was your dream course/major?) Marine Biology, which wasn't offered in Diliman at the time (and which involved a lot more math units), or Hotel and Restaurant Management (hmmm...which involved a lot more math units too. Mabuhay ang Mass Comm!!)

17. Sino ang pinaka-una mong nakilala sa UP?(Who did you first meet at UP?) Her name was Christie, she was from Mountain Province...and I don't know whatever happened to her.

18. First play na napanood mo sa UP? (First play you watched in UP) Should have been Isko, the definitive play (musical) about life in UP, which happened to star someone who would be (and still is) my best friend of the last 22 years as Isko himself. But I think it was Tennesee William's Camino Real at Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero. Remembered it just now (many hours after posting the original of this entry).

19. Saan ka madalas mag-lunch? (Where did you usually eat lunch?) First two years of college, at CASAA (Sizzler and Gloria's) - ooh, refer back to #8 - where I would ogle future Senator Francis Pangilinan (he would later be a law school classmate, friend and boss) as he ordered his meatballs and chocolate milk. I could die... In Mass Comm, at Pampaguena's and a variety of drinking places - Goldmine, Mister Steak, Tia Maria's - on Katipunan (liquid diet! Huwhaay not??). In law school, at Da Wall (MWSS jeepney turo-turo), Mommy Thai's at IC, and all those non-drinking establishments along Katipunan (we finally learned to drink AFTER school hours).

20. Masaya ba sa UP? (Was it fun in UP?) DA BEST.

21. Nakasama ka na ba sa rally? (Did you ever get to go to a rally?) Many times after I quit being so apathetic (ironically, in law school): the warrantless arrest of my classmate, the anti-US Bases rally, STFAP, among others...I think I was in a rally every year. Good old days.

22. Ilang beses ka bumoto sa Student Council? (How many times did you vote for Student Council elections?) I should know this. In law school, every year; in undergrad I think I only voted when I ran. Haha! Oh wait, I voted for Francis Pangilinan pala. Yahoo!

23. Pinangarap mo rin bang mag-laude nung freshman ka? (Did you ever aspire to graduate with honors when you were a freshman?) My Mom sure did.

24. Kung di ka UP, anong school ka? (If you didn't go to UP, what school would you have gone?) I would be an out-of-school youth. You see, I didn't apply to any other school. UP or nothing! (Tigas...)

Man, that was fun...I could use a PhP7 bottle of Pale Pilsen right about now.

No Place Like Home

I'm back on the sultry shores of the Philippines - and slowly disengaging myself from the throes of lethargy. The intercontinental jump from a brisk 12C to a humid 33 degrees, plus readjusting my body clock 13 hours forward, is wreaking havoc on my system, and I've been sleeping like a bear. This morning I went to bed at half past 3 am, and, to my horror, got up 15 hours later! Then I fell asleep again after dinner - my sister kept checking my pulse to see if I was still alive. Oh well, now it's 2:30 a.m. and I'm wide awake (duh).

I never thought I'd be missing the cold weather of the North, but it's good to be home. Home is a PhP70 ($1.50; $2 with tip) pedicure at the UP Shopping Center, Joel Torre's chicken inasal with lots of red mantika and garlic rice, a Jollibee meal number NE2 (sweet spaghetti and regular Yum), my Mom's lomo-lomo, SM Megamall, a four-day long Holy Week-end, the Landmark Manila community, my beloved family and friends (some of who I've already sleepily spoken with - pardon the torpor of our conversations). None of the above is available elsewhere on the planet, and I'm blessed to have them near. I'm already creating my next international adventure, but for now, I'm home sweet home.

One (More) Big Fight

It's a little anti-climactic, but here I go on the last leg of legal testing - God-willing, the last EVER. The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) is tomorrow, and, unlike the Bar, is only two hours and 60 (multiple choice) questions long. And thankfully only covers one subject - legal (including judicial) professional conduct and ethics.

If I may say so myself, did a pretty good job in both my Legal Ethics class under the late great Justice Irene Cortes, and in the Legal Ethics section of the Philippine Bar. Plus, most of the continuing legal education units I had to cram in before I left consisted of hours upon hours of Legal Ethics lectures (ugh).

However, my proficiency in Philippine legal ethics did little to prepare me for legal ethics, American style. In this country where advertising legal services on billboards and television and accepting contingent fees are permissible (both are prohibited under the Philippine Code of Professional Responsibility), I've had to learn and re-learn more than a few concepts. Judges campaign and are elected to office here, a situation I never had to deal with back home; and it's much more litigious on these shores than it is in the Philippines, where a guest would never dream of suing a homeowner if the guest slipped and fell in the homeowner's home (darn it, I'm beginning to sound like a frickin' Bar fact pattern).

Anyway, one last hurrah, and this particular US trip is complete. I have a week after tomorrow to really hang loose and just enjoy whatever's left of the winter (apparently there's still a lot more cold to bear, according to the forecasts) so I'm just gonna chill (literally and otherwise) before thawing out in my beloved Manila.

Go team fight!

East Coasting

I'm back in Midwestern territory - the beautiful city of Chicago - after more than a week on the East Coast. An extended week, I should say, since the experience was too fantastic to cut short and I ended up moving my flight.

While I already spent some time in New York, and enjoyed a considerable stay in New Jersey as well a few years ago, it's only gotten better. Perhaps the biggest reason I had such a grand time this time around was the company I kept (although of course the last time was spent with fabulous friends too). My sorority sister and fellow NY Bar candidate Leah, fellow Ilocana now Upper West Side resident (faaaabulous pad that took the edge off my pre-Bar stint whilst I crashed there); my fantabulous and ever-gorgeous college friend Viviene from Connecticut; Carlo from Queens, my good intercontinental friend who can work both Wall Street and E. Rodriguez with such grace and generosity; and of course my kumare and kumpare Stelle (shopping sister!!!) and Tim, my goddaughter Mikayla and the very warm and welcoming Tata and Dada Maulits from Jersey City. Ohmygosh, the reason I enjoyed the East Coast so very much was YOUR COMPANY. Thank you so very much, dear friends. God bless you all, you were such a contribution to my happiness the entire time I was over there. I am truly blessed to have you in my life. For sure, I'll be knocking on your doors again very soon :-)