friendships & goodbyes

nine years ago, i made a big decision of moving from an otherwise secured, promising marketing job in suyen corporation. if i had not left then, i'll probably be earning as much as bree, have a company car and be traipsing around paris, bangkok or hongkong. i never regretted packing up and moving to intel since then - intel opened up a lot of opportunities for me - travels, free school and honing both my technical and managerial skill. it was a job i think i was destined for and i continuously challenged myself to be better. the only thing that pained me about leaving my friends back then - bree, minky, mm, alan & jackie. bree, minky and mm were college friends, jackie was a fellow la sallian and alan was a cool store manager back then. i worked with bree, minky, jackie and mm for a year and nine months and we shared mostly everything - food, dreams, aspirations, joys and sorrows. we were out almost every night back then (ok, so we were in our early 20's) with movies, dining out and shopping. those were really fun times. while most except for bree moved to different companies - minky to swarovski, jackie to avon, alan to f&h and mm to who-knows-where, i've managed to form a lifelong friendship with bree, alan and jackie. its true that bree is the one that i see most often (having been classmates since high school) but the times i can count that we get together are times when it seems we were only together a few days back. its the same thing i have with my college friends, that while we don't see each other that often doesn't diminish the friendship we have - it only grows stronger. i feel fortunate that i have found lifelong friends, probably in every new place i went to. though admittedly there are some friendships i would have wanted to keep, i guess God had other plans for us that's why it had to end.

over the years, i have gotten more mature, wiser and more responsible. i stopped trying to please other people and i've made sure not to make any pretensions about who i am, what i feel, how i act - whether they label me as bitchy or "laitero." i've embraced the attitude that people should like me for who i am and not for who they want me to be. its much safer that way, there are no surprises and no plastic moments. i don't try to conform and i take rainchecks every now and then. at least that way, the friendships i make are real and i know those who stick are people who accepts me.

what does the future hold for each of us? some of my friends have packed their suitcases to start their lives anew in another country. there are a lot still who moved out or is planning to move out or who will be moving out of intel. people are making big decisions left and right and they're taking charge of their lives - this is actually a good thing. i always believed in "taking chances" - ok, so maybe in most things but not in matters of the heart. there are still some things admittedly that i am not that brave yet in facing - mcbaby is one of them. i've accepted the fact that people come and go in our lives and those that we were meant to be friends with somehow survives the separation. these are the friendships that lasts a lifetime. at least now its easier to keep in touch (if we make an effort) - there's e-mail, texts and instant messaging.

for now, tight hugs & a wish good luck.