My Upcoming Birthday

In a few days, it's gonna be my 28th birthday. This is the very first time that I'll be spending my birthday away from my family.

I'm not saying that it's not going to be a HAPPY birthday because I'm away from them but I feel sad knowing that I won't get to celebrate it with them this year.

I was really hoping that my brother and nanay would be able to fly here for my birthday but because of financial issues and time constraints, we had to cancel.

*Sigh* Nakakalungkot. I miss them so much.

Yesterday, nagpamisa si Nanay for me, for getting the Team Leader job. I miss that about her. Although I'm not a Mass-goer, I still love the fact na nagpapamisa sya when we receive blessings that we've been waiting and praying for weeks. It's her way of thanking God for it.

I'm not really into birthday parties. I used to just drink with friends, kwentuhan, videoke 'til the wee hours of the morning. I don't expect gifts, really. I'm just happy to celebrate my birthday with people that I really care about and that I know care about me.

This year, I'll be celebrating my birthday with my partner Mai and her family, my second family. Nakakatuwa kasi Mama (Mai's mom) cancelled her trip to Gingoog (their province) because she wants to be here on my birthday. The only reason why I don't think much or I don't get sad too much now for missing my family is because I feel SOOOO welcome here. I can feel and see that they already consider me a part of their family.


I know that they also care about my well-being. Last week, when I didn't come home 30 minutes after my end shift, they contacted me and Mai to find out where I am. Parang Nanay ko. Ma-late lang ng uwi, 'di na sya mapakali. I feel SOOO at home here now. I love them as my own family, too, believe it or not. There are still certain things that I need to work on, like calling Mai's mom "Mama". I know, eventually, masasanay din ako.

Anyway, this is about my birthday. So, what am I planning to do on the 30th? Hmmm... me and Mai have work so we can't celebrate yet because of our conflicting schedules. We don't have enough money yet to really celebrate so I guess we'll just have a post-birthday celebration after our pay-out on the 10th.

Like my other birthdays, I always ponder on what I've done in the past years. I'll be 28 and in the past 28 years, I feel like I've done a pretty good job in establishing myself financially, emotionally and mentally. However, I still have to work on a lot of things.

Me and Mai promised ourselves that we will start earning money starting this year. We have plans of buying our own house in the future so we really have to take it seriously. First, we need to pay off our credit card balance. Then, buy some things on our wish list. Afterwards, we can start saving money.

Well, I have an excuse for not being able to save money. When I was still single, I give 50% of my earnings to Nanay. Now that I'm with Mai, we have other expenses that I need to consider, too. Now, I only give 35-40% of my earnings to Nanay, the rest goes to our savings/expenses.

Hayyy... eto na naman ADD ko. Going back to my birthday... I don't know how we're going to celebrate it. I'm fine with pizza and beer/wine. Or maybe me, Mai and her 2 sisters (Joy and Ann) can go out for a ladies night-out or something. Let's just see.

If I was in Manila, baka ganun din gawin namin. Pa-deliver ng pizza or Nanay or Mai will cook something tapos videoke all night. Hayyy... miss ko na kayo, 'Nay, Kenneth, and Tatay!


Ignacio Family. Picture taken at SteakSide in Malabon on the day me and Mai were leaving for Cebu. First family photo in 10 years!