Lining up for something is a way of life in UP Diliman… well at least during my time. I used to line up for a jeepney ride to get to my next class; to buy food at CASAA or Beach house; and of course, to register for a class. During my college days, I had never experienced enlisting for a subject online. The only way to get enrolled in any class was to brave the long lines, oftentimes without the assurance of getting a slot. There are times when I’d feel so tired hopping from one enlistment area to another that I would just choose the class with the shortest line of students waiting to be enlisted… which is why I was forced to take up Modern Dance and Street Dance for my PE class (thank God I tremendously enjoyed the latter). It’s no wonder then that I would often refer to my alma mater as the “University of Pila.”

Little did I know that I’ll soon look back to those “difficult” days of my college life with so much gratitude. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from those experiences, it’s PATIENCE. Graduation didn’t put an end to my “pila” and waiting days; apparently, my college experiences were there to prepare me for the bigger things ahead. When I was still applying for work, I used to wait long hours in the lobby for my turn to be interviewed. When I applied for a passport and a driver’s license, I spent the whole day lining up from one window to another. Even during our recent trip to the Manila Ocean Park, we waited for two hours just to get a good view of the oceanarium.

Come to think of it, there’s hardly any activity nowadays that does not require some degree of waiting. I often have to line up to withdraw cash from an ATM machine, to pay my bills, to deposit money in the bank, to try out a shirt in the dressing room, and to buy groceries, medicines and other stuff. When I need to see my doctor, I’d wait for no less than an hour before my name can be called. Waiting has indeed become a way of life.

I have to pity others who could do nothing else but whine while waiting in line. I would hear them say, “It’s such a waste of time!” a hundred times over. I couldn’t agree more with precious time being wasted, but hey, that’s just how life works. Gripe all you want all day, or learn to live with it… you can choose your battle. Thanks to my early training, I have learned to embrace “waiting” as part of my daily existence. So now, I never go out for some activity that entails some waiting without my reliable gadgets – my cellphone and headset, a bottle of water, some snacks, a good book, or even just a pen and my notepad, in case I get inspired to write about something. These indispensables make time seem to fly, even if I already stayed waiting in line the whole day. Before I know it, I’ve reached the last step and I’m just a few minutes away from going home.

P.S. I wrote this entry while renewing my license –and enduring the long lines plus the summer heat– at the LTO last week

I just realized that I’ve been using my mobile number for more than a decade now. My aunt, who used to work at Globe Telecoms, availed of an employee subscription plan sometime 1996. But it was my sister and I who took turns in using the number. Back then, networks weren’t as clogged as they are now; we still enjoyed unlimited texting within and outside the network; and it was still fashionable to text “how are you?” instead of “hw r u?”

After I graduated and started working, my sister gave up her right on the phone so I began using it full-time. After a few months, I had the account transferred under my name. During that time, mobile phones and texting had become the latest craze. Plus, I finally caved in to using shortcuts while typing SMS. And while I was still using my jurassic-like but reliable Nokia 2110 unit, everyone else was saving up to buy the very popular Nokia 5110 model.

In year 2000, I finally gave up my “antique” mobile phone and upgraded to the more stylish Nokia 3310. I changed phones about four more times after that, but never once did I change my mobile number.

After giving up my corporate life, I’ve been tempted countless times to switch to a prepaid account — the most prudent thing to do when you’re jobless and nearly broke. But I just couldn’t give up my beloved number. I love my number; it’s so easy to remember and I’m sure feng shui experts would say that it’s one lucky number. Having used it for more than a decade already, it would be difficult to let it go now.

Change is oftentimes good. But changing my mobile number is something I don’t intend to do anytime in the future, unless for security reasons. Besides, I want to be just a text away to my old friends and colleagues whom I’ve lost touch with during the past few years… assuming, of course, that they still have my number in their phonebooks.

P.S. One time, my son saw me busy with my cellphone and asked me what am I doing. I answered, “I’m typing.” Then he said, “No mommy, not typing… it’s tiksting(texting)…” Uh… right.

My year 2008 is off to a good start: For the first quarter of this year alone, I managed to cancel 3 out of my 5 credit cards! For the longest time, I’ve been aiming to limit the number of cards to just two, as most financial gurus would advise anyone. And I finally did it!

Having previously worked for a top corporation, it was relatively easy for me to apply for a credit card. In fact, I didn’t have to apply for it; pre-approved cards kept on arriving at my doorstep. At first, it was so fun collecting cards from various companies. Pang-display sa wallet, as some would say. But when my debts started to balloon, I started despising my credit card collection.

I’m somewhat allergic to debts, so I’d freak out everytime my outstanding balance would reach the P5K mark. Still, I couldn’t resist the urge to swipe my cards. About 3 years ago, my family began to feel the brunt of paying hefty interest charges. We haven’t been able to save up for anything because the bulk of my hubby’s paycheck would always go these credit card companies. That’s when I became obsessed with paying off our credit card debts. First casualties were my hubby’s credit card accounts, upon his request. I worked on it for about a year and was successful at cancelling two of his accounts. After that, I took care of my own. After more than a year of doing balance transfers, I’m down to just 2 active credit cards in my purse! Woo-hoo!

Well, I’m far from being debt-free, but it is now easier to manage my 2 cards (plus one card from hubby). And since I still have to work on bringing down my outstanding balance in my existing accounts, I now think twice about swiping that darn plastic card again.

I got into blogging sometime last year but my posts revolved mainly around mommyhood – a topic closest to my heart. I enjoyed it so much that I actually posted around 30 entries in a span of four months!

That exercise somehow helped in rediscovering the writer in me. I’ve been fond of doing this stuff, but after graduation, my busy corporate life would leave me with not enough energy for any creative pursuits. And admittedly, I’ve also been a reluctant writer… until last year, when I finally found a niche in doing blogs.

Now that I’m back on track (and out of the corporate scene, if I may add), I’m brimming with ideas to blog about. I’ve several more parenting topics in mind, but I’ll reserve them for another blogsite devoted solely for that area. Now, I’m ready to write about other stuff that interests me, and hopefully would appeal to other readers as well. And this is how my new blogsite fits into my life.

So I guess this is the part where I say, “Welcome to my blogsite!”