The Big Three-Oh!

One of the things a lot of women fear is getting old! When I was a kid I always teased my Ate that she was olddd! Our age difference is 16 years, so when I was 4 she was already 20, in college and I would always tease her, "Ate you're old!!!" And I guess because of that I dreaded the time that I would be in my 20's. And sad to say that whole decade for me just seemed to be oddly disastrous.

When I was about to turn 30 I welcomed it with open arms. I even had an all-pink party to celebrate it. To me turning 30 signified a whole new chapter in my life. I firmly believed that the tide was going to change and everything was just going to be better. And I was right! I thought it wasn't possible to have the best of both worlds. I always thought that I was lucky with work, but unlucky with love. But with much prayer and faith everything just eventually evened out.

So I can honestly say I'm very happy to be in my 30s already! But!!!

But with all the joy came a lot of realizations and I had to do a lot of adjustments.

1. Metabolism - I used to be able to gulp down a Big Mac + large fries + McSpaghetti + large Coke every single day of the week WITHOUT gaining weight. Now that seems just to be a legend. I was barely a hundred pounds when I celebrated my 30th birthday, but now... but now the automatic 10 pounds they said you gain from where I work now has permanently resided in my thunder legs and now I have love handles!

2. Agility - So I'm not really malikot nor athletic, but I used to be able to move around faster, go malling for hours, but I am no Energizer Bunny anymore. I have to rest in between boutique hopping and I used to be able to hop from one province to another easily. I just can't be up and running like I used to. Sad fez.

3. The Youthful Look - When I was in my late 20s I was always mistaken to be a college student! And I guess as the years passed and I took on more responsibility at work my look turned into "so you're 28 na?" Well at least it's still a few years younger than my age now, but I have just simply aged! Noooo!!!

4. Fashion - I was never really daring with what I wear. Make it standard, plain and simple and I'll wear it (think t-shirt and jeans). I also need my best friend to remind myself to fix myself up. There are things though that don't fit (by look) anymore when you are in your 30s. But I still like Mickey Mouse and other cartoon character stuff so I don't really care.

5. Gimmicks - Unlike in my 20s when I just couldn't seem to plant my feet in just one place, now I prefer to stay home. The yellow-urine-like liquid doesn't attract me anymore and I prefer quiet dinners, coffee over going to rowdy, jampacked places. Actually, the couch + me-laptop + a DVD movie is more appealing now.

But I have to be honest, at some point I guess I allowed myself to just wither away. Everything was running smoothly in my life and I felt I didn't need to push any farther. BUT! I got a huge scolding from my best friend (that's the story behind this video) and that got me up and about. I went through retail therapy (a.k.a. shopping) and kinarir ko ang pag-Ponds! And the past two weeks I could help but smile (and be kilig) over these comments -

A college department head, "You are obviously an alumna of this school, you're so kikay!"

A taxi driver after asking me what I was going to do at MOA, "O ma'am! Akala ko maglalakwatsa lang kayo, kala ko college ka pa!"

My cousin who's just a year older, "Bruha ka! Bakit ikaw ganyan pa rin itsura mo eh ako nanay na nanay na!"

Sweetie, "Di kita nakilala. I thought you were someone else!" and then he gave me a bouquet of flowers. I felt like a beauty queen!

And my all-time favorite -

A high school principal, "Alumna from high school 19xx? Oh I thought you just graduated last year!"

There's hope for me after all!